It feels like we’ve gone backwards

EndOfDays said:
Having the sort of season we did last year has set an impossible expectation in a lot of people's minds.
Click to expand...
Not really. We know the statistics of last year won’t be hit, but that doesn’t mean the performances cant be just as high.

Its not like we’re never going to be that good again, but we’ll likely never concede as few goals etc.
 
For me, football works in cycles.

This is now the majority of the first 11’s 3rd/4th season here, isn’t it? In my opinion you can’t keep quality players, who can play at a higher level for more money, in Scotland for more than 4 years or you get performances like us this season and the mentally challengeds last season. I could write pages on this, but its not feasible in the modern game.

We really fecked up not trying harder to sell any of our main players in order to freshen up the squad and there is now going to be quite a large turnover this summer with some main players out of summer, and we’ll almost definitely see some main players pushing for a move away.
 
We're fine ffs! Played some good stuff,just need to find more consistenty. We've had players in and out the team for various reasons but that will improve.
 
We aren't going backwards at all we look like a team that had a disjointed pre-season and issues with injuries/COVID. We haven't got a settled starting 11 yet either due to that which doesn't help us at all.

We played some decent stuff at times in the first half last night and were unlucky not to score a couple of goals. Measuring us against a side who had 6 of the starting 11 that beat a team of Man City quality is unrealistic and people need to calm down.
 
Seasons when we exit the CL generally feel like that until we win our first trophy/the league.

Everything just now is hinged with the frustration of missing the CL. The season has hardly started to be able to tell where we actually are
 
I just think we have simply reached our plateau.
Without significant spending of cash that we do not have , we cannot take the next step up in quality. Thats it.
If we win the league this year, we will have major cash to spend. We may well then still get whacked in the CL, but could maybe then get to last 8 or better of EL.
 
Lyon are a CL outfit easily. They were slick on the ball and quick on the break. They used their skills and tactics better than we did and scored more goals than us. We didn’t capitalise on any good possession we had and we are ALWAYS failing to win second and third balls.

Why we don’t make attempts to shoot from long range or make efforts to put first time crosses in always baffles me, but in saying that, I don’t think we played all that badly last night! We were always going to find it difficult to break a very good side down.

Our one player who I think still hasn’t settled in properly yet is Lundstram. I hope he comes good but I’m not sure about him at all.

The manager hasn’t let us down yet, I don’t think that’s gonna be the case this season either. Once our new players click and our more experienced players heat up, we will be fine. We are, after all, the best team in Scotland by a country mile, regardless of what the press may say.

Sometimes we would be doing well to remember that.
 
It feels like we only go backwards, baby.

Every part of me says 'go ahead'.
 
Coisty09 said:
For me, so far this season it seems like we’ve gone backwards.
We seem to have lost the fight and urgency that was such a factor of our game last season.
I did expect Lyon to outclass us on the ball this evening but I really did not expect us to be so passive and be bullied across the park.
Right from the start of the season against Malmo and Dundee united we were bullied.
It happened again tonight and we were not up for the physical challenge.
The last three seasons we were very rarely bullied by any team but it’s happened an alarming number of times already this season.
In the first half against St Johnstone at the Weeknd we were not winning the physical battles at times.
It is worrying because we are lacking the warrior type performances that we have produced especially in Europe.
Click to expand...

We have regressed because we haven’t improved the starting 11 with any quality.

Whether that’s because we gambled (and failed) on making the champions league money, or we thought a few players would leave & we’d have cash to reinvest who knows.

Last night was the same old tired first 11 with the exception of Lundstram. So it’s no wonder our play was & has been so predictable all season.

Lyon we’re by far the better team, but the above is also why we’re struggling in the SPFL as well.
 
We are certainly a level below where we were last season.

A lack of investment in the first team is showing. We have brought in squad players but no-one that really improves the starting eleven.

I understand that covid has affected this and that we cannot rely on our board to continually fund us. I am simply pointing out why we haven’t progressed.
 
Captain_Buns said:
We have regressed because we haven’t improved the starting 11 with any quality.

Whether that’s because we gambled (and failed) on making the champions league money, or we thought a few players would leave & we’d have cash to reinvest who knows.

Last night was the same old tired first 11 with the exception of Lundstram. So it’s no wonder our play was & has been so predictable all season.

Lyon we’re by far the better team, but the above is also why we’re struggling in the SPFL as well.
Click to expand...
The same old tired first eleven? With a load of guys in their twenties that just romped the league four months ago? Have a word.
 
CaptainHolt said:
A salvageable season? We’re top of the league and just lost to a top quality side in Lyon. That makes it sound like we’re battling for second.
Click to expand...
I mean in the sense of it being a step forward from last season. Obvs winning the League would still be success but having well won it last year and done well in the Europa, really this season shouldve been an improvement which is unlikely to now be.

