Gaffer

I am really frustrated by this. It's not because of the article, it's more about why I now know about it. Had it not been posted on here, I wouldn't know it existed. I don't read these rags, and neither does anyone else in my circle of friends or family. The paper and many of its staff are an example of everything that's wrong with Scottish football, so why are we still buying it? Stop, and take every opportunity to influence others to do the same. I may be wrong in my attitude here, and can understand those that want to highlight the wrongs in this, but by doing so it only further fuels these despicable morons. They thrive on the air time and debate it receives, so don't give it to them. Cut off the very oxygen they rely on and they will die off quickly. I'd support a ban on anything to do with this organisation, including mentioning them in posts, tweets, etc. If as a support we failed to acknowledge them even once in a year, how different it would be. I hope and expect to enjoy the death of this poisonous organisation in my lifetime. I would enjoy it all the more if our supporters were the cause of that. So, let's start today. As far as I'm concerned, it now doesn't exist.

Just because Alves is not watching it at Ibrox? (Only kidding, but that article from Boyd is just reflective of someone who isn't in Alves' class, and will never appreciate what it's like to be a world class winner. These are not regular fans we're talking about here. Alves is a top athlete who understands the importance of treating injuries immediately with the best possible medical support. Every minute matters, so why would you risk waiting? Alves is a class act. Boyd is a class clown.) You won't be alone in fearing another hammering, and there's no doubt that these injuries have come at the worst time possible, but I get the sense that the players are confident. PC seems to have an air of calm and confidence about him, and that will usually rub off on the players. We are not expected to win today, and everything suggests we won't, but in many ways these are the interesting games because we have very little to lose. I can't wait for the game. I just hope Morelos blasts one in early. After that, anything can happen. He's got a ton of pressure on his shoulders, but he seems like he's someone who enjoys that. It'll be his temperament that will be tested more than anything but he's got the chance to be a hero today. They all have.

Don't you think the priority for him is to get back to full fitness? That's got to be more important than him watching the game at the stadium. He has an obligation to get himself back to being available for selection as quickly and safely as possible. As for players seeking their own specialists, that's always been the case and quite right. A player should be allowed a degree of freedom of choice in determining who should deal with an injury. I don't understand why this would cause anyone any problems that he has done this.

That's really disappointing that you'd call our manager that. He's a Rangers manager and any manager of our club deserves more respect than that. Even if you don't like him, there's no one that can really claim he's an idiot. He's possibly the most intelligent manager we've ever had.

Did you read what I wrote? I said the only reason I'd expect Miller to be in there is if we expected to spend more time closing them down than creating things ourselves. I don't rate Miller, but I can understand why you'd play him in a closing down role. It's then a decision as to where best to deploy him. For the avoidance of doubt though, I'd rather we played the same structure and style as we did on Tuesday, but it takes a very brave (or stupid) manager to risk that after just one test.

I agree Pete. Maybe it's worth trying Morelos out wide in another game to allow Herrera to be the target man, however not to make way for Miller. As I said in one of the other threads, Miller is ideal for the midfield if we think we're going to spend more time closing down their space than we will be creating our own. You're absolutely right, that Miller will only lose possession and is not technical enough to develop our attacks from there.

The formation is only partially important though. It doesn't really matter how many they have in their midfield, it's about what those midfielders do when they are in possession. If one of them sits deeper (which is usually the case), then the central attacking mid can drop down and give us that cover. If one of them goes wider, one of our wider attacking mids can cover. For me the big difference I want to see is how quickly (and well) our midfielders (in particular) transition from having the ball to not having it, and vice versa. Pena made this change brilliantly and he will be a loss to us if not started. However, he will have to work harder to find that space to run at their goal so it'll be a real test if he does play. I'd expect us to be spending more time closing down space than creating it though, so perhaps that's why KM is preferred. There's no doubt he's better at that role, but he then leaves a lot to be desired when attacking. Decisions, decisions.

