By David Herd
MATCHES NEXT WEEK:
RANGERS V DUNDEE PREMIERSHIP SAT 09 AUGUST 17:45
Most Read on FollowFollow.com The FollowFollow.com Friday Preview – Hearts at Home It Happened This Week Dessers Departs – A look back at Cyriel
PLZEN V RANGERS CHAMPIONS LEAGUE Q3 TUE 12 AUGUST 18:00
Welcome to second edition of the website’s new weekly preview feature, where we take a look back at the last seven days, a look forward to the next week, and a look back on this week in Rangers history.
It has most definitely been a week of extremes. On Saturday, Rangers opened the league challenge with a pitiful performance. The Head Coach kept his trust in too many players who either have let us down too often, or who simply didn’t fit the style of play being implemented. It took absolutely no pleasure in being proved right that Aarons was on the wrong side, Raskin in the wrong position, Danilo the wrong lone striker, or Dowell in the wrong movie entirely. After a fairly promising opening 20 minutes, when we scored from a corner and had the better of the play, Motherwell started implementing the same system better than us, and created far too many clear chances. For the third successive competitive game, we gave the ball away constantly, were wide open when dispossessed, and struggled to put together any consistent period of pressure on the opposing defence. It might have taken 87 minutes for Motherwell to score, but we escaped with a point we didn’t deserve. And with the other lot scoring a winner in their 87th minute, we are already looking up at them. Again.
Russell Martin’s post-match interview saw him call out a few players, without specifically naming them, and his talk of “ego” and “falling back into bad habits” was spot on. But the important thing was to then act upon those words, as most of us are fed up hearing managers saying it. When the starting eleven for the Champions League qualifier on Tuesday night was leaked, then confirmed, we found out that the Head Coach was willing to back up his words. He might not like using the word, but the captain was dropped. So was our most valuable asset and best midfielder. And, at last, the front three had two wingers and no Danilo. The signing of Oliver Antman for the bargain price of £3m the previous day meant he was pitched straight in, none of the usual waiting for him to get up to full fitness.
We saw against Plzen how Martin’s system can work, and it was massively down to having round pegs finally in round holes. I have to say, it was extra enjoyable to see us with pace, skill and goal threat down each wing. As a guy brought up initially on the likes of Henderson, Johnston, McLean and Cooper, seeing wingers terrorise defenders again is a special pleasure. Gassama and Antman were electric, and when you consider we have Mikey Moore still to appear, plus young Curtis in reserve, we look to have great options to keep those wide roles fresh and firing. Not sure where Oscar Cortes will fit in other than as fifth choice, but hopefully he will get some game time when the time is right and prove many wrong.
The holding role in midfield is another one with depth of choice. Rothwell is tidy and clever, nothing flashy but quietly impressive. He was replaced for the closing stages by Raskin, who was excellent and looked like a man trying to prove a point. That point might have been showing this is the position he is best in, or it might have been to show he should be starting. Throw in Barron (and maybe Rice), and there’s multiple options for one slot in the Martin system. As the season progresses, and we face better teams than Plzen, I still wonder if he will persist with just one defensive midfielder and two attacking players in the middle. If he wants, there are good options to solidify the centre of the team when needed.
The mood was upbeat leaving the stadium on Tuesday. Now we need to build on that, and to show a level of consistency and maintain that attitude and that intent week in, week out.
PREDICTION TIME
Last week’s predictions showed why I rarely ever bet money on anything. Will these be any better?
RANGERS 2-0 DUNDEE
The Premiership has to be our top priority this season, and already I’m talking in terms of not letting the gap get any wider. Dundee at home has to be as perfect a fixture as we could have chosen at this stage, they have been rotten so far under the management of Steven Pressley. A surprise choice, and to be honest, a man who seems to have done very little to deserve the job.
Russell Martin has decisions to make around building team understanding and consistency, but also balancing workload with the trip to Plzen in midweek. On paper, we should win convincingly. But we’ve been scarred too much in recent times by seeing Rangers struggle in these games. I’m predicting a reasonably comfortable win, but perhaps a struggle to finish off opposition who will surely play eight or nine behind the ball. My unreliable crystal ball is saying a goal in each half, and I hope we get our first glimpse of young Moore at some stage.
PLZEN 2 RANGERS 1
Our Czech opponents have no option but to go all-out in attack. It’s a surprise to me that we are playing Saturday evening and then kicking off early on Tuesday night, with the time difference there is less than 72 hours between the games. So much for helping our teams in Europe, I think that only kicks in whenever Celtic start their campaign.
