BlackSocksRedTops

Glad Balogun is in instead of Helander

Ramsey starts! https://www.instagram.com/p/Cb4mp8WKBjn/?utm_medium=copy_link Lundstrum in a back 3 to allow Tav and Bassey to bomb forward?

Definitely! I've got a feeling Gio might play this like a Euro game.

How does anyone feel about the impact of the international break? I would have been more nervous 2 weeks ago but I'm hoping the break has stunted their momentum and means the game will be down to who reacts best post international break? Thoughts?

Feel like this has a draw written all over it. Morelos is a massive miss. Roofe is a big game player but he hasn't started many games of late. Feeling nervous. Hate these game with a passion.

As much as I can see us raising our game and beating the Tims, I can also see us going away and struggling to win against diddy teams. Hmphhhh...

If we dont win today, the so-called important matches will become irrelevant.

Agreed. We've basically thrown it away with this run of inept away day Sunday performances.

Not being wise after the event but why is Jack not starting? If he is on the bench he's fit IMO. Start the game with your strongest XI.

Interesting team. Just go at them from the first whistle and get this done Rangers. Drop any points today and you can kiss goodbye to the league title.

Just watched the highlights. Excuse my ignorance of the offside law but how is their first goal not offside? Their player is a yard in front of every player when the guy strikes the ball. I know he doesn't touch the ball but he within eye shot of McGregor and sure interfering with play?

Couldnt watch game due to work commitments and parent duties so I had the misfortune of relying on Radio Scotland in the car for the final score and the odd update in between car drop offs. Jesus...you would think they be happy that Scottish team went through. On no. Richard Gordon was keen to emphasise that Rangers were beaten and it was disappointing that they lost (despite getting into the last 8).

More Ukranian memories... My first experience of Dynamo Kiev was when the played the Tims in 85/86? Their performance at Darkhead was something I had never witnessed before. The Kiev players(Belanov, Blochin, Baltacha eta all) were amazing with their free flowing brand of quick passing football was a joy to behold. Think it ended 1-1 but it the Ukranians should have destroyed them tbh. My 2nd memory is when we played a year or so later. For the away game it kicked off in the afternoon (UK time) so we skipped school early to watch the live beam back at Ibrox. Archie was doing the commentary and my abiding memory was the amount of soldiers in the stadium of 90,000 and the huge floodlights providing light on a gloomy Kiev evening. And of course the return leg is the stuff of legends. Amazing.

Great post as ever John. With regards to the 1990 friendly, did big Oleg Kutsnetsov not score a beauty in the opening stages and we subsequently signed him shortly after? (Only to be injured in one of his first games)

Was Tavs performance directly related to the formation we used? We need him further up the pitch as that is where he does his best work and playing Lundstrum as a "sweeper" enables this IMO. Same with Bassey. Is almost like we are playing 3-4-3 at times.

Crazy game. We rode our luck at times. They look good going forward but I feel we can score over there as their defence looked average. Like the fact that we mixed up the corners and set plays tonight. All in all the score is amazing but if some some players were more on it tonight, we could and should have destroyed them.

Why is black overlooked? Rangers IMO are blue, white, black and then red. Black and red are in for obvious reasons and come together as a pair. Red should not be anywhere near a Rangers jersey and wasn't introduced until the 1978-79 season. Prior to that we had been blue with white trim for long long time.

This. I'm staggered we've not tried this again. We'd have Bassey and Tav where we want them. ie. Pushing forward. We would also have 2 strikers. I genuinely don't see the point of a 4-3-3 if the 2 players out of the front 3 are simply hugging a touchline waiting for the ball. And when they do get it there are 2 players on them. It's bewildering that we rarely hit the by line in.our play. The balls we hit in are generally very speculative and usually get mopped by the CBs.

I'm holding out hope that the team will raise their game as the pressure mounts. I recall that during one of Walters return seasons we won the title but leading up to split we were atrocious and scraping past teams (2008/09). The fans were calling for changes on a weekly basis but Wattie pereservered.

I'll reserve judgement until he's had his own players as opposed to the ones he's inherited from a previous manager.

Couldn't agree more. Most teams seem to favour the short corner option to retain possession. Or at least curl corners in at pace directly at the goalkeeper as opposed to the aimless floaty ball we seem to favour.

I don't understand why we don't at least try a 3-5-2 in games like this? Lundstrum can play as sweeper and Tav and Bassey can do their best work in their half. I also don't like Kent being stuck on a wing. He's got talent enough to play inside more IMO as opposed to hugging a touchline all day. --------Macgregor-------- ---Goldson-----Balogun--- --------Lundstrum-------- Tav-----------------Bassey ------------Jack------------ ----Arfield----------Kent--- -------Roofe----Alfie------- That leaves a diamond in the midfield and rotating up front options. Our play is so predictable IMO

Maybe but the problems that are evident with this team will not be solved by Hagi.

Not really. We were also aimless and average when he was available.

On a par with Wednesday. Awful. There is no chance we are winning the league.