Leaderboard

I think maybe we took more than just 3 points from that game.

Excellent win, and deserved, some fans need to calm down and get behind the team more often, especially games like this, it is very difficult to play against teams who have no interest in playing football. Bottle? any fan who threw this at the team after Wednesday needs to have a good hard look at themselves!.

Rangers answer questions on title credentials after crucial win against Motherwell Rangers extended their lead in the SPL to 16 points at Ibrox today, answering questions about their mentality in a hard fought but deserved win against Motherwell. If any game should have deemed a formality this weekend, it would be the meeting at Ibrox today. Going into the game Rangers had only lost one game in all competitions, had a achieved a 27 game unbeaten run and were looking for a tenth successive league win. But an unexpected bump in the road, thanks to a defeat in the BetFred Cup to St Mirren on Wednesday, had raised the age old questions about the mentality of Steven Gerrard’s Rangers and winning when it mattered. Approaching January, the month where things have traditionally gone wrong for the former Liverpool legend, the timing of the defeat on Wednesday could not have been worse. Add to the equation that Celtic appeared to have turned a corner of late, then you can understand why there was a greater sense of anxiety around those with blue tinted noses going into the game. But Rangers answered those questions emphatically with a vital win. Gerrard made five changes to his side, bringing in Filip Helander, Borna Barisic, Glen Kamara, Steven Davis and Jermain Defoe to replace Leon Balogun, Calvin Bassey, Bongani Zungu, Joe Aribo and Cedric Itten. Rangers started brightly, with Jermaine Defoe forcing a save from Jordan Archer and then hitting a shot just wide of the post in the first couple of minutes. But Rangers found themselves one down after some more slack defending in the sixth minute. Borna Barisic failed to stop Stephen O'Donnell firing a low cross across the face of the goal, and Callum Lang scored at the back post to put the visitors 1-0 up. Rangers had an opportunity to get a quick equaliser with a free kick just outside the box, but James Tavernier couldn’t repeat his heroics of last week fired it just over the bar. Ryan Kent then had a great chance to equalise on 25 minutes after some good work from Tavernier allowed Steve Davis to send in a great cross, which Kent headed just wide of the post. Then Roofe turned nicely in the box but fired his shot straight at Archer. Rangers were turning up the heat by this point and Tavernier had a great chance at the back post after Barisic sent in a great cross, but the Englishman, looking for his 18th goal of the season, failed to connect with it properly. Steven Gerrard introduced Joe Aribo at half-time in place of Glen Kamara in attempt to get Rangers back in the game. But for long periods Rangers looked devoid of any invention or creation, despite having the lion share of possession. In an attempt to inspire some sort of reaction Gerrard introduced Hagi for Arfield and Itten for Defoe. Rangers continued to dominate possession, but there was a strong feeling of déjà vu about proceedings until the 72nd minute when Kemar Roofe equalised when he turned inside the box and hammered home after Motherwell failed to clear their lines. Roofe then came close to giving Rangers the lead minutes later when his header went inches past the post. Rangers still needed a winner, however, and it arrived with eight minutes to go thanks to substitute Cedric Itten after James Tavernier’s corner evaded everyone in a crowded six yard box and he headed in at the back post. It was a huge moment for Rangers and they secured the win in the 94th minute when Joe Aribo stabbed the ball to Roofe in the box who turned and finished from close range in a similar fashion to his first. Steven Gerrard was delighted with the win afterwards stating: “I’m really proud and pleased with how we reacted to going a goal down. We kept asking questions all afternoon. We were relentless at finding a way back into the game. It was important that players stuck to their roles. “Eventually our success came. It was about staying calm at the half-time and making the subs at the right time. I thought the subs were really, really big for us today”. RANGERS: McGregor, Tavernier, Goldson, Helander, Barisic, Arfield, Davis, Kamara, Roofe, Kent, Defoe. SUBS: McLaughlin, Bassey, Hagi, Itten, Zungu, Patterson, Aribo, Barker, Stewart. MOTHERWELL: Archer, O'Donnell, Gallagher, Mugabi, Lamie, Grimshaw, O'Hara, Crawford, Campbell, Lang, Watt. SUBS: Chapman, McGinley, White, Maguire, Seedorf, Polworth, Cornelius, Johnston, Cole. REFEREE: Don Robertson

I think he is a stick on to start in Perth. He does so much to link up play and make space for others. Also had a little mini break as well. He'll be refreshed and raring to go!

arguably, we suffered today in part due to not having alfie on the pitch drawing away defenders to create space....

