Its the formation at fault more than individual players

Professor Yaffle

Professor Yaffle

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The players do look as though they are trying although it isn't happening for some and yet another pathetic showing from the ref and main stand side assistant.

Its becoming clearer each passing game that it's obvious how we are going to set up and play and opponents have picked up on how to make it hard for us. Pack the midfield, get men behind the ball and cut out as much space for our attacking players.

We need to rethink the tactics and formation and at least put some doubt in opposition minds.

Our set up is fine against attacking sides but not against packed midfield and defences.

Maybe Thursday will be a good match instead of the predictable dross we've been subjected to recently and perhaps compitent officials might also help.
 
I disagree. Lack of quality/ players off form. Take today. We could have and should have been 2 to the good at least by half time. Also, in 2 games we've lost this year, we have been leading. Decision making in the final third isn't good enough.
 
When Kent dipped the shoulder in the first half at the 18 yard line and skewed the shot wide, it indicated that we can get the chances but all confidence is lost. He could have taken another yard at least and maybe got a cleaner strike. The formation won't change much imo however we are sloppy in possession with slow and short passing, wrong decisions, greedy at times when there are other options available and look panickywhilst out of possession. The players are terrified of a mistake and to be the scape goat.
 
It’s a lack of confidence and players off form, the formation and system was working perfectly when the players were in form.
 
Both.

You can't ask the players to play the same way when the likes of Morelos, Barišić, Tavernier are out and the replacements are not like for like - in that I mean style of play ie; Flanagan is a completely different player to Tavernier, Defoe to Morelos.

Our set up becomes too one dimensional, flat, one paced, predictable and the opposition know how to hault and frustrate it. That's with every one fit and available. Worse when regulars are out.

We barely change shape, we rarely tweak formations or try some thing different and our in-play decision making from the manager is brutal.

I also think there is too much chopping and changing when there doesn't need to be.

I can't understand why our players come out the traps so slowly. It's been happening all season and we barely put two good halves of football together.

Similar problems and issues as last season and they still haven't been put right.
 
Paisleyprod said:
The players do look as though they are trying although it isn't happening for some and yet another pathetic showing from the ref and main stand side assistant.

Its becoming clearer each passing game that it's obvious how we are going to set up and play and opponents have picked up on how to make it hard for us. Pack the midfield, get men behind the ball and cut out as much space for our attacking players.

We need to rethink the tactics and formation and at least put some doubt in opposition minds.

Our set up is fine against attacking sides but not against packed midfield and defences.

Maybe Thursday will be a good match instead of the predictable dross we've been subjected to recently and perhaps compitent officials might also help.
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The problem isn’t our set up it’s the lack of an early goal and central defence who for some reason have stopped route one defending of winning the ball instead of watching forwards getting chances because of ball watching
 
I think our 3 attackers always seem to far away from each other in the final third with little support from the midfield 3. This is where most of our attacks break down
 
Tagsbear said:
It’s a lack of confidence and players off form, the formation and system was working perfectly when the players were in form.
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I'd agree to a point.

The dodgy decisions have got far more frequent of late, certain teams are now far more aware of how we always set up and have little intent in trying to play football, relying on dodgy decisions or a Rangers mistake and flooding the midfield.

We are also guilty of taking too many touches rather than first time passes.

In my view anyway.
 
We need to get Hagi in middle of the park, such a two footed player that can see a pass, play Arfield front right as he is on form and has been our standout man recently.
 
The players are more important than the system, especially with the fluidity we have. If they’re on it, then the formation doesn’t matter.
 
If Gerrard continues with this pish until the end of the season in want him gone.

Its obvious for everyone to see yet he persists with a broken system.

This seaons done league wise, we cant be going into next season with a tactically inept manager.
 
MSF said:
The players are more important than the system, especially with the fluidity we have. If they’re on it, then the formation doesn’t matter.
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If they aren't, then the manager has to be able to make the required changes to turn it around. He's not been doing that.
 
Maybe an observation for its own thread.

Rangers early season.

Teams pressed Goldson and Katic and they then waited for Davo to make the angle and Davo would be the one to kickstart an attack. Have a think back to Joe Worrall at Kilmarnock and the pressure for a mistake there was, its not there now.

Someones figured us out and the fact that just letting Goldson and Katic have the ball whilst marking Davo and Jack has us pretty clueless with no option for attack.

In terms of general formation

The introduction of Kamberi, crucially his hold up with a threat, the positions he took up and the positions Morelos Arfield and Hagi took up as a result of him means it would be absolutely negligent not to persist with it.

Indeed those positions / hold ups and angles he made are exactly the counter we need to how they are playing Goldson and Katic by getting a direct ball into him
 
Agree. Think we should look at a 4-2-3-1 with Hagi in the middle, or potentially a 3 at the back option. We have the players in theory to do both.

Sometimes doing something a bit less predictable is also worth mentioning. As it is opponents know how we will set up and where we are likely to play.

Plan B sometimes has to be something other than plan A better.
 
nelster said:
Maybe an observation for its own thread.

