Expected a tad more

Dont know what I expected really. I'm just gutted we are so far off the top level of the game these days. Its heartbreaking how much we've slipped on the European stage since the 1990s. I know its not all our fault but I never thought in my younger days when I watched us go toe-to-toe with Bayern, Inter, Ajax, etc, that those times would ever end. Now they seem like nothing but a distant dream
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Even back then we had some piss poor results
 
Sometimes you just play against teams who are better than you, and with being 3 - 1 down from the first game we never had a chance of going through
Fantastic European run and absolutely no shame in losing to a team of their quality
 
ssblue said:
The run has been fantastic and Gerrard and the team deserve a lot of credit.

That 90 mins was pathetic.
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ssblue said:
The run has been fantastic and Gerrard and the team deserve a lot of credit.

That 90 mins was pathetic.
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It’s interesting how, on here, some people open their mouths and say the first thing that comes into their head (often overly negative) but, once they are picked up on it, allow their brain to engage and come back to qualify or explain the original comment.
 
gordon_blue said:
It did look a bit like a pre-season friendly at times.

We kept giving the ball away and making the wrong decisions. Taking short goal kicks when there are 3 opposition players lurking around the area seems to me to be a daft move.

Whenever we got the ball and tried to go forward, our players were surrounded.

But, anyway, a lot of players got good game time.
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Something we are all going to have to get used to with no fans, the games do have an air of flatness to them
 
They are a top drawer side and I think had another gear to move up to if we'd started posing any threats. I was disappointed how much we sat off them though and I think from his comments Gerrard agrees.
 
My initial reaction too was disappointment, that we never really seemed to have a proper go at them. Then I thought about how good a side they are & realised that to have a go you need to have the ball & at times last night we just couldn't get a hold of it or retain it for more than 3-4 passes. That's when you really appreciate the class & professionalism that BL have on that level, they absolutely cruised through the game last night.
We've been tremendous in Europe since SG arrived but BL have probably been our toughest test so far & hopefully we will learn from the experience of playing them.
 
Leverkusen will win the europa league. They didn't even get out of 2nd gear last night the passing and movement was a joy to watch. Yes we couldve played better on the night but I won't hold it against them.
 
A 1-0 defeat to a side far superior to us is nothing to be ashamed of.
We didn't play our usual game because our players looked way out there depth
 
DasScorps said:
Dont know what I expected really. I'm just gutted we are so far off the top level of the game these days. Its heartbreaking how much we've slipped on the European stage since the 1990s. I know its not all our fault but I never thought in my younger days when I watched us go toe-to-toe with Bayern, Inter, Ajax, etc, that those times would ever end. Now they seem like nothing but a distant dream
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Their playing squad is worth over €350 million.
 
On balance, I thought the game panned out much the same as the last. BL are a very, very good team. They made our passing look sloppy (which it is not) and have genuine world class players in their ranks.

We move on, it was a good run but we have bigger priorities in front of us this season.
 
While I may have expected slightly more from us in the first half in terms of trying to grab the first goal, the damage was done at Ibrox and the late third goal all but killed the tie.

We have good players and could have caused them a few more problems than we did, but time to focus on Sunday and start racking up the points back home.
 
Surprised at how content some people are with the performance. Tie was over against a much better team yes but at least show some grit and a bit of pride
 
This system needs to change, Morelos isn't working now and hasn't for a while.

I think we can and should do better than Ryan Jack. H'e a good footballer but he's not tough enough.
 
Burgh-Ger said:
It possible our views are clouded by the fact they are a very very good team!!

Look at our bench as well - we are not even close to their level!

Aribo aside, if we want to play at that level, we need more out of Jack and Davis is probably going to be nursed through this season!

We need another midfielder - that is clear
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They were bringing guys off the bench like Bailey worth 30 million and Dragovic who they paid 17 million for. Tah is also rated highly and would cost a few bob. Quite simply put they are on a different footballing planet than us.
 
Sad thing is - if that was the result of the first leg i would of fancied us to get through at Ibrox. Strange how football works
 
Angus said:
Surprised at how content some people are with the performance. Tie was over against a much better team yes but at least show some grit and a bit of pride
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I'm surprised at how some seem discontent with the performance.
Did you want us to come out all guns blazing and chase the 3 or 4 goals we required? Give it a real go?
Rangers wanted this game out of the way, this was never going to be turned round and thats why it was played like a pre season friendly.
St Mirren on Sunday is more important than banging your head off a wall last night that wouldn't get us anywhere.
 
I think both clubs treated it as a chance to get some fitness into players if I'm honest.

And that was probably the right approach for us- especially in Helanders case. Also, what a great experience for Paterson. Kent and Hagi both got limited minutes as well.

All in all, the right approach imo.
 
Angus said:
Surprised at how content some people are with the performance. Tie was over against a much better team yes but at least show some grit and a bit of pride
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What does that even mean? Roll the sleeves up and get stuck in patter? There was no lack of effort, grit or pride last night, we were as good as the opposition allowed us to be. The team dug in and defended well but we didn’t have the quality to deal with their press or high intensity. Not every poor performance is down to a lack of grit, pride or effort. Sometimes you’re just now allowed to get into any kind of rhythm by superior opposition. The tactics were absolutely clear as day to anyone with a clue, solid base and break at pace when possible. Turned out it wasn’t possible because they were too good.
 
DasScorps said:
Dont know what I expected really. I'm just gutted we are so far off the top level of the game these days. Its heartbreaking how much we've slipped on the European stage since the 1990s. I know its not all our fault but I never thought in my younger days when I watched us go toe-to-toe with Bayern, Inter, Ajax, etc, that those times would ever end. Now they seem like nothing but a distant dream
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Even back then we had some piss poor results
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We did, but at least we had a believable chance we could pull it off. Whats disappointing about now is we knew we have no real chance going into the tie. My anger and frustration isnt directed towards our club, but to the greedy barstewards who have ruined european football as fair and open competition. The big 5 have the money locked up at the expensive of everyone else. Even great clubs like Benfica and Ajax are doomed to the same fate as ourselves nowaways.
 
WinkieWATP said:
Playing a team several levels above us. We could and probably should have left with a draw. If Goldson headers towards the near post rather than across goal and Stewart should have scored when their keeper was fucking about with the ball in the box.

This Euro run is something to be proud of but not according to this place, everyone is shite and needs upgraded.
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We were fortunate to come away with a 1-0 defeat, the boy Havertz could possibly have had a hat trick himself, if they'd bothered to get out of 2nd gear it could have been embarrassing but i reckon they had their eye on the game v inter
 
Leverkusen is the standard now!
Villarreal, Spartak, Legia, Porto, Feyenoord, Braga is all in the past.
If the players and coaches are motivated to reach those new heights then we are in for one hell of a ride folks.

It should be said that we will have 1 off qualifying ties for Europa coming up and as an unseeded side we will, as always face teams in bigger league's with better players with single players worth the cost of our entire 11. For as bad as we played, and as bad as every tactic not working was it was a good environment to learn from.
 
babaji said:
We were fortunate to come away with a 1-0 defeat, the boy Havertz could possibly have had a hat trick himself, if they'd bothered to get out of 2nd gear it could have been embarrassing but i reckon they had their eye on the game v inter
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They never came out of 2nd gear away at a hostile Ibrox and skooshed it, they are a class outfit
 
It was always going to be a massive task trying to get through to the next round, but I agree, I thought we should have played better on the night.

I’m hoping the players are saving themselves for the league games, given how important it is to win the title this season.
 
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