Why do some players appear to improve away from Ibrox

[Zappa 0]

As for Burke,well considering how little I've seen of him, apart from highlights, since he moved to Cardiff I don't think he is playing any better than he did for Rangers,flatters to deceive IMO.But good luck to the both of them.

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Have to agree. Burke was a good player when playing on form & his pace could be deadly at times, but he did 'flatter to deceive' most of the time, much like the wee wannabe Irishman playing for the dark side. Pace & skill, but rarely an end product. I'd have been cool with us keeping Burke if he was on lower wages, but not 10k p/w or whatever he was on.

[andy steel 0]

He has looked most impressive for Cardiff! He seems at ease on the ball, willing to keep it for longer than other players while looking for a pass and if that's not on, to have a go at passing the players before him. That might be down to playing at a lower level: I know the SPL is often compared to the Championship, but having seen the highlights on TV some of the teams are definitely sub-SPL.

 

But saying all that, he was going nowhere at Rangers and it is better for both player and club that he moved on.

[wabashcannonball 0]

Considering that the SPL is a two horse race and that 10 of the 12 teams are nothing more than makeweights, what do you consider sub SPL, it is considered in England that the Championship is the hardest league to get out of, going up.

[Danny 0]

He has looked most impressive for Cardiff! He seems at ease on the ball, willing to keep it for longer than other players while looking for a pass and if that's not on, to have a go at passing the players before him. That might be down to playing at a lower level: I know the SPL is often compared to the Championship, but having seen the highlights on TV some of the teams are definitely sub-SPL.

 

But saying all that, he was going nowhere at Rangers and it is better for both player and club that he moved on.

 

The SPL is somewhere between League 2 and League 1. The Championship is a much, much better league than the SPL.

[andy steel 0]

I'd say that. having watched the Championship this season only, that it boasts some of the worst defending I've seen for a good long while. On a par with the SPL and ocassionally outstripping it, but not on a regular basis.

 

The only way to find out would be to play these teams.

 

I actually believe that there are a fair few talented players in the SPL, but that the refusal of coaches to allow them to play actual football - as opposed to Scottish football - stops them showing it.

[calscot 0]

Charlie Adam might have improved fitness wise, but he hasn't vastly improved as a player technically or anything like that. He's always been a good player & he's mainly looking sharp for Blackpool this season because he's getting a good run of games & continued scoring the good number of goals from midfield that he's always had in his game. I'm getting a bit tired repeating this, but the last time he was given a good run of games in a Rangers shirt he was quite excellent. With us he could play several different positions from left midfield to left central midfield in 4-4-2 or 4-5-1 formations & that's exactly what Holloway is doing with Adam at Blackpool, playing him in various positions where he knows Adam can play. Holloway is a tinkerer, so while one week Adam might start in left central midfield, the following week he's just as likely to start in a wide left midfield role. He's played him at right central midfield as well, which is another position that Adam can play. Very versatile player across the midfield tbh.

 

Anyway, just wanted to point out to the OP that Adam hasn't really improved other than his fitness. He's always been a good player & as I've said before, imo Blackpool got a bargain. They think they got a bargain themselves, which says it all.

 

Que the instant replies saying Adam was a shite player that ate too many pies.

 

You could argue Adam was a good player who had his confidence shot after being picked upon by the Rangers support, maybe he's gained that confidence back, and with it, motivation and the resulting fitness boost...

 

Basically there are so many variables that we'll never know.

[calscot 0]

He has looked most impressive for Cardiff! He seems at ease on the ball, willing to keep it for longer than other players while looking for a pass and if that's not on, to have a go at passing the players before him. That might be down to playing at a lower level: I know the SPL is often compared to the Championship, but having seen the highlights on TV some of the teams are definitely sub-SPL.

 

But saying all that, he was going nowhere at Rangers and it is better for both player and club that he moved on.

 

The thing is the two leagues are different animals. The championship is a more open league where teams can attack each other rather than everyone sitting back against the OF. Flair players can find the latter extremely difficult as they get no space or time and have to beat three men in one go to get anywhere.

[Danny 0]

I'd say that. having watched the Championship this season only, that it boasts some of the worst defending I've seen for a good long while. On a par with the SPL and ocassionally outstripping it, but not on a regular basis.

 

The only way to find out would be to play these teams.

 

I actually believe that there are a fair few talented players in the SPL, but that the refusal of coaches to allow them to play actual football - as opposed to Scottish football - stops them showing it.

 

If you're on about horrible defending, then technically speaking the EPL is bloody awful. Man Utd losing 3 to Fulham, Wigan losing 9 to Spurs, Liverpool losing 2 to Portsmouth.

 

Bad defending is fairly universal.

 

There's a reason our teams got raped in the Europa and Champions Leagues. We're not just miles behind the EPL and Championship, we're barely equal to mundane European teams.

 

Scottish football is terribly poor.

[andy steel 0]

It is, but it needn't be so. If we stopped playing defensive kick and rush dross, if we backed refs when they booked players for tackles that are considered bookings in every league on the planet bar ours instead of questioning their integrity, and if we fans stopped going mental when our team plays three passes across the middle, I think the combination of intense workrate would marry with skill to see our teams mid-ranked in Europe, on a par with eg. Portugal.

 

We can all dream.

[Super_Ally 0]

It is, but it needn't be so. If we stopped playing defensive kick and rush dross, if we backed refs when they booked players for tackles that are considered bookings in every league on the planet bar ours instead of questioning their integrity, and if we fans stopped going mental when our team plays three passes across the middle, I think the combination of intense workrate would marry with skill to see our teams mid-ranked in Europe, on a par with eg. Portugal.

 

We can all dream.

 

One of the biggest issues within Scottish support imo.

 

We all claim we want to see a more exciting, attacking and flowing type of football as demonstrated by technically superior players. Yet we cannot fathom the importance of possession football. Sitting at Ibrox, if we're not putting the ball forward at every opportunity and aren't 3-0 in the first half the crowd become impatient and restless.

 

Sometimes you have to go back to go forward and if the opposition don't have the ball they can't hurt you. Nothing wrong with playing back/sideways if the forward ball isn't on whilst we probe for a more fruitful opening. The problem is, whilst many fans claim they would like to watch a more continetal kind of game, they don't have the patience to let it unfold.