DMAA

Lucky not to get a yellow I'd say but it's clear none were obvious reds, no case to answer.

42 minutes ago, Stevie - 4lads Blog said:

I asked about Jones etc but it’s all went quiet 

Phew. Jones is one of the most overrated players in the league. Stewart has carried them this season. 

Nothing on Gauld @Stevie - 4lads Blog?

His contract is up in June so I think we are free to sign him on a Bosman. I think he's tied into a season long loan until then. If we sign don't sign him Aberdeen or Hibs probably will. Worth a punt given he's the no 10 type and would be cheap.

11 minutes ago, buster. said:

it's more if their bodies would be up to playing a lot of Scottish football and how long it would take them to get back up to speed within the 5 months

It's certainly a point that it's a big ask to go straight into first team football with a demanding fixture schedule with Rangers after a long spell without regular games.

However there's the world of a difference between a Kranjcar or a Senderos and a Davis or Defoe. Both have a virtually flawless fitness history and that definitely counts for something. 

I'd be excited if Gerrard could pull Defoe off. Gerrard would be why he'd do it imo because it would be a big pay cut.

9 hours ago, Stevie - 4lads Blog said:

Jermain Defoe

 

Not a rumour, not a suggestion, but 100% club have made a move 

 

Will speak to Frankie & tell him what I can’t publicly put 

 

but we are in the running gents 

Thanks for the update Stevie. Surprised due to geography, wages, competition and first team football issue but I’m not opposed to a loan or short term deal if he’s willing to take a Davis style pay cut (which I’d be shocked by). 

The problem with the young players we are able to sign is general rawness. Defoe would bring technique and finesse to the final third. Even Morelos, for all his abilities, is often clumsy in possession and his finishing and passing.

If fit, and he seems an evergreen type, he’d certainly improve the squad. 

2 hours ago, ian1964 said:

 

I find this very unlikely. He will have plenty offers much closer to home from teams who are more able to pay his wages.

2 hours ago, 26th of foot said:

Today, on the BBC Scotland website, Tom English has an A to Z of Scottish football in 2018.

 

Under R, which stands for racism; Tom accuses Rangers supporters of racially abusing Aberdeen's Shay Logan?

 

There has been a well documented spat between Shay Logan and elements of ra Sellik support, including multiple accusations of racism. I am not aware of Rangers supporters being abusive in this manner to this player?

 

Revisionism or or is Tom suffering from false memory syndrome?

Looks like this has been removed. He must read your critiques. 

17 minutes ago, ian1964 said:

 

Erzurumspor are believed to have accepted a bid in the region of £1m to take Rangers misfit Carlos Pena...

15 hours ago, DMAA said:

I didn't hear Tom English talking about our domestic record but despite the caveats

1 hour ago, craig said:

None of the above can dispute the quantitative fact you provided.  But I also find it a bit unfair of us to ignore the qualitative.

I didn’t ignore it though Craig. We’ve discussed the caveats a number of times so I said despite those I would still probably have agreed with the criticism of his league record to the 31st. 

12 minutes ago, buster. said:

The top flight this year is much more competitive with more teams able to get results against the Old Firm

This has been often repeated but it’s not true, Celtic performing far worse is the only difference. 

We’ve dropped 4 points to a much less competitive Hibs side who’s squad was decimated at the end of last season. We’ve dropped 5 to a clearly weakened Aberdeen. 2 to a much weakened Motherwell. 2 to a much weaker Dundee. In the 9 games we’ve dropped points the only teams which are stronger are Kilmarnock (who were also very strong last year) and Livi (who are better than the team they replaced).

32 minutes ago, buster. said:

Article talks about 12K per week.

On that supposed figure, SD would be losing well into 7 figures on the next 6 months but would get a further years contract worth over 600K.

 

You wonder if a heavy bonus may be on offer if we were to win the title.

 

Numbers apart, the most important thing is if SD still has it in his legs to be what we want him to be.

 

 

At 12k a week I’m a convert on Davis. I wasn’t as sure as others but at that cost I can get excited about what he should bring. 

We've struggled when we have all the possession this season and Davis played alongside Jack should bring much more passing ability to our midfield which I think has been terribly lacking for most of the season. That would leave only one naturally defensive player in our midfield which is what it should be in the vast majority of our games. The technical ability in the team isn’t as high as it should be and I can get excited about a player with more creativity and more precision in his passing playing in that deeper role. 

