17 Sep 2019 10:11:44
The Problem of the Left Back Position!

The enigma that is Andy Halliday!
One of our own.
The fan who is living the dream.
Not blessed with the greatest of talents.
But who gives his all. Would run through a brick wall for the club!
But is this now enough?
Dependable against a certain level / quality of opposition.
But definitely not good enough where this team needs to be.
Which takes us to the conundrum that is Borna Barisic.
Croatia's first choice left back.
Undoubtably talented. Wand of a left foot.
Dependable in Europe.
Found wanting in our bread and butter of the SPFL. Looked on as a soft touch.
He should be a standout at any level.
Which means we rely on a third left back at times who's right footed!
Jon Flanagan - strong in the tackle, excellent in defence at times.
As science hasn't advanced enough that we can combine the best qualities from each of them!
My preference would be to give Barisic a run of games, with Flanagan as his deputy.
And surely we must have an up and coming left back playing for the development squad or U19's who's talented for additional cover?
As much as I love Halliday for his passion, commitment and love for the jersey it is no longer enough.
Even as a squad player.
Sometimes you can't let sentiment get in the way of the bigger picture.
Thoughts?

1.) 17 Sep 2019
17 Sep 2019 10:37:11
I love Halliday and will always cheer his name. But obviously we can't compare a midfielder to the croatian LB in that position. Am not sure BB plays well in our formation/ style of play. He seems to always want to cut in rather that be a marauding LB like Tav. Main job of anyone in defensive line is defending so in that he is the best. But gerrard wants him to go forward and he just doesn't look comfortable to me doing that. His left foot is unreal more than good enough to command free kicks and corners. Just feel he looks nervous sometimes. I would prefer a rock of a defensive line with 1 deep lying midfielder that a defence that constantly leaves 2 at the back as we play wing backs as one mistake in the midfield and the defence is caught out and that's happened to us many times. Maybe its old school, but let the defenders defend the midfielders create and the stikers put the ball in the net.

2.) 17 Sep 2019
17 Sep 2019 10:41:19
Halliday doesn’t do much wrong, don’t know why he gets the abuse he does. He’s not a world beater but he’s pretty reliable whenever he plays. Either him, Barasic or Flanagan are fine as squad players, but we should have brought in a first choice left back in the window. Not sure what the issue is with Borna. Clearly has talent but for whatever reason we can’t get a level out of him.

3.) 17 Sep 2019
17 Sep 2019 11:18:56
@theswagman - I’ve never met a Rangers fan who’s abused Halliday yet.
I know plenty who can acknowledge his limitations as a player though. 👍.

4.) 17 Sep 2019
17 Sep 2019 12:08:11
that's a better post wagsman!