Where are we at?

[JFK-1 1,693]

Are you giving up on Herrera?

 

Not exactly but he isn't being played enough to form an opinion. I have seen what Moult can do as have the sheep recently because he's playing week in week out and is still just 25 and coming into his prime.

[Big Jaws 570]

My honest opinion is that we're not quite good enough to challenge fort the league title yet but we're not light years behind. Whether we'll be allowed to compete for that title or not is debatable but so far its not been looking promising.

 

Last season we really were just making up the numbers in the SPFL and even at that we managed to finish 3rd. As far as our games against Celtic are concerned we couldn't get near them. Everything was in their favour, new manager, tactics and a determination to keep their places in the side all contributed to a very good domestic season for them. In any other competition we could see just how poor they really were both tactically and personnel wise. Their results in Euro competition show this very stark contrast.

 

This year its different, the poor UEFA result early on aside, I can see a marked improvement in our quality and even though we're not as yet firing on all cylinders by god the rest of the SPFL teams and their fans know it. You only need to consider the last chance saloon, pre emptive, attempts to cuckold us via nefarious lobbying and underhand SPFL board room Machiavellian manoeuvrers combined with increasing fan desperation yelping at anyone who'll listen to somehow stop us.

 

On to the team. Everyone is complaining about Pena so lets start there, his fitness, his passing, his decision making, his this, his that but here's what I see. I was well pleased when I read the team selection and had a fair idea of what tactic was going to be employed by Pedro..

 

On Saturday Pena was played on the edge of the centre circle in their half pressing Brown when out of possession. Ryan Jack and Graham Dorrans played on the opposite edge in our half moving up when we were in possession further up the field. The Celtic pivot is Brown and by pressing him and his space when he was on the ball reduced his space and passing options that's why Rogic (who I think is a key player for them) and Armstrong were not as effective as they have been against us in that first half. It forced Brown either backwards or side ways because he has neither the skill nor the pace to go through that three in and around the centre circle and when he did get past Pena Ryan Jack was there to mop up. The key to Celtics play is the two MF's floating between the lines ahead of Brown. If a team stops them then it restricts their ability to spread the ball to the wing men, who would then either drive into the box, square it to the CF or cut it back to the two onrushing AMF's.. Pena, Jack and Dorrans did this extremely effectively for 50 minutes of the match which allowed Windass and Candieas to float between their lines when we were in possession. Both Candieas and Windass although playing OK didn't exploit the space between the full backs and the CD's electing mostly to go outside the fullbacks which limited their own options. Every time they did this Pena was on the move in that box to box AMF position. If either had gone in the channels between the full backs on top of Boyata on our right and Simo'something on our left then its and easy pass to the supporting run of Pena or Dorrans (who was unfortunately slightly behind the game line). As I said they chose mostly to go round the fullbacks and cross early into the box which reduced the options as Morelos was by then in a 3 against 1 situation once they had released the ball. Morelos did what he should have in that situation which was try and position for an early ball release and consequently was caught off side a few times although at least two of those he was being played on side by Tierney out on their LFB position. Pena also understood this and tried the early ball on a few occasions which unfortunately either through a lack of understanding from our forwards didn't quite work out or was cut out by the Celtic defence which again didn't quite pay off. It was absolutely the right play to make.

 

His physique if fairly typical of a Mexican in that he is fairly short and stocky which I suspect has some thinking he is unfit. He may well be unfit but he didn't look to me like he was tired when he was substituted in the second half. In fact he looked like he could run for 90 mins easily. His substitution marked a very noticeable improvement in Browns play and that in itself should tell all bears what his effect was on that first half. What I would say though is he looks like a player who hasn't played competitive football in over a year and that showed for me when he was caught in possession a couple of times against Partick and then again against Celtic. I can understand this as you don't get much time on the ball in our league against the other teams and even less time against Celtic, although its frustrating, I felt Pedro was a little hasty subbing him after Rogic scored as it was really just our inability to clear a loose ball that was the issue rather than an unstoppable driving run from midfield that made the goal happen. I feel we should have kept the game as tight and restricted as we had been doing reducing their passing to side ways and backwards and then made the subs a bit later in the match as its never over at 1-0 and we didn't need to chase the game at that point. I'm prepared to give Pena the time he needs to settle into how the game is played here and to get his competitive edge back because the runs he's making and the passes he's trying to pull off are quite simply on a different wavelength from most of his team mates and I can really see a player in this lad.

