I’m far from a happy clappy fan but yesterday was a lot more like it

Coza

Coza

Well-Known Member
Yesterday gives me far less fear than Malmö, Dundee United and even Alashkert did truth be told.

We looked miles sharper for large spells of the game and but for some ludicrous final ball decision making would have racked up a cricket score by half time. The last 30 minutes were very poor yes, no getting away from it, at least we looked capable of playing a higher tempo game again. That was abundantly not present earlier in the season in the aforementioned games.

We are all very guilty on here of propelling missing players to world class messi like talent but that game was custom made for Hagi yesterday. If we can repeat that first 45 minutes one touch play with Hagi on the park the final ball and goal tally improves drastically.

I said about a month ago that we looked like a team who patently weren’t fit following a very fragmented pre season. We would, IMO, have 4-6 more weeks of stuttering form before things began to pick up performance wise and that was before the covid pre old firm problems. Yesterday in spells (first half) looked like some of the cob webs were starting to be blown away. I fully expect us to kick on in the coming weeks now and put some clear daylight between us and the pack.

That all said it was never going to be the near perfection of last season. Rodgers team had a similar dip the year after going undefeated too from memory. Let’s look and see where we are after the first full round of games with hopefully more of the squad available for selection.
 
Coza said:
Yesterday gives me far less fear than Malmö, Dundee United and even Alashkert did truth be told.

We looked miles sharper for large spells of the game and but for some ludicrous final ball decision making would have racked up a cricket score by half time. The last 30 minutes were very poor yes, no getting away from it, at least we looked capable of playing a higher tempo game again. That was abundantly not present earlier in the season in the aforementioned games.

We are all very guilty on here of propelling missing players to world class messi like talent but that game was custom made for Hagi yesterday. If we can repeat that first 45 minutes one touch play with Hagi on the park the final ball and goal tally improves drastically.

I said about a month ago that we looked like a team who patently weren’t fit following a very fragmented pre season. We would, IMO, have 4-6 more weeks of stuttering form before things began to pick up performance wise and that was before the covid pre old firm problems. Yesterday in spells (first half) looked like some of the cob webs were starting to be blown away. I fully expect us to kick on in the coming weeks now and put some clear daylight between us and the pack.

That all said it was never going to be the near perfection of last season. Rodgers team had a similar dip the year after going undefeated too from memory. Let’s look and see where we are after the first full round of games with hopefully more of the squad available for selection.
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Good post and I totally agree. We were all disappointed with how the game petered out but, some of the comments I've read have been pretty wild.

Like you, I'm not worried.
 
YOGI_GER said:
It was in the first half but that first half wrote the story for the outcome.

Everyone could see what was coming.

For me it should have been changed on 60 minutes, so frustrating
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I kind of agree. I’m not happy about yesterday at all but against Malmö and others I saw nothing to say we could be that quick tempo attacking team. It at least was back in spades yesterday in the first half.

I am just desperate for us to get a wee run of games/wins going while also getting all out players back for and available. I think once we calm down into a more settled routine we will kick on.
 
Coza said:
I kind of agree. I’m not happy about yesterday at all but against Malmö and others I saw nothing to say we could be that quick tempo attacking team. It at least was back in spades yesterday in the first half.

I am just desperate for us to get a wee run of games/wins going while also getting all out players back for and available. I think once we calm down into a more settled routine we will kick on.
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I'm going to be honest and say that dynamic was changed due to Kent being out. Sakala and Roofe played well together.

He needed a rest that boy.
 
YOGI_GER said:
It was in the first half but that first half wrote the story for the outcome.

Everyone could see what was coming.

For me it should have been changed on 60 minutes, so frustrating
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I'd have given wright 10mins, if no change then make a sub however the management team seem to be so reluctant to make changes and that's us with a decent squad/bench now.
 
Crown_Defender said:
Good post and I totally agree. We were all disappointed with how the game petered out but, some of the comments I've read have been pretty wild.

Like you, I'm not worried.
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Last season after we drew in motherwell 1-1 there were posters screaming blue murder about it not being good enough. We were about 18 points clear and cruising to the title and folk were losing their shit here.
 
First half was pretty good. Although was worried that we hadnt taken more chances and had had plenty of corners and done nothing with them. I was confident we would go on and get a few more in the 2nd half.

Not quite sure what happened at half time. Youd think after playing quite well in the first half and seeing celtic were getting beat that it would have given them a boost. We should have made a change alot sooner aswell. We went very flat early in the 2nd half and we were crying out for a change.
 
We need to up our game and we need to assume that Celtic will improve as there is a huge prize for the winners.

Last year was too easy for us and we’re nowhere near that level so far this season.

Having said that it’s ours to lose.
 
That’s why I’m not panicking, we have a tendency to worry over things that have happened before. Successful Rangers sides have had slower starts than this.

The 1st half proved that we’re finding our feet, hopefully our new signings like Lundstram and Sakala can use their performances from Thursday/Sunday as a platform to build some good form.
 
