Motherwell 1 vs. Rangers 1 Sept. 30 2007

“WELL” UNDER PAR


Is the consistency under threat? Do we take our eye off the ball before the big games come round? Walter has a bit of work to do to iron out our away form as once more points have been dropped on our travels.
The result and subsequent dropped points is all the more painful as we just managed to regain top spot in the league last week. There was only the one change from that game as Boyd game in for Cousin who is suffering from a slight niggle. On paper it looked a strong physical line up, especially in midfield but this may have played right into Motherwell’s hands as they played a very swift pass and move game that unsettled our defence and sliced right through our midfield. The pace was a problem for us and is another area that we need to sort out.
Just to add insult to injury though, quite literally, Jean Claude limped off, which is a huge blow as he would have been pretty much a certainty for Tuesdays Champions League tie. Lets hope he over comes the injury in time.


Today’s team: -

McGregor: - Had more to do in the first half than he would have anticipated and dealt with most things well. Was let down by his defence for the goal and couldn’t really be blamed for the outcome.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Hutton: - Never got the chance to dominate the right hand side as he has been used to as he was kept well entertained by his opposite number. Did manage the odd burst forward but to no avail.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Cuellar: - Was booked early on and that set the scene for the rest of his game. He did come more onto a game and spent a lot of time covering back in for Weir.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Weir: - Struggled to cope with the pacey attack and was all too often dragged out of position. It doesn’t suit him at all when the ball is played at place along the deck.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Papac: - Like the rest of his defence, the trickery and speed was a problem for him. He also needs to sort out his distribution, which was poor to say the least.
Rmed Verdict: - 5


Whitaker: - He is still living off the reputation of his first game. I don’t think I can remember one bit of quality possession or passing from him in today’s game. He needs to improve, and quick.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Bazza: - The game passed him by, quite literally, as we passed it over his head and they passed it all around him. Not a great day for the central midfielders who really struggled to get there foot on the ball.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Thommo: - If he had done half as well in his passing and tackling as he did in his niggling and backchat then he’d have had a good game. As it was, he didn’t.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

McCulloch: - A lot of power and work rate but lacked the guile to break down the stubborn defence. He did put himself about though and cracked a venomous shot off the bar.
Rmed Verdict: - 6 (MOTM for his work rate alone.)

Naismith: - He put in a lot of running and looked as though himself and Boyd would tear Motherwell apart in the first ten minutes. Disappeared a bit after that and wasn’t the same player when moved out to the right midfield.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Boyd: - The frustration showed as he sclaffed at chance after chance today. His work rate was better and on another day might have scored a hat trick. It wasn’t to be though but he did manage a small consolation for us with the penalty.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

JCD (On for Whittaker): - Bad news got worse as he hobbled off the park. Will be a big miss if he doesn’t make the Lyon game.
Rmed Verdict: - 3

Beasley (On for JCD): - Weaved his way into the box for the penalty but didn’t spark anything after that.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Adam (On for Naismith): - Couldn’t weave the magic left peg today.
Rmed Verdict: - 4

Smith: - Will be gutted that we have once more dropped points on our travels but his tactics proved wrong on the day.
Rmed Verdict: - 4


“Must do better,” reads today’s report card but will all be forgiven if we come back with the three points from France on Tuesday? Somehow, I think so.


WATP

Baz.

East Fife 0 v. Rangers 4

BY BOAB.


51 and Counting for Boyd

There was as many as 9 changes as Rangers started their campaign in the CIS Cup. Carroll and Gow made their competitively debuts respectively.

It wasn't a game with a high tempo but it was a good, professional job that gave several players an important chance to improve their match fitness.

On the 15th minute, Nacho received a throw-in and decided he would shoot, and a very good decision it was as he hit a stunning strike from 30 yards past the East Fife 'keeper Willie McCulloch. 20 minutes later, the talisman Kris Boyd scored after Kirk Broadfoot knocked down a corner.

We go in at half-time 2-0 up and 10 minutes after the break, Carlos kneed the 3rd goal in from Charlie Adam's corner. The 4th goal was a penalty, won by Thomas Buffel. Alan Gow was trying to worm himself into the box at the edge of the Penalty Arc - more commonly known as 'the D' - and the ball fell to Tommy where he was fouled after taking a nice touch. Mr Boyd then went onto to score his 51st goal. Job done.

