What's your thoughts on Sakala then?

I'm not sure it is tbh.

I think they are similar types of players - especially for things like their movement and the positions they take up.

If Morelos doesn't play then the closest thing we have to a replacement is Sakala because Roofe and Kent (the other 2 first choice picks in the front 3) are nothing like Morelos.

That's how I think it's a valid comparison because if Morelos leaves (or isn't playing) we need someone of a similar standard to do the same job that he does.

He's nothing like Morelos imo.

Morelos was clearly a centre forward from day 1. He had the physicality to play that role without much support whilst single handedly bullying defenders to create an opening. Also loved the physical battle - still does but his role has changed.

Sakala wants to get in behind & use his pace. Early days but I think he wants to play near or off another striker. Certainly not slightly isolated centrally.

The only thing they have in common is that similar raw feel particularly snatching at shots or chances.
 
Seeing him on Sunday his movement and directness reminded me of Novo , u can even see he’s pretty rash in front of goal sometimes , which nacho had a tendency to be at times too

I think the signs are good , we just need to be patient with him ( and others ) and it’ll come .
 
I like him, given a decent run in the team I reckon he could be a right good player for us. His smile is totally infectious.
 
He'll get his chances when Injuries and suspensions allow but when those clear up, he's on the bench again...

Glimpses of something there.
 
I see 'rash' is the favoured criticism in this thread, can we think before we post?
We, generally, complain about us overplaying, being too indirect and not getting shots away. Now we have a forward who, currently, doesn't do any of that, does the simple thing, but he gets panned for it. You don't get a lot of time in the box and goals win games
Would he be described as rash if his shots went into the net? So the real problem is he misses a few, apparently unlike every other striker.
Roofe missed a proverbial sitter on Sunday by overcomplicating it and trying god knows what rather than doing the simple thing.
He's not 'rash', shooting quickly isn't 'rash'. Fanning about until you lose the chance? That's rash.
We need variations in our play and Fashion Sakala is an exciting prospect, a breath of fresh air, let the boy do what he's good at without piling on to him.
 
I see 'rash' is the favoured criticism in this thread, can we think before we post?
We, generally, complain about us overplaying, being too indirect and not getting shots away. Now we have a forward who, currently, doesn't do any of that, does the simple thing, but he gets panned for it. You don't get a lot of time in the box and goals win games
Would he be described as rash if his shots went into the net? So the real problem is he misses a few, apparently unlike every other striker.
Roofe missed a proverbial sitter on Sunday by overcomplicating it and trying god knows what rather than doing the simple thing.
He's not 'rash', shooting quickly isn't 'rash'. Fanning about until you lose the chance? That's rash.
We need variations in our play and Fashion Sakala is an exciting prospect, a breath of fresh air, let the boy do what he's good at without piling on to him.
Could he add composure to those aspects of his game you describe? I'll be honest, I don't rate him, not as the answer to Morelos and Roofe ever being out of the side at any one time together, but if he became more composed in his control of the ball I would probably chance my mind.
 
His touch is excellent and obviously has pace to burn and his movement is good think his finishing is very much hit and miss though
 
Yes, you are the only real Rangers supporter here.:)):)):))
Nah not at all, implied nothing like that either. I do find it a bit weird people think fans don’t talk about and judge players even after limited time on the park

Mladenovic done a tidy wee drag back about 5 minutes after coming on the park for his debut and I would expect if you asked people at the game their views on him they would have agreed with the Serbian Zidane analysis, most after the Madrid game had Sakala as an early favourite for the Ballon D’or

fans do make wild sweeping statements about players even after limited time on the park. It’s part of the fun of a new signing. It might turn out some views are right, some will clearly be a wrong, it’s happened for years and years and years of people following football.
 
Shows defenders too much of the ball when playing into feet and will get booted at every opportunity by the carthorse haters of our league a la porteous/gallagher etc
 
He would do well in a front two I think, although we never seem to give that a try. His speed and movement are a handful and create a lot of space in the opposition defence, problem was last Sunday the other forwards are either dropping deep or out wide and unable to make use of what could be potent pockets through the middle.

Sakala/Defoe would be very interesting indeed, even Sakala/Roofe as partnership through the middle. Printing goals.

Given the amount of control Rangers have and the deep block we almost always face, domestically at least, I never understand why we dont go 4-4-2 at least once in a while. We defo have the personnel to play that formation very effectively indeed.
 
Could he add composure to those aspects of his game you describe? I'll be honest, I don't rate him, not as the answer to Morelos and Roofe ever being out of the side at any one time together, but if he became more composed in his control of the ball I would probably chance my mind.
Wouldn't gamble on it - the mind is a complex thing mate ;)
 
Nah not at all, implied nothing like that either. I do find it a bit weird people think fans don’t talk about and judge players even after limited time on the park

Mladenovic done a tidy wee drag back about 5 minutes after coming on the park for his debut and I would expect if you asked people at the game their views on him they would have agreed with the Serbian Zidane analysis, most after the Madrid game had Sakala as an early favourite for the Ballon D’or

fans do make wild sweeping statements about players even after limited time on the park. It’s part of the fun of a new signing. It might turn out some views are right, some will clearly be a wrong, it’s happened for years and years and years of people following football.
Yup, it's Emotion, Excitement, Eagerness, Hope....just normal Fan behaviour.


(IMO, currently magnified x10 by Covid/uncertainty)
 
Could he add composure to those aspects of his game you describe? I'll be honest, I don't rate him, not as the answer to Morelos and Roofe ever being out of the side at any one time together, but if he became more composed in his control of the ball I would probably chance my mind.
Yes, he could. Is he alone in that? No.
My point is he’s being held to a higher standard than Morelos and Roofe and his attributes downplayed at best or more regularly, ignored.
 
