DMAA

Very good article. I feel sorry for defenders sometimes because very often their reputation is at the mercy of their managers tactics. Walter Smith made Danny Wilson, Kirk Broadfoot etc look rock solid, even against the likes of Man Utd at Old Trafford. Warburton may have brought Tavernier to Rangers but he was also at fault for making him look very poor defensively. Tierney's stats are surprisingly bad. Even with a high score for duels % it's almost as though he avoids them with how low his duels per 90 score is. To be fair it could be that wingers go for deeper crosses against him rather than trying to beat him, that would also explain the low cross blocking score.

I had assumed it would be a bosman actually. Would be good for the club to at least get a couple of hundred thousand.

Still disappointing for Rangers to lose a first team starter for nothing when we're in the financial condition we are. At 26 and playing well he could have at least fetched 500k with a year or two on his contract. Disappointing on that front, but it sounds like it was 100% his fault so no need to dwell on it. Main thing is to get David Bates tied down, hopefully this gives him some encouragement to do that because he should be starting alongside Martin now. There's a potential McRorie-Bates home grown long term partnership there. If those two fulfill their potential that would be fantastic for the club.

Apparently a bid for Dembele was “nowhere near” Celtic’s valuation. He’s not going anywhere this month, the Dembele Dollar has crashed against the pound and they are clearly in total denial.

Is there nowhere at all to listen to this game?

I'm a little bit worried about this one for a few reasons. Main one is the lost warm up match at the weekend, in comparison to Aberdeen getting a perfect warm up match against decent opposition. Three new signings starting (probably) could backfire too, they're getting thrown in at the deep end. Danny Wilson apparently not starting and David Bates not in the squad also a worry. Hope I'm wrong and the new signings rise to the occasion and Murty does it again, after all big games is his speciality.

I think he's going to struggle to start if Docherty comes in because we'll have Docherty and Goss, with Halliday and Holt as backups. A loan could get him fit again and ready for next season. He'll take a long time getting fit by wee appearances off the bench I think. Hope I'm wrong.

A loan to a Scottish top flight club would be ideal I think, Hamilton or somewhere he'll get games. Gives him first team football in our league and potentially helps his team take points off our rivals.

If only there was an AC12 for the BBC.... (Line of Duty fans know what I'm talking about)

I'd personally like to Naismith back, a future Kenny Miller figure in the dressing room, and a better player too. It could be Rangers wanted to see how he got on at Hearts for 6 months before deciding. After all, there's no harm in first letting him prove he can keep injury free and get match practice for 6 months, whilst at the same time giving Neil Lennon a headache gives us time to slim down the squad and make some room for him too. I know some will disagree but he's an excellent goalscorer, very few midfielders score as many as him.

Hope that's not true. Nothing devalues a player more than refusing to sign a new contract. If he cares about Rangers he'll sign a new deal so when it's time to move on we get the money we desperately need for him.

Chris Cadden is a winger is he not? Does anyone know if the Ross County right back Jason Naismith is any good? I've only seen clips from highlights but he seems a good prospect. Having said that St Mirren let him go so can't be as good as he looks from those clips.

He was a very strange signing because it was obvious he wasn't Warburton's type of player. He is the total opposite of Barrie McKay, who was exactly Warburton's type of player. But I think a good manager can bring the best out of technical players and more raw players in the same team, and at different stages of the game.

Agreed

Yes that's what I mean. Clever tactics that focus on a player's strength can make him look like a completely different player. Who had a good word to say about Windass under Caixinha or Warburton? I think headless chicken is harsh given he's demonstrated very good dribbling and finishing in a number of his goals. He's been player of the month once more than any of the rest of our players too. I'm just hoping Murty can turn him around like he did Windass.

Great article, you make football sound like a game of Chess (I like Chess). I didn't see the Florida games but it sounds like Murty has finally brought advanced attacking tactics to Rangers, and he's bought the players to implement it. Our attacking play has been rudimentary for too long and that's why we're poor at breaking down opponents when we are on the front foot. If we implement these tactics in the league we could see O'Halloran especially transformed. He has pace to burn but poor tactics makes him look bang average. This set-up could also provide the platform for Atayaki to make a breakthrough, I'd love to see him brought on when the game is won and we're still on the front foot. The only position I think really needs strengthened in order for this formation to work better is centre mid, with Docherty brought in. Docherty could be our long term main man in the middle of the park, I think it would be a huge mistake to let him slip out of our hands because the only league winning standard centre midfielders we have are Jack and Dorrans.