Are we too nice to be champs?

Route 55

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Seen a lot comments citing certain players shouldn't play away in tough matches i.e. Ojo taking it tight all over the gaff, this got me thinking about our meek mentality and how we do not seem to have any nastiness in us.

Morelos has petulance but I personally feel we do not have that many fighters up for a battle and willing to do the dirty tackling within our ranks.

The only guy`s i can think of that will go through a tackle and leave it all in there is Jack, McCrorie & Flanagan, no one else comes close to having a nasty streak of bone crunching tackles in them.

I know Jacks out but we need our battlers for these hammer throwing competitions and guys like Ojo, Tav, Aribo, Kamara, Davis etc you would not pin any kind of hard act on them or would they be able to do so if asked, i feel.

Successful teams always seem to have that wee edge of great ability and hardiness, we do seem a little lacking in the latter. Thoughts?

Probably waffling dung but just an observation.
 
There’s an element of that. We have a lot of great attributes in this squad - lots of skill, pace, goals and a cracking goalkeeper.

We lack a nasty bastard whose presence on the pitch makes other teams think twice before taking turns to clatter our centre forward.
 
We've dropped our first away points of the season.

I feel like I'm in a minority in thinking that this ISNT suddenly a fullblown crisis.


I think the frustration boils down to, we now are set to have a sustained period of away league games over the next 2 months. Celtic are mostly at home, they don't lose home games.

Logic says we will be going to parkhead end of december looking at them a number of points clear.
 
What is it you want? A player/players who are going to injure opponents, cynically foul and play dirty?
I want players to go into 50/50`s convincingly, i want players to tackle with gusto and strength. I do not want dirty bastards throughout the 11 but we need that fear in the squad.
Yesterday that big numpty striker of theirs bullied every one he came near, not one glove was laid on him by us, nullify him that takes their game-plan and flushes it down the lavvy, im not saying injure him but somebody needed to give him a reminder.
 
We've dropped our first away points of the season.

I feel like I'm in a minority in thinking that this ISNT suddenly a fullblown crisis.

It will be a crisis if we continue with the performances away from home as undoubtedly we will be found wanting more often than not.
 
Are the mentally challengeds too nice to be champs?

from where I’m sitting they’re top by virtue of scoring one more goal - exact same stats otherwise.

some of the players are off form and needs sorted.

other than that, we’ve been playing some amazing football so far this season!

the panty wetting on here is unreal!
 
Are the mentally challengeds too nice to be champs?

from where I’m sitting they’re top by virtue of scoring one more goal - exact same stats otherwise.

some of the players are off form and needs sorted.

other than that, we’ve been playing some amazing football so far this season!

the panty wetting on here is unreal!

Away from home we have been below par, and who gives a %^*& about the mentally challengeds im talking about us.
 
I want players to go into 50/50`s convincingly, i want players to tackle with gusto and strength. I do not want dirty bastards throughout the 11 but we need that fear in the squad.
Yesterday that big numpty striker of theirs bullied every one he came near, not one glove was laid on him by us, nullify him that takes their game-plan and flushes it down the lavvy, im not saying injure him but somebody needed to give him a reminder.

That's the kind of Scottish football 'hammer thrower' mentality that is constantly complained about on here, tbh.
 
Are the mentally challengeds too nice to be champs?

from where I’m sitting they’re top by virtue of scoring one more goal - exact same stats otherwise.

some of the players are off form and needs sorted.

other than that, we’ve been playing some amazing football so far this season!

the panty wetting on here is unreal!

perhaps it's an overreaction, on paper however, we have had the more easier start in the league given a lot of games have been at home.

After this weekend, the tims have a sustained period of home games coming up. They don't lose at home and therefore will be looking to take maximum points up til they play us.

Can we do similar away from home?
 
That's the kind of Scottish football 'hammer thrower' mentality that is constantly complained about on here, tbh.
Unfortunately the hammer thrower attitude is going nowhere so we need that type within our ranks for the away battles.
 
Last minute winner v Kilmarnock, 6-1 v Hibs and 5-0 v Aberdeen would suggest we're making progress on that front, but still a lot of work to do.
 
I think the frustration boils down to, we now are set to have a sustained period of away league games over the next 2 months. Celtic are mostly at home, they don't lose home games.

Logic says we will be going to parkhead end of december looking at them a number of points clear.

I don’t think the frustration boils down to that at all – how can you be preemptively angry at something?

Yesterday was shïte, people are right to be angry at the result and performance, but the lack of perspective (from mostly grown men on here) is utterly embarrassing.

Why does one draw suddenly mean everyone is shïte, the squad’s shïte, we’ve a team full of shïtebags, we’ve no leaders etc. etc.?
 
Why does one draw suddenly mean everyone is shïte, the squad’s shïte, we’ve a team full of shïtebags, we’ve no leaders etc. etc.?

It's quite worrying IF that is what folk genuinely think and they are not just trying to oudo each other with who can appear more angry.
 