Rangers early season.

Teams pressed Goldson and Katic and they then waited for Davo to make the angle and Davo would be the one to kickstart an attack. Have a think back to Joe Worrall at Kilmarnock and the pressure for a mistake there was, its not there now.

Someones figured us out and the fact that just letting Goldson and Katic have the ball whilst marking Davo and Jack has us pretty clueless with no option for attack.

In terms of general formation

The introduction of Kamberi, the positions he took up and the positions Morelos Arfield and Hagi took up as a result of him means it would be absolutely negligent not to persist with it.

Indeed those positions / hold ups and angles he made are exactly the counter we need to how they are playing Goldson and Katic by getting a direct ball into him
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When did teams press Goldson & Katic? Never happened.
 
MSF said:
When did teams press Goldson & Katic? Never happened.
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Whatever. I’m comfortable with my assertion.

If you require more information the only team up to Christmas to play similar to Livingston today and others recently was Porto who man marked Davis using the striker out of possession. That striker went off before we got into the game and scored.
 
Our squad’s not strong enough to have players out injured and a couple not playing well.
 
That formation simply doesn't work unless both attacking fullback are on form. We have rarely had our 2 first choice full backs on the park at same time since we resumed after the break. Our form and results since are not a coincidence.

We simply have not had the players available to play that formation/ system.
 
nelster said:
Whatever. I’m comfortable with my assertion.

If you require more information the only team up to Christmas to play similar to Livingston today and others recently was Porto who man marked Davis using the striker out of possession. That striker went off before we got into the game and scored.
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Teams have always sat off them because they’re not good at bringing the ball forward. Goldsons passing is OK at times but Katics is very poor. Both can’t carry the ball.

I said 100 times last year that the difference a ball playing CB would make to us is huge, for the £3m we spent on Helander, who I do rate defensively, I’m shocked we couldn’t find one.
 
We also seem to panic when we get a touch of the ball inside opposition penalty area. There was one today where Alfredo gets it in box and passes it back outside box for Jack to sclaff a shot wide, that would have been comical if not so tragic.
 
steve1873 said:
That formation simply doesn't work unless both attacking fullback are on form. We have rarely had our 2 first choice full backs on the park at same time since we resumed after the break. Our form and results since are not a coincidence.

We simply have not had the players available to play that formation/ system.
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This is probably the truth but if we take that as being correct then I'd like to have thought we might have changed the formation or shape around a bit until they were back.

I also have to be honest and admit I have no idea how difficult it would be to just swap a formation around but other teams seem capable of it on the hop.
 
steve1873 said:
That formation simply doesn't work unless both attacking fullback are on form. We have rarely had our 2 first choice full backs on the park at same time since we resumed after the break. Our form and results since are not a coincidence.

We simply have not had the players available to play that formation/ system.
Click to expand...

If either Borna or Tav are out then we need to go 3-4-3

today

Edmundson Goldson Katic

Tav Davis Hagi Kent

Morelos Kamberi Stewart
 
System and Training with Players either not bothered or unwilling to trust in it

Flat negative inane possession football straight out of England Coaching manual that has been sussed here and beyond.

Players no doing basics - move for the ball or to create space for others -problem is that no one else seems to be on the same page hence we have ball at oppo 18yd line and 3 passes later McGregor is hooking it out of touch !

Kent get some rightful abuse because of his £7m fee etc but in his defence he makes umpteen runs that go unseen by his teammates more interested in a safe 10yd pass back or square than a pass into space for a man to run onto.

If anyone can give a valid example of training ground tactics in any of our game situations i would be surprised to say the least. The team play like strangers NOT Rangers, and it is either what they are or are not getting coached that is to blame or the players themselves unable or unwilling to carry out that training ?

The SPFL is DROSS, yet we struggle to achieve the basics against it ??
 
Blue Goose said:
When Kent dipped the shoulder in the first half at the 18 yard line and skewed the shot wide, it indicated that we can get the chances but all confidence is lost. He could have taken another yard at least and maybe got a cleaner strike. The formation won't change much imo however we are sloppy in possession with slow and short passing, wrong decisions, greedy at times when there are other options available and look panickywhilst out of possession. The players are terrified of a mistake and to be the scape goat.
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Docherty did the same for hivs only he hit the top corner. Kent is off form the same for most of our players.It's like a switch December we were flying not now.
 
It’s a combination of things, Morelos suspension, Jack injury and we’ve been sluggish since returning from the break. All of those things have contributed and we’re now lacking in confidence.

We’re struggling to play at the tempo we did when we were banging in goals, the two #10s aren’t helping IMO. Kent is badly off form so just making an already congested area even more congested. I’d like to see us go 352 with two wide men hugging the touch line so that there’s more space in the middle of the pitch for the midfield to exploit.

I’d go....
McGregor
Tav Goldson Edmundson
Kent Jack Hagi Davis Jones
Morelos Kamberi​

Kent and Jones should stretch the opposition as wide as possible and then Hagi will have space to punish opposition, his ball to Arfield today an example of it.
 
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