DMAA
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Posts
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Posts posted by DMAA
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The most worrying thing here was the timing of these dropped points. Bottle has been a major point of discussion due to the fact that the 3 or 4 times Rangers have gone top of the league in the past couple of seasons, we have dropped points in the very next game and handed the theoretical top spot straight back to Celtic. This was a different situation but pretty much the same, Celtic win yesterday and this was the first time we are in a position where if we don’t win, we cede 1st position to them and, lo and behold, we do. So mentality is a concern again this season.
On the actual game, the failure to hold a lead with half an hour left is really not good enough. Walter’s team knew not to risk too much when you are in that position, especially away from home.
Those are my biggest concerns. I’m not hugely concerned about the individual performances. Though it is good to see Arfield proving people wrong again. He can play with his back to goal and link up play in tight spaces which some of our attacking midfielders can’t really do. He is still a quality player.
It was of course good to see Kent get his first league assist since February 19. Why can’t the manager see how effective he could be on the right? With his pace he could be getting to the byline all the time.
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32 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:
I’m guessing but I’d think Daniel Johnson is our no1 target at the moment. I see he was left out today by Preston.
A lot of chatter on that one. I’ve seen people claiming they spoke to his Mrs in Glasgow and it’s a done deal and another claim or two that they’ve received messages from people. Who knows, but it’s starting to look like a goer.
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3 hours ago, RabiDuck said:
I'd obviously rather go the season without conceding
I think we need to be realistic. We will concede goals. As long as we don’t concede any goals against Celtic.
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37 minutes ago, JohnMc said:
I'd prefer Split but either will be a big step up and easily our hardest game of the season to date. I was speaking to a Dutch pal last night about Willem II and he was pretty dismissive of them. He said they usually fight relegation and no one could understand why they did okay last season. He said they're a good team without any stars, stronger than the some of their parts but if both teams play to their best we'd beat them. He's a season ticket holder at NEC Nijmegen but travels around Europe a couple of times a year going to see different matches. He's desperate to see a Rangers/Celtic match and has 3 times asked me if I could get tickets for him and 6 of his mates! He doesn't believe me when I tell him Steven Gerrard probably couldn't get him 7 tickets, far less me.
I looked into them and I think he is being a little overly dismissive of them. They went from 10th to 5th last season because they made 5/6 very smart signings that went straight into their starting 11. It wasn’t random.
They have added another 3 to their starting lineup this season without losing anyone, but it will still be a very tall order to finish that high again. 2 of their 3 new signings will be injured when we play them which is good news.
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0-2 Rangers
Kent
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13 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:
We’ve still to play Willem II before we even think about Galatasaray ?
I don't know why people always feel the need to say this. Nobody is taking that for granted, there's nothing wrong with having a look at who your potential opponents are.
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3 minutes ago, DMAA said:
As Turkish sides often do, Galatasaray have a lot of veterans in their sides. 4 of their front 5 are 30+.
Falcao (34, yes that Falcao)
Feghouli (30, ex West Ham) Arda Turan (33) Belhanda (30) Kilinc (26)
All good players but, in my opinion, nothing to fear. Turan has barely played in 3 seasons. Falcao had an injury ravaged season last season. He hasn't lost his touch and is scoring goals, but he must be a bit off the pace. Feghouli is ageing well by the looks of it and will be a danger.
Even their subs are over the hill. Ryan Babel (33), Ryan Donk (34), Durmaz (31). When will Turkish teams learn?
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As Turkish sides often do, Galatasaray have a lot of veterans in their sides. 4 of their front 5 are 30+.
Falcao (34, yes that Falcao)
Feghouli (30, ex West Ham) Arda Turan (33) Belhanda (30) Kilinc (26)
All good players but, in my opinion, nothing to fear. Turan has barely played in 3 seasons. Falcao had an injury ravaged season last season. He hasn't lost his touch and is scoring goals, but he must be a bit off the pace. Feghouli is ageing well by the looks of it and will be a danger.
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We also have a match fitness advantage. Willem II and Galatasaray have played 2 competitive matches this season. We have played 8 because we played all the way through August.
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Just now, RabiDuck said:
Could have been worse, could have been better. Never like the idea of playing Galatasaray but at least it's not at their place!
Certainly not but this isn't the Galatasaray of old. The hierachy in Turkey has undergone a lot of change in recent years. They aren't spending money either.
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Just now, the gunslinger said:
we will be some team if we get through these 2 ties.
Two tough games but the ball is very much in our court. We have got the luck of the draw again this season. As much as we can't be complacent, we should be beating Willem II. We are clear favourites for that game. We got a home tie and dodged Spurs so we are also favourites in the next round. Galatasaray finished 6th last season. Hadjuk split finished 5th last season, 20 points behind first and 2 points behind Osijek.
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Not a bad draw
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We are at home to Galatasaray/Hadjuk Split
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We've got Galatasaray or Hadjuk Split
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We're not drawing APOEL unfortunately
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Phew. Bullet dodged. Not us.
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Spurs vs .....
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Ball 6 vs 2 for groups 1-3. Phew, that would have been us vs Spurs if it was for our group.
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Sarajevo/Podgorica vs Riga/Celtic
At least they are away.
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Great preview, thanks.
Have to say I am more confident now that Barker is out of the squad and Arfield is in.
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41 minutes ago, JohnMc said:
How are Aberdeen seeded and we're not?
Sporting Lisbon are seeded, if Aberdeen beat them they take their place.
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39 minutes ago, JohnMc said:
Can't we be drawn against Standard or APOEL's opponents if they lose their ties DMAA?
Yes we can. I can only embed tweets on my laptop so I decided not to try to spell their opponents on my phone when they almost certainly won’t get through anyway.
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Draw will be here
If we get past Willem II here are our potential opponents,
Spurs
Galatasaray/Hadjuk Split
Standard Liege
APOEL
That’s a quite a tough grouping. However Standard Liege finished 5th last season and Galatasaray finished 6th, so we will want to avoid Spurs and an away tie.
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3 minutes ago, RANGERRAB said:
Can’t be far behind ally ?
1 goal, though Ally didn’t get to play against teams like St Joseph’s and Lincoln Red Imps
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UEFA Europa League: Willem II/Rangers v Hadjuk Split/Galatasaray
in Rangers Chat
Posted
Why not, is it a superstitious thing? There is absolutely nothing wrong with having a wee look at who your potential opponents are and what they are like. We all know Willem II, away from home, will be a big challenge and we've said so. I haven't seen a single complacent/dismissive comment.