76 minutes – 0 shots. Just not good enough

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76 minutes – 0 shots. Just not good enough

While on the face of it a win is usually a positive, on this occasion overcoming a stubborn and often superior Motherwell side at Ibrox reaped few compliments, with most fans and headlines focusing on the fact it took evergreen Kenny Miller to bail his team out once again. The 37-year old is one of the few who has held his own at this level, and time and time again the ex-Scottish international has stepped up where others could not.

But this cannot and should not conceal that for 76+ minutes of this match, the home side had not managed a single shot on target against visitors fourth bottom of the table. The Mark Warburton School of Football Philosophy simply does not work, and the longer this aimless tiki tika rubbish goes on, the more fans will have to endure scraped wins, draws and even losses.

Sure, Rangers had all the possession, indeed completely dominating their guests, but it was completely toothless, with Miller coming deep most of the match to help out a disfunctioning midfield. Competitive debutant Jon Toral once again started impressively, with some nice vision, touches, flicks and passes, but as he did in Germany, he faded dramatically on around 25 minutes and struggled thereafter to have any significant impact.

This lad either has concentration or fitness issues, or a combination of both, but amusingly Sky Sports’ commentator Ian Crocker alluded to his being educated at the schools of Arsenal and Barcelona proving he ‘must have something about him’. An alternative theory is that neither school was particularly impressed with him and that is why he ended up in Grenada.

Equally in the middle Jason Holt’s form continues to middle along – he really has not impacted on the SPL on any great level. Yours truly and many around me truly believed the ex-Hearts playmaker would coast the upgrade, but alas he has looked pretty mediocre, and that goes for the majority of his peers.

But ultimately it is Warbs’ philosophy that has not, does not, and never will work in this particular league – and the man is evidently too stubborn to try anything else. Even his assistant Davie Weir admitted they had secured their ‘top two targets’ in Hyndman and Toral this January. Two 6-month loans in an area not requiring new additions were top priority?

Rangers’ and Warburton’s problems were summed up by Motherwell’s goal – Cadden’s swinging cross from the right saw Robbie Kiernan haplessly exposed and a mile out of position, as Moult beat Hodson with bewildering ease to soar a superb header home. These are issues Rangers have been plagued with from day one under Warburton – a complete inability to defend. Issues he simply refuses to address.

That Miller’s (excellent) double from Waghorn and Hyndman’s assists got Rangers out of a hole is neither here nor there – there can be no satisfaction when a Rangers team cannot, till 15 minutes from the end, manage to hit a single decent shot at home.

Under Warburton Rangers continue to stumble drunkenly in the dark. Sure, the lights go on now and then so they can pass endlessly to each other, but the lights go off again and the aimlessness resumes.

Alas, Warburton’s team is made up of players other teams either did not want or youth loanees sent here to be ‘improved’. The only significant first team squad players Rangers signed who were important at their old clubs were St Johnstone’s O’Halloran, Preston’s Joe Garner and possibly Danny Wilson. The rest were deemed not good enough for their parent clubs or were free agents because no one else significant wanted them.

That is the patchwork mess Rangers essentially are now, with a tactical system which does not work at this level. Even Barcelona are struggling a little these days, with this approach no longer being as effective as it once was. The Atletico, Leicester, Portugal, Real approach of dynamic, hard-working impact football under a compressed unit with a manager players fight tooth and nail for means the ‘best’ teams no longer are the best or more successful teams by default.

Unfortunately Warburton’s Rangers are not the best in any sense.

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43 COMMENTS

  1. The only good point this season has to be foderingham. Truthfully u wanted rid of him in the summer and saw him as a huge weakness. But this season I'm sure it's a different person in his shirt. His double save yesterday is something we haven't saw since mcgregor. But the rest just look as though they have no team spirit which was so important last season. I really want to know what is going on in training cause the team just don't seem as happy as they did

    • Not sure I totally agree, whilst he does make good saves he also lets in soft goals, makes errors and is hardly a commanding figure when it comes to crosses and organisation of defence.

      Personally I think the only thing he has on gilks is age.

    • Make your mind up ibrox noise!!At the start of your post you state motherwell were often the superior team and then further into your post you state we were the better team,although we had 0 shots at goal!Which one is it to be mate??Foderingham has been superb this season and has stepped up a gear since the arrival of matt gilks,who pushed him to reach another level!Kenny miller up until now is my rangers player of the year!The guy is without question,a big game player and a total thoroughbred and role model for everyone at ibrox!!IMHO when he eventually hangs up his boots,he'll be given a coaching job at rangers!You can already see that in him.I'd also go a step further here,and put my head on the block,when I say that there's a very good chance that kenny miller will be the glasgow rangers manager,one day!Although he'll have to manage a smaller club or clubs first!!The main conundrum just now is,how do we go about replacing miller for the longterm??The rangers players who have been a success this season so far are-foderingham,hill,wallace,miller & mckay!!

