Rousseau

Bates is crap with his feet, but better in the air and when he uses his strength; reads the game well enough too.

Waghorn off for Garner. Waghorn was poor first half -- unable to hold it up -- but second half he's been better, running into space rather than being asked to hold it up.

Stop it, Danny! That's filth. We're playing some nice stuff now after the changes.

What. a. goal. On a plate. PC has changed it to take advantage of what PT are doing. Tav now playing it up the line and a forward always there to take it.

Dodoo on for McKay -- Barrie not done much tbh.

Very poor offensively until that decent spell of pressure just before Miller scored. Miller has been awful, but then pops up with a goal... again. I've been disappointed with Waghorn -- his hold-up play has been poor -- we need someone next to him, like Miller did do towards the end of the half, or get Dodoo/Garner on for him.

[tweet]853232918088622081[/tweet]

I've been critical of McKay but this video suggests it's not all down to him: [tweet]852630581309571073[/tweet]

It's an added benefit.

Midfield; He plays Defensive Midfield.

Perhaps not the calibre we would like, but he is a solid SPFL player and captain of a team that have done fairly well over the last few years; not to mention that taking their captain weakens them. I'd take him as a squad player. It's a pre-contract so it won't cost much.

It's interesting looking at the appointment of Rangers’ new Portuguese manager Pedro Caixinha, writes Stephen Elliott. The one thing that has stood out for me other than his nice suits, is that he has changed the training schedule for his team including cancelling their day off on Wednesday. This may have shocked a few but I can't say I was too surprised. The situation reminds me of when I was at Hearts when another immaculately dressed Portuguese guy, Paulo Sergio, was appointed manager. I remember the first day he walked in the door. He looked like something out of a Hollywood film rather than a football manager. He had a real presence with his hair slicked back, all suited and booted, not too dissimilar to Caixinha. He had come in to replace Jim Jefferies, who was a very popular figure in the dressing room and probably dismissed slightly unfairly in my view. With this disappointment fresh in our minds, naturally Paulo wasn't welcomed with massively open arms by the players. The lads were probably looking for faults in our new boss and probably didn't give him the immediate respect that he probably warranted on his arrival. One thing that did strike me about Paulo when he came in, was that he knew everyone’s name and their attributes on the pitch. It was a bit of a surprise as nobody knew of him before that, and for him to have so much information about us showed that he was more prepared for his new role than we initially thought. This probably also tells you that he was tapped up for the job a long time before the club actually sacked Jefferies, which in my opinion, was poor by the club. However, it was a relief to be honest, as the last thing we needed as a squad was somebody coming in who didn't know anything about us. I think Paulo was taken by surprise of how we trained on his first day in charge. I remember we played some small-sided games on the indoor astro at Riccarton and there were a few hefty tackles flying in. This was usually the case in these games as nobody wanted to lose, but the fact that the indoor pitch was so tight, always made it a little more dangerous. When the session finished, he pulled us into a meeting and explained to us that we needed to take a bit more care in protecting each other during some of our tackling in training. I think one of the lads piped up, possibly Ian Black if I remember correctly, saying ‘that is how we always train in Scotland’. Paulo was quick to point out that it wouldn't be the case any more. Paulo also informed us that he was going to be changing a lot of other things around the place and it was going to ‘start in tomorrow's training’. Now bearing in mind, this was Tuesday and a day off on Wednesday was usually a given. So this piece of information definitely ruffled a few feathers. You could see how a few of the lads were definitely not happy with this. Especially the guys who were travelling from a little bit further afield of Edinburgh. They were not shy in letting Paulo know this too. If he thought managing Hearts would be plain sailing, then I think he thought again after his first day. Paulo was very into the tactical side of the game, and by the sounds of what’s coming out of the blue side of Glasgow, it is exactly the same way Caixinha is going about his business. The training that we did with Paulo was very difficult to get used to. We went from playing lots of small-sided games, to literally hours of phases of play every day of the week. Paulo’s mindset in training was to get players to know exactly where he wanted them to be on the pitch. We would go through a drill from back to front sometimes 20 or 30 times, until every player involved in the drill knew exactly where they had to be. It was very time consuming and probably not the most enjoyable training when we first got stuck into it. However, we soon bought into his methods and we all knew the roles expected of us on the pitch. Over the first few months, a lot of the lads really didn't like Paulo as they felt the training wasn't as sharp as it had been. They also probably weren’t too ecstatic about his decision to bring an end to their Tuesday nights out. Although I'm sure a few of the younger lads still did go clubbing, judging by some of their performances in training on a Wednesday. Paulo even had us in on Sunday’s most weeks for warm downs and core work which certainly didn't go down well with the lads. Especially the church goers! It took some time for him to win us over but once you got used to his methods, you realised he was a good guy. In time, everybody grew a lot warmer to him. He was an astute hard-worker who left nothing to chance. Even after a defeat, he had a great way of lifting everybody's spirits. He also enjoyed team days out and always made sure the whole squad were there. We had a great team bond, which was very important, especially when you look at all the off-field problems that arose in the club during that period. A lot of plaudits must go to Paulo for keeping everybody positive during a time when a lot of lads were in real financial pressure due to the lack of wages. I’m sure he might have loaned some of the lads money out of his own pocket when they were desperate. We may not have been a real expansive attacking team, but when it came to the big games, he got it right more often than not. This was proven during our Scottish Cup winning run, when he got it tactically spot on most occasions. If I was a Rangers supporter, I’d be very positive about what the future holds. I have a feeling that if Caxinha is anything like Paulo, they are going to win a lot more of the big games then they have been doing of late. They have already seen his impact with their important win away at Aberdeen last week. At times this season, Rangers didn't seem to have any identity of how they were setting up to play. I have no doubt this is a big reason as to why they have gone for a Portuguese manager. We will soon see a much more structured Rangers team on the pitch that know exactly what they are doing. And I’m sure in time, the lads there won't mind the extra training too, if it means they start challenging for trophies again! https://www.sportdec.com/app/article-single/hdzkoeqmfzck13qhhytrtdoeu