Very raw.
He is, but I think the market we are shopping in that's going to happen. Alfie was subbed off for Dalcio away to Progres and didn't look much like a footballer because he was raw. I'm not saying they are similar types of players, but we are looking for young prospects at a low budget, so they are going to be rough around the edges at first.
 
I think Sakala is still quite raw - then again, I still think he needs much more time to bed into the team and the new country and league also. I think with Gerrard's tactics the front line can be a bit chaotic with the players have to cover the whole width of the pitch and that is likely something Sakala isn't used to being a striker - also, whether he has had other strikers to work alongside where as at Rangers if you are playing as a striker you're generally on your own - which takes a different type of player (like Alfie).

I think Sakala looks like he's a good striker. He looks like one of those players that is a nuisance to play against as he's always at you. He is also very quick and that is always going to cause a problem - we've only seen two goals from him so far. Last one was a bit of a poacher goal but his goal against Madrid was a very composed finish when he had a fair bit of time to put it away.

I reckon he'll be a good player for us and hopefully he'll get another start tonight.
 
Yes, he could. Is he alone in that? No.
My point is he’s being held to a higher standard than Morelos and Roofe and his attributes downplayed at best or more regularly, ignored.
It's those margins that make a difference that concern me with Sakala, especially at a club like Rangers; he had a chance against Motherwell, where he should have shot across goal, but tries the near impossible. I'm not convinced he does the fundamental things that make things easier. What does give me hope was when he used his pace and intelligence against Lyon; in that move he took on the Lyon defender, with the object of playing the ball into the six yard box -is he a one-on- one with the goalkeeper and he scores kind of player though? You've hit on something as well, and perhaps in my case I'm looking for another Morelos; hopefully as he gets more time he proves himself to be a good player.
 
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In the first half, I remember three attempts from him.

One he scored, one cleared off the line, and another rocket shot which the keeper just managed to get a hand to.

He has something about him.
 
I'm not sure it is tbh.

I think they are similar types of players - especially for things like their movement and the positions they take up.

If Morelos doesn't play then the closest thing we have to a replacement is Sakala because Roofe and Kent (the other 2 first choice picks in the front 3) are nothing like Morelos.

That's how I think it's a valid comparison because if Morelos leaves (or isn't playing) we need someone of a similar standard to do the same job that he does.

Not sure we've been watching the same players. I see absolutely no similarities with Sakala and Morelos at all. They're polar opposites.

Morelos is strong, holds the ball up, rolls defenders, loves the physical battle etc. Sakala is quick, agile, runs in behind etc.
 
Morelos and Sakala are completely different players. I remember when Morelos first came in, he was a better player than Sakala is now but like Sakala, he was extremely raw, the coaching team did a fantastic job taking him to the next level.
Based on what I’ve seen so far, Sakala can definitely be coached and improved in a similar way.

His attitude seems spot on as well, he understands the chance he has been given, effort and commitment won’t be an issue.
 
My opinion of him - which is of course based on a very limited time - is obviously equally limited

Whatever he's done or not done so far - could easily be very different in the near future

On the plus side he does seem to have a decent work rate - he plays at a fast tempo & he's not frightened to shoot -
he looks like he'll be a handfull for opposing defenders

On the negative side - he seems to me to be all over the place - that's likely to be because he doesn't know his teammates & they don't know him yet

On the other hand - it could be because he isn't used to positional play or prefers a free role -

Either way - game time will hopefully allow him & the rest of the team to settle into & feed off each others strengths

At this early stage - I don't see him as anything like a new Alfie or some sort of superstar in the making - although I'd love to be proved wrong

If he keeps doing the simple things well for the moment & gets a bit more settled - even if he doesn't score many to begin with - I'll be happy
 
Morelos and Sakala are completely different players. I remember when Morelos first came in, he was a better player than Sakala is now but like Sakala, he was extremely raw, the coaching team did a fantastic job taking him to the next level.
Based on what I’ve seen so far, Sakala can definitely be coached and improved in a similar way.

His attitude seems spot on as well, he understands the chance he has been given, effort and commitment won’t be an issue.
Hopefully I’ve misinterpreted you but, if not, I hope, really hope we don’t seek to coach Sakala towards being another Morelos. Two naturally gifted individuals with very different core strengths.
 
Was hoping to see the lad start last night but tell you what that short time he was on you can defy see a player there, really would like to see him upfront with Hagi just sitting behind to make the killer pass.
 
I've yet to witness this lightning pace tbh. I'm not saying he doesn't possess it, but I've seen little evidence of it.
Yeah doesn't seem to possess any real burst of pace that's been promised, won't help how deep teams sit in against us jury still out but certainly has the right attitude and looked a bit sharper last night against Livi.
 
Hopefully I’ve misinterpreted you but, if not, I hope, really hope we don’t seek to coach Sakala towards being another Morelos. Two naturally gifted individuals with very different core strengths.
Your correct mate, could have worded that better.
Completely different players, not even close in style and attributes.
What I mean by coached in a similar way is we have the coaching staff and structure to improve Sakala and take him to the next level as we did with Morelos, not turn him into anything like the same player.
 
Yeah doesn't seem to possess any real burst of pace that's been promised, won't help how deep teams sit in against us jury still out but certainly has the right attitude and looked a bit sharper last night against Livi.
Had to check you posted this after the game... showed a great burst of pace more than once last night, were you at the toilet? :))
 
Made umpteen great runs last night ending up straying offside then coming back on again coz the ball wasn’t played quick enough or square , get the ball threaded through much quicker this lad will be a great asset to have
 
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