Central Defence a Major Issue

[SuperGers07]

I thought Sands played well tonight at CH. Unfortunately Goldson was the problem tonight.

Correct. Goldson had a poor game

 

[wilso10]

This thread is all wrong, can't be right at all.

I posted earlier today that I wasn't Goldson's biggest fan and thst he was a bit of a bombscare, and got multiple replies telling me I was talking shite and that Goldson was a rock in our defence...

You obviously know best then.

Or maybe when you look at Goldsons rangers career you’ll see there’s a player who has been a rock for probably 90%+ of the games he’s played for us.

Tonight he had a shocker, it can happen against good teams.

 

[Robtheranger1]

Not so much at the goals, more so his general positioning. Had PSV been more clinical they'd have punished it. De Jong chance at the start and the one just after HT where the boy toe poked it past the post - both were due to Sands incorrect positioning.

Sand did well never hide. But CB not his position we need a bear in there. Goldson poor but he needs better movement up front.

 

[JuanOrtiz]

Second leg a want Davies in beside goldson and sands playing the Davis role we lack height and it’s painfully obvious

 

[Arlo]

Psv are a big team, we need souttar or Davies back for the second leg to compete better.
Why was sands challenging de jong and goldson trying to sweep? Common sense surely would have been for it to be the other way about. Also why the %^*& have we went zonal???? Get that binned the now! Does more harm than good

Goldson was the problem not Sands

 

[archimedes]

You obviously know best then.

Or maybe when you look at Goldsons rangers career you’ll see there’s a player who has been a rock for probably 90%+ of the games he’s played for us.

Tonight he had a shocker, it can happen against good teams.

90% of the teams we play against are fūcking crap.

It's the 10% decent ones I'm worried about him, and he quite often fails to deliver.

 

[RTD-BEAR]

I thought Sands had a cracking game tonight.


The problem we have at the back is this insistence on everyone having a touch across the back 4 before the ball goes forward. PSV were pushing us back because we were delaying getting the ball out and it all just invites pressure.

They're things to do it and it works well but to make it really work you need to make other team unsure if your going go long or not

Near the end we should have been going long down both lines

McLaughlin neeto to be more aware what side he is going to go to as well he played Sands and barasic into trouble a few times

 

[Dashboard Jesus]

Goldson was the problem. Absolutely crap performance, if he was as good as he thinks he is he’d have gotten the big PL move he was after.

Goldson isn't good enough at the top level. Costs us goals in big games as demonstrated tonight and in EL final. The second goal tonight is inexcusable. He thinks he is much better than he really is

 

[Blues and Royals]

We won't be winning the league title this season if we can't defend something as simple as a corner kick.

 

[Gameboy]

I’ve got to disagree, Balogun is prone to injury and never filled recovered from the Hibs semi final and was equally jittery in many of the UEL last season. Time to move on.

Goldson was poor tonight, I will admit that however him and either Sands or Davies going forward will be good enough.

 

[Delboy Trotter]

If Goldson gets injured we’re in big big trouble

Souttar - will spend more time with the medical team than on the park

Helander - permanently injured

Sands - never a centre half

Davies - just in the door, injured already.

It really doesn’t look good.

 

[Laudrup is God]

Not one of our players attacked the ball only Lundstrum was jumping the rest on the ground for the second goal that is not on I’ve just seen it back

 

[Pirlo]

Goldson isn't good enough at the top level. Costs us goals in big games as demonstrated tonight and in EL final. The second goal tonight is inexcusable. He thinks he is much better than he really is

He has his fair share of domestic gaffs too yet there is a sizeable crowd who talk as though we’d absolutely fall apart without him.

But at this level his lack of focus is punished too often.

 

[derbybear]

I agree with both your points however having sands as one of our centre halfs weakens us so much at set pieces. I said it before the game and i was proven right. I will reiterate a point thats been made frequently recently… having balogun watching us from the stands is absolutely bonkers.

Phuck me another that has forgotten the goals we shipped last year with Balogun!

 

[GarryB]

Second leg a want Davies in beside goldson and sands playing the Davis role we lack height and it’s painfully obvious

100% Goldson cannot clear a corner in the air he is dreadful and has been guilty of this for years

 

[Pacman]

Sands was much better than Goldson

Sands was excellent tonight. At times in the first half he was the only one in our half as a defender.

