Defence shouldn’t be the priority.

Defence is absolutely the priority imo, doesn't mean we need to spend everything on that but we need to do what Gerrard did when he came in. Build a solid defence and then work your way forward to the rest of the squad that needs improvement.

We simply can not afford to go into another season with our defenders.
 
KennyRfC said:
If we'd had a better defence we win the league. We score in every match but we shipped 3 then 2 to them and 3 vs county 2 vs motherwell.
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There’s been some shocking defensive lapses in the last couple of months that had we better players in there quite probably would have been the difference in those games listed to the extent that we should, at the very least, be going into the final days fixtures with a chance of winning the title.

What I will say though is, Butland aside, much of our good defensive record earlier in the season was largely down to our ability to control games in midfield and defend from the front so there’s just as good an argument to say that area also needs at least two quality additions this summer.
 
Also worth mentioning that we need CBs who can chip in with goals from set plays.

For me it's only really Balogun who is decent in the air. Goldson, Souttar and Davies aren't commanding enough imo.
 
We’ve conceded barrow loads lately and have lost the league because of it. All season that defence has been crap and if it wasn’t for Butland heroics we would have conceded far more. Every single one of them should be moved on
 
Moses Brox said:
Lot of talk about the defence and improving it. I’d like to freshen it too but if we don’t increase the number of chances we make & the players who can put them away we will get nowhere near the title. We’ve conceded 29 them 28. In comparison we’ve scored eight less. The money we have has to go on a new midfield & some forwards to lighten the load on Dessers. I’m hopeful for at least one solid centre back too but in my opinion creativity and attack must be the priority.
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You build a team from the defence, we need a dominant central defence and build from there
 
OutOfAmo said:
I really disagree. Three new CB’s are desperately needed. The amount of unforced errors from Goldson, Souttar, and Davies in the last two seasons has been painful to watch and often times Butland produces a world class save to keep the numbers lower, or the level of opposition skies it and we’re lucky that way. Add the injury history or Souttar and it’s a glaring need.
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ones that can defend a simple ball over the top as we just cant seem to get our heads around how to do it
 
Our defence is a fucking shambles and it has been for years. We've kept pointing at the goals conceded column and because it's not abysmal in itself have tried to convince ourselves that it's not a priority position but we should have strengthened there last summer 100%.
 
Moses Brox said:
Lot of talk about the defence and improving it. I’d like to freshen it too but if we don’t increase the number of chances we make & the players who can put them away we will get nowhere near the title. We’ve conceded 29 them 28. In comparison we’ve scored eight less. The money we have has to go on a new midfield & some forwards to lighten the load on Dessers. I’m hopeful for at least one solid centre back too but in my opinion creativity and attack must be the priority.
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You genuinely have some fans who would get rid of Tav and Goldson as their highest priority this window.

Fucking roasters.
 
The defence is a priority, but add quality there and the priority would change to the midfield, and then to the forwards. Hard to imagine any area of the team not needing a serious injection of quality.
 
ecossebear said:
I couldn’t disagree with you more! This is the exact thing that got Beale the sack. Were McGregor still in goals we would have conceded twice that number of goals. We also concede early on which puts us on the back foot the rest of the game! We also tend to concede the big goals when it matters and have no belief we can keep a clean sheet. Midfielders having to help out fullbacks doesn’t help and this season there were at times 3 players were trying to play the same position!

If we change our every single player in front of the back 4 for better players we still finish 2nd. If we upgrade at least 3 of the back 4 and don’t make another single signing we win the league.

Strong defences are the bedrock of winning teams. Not seeing that the defence is a priority is the reason we are in such a serious mess.
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Yet we've conceded the same amount of goals as Celtic.

Difference is they have goals all over the pitch. They have midfielders who score and create, even Turnbull when he was here.

We have Dessers, Tav and Sima.
 
Midfield is going to be a big issue as well as upfront and defence.
We are losing Lundstram and Jack both as players and off the wage bill.
Whether Raskin stays or not remains to be seen. Same goes for Cantwell and Lawrence.
Diomande is the only midfielder certain to be around. However, there are some question marks about his ability to really impose himself on big games.

Yes, the defence needs sorted but midfield has been our soft centre. You win games from midfield. You lose them in defence.

I want to see us getting Connor Barron from Aberdeen as an energetic squad player.
The reality is we need proper quality in midfield with at least one really good box to box play maker.
 
DerHammer88 said:
Yet we've conceded the same amount of goals as Celtic.

Difference is they have goals all over the pitch. They have midfielders who score and create, even Turnbull when he was here.

We have Dessers, Tav and Sima.
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How many of these goals have been in crucial games and in games that have mattered? We’ve scored 5 goals against the scum this year to their 8.
 
