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Graeme Murty has been in charge for a while now, and over the course of his tenure we have seen him experiment with a number of different shapes; some have worked, but others have not. A fruitful trip to Florida last week has hinted at another change of shape, and a new tactical focus, which we may see more of when Rangers return to domestic duty in the coming week. When he first took over, Murty quickly looked to go back to a 4-4-2, with two wingers and Miller roaming off Morelos. But, Rangers were too easily outnumbered and overrun in midfield. We also never had the number, or quality, of wide players to make this work -- Candeias being the only natural wide man we had, if you exclude youngsters. This approach was quickly discarded after several gutless performances. Up next came the 4-4-2 diamond, which removed the need for wingers altogether. We already had a good variety of central-midfield players, so this approach fit the players at Murty's disposal. Rangers ground out some of their best performances with this set-up -- against Aberdeen and Hibernian, respectively -- and picked up some much-needed points against close rivals. McCrorie came into the holding role, and Windass was able to play in his favoured central position -- it's no surprise that these two players in particular have been in a rich vein of form recently. A surprising couple of wins in Florida -- albeit against teams having their pre-season; and with hardly a strong-XI ourselves -- has seen another change. Murty used the trip to chop-and-change personnel, with youngsters and forgotten men getting their time in the sun. But one thing remained constant over the 2 games: the 4-2-3-1 formation employed. Rangers scored 5 goals in the two games in the Florida Cup, with all except Morelos' first against Corinthians (which came from Goss' excellent set-piece delivery) coming from some form of wing-play. Not only did we set up with natural wingers hugging the touchline, but we also overloaded the half-spaces and flanks, with Full-backs and Central-midfielders drifting in to support. Manchester City are running away with the English Premier League this season, chiefly down to their superb positional play, but also because of their productive wing-play. Guardiola employs a provisional 4-3-3, with Sane and Stirling playing wide and two No.8's just behind. City always try to get in-behind opponents by creating a 1-on-1 situations on the wings; and they do so in two main ways. Firstly, they'll overload the wing and half-space. One of Stirling or Sane will hug the touchline, with their Full-back close to support. This in itself is nothing special, with most teams now pushing on their Full-backs. To overload more, though, not only will Guardiola ask Aguero to drift wide slightly, into the channel or half-space, but he also gives De Bryune a free role to drift right out onto the wing. There are potentially up to 4 players overloading a flank, allowing City to pass around a low block; they are then looking to cross into the box, cut the ball back to on-rushing midfielders, or fashion a shooting chance. To deal with this, teams will naturally drift over to the ball, to try and stifle City. The second way in which City employ wing-play is by switching the play. As they overload one side of the pitch, the winger on the other side stays wide. City are mainly trying create in that overloaded side, but by dragging teams into that congested space, they then open up the switch of play to a free winger on the other side. Sane and Stirling in particular have scored several goals from these types of situations. It may be too early to tell, but there were examples of this first type of wing-play (overloading the wings) on show in Florida. In several game situations, Rangers would play into one half of the pitch; the winger would be wide or occupying the channel, the Full-back supporting, the No.10 playing in the channel, and a deeper midfielder an easy passing option just behind. There were as many as 5 players in the channel and flank. Game situation from 2nd half against Corinthians There were two variations in the way we played through our opponents. The first was with a pass, long and crisp, from Goss/Kranjcar (RDM) into the No.10 in the channel with a quick, first-time pass wide, or into the forward. The second is another long, through ball, but this time into the winger that takes up the space in the channel; again there is a quick, first-time pass into the forward or No.10. It seems to be about quick interchanges, and overloads on one side of the pitch; the aim being to get in-behind or create a shooting chance. The new signings are more evidence of this new wing-play focus. Thus far Murphy has been the marquee signing, and it would be negligent to sign a crafty winger and not play him. Moreover, wide-players like Atekayi and Dalcio have come into the equation, alongside O'Halloran -- whether they will play a part of not, remains to be seen. More wingers are lined up (Kilmarnock's Jones), but even players like Cummings and Docherty have an energy and flexibility to be comfortable drifting into different spaces. Another hint lies in the players used in the No.10 position. Considering the players used in Florida, Murty is perhaps not looking for an orthodox playmaker in the No.10 position. Murphy, and to a lesser extent Windass, have both been deployed there recently but neither are 'traditional' No.10's. Several times against Corinthians, Murphy and Windass would come deep then spin in behind, sprinting into the channels, feeding off balls from the deeper players. Another tactic utilised a lot by Murphy and Windass was, when they received the ball in the channel, they would play a quick, first-time ball wide to the winger, then sprint to overlap. This movement by the No.10s, spinning wide and in behind, was a constant theme. Even the players used in the deeper roles have tended to be more the creative, playmaker-types, rather than defensive. Kranjcar and Goss have been the main players deployed in the deeper position; neither are natural defenders, so it seems Murty will be looking for them to feed the ball into the front line, dictating play from deep -- both had the energy of Holt or Halliday for cover. Kranjcar may be past it, but he still possesses a delightful left foot; a real asset if we can utilise it properly. Goss also looks to have an impressive passing range and a pin-point delivery. Most of our 'good' play under Caixinha came from the wing, but it was all too confined to Candeias on the right; there was no balance, and too often relied on an isolated moment of brilliance from a single player, which were few and far between. With the addition of more attack-minded players, we will hopefully see a more balanced and structured approach to our wing-play. We're all on a bit of a high, with the latest Admin Day being such a big success: deals for Cummings and Martin agreed; an offer for Kilmarnock's Jordan Jones on the table; rumours of an offer for Hamilton's Docherty. Mark Allen and Graeme Murty are spearheading what is turning out to be a productive recruitment drive. Another cause for optimism may well be the new tactical approach. The signings that have come through the door -- and even potentially those lined up -- all point towards a new focus on overloading the wings and getting in behind.

