match thread (image) [FT] Rangers 2 - 0 Celtic (Tavernier 3, Arfield 63)

[DMAA 3,658]

6 minutes ago, buster. said:

IMO, it's between that and the Morelos goal at Aberdeen for Most Beautiful Halfway Line to Net..... Goal of the season.

True, but that Morelos goal is unbeatable for me. Certainly the the biggest reaction of any Rangers goal all season from me. Scored by the man I've criticised for lacking finesse in his finishing too, he set me straight that night.

[pete 2,499]

2 hours ago, ian1964 said:

 

Don't give him the clicks.

[BEARGER 1,830]

11 hours ago, pete said:

this was correct sky had that as well. It is probably right Simunivic Ajer and Hays probably had about 50%

You’re correct all their possession was at the back.

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,752]

9 minutes ago, BEARGER said:

You’re correct all their possession was at the back.

I definitely think this was a deliberate tactic from SG. Have their 3 least effective players with more of the ball. It shows that SG is learning and has come on leaps and bounds from the powderpuff performance at CP early in the season.

[Gaffer 1,665]

48 minutes ago, BlackSocksRedTops said:

I definitely think this was a deliberate tactic from SG. Have their 3 least effective players with more of the ball. It shows that SG is learning and has come on leaps and bounds from the powderpuff performance at CP early in the season.

Again, it was something the Celtic TV pundits commented on.  They said it was a "slap in the face to the back 3" because we were effectively saying that we were happy to give them as much of the ball as they wanted.  It worked brilliantly and it was summed up for me when Brown had to go and pick the ball up from the left and right back positions.

 

However this only worked because of the workrate from Kent and Arfield.  They stood off them, but as soon as they crossed a certain line, both Arfield and Kent sprinted to close the ball down with the help of Flanagan and Tav, and whoever we had in midfield on that side.  It's those little tactical things that make such a massive difference.

 

On reflection, I think we had an excellent start to the season and it was clear we had worked on somethings during the summer camps.  However, we then had the Europa league games thick and fast and this meant we probably didn't spend much time developing the style until we had the winter break.  I wonder if these tactical changes (that we had obviously worked on during that two week break) were one of the reasons we lost our way in January, February and March because it does take some time to make them work.

 

Either way we are better for it now and we now look like a team in control during the big matches.  With 3 quality additions in the summer (and a clearout of the wasters), we should be in great shape for the new season.  My only concern at this stage is that we may lose Arfield, Tav and Kamara.  All 3 have looked top quality in recent weeks and they would be almost impossible to replace without spending big money, so I hope we can get a good price for them if forced to sell.

 

We are all sure Morelos will be going but at least I'm confident that the sum we get for him will adequately cover the cost of his replacement.

Edited May 13, 2019 by Gaffer

[BlackSocksRedTops 3,752]

6 minutes ago, Gaffer said:

Again, it was something the Celtic TV pundits commented on.  They said it was a "slap in the face to the back 3" because we were effectively saying that we were happy to give them as much of the ball as they wanted.  It worked brilliantly and it was summed up for me when Brown had to go and pick the ball up from the left and right back positions.

 

However this only worked because of the workrate from Kent and Arfield.  They stood off them, but as soon as they crossed a certain line, both Arfield and Kent sprinted to close the ball down with the help of Flanagan and Tav, and whoever we had in midfield on that side.  It's those little tactical things that make such a massive difference.

 

On reflection, I think we had an excellent start to the season and it was clear we had worked on somethings during the summer camps.  However, we then had the Europa league games thick and fast and this meant we probably didn't spend much time developing the style until we had the winter break.  I wonder if these tactical changes (that we had obviously worked on during that two week break) were one of the reasons we lost our way in January, February and March because it does take some time to make them work.

 

Either way we are better for it now and we now look like a team in control during the big matches.  With 3 quality additions in the summer (and a clearout of the wasters), we should be in great shape for the new season.  My only concern at this stage is that we may lose Arfield, Tav and Kamara.  All 3 have looked top quality in recent weeks and they would be almost impossible to replace without spending big money, so I hope we can get a good price for them if forced to sell.

 

We are all sure Morelos will be going but at least I'm confident that the sum we get for him will adequately cover the cost of his replacement.

I think if we can get anywhere near 10 million for Morelos it would be great business. We can then use that to try and pick up another striker for 2/3 million. I definitely would look at the Balkan leagues. Their players are not over priced (compared to England 2nd and 3rd tiers) and they generally have a great technical ability. There must be a striker somewhere in Serbia/Croatia who could fill that void? Look at Mitrovic at Fulham. A player in that mould would be great for us. I'm not saying him directly but we need to be looking for the next Mitrovic

 

 

[Gaffer 1,665]

1 hour ago, BlackSocksRedTops said:

I think if we can get anywhere near 10 million for Morelos it would be great business. We can then use that to try and pick up another striker for 2/3 million. I definitely would look at the Balkan leagues. Their players are not over priced (compared to England 2nd and 3rd tiers) and they generally have a great technical ability. There must be a striker somewhere in Serbia/Croatia who could fill that void? Look at Mitrovic at Fulham. A player in that mould would be great for us. I'm not saying him directly but we need to be looking for the next Mitrovic

 

 

I'm sure we will get a better valuation on Morelos, but I agree we won't need to use all of it to replace him.  I don't know about you, but for some reason I now am relaxed about it because Mark Allen and Andy Scoulding are proving that they can find us the right players.  It feels like we won't make as many mistakes in future with this setup.  This summer is of course different because it's about adding quality rather than the quantity so let's see who they can attract over the summer.  We need quality to replace (or compete with) Morelos, Arfield, Kent and Katic.  If we get that, I'm sure we all go into next season feeling quietly confident.

Edited May 13, 2019 by Gaffer

[der Berliner 3,747]

The way Kamara kept the ball, played a few neat passes, let Brown in his slipstream and then setting up Arfield to score was just great. He said in his earliest interview that he tends to be rather cool on the field of play and doesn`t let much get onto him. Yesterday was the perfect example.

[ian1964 10,724]

 

[pete 2,499]