Sutton_blows_goats

I am no expert but i presume they(RBS) have a very good youth team considering the conveyor belt of talent they have produced the past few years at senior level.

Morelos, Lundstram and Kent were good today. Kent needs to improve his finishing and he would be top tier on a performance like yesterday. Not going to complain about the ref. He was utter garbage but that's standard these days. Felt we really missed Balogun when he went off. His aggressive aerial presence and tight man marking makes a big difference. Great aggressive attacking again from Morelos and Kent. Get the ball and go at the throat. Stone wall penalty from the challenge by McGinn. A fresh air swipe or a slide tackle and he had a good handful of Kents shirt. Not sure what the Hibs players were complaining about when it was awarded. Pleased Lundstram is really growing into a key part of the team. He really didn't start well with us, then i don't think he was helped with how he was asked to play in our midfield 3. If we persist with this current setup Jack and Lundstram sitting seems like a great match. We really need a leader from that position. Jack can do it but i want to see Lundstram do it too. A little disappointed in Aribo again. At real risk of losing his place to Ramsey who looked really hungry during his cameo. Barisic looks broken. Needs a thorough medical examination. He got injured about this time last year and never recovered. Went to the Euros injured and has never been the same since. We all laughed when Watford supposedly bid 2 million for him. But to be honest he doesn't look any better than a £2 million player at the moment.

Then we need to raise ours even higher. Same with when Aberdeen are in front of us. Cant believe we have dropped 4 points to the worst Aberdeen team in over 10 years.

After the stamp on his knee by Kipre of Motherwell at Ibrox the management team seemed to manage his game time 1 game on 1 game off.

This was very noticeable. Also we had a striker who couldn't hold the ball up. Lowry looked to be playing wide which is a waste.

Out for a few days at least Gio just answered at the presser.

I've been watching us for years mate I'm used to it. People always complain. Even when Smith was winning everything ahead of him. We need to be realistic about where we are now and what we need to do to compete. A big part of that will be playing a lot of players who are rough around the edges in the hope they improve and we sell them for profit. Bassey a prime example.

The Patterson example is fine, he is not close to being as good as Tav. Agree 100%. But only one of those was sold for a big fee. So perhaps not only fan perception at play there.

My expectations are also to win the league. However i doubt we will have a team full of impeccable players given our current financial situation and player trading model moving forward. We will see a lot more Basseys in the years to come as we look to develop and sell on.

In what regards? I don't think anyone will look at Bassey and see a complete player. Any expectations as such are completely unrealistic.

Same ideas as above, enjoy the two legs and move on to focus on domestic matters.

Yes, a young player with around 35 professional games under his belt does need this. Don't think anyone is under any illusions there.

Its almost as if he is a young player who could possibly learn the game and improve.

Rangers 2 - Hibs 0 FGS Morelos

This time next year Rodney. In all fairness its not a bad idea. The shop is always mobbed so makes it difficult to get stuff bought.

What a performance. Blew a very good team away. A team that doesn't ship goals easily. We had an abundance of chances. Could have been a bit more than 5. Dreadful refeeding performance again, just dreadful. Missed a clear pen, booked Bassey for a great challenge and booked Balogun for something the forward made it to be. Shows what we are capable of if the players believe and have that kind of hunger and intensity. My 2 main criticisms of the management were answered today. Our midfield has lacked shape and presence. Our forward line is too far apart and cant linkup with the midfield or each other and our central striker is isolated. The same single fix solved both those problems. Jack and Lundstram played as the 2 'sitting' midfielders in a 4-2-3-1 type formation. Both drifted out wide when in possession to make triangles with the fullback and wide player. Bassey Lundstram and Kent caused hearts a fair few problems. The first goal a great example of that and what a ball from Bassey to Kent in behind the fullback, the cross and finish were sublime. Should have had a penalty not long after for a pull on Kents shirt. I've been especially critical of Lundstram since he came in to the club, a few bad performances initially followed by the fleeting good performance. But yesterday he was great. Full of running on and off the ball. Good passing and offering the right angles. Made a cracking run in the second half which I want to see more from him. Its why i believe we brought him in for those lung bursting break the line runs. Kent much better today, he needs to keep that type of performance going for the rest of the season. We need him playing like that. Bassey was great too apart from that headed pass back we need him to stop trying things like that. Full of praise for the entire team yesterday. Makes me wonder, were the players at fault for Wednesday or did the system hang them out to dry? (specifically Kamara).

Manager claims he didn't make any tactical changes during half time. Just personnel changes and that changed the second half. I'm not a football tactics expert, just a fan but i find that rather alarming given how the shape of the team looked(or didn't look like any shape)

Not my intention to slate anything, I was more being objective. I dont think i've slated anyone or anything in my post? Merely a comparison and trying to illustrate there are bargains out there if you know where to look. Bassey and Hagi are definitely good signings. Sakala the jury is out. Sands, Soutter and Zukowski will need a good number of games before I'll judge.

In light of the result last night. And the player that scored twice against us. A 900k signing from Japan who likes a shot outside the box. We have all speculated that we pushed the boat out to get Ramsey as there were no alternatives available. We reportedly paid a 2 Million loan fee despite subsiding a very small portion of the wage. Ramsey is a great signing and I'm going to enjoy watching him play for us. But was it the right signing? time will tell. That little chap has played a few games for Celtic so far yet had a big impact. They also signed a MK Dons player with a small outlay. Midfielder. He did ok against us although I admit i didn't watch him closely. There are players out there if you are looking in the right places. Perhaps the 'only bring in better' approach we had should (in retrospect i admit) been replaced with 'lets bring in hungry players we can improve'. I say that given the likely turnover of players we are sure to see in the summer, and the fact most of this squad has been here for some time and the squad seems to have gone stale. To add. Wilson is a DoF. Not a scout. Are our signings not adding value down to Wilson, or Scoulding and the scouting team for not providing the right options?

I think you cant have one without the other. Application is the prerequisite to any tactical victory. I don't the believe our players applied themselves as much as they could have. Of course the Tactical side also had a big impact but it did so because the Celtic side had players that applied themselves better.

I cant bring myself to vote for anyone.

Hm. Disappointing isn't the word i would use. But suppose you are not going to get real honesty from these press conferences. All the usual soundbites about wanting to see a reaction no doubt from the manager. I don't want to see a reaction. I want to see an aggressive team on the front foot. High pressing not letting Hearts settle. Put them under pressure. I want to see Aaron Ramsey even if he can only play 60 mins. We can make 5 subs. I don't want to see Barisic, Kent or Kamara. I want to see a team with a shape and a midfield presence. A forward line that can impose on the game and work together, not two wide wingers and a forward stuck leading the line himself against Hearts back 3. I want us to control the game and dictate the tempo. Not sit back to wait and see what happens.

Rangers 2-1 Hearts FGS Tav

I thought it was a bold strategy by them to sign a team of wee lads like 5"8 Japanese, Croatian left backs, Kilmarnock left backs and Israeli wingers. Turned out their wee guys bullied ours and just about every other team in Scotland over the past few months. Maybe Scottish football is changing and the days of Scott McKennas, Darren Dodds etc are long gone.

Its not just last night though DB, that's the problem. Every game bar Stirling Albion at home had the same theme as last night. There are a few issues here that need fixed as a matter of urgency.