The three shite results this season against the mentally challengeds, Young Boys and yesterday all left me raging at the sheer ineptitude of our performance, both individually and as a team. No points should have been dropped in any of these games, especially when the opposition were nothing special at all.
 
I think the frustration boils down to, we now are set to have a sustained period of away league games over the next 2 months. Celtic are mostly at home, they don't lose home games.

Logic says we will be going to parkhead end of december looking at them a number of points clear.

It was always going to be a difficult run though.

What astonishes me is that people are somehow surprised that we toiled at Tynecastle. Like this result came out of the blue. There were threads on here plotting how we ought to be taking maximum points from our next 7 games starting at Hearts. Utter lunacy.

Away games are tough. Celtic got 1 point from 6 in their last two, which whipped us up into a frenzy that it was "our year". Now we've dropped points. Not for the last time this season either I'm sorry to report.

We are exactly where we were before Tynecastle - that is to say, in a title race. There will be swings and roundabouts all throughout the season. There are days when the "Title party in George Square" threads will surface, and days when threads like this one will surface.

Yesterday was no different from dozens of other Rangers away performances since 2016. I just don't get the general sense of astonishment about it. You're right about the situation in the run up to the 29th December - because we aren't going to get there via Pittodrie, Easter Road, Almondvale and Fir Park without dropping points. Nothing any Rangers team has done since we got back up suggests we'd be capable of getting 12 from 12 in that run. Celtic have already had two of those trips and emerged with only 1 point.
 
It's quite worrying IF that is what folk genuinely think and they are not just trying to oudo each other with who can appear more angry.


the only thing I feel anger toward yesterday is the error at their goal.

Totally avoidable. But it's continually happening, Tav's head is gone. And we can;t drop him as his output is worth a lot to us on the field. But when his errors are now costing us a goal every single time, what can be done?

Just clear the ball, all he has to do in each and every one he's made in the last 3 weeks. All three goals were utterly avoidable, yet dismal goals to give away.
 
Standard over reaction from some. Have avoided this forum for this reason.

I logged on last night and immediately regretted it.

The good thing with the European campaign is people move on relatively quickly. By tommorow it will be all focus on Porto.

What frustrates me is not so much the points people make as the sudden, visceral swings in mood. Like a mentally disturbed child. When things go our way people are, like I said above, planning title parties in October. Then we draw a game and its complete doom and gloom. I don't get how some of these people never considered the possibility that there are tough away games we'd toil in.
 
Away from home we have been below par, and who gives a %^*& about the mentally challengeds im talking about us.

Our first dropped points away from home so far!

why wait for yesterday to happen before sharing your concerns about our away form?

our ‘away form’ isn’t the issue. The issue is our captain landing us in it consistently!
 
It's quite worrying IF that is what folk genuinely think and they are not just trying to oudo each other with who can appear more angry.
The thing is we might find out the team don’t have the bottle and/or aren’t good enough – but so far we’re having a good season and things are pointing to the opposite being true.

The usual logic always applies on here, it only counts as a ‘test’ if we don’t pass it.

Aberdeen after they dropped points was clearly a test on a number of levels (character, ability etc.) and we smashed it – so because we passed the ‘test’ it isn’t considered as a test anymore and isn’t used to judge character, leadership or bottle.

Same applies to Kilmarnock, Hamilton the other week,Midtjylland, Legia, Feyenoord and so on – but because we drop points at Tynecastle that’s suddenly the first real test since the last time we dropped points.
 
the only thing I feel anger toward yesterday is the error at their goal.

Totally avoidable. But it's continually happening, Tav's head is gone. And we can;t drop him as his output is worth a lot to us on the field. But when his errors are now costing us a goal every single time, what can be done?

Just clear the ball, all he has to do in each and every one he's made in the last 3 weeks. All three goals were utterly avoidable, yet dismal goals to give away.
We can drop him ! he is not above being dropped, he is offering nothing just now going forward either, he needs taken out of the firing line for a few games and then re-evaluate it in a few weeks.

We can still win games without Tav in the team
 
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perhaps it's an overreaction, on paper however, we have had the more easier start in the league given a lot of games have been at home.

After this weekend, the tims have a sustained period of home games coming up. They don't lose at home and therefore will be looking to take maximum points up til they play us.

Can we do similar away from home?

In the away games coming up, I reckon we can.

granted livi away is a tough venue, but we’ve shown recently we can win there. I don’t have concerns about taking care of Ross county and Hamilton away.

going back to the point I made yesterday on another thread, league winning teams have dropped points away at hearts before. It’s a tough place to go. doesn’t mean we’re not good enough to win the league, as I see others speculate.

there’s no harm in dropping points there.

the overreaction every time rangers dare not win a game, is mental.

All boils down to one loss of concentration, again. If Tav doesn’t have a brain fart, we win yesterday.

still have, arguably, our best players to come back/find match fitness, in Jack and Kent.

our title credentials aren’t the issue imo. The form of our captain is and that’s my only concern at this moment..

not if we’re too soft.
 
