BlackSocksRedTops

13 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

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. 

Not sure what the answers are but one thing that always stands out in these tight games for me is tempo. We start many of these games simply expecting to score and the tempo looks pedestrian. If I was a football manager I would be asking my teams to go and win all games in the first 45 minutes. Make it count and up the tempo. Look at Liverpool. They generally batter teams in the first 45 minutes and by half time the game is all but done. I hate the fact that we get to break in so many games level at 0-0. It puts so much pressure on the players in the 2nd half

2 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

That's not a 4-2-4; it's more of a 4-2-3-1. 

 

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. 

It would be exciting either way IMO. I called it a 4-2-4 simply because their "front" 4 were called the fab 4 back in the day 

22 minutes ago, Bill said:

Hopefully a striker partnership for almost all domestic games

Could it be like a 4-2-4 like Liverpool used to play before Couthino get sold? Hagi playing the Coutinho role and our full backs bombing up and down to provide width? Before their current set up their front four were dubbed the fab 4. We've got the firepower. Let's bloody use it.

------Goldson---Balugon-----

Tav -----------------------Barasic

-------Jack---------Aribo----------

----------------Hagi-----------------

-----Roofe---------------Kent----

----------------Itten----------------

10 minutes ago, Bill said:

Encouraging signings, to say the least. The question for me is, are we going to continue playing one striker at a time or has our manager discovered enough flexibility to field both of these signings and have them both scoring goals?

Do the signings suggest we could be looking at 3-5-2 for certain games?

33 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

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. 

I was about to post something along these lines. I presuming we were keen on Roofe due to his Bielsa performances, which were more than decent. Whoever starts, there's one thing for sure, our first XI has been boosted but maybe more importantly our bench has been really beefed up. Our squad looks strong IMO

13 hours ago, Bill said:

So far the Castore design work looks a big improvement to me. But the biggest plus is the improvement in quality - finally having merchandise that doesn't look like it came from a third rate backstreet sweatshop in Baghdad.

Agreed. My only niggle is the shiny fabric on the home strip. I find that off putting and wish they'd gone with more "matt" finish for the material. 

I was reading some quotes from Leeds fans, who are of the opinion that Roofe will score a ton of goals up here. Time will tell but he does look exciting and powerful

1-1

FGS Hagi

Not sure if anyone else saw this but the Evening Times website had a story last night saying that Kamberi was close to joining St Galen. A few minutes later the story was removed. Not sure if it had anything to do with this?

Have been a bit busy over the last few days so apologies if this has been covered

4 minutes ago, CammyF said:

Was Roofe 7 million?

11 minutes ago, CammyF said:

Itten a done deal - confirmed on official site 

 

 

His strike rate is decent. 34 from his last 50 games by all accounts

14 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

Correct.  Brown was a bit of a utility player, from memory.

I have the same memories of Brown playing all over. He even played left back sometimes. Especially when Gough and McLaren were a pairing? 

1 minute ago, ranger_syntax said:

Welcome aboard Clive!

 

Ha ha! Only being honest. Was never a fan but I'll keep an open mind. 

Neil McCann is a decent addition. I like his views on football. Souness will be interesting...

Clive Tyldesley? Genuinely hate his commentary. Still cringe at his ill advised Hillsborough referenced "justice for the England XI" comment at the world cup in 2018.

Still surprised that he's with Rangers TV. Did he get hooked from Premiership gigs?

16 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:

Can Defoe play a full season? Doesn’t look like it to me. 

And when Defoe does play hopefully our manager doesn’t play him up front on his own,a role he’s not suited to in my opinion

He won't play a whole season but he doesn't have to. He would probably have got around 17/18 goals last season if the lockdown didn't happen. Someone who can provide that from occasional starts and substitute appearances takes the pressure of the other striker IMO (whoever that may be...)

6 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:

Unless we get a striker from somewhere capable of scoring 30plus goals this season will be over sooner than we think

Some who can get 20 league goals will do for me. Once fit again Defoe will score goals. Let's not forget he scored more league goals than Alfie last year from far less game time 

16 minutes ago, der Berliner said:

Stevie4lads has remarked that it looks very likely that Zungu will join soonish in a 3.5m deal. No word on any striker just yet.

Checked out his showreel on YaTube and he looks tidy with an eye for a forward pass. Maybe replace S Davis position in the midfield pecking order?

21 minutes ago, Bill said:

 

We played Aberdeen away. They played Hamilton at home. We certainly have problems still to be solved but they won't be defined by what happened this weekend.

Agree 100%

Jack is a very tidy player but I feel he needs to impose himself on the game more. Oh and score more goals while you're at it... Davis, Jack and Kamara will be lucky to get 5 goals between them this season. That's the difference between us and them at the moment for me

32 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

My concerns are based on the entire period of Gerrard's tenure - not one match.  We have won no trophies and they have won the lot.

No-one could argue with that but this a whole new campaign so hopefully SG and the squad will learn from past mistakes and sustain a challenge. We have a few "home" games coming up so we can start to be a bit more ruthless and get goals to boost our GD

17 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

A long arduous campaign, where we have to win every match.  

 

I still don't get it.  The yahoos go for the kill but we sit on slender leads - to keep our powder dry?  They are already four goals ahead of us.

3 goals actually but this is after 1 game of a long campaign. A wee bit of an overreaction me thinks

13 minutes ago, blueflag said:

Good start for the guy.. in fairness, Aberdeen hardly posed a challenge if he had to make 3 clearances in 90mins

Early days obviously but he looked composed

6 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

Blessing in disguise getting this game out of the way early, in these conditions. 

Lawell will no doubt be working on a strategy to reduce points for top 6 games won without a crowd... 

Good 3 pts to start with but my main worry would be the way we lost our way in the 2nd half. I've got a feeling that we may have dropped points in a game like that if they had a crowd behind them 

Aberdeen are truly loathsome