55 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

You would hope it's just sheer incompetence but there's plenty of evidence to verify the definite bias

You don’t have to look past the preference to refer to Celtic as “The Champions” by most in the BBC. It’s fair enough sometimes but there’s obviously something wrong when it’s practically the default. 

I didn't hear Tom English talking about our domestic record but despite the caveats I’d probably have agreed with him. Gerard’s record pre-old firm was the exact record that got Warburton sacked, and 1 point off Caixinha/Murty’s record by end of year old firm match. Hopefully we’ve turned the corner now. 

4 hours ago, ian1964 said:

 

At 60k a week it’s his only option. Even assuming we manage to pay as much as 20k, he’d be sacrificing about £640k. There aren’t many people who wouldn’t just sit around for a few months for that kind of money. 

12 hours ago, Gaffer said:

If that's true, I'll be having a major celebration.  Even before the game on Saturday I thought this kid shows all the promise of a very special player.  I'd love to spend a big chunk of cash on keeping him.  He'll help take us to 55.

Maybe we should have an open thread for discussing some players. He lacks the technical ability I like in a winger, and which is very important in a 4-3-3. He has a very traditional winger skillset imo. 

6 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

It's a real bugbear of mine. 

The team should watch Germany’s dismantling of Brazil in the World Cup a few times. Almost all of their goals were tap-ins, a joy to watch the game made to look so simple. 

3 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

He shouldn't even be shooting: cut it across for the tap-in!

 

It's a real bugbear of mine. 

Agreed. It’s an open goal for Arfield if squared. 

2 hours ago, buster. said:

Young, effective and tactically discipined wingers don't grow on trees.

Well, up until now he hasn’t been that effective. He’s been all about directness, pace and dribbling. His passing, crossing and shooting (i.e end product) has left a lot to be desired, evidenced by the fact that despite playing the equivalent of 3 games more than Middleton (an apparently “very raw” youngster) he has the same number of goals and assists in the league. Even on Saturday despite playing really well you saw that side of his game when he missed a one on one which should have been a goal. 

30 minutes ago, buster. said:

Would Ryan Kent be within our budget ?

 

Good young player with 3 years left at Liverpool sounds out of our financial reach unless you want to spend most of the transfer kitty on one player. 

 

Get him on another loan  

The contract was purely to ensure they got a proper fee for him. But he’s a £2m player max in my opinion. A lot of money for us but add ons could be a route to take the up-front fee down somewhat. Saturday was his best performance yet and although he’s an excellent dribbler he needs to produce end product consistently to convince me he’s league winning quality. 

9 hours ago, Franc Ergs said:

Quite clearly going for the balls .

Fixed that for you

2 minutes ago, JFK-1 said:

It’s only 3 points but it’s the difference between us being just 3 behind them presuming they win their game in hand and a potential 9 behind if we had lost.

Yeh it was the definition of “a 6 pointer” and what a way to go into the winter break.

@Bill has a point in that we haven’t been good enough in the league so far but the main thing tonight is that we’ve finally been given real hope that a turnaround could be possible. 

12 minutes ago, Rousseau said:

I would also like my moment to gloat...

 

*cough* @DMAA *cough* 

 

... that was how a 4-3-3 should be played -- by us, anyway. 

 

Tight, compact, runners from the 8 position, nice triangles, runners in-behind, number in the box, with threats from out wide.  

Yes, with an attacking midfielder playing the attacking midfield position. Arfield was immense and is a huge player for us. Not to mention the return of Kent, another attacking player. All about the players available and as soon as I saw the starting lineup my spirits lifted. What a performance. 

The same team who faced Hibs will really struggle. That midfield is devoid of creativity and very poor in possession. 

Our best chances on Wednesday came from Middleton’s pace. Jack is the one midfielder who has the ability to create something and play him in.

Poor Morelos could be in for another very frustrating Old Firm, double marked with no strike partner and unsupported from midfield. 

As @Gonzo79 said, prove me wrong Rangers. 

17 hours ago, Rousseau said:

I do note they play 4-4-2...  )

? I didn’t know that. But whatever the formation, that style of play executed well will unite any fans

Can’t comment because I haven’t seen him play. Worth noting it’s a big step up but if he appears to have the attributes required it doesn’t seem a big gamble.