First half we were better. They still had an open goal which Goldson cleared and IMO a stone wall penalty as well. SO whilst it was encouraging there were warning signs.

Second half we reverted back to the stuttering side we've seen all season. How Gerrard can say that he didn't see any sign we needed changed around the hour mark is beyond me and then when he did eventually make changes they had no impact on the game at all, we were toiling and Motherwell were growing more confident.

Throughout the match we had 24 attempts, impressive some will say. Only 7 of those were on target. Yeah, Motherwell scored with their only shot on target which you could say was unlucky, but I don't think anyone coming away from that yesterday can say that a draw was unfair on us.

Another game I'm leaving the stadium frustrated. Thank %^*& Celtic have been worse
 
I thought they played great in the first half' apart from only scoring once' I think the players thought the second goal would just come automatically and took their eye of the ball' they have got to be more clinical and finish teams off
 
The narrative after the game was about how well Motherwell played. I thought they were pish...they created a couple of half chances which they scored from but we should've been out of sight after half an hour.

It really pissed me off that the ref let them waste as much time as they liked as well. 20 seconds to take a throw in, goalkeeper holding the ball for about 30 seconds at a time - is the '6 second rule' still a thing btw?
 
We deserved to murder Motherwell the way we played the first half.

I guess the fact we didn't is a slight concern in itself.

But it's a better worry than if it was a 1-1 and we weren't creating anything.

People that view it as we're either shite or we're great do themselves no favours.
 
Coza said:
Last season after we drew in motherwell 1-1 there were posters screaming blue murder about it not being good enough. We were about 18 points clear and cruising to the title and folk were losing their shit here.
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The first few hours after a bad result is pretty mental on here. People are allowed to be disappointed and the players and manager aren't above criticism but, some perspective is required at times.

The Lyon defeat was particularly wild. This is a team that can spend 18m on a player to send out on loan. It was a 50/50 game which we were on the wrong side of. For once I may add.

Hardly the disaster some would have you think it was.
 
First half we showed glimpses of the team we can be which I suppose is encouragement going forward. We need to get that consistent level for a full 90 minutes though plus sort out the defence.

the worry for me is last year we barely even let teams near our box, when we went a goal up I had complete confidence in us seeing it out. This year every time a team has the slightest of attacks I’m worried about is conceding
 
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The more situations we squandered, the more confidence we lost and they gained. Then our adrenaline levels dropped and could no longer offset the fatigue some would no doubt be feeling after Thursday. In short, this is what happens when you don't take your chances. No cause for panic yet though.
 
19 shots on goal, 7 on target, near 70% possession and 13 corners to their 3.

Yet as the result shows, none of that means much. We're dominating teams on the ball and even getting into good positions to shoot, but the lack of a finishing touch is really worrying. Of those 7 shots on target I can only think of a couple that looked actually dangerous, the rest were routine saves right at the keeper.

And I think the concerning thing is that the problems have been there since the start of the season. If you have a few games where something is a bit off then you know what, fair enough, other performances back you up. But this is near enough every game now.
 
Unfortunately you can't just turn up for 45 minutes and expect to win matches - especially when your forwards are misfiring.

At some point we will put in a full 90 minute performance but that clearly hasn't happened this season to date. I suppose the burning question is why?
 
Their goal was pathetic in all honest, the boy is allowed to chest it on the touch line then take it by tav, only to play it into a midfielder who nobody is tracking, he’s able to go past Simpson like he’s not even there to get blocked by Goldson, for then nobody to be near woolery to get the shot off
 
agree that first 60 was the best we've played this season. However, our decision making when the crowd start to get on the players back is still a concern in my opinion.
 
Whats up doc said:
Their goal was pathetic in all honest, the boy is allowed to chest it on the touch line then take it by tav, only to play it into a midfielder who nobody is tracking, he’s able to go past Simpson like he’s not even there to get blocked by Goldson, for then nobody to be near woolery to get the shot off
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Watched the highlights and I just can’t understand why Simpson didn’t just step out and challange the guy, just seemed to miss time it horribly.

was also a moment just before the goal where the ball was fizzed into Davis who could probably have turned but instead played a hospital pass to McGregor who in turn knocked it right out of play. Was completely avoidable.
 
Yesterday sums up a problem we have, when that 2nd goal fails to come fast, we really struggle. Even last season we won so many games 1-0. We score a 2nd in the first half and its a 4 or 5 nil game. We still have the same problem, if Morelos is not scoring we really struggle.
 
Coza said:
Yesterday gives me far less fear than Malmö, Dundee United and even Alashkert did truth be told.

We looked miles sharper for large spells of the game and but for some ludicrous final ball decision making would have racked up a cricket score by half time. The last 30 minutes were very poor yes, no getting away from it, at least we looked capable of playing a higher tempo game again. That was abundantly not present earlier in the season in the aforementioned games.