My point is if we can at least match last season and go into the following in good health its salvageable, that as opposed to doing poorly in Europe and sliding backwards in that regard. I still think we will win the League but that alone isnt an improvement of where we were as this season began.
 
CaptainCourageous said:
Lyon are a good side. They weren’t on the same level as Leverkusen were, IMO. I’d have fancied us to have given Lyon a game last night, had it been last season.

We’ve yet to get going this season. There is a staleness about our side. Lundstram comes in and doesn’t improve us. Our midfield still lacking. We aren’t the same team in the final third and we are losing cheap goals.
Click to expand...
This. All day long. It's not overly critical, but also highlights the main issue - Rangers have simply not got going yet this season. There is a distinct 'flatness' about us, however like a number of other posters I am optimistic that we will eventually 'click'. Ideally sooner rather than later. Last season was indeed extra special once-in-a-generation stuff, but it's not unreasonable for us to expect a sharp improvement on what we've seen so far this season.
 
BillStruthsBudgie said:
This. All day long. It's not overly critical, but also highlights the main issue - Rangers have simply not got going yet this season. There is a distinct 'flatness' about us, however like a number of other posters I am optimistic that we will eventually 'click'. Ideally sooner rather than later. Last season was indeed extra special once-in-a-generation stuff, but it's not unreasonable for us to expect a sharp improvement on what we've seen so far this season.
Click to expand...
We haven't got going due to injuries/COVID and not once played the same starting 11 due to it. We look like a team that's had a disrupted pre-season as well so for me things can only get better.

To judge us on last night against a side that beat Man City and lost to the eventual winners of the champions league in the mini tournament they held last season is extremely harsh.
 
It all depends on the level we wish to get to.

If it's Champions League group stage mainstay's then we are someway off that level and require far better quality than we currently have.

We are a Europa League group team, thats our current level. You could argue that we haven't progressed from last season hence the reason we are in the EL groups yet again.
 
ForGodForCountryForever said:
I mean in the sense of it being a step forward from last season. Obvs winning the League would still be success but having well won it last year and done well in the Europa, really this season shouldve been an improvement which is unlikely to now be.

My point is if we can at least match last season and go into the following in good health its salvageable, that as opposed to doing poorly in Europe and sliding backwards in that regard. I still think we will win the League but that alone isnt an improvement of where we were as this season began.
Click to expand...
Last season was an unbelievable season even by our standards, anyone expecting similar at home or in Europe was kidding themselves.
 
CaptainCourageous said:
Lyon are a good side. They weren’t on the same level as Leverkusen were, IMO. I’d have fancied us to have given Lyon a game last night, had it been last season.

We’ve yet to get going this season. There is a staleness about our side. Lundstram comes in and doesn’t improve us. Our midfield still lacking. We aren’t the same team in the final third and we are losing cheap goals.
Click to expand...
The Lyon team who aren't at Leverkusen's level got to the champions League semi final 2 seasons ago . Leverkusen haven't been at that level recently anyway, i'd say Lyon are the best we've played since Gerrard took over
 
I wasn't expecting another season like last however I've not expected to witness the slow turgid football we've played so far this season. We look so far off it it's slightly concerning.

Pre season obviously wasn't ideal preparation, I get that, but there's no need to be playing the likes of Kent if he's carrying knocks when we have Wright, Roofe and Sakala on the bench. We look as if we lack a bit of confidence, especially in the final third. It'll eventually click again, I just hope it clicks soon.
 
Nobody is happy with our current form but it’s a stretch to say we have gone backwards.

I’d like to see a really good performance and then see how we go on from there. A lot of it is a confidence thing which can affect a winning mentality.

We are top of the league regardless.
 
Defeat seemed inevitable last night. We have a load of excuses but most players are way off it. The zip of last years Europa group stage seems long gone. Hopefully the manager knows this though the interviews seem to indicate he’s reasonably happy with what’s on show?

2 shots on target. Slow build up. Poor free kicks and throw ins. Losing goals to very few chances.

Hopefully this team haven’t peaked.
 
Joshua Barrie (stats guy from RangersReview) on Twitter saying we had ONE counter attack last night.

That’s simply just not us.
 
kirkiebluenose said:
We haven’t signed players that improve our first team it’s as simple as that for me
Click to expand...
The jury is out as we haven’t seen much of the new guys but have to say that as things stand the new players haven’t had much of an impact. That could be health, form or most probably lack of opportunity. Sakala and Bacuna need more game time than the current cameos offer them.

Lundstram looks to be settling but he’s not a player you would expect to make an impact in the final third.
 
We have reached our peak and haven't improved the squad any great deal. Coupled with some contract situations and some players searching for form it has the feeling of going through the motions a bit at times.