"We want folk in 30 to 40 years to still be talking about the forthcoming Rangers game in a similar fashion so they can tell their grandchildren where they stood that day in 2018 when the famous Glasgow Rangers came to Bellslea." The words of Fraserburgh Chairman Finlay Noble in The Press & Journal. There's little doubt that this is by far and away the biggest game in the 108 year history of Fraserburgh FC and as far as the town itself is concerned the only time that the general vibe has approached anything like the current buzz was in 1992 when Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II visited for the celebration of the founding of the town's 400th anniversary. Much has been said among Rangers fans about the scarcity of tickets for the game with Rangers receiving an allocation of 360 but lost in that debate is the fact that Fraserburgh FC earned the right to play and to ergo host Rangers on the field of play and where as moving the game down the road to Peterhead or Aberdeen may well have resulted in a bigger pay day there never any serious possibility of it being moved. While the Bellslea Park may be both pretty compact and basic it really isn't any worse than many of the grounds we visited on the journey up through the leagues. The stand is called the Jim Adams Stand after the former Chairman who was a founder of the towns largest employer Gray & Adams, no doubt at some time or other you'll have been stuck in traffic behind one of their refrigerated trailers or even had the pleasure of a ride in their prisoner transfer vans. Sadly Jim is no longer around but rumour has it the Fraserburgh players would like his daughter Marieanne Adams to give them one of her famous group hugs! Fraserburgh the town is referred to locally as "The Broch" and its inhabitants as "Brochers" however I don't consider myself as a Brocher having only emigrated the 17 miles up the road from Peterhead 33 years ago and as everyone from Peterhead knows they aren't Brochers anyway they are in fact Puddlestinkers. The name Fraserburgh stems from 1592 when King James VI granted a charter to Sir Alexander Fraser and what was known as Faithlie became literally the burgh of Fraser. The name Broch coming from an old iron age tower that stood in the town but now long since gone. Among the local places of note are Fraserburgh Golf Club a links course which is the 5th oldest in Scotland and the 7th oldest in the world. The Museum of Scottish Lighthouses at Kinnaird Head and the adjacent Heritage Centre. Not forgetting the harbour to which the town owes its existence, the harbour is enjoying something of a renaissance after decades of decline due to the EU's Common Fisheries Policy and new boats have once again become a regular feature although sadly no longer being built in Fraserburgh itself since the boat yards have long closed. Famous Brochers include Thomas Blake Glover who emigrated to Japan and helped found what became the Mitsubishi conglomerate, Charles Alfred Jarvis the recipient of the first Victoria Cross awarded in World War I, Bill Gibb the fashion designer and of course one Dennis Nilsen the serial killer. The game itself takes place on the 48th anniversary of the Duchess of Kent lifeboat disaster on which 5 of the 6 volunteer crewmen lost their lives going to the aid of the Danish fishing vessel Opal, the men who perished that day were John Stephen, Fred Kirkness, William Hadden (my wife's uncle), James Buchan and James RS Buchan with Jackson Buchan being the sole survivor. Ironically the Duchess of Kent was a replacement lifeboat for the John and Charles Kennedy which capsized in the harbour entrance with the loss of 6 of the 7 crewmen in February 1953. Also another disaster befell the town in 1919 the lifeboat Lady Rothes capsized a mile from port with the loss of 2 lives. It would be remiss of me not to mention that on 28th of April 1970 Jock Stein took his Celtic team to Fraserburgh to play a game in aid of the lifeboat disaster fund the week before their European Cup Final defeat at the hands of Feyernoord. Now onto the game itself, whilst the rest of Scotland seems to be under a deep blanket of snow the north-east appears to have gotten of lightly, there was a brief snow shower earlier today it wasn't anything of note and shouldn't in any way affect the game. The club have been loaned covers from Arbroath FC but as it stands they shouldn't be needed, it will however be cold so if you're one of those fortunate to get a ticket I'd put the long johns on if I were you. Team wise where do we start? Will Cummings, Goss, Murphy or Martin make their competitive debuts? Will Halliday or O'Halloran feature on their return from being frozen out? Probably the only player we have with previous experience of the Bellslea is Ryan Jack who's unlikely to feature but should return in time for the Aberdeen game. We all know what Cummings is capable of as we've been on the receiving end of his skills often enough. Over in Florida Goss looked a decent tidy enough player with good delivery especially from dead balls. Murphy knows what its all about and will be keen to get of to a flyer playing for his boyhood heroes. I'd like to see us start with both Cummings and Morelos up front as there's absolutely no reason to play one up front in this game. We should be going for it and getting the business done early in the game. Will it be 442, 433 or 352? I'd plump for 442 with the following Alnwick Tavernier Bates Wilson John Candeias Goss Windass Murphy Cummings Morelos However I doubt the either the formation or the personnel will prove to be correct. There's no stand outs in the Fraserburgh team, they are almost all local to the north east with a fair amount of Bears (and a few of them)in the side.One Bryan Hay whose last minute penalty secured qualification for Fraserburgh in the last round away against Spartans will no doubt give his usual wholehearted no frills display, I saw him play for Fraserburgh U20's against Rangers U20's at Auchenhowie a few years back and he played well until his sending off (somewhat harshly on that occasion). A few of the Dave Smith Loyal have been trying to get odds on him seeing a red card again on Sunday. One player in the Fraserburgh ranks who has previously been on the victorious side against Rangers is the managers brother Dean Cowie (one of them) who was in the Peterhead side that beat Rangers 1-2 at Ibrox almost 5 years ago.

