I’ve waited slightly so I could not write this reactionary to what I witness unfold in Eindhoven last night. I naively thought we could perhaps sneak a 0-1 victory and after a better performance on Saturday I wrongly hoped perhaps we were seeing some gradual steps to where we need to be.
Before I get into this properly, I’ll state for the record I am a huge fan of this manager and the summer business we have done, on paper, looks positive. I am not closed off to the criticism and questions that are being brought about however. I am not in the camp of getting rid of the manager and ripping up the summer window on the back of a start which has been indifferent and at times worrying.
I see it, I absolutely agree with some of the questions and bewilderment that many of us felt watching that horror show last night, compounded by an embarrassing own goal and only Jack Butland saved it from being eight or nine.
Yes, it was a sobering evening.
That said, my own thoughts have always been if we get through this round and negotiate the £5m parachute into the Europa League then we will have won a watch in many ways. PSV I always felt we had a punchers chance and it proved as such.
With that said and for balance, a victory on Sunday will cheer everyone up and if that were to happen then European group stage football, progress in the league cup and topping the table may be viewed as a decent enough first season period.
So that’s for balance, to try and keep a level head as what I am about to write next may not sound as such because perhaps it needs to be said.
The performances both collectively and individually have been scattered and at best patchy. In moments, brief moments, we have knocked it about well and we have recorded decent enough results at times. Or to put it another way, done exactly what Rangers should be doing or at the very least what we expect them to be doing.
Pre season form warned us to an extent but leeway was allowed because this is a new team and a substantial rebuild.
But this is where it becomes problematic. We seem to have nailed a very good goalkeeper and it’s just as well because the back four in front of him are extremely poor and performing badly in moments so far. That’s not a shock when three out of the four are conditioned for failure and have produced the same mistakes for years.
Capable of performing, capable of form but ultimately another year on and in some cases being exposed very badly. I love Tavernier, but it would be wrong not to admit his performances are troubling me and he is being targeted at every opportunity as PSV so cruelly exposed.
But he’s not the scapegoat for last night, the defence simply underperformed at every turn and the standard of defending has been horrible since we kicked off. For all I love big John Souttar and I do rate him, he has been responsible for some horrendous defensive moments which have contributed to us losing goals. Borna’s form is up and down as is Connor Goldson’s. None of the four are to blame but all play a part collectively in something that just isn’t working.
The back four will cope with the majority in Scotland but on it’s current form it will lose cheap goals and it’s a huge concern. The set play defending in apparent zonal marking looks uneasy at best.
Then this shape and formation which seems to rely on the athleticism of two full backs who can’t perform like they have and consistently makes us look narrow. I don’t think it’s designed to look that way I simply think they are struggling to perform in it.
The midfield hasn’t found it’s dynamic, players shoe horned into position and struggling. Cifuentes isn’t a right midfielder, Cantwell isn’t a left sided midfielder. Both better centrally and again exposed by a ruthless PSV side but we have saw this domestically also. We seemed somehow to have neutered our best assets and there is no support to a frontline which is isolated.
The forward line is way off and crucially, for as much as we want to wonder on the form of one or two, Dessers has come in for some big criticism, we just don’t give them any ball to work with and when we do there’s nothing for them to do with it. At times they are miles away in a very bland and rigid system.
Why we courted Danilo and spent huge money only for him to be stuck on the bench is a legitimate concern for many.
The system isn’t right or it certainly doesn’t seem right, the formation doesn’t seem to suit the individuals either.
It needs tweaked, fixed, changed, whatever term you may want to use. Remember, as I said in the above opening, I am a fan of this manager but even I subscribe to the fact it doesn’t look right at times and I can’t be closed off to that criticism.
The fact is it hasn’t been great but victory on Sunday will most likely change all our opinions again. We’ll top the league and most likely people will be optimistic again. Somehow though we must up our performance and get it together all after the disappointment of last night.
With Glen Kamara set to finally exit to Leeds, fingers crossed that finally gets over the line, then finances in and out of the club almost balance up for the summer. Does that leave room for a deal before the summer? Statements of biggest budgets come back to haunt the manager and the board, in the eyes of some, if we don’t add a player or two.
There remains a strong case for a defender and a winger but with time running out can it be done?
There is plenty of questions for this Rangers team to answer and there is more than a few for the manager also.
It’s not perfect and it’s not been great but come Sunday we have no excuses and have to get it right.
A sobering evening indeed.
