Rousseau

#timplosion

Yeeeeeeeeeessssssssss...........!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've not got the penalty-takers or the 'keeper to save them...

The fact that players like Holt, McKay, Zelalem (and Law) can 'compete' with their giants says a lot. It's not about physicality but technical ability.

Well done boys. Can't ask any more.

Down to the luck of penalties.

I'm disappointed in Law: he's getting pushed around too easily; he should use his pace more.

We struggled to create chances that half. I'd rather see us just pass it around -- they can't score if we have the ball -- rather than attempting pin-point passes to force a chance.

Obviously, their physical threat is dangerous at set-pieces.

Meh, they've done us proud.

Wallace has had little support down the left hand side as our wingers haven't tracked back consistently.

 

I said weeks ago that Roberts was their only player that impressed me and that's been the case today.

 

Was Boyata injured or just yanked??

 

Maybe not over the course of a season but we are showing today that we are more than capable against the country's best in a one-off game. A couple of quality signings and we should be challenging.

According to Twitter, Boyata was subbed because of a broken heart...

Our pressing is forcing them to play on the counter, but it's still worrying every time they do.

I'll not be comfortable until we're 5-0 up with a minute to play -- if that!

I'm shaking!

We're dominating, but they've missed an absolute sitter. For all the dominance, it could easily be 1-1. I get nervous when they run at us: Wallace has managed but not been great against Roberts. Kiernan, Wilson and Ball look imperious.

I think I'm bricking it -- I don't know what I'm doing!

Surprised to see Shiels start, but I'd probably trust him over Clark.

RANGERS: Foderingham; Tavernier, Kiernan, Wilson, Wallace; Ball, Halliday, Holt; McKay, Miller, Shiels.

SUBS: Bell, Clark, Law, Zelalem, Burt.

http://rangers.co.uk/news/headlines/one-change-semi-final/

My words, you can feel the tension on here. Only one game can create this mix of emotions.

I'm not expecting us to win. I would simply like us to compete. (To be fair, if we can create a shot on target that is an improvement on the last time we played them.) I'm strangely confident we'll score a goal or two, but whether that means we'll win, I'm not so sure. As long as they play for the jersey, give it their all, and 'get into them', then I'll be content -- one can never really be happy with a defeat.

Ooft, I think the Hibs 'keeper is generating his own gravitational field to suck the ball towards him! Unbelievable.

That Hibs 'keeper could use a sports bra.

Utd are dominating now because Hibs have sacrificed numbers in midfield for strikers - 5v2 in places. More strikers doesn't equal more goals.

Have to agree to disagree on Fyvie!.

 

DUTD are a poor side,when they go down I can see them being down for a wee while!

Sure. He can be both a good player and a cheating b******.

Jon Daly maybe?

Fyvie is a diving cheat!,he can stay at fester road for me.

 

The gulf is not much between the SP teams and us and Hibs

He's certainly got a nasty side, but I still think he's a good player.

Hibs know what they want to do (even if they're struggling to do it), but Utd do not have a Scooby.

I thought it was the wrong decision in real time, but the replay shows he got it spot on.

I was watching the first 30 minutes or so of the Scottish Cup semi-final -- until the proper EPL game started -- and I was confident there was little, or no, gulf in class between the leagues, in terms of quality, but I was wrong: The top of the Championship are far superior to the bottom of the Premiership. Dundee Utd are awful, with no idea how to build up from the back. Hibs are far superior -- despite players simultaneously being too confident and lacking confidence -- building out from the back very well, and dominating possession; they're technically and tactically superior -- It's embarrassing.

I'd take Fyvie in a heartbeat (I always thought he was a quality player -- Roberto Martinez is not normally wrong, technically speaking -- and is still fairly young) and I'd like a player like Bartley protecting the back-four (he looks very good; simple, but effective).

The strange thing is, Dundee Utd will win it through a fortunate bounce of the ball or a set-piece; ridiculous.

Cant agree with that Rousseau.

 

If we are looking at whether or not we are lightweight you cant just look at one or two areas of the pitch. Yes, I agree regarding the forward positions with MOH, King, Forrester and Waghorn out (However, remember that King is a loanee).

 

However, if we had lost one of Wallace, Tavernier, Kiernan, Wilson then we would be struggling not only for cover but also for formation and tactics. The only real replacement for ANY of those players would be Ball, and he surely is a shoe-in to sit in front of the back 4. Not only that but he wouldn't be a suitable replacement for either Wallace or Tavernier as he is a very different type of player.

 

If we lost Wallace we have no suitable replacement. Yes, we used Halliday when Wallace went off last weekend but a left back Halliday certainly isn't. The other side our "replacement" for Tavernier was Aird which clearly isn't a strong enough replacement and someone who ended up on loan.

The discussion was in regards to the front line. We agree we're OK up front in terms of numbers -- quality is another question!

Yes, you're right with regards to the back-line; I agree it is too lightweight and we need more options.

I still don't think we're too lightweight overall, though. Broadly, I think we have the numbers he wants. Yes, we need more options at the back, but I don't think that changes the equation too much. Yes, we'd struggle when a first-team player drops out, but you can say that about any first-team player: it changes the tactics a touch, but the overall strategy will be the same. We can get by, with youngsters etc. (I think Ryan Sinnamon is back, for example). It's about adding quality, rather than numbers.

Anyway, it's not important: we agree we need more options in certain areas.

Someone in charge with half of Warburton's guts and intelligence and we'd be in a much better situation. For many, the answers are obvious, but for some reason the individuals that matter are reluctant to change. It's really quite sad.

I disagree that the squad is too lightweight. Yes, we're missing two players and we're now struggling to find replacements. But add the ineligible M'OH and King to that and we're missing 4 players. In an ordinary run-of-the-mill season (with no ineligibles), then we're quite comfortable losing two players. It's a perfect storm situation: 4 players ruled out through for several reasons, and all in the same third of the pitch.

On the too lightweight issue (player-wise): I don't think it's necessarily a big problem, because if Zelalem et al -- I don't think for a second that Zelalem is starting -- can shift the ball quickly, then Brown will be bursting a gut to catch F-all, and he'll not get a sniff -- If we play it right. I don't believe the 'too lightweight' argument is entirely credible in a modern game. A player can barely tackle anymore without getting booked for it. A more technical player, with good passing ability, should be more than enough for their dated antics. That doesn't mean a 'destroyer'-type player wouldn't be useful in this game, or in general, because it would; but, we have what we have.

I've swung back and forth, from quiet optimism that we can beat them, to outright dread that we're going to get a mauling. As always, the truth will be somewhere in between. I'm not as worried as the last time. We certainly have something to offer, with players and a style that can cause them difficulty. The unknown variable is the 'derby' aspect, because form goes out the window, and anything can happen. I'm looking forward to it though.

When Forrester plays deeper (LCM), we've had O'Halloran and King to come in; because they're not eligible, Forrester's position would have been RW. From that the only replacement can be Clark IMO (Clark up top with Miller wide). I don't see Warburton changing radically -- with Halliday or Shiels playing as a winger -- it'll be something he's done before. DB picked the side correctly above IMO.

The midfielder replacements (Shiels, Law and Zelalem) cannot play RW; only Clark can come into the equation IMO.