NICE SQUAD
Where was the anger and passion as Gers were humiliated?
IT’S a rare thing when a result stops you dead in your tracks.
I was bombarded by text messages when I switched my phone on after arriving home from holiday on Tuesday night.
Walking through arrivals at Glasgow Airport, I discovered what had happened to Rangers in Luxembourg and it was hard to believe.
On Wednesday I watched the game for the first time – the full 90 minutes – and it was torture.
I don’t know which word I would use – disbelief, shock, surprise at a result no Rangers side should ever suffer.
It was a disastrous result and a massive shock but they can’t dwell on it. They need to get to work but it’s a worry I can’t see what system Pedro Caixinha is trying to deploy.
I know what it’s like at Rangers when a load of foreign players are brought in, they do need time to settle but they won’t get much of that now.
The pressure is on and they need to stand tall but when you are at Rangers, that pressure is on you from day one. It needs players with personalities who can answer the demands.
This looks like a side that is too nice – nobody wants to fall out with anyone.
I’ve never been someone who disrespects teams but put simply, Progres aren’t a good side. They are very average.
Their manager went into the game knowing his team were facing better players so he told them to sit back and make it tough for Rangers.
But at no point did Gers play with any tempo. It was far too slow and laboured. This was a Europa League qualifier, not a pre-season friendly.
This was Rangers’ first tie in Europe for six years and had they played at any sort of tempo then they would have won.
There were times when you could have thrown a blanket over Ryan Jack, Jordan Rossiter and Niko Kranjcar and covered the three of them as they were that close together.
When you see the way Progres played, I don’t think there was any need to have two holding midfielders. Jack has played that role practically his entire career at Aberdeen so he could have sat in there with two others deployed further forward.
And what struck me was the lack of runners from midfield, there was nobody going beyond the strikers.
Kranjcar is technically the most gifted player Rangers have but he was coming so deep he was going past Jack and Rossiter.
Caixinha clearly wants his full-backs to get forward but it was the midfield which was the problem, the most important part of the side. Rossiter and Jack look far too similar.
The midfield all needed to play further forward and that would have dragged the defence further up the pitch.
It was only once or twice that Rangers put Progres under pressure and they made mistakes – if Rangers had done that from the word go then they would have won.
I watched Caixinha being interviewed after the game and he took full responsibility – I’m glad he’s saying that.
Without being disrespectful to any players, when I heard the draw for the first qualifier – against a part-time side that finished fourth in Luxembourg’s top league last season – I thought it could have been the perfect draw.
Nothing is a gimme in football, you still need to go out, work hard and show the correct attitude.
But if Rangers had played at any tempo they’d have won. That should come from the manager and his coaching staff and feed into the players.
If you play against lesser opposition with the right tempo then you will be successful but with Rangers there was nothing.
Europe is the place where you want to be, ideally the Champions League. But this was
the Europa League and a massive opportunity for the club. I read in Record Sport about the financial incentives of reaching the group stage and it would have brought in a possible £6million. I know they would have had to get through the qualifiers but Rangers have lost out on a hell of a lot of money and it’s cash they need.
Caixinha has been given a lot of money by Scottish standards to go out and strengthen the squad. With Graham Dorrans coming in, it will amount to around £10m he has been allowed to spend.
It’s a shock to the system as I did expect Rangers to reach the group stage. There are no excuses, they should have beaten Progres easily.
I’ve played with a lot of foreign players and I’ve seen loads of them suffer a shock when they come in and realise the level of expectations.
You saw the fans in Luxembourg and their disappointment after the game. They have every right to be angry as they spent a lot of money to be there.
Every man and their dog expected Rangers to win and they should have.
They clearly had more talent and quality than Progres but the opposition had more desire, it was all too flat from Rangers. I didn’t see anyone on the pitch getting angry or trying to drive the team on.
I’ve felt for a while there is too much asked of Kenny Miller, it shouldn’t always have to come down to him to get them out of a hole every week. It was Miller and Wes Foderingham who did that last season so it’s time for others to step up and take the game by the scruff of the neck.
I didn’t see any anger. It was a poor performance against a poor side – but you need players who will point a finger and let their team-mate know it’s unacceptable.
You can’t always rely on Miller. The only time I saw any urgency was when there was 10 minutes to go and they were two goals down. That is far too late. words in the SFA statement when they state ‘...board has determined no further disciplinary action should be taken by the SFA at this time.’
“Celtic’s statement is brilliantly worded and this isn’t going to be allowed to be swept under the carpet. Peter Lawwell can become a legend in the eyes of Celtic fans and won’t let this go.”
said: “Given that he’s still set to join Rangers, I imagine Ibrox chiefs must have been keeping Graham Dorrans away from TVs, newspapers and the internet like a Fawlty Towers farce since Tuesday night.”
Now to the football itself and the fallout from the defeat to Progres continues apace.
emailed: “The European defeat was the best thing that could have happened to Rangers as it’s a good kick up the backside which might waken them up.
“On the tax issue, please grow up Celtic and leave it be, you’re on top and will be for some time.”
said: “I’m a Rangers fan and absolutely gutted about our European exit to Progres.
“Everyone is going on about the players not being fit enough yet but how unfit can players be on their return from a two-week summer holiday?
“They’ve been back training for three weeks so surely they’re only lacking match fitness. Caixinha’s way out his depth. We should have tried much harder for Derek McInnes. I’m sure he’ll end up bossing Gers sooner rather than later.”
said: “Looks like Pedro is already on gardening leave judging by the photo on the Daily Record back page on Wednesday.”
said: “The appointment of the current manager was one of the most important decisions the board had to make. Why him? There were people available that knew what was required and they were all overlooked. Then they back him to the hilt with hard cash. Stewart Robertson has a lot to answer for.” CALL THE HOTLINE FROM 11 TILL 12 NOON on: 0141 309 3306 or email us: hotline@dailyrecord.co.uk