I voted 'No' because having weighed everything up I felt it was the better choice. But I'm open minded on it and could see me change my vote if the current UK government continues down the path it's currently on. I've a good number of bluenose friends who voted 'Yes' because they came a different conclusion. I find being a 'bear' has no influence on what I eat, watch on TV or believe politically, I'm always curious when people conflate being a Rangers supporter with some other belief. For the record my sister married a St Mirren fan, as I said to him he'd a lot of experience of pain and disappointment, that would help him living with my sister...

Rossiter?

Sorry Frankie, I have no idea what you’re talking about regrading Twitter posts. Four Lads Had a Dream @4Ladhadadream Positive discussions had tonight & a deal has been thrashed out to bring Greg Docherty home to his boyhood heroes in the region of £600k It will roll over into tomorrow but hopefully all going well & barring no disasters, Greg will be a Rangers player 8:25 pm · 18 Jan 2018

Naismith has arrived at Tynecastle for talks (and I assume a medical) so it's 99% likely he'll be going there.

Celtic also looked a tired team in December. The break could well re-energise them, but they are carrying some injuries and a few of their more influential players are not in such good form. However, I think quite a lot of things will need to go in our favour in order to run them close come the end of the season. Not impossible, but we're a few points too far behind in my view.

There would never have been the desire to repeal the bill if the fans of that club that whined endlessly about our songs hadn't ended up caught in their own net. Just shows how stupid they are. Glass houses, stones etc.

He was a very strange signing because it was obvious he wasn't Warburton's type of player. He is the total opposite of Barrie McKay, who was exactly Warburton's type of player. But I think a good manager can bring the best out of technical players and more raw players in the same team, and at different stages of the game.