Every time I hear him at these press conferences, the more I like him. Some of the journalists just don't appreciate that they have a guy who not only answers their questions honestly, but also tries to make sure they understand him. He gives them examples when he thinks they don't understand and they should be grateful for the footballing/tactical lessons he's giving them. Anyone who reads the forums will know that I enjoy the tactical side of the game, and he's so good at explaining what we do and why we do it. His explanation of the goal we conceded when Alves was trying to play them offside was so interesting. It's a breath of fresh air to have a manager who is open and happy to explain himself. I'd much rather that than the usual cliches that roll off the tongues of most other managers. As for the provocation of Morelos, it's a fact that he will be targeted, and I think PC is clever in spelling that out. There's no doubt we have a very smart man in charge. Whether he's smart enough to overcome the chasm between us and them is a different story, but he's clearly confident about it.

Great article and i think it's always a reflective time when a friend or family member passes away. I'm really looking forward to the game, and although there won't be many that expect a win, there is now at least the possibility of it. I've gone for 2-0 in the prediction league, but a win for us is more likely to be 4-3, given that the system we're likely to play will result in goals for them. Our only hope is that Morelos scores every chance he gets. I think if we had proven Tuesday night's system sooner, we would have used it against Celtic, but this game has come too soon for that. I do therefore agree that Miller is more likely to start than Pena. It's for this reason that I'm looking at the weekend's game as a bit of a false situation. We know we are likely to be moving towards a 4-2-3-1 or similar after Saturday, and yet we also believe we won't be using that this weekend. What happens if we win by some strange stroke of luck? Does that then put pressure on the manager to stick with the current system? He's got to have even more strength of character to then say he's changing the system from something that beat Celtic, to one that only drew with Thistle after 90 minutes. I believe that's exactly what he should do, but what a tough decision to make, and what a tough one for some of the players and many of the supporters to accept. I don't expect he will have that problem, but I suppose it would old be a nice one to have. Bring it on.

I agree that DJ is an excellent prospect and I hope Mark Allen is drawing up the pre contract as we speak. There was enough in last night's game alone to see he's got amazing potential. I do wonder who we can get to play in Windass' role. We have Holt but I don't know if he can do that role. I don't know of anyone else that can do it. I suppose we have the choice of playing Lee as the wingback and John in the left attacking midfielder role, but I don't see LW as being able to support on that side for a full game, at least not without putting us under pressure on that side defensively. Equally, I don't think DJ has the vision and decision making skills yet to be effective in that advanced role either. He may, but it's too early. It's a weak area of the team and I just don't see too many options there.

I'm maybe reading between the lines here, but are you suggesting that Ian's predictions are a jinx?!? ;-)

In a normal 4-2-3-1, the holding player becomes the central defender (between the two main central defenders). I think you're suggesting that instead of that, Cardoso is taking the central role and Jack is taking the right hand side. If that's the case, I missed that and it makes sense, but then the pressure is really on Dorrans to be more disciplined as you say. PC is very unconventional and it's refreshing that he's trying out new things. I'm not convinced by this part of the tactic, but I'm really hoping we either make it work or change it. The balance of the team is definitely much better though. We need to try it against a team like Celtic or Aberdeen, and then we need to test it against a team like St Johnstone. I can imagine the likes of Miller being unsupportive of this change though, because where does he play? Someone else suggested playing Herrera as the sole striker, with Morelos on the left. That's very interesting as far as I'm concerned. Herrera definitely is more suited to that role, but I think it might waste Morelos' talents. I'd be up for testing it out, but that's easy for me because my job isn't on the line if it goes wrong. PC strikes me as a guy who is very decisive and has probably already made up his mind about Saturday. Last night however must be making him think about testing it out against them at the weekend. I think he used last night as a test, thinking he'd then revert for the Celtic game, but he might kick himself if he doesn't take this risk. Despite the negatives from last night, this is the best tactical performance we have had for a few years in my opinion. Although we've had good one-off results against teams like Celtic in the cup semi, this is a repeatable system and it's exciting to watch, although a little too 'exciting' at times. Whatever PC decides, he has to commit within the next month or so, because he has to prepare to use January to sign the pre contracts for the players we think will fit in.

