dh1963
Well-Known Member
Ask Allan McGregor how many of my penalties he saved in training at Rangers.
Greegsy will tell you he got a hand to plenty.
But there weren’t many he actually stopped with my technique from the spot which was always simple and straightforward. Grab it and smash it.
Nine times out of ten that’s good enough to find the net so for the life of me I can’t understand why players try to be too clever these days.
Maybe it’s typical of what’s been happening at Rangers this season with people thinking they are better than they are.
Steven Gerrard’s team got back to basics in Portugal the other night and it got them into the last 16 of the Europa League.
It should be a reminder of what can happen if you just do the simple things in the game well.
But the penalty Ianis Hagi missed was the latest in a long line of misses and it has to stop. That’s SIX now this season which is just embarrassing.
James Tavernier started off the season as Rangers penalty taker and Steven Gerrard should never have taken the responsibility off his skipper.
Tav missed a few, sure.
But his overall record from the spot has been good down the years and changing the taker did no one any good.
Gerrard shouldn’t have tinkered with it. He should have backed Tav and told everyone he had complete faith in him, no matter what.
That would have allowed him to relax more and deal with the couple of mishaps. Instead the onus was on Alfredo Morelos at the next Rangers penalty.
He scored one then missed against Celtic at Hampden in the League Cup Final with Scott Arfield next up. He missed against Hamilton. And on it went.
Hagi was the team’s fifth penalty taker this season — Jermain Defoe has scored one — and incredibly he couldn’t score either when it mattered most.
So what next? Gerrard joked he might need to take the next one but this is now a serious issue for Rangers.
What he should be doing is telling Tavernier he’s back on the penalties again and will be staying on them regardless.
I’d bet that would make all the difference when the next one is awarded.
Rangers were fortunate Hagi’s miss didn’t prove fatal as Braga could easily have been boosted by that.
Thankfully Gerrard’s side had a determination to get through to the next round, which was brilliant to see.
I was pleased for Ryan Kent because he’s been under pressure lately with his performances.
I’ve been critical of him but I also had a degree of sympathy — because Rangers’ problems weren’t down to him.
I have read a lot about the forward players letting the team down but that’s utter nonsense. It’s been the defence that’s been at fault. No question.
Put it this way, there weren’t many people who saw that defensive display coming in Portugal but Connor Goldson and George Edmundson were both outstanding.
The reason for that was they kept things simple.
Goldson has been guilty of trying to overplay lately and show everyone he’s a good player. But what he’s good at is clearing any danger when it comes.
That’s what the best defenders in the world do.
People go on about Virgil van Dijk and how good he’s been for Liverpool for the past two seasons — and he has been incredible — but if you actually watch him in action he doesn’t do anything fancy.
If Liverpool are under pressure, van Dijk heads it and kicks it away from his goal as far as he possibly can.
He’s not afraid to just dump the ball into the opposition’s half and play from there.
That’s what big Davie Weir did on our run to the Uefa Cup Final back in Manchester in 2008.
We didn’t go all the way that year by playing open and attractive football.
Our game was based entirely on defending and being organised. And if that was good enough for Walter Smith it should be good enough for Gerrard.
Rangers’ problem against St Johnstone last weekend was that they didn’t do the basics well enough.
At the times when they should have just cleared the danger they tried to bring it down and play, and that’s just asking for trouble. Which they got.
In Portugal, they were organised as a defensive unit but what I liked more than anything was that they didn’t take risks on the ball.
Edmundson came into the team for Nikola Katic and did really, really well but I wouldn’t write off Katic just yet.
I still believe he’s good enough for Rangers and maybe a spell on the sidelines is what he needs to get his focus back again.
But that’s what Rangers need as a team when they go to Tynecastle. This Scottish Cup tie is massive for them.
They need to have the same mentality they had against Braga. But let’s see what happens if they get a penalty.
Will Hagi get another crack at it or will Gerrard see sense and realise his best man for the job is the one who was on them before the season started?
I hope whoever gets the nod takes my advice.
Honestly, ask Greegsy what kind of penalty he would prefer to be up against. One where the taker tries to place it, or one where the taker picks a corner and blasts it?