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Four Lads Had A Dream 
Stevie can I ask u what you actually like about Beale, as I said above 2 another poster he found a decent formation end of last season with Cantwell playing as a 10 then totally disregarded it this season Cantwell looks lost as do the rest of our players, every game this season & I mean every game he has changed tactics because we have been woeful, I didn’t want him in first place, cards on table reason being when clubs are looking for new managers the hierarchy sound out senior players on their thoughts of candidates, well as far as I’m concerned the senior players at our club are serial losers who would vouch for him no problem as they know they would be safe, look I could be completely wrong as I known it takes players time to settle & we brought in a lot of new players but if that happens at clubs you don’t complicate things stick to basics instead of playing championship manager would be glad 2 hear your thoughts mate
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I’m not here to justify myself because at this point everyone is angry. I think Beale is a good coach who can take us to where we need to be. I’m not blind to results or certain issues but I also think there has been a huge reaction to midweek, just as there was to Killie. I’ve long since said we need to allow time and then judge, still hasn’t changed for me. Win Sunday everyone’s mood will change again. So I’ll wait and keep my council on progress at the moment.
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The biggest surprise for me are that people are surprised we got leathered, and it was a real leathering much worse than we actually want to believe it to be. The signs have been there since the start of preseason and continued into our start of the ‘real’ season.
We have struggled all over the park. Defence, as poor as it has been for a couple of years with all the same failings on display. The midfield is a complete shambles where no one, from players to management to supporters , know anything about what is supposed to be happening. Up front is another shambles and where we have invested the vast majority of the money we had with what seems to be no idea of what we are trying to achieve. So when we came up against a decent European outfit what did we think would happen?
The other big surprise for me is why we are surprised this would be the case?
We brought in a manager with no pedigree at all, none. An incredibly lazy appointment, off the scale lazy.
The reason we are in such a mess is a simple one. MB is not a good manager, no more mysterious than that, and the sooner the board look themselves in the mirror and splash some cold water realisim on their faces the better. Get rid of this charlatan and put in place a sound and structured recruitment process to replace MB. Obviously no guarantees but for God’s sake put some effort into it.
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A very fair and balanced viewpoint which provides questions over team shape and tactical issues. If you use ‘zonal marking’ them in my opinion you are to an extent ‘risk taking’. De Jong is a threat in the air as seen in the first game (and before the two games) and so should be ‘man marked’ by our best defender. The tie was effectively decided in ‘two moments’ in both games by failing to deal with PSV’s main aerial threat. Also when you have just scored a goal the next few minutes are crucial not to concede (both games). So very poor at this level. The other point I would make is the amount of individual errors in this group of players. You can have the best system and shape in the world but if your players continue to make these mistakes (or fail to do the basics) unfortunately you will be punished. Failing to ‘mark properly’ at set pieces, ‘not tracking runners’ and missing ‘good chances’ in front of goal usually leads to losing games. A lot for the manager, coaches and players to improve on.
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I cannot disagree with what has been said despite the extreme disappointment I feel. What I will say is this to both the club and fans, we cannot go shopping at the barras and expect harrods quality goods, it just doesn’t happen. Our defensive frailty has been around a long time and nothing seems to be improving the issue, and I’m afraid the new forward line leaves me scratching my head, I just don’t see where goals are going to come from with these guys. I won’t give up hope though.
C’mon the rangers.
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Mate I genuinely do not have a clue what Beale is trying to do,let’s take the signing of cifuentes a box to box midfielder & Beale is using him to cover for captain marvel, I have seen on other forums about 4 different formations that fan’s thought we played last night, where Cantwell played I have no clue but what I will say is a couple of weeks ago Beale said we are playing the same system we used last season absolute nonsense, Cantwell played as 10 himself & was scoring regularly & assisting, not this stupid 2 number 10’s so that fullbacks can bomb up the park to cross balls into box for no one, it’s as if he needs to justify tavs inclusion in the team, when I see us setting up with 2 number 10’s I genuinely despair it is the most mind numbing formation I have ever seen a number 10 need’s freedom to move either way not turn into his other number 10, now u say u love tav but John souttar has made some horrendous mistakes mate tavernier is responsible for about 75 percent of goals we have lost since he’s been at us because as u say he is singled out weak link in defence,which leads me to this & I believe this is a big problem & has been for years see when we beat Ross County at weekend if I was in that dressing room after that game I would have been raging 2 nil up & done our usual either don’t start well or start well & then think we have won & it becomes helter skelter through a sheer lack of professionalism. I firmly believe Beale needs a big result on Sunday or the vultures will be hovering
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Maybe there is a technical issue.
I submitted a comment earlier and at the moment it is not visible.
Would love to know why?
