Under the radar tonight- Balogun

Played really well and he’s clearly an excellent signing. Very good back up to have to our first choice CBs.
 
Thought he was poor against Ross County but he was much better last night kept everything simple and won his battles in the air. A good addition to the squad and agree what others are saying about Edmundson and Katic think both will be moved on in either January or the summer.
 
bkerr72 said:
Thought he was poor against Ross County but he was much better last night kept everything simple and won his battles in the air. A good addition to the squad and agree what others are saying about Edmundson and Katic think both will be moved on in either January or the summer.
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I’d loan out Edmundson in January but only if Katic is back in training.
We need 4 centre backs, George Edmundson has all the attributes to be a top quality centre back and will improve with the coaching he is getting at Rangers but game time for the next 6 months would benefit him.
Not sure if a loan to another SPL team or down to the Championship/ League 1 would be better though.
 
thenorthseabear said:
I’d loan out Edmundson in January but only if Katic is back in training.
We need 4 centre backs, George Edmundson has all the attributes to be a top quality centre back and will improve with the coaching he is getting at Rangers but game time for the next 6 months would benefit him.
Not sure if a loan to another SPL team or down to the Championship/ League 1 would be better though.
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Doubt Katic will be involved this season at all unfortunately.

He's got a long road back.
 
Goldson and Helander are first choice, pretty clearly.

Balogun may benefit from a run of games but positionally and in decision making he is not as good as Helander. One thing Balogun does have going for him is that he is rapid.
 
He is providing what we required in that area, real solid competition for places, Katic and Edmunson will develop but aren't near the level of Goldson, Helander and Balogun will provide the quality support and cover throughout the season, a really good low cost signing and our recruitment team should be commended for the work they are doing.
 
Carlton The Bear said:
Good thread OP. With all the obvious headlines a vital contribution like his could easily be overlooked.

He was immense back there alongside Goldson, played well and when needed he went row z. Nobody scores from there.

On a terrible night there was more room for error and our entire defence handled the conditions really well and he was a big part of that. Playing half the game with only half our first choice back four, can’t beat that eh?
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Kemar Roofe might.
 
Strength in depth in this area but then that is the case in most positions. The way Balogun and Bassey slotted in last night must bode well for the future. I’ve read any amount of times about how strong their squad is but ours is never mentioned. If their squad was so strong then why all the excuses about injuries after the weekend? Yet we had a number of players missing as well (never mentioned ) and had to get on with it.
 
To be honest, I struggle to pick who I like best from Helander & Balogun, for good reasons, & that to me speaks wonders about the guys we have back there, then u factor in Katic when fit & Edmunson, the recruitment has been really good in that position.
 
thenorthseabear said:
I thought he was out for the season too, but I’m sure I’d read somewhere he was ahead of schedule.
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Even if he is ahead of schedule, it's a horrible injury and cannot be rushed.

If he's fighting fit for the start of pre season I'll be delighted.

Even if he was fit just now he wouldn't even be making our bench, unless one of the other three were injured.

There's absolutely no need to rush him mate.
 
Sebo23 said:
To be honest, I struggle to pick who I like best from Helander & Balogun, for good reasons, & that to me speaks wonders about the guys we have back there, then u factor in Katic when fit & Edmunson, the recruitment has been really good in that position.
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Don't forget Lewis Mayo, who could easily turn out to be better than than George or Niko.

Terrific prospect.
 
To think there was a “hoo ha” with a few posters on the match thread about Helander being left on the bench after Saturday’s performance.

It’s a squad game! All our CBs are good! Both our GKs are good......
 
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MearnsUnionist said:
Don't forget Lewis Mayo, who could easily turn out to be better than than George or Niko.

Terrific prospect.
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Yep. Good thing is they are of varying ages, we have Balogun at 32, Helander & Goldson in their prime at 27, young guys in Katic & Edmunson 24 / 23, & prospects like Mayo coming behind them at 20. Will be hard to keep them all happy, but it's good to know that area should be future proofed if managed correctly.
 
MearnsUnionist said:
Even if he is ahead of schedule, it's a horrible injury and cannot be rushed.

If he's fighting fit for the start of pre season I'll be delighted.

Even if he was fit just now he wouldn't even be making our bench, unless one of the other three were injured.

There's absolutely no need to rush him mate.
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I totally agree, more than covered there at the moment.
I also think Katic is a different type of centre back to what we have at the moment, he’s not the greatest with the ball at his feet but dominant in the air.
I would have just liked to see big Edmundson getting some game time on loan somewhere and if that meant Katic could cover as fourth choice centre back it would be great.
 
Glasgow Rangers (Sco) said:
This guy looks like a real footballer......

Out for weeks and just slotted into the side with no issues.

Strong and really comfortable on the ball and the most disciplined in a positional sense I’ve seen him

The good players sometimes go unnoticed
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I thought he looked a bit ropey at the start, understandable as he’d not played recently. Some stray passes & charged out from the back and lost the ball.

After about 20mins though he seemed to settle down & put in the performance we’ve seen since he joined us.
 
Very tidy footballer. He covers exceptionally well and has that bit of pace just when you think he may struggle to get to the ball first.

Wasn't afraid just to clear his lines after the downpour.

A few 'Have It!' clearances due to the ball sticking up constantly showing good professionalism.
 
thenorthseabear said:
I totally agree, more than covered there at the moment.
I also think Katic is a different type of centre back to what we have at the moment, he’s not the greatest with the ball at his feet but dominant in the air.
I would have just liked to see big Edmundson getting some game time on loan somewhere and if that meant Katic could cover as fourth choice centre back it would be great.
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I know where you're coming from mate, but one injury or suspension and George is on the bench.

One injury and a suspension and he's starting.

We've a long season and plenty games ahead, (hopefully).
 
Helander is the better player imo but Balogun is the type of solid, no-nonsense defender you just know you can rely on.
 
Our centre backs just love defending. They can also play.

Defending like a team possessed, do not enter. Throwing and putting their bodies on the line for themselves, their team mates, manager and club.

Unity, togetherness, discipline and well organised. We've not seen the likes for a long, long time.
 
To say him and Bassey are not first picks I thought they were both great last night.

I think the squad is strong enough now that we don’t have to throw make-weights in when we lose a first pick.

Look at the injuries we’ve coped with without flinching. Big improvement.
 
Chris the Bandito said:
TBF I'd say Ajer is at a similar level. He'd look much better in our system than in their shambles
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I need to disagree with you mate.

Ajer is very quick and brings the ball out of defence well.

However, his actual defending and set piece marking is poor.

3 times last night he was the deepest defender playing AC Milan onside.

Their back line is an absolute shambles compared to ours and he's a big part of it.
 
It’s a credit to Goldson how easy it looked for Balogun last night. Keep it easy and we’ll not concede stupid goals like we have done in Europe in the past (Moscow, Young Boys etc)
 
MearnsUnionist said:
I need to disagree with you mate.

Ajer is very quick and brings the ball out of defence well.

However, his actual defending and set piece marking is poor.

3 times last night he was the deepest defender playing AC Milan onside.

Their back line is an absolute shambles compared to ours and he's a big part of it.
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You mean all the things that rely on coaching and organisation?

No idea why that side of his game would be poor in their set-up. :))
 
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