It's funny that we both pressed 'post' at the same time with the same assessment of Pena. When the team starts to use him more, he will be lethal. Maybe the language barrier is making it more difficult for him to direct players, but it'll come. I agree he looks like the player we hoped he would be. You never know Rousseau .... maybe this was PC's plan all along, or maybe he read the forum yesterday and decided to listen to us. ;-)

So pleased that PC has at last played the system he (and many of us) prefers. Last night's game did however show us why he's been trying other systems though. Firstly, it was a boost to see Pena from the start, and he looks great in that role. He found space, and played those one-twos he is so good at. The team needs to recognise those runs he makes though, because too often he played the pass and made the run, only for his team-mate (normally Morelos) to pass elsewhere. When the partnership develops, these two could be lethal together. Candeias was clearly enjoying that system too. He's a good winger, but he's so good when cutting inside too, so this suits him and he could have had a few more goals last night. He is so fit too and was up and down that side of the pitch all game. He seems to have settled really well and will be competing for player of the season without a doubt. Jack played well, but he's got to be more disciplined in his positioning. This system is very different from what he's played before and he needs to sit deeper between Alves and Cardoso. We gave away too many chances to them because we left big gaps. Against Celtic this would be a problem, but perhaps the manager opted to play it this way. Only he knows. Either way, if we're committing to this system, Jack needs to recognise when he has to sit that 10 yards deeper. And that brings me on to Dorrans. Dorrans is a really good leader and I rate him very highly, but in this fluid system, I feel he's out of position a lot. He likes to get forward, but he has to be the link between Jack and the front 4 and this didn't work for some reason. There were too many times when there were wide open spaces in the middle of the park and that's where he should have been. It also meant when we lost possession that Jack then pushed further forward to press the player. This causes the shape at the back to crumble. Almost every single break away they had was as a result of us being overloaded initially in that area. That shouldn't happen, and I hope they see that in the analysis session tomorrow. Dorrans will have competition from Holt in that role. John looked excellent and he's got be pushing for a first team place now. He does however have to improve his awareness and decision making. He always looks to drive forward but he has to recognise when other players are committed forward and just sit back more. Equally though, his team mates need to recognise he's always thinking of attacking and perhaps sit back for him too. But he's a really exciting player and I'm sure we are already starting work on his pre contract for January. The final player I'd pick out for attention is Morelos. Although he clearly has to develop his support for other players (in particular his understanding of how to create space and chances for Pena), I'm more and more impressed with him with every game. We all hoped we could sign someone like him, but I didn't think we'd get someone this good and so young. He's quick, he's strong, he's skilful, and he is so confident. His workrate is top class and I'm sure we all enjoy watching this boy play for us. There were (and probably still are) some doubts as to whether he is ready to play as the lone striker in this system, but I feel he's able to develop quickly into that role and I'd persevere with it, even if it means risking a few more points in the process. Many of us hoped we'd see the manager's preferred system implemented, and last night was the first time. There are some big points of concern to address (as I've mentioned), but he's got to stick with this now. We will drop more points in the process of learning and working out the best 11, but I'm hoping PC gets the support from all players. I said yesterday that Miller and Wallace aren't naturally going to fit into this, and after last night I'd say that Windass is a doubt too. I hope he can develop, but now I see why we wanted Walker, who is a more natural fit for that role. It'll be very interesting to see the approach we now have for the weekend game. Given that he's not under great pressure to win (accepting however we need to compete), I'd hope he'd stick with the same system as last night to see how we can create chances again Celtic. I'd fancy our chances to score a couple, but unless we sort out the shaping and discipline in certain positions we could lose a few too. I'm a risk taker so I'd go for it. I hope PC thinks that way too.

That's true. Me saying he's an ideal 10 is based on opinion rather than from his usual position. He is excellent at moving the ball quickly and I would love to see him play that 10 role, but I may end up with egg on my face if he can't perform there.

Your point about 5 at the back is understandable. What you'll find is that it's the same reason I want PC to play his preferred 4-2-3-1. The reason I say this is because in this approach, the defensive midfielder actually drops all the way back between the central defenders (who operate a little wider than you'd expect a central pairing to do). This happens when the team gains possession, allowing the wingbacks to support the attack. This gives us 3 central 'defenders' while we retain possession and can manage defensively if required on a fast counter attack by our opponents. And you're correct, that we have very effective attacking wingbacks in both Tav and John. It also means we have two central midfielders (Dorrans and Pena, assuming Jack is the holding midfielder) who have to hold up play until the wingbacks can return to their defensive duties, if and when the opposition regains possession. 4-2-3-1 has become the most attractive approach for many of the top teams because it allows them to exploit the transitions as PC keeps talking about. It's very effective if done properly, but you need the right players and the discipline. I feel we've now got the right players to do this, but now we need to develop the discipline and that's what PC's drills are all about. That's what he means when he talks about 'reacting to the moments in the game'. The biggest threat to this formation and tactic is when you come up against a team that switches the ball quickly in the final third, because it leaves the team exposed, but I'll not bore you with that detail. Fortunately, in Scotland we don't have opponents with the skill to do that particularly well so this should be ideal for the Scottish game. Whether PC is our long term manager or not, what I do believe is that he is building our style and approach in the right direction. It's up to him to prove he is the man to make it work. If he can't, I don't want someone else to come in and change our tactics. I just want us to commit to making this work. It could be incredibly effective for us, and that's what excites me.