The whole thing is a mess. it is strange that the BBC choose to use images of Ibrox. I would have thought the hanging effigy of an Orangeman would have been more pertinent. Actually, did that happen or was it all a figment of my imagination?

Grammatically speaking, JohnMc is quite right - he's not an actual bear, he's a frustrated allotment gardener who spends his spare time bellowing 'grow, you bastards!' at tomatoes, potatoes etc. Hence the inverted commas. Anyway, you are quite right - the matchday experience not only suggests but proves that many Bears feel otherwise. The only thing I get mildly annoyed at is when their opinion is ascribed en masse to all of us.

I would still love to see us snap up Naismith. Just to annoy Hearts...

Great preview - really enjoyed that (I'll publish it tomorrow am on the main site). Genuinely no idea what the team or formation will be on Sunday. Florida suggests a 4-2-3-1 but the opposition may dictate a slightly more offensive line-up. Similarly, with a game against Aberdeen quickly up on Wednesday that may suggest a slightly different first XI from what we'd perhaps expect. It's so much better have more options.

I think it’s a great idea and will be really well received. There are loads of great posters in here who could offer various viewpoints and insights into all things Rangers. Would love to see it get up and running!

I prefer a No voting Tim to a Yes voting Bear. Don't care if that makes me unpopular.

Reading this thread makes me glad I don't have a sister.

To be honest though I would say 80+% of Celtic supporters are just the same as us just supporting their team. It is unfair for us to think that we can be staunch but Celtic supporters can't be for their team. When I come back on holiday then I stay with my brother-in law who is a mad Celtic supporter as are all his family. He was even at their convention in LA this year. Yes we rib each other and when I put on my Rangers scarf to go to a game he always says "Hey get that oot ma hoose" I know if I got into a fight with Celtic supporters in a pub that he would be standing by my side. there really are a lot of good ( misled) guys around and a smaller number of idiots that our support also has.

I was about to write something similar mate. Best window we have had for a long time............ so far anyway! We could be in for a shock and lost Tav Fod and Windass but I dont think so

Delighted signing Docherty,if true?, delighted with the way the club has done it's transfer business, credit to them

Who are his "representatives" then?

Alan Stubbs was surprised Jason Cummings decided to join Rangers rather than stay and fight for his place at Nottingham Forest. The former Hibs striker has agreed a loan deal at Ibrox until the end of the season barely six months after quitting Easter Road for the English Championship outfit.Signed by former Rangers boss Mark Warburton, the 22-year-old struggled to hold down a first-team place at Forest, making just ten starts and scoring only four goals. Warburton was sacked at the end of December to be replaced by Aitor Karanka but, it seems, Cummings wasn’t willing to hang around to prove himself to the former Middlesbrough coach.“Am I surprised Rangers have gone in for him?” asked Stubbs. “No, because I know Jason’s representatives are very fond of Rangers, let’s put it that way. “I can see why it’s happened but I am probably surprised that Jason hasn’t stuck it out more down in England because that seemed to be a big motivation for him going there in the first place.I know he needs to play games, but especially with the new manager coming in, why not stay around and try to impress him? “Ask any player, if they are doing well, they will ultimately want to be down in England for one of the big teams.” Having said that, Stubbs insisted returning to Scotland so quickly wasn’t proof of a lack of ambition on the part of Cummings, who was top scorer for Hibs three seasons in a row. He said: “Jason is am ambitious guy. He’s not left the Championship to go to any club. Rangers are still a massive club. I must admit, I’ve been quite impressed with the signings they have made up till now. I just hope he does well. “Playing in front of 50,000 at Ibrox won’t faze him. It’s whether he can produce his form and goalscoring attributes the way he did at Hibs.”Read more at: https://www.edinburghnews.scotsman....d-by-jason-cummings-move-to-rangers-1-4664408

The performance data page - rather pretty much up to date with facts (as in: FACTS) - I set a link to would have told you that he played the majority of his games as a winger, that is 32 out of 45. And thus it contradicted the main info page saying that he's a central/attacking midfielder. As for the rest, see post #67.

Ah, misread that first reply then, and missed blueflag's above clearing it up.