 

[Rino]

Keepers job to organise his defence at set plays.

Keeper cant make goldson jump. Keeper saved us from a defeat

 

[wilso10]

90% of the teams we play against are fūcking crap.

It's the 10% decent ones I'm worried about him, and he quite often fails to deliver.

So you wouldn’t have started Goldson tonight?

And “quite often” is a stretch.

The revisionism on here with some players is something else.

 

[Coisty09]

Goldson shouldn’t be undroppable

He’s been slack since his new contract. He needs a spell on the bench

The problem is we have no one to put in there at the moment so he is undroppable.

 

[Bud Johnston1972]

90% of the teams we play against are fūcking crap.

It's the 10% decent ones I'm worried about him, and he quite often fails to deliver.

Agree we tend to overlook that the quality of opposition we play the vast majority of the time in the SPFL is absolutely honking and therefore Goldson looks a much better player as a result. Against the better technically equipped teams in Europe such as PSV his deficiencies are there for everybody to see!

 

[foot1efreek]

Not so much at the goals, more so his general positioning. Had PSV been more clinical they'd have punished it. De Jong chance at the start and the one just after HT where the boy toe poked it past the post - both were due to Sands incorrect positioning.

Had the de jong chance went in it woulda been blown for offside so really irrelevant point

 

[CF4]

Goldson pretty much turns his back and ducks down at the equaliser.

 

[Dashboard Jesus]

He has his fair share of domestic gaffs too yet there is a sizeable crowd who talk as though we’d absolutely fall apart without him.

But at this level his lack of focus is punished too often.

Agreed, massively overated on here imo.

 

[Dashboard Jesus]

100% Goldson cannot clear a corner in the air he is dreadful and has been guilty of this for years

He is also woeful in the oposition box.

 

[Ciro]

I’ve said it all summer, but we are weak in central defence. With Helander unreliable and now Souttar and Davies carrying knocks we are weak in here.

Sands isn’t a natural centre back and is being asked to do a job but it’s going to cost us.

In my opinion we should bring Balogun back, he at least offers a physical presence and ability to attack balls in the air. Both goals were soft and all down to the fact we can’t defend properly and lack physicality.

Balogun a far better centre half than Souttar or Sands.

If Goldson gets injured we’re in big big trouble

Souttar - will spend more time with the medical team than on the park

Helander - permanently injured

Sands - never a centre half

Davies - just in the door, injured already.

It really doesn’t look good.

Agree. Bassey was always going to be a huge loss, and replacing Balogun with Sands / Soutter backup is a significant downgrade.

At CL level, you need two strapping aggressive centre halves.

 

[nasalsinatra]

Goldson does not attack the ball aggressively at set-pieces into our box. But he was unlucky at their first goal because Tillman missed the ball at the near post. I also notice we do not apply blocking opponents at corners, free-kicks etc., particularly on tall opponents who make late runs from the edge of the area.

 

[Tibs46]

Goldson again.

Cost us the EL and then a shambolic performance tonight, but we should all be thankful cause he turns up every week.

 

[RabSpackman]

They're things to do it and it works well but to make it really work you need to make other team unsure if your going go long or not

Near the end we should have been going long down both lines

McLaughlin neeto to be more aware what side he is going to go to as well he played Sands and barasic into trouble a few times

This is a worry to me. McLaughlin is comfortable with the ball at his feet but some of the passes he decides to make are brutal.

 

[Bluebeard]

We are a team of midgets.

Crying out for a beast of a centre half who can win the ball in the air and is aggressive.

All our good play undone tonight because we can’t defend a corner. We’ve lost Aribo who used to defend the near post with height and we’ve lost Bassey.

Teams know it’s our weakness and we will see a lot more goals conceded as the season goes on.

 

[Laudrup11Cooper]

We need a proper CH next to Goldson ASAP.

Why is it always.Always someone …to play …along side Goldson?
Why is it we sign …someone to play along side Goldson??
He is that untouchable.
He plays not matter how many mistakes he makes?

So he is completely….undroppable?
And irreplaceable?