Carroll - Not really tested but did show good the throwing skills along with his distrubution.

Rmed verdict - 7

Whittaker - Done well at what had been his most accustomed position, would like to have seen a few more overlapping runs, too many long passes.

Rmed verdict - 7

Ehiogu - No risks were made, solid enough. Had one great tackle of note in the 6 yard box.

Rmed verdict - 7

Cuellar - Solid once more, no danger.

Rmed verdict - 7

Broadfoot - Impressed going forward, in contrast to Papac and looks a tidy player with good technique. Also, defended well when needed.

Rmed verdict - 8

Gow - His first start in at left-midfield. Didn't impress in the first half, perhaps nervous at his first start. However, in the 2nd half, displayed some skilful passing and touches that may bode well for the future.

R-med verdict - 7

Faye - Is an imposing fiqure, and will be pleased with his performance. Displayed some good passing and tackled well when he had to.

Rmed verdict - 7

Adam - Had a very good in what is arguably his best position and is perhaps his natural position in the centre of the midfield. Charlie kept the game ticking over very well, and will not have done himself anyharm at all.

Rmed verdict - 8 (MOTW - the heartbeat of the midfield in fife)

Burke - Got past the full-baouck well at times, but really ought to have had impressed 'no-end' against the level of opposition he was playing against. Not good enough.

R-med verdict - 7

Novo - His first touch has improved slightly and scored a wonderful goal. Not as vibrant as usual.

Rmed verdict 7

Boyd - It ended up being 'his' night. Reaching the 50 goals landmark and even getting his 51 goal with the Penalty.

Rmed verdict - 8

Subs:

Cousin - Came on, made some impact but not much

Rmed verdict - 5

Buffel - Had one great one-two with Gow and some other nice touches.

Rmed verdict - 7

Elmslie - Had one super shot, done well in a cameo 10 minute appearance for the young man.

Rmed verdict - 6

Good win for the Gers

September 23rd - Rangers vs Aberdeen - SPL

Two tired teams after their European exertions of midweek. Then the great news and pick me up at half time - Hibs had beaten Celtic! Thanks Mhanks!!

Well that got us going and McCulloch hits a scorcher - goal of the year contender already! Then Naismith does his thing a typical Naismith goal. Puts the ball through the defender's legs runs around him and scores from a real tight angle. Then Boydie comes on 1 chance and 1 goal. We are CRUISING!
We are TOP OF THE SPL! Back where we belong.

The first half was BORING/dire as is the usual state of affairs this season, but all was well in the second half and some cracking goals.

Aberdeen were neat in the first half, passed the ball well in the midfield area but never really threatened.


Todays team:

Mcgregor: Good allround display - 7

Hutton - Usual stuff - 7

Cuellar - Good again - 7

Weir - Experience personified - 8

Papac - Usual self - 7

Whittaker - Still not quite with it -6

Ferguson - Good, but not brilliant - 7.5

Thomson - Tried hard - 6.5

McCulloch - A mixture as usual, but GREAT goal - 7

Cousin - Worked hard and some nice touches - 7

Naismith - A great debut, worked real hard, scored a typical goal, lots of enthusiasm - 8


Subs

JCD- great work, laid on Boyd's goal - 6

Boyd - good effort and goal - 6


RM MOM - Weir - strolled through this game and an honorable mention for Naismith too.


Great Result! Top of the league again!

nvager

September 19th - Rangers 2 vs Stuttgart 1 - CL

September 19th - Rangers vs Stuttgart - CL

Great Start - 3 points!

