Match Thread Rangers v FK Shkupi - 19:45 Thursday 12th - BT Sports

Got away with one there. A lot of work to be done on that evidence.
I reckon the midfield needs to gel/get others in it but get Candeias back on the right instead of Windass and i think the team will be fine. Saying we got away with one is overkill to me
 
Thank f*ck for that 2nd goal.

No guarantees over there but defensively we looked strong enough that we shouldn't concede 2.
 
to be honest, its really a case of new season same as the old season.

mcgregor can really comment as didnt have much to do

tav still loves to wander and others have to cover
the ch's seem to be an improvement although second half didnt have much to do.

going forward, still too many touches, cut backs, wrong decisions. corners! jesus fewck, is there a team thats less dangerous with a corner?

windass hot and cold
moreleos again wastefull


but arfield looked good and hopefully improves, middleton in the short period he was on seems to be a find. again lets hope he continues to improve.

but we really need someone that shoots on sight and can finish. hopefully the roma boy can be one like that.
 
They’re mental.

Home support turned faster than milk tonight too, superb later on but from the minute they hit the bar it was quiet and there were groans and it all seemed to transfer over to the pitch too as the players become more and more nervous.
Somebody said earlier in this thread that we've got a lot of spectators but not many supporters. I can't really disagree with that. The jeering when Ejaria played a ball back to Goldson because there was nothing on ahead of him was ridiculous.
 
Impressed with Goldson tonight. Looks a fine centre half.

Murphy played well. Middleton did very well when he came on and was very dangerous.

Morelos still missing chances but positionally is in the right places.

Early days.
 
Look I can understand some frustrations from our fans tonight but lets look at this objectively from Progres game and this game.

Progres game, we struggled to win 1-0. We scored with a quick freekick in that game and bar that we created next to nothing in the way of goalscoring chances. Defensively we looked weak still, Cardoso dived into too many challenges and got away with that night against poor opposition. We looked short in ideas and any threat going foward.

Tonight we created a good amount of chances, bar some poor finishing and good goalkeeping we didn't score more. They had 2 good chances, well 1 really decent chance and the one they hit the bar in the first half. Other than that our CentreBacks looks solid.

Plus this team are better than Progres.
 
We're already in a better position than we were this time last year. Early days, but lots to look forward to.

e: Tav - taking that penalty and the responsibility of being captain along with it.
 
Think I forgot over the summer break but this place is often more depressing after a win than a loss. So much doom and gloom from many.
 
Good in parts but room for improvement.

Middleton made a massive difference when he came on, if he keeps it up he could turn into a good player for us.
 
First half performance promised us at least 3 goals. we were poor second half. Im not about to jump on the get rid of Windass bus just yet but Middleton shows what he can and has thrown his hat into the selection process. Morelos again showing that it may not just be a confidence thing and has again shown his immaturity with the 'headbutt'. Overall I think just about pass marks against a stuffy team.I cannot see us losing 3 goals on Tuesday as I think the back 3 had a decent performance.
 
I think it’s safe to say that performance has brought a lot of fantasists crashing back down to Earth with a bang.
I think it looked like what it was,a team very much a work in progress. I don’t think our frontline will look like that in 6 weeks, it will have improved significantly.

I’m never one to get carried away but I’m also never going to get too upset early on. We did what we had to do and we move on.
 
Might be just me but I thinking taking Candeias off changed the shape of the team and was an error.

Aside for some of the same problems we saw last year a win is all that matters at this stage
 
Really happy with the result, we’ll take it up another level next week. I was really worried before the game for some reason, still pre season and some bizarre early doors results. Look at the Brenda Rodgers getting turned over by a Gibraltar amateur team for example.

Some real positives but so ring rusty up obviously on the finishing.

Defence positioning was really impressive.
 
Amazing what happens when someone with a left foot is played on the left.

Hopefully Sadiq is a player as Morelos as a 10 will be a far more effective player.
I've always said that Morelos is a 10. I think he would work well with a good finisher in front of him
 
Middleton did well - gave us a much needed spark near the end. Ejaria also had a decent 1st game for us and looks like he could a big player for us this season.