I understand your thinking, but I think him going there will annoy them more. It won't take long before they realise that we are better at assessing a player than they are. He's just not very good any more. He was a very good player, and still can do something for them. But their fans' expectations of him will very quickly evaporate. If we spend our admin time on securing Docherty instead, that will prove to annoy them (and all our other nearest rivals) for a long long time. As for Hyndman, we actually play a system under Murty where he'd fit in nicely and I was disappointed when Rangers denied interest in him. He was just not physically strong enough to play the role MW had him play in central midfield or the pace to play wide, but he is a very talented player and would be suited to the number 10 role in the 4-2-3-1 system. Having said that, we now have plenty of attacking options. Only time will tell if the options we have are good enough.

I had bbq chicken wings once. Super tasty and overloaded with flavour.

Good to see Rossiter and Miller involved as well...

If we're brave and there is enough movement, then we still 'should' be able to create something on the overloaded side. Our CB's are actually good at the long ball -- Alves, and Wilson in particular, can hit a pass accurately. The short passes could work too, to switch the play. Docherty is a different type of player to Jack: Docherty is more of a Holt, I think; energetic, attack-focused. He could be useful for using his pace and energy to run into the under-loaded side, as with Holt, Murphy, etc.

BIG BAD RANGERS again from the biased broadcasting clowns.

Newspapers are getting sadder and sadder the guy is 78 and not played here since 1962,I would would be angry if this happened to a former Ger who had not played for us for many years. It is just headline grabbing.

Hope springs eternal and all that. MO'H does strike me as the type of 'winger' of whom, in the old days (sic), we would say, "Paint a broad green stripe from the bye line to the top of the terracing (sic), and he would just keep running." I hope that he can become more than that, but I cannot detect a lot of subtlety, or a killer final ball, in his game. (Oh, and no Buffalo wings!!)

3 photos used in this article and all of Ibrox!!. MSPs recommend repeal of Offensive Behaviour at Football Act http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-politics-42718684

Transformed?, sorry but I don't rate him and to be honest I don't see how he can fit into the way Murty wants to play?, love to be proved wrong!

Great article, you make football sound like a game of Chess (I like Chess). I didn't see the Florida games but it sounds like Murty has finally brought advanced attacking tactics to Rangers, and he's bought the players to implement it. Our attacking play has been rudimentary for too long and that's why we're poor at breaking down opponents when we are on the front foot. If we implement these tactics in the league we could see O'Halloran especially transformed. He has pace to burn but poor tactics makes him look bang average. This set-up could also provide the platform for Atayaki to make a breakthrough, I'd love to see him brought on when the game is won and we're still on the front foot. The only position I think really needs strengthened in order for this formation to work better is centre mid, with Docherty brought in. Docherty could be our long term main man in the middle of the park, I think it would be a huge mistake to let him slip out of our hands because the only league winning standard centre midfielders we have are Jack and Dorrans.

Nice one fs. More choice, more worries. Big decisions for Murty in the coming weeks.

You really should stop relying on Transfermarkt to tell you the positions of players.

if I can't insult my own site admin on social media, what's the point in running a website...?

Good read, that! I love a wee history lesson. I think it'll be 4-2-3-1 -- going by the formation in Florida, and my recently published article (ahem *cough*) -- but it's anyone's guess who will play. Perhaps: Foderingham Martin - Bates - Wilson - John Goss - Holt Candeias - Windass - Murphy Cummings Then again, that looks rather 'strong', so a few irregulars may come in, like the legend that is DALCIO.

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It’s funny how every bid Rangers have rejected is “booted out” and every player we have been linked to in the past, we are “beaten to” when someone else signs them - even if we aren’t interested.

For heading the ball of the line at the piggery alone , also the fact he was signed as a centre back....

The wife has just kindly informed me that she's "not a Puddlestinker" (she is!!) and Tavernier is suspended so it'll probably be Hodson in for him.

You'll have to have seen the ad :-)

Gallery: Russell Martin’s First Day https://rangers.co.uk/news/galleries/gallery-russell-martins-first-day/

I reside in Scotland and I don't recognise much of what you've suggested. I do agree there appears to be an anti Rangers agenda, but I actually think it's just poor, lazy journalists that issue false but entertaining stories to their readers, who enjoying reading their fantasies. They'll continue to do that as long as it's what their customers want, and let's face it, they do want more of it. Most of Scotland that I know is actually beautiful and interesting. Of course there are bad areas, and in particular the west coast has a sectarian issue, but it's not widespread at all. Far from it. I do accept though that we all have our opinions shaped through our experiences. I've maybe just been fortunate.

Morelos and Cummings rocking up to Auchenhowie like...

You have the same choices you just have reasons to influence your choice not to do it.