That's correct TB, he's perfectly suited to that central role in the 3 attacking midfield positions. He's at his best when he can keep moving the ball (i.e.When he can take players on, but he's not so good when having to hold it up) and he needs someone who he can play quick one-twos with (because he's brilliant at breaking through defensive lines with these passes and runs). He would have Candeias and Morelos in particular to work with.

I've been 'fortunate' enough to see this guy play and he should be amazing for us, when he adapts. There is no question that the style he's used to is very different, but he is a number 10 and he was bought when PC was looking to implement a 4-2-3-1. This change to a 4-4-2 seems to be restricting Pena. It's restricting him because he likes to find space and run towards goal. When we play 4-4-2, he is squeezed between Dorrans/Jack (whoever is furthest forward) and Morelos. There's just not the space to collect and face the goal. This is a problem that PC needs to address because otherwise he's an expensive substitute player. 4-2-3-1 more naturally suits Pena's style, however for that to work we need to have confidence in the striker. At the time he changed formation, PC didn't have the confidence in Morelos to deliver in that role so I understand the change. Now is the time to commit one way or another. Either we put faith (there's that word again) in Morelos and go with PC's preferred setup, or we nurture him more in a 4-4-2. I suspect the former is our best bet, but it's going to mean the end of Miller and Wallace. We know about Miller's issues, but Wallace also lacks the speed and fitness now (in my opinion) to play an out and out wingback, and this is critical in a 4-2-3-1. It's tactical decisions like this that PC must be thinking about every day. If he bites the bullet, makes the changes and it works, then brilliant. But if these changes don't create immediate results, his decisions will be under even greater scrutiny. That's why I'm glad he's paid the big bucks to make such decisions. The injury to Wallace gives him an opportunity to test it out, and that's why it was no surprise to me that Miller has been left out. For me it's his best opportunity to go 4-2-3-1 and test out his best team. I just want to see it, and I'd be happy to risk the result against Thistle to see how it works, because the rewards are so great if it does.

That's true, and as PC said in his interview, it's a fact that other teams are playing far more aggressively against us in games than they do against the other teams. If I was a supporter of a team like Thistle, I'd be hacked off that they clearly have the ability to challenge at the top, but they only play that way for four or five games in a season. The attitude of the press with stories' timing like this just reflects the wider attitude towards our club.

I like how he explains his tactics and thinking in these press conferences, but I get the feeling that these journalists don't care. All they're interested in is asking him about Windass' hand gestures or Celtic.

I completely understand the points made about Alves' defending, but having looked at the replays I'm still not sure what the best decisions were (without the benefit of hindsight). There were too many instances where he was sliding across to cover John's position. Cardoso also moves over but Tav didn't. It's strange but I wouldn't even blame Tav because he needed Candeias to cover Tav's own man, and because he didn't, Tav decided to take the risk and leave the gap. Maybe it's better if no one slides across but this is the issue I see in all levels of football. If one player doesn't do his job, others can be made look stupid or like they're doing something wrong. It's equally true with the goal where we tried to play them offside. Alves moves out to play them offside, but Tav was definitely sleeping and missed it. Something as simple as that caused the goal. I don't blame Alves for that. They need to establish trust in one another to do their own jobs. Alves clearly has that trust, forgetting that he's not playing with the same calibre of player with us, but he'll have to now think harder and make different types of decisions when they don't do what they're supposed to. Having said that, Alves should now recognise the relative inexperience of the players he's got with him and start taking more control in certain situations. For example, he allowed Cardoso to put in the challenge leading up to their free kick and goal. Cardoso then let it bounce twice so I'm wondering if Alves will take such a chance again. I imagine not, and unfortunately that's where problems occur when two players attack the same ball. It tends to happen out of mistrust for their fellow teammate rather than the lack of a loud and clear shout to claim it.

