match thread (image) [FT] Motherwell 1 - 1 Rangers (Itten 72)

[the gunslinger 3,366]

don't see him quitting for years TBH

[Govan Rear Bear 303]

Rangers look to extend impressive winning run as Steven Davis celebrates 300^th milestone.

Preview: Motherwell v Rangers

Sunday, 12:00

Sky Sports Main Event/Sky Sports Football.

 

With Rangers going into this weekend’s game against Motherwell 21 points clear of Celtic, unbeaten in the league to date and on a superb winning run, you’d be excused for thinking that Sunday’s game against Motherwell was a mere formality.

 

It is fair to say that Motherwell have not had their troubles to seek in what has been a bleak season so far. The Steelmen are currently without in a win eleven games and sit tenth in the table, one point off bottom placed Ross County, albeit having played two games less than the Highland club.

 

Celtic’s draw with Hibs on Monday night in their rearranged fixture has given Steven Gerrard and his players the benefit of a 21 point lead, although that would be reduced if Celtic secure victory over Livingston on Saturday.

 

The lead is a substantial one, even if Celtic do claw back full points in their games-in-hand. However you sense that Steven Gerrard is very uncomfortable at any talk of this league being over, and is wary of the challenge that a potentially rejuvenated Motherwell may provide at Fir Park.

 

Speaking at his press conference on Friday he said: “We expect a tough challenge, we will certainly respect a new manager going in and things will be slightly different.

 

“We have to be ready to adapt to whatever is thrown at us but our focus and the majority of our preparation has been on us, where we are at and what we have to do to try and get the three points.

 

“A manager always goes in and tries to put his own stamp on things. Normally you get a bit of a bounce and a boost and you are galvanised.

 

“I am sure they will be trying to do all they can to derail us and try and be the first team to beat us from a league point of view this season.”

 

Celtic’s challenge is not yet over, but there is a feeling with every passing game that there is a real lack of belief in Neil Lennon’s squad that they have what it takes to claw themselves back into contention. The recent Dubai debacle provided further evidence suggesting that Celtic are off the pace in more ways than one in this campaign.

 

However, with the Covid-19 pandemic now at a worse level than it was in March and April, there has been renewed talk of “null and void”. Wednesday’s meeting between member clubs and the SPFL Board provided more questions than answers, and resulted in series of statements from the likes of Falkirk, Partick Thistle and Stenhousemuir seriously questioning the governance of the game in Scotland.

 

Add to that the sudden turnaround by the SPFL on the punishments dished out to St Mirren and Kilmarnock for breaching Covid protocols, and you suspect that Rangers will need to be more than better than Celtic on the park in the coming weeks and months if they are to secure their first title in nine years. As far as the Rangers manager is concerned, however, there is no debate on this issue.  

 

“My opinion on this is exactly the same as it was in March and April”, he said.

 

"For football's sake and the sake of competition I think everything has to try to be finished in the right way.

 

"I am not just saying that now because we are sitting where we are in the competition this year. Because my opinion was exactly the same in March and April.

 

"My opinion will never change as long as I am involved in the game.”

 

Gerrard provided some positive updates with regards to the current injury situation, confirming that Ryan Jack returned to full-training on Thursday and that Kemar Roofe should do the same at some point next week. Scott Arfield, who sustained ankle ligament damage against Dundee Utd in December, is still some way off returning but stepped up his rehab this week.

 

Given that injury situation, it is hard to see Gerrard deviating much from the starting eleven which deservedly secured three points at Pittodrie last week, which will mean a 300^th appearance in a Rangers jersey for Steven Davis.

 

The Irishman has been a splendid servant for Rangers, and he has yet again shown a tremendous level of consistency in his performance levels this season. It would be a fitting reward for his efforts to secure his fourth league medal with the club.

 

Rangers had moments last week against Aberdeen where they started to look like they were starting to fire on all cylinders again – perhaps a result of no midweek fixture for the first time this season. None looked more rejuvenated than Alfredo Morelos, who scored a double and put in a performance level rarely seen from the Columbian this season. If he is coming back into to a rich vein of form, then it has come at the perfect time.

 

As for Motherwell, it is hard to see a repeat of the 5-5-0 formation which they adopted at Ibrox recently under Stephen Robinson.  Robinson’s teams had a reputation for being overly physical. It will be interesting to see where new boss Graham Alexander takes them in terms of playing style.

 

Alexander went with a 4-4-3 against St Mirren in his first game in charge last week, with a front three of Jake Hastie, Tony Watt and Devante Cole. Hastie is ineligible to play against his parent club, which makes you wonder is Alexander will opt for a 4-4-2 on Sunday. But the former Scotland international has already said that he will use a system that suits the players at his disposal, rather than enforcing his own style on a group of players which are not currently his.   

 

It is not the first head-to-head with Steven Gerrard for Alexander, and his previous experiences have not been good ones.  

 

"I’d rather forget those couple of occasions, to be fair” the Motherwell gaffer joked. “When I was in the Premier League with Burnley we played Liverpool at Anfield and Turf Moor against him and I think he scored a couple of goals and sent us down, actually, so I’ll want to thank him for that on Sunday”.

 

Steven Gerrard will be hoping he extends his winning run against Motherwell and Alexander.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

we will drop points at some point i suppose. 

 

while motherwell are bottom it is never ideal playing a team with a new manager. Let's hope point dropping comes later in the year. 

[Gribz 854]

9 hours ago, the gunslinger said:

we will drop points at some point i suppose. 

 

while motherwell are bottom it is never ideal playing a team with a new manager. Let's hope point dropping comes later in the year. 

Agree. Out of the 3 away games in January this is the banana skin for me but if we get an early goal then Id see us winning comfortably. The only upside of Motherwell having a new manager is surely they wont sit in for 90 minutes with a 5-5-0 formation like the recent trip to Ibrox meaning they would be easier to open up.

[compo 7,055]

We should be to strong in every department and will get the points, mon the gers

[the gunslinger 3,366]

2 hours ago, Gribz said:

Agree. Out of the 3 away games in January this is the banana skin for me but if we get an early goal then Id see us winning comfortably. The only upside of Motherwell having a new manager is surely they wont sit in for 90 minutes with a 5-5-0 formation like the recent trip to Ibrox meaning they would be easier to open up.

And we have a great record against motherwell. 

[DMAA 3,658]

20 hours ago, Gonzo79 said:

Jolly good but that's besides the point.  He'll have a longer career if he retires from it.

He plays a handful of international games a year. It makes little to no difference at all. 

[Gonzo79 15,294]

6 minutes ago, DMAA said:

It makes little to no difference at all.

Twice he has came back from international duty and missed club matches, so it makes a difference to his employer and our team.

 

I stand by my initial comment.

[DMAA 3,658]

28 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

Twice he has came back from international duty and missed club matches, so it makes a difference to his employer and our team.

 

I stand by my initial comment.

The first time was a specific incident though that was well documented. The second time he was fine when he returned and started the game ahead of Kamara and others. He was injured during the game. It could just as easily have been a European game during the week. 

Edited January 16, 2021 by DMAA

[Gribz 854]

Id give Jack the first hour in this game next to Kamara with Davis getting a bit of a rest. Id probably go with Hagi Aribo and Kent infront of them with Morelos up top. I would like to see Roofe and Itten getting more minutes but more so in home games first.

 

Yet in saying that Jack and Kamara next to each other earlier on in the season was getting a but stale in some games - Livingston away was the biggest example.