The Motherwell Keeper, Archer had nothing to do; other than pick the ball out of the net on three occasions. Greegs had nothing to do, other than pick the ball out of the net once. A particularly unique game?

For Rousseau ... when the second goal went in, it was a full-blown ... ... moment!

A huge amount of credit to the team and coaching staff today. That was tough, tough going but the belief was evident throughout that we'd see it out. You want to discuss mentality; there's your answer. Motherwell simply couldn't survive that onslaught and I'm delighted we done the business. As we said at half-time, Aribo and Hagi made the difference in terms of making space for others. Now onto an even tougher game in midweek.

Massive three points. Brilliant character to come back, this Rangers team is a different animal. Good subs as well at the right time to I have to say.

No.

There is no point moaning about how they play. It's up to us to break it down

It's also worth noting Shelly Kerr is very good as a pundit.

Must admit, I'm pleased to see him and RTV being critical of the team where relevant rather than gloss over any issues. Of course that should be constructive rather than gratuitous but criticism is important if you want proper analysis.

Could listen to Neil McCann all night long....

He might have scored a couple of goals? or maybe he would have bullied their 4 CB’s? one thing is sure Motherwell were delighted he wasn’t playing!.

By the way thank god the stadium was empty today.

Who knows but I find it hard to see what Morelos would have added today.

Well apart from down his left side which was completely mocket thanks to Borna’s back mis-header

Most important 3pts of the season IMO

They served up some Claret sh*te and got the right reward. I doubt St. Johnstone will play anywhere like that at home. Possession - 82-18 Shots - 20-4 On target - 8-2 Hagi made the most impact, providing a real outlet on the right, then Aribo got back to his best too. Itten did the real damage with the second, that essentially blew their game plan out of the water. So great to listen to unbiased folk at RTV, McCann and Kerr.

I saw the last 10 minutes of the first half and almost all of the second half. I thought we were pedestrian in the first half but actually very good in the second. It is so hard to break down a team playing like that and our intensity was excellent, and credit to management who made the right changes at the right time and won the game. I’m delighted for Itten to get that goal too, that has to be a huge boost for him. He deserves a lot of credit.

This team are no bottlers, that's a fact, delighted for the players

NO BAD JUJU! PLEASE! I can't take it...

This team got slaughtered on Wednesday, quite to an extent, equally they deserve huge credit for today, fully deserved hard fought victory, a show of character and desire

Unlucky to come up against two world class sides within 4 days. We just have to accept our fait, we’re just not at this level yet.

This match was a test before kick off, it's an even bigger test now. Motherwell are not interested in trying to play any form of football, it is up to us to break them down which is proving difficult so far.

Looking forward to this. Motherwell are always a dangerous side but I'm expecting a positive reaction from us to the events of midweek. No excuses, let's get stuck in and do the business!

Aribo was so far off it the other night that I don't think he will suddenly turn it around. I'd like to see Hagi play because regardless of general play, he tends to do things that lead to goals. Today shouldn't be anything other than 3 points, anything else and the other side of the city will celebrate so much that they'll probably forget to watch their Cup Final on Sunday. It's St.Johnstone (A) next midweek, where given the St.Mirren performance/result, the opposition will fancy their chances and we'll have to be well up for the game or suffer. SG again said Ryan Jack "...is close...". We could do with him back on Wednesday.