I personally don't think we need to change much in the way of shape or personnel. I would however insist that JT reduces the amount of forward runs. I realise this puts more strain on Candeias, but we are too weak down the right side when JT moves out of position. On the left, its fine as long as they don't switch the play quickly. We get caught out when Jack/Dorrans is covering the right side and then there's a sudden switch of play. They can't then get across quickly enough to support John on that side (assuming LW is still injured). Of course, we do have the option of using two holding players, but that's going to leave Morelos unsupported, and he's not the best at holding up play. If we do have two holding players, the only option I can see is to play Miller with Morelos. He's not my favourite player, but his workrate and holding of the ball might be required. Either way, this is going to be one tough game. I just hope we can impose our style of play on some of the game as I'd like to see how well we compete during those moments. If we can demonstrate that PC's style can work against Celtic, it's then down to being more consistent, and perhaps improving the quality of players in some key positions.

Do you have to try to be the worst comedian on the forums, or does that just come naturally? Some of what you write in your articles and reviews is interesting, but most of what you write as posts on the forums is just trolling, or at the very least argumentative for the sake of it. We have a long way to go before we get back to where we belong at the top of Scottish football. Most people on here are sensible enough to realise that, so I can only assume these same people enjoy the argumentative stances they take. Is that helpful? Not for me, but it may be for some others. If you, union, and some others really believe (and post) that we should be changing managers (and the board) each time Celtic beat us, or if we get knocked out of Europe by a 'small' team, or if we draw with Thistle again, I'm not sure I can deal with this for the next few years. It's said that either your environment becomes a product of you, or you become a product of your environment. Were you guys always this negative, or was it developed through the last few years? I'm trying to work out how likely I am to become infected.

It's amazing how differently two people can see a game. Thistle had two chances in the first 15 minutes and took them. We then battered their goal for 30 minutes and couldn't score. There was only one team looking that they'd score and that was us.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm actually quite happy with the progress we are making and am quite confident about the season ahead. However, even if I believed the doom and gloom presented on here, it is unhealthy for us to constantly put down our team and the league. Many people got frustrated at England's commentators and press building up their players and league as "the best in the world". I actually respected them for this, because that's exactly where it starts. If you present it that way, it starts to build a perception, and before long it starts to create the reality because it slowly but surely attracts more and more people to think that way. That's why the money followed, and bette players arrived. It's still not the best league in the world but they're a lot closer than they were 15 years ago when they claimed it was. If they keep going the way they are, it will be within the next 10 years. In contrast, we have supporters and commentators (including journalists) that take satisfaction in putting our game down all the time. We have supporters who appear to revel in our misery rather than looking to the future. We have some of these supporters in our club who would rather tell us how crap someone like Alves is, rather than building him up as someone that our younger fans can get excited about. That's what's unhealthy, and many fans still don't understand that if we don't fix this attitude, we are going to lose a younger generation of fans. Fortunately, in my circle of family and friends, we are positive about the club right now and the kids are all excited to see Morelos, Alves, Pena, and Wes in particular. We've created heroes out of these guys, and players that the kids can talk about in the same way as Real Madrid fans talk about Ronaldo. I think that's healthy, and far healthier than the negativity that goes on here sometimes. Finally, a lot of the negativity stems from the game the other night against Thistle. I'm disappointed about the result too, but I thought it was a fantastic game of football. Any neutral watching that game would have been delighted at the entertainment. For excitement it was top drawer I thought. Both teams played the game with a high tempo in the first half and clearly tired a little, albeit Thistle exploited that tiredness better than we did for the first 15 minutes of the second half. Both teams had very skilful players on show and moved the ball around really well. That's a great advert for our game is it not? I'm looking forward to a successful season where we finish second but with more of a performance each time against Celtic than we did last season. I'd also hope to see a few more games like the one the other night, because I barely breathed for the last 20 minutes and I love when sport causes that. Not breathing may be unhealthy, but I'll take that temporary loss of oxygen in my bloodstream over the permanent negative poison which seems to run through many people's veins in our game.