Fortunately our only real domestic rivals are going through a massive transition and currently couldn't keep hens oot a close, so even with all of the above we SHOULD still have enough to win the league this year and all that comes with it.

We showed in the win against them and last night that we are capable of being the team we know we can be, we just need it to come together quicker and more often.

The last dance crew need to knuckle down and get it sorted.
 
Captain_Buns said:
We have regressed because we haven’t improved the starting 11 with any quality.

Whether that’s because we gambled (and failed) on making the champions league money, or we thought a few players would leave & we’d have cash to reinvest who knows.

Last night was the same old tired first 11 with the exception of Lundstram. So it’s no wonder our play was & has been so predictable all season.

Lyon we’re by far the better team, but the above is also why we’re struggling in the SPFL as well.
Click to expand...
How have we regressed?
 
Bum chin said:
We've certainly not improved
Click to expand...

And if this continues for another month and gerrard doesn't change things then he might find the board might be talking between themselves about changing things. When people wanted gerrard sacked when we didn't win the league I was I'm the no camp. Although we didn't win the league the team was improving from the previous season so we were making progress and it was clear to see.

In a month's time if the team are still playing like this then it can't be some blip that is suddenly going to go away without gerrard making changes.

Simple question would be is the team performing to there capabilities?. The answer the now is no. Any manager in any environment they work will have questions to answer if there not getting the best out of there team.
 
I was going to say that failing to qualify for the CL has knocked the stuffing out of the players.

But when I think about the two games v Malmö, we looked so disinterested. There was no urgency, there was no tempo. It was like they thought it was just a pre-season friendly.

There’s a definite malaise in the squad and I can’t put my finger on it. Did players want to leave in August only to see the moves fall through? Have they lost interest in playing for us?
 
Think you need to take into account the quality of opposition mate.

also, this season was never gonna reach the levels of last. We were too good
 
It is no disgrace to lose to Lyon, they were a very good outfit all over the park.
We may not have gone backwards but we are obviously stalling and as we lose momentum it appears more difficult to get things up and running at last season's pace.

Barasic hasn't been up to speed, the midfield hasn't got going as a unit, and last night Davis's poor performance seemed to unsettle the normally competent Kamara.
Lundstram had a better showing, but his lack of speed of movement/reaction inside the vital first yard worries me.
The knock-on effect of a midfield that isn't functioning is that the forwards become isolated and the defence comes under more pressure.
Add to that the loss of a fit Ryan Kent and it is easy to see why we are not the vibrant force we were last season.

Last season was either a launching pad to move up another level or the apogee of Steven Gerrard's three-year project.
To be the former, we really had to spend more money, buying someone of the quality of the Dutch lad that was mentioned, sadly that money was not forthcoming due to losing out on the CL cash, so this season may see us struggle to keep the forward momentum of the last three years.
What would have helped is if we were able to promote new talent and fresh exciting blood from within the ranks of younger players,
We should be concerned that we seem unable to do this and it may also be a worry that the manager isn't confident that we can either, because if we cannot do this and we don't have much money, then we have a bit of a problem.

That said, we have a big enough squad and players on the periphery should now relish an opportunity to challenge for a place in the first eleven.
 
I don't think he's here next season if he gets an epl offer regardless of where we finish this season. Going by what he said in the press about transfers before the window he obviously thought he had something there to spend. I'd imagine he will have made his dissapointmeant known to the board about the money available to him over the summer.
 
JMCK said:
At Rangers you can be top of the league, beat your nearest rivals, and be stale, or have gone back the way. We had our chances tonight, but we also played with discipline; had we equalised, who knows what would have been the outcome of the game, but suggesting we have gone back the way isn't quite the fairest objective perspective of the last three years.
Click to expand...
We are certainly down a notch from the feyenoord, rapid, Porto and braga games to name a few that's for sure.
 
ICA_86 said:
Joshua Barrie (stats guy from RangersReview) on Twitter saying we had ONE counter attack last night.

That’s simply just not us.
Click to expand...
Remember Rangers Review is a Newsquest website. The same people who bring you the Glasgow Times, The Herald and The Natzional.
It is dressed up as a Rangers website but is our enemy in disguise!!!
 
The lack of a forward running midfielder that can hit a ball from outside the box has been obvious in the last 3 years . You cannot keep asking a 36 year old to bail you out 3 games a week its criminal
 
Whats up doc said:
Could it get any better than last season? All sorts of records broken, after last season people seem to think we are Bayern Munich for some reason.
Click to expand...
No. Last season was a one off, probably one of the top three or four seasons in our entire history. It was always highly improbable that we replicated that kind of consistency into a second season.

However, the only way we could have stood a chance of getting close was to infuse the starting eleven with two or three players of a level above that we already had.

To do so however would have meant selling some of our top assets and reinvesting the money effectively, and / or reaching the CL.