PC is taking a good line: keep it in-house.

Coaches don't exist unless they manage in the UK or Barcelona/Real Madrid.

Did he not also say something like 'lock up your sheep' when they started to leave in their droves?

I don't see why PC is a 'maverick'? He's named a team 24 hours earlier than usual; surely that's more to do with not knowing Scottish convention? And, the subs at the Motherwell game was a singular coincidence. Also, the win had nothing to do with tactics, it's just Miller doing the business? What about the fact PC brought on Dodoo and moved Miller into a central position? Did that not have anything to do with it? What a plank. The Barry Ferguson stuff just proves why many fans had doubts about him.

Unfortunately, I agree. There are moments in the game when I think, 'how the f*** is he playing?', then he goes and scores a screamer?! He is a consummate professional, but I agree I don't think we can win the league with him playing regularly. I would like to see him get another deal, to have him around and to play a part, but I would like to see us get someone else in there.

Well, I watched it; why wouldn't I, after we won?! The whole theme was the incredulity of our win; Aberdeen were the best side... blah, blah, blah. They did have us under pressure -- a lot of it -- and so you can say they were in control. However, someone else said -- perhaps McCann -- in another game, you can twist that: actually Rangers were in control because we sat in and dealt with everything they fired at us. Moreover, how many times have we dominated games this season, and last, only to be criticised for not making it count? possession counts for nothing etc. They undoubtedly had the better of the possession, but we dealt with everything they had and then countered very effectively. We should be given credit for the way we did it -- I didn't think we had it in us. Alas that doesn't fit the narrative, does it? GIRUY!

I said that elsewhere -- it's a surprise to me! Perhaps it is because he knows he has to deal with it -- whatever it may be -- instead of hesitating and waiting for his partner?

I was just going to ask: when does Sportscene start? I can't wait!

I agree that one was tricky, but he still should be hitting the target for me. However, I actually meant the shot just before Miller scored. He's 5 yards out and hits the 'keeper -- Miller then scores the rebound. I thought Waghorn had a poor game.

I loved the passion from PC when we scored. I think he looks good tactically, and he gets the culture of the club; time will tell whether he can walk the walk.

It was backs against the wall, but it was like that since the half kicked off. He's undoubtedly our best player, but I just thought he was anonymous. Like I said elsewhere, I think PC was looking at the counter and that's why Windass came on.

Foderingham made a couple of very good saves at 0-0. He's doing the job at the minute.

I thought Hyndman was anonymous again. We were under the cosh when he was on so I disagree that we lost shape, or whatever you want to call it, once he went off. Windass and Dodoo have better running ability for the counter -- I think that's what PC was counting on towards the end. As good a goal as that was from Miller, WTF is Waghorn doing missing from 5 yards?! It doesn't matter now, but that costs us too often. That was a solid defensive performance. The youngsters gave the ball away at times, but they were solid for the most part. I think Wilson looks better too -- with added responsibility? I always thought he was the one who needed guidance. I really think our defensive performances have been much improved under PC -- it's still quite early, though. GIRUY Dolly! So f**king easy... Brought a tear to me eye!