I still have significant worries about us defensively, and expect to see us under more sustained pressure in this game than any so far. But, on the flip side, it should mean we get more space to counter attack, and if we play the same front three as on Tuesday, they look ideal for that. I’m predicting we will concede, but also score, and that a narrow defeat won’t stop us reaching the play-off round.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
A personal opinion on the player who has most excelled in the past seven days.
Tuesday night gave quite a few candidates for the award, and if I ended up going for any of the front three, few could complain. But I’ve decided to give it this week to a player who not only played really well at Ibrox in the European game, who also was one of the few to get praise at full-time last Saturday.
Lyall Cameron was singled out as a shining light in Martin’s angry interview, and was then given a start in the biggest game of his career in the Champions League game. He took full advantage of his opportunity. Many said he would struggle to get a game, some were even suggesting we send him out on loan before the serious stuff even started! Nobody will be saying that now, after the young midfielder gave a display full of clever touches, attacking intent, and high energy. He was identified by the previous recruitment team, who got a lot wrong. The early signs are they got this one very right. Cameron looks ideally suited to one of the “inside forward” midfield slots in Martin’s set-up. I can see him playing a big part this season.
IT HAPPENED THIS WEEK – Random events in Rangers history that happened in this corresponding week. Here are some memorable moments that happened between August 08 and August 14.
August 08 1919 – Willie Woodburn is born in Edinburgh. To many, the greatest centre half ever to play for the club, Woodburn made over 500 competitive appearances for Rangers between 1938 and 1954. A crucial part of the famous “Iron Curtain”, he won every honour possible in Scottish football on multiple occasions and was selected 24 times for Scotland. Unfairly remembered for his harsh sine die suspension in 1954 after he was sent off for the fourth time in his career, when he should be revered as one of the all-time greats.
August 09 1988 – Ibrox is packed and thousands get locked out, as Rangers play Bordeaux in a testimonial match for iconic winger Davie Cooper. This would become the last season that the Rangers fans would watch their hero in the colours of the team he loved, and they saw Rangers run out convincing 3-1 winners. The goals were scored by Ally McCoist, club captain Terry Butcher and recent signing Kevin Drinkell.
August 10 1963 – Scot Symon’s double-winners start the new season with a convincing win over Celtic at Parkhead in the opening match of the League Cup campaign. The 3-0 scoreline was a repeat of the Scottish Cup final between the teams a few months earlier, with the Rangers fans impressed by teenage centre forward Jim Forrest, who scored twice in his Old Firm debut. The other goal was scored by George McLean. Forrest would go on to scored an amazing 16 goals in 10 League Cup matches that season.
August 11 2019 – Hibs are thrashed 6-1 at Ibrox, as Steven Gerrard’s side keep up their impressive start to the new season. Jermain Defoe scored a sublime hat-trick, with substitute Alfredo Morelos hitting a late double before Sheyi Ojo completed the rout. Apparently, Scott Allan made a good pass for Hibs in the first half.
August 12 2008 – Rangers agree to sell central defender Carlos Cuellar to Aston Villa, for a fee reported to be £7.8 million. The Spaniard had become an instant hero at Ibrox in his only full season at the club, a mainstay of the defence who took the team all the way to the UEFA Cup final. His 65 starts in season 2007/08 remains a record number of appearances for Rangers in a single season.
August 13 1969 – Rangers face Celtic in a League Cup group match at Ibrox, with the home fans in the 72,000 crowd eager to see the home debut second time around of old hero Jim Baxter. The legendary playmaker had returned to Rangers from Nottingham Forest, and helped inspire a 2-1 comeback win thanks to goals by Orjan Persson and Willie Johnston early in the second half.
August 14 2007 – Rangers grab a slender 1-0 lead in the first leg of their Champions League qualifying tie against Red Star Belgrade thanks to a last-minute winner by substitute Nacho Novo. A goalless second leg in Belgrade would see the team qualify for the group stage.
DO YOU KNOW – a quiz question based on this week’s fixtures.
Answer to last week’s question:
WHO WAS THE LAST RANGERS PLAYER TO SCORE A HAT-TRICK AT FIR PARK AGAINST MOTHERWELL?
FASHION SAKALA (6-1 win on October 31 2021)
This week’s question:
WHICH FORMER RANGERS PLAYER WAS SENT OFF AT IBROX WHEN PLAYING FOR DUNDEE IN SEPTEMBER 2018?
I hope you find these weekly articles both entertaining and interesting. Please use the messageboard thread to feed back any comments.