Old Firm Prediction

[BEARGER 1,830]

11 hours ago, der Berliner said:

In any case, it will be good to have Murphy and Docherty in there, chaps who will sure give 120% of the already good standard that they have.

Not possible to give more than 100%.

Pedantic Loyal.

[Gonzo79 15,200]

I often moan at bosses at my work when they ask us to give 110%.  

 

But hopefully the Bears in the squad inform the other lads of their duty.  

[scotjo 19]

On 03/03/2018 at 16:29, Unicorn said:

Only a fool would try and predict an oldfirm game.

 

I predict 2-1 Rangers.

I think we’ll win 2-1, I am confident, no wonder, we are flying at the moment and we will be confident for the semi also. Hopefully will be even stronger then with McCrorie and Dorrans back. However being confident also brings a fear based on the fact they up their game when we are going well, that’s why I mix in some caution.

[Volbeater 17]

Can we keep a clean sheet? Worried about that. Got to be on top of them and not let them settle at all. We are a faster team for sure. Let’s make them pay!  

[JFK-1 1,693]

I doubt we will be so cavalier against them as we are against the rest and we kept a clean sheet in our last encounter with them. Their defence is going to be tested to the max against the highest scoring team in the league.

[buster. 5,116]

8 hours ago, Volbeater said:

Can we keep a clean sheet? Worried about that. Got to be on top of them and not let them settle at all. We are a faster team for sure. Let’s make them pay!  

Defence is a definate concern although this game is in isolation regards approach, eg. sometimes you'll concede 3 to a Hamilton side and then get a clean sheet against Hearts with a different approach. Late last year you had St.Johnstone taking 3 of us at Ibrox, yet a fortnight later we get a clean sheet at Parkhead.

 

Both managers have a full week in which to prepare the game and you can imagine that Rodgers will get his players up for this and have a definate game plan. Will Murty ask for more of the same or will he tweak the approach somewhat ? This is a major test for GM and I'm especially glad he has Jimmy Nicholl in there with him for this game to help man-manage the players.

 

The less we shout about optimism in the media, the better. Just let the football do the talking.

[Gaffer 1,665]

I noticed in the prediction league that bill has gone for 2-1 and Tavernier as the FGS.  I'm assuming he thinks Tav is a good bet because he's our penalty taker, but there's no chance we'd get a Penalty against them.  Given the assaults on our players (with very little consequence), I just wonder what would need to happen for us to get a penalty.

 

[buster. 5,116]

1 minute ago, Gaffer said:

I noticed in the prediction league that bill has gone for 2-1 and Tavernier as the FGS.  I'm assuming he thinks Tav is a good bet because he's our penalty taker, but there's no chance we'd get a Penalty against them.  Given the assaults on our players (with very little consequence), I just wonder what would need to happen for us to get a penalty.

 

Fouls were given for the two recent assaults, it was the colour of the card that was the issue.

 

Collum must be due this one and he doesn't often shy away from blowing his whistle.

[Gaffer 1,665]

2 minutes ago, buster. said:

Fouls were given for the two recent assaults, it was the colour of the card that was the issue.

 

Collum must be due this one and he doesn't often shy away from blowing his whistle.

That's what I meant about very little consequence.  Refs don't mind giving us a foul or our opponents a yellow card, but it's no real hardship for them.  I just hope that whatever the result, we are talking about the players and managers rather than a ref.

[DMAA 3,658]

I'd caution against being too confident for a few reasons;

1. Celtic only need a draw
   1. This is huge thing. If Rodgers has any common sense he will take full advantage of the fact that they do not need to win the game but we do. He can ask his team to bide their time, don't take too many risks and wait for our pourous defense to open up. However there's a decent chance Rodgers doesn't have this common sense and will set up to attack out of pride.
   2. We on the other hand need to win, and if we're stuck at 0-0 for too long we'll start to take risks and throw men forward. The prospect of us pushing up and taking risks and Celtic playing on the counter is not a good one
2. We're at home
   1. Should be an advantage but it isn't. There's something about the psychology of playing at home that just isn't working well with this group of players. Whether it's the big sighs for misplaced passes or just the sheer expectation I don't know, but the fact is this group of players have been worse at home than away by some margin
3. Murphy may be out
   1. Murphy is a huge player, not just in terms of his ability but what he offers to our system. He is unique in the squad in terms of what he offers the team and how he fits in
4. Halliday at left back
   1. He's been good in the last couple of games but that's what you'd expect from an attack minded left back in two 4-1 wins. He hasn't been tested in a game where our full backs are under the cosh and for me he will not be as good as Declan John at this 

For me it's all about taking our early chances (before we need to take any risks). We will almost certainly have good chances in the opening half hour. If we take them then the fact they only need a draw isn't a big a problem. However if we aren't clinical and spurn our chances they can take full advantage of that and start to punish us on the counter as we start to take more and more risks as the game goes on.

Edited March 5, 2018 by DMAA