Rousseau

They're actually letting us come out a little, which is catching us by surprise, I think. We're therefore not as compact as we should be - to allow for those counters to develop. We've lacked a bit of quality in the final third. There were a couple of promising openings. They're a tidy side.

I'm kind of hoping this is Morelos' last match - he's looking so poor. (Wish him all the best, of course -- loved the wee man --, but maybe it's time...)

That's the team I expected. Helander is preferred to Edmundson in Europe. Kamara is suspended so Davis has to come in, even if you'd want someone else... And, we'll be playing counter-attacking football, so Barker comes in. Hagi doesn't do much defensive work, so he's the obvious one to drop out.

You're not wrong. Roofe is coming back from injury too, I believe? With these circumstances, Itten may well be preferred.

It's funny how we see things differently. I'm looking at who's the better all-round player, and who can fit into the system. For me, Roofe is the better player and fits into that fluid front three that SG wants. I'm thinking, 'how can we get more out of the front three', not where are the goals coming from -- I feel like that will be taken care of if the former is taken care of, rightly or wrongly. To use Liverpool as an example: They assembled a front three of Mane, Firmino and Salah. Firmino was a shot-shy #10, and Salah (who was pretty sh*t at Chelsea, to be honest) and Mane really didn't score too many goals, being wingers. But, put them together, using Firmino's creativity, and the running power of Mane and Salah... *chefs kiss* (You're right Roofe has never been prolific, but I feel like he'll score a decent amount for us.) Itten brings the change in approach; he's the direct approach, the poacher. If Kent and Hagi aren't creating, then take one off and bring on Itten alongside Roofe and Hagi/Kent.

Yes, I always think we're too preoccupied with strengthening our first XI -- I'm not saying it doesn't need strengthening -- but we also need quality options off the bench too. For the most part, our first XI was pretty good last season, but our options off the bench was non-existent.

They can play together, but I think it's unlikely -- unless there's a change in formation. I think it'll be Kent, Roofe and Hagi, with Itten missing out. It is quite a pickle, but it's a good one to have after years of very few options.

Yes, Kamara often played in one of the wider midfield positions. He doesn't have the offensive game to play that position as well as we'd like. It's alright for controlling European games, but not when we need to break a team down domestically.

Yes, but they have Broonaldo playing alongside him in a 4-2-3-1. So it would be Kamara sitting, with Aribo beside with a license to go forward. I agree, that's where I'd like to see him play. His ball-winning ability is really good, so he needs to be deeper. And, then running at defences and linking up with the forwards is another aspect of his game that is really good, which again suits a deeper position. At the minute we have Kamara sitting, with Jack to one side and Aribo the other. So, Aribo is already in that deeper position. I think it's Jack that is too reluctant to come forward that is the issue. I wonder if Hagi could come into that position, but then I'd worry about his defensive game - he's not one for winning the ball back.

Leicester was placed in lockdown recently too, but I don't think it really hampered the football team.

Yes, tempo is huge for us: when we're at full pelt we look fantastic; then when we switch off we look vulnerable and impotent.

Inflexible tactics, or inflexible formations? Because they're not the same thing. The formation stays the same -- even though SG has evolved it -- but the tactics have varied. The tactics against the stubborn domestic sides have been found wanting -- at least during the second half of last season, which was more mental than anything else, for me. We can show it in flashes but we've not found a consistent way of breaking these sides down. I'd like to see changes in formation as much as the next guy, but I don't think it's needed. I believe we need to find variations of play within our 4-3-3. The issue was that while Defoe and Morelos had different strengths, they didn't really allow us to play differently.

That's not a 4-2-4; it's more of a 4-2-3-1. (And, Liverpool still played a 4-3-3 with Coutinho; he occupied the wide midfield position.) I like it, though. That's where I'd like Aribo to play, which is roughly where he plays now. SG played a 3-4-1-2 / 3-4-3 with the Liverpool reserves. That would be interesting. I don't see us deviating from the 4-3-3, but with a couple of different forwards we certainly have more options.

120 mins.

Agreed...

Coaches are not using Youtube. That's only for us plebs.

You weren't impressed by Leeds?! For me, they are one of the best sides in the country, behind only Liverpool and Man City. I'm a huge fan of Bielsa. Did you maybe watch them before Bielsa? Roofe didn't shine pre-Bielsa in a really poor side. Roofe can play anywhere across the front line. He's two-footed, versatile and dynamic, with a bit of pace. I wouldn't say he's prolific, but I do expect him to lead the line well -- and, to be fair, no one asks more of their leading forward than Bielsa, and he thrived in that role -- and chip in with a decent amount of goals. I think he fits that fluid front-three that SG wants: Kent, Hagi and Roofe all running and inter-changing. I don't know much about Itten, but from the clips he looks like a penalty-box striker, or poacher, who likes to hover around the back-post to use his good aerial ability and has a knack of finding space. He looks like he has a bit of pace too when he gets going. I see him leading the line quite well. I think Roofe will be preferred at first, but he can play one of the other positions in our front three, so they could play together, with Itten leading the line and Roofe in one of the wider roles.

Just realised he's been given the No.11 shirt, following a long line of legends that could change a game single-handedly: Laudrup, Cooper, Albertz, McCann, and Josh Windass. A lot to live up to.

This looks like the other option we were looking for: a target-man, poacher-type player. He looks to have a bit of pace, but he looks a bit one-dimensional and clumsy. He has a decent scoring record, though. He suits both our games: poacher type when we play domestically; and then the pace for the counter-attacking game in Europe.

I think this is a good signing. He fits nicely into the fluid front three that SG seems to want. He's not prolific (1 in 2, if I'm being generous, which is not bad, to be fair), but I feel sometimes players don't have to be to do well in our League.

Bayer Leverkusen 0 - 0 Rangers FGS -

OK. Proper thread posted.

OK-- Have at it! (I've merged the threads to include the few predictions we had in my question post.)

Ahem-- may I introduce Rangers fans, 'debating':