Arfield and Jack doubtful for Wednesday

Hank Hill

Well-Known Member
Steven Gerrard fears he may have to do without key Rangers duo Scott Arfield and Ryan Jack for their William Hill Scottish Cup replay with Kilmarnock.

The midfield pair were surprise absentees for Saturday’s sorry stalemate with St Johnstone as Gers – already missing suspended top scorer Alfredo Morelos – lacked the inspiration needed to break down Tommy Wright’s team.

Gerrard refused to pin the blame for that goalless Ibrox draw on the fact his big trio were sidelined but the Light Blues badly lacked the energy and power all three provide.

Morelos will be back for Wednesday night’s fifth-round clash with Killie but Gerrard is worried Arfield and Jack will again be forced to sit out the visit of Steve Clarke’s men to Govan.

The Rangers boss said: “Scott Arfield has a chance but Jack blocked a tackle at Kilmarnock last week and twisted his ankle, so he is a big doubt for Wednesday.

“Arfield has a chance – but it’s not a good chance.

“Scott has a couple of dead legs. One of them he actually picked up before the first Kilmarnock game, so Scott wouldn’t miss a game with a dead leg. It’s more of a flush in a calf muscle.”

Gerrard told his side they can forget about pushing Celtic for the title this season after squandering the chance to put pressure on the Hoops ahead of their Rugby Park trip by slashing their lead at the top to three points.

Realistically, the Scottish Cup remains Gerrard’s last remaining hope of lifting a trophy in his first season at Ibrox.

But regardless of the state of their title race hopes, the Rangers manager expects his players to be fired up for Killie.

He said: “Wednesday is big anyway. Where we are after Saturday’s result probably does mean the replay becomes bigger but a chance to make a quarter-final should always be exciting.

“If it’s not then maybe you’re in the wrong place.”

St Johnstone bounced back from five straight defeats – including a 5-0 cup pasting from Celtic last week – to claim a much-deserved point at Ibrox.
 
Much as I like Jack and Arfield they have been present in other games where we could have played all day and not scored.

Morelos, who some people also said was crap last season, is the difference.
 
Maybe if we have none of our best midfielders available and know in advance we have zero creativity in there we bite the bullet and go more direct on Wednesday.

A 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 with Lafferty and Morelos up top?
 
Maybe if we have none of our best midfielders available and know in advance we have zero creativity in there we bite the bullet and go more direct on Wednesday.

A 4-4-2 or 3-5-2 with Lafferty and Morelos up top?

Morelos and Defoe
 
I would put Katic in midfield to replace Jack. We need to show some proper fight and he could be worth a headed goal from a set piece. It would give protection to the likes of Kent and help McCrorie if the big man was in front of the back four.
 
Our midfield badly missed arfield yesterday... yet we have people on here who think hees crap. .

The good thing is you know which people to ignore when they hit out with stuff like that.

Arfield creates such a good link between midfield-attack and he's superb on the half turn.
 
Our midfield badly missed arfield yesterday... yet we have people on here who think hees crap. .

We miss his movement and his intelligence, no doubt. However, count me in for thinking he is poor at most of the technical side of the game. His touch, passing and shooting are all dire.
 
I think Arfield is a big miss in our team. Not so sure about Jack unfortunately. However, we've got a bigger problem in that Gerrard's single tactic of one up front just doesn't work without Morelos. Defoe can't play up front on his own and Lafferty won't get a start ahead of Defoe. Therefore, we'll struggle to get the goals.
 
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