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Because I was on a flight back from Holland and hadn’t approved it yet, no great conspiracy
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Like you I like MB, however unfortunately what we are seeing on the park, also happened during Gerrard’s reign. Why? Simply because MB controlled the tactics.
The only position in this team where you get, what it says on the tin, so to speak is the Goalkeeper.
In theory it is great to have everyone multi-skilled, however in reality it doesn’t ALWAYS work. So let’s give everyone a number and not a positional title. Absolute joke.
If we played last night with the players sticking to their natural position, we may not have won but we would not have lost 5 goals!!!!
I understand you need flexibility and variation but we have an abundance of players who can’t do it or don’t understand what is being asked.
Our fan media hyped our summer signings, I honestly believed we were getting a strong, dynamic midfielder in JC, he looks completely lost and certainly doesn’t have the “dig” we expected.
Strikers my god, it is shocking what we are witnessing at the moment. “Sold a pup” or is it pups?
Now we are being told about players having, a new house, living in a different country, language barriers, etc, etc, having an impact.
Was that not a problem in previous years????? When they under achieve is their salary impacted? I don’t think so.
So for me we must revisit the basics.
Straight forward tactics.
Taking corners and throw ins.
Defending set pieces.
Ball control.
Shooting practice
Just for starters.
As for Sunday, we have to win!!!
It doesn’t have to be pretty, just do it Rangers. Show the fight that should be in your blood when you put on that shirt.
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Mate cifuentes is being stifled from playing the role he should be playing because our manager thinks his captain should be involved in about absolutely everything we do, think about it plays 2 number tens so we can involve full backs how many years now have we been saying everyone knows how to play against us, last season he went with Cantrell as 10 himself for last part of season some of the best football we had played for ages, I thought good found a system that works bring in few quality players 2 improve it what does he do this season straight back to 2 number 10’s absolute madness, how many other teams do you know that play with 2 number 10’s don’t see pep or klopp battering our door down to see our formula
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Lose soft goals often and don’t take easy chances at the other end. Same as most of our recent seasons. Fixed nothing in the summer window. Gifting easy titles to the other mob.
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I don’t quite understand your train of thought. You open by saying you are a big fan of the manager and that our summer transfer business, on paper, looks positive. But you then, quite rightly, list a catalogue of errors, mistakes, and confused thinking which can only suggest that either the players brought it are not up to standard, or the manager does not know how to get the best out of them. It is very difficult to make a case for the signings he has made, they do not naturally fit into a formation and he seems to be over-complicating each and every team selection.
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Trying to be honest, at the time I thought on paper business was good and also stated we’ll see how that goes and ultimately it will be decided on that. So I can’t now change stance and rubbish it all as it wouldn’t be fair or genuine. So in the article I try to acknowledge that fairly. Now your second point is exactly fair and my point by asking those questions.
I’m not ready to rubbish anyone yet mate, but fair to ask the questions. I don’t feel our opinions are that far apart.
What I’ve tried to do is at some balance rather than completely slate everyone and anyone, as tempting as it may be!
Appreciate what you are saying mate
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My concern is that the job might just be too big for him. Traditionally, good Rangers managers, and Celtic for that matter, are those with gravitas, charisma, steel. While Beale may well be a good coach, although current formations and performances would bring that into question, I am not sure he has the gravitas for the role. I hope I am proved wrong and that he grows into it, but Rangers is not the place to learn your skills, we don’t have the time or patience for that.
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Good balanced article . The manager needs to decide on a system that works for the players he has and use them in their correct position. Quality needs to be added at LCB .The full back position will not be sorted this window but needs looked at. A right wide player needed as well.
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Don’t mind getting beat by a better team but our defence was a shambles lm no manager but zona defence should be man marking again I think Beale got his tactics wrong our right and left defenders were far to narrow that left plenty of space for there wingers here hoping he gets it right on Sunday if not there will be trouble ahead
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Good summation of the current state of the team. To me, the shape of the midfield and defence is a screaming concern. What was he playing last night. Cantwell was behind the front two (or was it one?) and we have a holding midfielder in Lundstam. Is this a diamond formation he’s playing then? If so, we got run over in midfield and it’s a major concern the manager couldn’t see it in the first leg.
What would happen if we went for another centre half and played 3 at the back. Push the full backs up to midfield and have a 5 strong mid with full backs that are good going forward and don’t have to be as reliant on their defensive duties?
This leaves a more balanced three in the middle of the park, where Cantwell can have his freedom to roam about and look to support the attack?
Maybe I’m too emotional as I type but there’s no balance n this team at all. Midfield drives everything and ours just ain’t cutting it.
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