We are all very guilty on here of propelling missing players to world class messi like talent but that game was custom made for Hagi yesterday. If we can repeat that first 45 minutes one touch play with Hagi on the park the final ball and goal tally improves drastically.

I said about a month ago that we looked like a team who patently weren’t fit following a very fragmented pre season. We would, IMO, have 4-6 more weeks of stuttering form before things began to pick up performance wise and that was before the covid pre old firm problems. Yesterday in spells (first half) looked like some of the cob webs were starting to be blown away. I fully expect us to kick on in the coming weeks now and put some clear daylight between us and the pack.

That all said it was never going to be the near perfection of last season. Rodgers team had a similar dip the year after going undefeated too from memory. Let’s look and see where we are after the first full round of games with hopefully more of the squad available for selection.
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Good, balanced post.
 
Grigo Yossarian said:
Im really disappointed in Gerrard yesterday.

Firstly to play Simpson was quite simply an error. There are so many weaknesses there it’s not true.

Secondly, we could all see the game changing early second half, yet he delayed his substitutions until after they had equalised.

Very frustrating.
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I’m with you on this , I thought Simpson got worse as the game went on, and began getting bullied off the ball, for someone 6” 4” , he isn’t physical and you would expect home to go and win 95% of headers , it was more 50 /50.
 
It was more promising and we were excellent in that first half but the second half was the polar opposite. We really needed to finish off our chances but failed to do so miserably.
 
Greig said:
I’m with you on this , I thought Simpson got worse as the game went on, and began getting bullied off the ball, for someone 6” 4” , he isn’t physical and you would expect home to go and win 95% of headers , it was more 50 /50.
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Agree Greig.

Might seem harsh after what Gerrard has done for us, but he seems to have a blind spot with Simpson.

Even Kristopher Ajer outmuscled Simpson for their goal at Ibrox in the 4,1 game. Ajer was normally on the receiving end of these things.
 
We actually played well in the first 10 - 15 minutes of the second half as well, not just the first half.

We have witnessed many games like yesterday throughout the years, and it will happen again. In fact, these games are pretty normal, we usually get 2 or 3 each season.

Also, it is almost impossible to sustain pressure on a team who go to extreme lengths to waste time.
 
The Hooded Claw said:
It still angered me that a shit team like that can come to Ibrox and come away with something. Game should have been out of sight in the first half
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In SPFL terms they aren’t really ‘shit’ though. They’ve lost the same amount of games as us this season and that was a very unlucky defeat to Hibs. They’re a more than decent side at this level. We should have beat them but let’s not pretend they are bottom of the league rubbish
 
Jack Simpson has looked poor since he signed. He made an awful mistake in the first half. It should then have been no surprise when he made a mistake in the second, that led to their goal.

Swap him off at half time and I reckon we win. Gerrard is too nice to some players, too ruthless with others.
 
Game should. Have been done and dusted 3 points in the bag first half,Second half we just dropped the intensity .
 
It's noticeable that teams are starting to cut out the cross balls by Barisic and Tav which played a big part in our success last season.

Teams are now making us play through the middle of the park which doesn't suit our style of play at all. We need to tweak the tactics and formations going forward as we are becoming predictable.
 
dt17 said:
The narrative after the game was about how well Motherwell played. I thought they were pish...they created a couple of half chances which they scored from but we should've been out of sight after half an hour.

It really pissed me off that the ref let them waste as much time as they liked as well. 20 seconds to take a throw in, goalkeeper holding the ball for about 30 seconds at a time - is the '6 second rule' still a thing btw?
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Narrative from who?

They were compact and organised but, that was about it imo.
JW1988 said:
11 games, won 5, drew 2, lost 4. A 45% win rate. That doesn't have you worried? Not even slightly?
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Nope, not even slightly mate. Those stats don't make for great reading, I'll grant you but, context is key.
 
We had a good first half in terms of passages of play. However, we were still poor in the final third and our defending continues to be all over the shop. It’s been rotten this season. The long ball down the middle prior to Sakala scoring was terrible defending. Only last weekend we were caught out by a long ball.

There were concerns during pre-season but that was shot down; mainly defending, lack of goals and a midfield that needed upgraded.

We still can’t string a performance together over the course of 90 minutes. When we are off it, like we were in the 2nd half, we become turgid and predictable. Even during the first half there were still spells where we moved the ball too slow and lacked any sort of penetration. A real lack of creativity from midfield.

Games are coming thick and fast, we have a brutal November and December coming up. If we don’t find a bit of form then there will be dropped points all over the place.
 
Crown_Defender said:
Narrative from who?

They were compact and organised but, that was about it imo.

Nope, not even slightly mate. Those stats don't make for great reading, I'll grant you but, context is key.
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What's the context? Genuinely interested to see where your calm comes from
 
It didnt help any either that the ref allowed them to continually time waste and break up the game at every opportunity.Refs need to stamp it out the game their goalkeeper was wasting about half a minute every time he had the ball and taking goal kicks.
 
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