match thread (image) [FT] Rangers 3 (Morelos 6; Tavernier 50pen; Coulibaly 86) - 1 Maribor

[DMAA 3,658]

Aside from the main ones who've been mentioned, I actually thought Ejaria was great too. That no10 position has been an enigma for us, but I thought he did it really well. He has techincal ability and flair to play the position that nobody else in the squad has and he's a joy to watch. I expect Arfield will take his place when Jack is back but Ejaria could be a key player when we're struggling to break teams down.

[rbr 1,256]

1 more small point , in the 8 matches we have played under this new management team , we have been behind in games the sum total of 0 minutes , not too shabby for a brand new team .

[Gonzo79 15,293]

I thought he was okay last night but Ejira gives the ball away too much.  He just seems a bit clumsy and doesn't make decisions quickly enough.  

 

The two lads Gerrard brought up from Liverpool are least impressive additions he has made, in my opinion.

[DMAA 3,658]

Quote from Gerrard

“But, there was something about our shape and something about our distances tonight that didn’t really feel right from probably 15, 20 minutes to half time. As a staff, we put that right, and as a team, we asked them to go and carry that out with a better shape, more togetherness and going and pressing the ball as a team rather than individuals doing their own thing within it."

 

Aside from the fact that they have the tactical knowledge and ability to address what was happening, I could help but notice his humility in his willingness to publically share the praise with the rest of his team.

[rbr 1,256]

18 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

I thought he was okay last night but Ejira gives the ball away too much.  He just seems a bit clumsy and doesn't make decisions quickly enough.  

 

The two lads Gerrard brought up from Liverpool are least impressive additions he has made, in my opinion.

All young players , including ours , make mistakes , we need to give them time and not get on their backs .

Look at it this way , if we can have performances like last night when they are still raw , imagine how good they will be in another 12 games time when we are actually bedded in as a team/squad .

[rbr 1,256]

Plus thankfully Ryan Jack will return for the return leg .

[buster. 5,188]

24 minutes ago, rbr said:

1 more small point , in the 8 matches we have played under this new management team , we have been behind in games the sum total of 0 minutes , not too shabby for a brand new team .

Glass half empty take is that we have to get better at closing out results.

The 3 goals conceded have all come in the latter stages of either first or second half....89, 92, 40.

 

- Two of those goals have come with Jack off the field

 

Is Ryan Jack our most important 'defender' ?

 

Edited August 10, 2018 by buster.

[Blue Moon 1,289]

That was a phenomenal second half performance last night.  I can't remember the last time we left Ibrox on such a high.  The atmosphere was electric.  This is the stage and the standard we were accustomed to and the performance reinvigorated the Ibrox roar which in turn must transfer to the players.

 

In terms of moving forward, apart from the obvious striker, I would like to see us signing a creative midfielder.  

[Bill 13,717]

3 minutes ago, rbr said:

Plus thankfully Ryan Jack will return for the return leg .

That could be a major plus factor in that setting.

[Craigy1881 79]

the one thing i love about gerrard and his interviews is his honesty.  He highlighted the issues we all saw last night towards the end of the first have and made sure they were addressed in the second half.  He is having a very impressive start to his tenure and I still think he needs a proper 2/3 transfer windows before we really see what he can bring to the table.  However the pleasing thing is that it is clear to see that he and his coaching team are capable of getting their ideas across to the players and translate that to the pitch.  I don't think that has happened for a long long time.  Exciting times.