Current Avatar:
No Avatar image uploaded
No Avatar image uploaded
Rangers Rumours Member Posts
gdog55's Profile
gdog55's Posts and Other Poster's Replies To gdog55's Posts
To gdog55's last 5 banter posts
To gdog55's last 5 rumour replies
To gdog55's last 5 banter replies
gdog55's banter posts with other poster's replies to gdog55's banter posts
15 Apr 2024 12:31:02
gdog55 has written an article entitled, Evaluation of Rangers' Players
1.) 15 Apr 2024 15:35:21
Good post dog and difficult to disagree with any of those that you would let go. I like Cantwell and believe that he is the standard we need as a minimum, I would however sell any of the current squad that can generate us serious money since I believe that we need a total rebuild and I really don't want Lundstrum anywhere near the team. He doesn't drive us forward.
My problem is that from what I see I believe that we need to be bringing in as many as eight or ten players, most of them starters and we need to start developing our own players, something we haven't done for a number of years.
To do this I fear that we will need to find serious investment since I doubt that selling Butland and the others, (if we can get rid of them), will still leave us at least £20m short of what we need.
There are players available of Bosnans that could do a job for us but they won't come cheap if we can get them. We also need an old head that can lead the team that the young players can look up to, finding that person is equally problematic.
2.) 15 Apr 2024 15:44:42
Berkshire, everyone knows we need a clear out big time. We won't make big money on any of them even if we do find takers.
Maybe 10 players in is a big ask to get quality, even 2mill per player that's 20mill b4 salary and sign on deals.
It's going to be painful, and that's if PC fancies the challenge?
3.) 15 Apr 2024 14:52:54
Awesome, thanks Ed. I was wondering where my post had went. :)
{Ed033's Note - ok, thanks for the post.
4.) 15 Apr 2024 19:18:30
We could still win this League and, if we do, then that puts an entirely different valuation on players. I agree though, players who do not appear to be trying or who are frightened, should go now. Walter always brought in plenty of new faces every year and that's the only way it works.
5.) 15 Apr 2024 19:30:42
Excel post gdog. Well done.
14 Mar 2024 19:47:08
Pretty soft way to go out, didn't play anywhere near well enough to go through and shot ourselves in the foot with the goal we lost. We beat better teams on the last run.
But, and this is the most important thing for me, 4 months ago we couldn't even have seen ourselves being disappointed to be going out to Benfica in the last 16. I think that speaks volumes on how far we've come since PC was given the reigns.
So, yes, disappointed to have gone out with a poor performance knowing we can play better and have done in the last 4 months, but at the same time happy that we've got to that mindset so quickly as 4 months ago under the car salesman that would have been viewed a good performance, not a bad one.
Also takes away the distraction when trying to win a league (the most important thing) and hopefully not playing two games a week means we can properly rest up the squad. Few of them looked absolutely out on their feet tonight, a long way from the end.
02 Mar 2024 17:05:29
PC has done a miraculous job up till now, there were always going to be days like this. With the squad he had available to go on such a run was unbelievable. Today highlighted most of our issues, but there's still a lot of football to play.
The positives: Ridvan again showed he is the natural successor to Borna, one of the few bright spots.
The negatives:
- Goldson for me needs relieved in the summer. Neither he not Souttar had good games today but Connor has been on the decline for quite some time.
28 Feb 2024 20:39:12
Strange team selection. Silva and McAusland to go direct seems an odd call. Must confess, I don't see it with Silva as a 9 at all.
Barisic should be nowhere near our team. Penalty comes from him again. If we don't want to play Ridvan in these games I'd have Sterling in there before Barisic.
From our best performance of the season to one of our worst in the 3 days. Big second half required.
1.) 28 Feb 2024 21:46:02
Big second half it was. All the subs made us stronger, say fair play PC.
Special mention to big Soapy. Thought he was immense.
2.) 28 Feb 2024 21:48:51
Poor game but 2pts infront and we're still a goal up on them, take 1-0s and 2-1s every game, can see some may leave and others a rest/ reset needed, but I'd rather be positive than negative guys, we move on big PC will sort it?.
24 Feb 2024 17:17:26
Best performance in a long while, start to finish. Could have been more. Not a poor performance but special mention for Ridvan who channelled his inner Davie Robertson. More of that please.
I know I've said it on here before and I'm openly not a fan of Cantwell and one game is all out was, but we're a better team with Lawrence at 10 on and off the ball.
Raskin struggled when he came in but we'll cut him some slack as he's just coming back. I do think he'll struggle to shift Lunny and Dio based on what we've seen.
Overall delighted with that, great performance and what a different team we look with someone competent in charge.
1.) 24 Feb 2024 19:29:26
You can't slag Cantwell man. He's been very good of late.
2.) 25 Feb 2024 00:03:56
I didn't slag Cantwell, I said we were a better team without him. I think Lawrence is better off the ball and just as good on it, which showed today.
I don't want to take away from a great performance today though, I just have an opinion on our best team which I think was shown today.