For decades psychologists have studied why humans are reluctant to accept randomness as simply part of life, instead are inclined to believe that we can, at least to some extent, predict, influence, and control the world around us. Of course there are many, many aspects of life we can influence and control, but there are just as many we can’t, so we create mechanisms to deal with these. For millennia different societies have reacted to low or reduced personal control by strongly endorsing a belief in the existence and influence of external controlling powers. These feelings manifest themselves in many ways. The Aztecs made human sacrifices in the hope they would prevent earthquakes. The ancient Greeks built shrines to their gods in their homes, convinced that their gods would be angry and punish them if they didn’t. Today, you probably know someone who believes 9/11 was staged or who is convinced Covid is a hoax and vaccines are a scam perpetrated by ‘big pharma’. Psychologists believe that when randomness imposes itself on our lives we react by reintroducing order as we best understand it. This can manifest itself as simple superstitions, rituals or global conspiracy theories that draw us in. For some it’s easier to believe they are being threatened by evil scientists than by a naturally mutating virus they can neither control nor see. This is called compensatory control. I’m guilty of this. My first thought on Wednesday evening as I saw the Rangers side enter the pitch at St Mirren was ‘we never play well in white socks’. I was right. Rangers should always wear black socks with red tops, everyone knows we play better in them, that’s a sacred cow in my belief system. I’ve had a few of these over the years. I own about 5 Rangers scarves, but only my white bar scarf is lucky. Like thousands of others when I leave the stadium I must touch the top of the exit with my left hand, it’s very bad luck not too. Also, I never, ever leave a match early, if I did it would create a karma cataclysm I’m not sure the club could withstand. In the past I’ve found myself wearing the exact same clothing to match after match as clearly that particular sartorial combination was contributing to our good run of form. I’m not alone in this. I once knew a Hamilton Accies season ticket holder who followed them home and away. He missed two matches in a row through illness and Hamilton won them both. They lost the next match he attended and he and his friends agreed he was bringing them bad luck and he didn’t attend another match that season. Following Hamilton was a huge part of his life, but he knew his presence was causing them their problems that season. The major flaw with compensatory control however is that it’s not based in reality. I hope Rangers are wearing black and red socks again against Motherwell this weekend, but let’s be honest that wasn’t the reason we lost to St Mirren and it won’t have any bearing on Saturday’s result either, no matter what my addled mind might tell me nearer the time. I’ve watched Rangers lose far more matches in perfect black and red socks than I have in white ones. There’s a helplessness that comes with being a Rangers supporter currently. Actually being present at a match provides some level of tangible contribution. I might not be able to control the midfield from a seat in the enclosure, but I can shout obscenities at the opposition right back that he can actually hear, so that’s almost the same thing, right? Watching all of our matches on TV just underlines how little control I actually have. The dog has learned to go to another room so she’s not startled by my random volcanic outbursts following a misplaced pass or over hit cross. My Rangers impotence is very real this season. Saturday’s match is a chance for our side to make amends. To show that Wednesday night was simply a slip, not a fall. Motherwell come to Ibrox in poor fettle, 3 straight losses and a draw in their last 4 matches is relegation form. Indeed, were it not for the awarding of Motherwell 6 points for two Covid postponed matches earlier in the season they’d be 3rd bottom, clearly the scientists behind the Covid conspiracy are based in post-industrial Lanarkshire. We last played them in late September when we ran out 5-1 winners. If you could pick opposition to play when you need to bounce back from a setback then this current Motherwell team is it. A struggling side, in poor form, at home; surely it’s just a question of how many we’ll score? But this is football and as we all know random, inexplicable things happen in football, things we can’t control or explain. How did last season’s Rangers side crumble in January after comprehensively beating Celtic at a full Parkhead at New Year? Why did we lose to St Mirren on Wednesday? Are Rangers mentally fragile, have sides finally figured out how to nullify our marauding style of play? Are we destined to become the Scottish version of Keegan’s Newcastle? I don’t think so. We learned on Wednesday that a 20 year old with only 4 first team starts in his entire career isn’t as effective as the first choice left back for Croatia. We also learned that Cedric Itten isn’t yet as good as Alfredo Morelos and that every Rangers starting 11 should have at least one of Jack, Davis or Kamara on the pitch. We also learned that lapses in concentration and weakly surrendering possession will see us punished. None of these things should come as a surprise to us though, we surely already knew this. Every manager in Scotland, including Motherwell’s, will be studying how St Mirren were able to frustrate us. As such I expect Barasic to return to left back and Kamara and Davis to the centre of our midfield. I’m not sure how badly injured Balogun is but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Helander make a return to the side either way. I think we’ll persevere with Itten, Kent and Roofe, but a start for Defoe wouldn’t be a big surprise either and Hagi must be due another chance soon too. Motherwell have two first choice picks for Scotland in their defence but will be without Hastie up front who is currently on loan from us. Motherwell will aim to frustrate us, close us down and try and prevent us playing our quick passing game. They’ll have taken heart from the St Mirren result, it’ll be interesting to see what we’ve taken from it. We can expect plenty of possession, we might need patience and resilience too. Rangers fans have been damaged by the events of the last few years. We got used to mentally preparing ourselves for the worst. It was easier that way when it inevitably happened. So the last 4 months of undiluted, high octane winning football were greedily enjoyed, momentarily quenching a burning desire to see Rangers return to the pinnacle of Scottish football. But I’m an addict and while I’ve greatly enjoyed my weekly hit of out-classing every opposition we’ve met, I need it to continue every week. I can’t go cold turkey, not at Christmas. In a year that’s carried more anxiety than any for decades football is not providing an escape, I find myself approaching a home match against a below average Motherwell side like it’s a cup final. When we last won the league, back in 2010/11, we lost 5 league matches, in 2008/09 we lost 4. Every side loses matches, it’s how they respond to them that matters. So far we’ve not lost a league match this season, yet the jitters have already set in with many in our support. One setback and we’re nervously watching through our fingers instead of sitting back and enjoying the ride. I suspect anything less than a victory on Saturday will cause psychological damage to the players and the support. While this side has a style and vim about it that Walter Smith’s sides could only dream of, it doesn’t yet have his side’s inner steel. It’s not a compensatory control to say we need that, every side that wants to win the league needs a strength and desire that’s greater than it’s opposition’s. Our manager knows better than most that one slip in the league can define a season, this weekend is not the weekend to make ours. Saturday will tell us if this side is on the road to greatness or not. To be on the safe side make sure you wear your lucky shirt and don’t use the same mug or glass you had on Wednesday evening, just in case.