Moses Brox said:
Lot of talk about the defence and improving it. I’d like to freshen it too but if we don’t increase the number of chances we make & the players who can put them away we will get nowhere near the title. We’ve conceded 29 them 28. In comparison we’ve scored eight less. The money we have has to go on a new midfield & some forwards to lighten the load on Dessers. I’m hopeful for at least one solid centre back too but in my opinion creativity and attack must be the priority.
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If you don't score goals - you don't win games - if you don't concede goals you don't loose games
Strengthening - or weakening - one area without the other - just makes you unbalanced & susceptible to mistakes in all areas

The only example I can think of where the defence doesn't matter too much - is where you have an approach & a team capable of scoring more goals than the opposition - sort of like Brazil 1970 where if the opposition score two goals they'll score three

I don't much care for the idea that we do all the hard work in midfield & attack only for a defence unworthy of the name to throw it all away

A solid & reliable defence has a knock on positive effect on all areas of the pitch

& incidentally statistics showing goals conceded don't tell the story of how they may have been unnecessarily conceded
Like the way we've frequently handed out scoring opportunities on a plate to the oppisition the entire season
So in effect we beat ourselves

If anyone is seriously satisfied with our current defence then maybe it's time to reduce the medication ?
 
Dean Learner said:
Our defence is a fucking shambles and it has been for years. We've kept pointing at the goals conceded column and because it's not abysmal in itself have tried to convince ourselves that it's not a priority position but we should have strengthened there last summer 100%.
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Gio wanted doeki and yes I know his wages were big he would have been massive if he hadn't chose Germany instead

The hint was resigning balogun I like him but he can't play 50 games a year
 
DerHammer88 said:
You genuinely have some fans who would get rid of Tav and Goldson as their highest priority this window.

Fucking roasters.
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You get rid of them because they are losers and are associated with constant failure it’s absolutely a priority i will repeat myself once again while these 2 and others continue to be at the club we won’t win another league title it’s as simple as that
 
The midfield needs improving badly. It’s too easy to get at our defence but every area of the team can be improved.
 
The priority is the WHOLE f@cking team! Defence, midfield and forward line are all sub standard both in ability and mentality. Surely this is not up for debate? Some can bury their head in the sand if it makes you feel any better but Clement had better see it that way too or we’re bang in trouble for the foreseeable because if there’s player’s still at the club who shouldn’t and results are poor…whether fans agree or not he’ll come under severe pressure and some fans will want him sacked as well. The task ahead to put a team on the park that is going to be good enough to topple the rhat filth pollution is absolutely MASSIVE. It needs totally ripped up, no ifs buts or maybes.
 
Don’t concede and you only need one goal, concede like our defence does and you need 2 for a draw! Less pressure on the front line to produce when you only need a single goal.
 
We kept 9 clean sheets at Ibrox all season , 3 against livingston who were relegated ,1 against championship side Ayr.

2 clean sheets against teams in the top 6 Hearts and St Mirren.

Others were Real Betis , Motherwell and St johnstone.

That isn't a priority?
 
In my 40+ years of watching Rangers, I don’t think I can recall a single league winning Rangers team that didn’t have a good defence. The current defence is miles away from a good, league winning defence. The team as a whole needs radically revamped in all areas, but the defence, particularly the central defence, is an absolute priority for me. Indeed I was all in favour of prioritising the defence in January, despite our relatively good (statistically) defensive record at that time. At that time it looked liked smoke and mirrors to me and that’s how it turned out.

If we can, I’d be in favour of us moving on from all 5 of our centre halves - Goldson, Souttar, Balogun, Davies and King.
 
kirkiebluenose said:
You get rid of them because they are losers and are associated with constant failure it’s absolutely a priority i will repeat myself once again while these 2 and others continue to be at the club we won’t win another league title it’s as simple as that
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Couldn’t agree more. For a proper rebuild from the ground up any excess baggage and scar tissue needs removed, particularly when they are the most influential players at the club. It’s not just a high priority, it’s the main priority
 
I’m pretty confident Walter Smith would have disagreed. He liked to build from the back, have strong foundations in defence and take it from there. Worked pretty well for him too.
 
It really does look as if we need a new RB and two CBs.
I'm not having a go at anyone but it's time for the Club to move on and improve the team.

The only proviso I'd have with us deciding to bring in new CBs is that I want to see them being fecking well coached as proper defenders -- go to the ball, block the shot or cross, close down players in possession and if possible tackle them, and ffs learn to jump for the ball and not allow it to fly over your head.
No more standing and watching the opposition, lost in admiration for their ability to run through us like a hot knife through butter.
No more watching cross balls whizz across and over, without even trying to get to them.
No more backing off and off and off advancing opposition players until they're in our box.

