🚨 Personal news
Been quiet on here over the last week but life moves fast. Delighted to say that I’ve joined the media team at
@RangersFC
as a Communications and Content Executive.
Cast your minds back to the evening Kamara was racially abused and you'll recall Slavia laying the narrative that the allegations were an attack on Czech culture. That rhetoric helped sow this behaviour tonight. The conduct of the Slavia officials that evening remains deplorable.
Glen Kamara is being booed above and beyond any other player tonight against Sparta Prague. In a stadium full of kids. Think about that. Disgusting.
#kickitout
#Notoracism
St. Mirren were able to manipulate Celtic's aggressive front three press yesterday by positioning Fraser (the RCB) high and wide from goal kicks. Celtic failed to react and it led to the opening goal. Duffy - again - guilty of misreading the danger.
Tears flooding the Birmingham area as we speak as Michael Beale witnesses the complete destruction of the build-up play he spent three years implementing.
How James Sands 'showed what he brings to the team' at Dens 👇
- Dominating duels and covering gaps
- Providing 'depth' to circulate play and tire Dundee
- Offering passes through pressure
This is our fifth season in the Europa League since we qualified in 2018 and we’ve reached the knockout stages in four. Tonight was our 20th overall victory in the competition (exc.
qualifying). Scored three away to Benfica and Real Betis; four away to Borussia Dortmund.
Goldson’s intervention on Nouble with the game still at 1-0 was massive. His last-ditch defending in general is incredible, positions his body perfectly and never commits too early.
An absolute honour to write up this tribute to Davo. My favourite ever Ranger.
They say never meet your heroes, but he was just as much of a class act off the pitch as he was on.
💙
@StevenDavis8
- A
#RangersFC
Legend
Steven Davis MBE, Rangers’ Hall of Fame midfielder, has today announced his retirement from professional football.
👉
Rangers' pass map from last night.
Completely restricted to deep on the right-hand side of the pitch. Failure to both connect with forward line and build attacks down the left-hand side.
There was a moment on Sunday, as Celtic broke forward into space in extra time, where Tavernier made three blocks in the same move.
At both ends of the pitch he was crucial to the final outcome.
For
@RangersReview55
:
🗣 Gio on possible incomings in the next few days:
"I'm relaxed. You never know what will happen in the coming days. At the moment I think this is the squad we're going to have. We created a squad to be competitive and reach the Champions League, which they did."
@_xSarahKelly
Sounds like you’ve subscribed to the Corbyn/Sturgeon rhetoric. Condemn the bombings but offer no solution. I’m far from a war monger but you seem to have widely misjudged the purpose of last night’s bombs.
Five shots for Ramsey today, most from any Rangers player. All inside the penalty area and concentrated in central positions.
His off-the-ball movement and goalscoring instinct remains exceptional.
@_xSarahKelly
Fair enough if that's your stance on military action in general, but thinking diplomacy/peace talks is achievable in Syria is head in the sand stuff. The last seven years illustrate as much.
A reminder to Gerrard when making his decision that he could tip the Jamie O’Hara’s of the world over the edge if he rejects Villa’s offer and that, at the end of the day, is really what it boils down to.
🎥 Enjoyed this piece of defending from Jason Kerr at the weekend - mirroring Doidge's movement stride for stride.
Great lesson in the importance of footwork as a defender.
For all the ifs, buts and maybes - should Roofe have been on earlier? - Rangers managed to reduce a European final, with all its heightened emotions, against a well-coached team in a top five league to a coin flip. Cold light of day should reflect very fondly on this
#UEL
run.
Throwback to Aaron Ramsey’s winner against Borussia Dortmund in 2013. Excellent combination between Ramsey, Giroud, Rosický and Özil in the lead up to the goal.
Arsenal became the first English side to win away at the Signal Iduna Park.
Re: Bassey - can't quite wrap my head around the Villa links. There's a reason he couldn't quite work his way into the Rangers side under Gerrard. He thrives in 1v1 defensive duels which Gerrard's system is designed to avoid. Still scope for improvement when defending space.
Ethan Erhahon likely to break the 3,000 minutes played barrier today, at 19-years-old in a St. Mirren side who have reached two cup SFs and missed out on the top six by a goal. Hard to quantify the impact of his role but bizarre he was overlooked for a YPOTY nomination.
Morelos' injury absence looked absolutely fatal for Rangers' season in Braga 10 days ago, yet the team have responded with three wins in a row and, more importantly for GvB's future prospects, three very good performances. Clear tweaks made to the system by GvB and it's paid off.
Thought Stephen Kelly (on loan from Rangers) was impressive in his first start for County at the weekend. Played as the deepest midfielder with Vigurs slightly higher than usual. Very good in his use of the ball.
🎥
Bassey & Kent have a really great understanding of each other’s movements down the left flank that just doesn’t exist with Barisic & Kent. Bassey’s Rangers future will lie at CB, but it’s been a huge source of creativity under GvB: Ramsey goal v Celtic, Morelos v Hearts etc
March 2 - GvB elects not to use any of his five subs on a heavy pitch in Perth
March 10 - Morelos first seen clutching his thigh/hamstring region
March 13 - starts against Dundee
March 17 - carted off the pitch in Serbia with a muscle injury
March 20 - starts against Dundee
Considering the significance of the result in the title race - and I'm guilty of some hindsight analysis here - Roofe not getting off the bench in the 1-1 draw at Tannadice considering the pressure Rangers were exerting on Dundee Utd's penalty box looks increasingly puzzling.
Quite incredible from a Celtic perspective that Christie is running around aimlessly in a position he doesn't suit while Ajeti sits on the bench, all to accommodate Scott Brown's place in midfield.
Any lengthy injury to a Rangers CB only further reinforces what a physical monster Connor Goldson is.