Totally agree with this. I think both Itten and maybe Defore are better coming off the bench

The question is does morelos go straight back in. Having had a look at itten and Defoe starting for me he does.

Some superb scores this round, including a maximum. Correct Result (1 pt): Everyone who entered. Correct Number of Rangers Goals (1pt): Stevie, Franc, Devil, compo, BD, Ian, BHB, gaspard, One, 26th, T-1000, CammyF and r_s. FGS (2 pts): Devil, MacK, BHB, BSRT, and Uilleam. Correct Score (3 pts): Franc, Devil, compo, gaspard, One, 26th and T-1000. Weebluedevil takes the maximum! Latest Standings:

????????????

Actually as a tactic geek you'll love the second half in particular.

On the plus side, seeing Andy Walker's smile crumble as the goals came in was delightful.

Roofe is just such a crucial player. Our most important forward because time and time again he gets the goals.

We seem to have resorted to pissing about with the ball in front of the opposition the last couple of games. Saw this happen before Arfield's resurgence this season.

Me too, he's brilliant.

Definitely not. It will take guile and imagination and Motherwell are unlikely to concede from a set piece. Aribo and Hagi on for me for Davis and Defoe. Make Roofe the focal point and get Hagi, Aribo and Kent play off him.

Motherwell don't need to play football, they've scored, we've spurned opportunities and have had 83% possession - this is so reminiscent of last season, huge 2nd half coming up - MUST WIN GAME

Please Rangers, do not give them reason to believe.

I read that we haven't won a league match immediately after losing a cup match, under Gerrard (not sure if this is 100% true). However, we have reacted well after disappointing results this season and hopefully that continues today. The next five matches are huge and today's is probably the easiest of the lot - we have to show our intent from the off.

We only take First Rangers Goalscorer.