I think at times we really lack that Souness type who could play but also roll the sleeves up and get fired into opposing players when the need arises.
 
Every player is now sh*te. Although if we pick up a result against Porto, they will all be worth a fortune again :D
This thread is away on a tangent as per these kind of comments.
The problem most have is the way in which we surrendered to a more physical outfit in Hearts, not to mention losing top spot, not to mention our first challenge as league leaders etc etc we are too meek when it gets down to physicality, and that's the question I was posing no mention of anyone being shite.
 
A don’t think this was the main issue yesterday. We played the game hearts wanted us to making it a scrap. In doing this we stopped doing everything we do well, players playing between the lines and sharp 1-2s around the box. The amount of long balls we played just played into hearts hands. Don’t disagree that Edmunson would not be a bad shout in the middle in games like this but I still think we need our midfielders to be braver on the ball and drive forward at times. Just poor performance for me hopefully not a trend.
 
I think the frustration boils down to, we now are set to have a sustained period of away league games over the next 2 months. Celtic are mostly at home, they don't lose home games.

Logic says we will be going to parkhead end of december looking at them a number of points clear.

The reality is we could be a number of points behind them before we go to Parkhead and a loss could mean the league is over before the end of the year. That would’ve gave that lot some belief and confidence yesterday again showing we have not once been able to show any strength or confidence when we were top of the league.
 
Why fight fire with fire, we are just getting back to having players good enough to play football, so why introduce players to mix it up and go down to their level.
It’s a reflection on the Scottish game that most of their fans get more excited at an over physical tackle as to a player showing talent.
Until this mentality has gone, our game will suffer as a consequence.
 
This thread is away on a tangent as per these kind of comments.
The problem most have is the way in which we surrendered to a more physical outfit in Hearts, not to mention losing top spot, not to mention our first challenge as league leaders etc etc we are too meek when it gets down to physicality, and that's the question I was posing no mention of anyone being shite.

The problem is that it's too early to answer the question you are asking.
Also if the answer is "yes" then there's nothing we can do about it.

4 away games so far this season.
Wins at Killie (2-1), St Mirren (1-0), St Johnstone (4-0)
Draw at Hearts (1-1).

Compared to last season this is decent form.

Hamilton was our first away win of last season. On the 21st of October. Our 5th away game of the season.

We are almost 1/4 of the way through the season and we have dropped 5 points.
If we win on Sunday then that's title winning form, actually.
(drop 20 points all season and we finish on 94, that's good)

People talking about "tough away games coming up". Well, no sh!t.
We've got 38 potential banana skins to navigate with 19 of them away. Same as every other season.

Right now we are looking at 3 wins and 1 draw as our away form. It's not perfect. It's not exactly a disaster either.

Yesterday was a blip but we escaped with a point.

In most seasons the majority of our dropped points will come away from home. Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Plastic Bullsh!t Pitches will cause issues.

At the end of the day, if we are going to win this it is almost certainly going to go to the last game of the season. We will DEFINITELY drop points between now and then.

Last time we won it we did so with 93 points.
To get that total once more we are looking at dropping a further 16 points this season.
Most of those will be dropped away from home.

The only thing I can think of is that, yes, if we go on a run of just winning match after match and keeping that gap at the top then maybe the pressure could induce a timmy meltdown and we run away with the league.

Otherwise a title winning season looks pretty much like what we are seeing here.

We have a good side that is winning comfortably at home.
Games versus them are an unknown quantity.
Decent form away from home with dropped points here and there (10 out of 12 aint bad so far).
 
The reality is we could be a number of points behind them before we go to Parkhead and a loss could mean the league is over before the end of the year. That would’ve gave that lot some belief and confidence yesterday again showing we have not once been able to show any strength or confidence when we were top of the league.

Surely the opposite is also true?

They went 3 points clear of us in September with a GD of +14 compared to our GD of +5 and 4 matches later they had shipped 5 points away from home and the GD was turned on its head also.

Now we are equal on points and GD but they have scored one goal more.

The reality is that we could be going into that match a Parkhead with a league cup under our belts and with a 1 or 2 point advantage. The reality is that we are getting closer and closer and maybe that match at Parkhead is where we define our season.

Too much negativity and fear going around.

We are better than last year. We are constantly improving. It might not be enough right now but we will get there.
 
I logged on last night and immediately regretted it.

The good thing with the European campaign is people move on relatively quickly. By tommorow it will be all focus on Porto.

What frustrates me is not so much the points people make as the sudden, visceral swings in mood. Like a mentally disturbed child. When things go our way people are, like I said above, planning title parties in October. Then we draw a game and its complete doom and gloom. I don't get how some of these people never considered the possibility that there are tough away games we'd toil in.
It’s just incredible. The same people week in week out make snap judgements. Draw a game and suddenly everyone is terrible. Character and mental strength is no existence etc etc. Just boring. Tyncastle is always a tough trip. I’m not sure why people expected different just because they are struggling this season.
 
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