The guy has played every single minute in the league and Europa League since February 2019.
Don't think that should ever be taken for granted.
Rangers were swift to secure Ianis Hagi's services on a permanent deal last month 🇷🇴
I wrote about how Hagi's unique skillset allows Rangers to overload and isolate in the attacking phase 👇
📈 From Ufa, to Jack, Kamara and Davis in the Dragao, to GvB smashing through the glass ceiling after the Slavia defeat.
Analysed the pivotal moments in Rangers’
#UEL
evolution over the years.
For
@RangersReview55
:
Small details ultimately decide these games, and think the decision from GvB to move Aribo back out wide after Sakala came on allowed Leipzig to re-establish momentum late on. Hard to be too critical though - having two No.9s out through injury for a SF is a freakish situation.
Motherwell's average position map from last night.
Confirms my suspicion that the quickest fix currently is to sacrifice one of Polworth/Turnbull, both doing a job that could be done by one midfielder.
Campbell's inclusion would also restore positional balance.
Had said earlier today that USG represent a bigger banana skin than PSV/Monaco under GvB. Think tonight’s display is symptomatic of the team’s struggles to take the initiative against teams of comparative/lesser quality away from home in Europe.
The revisionism around Emery is tiresome. He is an elite European knockout coach, but his football isn't sustainable over a league campaign. It really is that black-and-white.
Unai Emery
Not good enough for huge amount of
#Arsenal
fans. Their demand for solutions NOW ignoring long term plans means Unai had to look somewhere else for his place in the world. Villarreal's gain!
Remember that when you wish drastic changes after every defeat under Arteta
Scouting Ridvan Yilmaz 🇹🇷
- comfort in possession and supreme technical capacity
- tends to create with slide-rule passes as opposed to floated crosses
- why he's a chalk on the boots type full-back/wing-back
For
@RangersReview55
:
Which Scottish Premiership sides improved defensively last season when turning over possession in their own half?
Compared figures from 2018/19 campaign to last season 👇
*turnover attack = attack with 4 or less passes before attempt, starting in opposition half
Malik Tillman deal is reportedly advancing 🔁
Scouted him earlier this week for
@RangersReview55
when the rumours first emerged:
- modelling his game on Pogba
- ability to play first-time to aid quick combinations
- 6ft1 and very hard to dispossess
🔸 Athleticism and energy: how Stephen Robinson has progressed Motherwell in open play.
New piece analysing Motherwell offensively this season. Huge praise for Polworth, Campbell and the now departed Scott.
Retweets appreciated as always!
👉
What use would I be if I didn't take the opportunity to plug my Yilmaz scout piece now it's official?
FWIW, my favourite player to watch this summer: very comfortable in possession, supreme technique, low centre of gravity.
🔎
@RangersReview55
:
Surely would make more sense to have Tillman ahead of Tavernier given his strength with his back to goal, with Matondo on the opposite flank looking to attack the underloaded side?
The jink and dribble inside from Devine in the lead up to Alex Lowry's goal yesterday was very reminiscent of Nathan Patterson.
With Hearts defending man-to-man, Arfield's movement out to the flanks opens up the space infield.
Shows good intelligence to spot the situation.
Rangers pass map from last night.
Tight midfield two, constant ball circulation between CBs to open up space and help find the passes out to the flanks.
Certainly in possession, GvB has really simplified it in Europe compared to Gerrard.
[h/t
@RangersReview55
]
721 passes attempted by Rangers on Saturday:
- highest number in an away league game under Gio
- highest number away from home in the league since the 2-1 win over Aberdeen in January 2021
🔁 Greater tactical flexibility in-game
➡️ Simplifying in-possession approach
💪 Leveraging athleticism of the squad
How van Bronckhorst helped Rangers smash through their
#UEL
glass ceiling.
For
@RangersReview55
:
@Oldfirmfacts1
@gavinnightmair
‘If Scotland go independent ma first stop is England. See tae be honest wae ye mate, go tae Wales, cause England are just letting aw the immigrants in’
Tillman led the Rangers side in total pressures last night with 21.
Four out of his five pressures in the final 3rd came in the second half, including for the goal.
🔎 Analysis:
Important that Rangers add from a position of strength before the window closes in a couple of days.
Midfield configuration is still too aligned with the Gerrard era. A surplus of behind-the-ball profiles and a deficit of Tillman/Lawrence types.
RW too.
Quite striking the similarities between Calvin Ramsay and Nathan Patterson, both in their attributes and interpretation of the full back role. Great speed, really direct dribblers. 2021/22 could be huge for both 👇
Used
@ModernFitba
data to assess how Scottish Premiership sides are - roughly - creating their chances this season. Definitions on the right.
Jack Ross doing a great job of reversing traditions at Easter Road.
An excellent player and probably one of a kind in terms of his profile. But lacks the pace and goal threat that GvB’s football demands - OF semi-final performance sticks out to me. Makes sense to prioritise his sale over better fits such as Kent/Morelos. Lowry + new AM next ssn.
Predictable that the issue was going to descend into this. The gesture immediately loses its significance when the parties involved are coerced into doing it. All this question serves to do is to dilute a very serious incident.
Given the abuse aimed at
@CelticFC
forward Kyogo, should
@RangersFC
captain James Tavernier make a point of approaching him prior to kick off at Ibrox on Sunday? Like Scott Brown did with Glen Kamara last season.
Rangers created an abundance of transitional opportunities last night, but failed to take advantage.
More speed is badly required in the attacking third to cause more chaos in these situations.
Match analysis for
@RangersReview55
:
📝
Very little capital to play with for Wilson/GvB in this window unless there was further player sales - which wouldn't have been sensible - so to emerge from January with a new right-sided attacking combo of Amad Diallo and Aaron Ramsey is very impressive.