DMAA

As predicted, bunch of divers and the Spanish ref buys it every time.

Hagi has been trusted. I think we definitely lose out in terms of ball winning but he has the end product that we might need. Personally I think Aribo loses out to Kent on reputation alone. Aribo has been better than Kent byba distance since the break, and he hasn’t even been very good. However this is the kind of game Kent can get right up for.

Seems on the face of it another shrewd signing at this level.

Yes I meant to say that the tables have turned on our side as well of course. I amn't too worried about form personally but I am worried about Jack's absence. My prediction over the two legs is that Braga's superior quality in the final third will show. My hope is that we can rattle them at Ibrox and nick a win and then hold out in Braga.

It's incredible how the tables have turned since the draw was made. On December 16th we drew a Braga side who were toiling in mid-table and looked a clear step down from the Porto. 7 days later they appointed a rookie coach, Rúben Amorim. A familiar name due to his playing career but his only previous coaching experience was with the Braga B team. A closer look at his record and you can see why they gave him the job after only a few months of management with the B team. Before he started with the B team they had won their 3 home games but lost their 2 away games convincingly. He became their manager in September and in his 11 games in charge his record was W8 D2 L1. Since he left the B team their form has collapsed with 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses. Despite not even being allowed in the dugout because he doesn't have his badges, Amorim has taken his methods to the A team and performed a miraculous turnaround. Prior to him taking over, Braga's league record was W5 D3 L6. Since he has taken over their record is W9 D1 L0. This has included 5 away wins out of 5 and wins over Benfica, Porto and Sporting Lisbon. And the 1 draw was due to a first half red card. So in short we are facing a manager who in his very limited experience in the dugout (or in the stand!) barely knows how to lose, using an unconventional formation. At this moment in time, we are facing the best side in Portugal and we certainly aren't favourites. Here's hoping Amorim's first taste of European football is a bitter one and presents a new test to the methods he has implemented so successfully domestically.

I wish that chant would stop

Points based systems are all the rage

He has been excellent in Europe. He really seems to rise to the occasion.

I don't think Kamara can be considered a stick on when he has only played 2 minutes of our last 3 league games. He could go with Aribo alongside Davis and Arfield although I would be surprised given the stregnth of the opposition and the fact that Kamara is a more defensive player.

I’m not, my opinion on Kent has been the same since he joined. But we obviously just have a difference of opinion. I didn’t say he couldn’t do those things, just that I consider ability in those areas as indicators of “technical” ability and I don’t see him as strong in those areas.

Braga's form is incredible. Since the 18th of Decemeber they have won 9 and drawn 1. The wins included away league wins over Benfica and Porto, a semi-final win over Sporting Lisbon and a cup final win over Porto. The 1 draw was in a game they got a player sent off in after going 2-0 up in the first half. This is a team who have a winning mentality and don't concede many. On the other hand with 4 red cards in 6 games they are almost as bad as us for dicipline!

Jack will be a huge miss as you say and Barisic will be too if he doesn't make it. It will be interesting to see if Hagi starts. It would be a move away from the style we have played at home in Europe under Gerrard which places a big emphasis on attacking midfielders who are good at pressing high and winning the ball back like Kent, Candeias, Aribo and Arfield. On the flipside, Hagi brings quality that none of the above possess.

Well, if he was more technically capable he'd be very comfortable playing through the middle but he isn't. He looks very much like a winger playing in the middle. And the problems he has with his end product; whether that's a cross, pass or shot, is all to do with technical ability. More often than not, the accuracy and finesse just isn't there. As I've said above, that's not out of the ordinary for an out and out winger at all. But it is a problem when you are relied on to score and create consistently in a congested central area. Those qualities are vital to achieve that. Ianis Hagi typifies those qualities and I would expect him fulfil the role of this position very well.

That's my opinion yes and I've said that since day one. His strongest attributes are his pace, work rate, determination etc. His passing, ball control, shooting, crossing, vision etc. are all lacking for me for an attacking midfielder. They are normal enough for a winger though who traditionally doesn't need to be technically great because they are running into space rather than operating in congested areas.

Tam always comes across as more balanced with regards to us

Have to say I agree with them on this. If sources are to be believed, he groomed this 18 year old boy and was forced to go public after the boy threatened to go to the the papers when he was binned. His family didn't know anything according to friends of his wife and feel betrayed. He's a dirty, predatory cheat who doesn't deserve the effusive praise for "bravery" he's getting and I'm glad someone in the media is willing to say so after days of celebration. That's where my praise of the the BBC will end on this thread though ?