We failed at the latter and didn’t receive any suitable bids for the former so we were left having to boost the squad with Bosmans rather than improve the first team.

I think a lot on here need to get their head around that and the fact we’re still running at a considerable loss, something the pandemic won’t have improved, otherwise it could be a hellish season for them.
 
Last season, as fantastic as it was, has imo set a bench mark for some fans that we wont achieve. Unbeaten, goals conceded, points won and clean sheets were superb achievements but that level cannot be maintained, not even by teams that spend £ms.
We are top of the league amd playing group stage football for the umpteenth season in a row yetbwe have still to click. We are in a good place. There will be ups and downs but as someone far more qualified than me once said...."No matter the days of anxiety that come our way, we shall emerge stronger because of the trials to be overcome. That has been the philosophy of the Rangers since the days of the gallant pioneers.”
 
Lyon were a class above us last night but I agree overall this season we have regressed compared to how we have started previous seasons and it is a serious concern.
 
Played some neat passing stuff. Created a few chances. Notably the goals both came from us giving the ball away. Defensively in Europe we aren’t tight enough.

Lyon were the better team and wore us down. They had also done their homework on our key players. Fact is we’re a couple of levels below Lyon, which we knew anyway.

But despite a slow start domestically, we have the team to get the job done. Let’s not forget last season we had a good number of games where we ground out results, remember all those 1-0 wins.

It will be similar this season, plus we have shown we can beat Celtic despite their, er, cavalier football.
 
We set the standards pretty high last season...and it was always going to be difficult to surpass, or even match that.
Lyon are a good side, there was no shame in the result last night.
But I take comfort in the knowledge that we are capable of playing much better than that.
 
Kubala said:
I'm sure people were saying this after the Hibs and Livingston games as well last year.

We're doing fine. The best Rangers team of the last 30 years regularly got humbled in Europe and we were actually getting far better at it under Smith the second time around with a couple of similar exceptions. We've actually overperformed for the last 3 or 4 years and it's still going to be a success if we finish 2nd in this group. We're top of the league.

These are absolutely separate points to the discussion about where we were this time 4 or 5 years ago. I think social media has just multiplied the amount of moaning faced fans and given them the sort of validation they used to be denied in person by most reasonable, normal people.
Click to expand...
We were playing better at this stage last year. We haven't had a good solid team performance this season yet IMO.
 
We absolutely have gone backwards. In the past 3 summers we've brought in proven quality that's added to the squad, this summer not so much. Add that to the fact that after 2/3 years players attitude's change, want away or are losing legs. We should have took opportunity to sell a few, brought in a few and refresh the squad but instead we've stood still and not made any progression from last season. Should still be good enough for the league, which is our main goal, but players in/out could and probably should happen starting in January. Gives us fresh legs for the second half of the season and saves us half the work of an almost full rebuild next summer.
 
Tommy1912 said:
I don't think he's here next season if he gets an epl offer regardless of where we finish this season. Going by what he said in the press about transfers before the window he obviously thought he had something there to spend. I'd imagine he will have made his dissapointmeant known to the board about the money available to him over the summer.
Click to expand...
He can hardly complain. It was said last Christmas we needed to sell before we could spend. I don't see why he would have thought money was there to spend over the summer and I doubt he'd be here right now if he was lied to by the board.
 
Bowery Boy said:
How have we regressed?
Click to expand...

We should have been building from a position of strength. An ageing squad that looks like it peaked and ran its race last season.

Two of our most important players Davis and McGregor, probably went above and beyond last season defying their ages, haven’t turned up this season.

Players signed with potential just arent doing it, Aribo just hasn’t improved any, he can’t dine out on his Braga wonder goal for ever, Hagi flatters to deceive.

Arfield was probably a first team pick in games like last night, but another at nearly 33 his legs aren’t quite what they used to be particularly against top class opposition.

We went big to bring Roofe in, him and Morelos simply doesn’t work.

We started the season so ill prepared, we looked like a team just flung together with half not looking near enough fit.

Questions need to be asked of our recruitment.

A solitary win, 1-0 against the mighty Alashkert in our last 7 European matches is simply not good enough.
 
OnTheWay said:
He can hardly complain. It was said last Christmas we needed to sell before we could spend. I don't see why he would have thought money was there to spend over the summer and I doubt he'd be here right now if he was lied to by the board.
Click to expand...

With his comments about players before the window makes you think he thought money would be there or he wouldn't talk about getting quality in. I don't think any manager would be best pleased with not really having a budget in the window.
 
One of the problems is the ongoing situation of a shot shy midfield.
The onus is always on Ryan Kent to create and if he doesn't we struggle to score goals.
So far Scott Wright hasn't progressed either and Hagi blows hot and cold in most games.
Kamara is scared to shoot also in games
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Latest posts

Back
Top