Morelos and Windass still both as frustrating as last year it seems.

Penalty we got at the end probably wasn't a penalty but given the officials missed the shirt pull on Morelos moments earlier it evened itself out ...

Hopefully these 2 loans signings can bring a bit of quality and depth to our squad as much of the play did resemble what we have seen the last couple of seasons.
 
The composure in front of goal was shocking,Goldson strolled it..Before we scored the pen it looked like Progres all over again,SG has a lot of work to do
 
Ejaria looks like Ted McMinn, Goldson was excellent, Flannagan looked good, Middleton did well again, all pluses.

Negatives; Arfield, Windass, Morelos, all passengers. The latter's had a rest and still can't heeder a ball.
 
Still to get a bit more work together but got the win. Still worried a bit about Morelos. Also Windass doesn't look like he will fit too well but Gerrard seems to like him.
 
some negative nonsense on here tonight ffs, gotta remember 1st competitive match as a team, thought we looked solid backline up thru midfield final third however definitely need better, good start if a lil bit shaky, happy taking 2-0 over there, subs looked really good when they come on, Middleton being a particular highlight

looking forward to Tuesday now
 
I think there's a hell of a lot of interlopers here, either that or we've got an abnormal amount of people who know nothing about football.
Obviously upset at people commenting on the abysmal second half perforamce and that's what it was,you don't also have to be a football expert to know it was a poor performance.

I built myself up all week looking forward to all the new players and all the hype surrounding them and expected far far better than that.

Lots of new players and i know it's only two games,but nothing really changed from last season with the amount of chances missed by Morelos and at times devoid of ideas in the final third.

It was very poor
 
We’re really lacking a creative CM/AMC who can unlock defences with a pass & has the ability to shoot from distance.

McCrorie/Arfield/Candeias did not work at all.
 
I think it looked like what it was,a team very much a work in progress. I don’t think our frontline will look like that in 6 weeks, it will have improved significantly.

I’m never one to get carried away but I’m also never going to get too upset early on. We did what we had to do and we move on.

I half expected a performance like that. There’s a lot of work to be done here and Gerrard’s really only just gotten started.

That midfield will never work though, I can tell you that right now.
 
2-0 is a great result for a home team in the first leg of a European tie.
We’ll score out there and kill them off.

On a broader note - Our problem last season was conceding goals, not scoring them.
I think Gerrard’s Initial objective will rightly be to tighten us up, get the clean sheets and build from there.
 
Our support is a parody of itself.

All this talk about the Ibrox roar.

Mark my words. Our full coaching staff will be discussing how piss poor our so called “best support in the world” is. So will the new players.

Embarrassing mentality.

First 4 chants had mentioned UVF 3 times.

No wonder the atmosphere is fucking non-existent. The majority of us are embarrassed by UVF, bobby sands at the football.

Utter fucking idiots most of us.
 
Bears, it might not have been pretty and SG will have food for thought, but the most important thing could be the nil. I know it might sound silly, but not conceding at home in Europe can be massive. The jobs only half done, however, and SG will know this, they have to be more open at their place now which will leave gaps. I would expect the team to be set up for quick counter attacking for the away tie.
 
We worked hard and we got our reward in the 2nd half. Middleton should start as we lacked invention and he provided it. Good result against a team who stepped out to spoil especially in the 2nd half.
 
Still time to judge really as it's early.

Morelos was shocking though. I'd definitely prefer him in the #10 role. Windass' game looked a lot better overall tonight, tracking back & putting in the challenges, especially when it was him that lost the ball. Both these guys though, can we keep hoping they turn up every week & play one of their blinders?

Middleton? %^*& me! Messi-esque or what? He just can't help but take them on & try & beat a player then won't go down if challenged. A star in the making.

Ejeria looked confident & silky.

Like I said, early days but although we were kinda mince, there's a lot to be positive about. We need to bear in mind it's a lot of these players first real game together & nerves could have been off the charts too.

2-0. That'll do Stevie.
 
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