I've commented on here often how Morelos's passing, dribbling and touch frustrates the life out of me even when he is on the top of his game. It isn't really to do with poor form that is just the player he is, people just don't seem to notice or mind much when he is scoring. That being said I think the criticism of Morelos is a bit too much. Compared to other players who are out of form he is still producing. He has scored two goals in two games and has been robbed blind. In terms of assists he played two incredible passes in the last two games, one to Kent who didn't back himself to finish and went down under minimal contact (imo) and yesterday for Arfield I think it was which could easily have resulted in a goal. Kamberi looks very sharp and hungry but I'd bring him in for Kent instead of Morelos. That finish yesterday was brilliant and how good would it be for there to be someone in the team who can take the pressure off Morelos a bit.

I felt it was unfair to drop Edmundson after only two games. He hasn’t had the opportunity to prove himself that Katic has and he’s so much better on the ball. Kent seems undroppable. I’ve said since early last season he’s the most overrated player at Ibrox. He can contribute plenty at Ibrox but he’s nowhere near the player so many made out he was, he has always been lacking technically. On a more positive note, Livingston’s back line breaks shape once and Hagi instantly punishes them. It’s great to have a player with his vision and passing ability at Rangers.

No the main reason is that on a tight pitch, especially plastic, a more direct style can be more successful because you aren't as dependent on a slick surface and open spaces. The utilisation of Kent on the right was just an example of how it could benefit us. I would disagree that there is no reason for the opposition full back to stay narrow against a 4-4-2. I say this as a full back who played against 4-4-2 every week for a long time. A full back always wants to be reasonably narrow when defending because the pass that you dread is the one between you and the centre back by a centre midfielder. Once that is played the winger is into an excellent position to set up a goal. When the winger receives the ball to feet, as long as he isn't exceptionally fast you should have plenty time to shuffle over and close the wide space down. So for me a smart full back will always err on the side of positioning himself too narrow rather than too wide when playing against a wide player in a 4-4-2, but a very fast player like Kent (on the wing of his favoured foot) makes it very hard for you to do that.

On tight grounds where it's hard to create space with intricate passing you have to wonder if 2 up front is worth a go and a slightly more direct style. I know it's horribly out of fashion but 4-4-2 has some strengths. Without Barisic in particular we lack threat on the left when Halliday steps in. In a 4-4-2 the need for a marauding full back isn't the same if you have a winger who can do it. At Killie we could have had, Tav Goldson Katic Halliday Kent Jack Aribo/Hagi Jones Morelos Kamberi Kent could be twice the player he is now if he was allowed to just focus on running onto through balls played in between the centre back and the full back and then cutting it back or chipping it to the back post. Just now he is playing as a playmaker at times which he is terrible at, and his shooting is awful more often than not. If he hugged the touchline on the right I think he could give a left back a horrendous time. If the left back stayed narrow (which they want to do when sitting in) he wouldn't be able to stop Kent running straight down the line and getting in behind. The left back would be pulled out wide which would open up a gap between him and the centre back which is exactly what you want. I'm not saying the above would be a recipe for success in every game because the 4-3-2-1 has served us well but you'd have to think we are surely looking at alternatives now, especially when big players are missing.

I did say that it wasn't an excuse, but that Gerrard should be cut some slack and I said that the starting 11 had been ravaged by injuries and suspensions. Yes every team gets injuries but my point is that Gerrard has had exceptionally bad luck since Dec 29th in losing the backbone of his team at the same time. A lot of people seem to think this should have had no effect on form. They have seemed surprised that we didn't just carry on steamrolling teams like we did in the 19 games till Dec 29th. The reality is that we always knew we were reliant on Morelos, Tavernier, Jack and Barisic and it shouldn't be a shock when we stutter without them. Even in the first half of the season when we did falter it co-incided with key men not playing. It's not an excuse for the points we've dropped as you say but there is a mitigating context to Gerrard's failure in recent games.

I take your broader point but you can't legislate for the bad luck we had with injury. Our starting 11 has been torn apart since the 29th. In the 8 games we've played, Helander has missed 8 Tavernier has missed 5 Jack has missed 4.5 Defoe has missed 4 Morelos has missed 3 Barisic has missed 2 Defoe aside, those are all key members of our starting 11 and the backbone of our team. In the loss to Hearts we were without Helander, Tavernier, Morelos and Jack for 50 mins. That is huge. For the draw to Aberdeen we were without Tavernier and Jack and last night we had less excuse but badly missed Barisic. What can be forgotten is that even when you get players back they are not going to be 100% fit and there has been disruption to the line up which will have an impact too. It might sound like I'm making excuses and I'm not but I think we should cut Gerrard some slack because he has had his starting 11 dismantled by injury and suspensions.

Exactly, I highlighted this in my thread a few weeks ago. I said our starting 11 have shown themselves to be good enough to win the league but we don't cope when we lose key men. Every game we have dropped points we have had key men missing. Jack and Morelos missed big ones too, including earlier in the season.

It’s the same every time for Kent, he does something that looks good and then either messes it up or just passes it sideways or backwards. For me he is lacking in real quality.

Just don’t know what to make of that tonight. Disgraceful refereeing. Disgraceful capitulation.