match thread (image) [FT] Livingston 0 - 3 Rangers (Jack 30; Kent 48; Morelos 74)

[pete 2,499]

Remember that feeling of joy as a kid when it was your birthday party and the house was full of balloons. Throwing a balloon in the air and hitting it with your hand keeping it up in the air and then trying to head it. As it came down again it was time to try and nose it back into the air. Then as you were projecting your nose forward that nasty cousin that always seemed to pest you, burst the balloon in your face. That is the feeling I had on Wednesday night after Rangers 2-1 defeat against Kilmarnock at Rugby park.

 

After the win against Celtic on the 29^th of December we have been floating on air. We probably could have reproduced a copy of Nina's big hit 99 red balloons calling it 55 red white and blue balloons. That is how high our hopes had risen, That floating on air feeling grew further when on the 12^th minute Jermain Defoe gave us a deserved lead as we were all over Killie. Minutes later Alfredo Morelos crashed a header off the post that should have put us 2-0 up. Higher and higher we were flying.

 

Then on 22 minutes, “ BAAAAMMMM”

 

Joe Worrall got the ball in the last man position with acres of space and looked and waited, And waited. And waited, Then panic. He realised Eamon Brophy was only a few yards away and tried to turn back to the keeper. Too late, Brophy had picked his pocket and proceeded to plant the ball past McGregor into the net. Brophy had pricked the Rangers Balloon which created a huge vacuum amongst the players and the support. It must have been a helium balloon as it had the Kilmarnock fans killing themselves laughing to the end of the game. This changed the game completely and let Kilmarnock play their park the bus and hit on the break game.It just had to be Jordan Jones who clinched it for Killie. Due to signing a pre-contract for Rangers people said his heart would not be in the game. Unfortunately he showed more heart than the Rangers players. It looks like all those balloons were indeed red balloons. One with an extremely red face.

 

Now is time for that old Cliche, 'We have to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves down and move on'.

 

On Sunday we travel to Livingston and go from red balloons to black rubber balls. Yes again we are playing on that infamous plastic pitch which throws up more rubber in one kick than a Chinese condom factory does in a year. I will get my rant over for this preview. These pitches should not be in football at this level. There that feels better.

 

Stevie Gerrard has been criticised that he got his tactics wrong for the Killie game. After beating Celtic many thought he should have went with the same team but he decided to go with the four man diamond and play his two new signings Jermain Defoe and Steven Davis. Personally I think he did get it wrong as I am a big Ross McCrorie fan and I think he is the best ball winner we have. Ryan Jack also seems to lift his game with the knowledge that McCrorie is next to him. Davis and Defoe are obviously not match fit. I question whether we have the speed at the back to play that diamond shape. For that you need your backs creating the width and with McAuley, where a taxiing Boeing 777 turns quicker, we leave ourselves open to the counter attack behind the backs as Jorden Jones showed on Wednesday.

 

Livingston will have the exact same tactics as they always do and it is virtually the same as Kilmarnock's in letting the back four pass the ball to each other and press the midfield and attacking players and wait for a mistake. This is the tactics that seem to get us time and time again. Personally I believe the best way to beat this is by using the wings so I certainly wouldn't be contemplating going with the midfield diamond shape. It would seem if you drop Candeias then you are also cutting out most of the danger Tavernier creates. I find it very difficult to find a place for Defoe and Morelos simply because we do not have the speed at the back to go to a 3-5-2 so for me it is a 4-2-3-1.

 

McGregor

 

Tavernier Goldson Katic Barisic

 

McCrorie  Jack

 

Candeias  Arfield  Kent

 

Morelos

 

I really hate dropping Andy Halliday but I think Barisic will bring more to the team. I will also need to see Davis earning his starting place and not just being gifted it

 

There is no more room for error we really have to start winning games as falling further behind Celtic will probably be the end of our title hopes.

 

C'mon the Gers!!!

[DMAA 3,658]

I find it very unlikely he's going to abandon the diamond after one game. It's important to note Barisic didn't even make the bench against Kilmarnock too so the chances of him starting are low. I don't think the diamond was the problem against Kilmarnock. The 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hasn't worked 6 times away from home this season so it can hardly be held up as the solution to what went wrong on Wednesday. There's something to be said for McCrorie being brought back in for Davis though because we need to be able to defend high balls because they'll be raining them in on us. If we go with the diamond I would drop Kent too for Candeias or Middleton but he seems to be a favourite of the manager so very unlikely.

[buster. 5,208]

I wonder if the players are really looking forward to this game to put things right (what they'll say) or they are at least partly dreading Livingston on plastic ?

 

SG&Co have some big calls to make and the unrelenting pressure builds once again.

 

Bottomline, we need to find an effective and consistent solution for playing against deeply parked autobuses. 

Two quality players have been brought in so as to increase options but neither are match-fit yet.

 

We had a week in Tenerife to work on it but when asked a question on Wednesday, we remained aimless.

 

Getting beaten by Kilmarnock isn't as big a deal as in years gone by. Apparently they got the most points in the top flight during 2018 and they have the best pound for pound manager in the League. They CONSISTENTLY do a lot with very little.

 

Livingston aren't as good as Kilmarnock, are struggling for goals and will be setting up for a 0-0.

We should manage it but I'd like to see the team before saying we will or making a prediction about the match.

 

 

[Bill 13,717]

5 minutes ago, DMAA said:

I find it very unlikely he's going to abandon the diamond after one game. It's important to note Barisic didn't even make the bench against Kilmarnock too so the chances of him starting are low. I don't think the diamond was the problem against Kilmarnock. The 4-3-3/4-2-3-1 hasn't worked 6 times away from home this season so it can hardly be held up as the solution to what went wrong on Wednesday. There's something to be said for McCrorie being brought back in for Davis though because we need to be able to defend high balls because they'll be raining them in on us. If we go with the diamond I would drop Kent too for Candeias or Middleton but he seems to be a favourite of the manager so very unlikely.

If that’s how teams are picked then we are truly fucked. 

[ian1964 10,724]

 

[buster. 5,208]

No Goldson pretty much knocks any faint possibility of a 3-5-2 on the head.

 

Continuing lack of a creative midfielder makes options far from convincing.

[compo 7,060]

Good preview, let's hope the manager steadies the buffs and gets us up and running again .

[Stevie - 4lads Blog 922]

Anyone else got the fear?  

[DMAA 3,658]

52 minutes ago, buster. said:

Getting beaten by Kilmarnock isn't as big a deal as in years gone by. Apparently they got the most points in the top flight during 2018 and they have the best pound for pound manager in the League. They CONSISTENTLY do a lot with very little.

Very little. I had a look at their starting lineup against us and the quality is so poor it's incredible Clarke is able to get points on the board with them at all. Can't help but wonder what he'd have done with us. 

 

Burke is 35 and S Boyd 32, Power picked up from the Conference and Dicker and Jones from League 2. Tshibola and Bachmann League 1. Findlay, O'Donnell and Brophy are ex Celtic youth and Taylor ex Rangers youth (he looked very good). Talk about a shoe string budget!

[T-1000 174]

As a bit of light relief I think the first five of Vass's pics of the training today would be worthy of a caption contest.