Mind you for the 1st half hour we were very poor but hey that is nothing unusual this season. Again we turned things around. Stuttgart started as if they were the home team and similar to many games this year we had trouble getting the ball. Stuttgart on the other hand looked very composed. Added to that our central defence was a bit shakey so things did not look too good. We battled away however and never gave in . What we lacked in class we made up for in effort. After a half hour we gradually were finding our feet a bit more and Barry Ferguson made a couple of runs and JCD forced a good save from the keeper. Whittaker though was having a poor game. The half ends with no score and everyone edgy. The second half begins and we look forward to a bit more pressure from the home side. Barry goes forward and up for a header and gets "headed" himself - as he back heads the ball to Whittaker. Barry needs attention and leaves the field. Stuttgart meantime press forward and a raking low forward ball is "shinned" into the goal by Gomez. Rangers are in trouble. Heads though do not go down. Barry returns. Hutton goes on a mazy run and sets up Adam with a chance. Adam cuts inside and lets fly with a glorious shot and its 1-1. THe atmosphere is different now as Stuttgart look vulnerable. JCD sets up Whittaker, but he blows it big time. Nevermind Hutton breaks onto a good pass and forces his way into the penalty area where he is taken down. JCD steps up and takes a wonderful penalty. 2-1 Rangers. Beasley has a chance to make it 3-1 but the keeper beats him too it. Final whistle and its all over. 3 Points!!


Todays team:

Mcgregor: Good allround display - 7

Hutton - Outstanding MOM - 9

Cuellar - A little shakey but held up - 7

Weir - See Cuellar - 7

Papac - Usual self - 7


Whittaker - tried hard but a poor night - again - 5


Ferguson - Great captain's display - 8

Hemdani - Usual display -7

Thomson - Tried hard but niggly fouls - 6

Adam - A mixture as usual, but GREAT goal - 8

JCD - A miracle worker on his own - 9


Subs

Novo - great work - 6

Beasley - good effort -5

Faye - Not much time and booked - 3

Great Result!!!

nvager

Hearts 4 vs. Rangers 2 Sept 15th 2007

HEARTS BYPASS


And it wasn’t just a triple one either! What seemed like a little bit of cosmetic surgery by Smith turned out to look like a full scale operation by the time the final whistle was blown.
Several questions have been raised after the tinkering today, none more so than, is the “strength” in depth, really that strong, or deep? The decision to rest Barry was a big one and proved to be a wrong one as our midfield was posted missing for most of the first half.
Along with Barry, McCulloch was also given the break as Amdy Faye was given his debut. We were out paced and on the back foot for most of the game and even the change in personnel for the second half never really changed the pattern of play.
People talk about getting brought back down to earth, well hopefully this was the bump we needed, especially just before the Champions League kick off come Wednesday!!


Today’s team: -

McGregor: - Produced some good saves and caught well from crosses to take some pressure off the defence in the first half. Let himself down with a shot that squirmed under him for the Hearts fourth.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Hutton: - Has had plenty of games in the last wee while and with his confidence sky high it was definitely a fall from grace today. Clumsy tackle gave away the penalty that sealed our fate.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Cuellar: - Like Hutton his standards were well below par today and he gave away possession too frequently, non-more so than for the first goal.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Weir: - Was given a bit of a run around by the pacey Hearts thrusts. Was given the Captains armband and won’t be best pleased with the outcome.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Papac: - For the first time this season, was probably the pick of the defenders although unfortunately that really isn’t saying too much.
Rmed Verdict: - 6


Whitaker: - Was sloppy in possession and never really gave us any width down the right hand side. Did come into the game a bit more in the second half and offered a bit of directness from midfield.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Faye: - Not a debut to remember for the on loan Charlton man. Couldn’t get into the game at all as the balls were flying high from back to front. Was hooked at half time to allow Barry to take the field.
Rmed Verdict: - 4

Thommo: - He became a victim of his own team’s tactics as he became more and more frustrated without getting much of the ball. The tackles started flying and I thought we might lose him through the temper at some point of the game.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Beasley: - non-existent in the first half but got himself on the ball in the second and caused Hearts some problems. Scored with a sweet left foot strike but it was only a consolation.
Rmed Verdict: - 6 (MOTM caused problems that no one else managed)

Cousin: - Got himself onto the ball well but all too often he lost possession through looking for too many touches. Scored with a penalty to give us a chink of light.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Boyd: - Won his fair share of headers and linked on to a few through balls but all too often it came to nothing. Never made the second half after a clash of heads with Neilson.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Bazza (On for Faye): - Instilled a bit of urgency for the fist 15 minutes before the game went back to its normal course.
Rmed Verdict: - 4

JCD (On for Boyd): - Will he get the starting berth? Proved a handful for the whole time he was on.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Novo (On for Cousin)): - Couldn’t work any magic to turn the game around.
Rmed Verdict: - 4

Smith: - For the first time this season his tactics and choices have come under a bit of scrutiny. Not a good day at the office.
Rmed Verdict: - 5


With Stuttgart on the horizon the last thing we needed was a dent in confidence with a bad defeat, or maybe, just maybe it is exactly what we needed. Lets hope it turns out to be the latter.