 

Herrera on the other hand does not have your typical Mexican physique as he's much taller than normal, a gigantor by Mexican standards and he's a big unit which is somewhat common if they are tall. I know this because I have a mate in LA who is also of Mexican parentage, he unusually stands at 6'1”, and is also a big unit. Herrera has also been getting some stick for not looking fit and in his case I feel the same as I do with Pena which is again that they look like they haven't played competitively in quite some time. His skill and ball control however is there for all to see. When he receives the ball he rarely looks like he will be in any difficulty from an opponent, and there were a couple of examples of this in the old firm game when he came on, one occasion he was surrounded by three Celtic players and dribbled out of the press easily and released the ball though I would have to say its fairly clear at the moment that he's lacking pace and needs to adapt to the speed of our game. I do see signs that he is adapting slightly quicker than Pena. He's also a much better football player than Moult by a country mile IMO although I would take Moult as a squad player.

 

We have some real concerns with the left hand side of our team. What we have there hasn't been too great for the last few years and the Wallace/McKay combination IMO flattered to deceive. I'm no different to any other bear in that I have a deep respect for the loyalty Wallace has shown to us over the past 5 years but in saying that his play has been pretty poor for the last couple of seasons. Add to that the fact that he's at an age where he's picking up injuries etc its not helped him to acclimatise to the rigours or tempo of the SPFL in particular its physicality and as a result he's looked one dimensional. Now that he Elton and Beerman are out of action for some time it shows just how little cover we have for that area of the pitch which for me is a real concern.

 

The young lad McRorie has come in at CH and as a result we're saying he's done a good job. He's much better than good! In fact I would go as far as to say that I haven't seen a young player with the gallusness, balance, poise and elegance that he has in a very, very long time. Provided we can keep him free of injury, because Scottish mentality as it is they will try and do him, and on the right track he is going to be an absolute cracker and Pedro is right to say that he is the future of the game in Scotland.

 

So where do I think we are in the grand scheme of things? We've improved our, strength and quality in most positions. Our new boys have all now experienced the pace of our game here which is quick but no where near as quick as an old firm game all other games will seem even paced to them after that experience and I expect them to push on. We've improved our points tally and goal AVG from the same time last year. Save a couple of horrendous refereeing performances we'd be in a much more reflective position in the league table. We may not get the full compliment of points from the remaining first round of games but as I said I do expect the boys to push on in the second round of games. I think we're not far away from a legitimate challenge perhaps a year or so... oh aye its coming and when it does just watch Scottish football and fans implode because they are not going to be able to deal with it.

[RANGERRAB 3,742]

What the latest on the DJ injury? Anyone know?

 

Above post is spot on IMO regards how poor we are down the left.

 

Whilst Tav might not be everyone's cup of tea both he & Candeais at least manage to get deliveries into the box on the other side

[geoger64 0]

Totally agree with Big Jaws assessment, thanks for that.

Pena will be a massive player for us once up to speed, provided he stays injury free. Herreras problem is that he can't get game time due to Morellos recent form. It might be worth playing a few games with a front two just to improve his match sharpness.

Where are we now? We are in a far better place than we were 6 months ago. We have a better manager and generally a better squad of players. We are still a work in progress but we will get there, I believe sooner rather than later.

Edited September 26, 2017 by geoger64

[RANGERRAB 3,742]

Maybe worth noting too that both Pena & Herrera have managed to get a couple of goals each so far.

 

Might not be too bad a return considering how little game time they've had

[Davie P 4]

What the latest on the DJ injury? Anyone know?

 

Above post is spot on IMO regards how poor we are down the left.

 

Whilst Tav might not be everyone's cup of tea both he & Candeais at least manage to get deliveries into the box on the other side

 

Elton may be fit for the Partick match according to Pedro.

 

I think it is quite bizarre that we did not have a single left foot player in the team, other than Foderingham. There was no balance and Hodson was totally overrun. I know that he is viewed as a utility player and cover for both full backs, but he is just a yard stick for how far we have fallen. It is not a criticism of Pedro, (who could have foreseen injuries to Wallace, John and Beerman at the same time?) and full back was probably an area which could wait while we reinforced other more critical signings, but we require a better standard of squad player as well as a left footed midfielder.