 

[northernger72]

We won't be winning the league title this season if we can't defend something as simple as a corner kick.

We have conceded a high percentage of goals from corner kicks for some time now and this problem really needs to be prioritised going forward if we are to have a successful season.

 

[Hoogsy66]

How about a Goldson that can header a ball at corners?

He actually ducked away from the cross

 

[Coatbridge Chancellor]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1559655524467179527

 

[Let’s Gio]

A man on the post at corners would be lovely too

This.

A mate is an ex pro, get me, and I argue this point every game.

My view is man on post, he says that the man in post play people onside and that’s why teams don’t do it

 

[Theresa May]

Why is it always.Always someone …to play …along side Goldson?
Why is it we sign …someone to play along side Goldson??
He is that untouchable.
He plays not matter how many mistakes he makes?

So he is completely….undroppable?
And irreplaceable?

Rightly or wrongly...the answer to your questions appears to be yes.

 

[archimedes]

So you wouldn’t have started Goldson tonight?

And “quite often” is a stretch.

The revisionism on here with some players is something else.

No, I also said that he is a decent player who marshall's the defence well and his fitness is outstanding. The main topic of the thread was that I was worried he and/or Tav would get injured, but when I said I wasn't his biggest fan and that he was a bombscare who was prone to brainfarts and making mistakes that his team mates bailed him out of, the usual FF experts jumped all over it and said I was talking shite.

So the answer is yes, I would have played him tonight, but I would be worried he would make an arse of it, and, well... you know.

No 'revised' opinion here, same applies before and after tonight in this case.

 

[CaptainCourageous]

Just like last season. Balls into our box are not dealt with and end up in the back of our net.

We might get away with it in Scotland but at this level no chance.

Got to do better.

 

[SDF]

 

[AC_55]

Zonal marking from corners needs to be banned

 

[UnionBear]

The other ridiculous thing we do is all the wee passes in our own box between McLaughlin, Goldson, Sands and Borna.

All it did tonight was makes sure we couldn't get out and/or lose possession. It was abysmal at times.

Over-passing so deep in our own half was absolutely mind-boggling and meant PSV just kept coming at us.

When our players have more touches of the ball in our own box than we do in the opposition box you know we have fundamental issues.

 

[Coatbridge Chancellor]

BTW there's a lot of blame being placed on individuals.

I'm more inclined to think it's a collective defensive failure at the corners.

 

[Hoogsy66]

Goldson needs a rocket up him, miles off it this

Goldson defends the 6 yard line, rather than a man. The issue I’ve always had with zonal marking is that your zone is ambiguous, your man is not. De Jong doesn’t stop being De Jong when he crosses a certain threshold in the box, your zone is a rough spot of land that in the moment you can barely understand.

Man for man is the way, IMO.

I remember Gough saying he never man marked, he just attacked the ball. He usually did ok

 

[The Little General]

How about a Goldson that can header a ball at corners?

Yep. Goldson was poor again tonight.

 

[BWO]

I remember Gough saying he never man marked, he just attacked the ball. He usually did ok

That’s fine when you attack the ball

 

[The Little General]

I remember Gough saying he never man marked, he just attacked the ball. He usually did ok

But it helps if you commit to one or the other. We don't seem to have a proper plan.

 

[DoubleWhopper]

Just watched the goals back. Goldson culpable at both.

I’m not going to argue with his service for £2 million quid.

All I’ll say is I didn’t quite understand the sheer euphoria when he renewed.

 

[Laudrup11Cooper]

Rightly or wrongly...the answer to your questions appears to be yes.

It would seem so.

Pretty sure I saw a Rangers team winning cups and championships long before Connor Goldson ever entered the building.
Actually to be accurate.It was before he was even born.

Unless… no that’s not possible.

 

[Laudrup11Cooper]

But it helps if you commit to one or the other. We don't seem to have a proper plan.

Better than ok, if memory serves.

 

[Drumchapel_Loyal]

Agreed renewing Balogun should've been a no brainer on a pay as you play which I'd expect he would've accepted

 

[Derek76]

Goldson was the problem. Absolutely crap performance, if he was as good as he thinks he is he’d have gotten the big PL move he was after.

He wanted to stay, get this nonsense to %^*& and get it even further to %^*& again