match thread (image) [FT] Rangers 2 (Arfield 7; Roofe 69) - 2 Benfica

[MacK1950 2,378]

19 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

I still can't believe that linesman didn't tell the ref to give us a penalty.  He was looking right at the obvious hand ball. 

Unbelievable and they are not sponsored by Specsavers like the Scots ones?

[ian1964 10,724]

2 hours ago, Bill said:

What a shocker - we're not perfect. Whisper it, we sometimes make mistakes. 

 

There is no absolute in football, only progress and improvement, a moment's success or failure. Everything is only ever relative. We're a better team than we were, we play better football than we did, we're a better team than Celtic, we're an inferior team to Liverpool, we need to be an even better team next season. We'll never be perfect, we'll always make mistakes and accepting that allows us to focus on the bigger picture and remain positive about games like last night. What we're achieving in Europe since Gerrard arrived is beyond spectacular for a club with our budget. Now we're starting to see the same progress domestically. So when we lose a couple of goals to one of Europe's really big spenders, am I disappointed? Or am I basking in  the warm glow of success and thinking back to a no-scoring draw at Montrose at the start of this journey. Frankly, any Rangers supporter who isn't enjoying every morsel of this revival needs to seek urgent therapy.

I find it crazy that some Rangers fans are complaining about any of our matches just now! I know every fan is entitled an opinion, however opinions is all they are.

Our manager and his backroom staff are the professionals and are paid to make the team successful and so far they are on track.

I mentioned on here the other day how good a team we are! brilliant to watch! still unbeaten in all competitions!.

Fantastic to what we have been seeing since 2012. We were all sitting in a packed Ibrox watching dross on our way back up the leagues, yet here we are playing excellent football and none of the fans can get into Ibrox to witness it!

[Bill 13,717]

24 minutes ago, ian1964 said:

I find it crazy that some Rangers fans are complaining about any of our matches just now! I know every fan is entitled an opinion, however opinions is all they are.

Our manager and his backroom staff are the professionals and are paid to make the team successful and so far they are on track.

I mentioned on here the other day how good a team we are! brilliant to watch! still unbeaten in all competitions!.

Fantastic to what we have been seeing since 2012. We were all sitting in a packed Ibrox watching dross on our way back up the leagues, yet here we are playing excellent football and none of the fans can get into Ibrox to witness it!

Amen to that. There were times I wondered if I'd ever see the good times again and there's no way I'm going to waste one minute of this by fretting over trivial issues. One day soon we're going to see silverware lifted by a Rangers captain and "the journey" will be over. And you know the best thing ? All those bastards who tried to do us down will be there to watch us arrive.

[onevision 1,571]

5 hours ago, Bill said:

 All those bastards who tried to do us down will be there to watch us arrive.

A fucking MEN....well said that man.

[ian1964 10,724]

 

[JohnMc 2,765]

On 27/11/2020 at 16:04, craig said:

Disagree.  The only reason that bench looked weak is because of the European rules on homegrown players - that is why King, Dickson and Barjonas were on the bench.

Other than Jermaine Defoe who was missing out for that reason? Zungu, Jack and Aribo were injured, and Edmundson and Jones, even before their party weren't troubling the first team much. Look, I'm not criticising the management, just pointing out that our squad isn't as deep as some think. Even with the strongest squad in a decade we were a couple of injuries away from introducing teenagers the other night. Players pick up knocks and suspensions as the season goes, we've been fairly fortunate so far, that's all I was pointing out. 

[der Berliner 3,747]

44 minutes ago, JohnMc said:

Other than Jermaine Defoe who was missing out for that reason? Zungu, Jack and Aribo were injured, and Edmundson and Jones, even before their party weren't troubling the first team much. Look, I'm not criticising the management, just pointing out that our squad isn't as deep as some think. Even with the strongest squad in a decade we were a couple of injuries away from introducing teenagers the other night. Players pick up knocks and suspensions as the season goes, we've been fairly fortunate so far, that's all I was pointing out. 

SUBS: McLaughlin, Ughelumba ( = Bassey), Helander, Hagi, Itten, Barker, Stewart, Barjonas, Dickson, King.

 

Remarks ....

 

Barjonas (21), Dickson (18) and King (16 sic!) were there because of the absence of Patterson (isolation), Jack and Aribo. Defoe's not in the EL squad, neither are Jones and Edmundson. Zungu might have been, but I would assume he's not yet that used to playing for us to throw him in straight away ... or we simply needed this home-grown quota.

 

Our first team squad has some 28 players, and we have cover in every department, with right-back probably being the weakest, pending on the ability someone places on Patterson and/or Balogun. Bassey has shown signs that he's a player who can cover Barisic.

 

As you say, we've been fortunate thus far on all negative departments, but likewise we've sure aquired enough playing staff to cover all areas for a time, unless desaster strikes. Today might have been an opportunity for Patterson, I do assume Bassey will be given a chance, as well as Itten, Hagi, Barker and even Stewart.

[craig 5,199]

1 hour ago, JohnMc said:

Other than Jermaine Defoe who was missing out for that reason? Zungu, Jack and Aribo were injured, and Edmundson and Jones, even before their party weren't troubling the first team much. Look, I'm not criticising the management, just pointing out that our squad isn't as deep as some think. Even with the strongest squad in a decade we were a couple of injuries away from introducing teenagers the other night. Players pick up knocks and suspensions as the season goes, we've been fairly fortunate so far, that's all I was pointing out. 

That's 5 players you have mentioned that were out for one reason or another and the "weak players" on the bench numbered 3.  That is two more missing than weak players taking their spot.  Further, we had 10 players on the bench, when normally the bench contains 7 players when not operating due to covid.

 

If you removed the 3 you mention our bench would have consisted of McLaughlin, Bassey, Helander, Hagi, Itten, Barker, Stewart.  Plus the starting XI makes 18.  Add in Defoe, Zungu, Jack & Aribo and you have 22 players, add in Edmundson and Jones and you have 24 - which is 2 players for every position.  And I dont think that our bench would be weak at all, whether we have 7 subs OR 10 subs.

 

Leon King - defender - if we had suffered an injury we had Helander and Bassey to replace a defender

Ciaran Dickson & Jamie Barjonas - midfielders - if we had suffered an injury we had Hagi, Barker, Stewart to come in and replace injuries

 

I don't think we were nearly as close to needing those youngsters as you think we were.  And were it not for the homegrown players rule two of them wouldnt have even made the bench as Jones & Edmundson would have been on the bench instead.

 

The reason all 3 of them were on the bench was because of the homegrown players rule - and we can't avoid that as we have to have 8 in the squad, or your squad size is reduced accordingly.  Edmundson and Jones aren't in the Europa league squad either.

 

Also, one of them, Leon King likely, would not have been in the squad had Nathan Patterson not been isolating due to close contact Re Covid.  And re the midfielders, we have senior 9 midfielders in our Europa league squad - having 3 of them out through injury is unfortunate, but we still had Davis, Kamara, Arfield, Hagi, Kent, Stewart before using the youngsters.  

 

Depends on what you call being fortunate - at various stages this season we have lost Aribo, Katic, Jack, Davis, Roofe to injuries.  Even the other night we were without three central midfielders - I don't think that is fortunate.