WATP

Baz.

Rangers 4 vs. Gretna 0 Sept. 01 2007

RED STAR TO FIVE STAR


We have all the fives within the numbers now with 5 league games, 5 wins, 15 points and a plus 15-goal difference. Add that to the midweek qualification to the Champions League and the resulting tough but exiting draw and it all adds up to an amazing start to the 2007/2008 season.
We were always going to be brought back down to earth today after what has been a whirlwind week which culminated in the dramatic, literally last minute capture of Stevie Naismith. Walter made the changes again, showing once more the depth we have in the squad, by resting JCD, McCulloch and Weir for the inclusion of Boyd, Cousin and a long awaited debut for Andy Webster. We reverted back to what seems to be becoming a pattern of 4-4-2 for the league and 4-5-1 for Europe but it took a bit of time to break down a very resilient Gretna side as we lacked a bit of pace to our attacks. In saying that, it has been a part of our play to wear opponents down before overcoming them later in the game.
The end result was conclusive enough though and leaves us still sitting pretty at the top of the SPL and also showed the amazing scoring ability we have throughout the squad with Webster and Cuellar getting in on the action as well.


Today’s team: -

McGregor: - One of his easier clean sheets and has made a confident start to the season, even with the pressure of having Carroll sitting in the wings.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Hutton: - Tends to love these kind of games that allow him to express his natural attacking flair. Had to make the defensive challenges too but was more influential going forward.
Rmed Verdict: - 8 (MOTM Added a bit of flair and urgency that was missing at times)

Cuellar: - Not a lot to do but mopped up any threat that came his way. Was thrown do a gauntlet by new partner, Webster, a duly stepped up to the mark by scoring as well.
Rmed Verdict: - 7

Webster: - It was a good day to come in for a debut and it was good to finally see him adorn the Rangers Blue. He kept it tight at the back and managed to bullet a header home as well. A very able replacement for Weir.
Rmed Verdict: - 7

Papac: - He managed to get involved more in the game today and pushed forward to support Beasley. Needs to work on the passing but overall not too bad.
Rmed Verdict: - 6


Whitaker: - Since his blistering debut he hasn’t quite kept up the high level he set himself. Still has the attributes to hurt teams down the right but wasn’t direct enough for me today.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Bazza: - Not as influential and dominating as he can be but seemed to be targeted to be tightly marked. Came onto a game when it started to open up in the second half.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Thommo: - Worked hard but like Barry, never got the chance to express himself. It was actually a tough shift for him in the middle today.
Rmed Verdict: - 7

Beasley: - Not a great day for Beasley today as he struggled with no space in behind to run into. Played a great cameo role midweek but failed to discover that flair today.
Rmed Verdict: - 5

Cousin: - Moved around the front line well without really breaking through. I think he needs a few more games just to get his full sharpness.
Rmed Verdict: - 7

Boyd: - I’m not so sure if Cousin and Boyd make the ideal partnership but we have the ability to change this round now. He was lucky with the goal but I’m sure he won’t be giving a monkeys about that.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

JCD (On for Cousin): - Strong direst running troubles any defence and he must be in line for a start in the next game.
Rmed Verdict: - 6

Novo (On for Boyd): - Didn’t make the impact that he has from the bench previously.
Rmed Verdict: - 4

Naismith (On for Beasley): - Came on to rapturous applause after the transfer saga of the century. Welcome to Ibrox wee man!
Rmed Verdict: - 4

Smith: - Can’t fault a 100% record even though we might have looked a bit lethargic in the first half. 5 out of 5, keep it up Walter!
Rmed Verdict: - 7


We now know the exact squad we have to play with and for me, it’s a very strong squad that is more than capable of bringing home the title and with Walter and Ally at the helm the feel good factor is certainly back down Ibrox way!!


WATP

Baz.