I know exactly which I preferred as a player. No one will ever convince me otherwise.
Greegsy will tell you he got a hand to plenty.
But there weren’t many he actually stopped with my technique from the spot which was always simple and straightforward. Grab it and smash it.
Nine times out of ten that’s good enough to find the net so for the life of me I can’t understand why players try to be too clever these days.
Maybe it’s typical of what’s been happening at Rangers this season with people thinking they are better than they are.
Steven Gerrard’s team got back to basics in Portugal the other night and it got them into the last 16 of the Europa League.
It should be a reminder of what can happen if you just do the simple things in the game well.
But the penalty Ianis Hagi missed was the latest in a long line of misses and it has to stop. That’s SIX now this season which is just embarrassing.
James Tavernier started off the season as Rangers penalty taker and Steven Gerrard should never have taken the responsibility off his skipper.
Tav missed a few, sure.
But his overall record from the spot has been good down the years and changing the taker did no one any good.
Gerrard shouldn’t have tinkered with it. He should have backed Tav and told everyone he had complete faith in him, no matter what.
That would have allowed him to relax more and deal with the couple of mishaps. Instead the onus was on Alfredo Morelos at the next Rangers penalty.
He scored one then missed against Celtic at Hampden in the League Cup Final with Scott Arfield next up. He missed against Hamilton. And on it went.
Hagi was the team’s fifth penalty taker this season — Jermain Defoe has scored one — and incredibly he couldn’t score either when it mattered most.
So what next? Gerrard joked he might need to take the next one but this is now a serious issue for Rangers.
What he should be doing is telling Tavernier he’s back on the penalties again and will be staying on them regardless.
I’d bet that would make all the difference when the next one is awarded.
Rangers were fortunate Hagi’s miss didn’t prove fatal as Braga could easily have been boosted by that.
Thankfully Gerrard’s side had a determination to get through to the next round, which was brilliant to see.
I was pleased for Ryan Kent because he’s been under pressure lately with his performances.
I’ve been critical of him but I also had a degree of sympathy — because Rangers’ problems weren’t down to him.
I have read a lot about the forward players letting the team down but that’s utter nonsense. It’s been the defence that’s been at fault. No question.
Put it this way, there weren’t many people who saw that defensive display coming in Portugal but Connor Goldson and George Edmundson were both outstanding.
The reason for that was they kept things simple.
Goldson has been guilty of trying to overplay lately and show everyone he’s a good player. But what he’s good at is clearing any danger when it comes.
That’s what the best defenders in the world do.
People go on about Virgil van Dijk and how good he’s been for Liverpool for the past two seasons — and he has been incredible — but if you actually watch him in action he doesn’t do anything fancy.
If Liverpool are under pressure, van Dijk heads it and kicks it away from his goal as far as he possibly can.
He’s not afraid to just dump the ball into the opposition’s half and play from there.
That’s what big Davie Weir did on our run to the Uefa Cup Final back in Manchester in 2008.
We didn’t go all the way that year by playing open and attractive football.
Our game was based entirely on defending and being organised. And if that was good enough for Walter Smith it should be good enough for Gerrard.
Rangers’ problem against St Johnstone last weekend was that they didn’t do the basics well enough.
At the times when they should have just cleared the danger they tried to bring it down and play, and that’s just asking for trouble. Which they got.
In Portugal, they were organised as a defensive unit but what I liked more than anything was that they didn’t take risks on the ball.
Edmundson came into the team for Nikola Katic and did really, really well but I wouldn’t write off Katic just yet.
I still believe he’s good enough for Rangers and maybe a spell on the sidelines is what he needs to get his focus back again.
But that’s what Rangers need as a team when they go to Tynecastle. This Scottish Cup tie is massive for them.
They need to have the same mentality they had against Braga. But let’s see what happens if they get a penalty.
Will Hagi get another crack at it or will Gerrard see sense and realise his best man for the job is the one who was on them before the season started?
I hope whoever gets the nod takes my advice.
Honestly, ask Greegsy what kind of penalty he would prefer to be up against. One where the taker tries to place it, or one where the taker picks a corner and blasts it?
I know exactly which I preferred as a player. No one will ever convince me otherwise.