09 Feb 2024 10:58:49
Ally with the dictionary definition of blue tinted specs there.
He was neither standing nor had two feet on the ground, Sterling literally slid right through him (though obviously unintentionally) and wiped him out after he stood on his toe.
If he hadn't slipped and gone through him, he wouldn't have been sent off IMO, but he did so he was.
And "winning the ball" means nothing in the modern game, no. If you win the ball with excessive force endangering an opponent you're walking. We've seen it multiple times.
09 Feb 2024 08:55:11
Thought it was a red personally. Easily meets the first criteria of endangering an opponent and excessive force. Could easily meet the second criteria as well (though I don't think it was a lunge I think it was a slip - either way, the lunge isn't required, the excessive force and endangering an opponent criteria is enough) .
Actual IFAB Rules wording:
Serious foul play
A tackle or challenge that endangers the safety of an opponent or uses excessive force or brutality must be sanctioned as serious foul play.
Any player who lunges at an opponent in challenging for the ball from the front, from the side or from behind using one or both legs, with excessive force or endangers the safety of an opponent is guilty of serious foul play.
12 Jan 2024 13:27:00
I just checked and Sima from LW this season is only 4 goals behind Kents tally in his last 3 combined and is half way to breaking Kents 5 year tally in half a season.
Yeah, no, moving Sima to accommodate Kent is a f*cking terrible idea :D.
12 Jan 2024 09:36:13
Was overrated when he was here and it seems even more so once he moved on.
Average player who didn't produce overly much for the outlay and another who disappeared under pressure.
Not for me, no thanks.
05 Jan 2024 13:51:47
I honestly think Souttar is just as good if not better than McKenna. Souttar gets a hard time from our fans. It's okay him ahead of Goldson honestly.
24 Apr 2024 10:49:08
Our fans have never accepted playing youth players unless they were exceptional.
Just look at the reactions to McCrorie and McAusland the last two seasons, who did very well by any standards for breakthrough performances.
I've said before on here, our support has been the same with young players since Murray bought the club.
Even exceptional players like Barry Ferguson weren't immediately accepted. It took Advocaat coming in to make him a first pick. He should have been the season before, we'd have won 10.
Unfortunately, we're a support that struggle to accept our own youth players, we prefer to go and bring in other peoples who are arguably no better.
18 Apr 2024 19:48:01
Yes. A clearout would still be required.
17 Apr 2024 11:57:47
Thanks MPH.
That shows pretty well what I was saying, Devlin and Raskin very similar players, Lundtsrum better with the ball than both, they're all similar in duels.
What is interesting about them all (would be great if you had stats for this) is:
How many of their passes are:
- forwards
- break lines
- in the final third
- are assists
I would expect, based on what I've seen of them all, that Lundstrum outperforms both on those pass type metrics and further that's why he averages giving the ball away 11 times per game versus their lower numbers. Lundstrum makes more risky passes to break lines/ in the final third as well as being the pivot where Devlin and Raskin are more recyclers of the ball.
Also, off the ball, how many duels aren't counted because they let the man run off them and so didn't have to get into a duel. Lundstrum was culpable for this against County at the weekend so not immune, but IMO Raskin does it consistently (he drives me mad in games when I see him do it, as a former CB - that kinda midfielder makes that my problem :) )
17 Apr 2024 09:16:43
I said last season he wasn't as good as many of our fans thought he was, he just came in at a good time where his industry made him look better than he is surrounded by players playing poorly.
His workrate can't be questioned, he puts a shift in and that's what I think makes him look good in the eyes of many of our fans.
But.
He has limited ability with the ball. He gives it away more often than not and going forward consistently chooses the wrong pass. This is why Lundstrum plays ahead of him IMO. For all JL's faults *and I think we should let him go) he's far better with the ball, particularly going forward.
Further, for Raskin, he consistently let's players run off him into our box, giving up chances. It was most evident in the European games he played, against better players.
He's a young lad still so I have no intention of writing him off, he could improve his game and be a good payer in future. If we got offered silly money (the £6m mooted in January) I'd take it, but if not would be happy to keep him round to see if he improves.
But for me, at the moment he's no better than Devlin at Hearts. They're very, very similar players. Work hard, like a tackle but limited footballing ability or on field intelligence. Those things perhaps come with age and experience, perhaps not.
And, with all that said we have to be realistic. If he had those things already, he wouldn't be playing at Rangers, so it's a risk we really do need to take on young players. If we can develop the ability they're missing while here, that's to everyone's benefit.
16 Apr 2024 11:09:43
No Tom, I think we should be signing young players, I've said it before many, many times and I've defended the young players we do have on here (like McCrorie last season who was taking abuse on here but I thought was excellent in the games he played, aside from a couple of handling errors away to Hibs) .
My "point" was in response to another poster who said young players don't get a hard time from our fans. That's demonstrably false over a long time period.
I was having a pop at our entitled fan base who don't create an environment for young players to thrive, not the young players we should be signing or bringing through.