Get whatever CBs are going to be at the Club fit and physically strong.
Get them able to run and to jump for a ball.
Tell them that if any of them revert to this sh*te of passing the ball between each other when we're a goal down and five minutes to go, they'll be fined.
Tell them to take responsibility for spotting & making a forward pass themself, rather than passing it to somebody ten feet away who is actually marked / being closed down.

Coaching & training I believe it's called.
 
Midfield needs upgraded too, but fans pretending the defence isn’t a big issue are kidding themselves, especially when it’s crunch time.
 
DerHammer88 said:
You genuinely have some fans who would get rid of Tav and Goldson as their highest priority this window.

Fucking roasters.
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Are more fitting description for fans whose priority is celebrating Tav’s “numbers”. I wish celtics defenders would hand goals off to us the way our defence does to them.
 
We need 2 CB challenging for starting slots and another as back up at the very least depending on what Conor does. Left back is another priority.

Amazed that anyone wouldn't see this is a priority. I maintained that not conceding many goals a few months ago was down to Butland rather than the defence putting in fantastic displays. We were giving up guilt edge chances most games and getting away it. We have now only had 1 clean sheet in ten games and even that was a draw.

It absolutely needs addressed.
 
If you don’t concede, you don’t lose. Defence needs overhauled and we need at least 2 powerful midfielders who can tackle and play football. I think we have enough up front, if said midfielders can supply a killer ball.
 
Moses Brox said:
Lot of talk about the defence and improving it. I’d like to freshen it too but if we don’t increase the number of chances we make & the players who can put them away we will get nowhere near the title. We’ve conceded 29 them 28. In comparison we’ve scored eight less. The money we have has to go on a new midfield & some forwards to lighten the load on Dessers. I’m hopeful for at least one solid centre back too but in my opinion creativity and attack must be the priority.
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I remember my first beer.
 
We don't score enough, the defending is often chronic and the midfield doesn't contribute enough and in fact slows us down. So it's basically all areas of the team that need improvement, bar the goalkeeper. And then there's the constant injuries. What a mess.
 
We seem to have a system that equates defence with being attack, that’s what needs to be demolished.
Get a solid back line with fullbacks that can contribute to the occasional attack instead of having fullbacks that are the attack with midfielders being told to stay back to defend. It’s arse from elbow.
 
It’s a bad situation as we cannot go into next season with either the same dodgy defence or the same blunt attack.

There’s a wage budget there at least if no significant transfer budget but our problems will take longer than one window to address.

I think we need to focus on getting starters in the door and all reasonable offers accepted on the existing lot, see where that takes us.

I’m actually really excited for the future, no idea why, maybe relief that the dark cloud has lifted after we shat the bed in such a pathetic manner at Ross County or maybe it’s the manager’s comments the other night about getting assets on the pitch.

Whoever is brought in, I hope we see fast overloading football where the margins against jobbers are lessened as we play the game at an intensity that they are unable to match.
 
Defence was a priority before Beale.
How that clown didn’t address it is anyone’s guess.
Any team we played this year knew if they got at them they could score.
I feel for Butland having them to deal with.
 
Defence needs overhauled and rebuilt don't think that area has been properly strengthened in several years now.
 
The priority shoukd be two new centrebacks, 2 new cms and a new striker.

Right through the middle of our team. Then the next few windows we can then build on that.
 
Hurricane Run said:
The defense is a major issue. Particularly in Old Firms. We have conceded 24 goals in 12 league Old Firm games since we last won the league.

You cant win a 2 horse race if you need a 3 goal average to beat your only rival
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Since we last won the league, we have been operating a free gift goal scheme when playing them. Some of the goals we have GIVEN them are beyond belief. I’m not just talking about poor defending, I mean such things as own goals, the goalie kicking the ball straight to their player, woefully short pass backs, stupid penalties etc, etc. All this needs to stop if we are to return to winning ways against them. Let’s hope we can start in the Cup Final. If we don’t actually hand them a goal in that match, we have a chance but, going by recent examples, I wouldn’t put it past one of our players to shy the ball directly to Kyoto or Idah on the edge of our box.
 
Defence is absolutely where we should start to improve. Sloppy defending has cost us, no goal threat from corners, no aerial presence and no leadership… then I’d move into the middle of the park…
 
The defence absolutely is a priority

I'm sick of hearing this best defence in the league pish, when it came to the crunch games they showed they are weak and pathetic like the rest of the team.
 
Slide Away said:
This.

There’s been games we’ve created 30 odd chances and converted one or two. Clinical forwards should absolutely be on the radar.
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I would like to see goal scoring midfielders and a new striker
Think we’ve lacked goals from the midfield for a very long time
 
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