    • I wouldn't say he can't get a cross. That has been improving dramatically this season and the last Celtic game showed that. And I wouldn't blame not organising the defense on him. Kernan and Wilson just love to ball watch and float away from there mark

  2. Totally agree with every word this article says……. hopefully Dave King can see this now and Warbs is replaced at the end of the season as I think he should get till then before fired…….Thank you Mr Warburton but goodbye

    • Yes I agree with you get rid Dave king for Mike Ashley get rid of Mark Warburton for Ally McCoist GET A GRIP

    • The Derry what r u talking about?? Mike Ashley and Ally Mccoist????A could think of a few cheap decent signings that would transform us but obviously Warburton can't!!!!!!!

  3. once again our midfield were shocking in there lack of shots in the box highlighted by one in particular halliday just inside the box dead centre and passes the ball wide wasnt until windass came on we had a midfielder wanting to run towards goal

  4. People are getting confused here – We are fn skint.
    I'll say it again – We are fn skint.
    Now – Mark Warburton is doing everything right.
    With more bodies in the box and THAT penalty decision we could easily
    have won 5-0 or 5-1 NO panic!
    Tippy tappy side balls near the the box…aaah shoot to kill the game off!
    Rangers need to play like they did for the last 10 mins all the time.
    There was no pace or tempo in the first half.
    Here's hoping for change because we got out of jail today without paying 200 quid.
    Watch the game again fellow bears on the highlights and you'll see that it's simply the lack of finishing and getting bodies in the box that's the problem.

    • How could we have scored five when until last 15mins we had no shots on goal.

      Warburton is not doing everything right.

      YOU highlight lack of bodies in the box – who instructs the players on how to play?

      What a complete load of utter rubbish. Reminds me of the craps trump supporters come out with, no basis in reality

  5. So let me get this straight…..Warburton is a terrible manager because we dominate games….make bad decisions in front of goal……we got scored on once (Their 1 out of 3 chances in 90 minutes)……2nd in the league
    …..behind a Celtic team that is having their best season in years on our first time back in the league….through to the next round of the scottish cup……..

    As to our signings……Warburton said he doesn't like to spend in jan as the market is over inflated which is true…..so he gets 2 hungry players desperate to prove something…..so that helps rangers doesn't it? We don't have millions to spend on players and the last high profile signing used us as a publicity stunt and the other got injured…..

    To the comment saying their not as happy…..because they are not winning every game and having to find ways to win and sometimes that isn't as enjoyable pushing teams aside each week

    However what did you expect to happen this season?? Dominate every team….go undefeated? Teams not stick 10 behind the ball and ask us to break them down……

    Do all rangers fans a favour get behind the team……understand football……bring back mccoist and Smith right???? I'm a Smith fan but he is a cheque book manager…..with the resources available like you said free signings and loans for that I think he's done a great job

    • I see where you are coming from mate but bar a few last minute goals in games we would b a lot further down the table and out the cup….. I personally want it to work for Warburton but it's not going to as he is signing the wrong players every window i.e. Another 2 midfielders when we r crying out for defenders and strikers……??????

    • I agree with Chris Hayes..absolutely spot on with various points..rangers fans need a reality check. Unfortunately loan signings are what we are going to have to deal with for the forseable until we have some more money but it can work! These players do have a point to prove and will be hungry as hell to perform. Let's get behind the team and manager for the rest of the season and see how it goes.

  6. One main failing with MW and DW is that they cannot see the falings on the field until it is too late…. O'Halloran and Toral should have been withdrawn much sooner than they were. Windass and Waghorn made a difference but Hyndman was a passenger….Does MW and DW not let these new players realize how fast and physical the Scottish game is?

  7. "Robbie Kiernan haplessly exposed and a mile out of position, as Moult beat Hodson with bewildering ease to soar a superb header home"

    So Hodson is marking Moult, how is Kiernan out of position? He is covering the middle where he should be.

    Exposed to what? Exposed as what? Given that the defence has shifted to the left (all the defence that is), your need to blame Kiernan strikes me as a poor understanding of how a defensive unit works or a desire to use Kiernan as a scapegoat. Hodson was horribly mismatched height wise against Moult, these things happen.

    I know you long for the days when we could just go out and bring in the players that we wanted, but those days are long gone now. We live in a world where players favour money over medals, and you can get more money in the English first division than at Rangers (or indeed Celtic nowadays).

    Anybody who thought we would be doing better than second place this year is deluded. We need time to settle into the league, get into Europe and then attract players. Last season our goal was to get promoted. ACHIEVED THAT. This year our goal is to get into Europe. LETS JUDGE THEN

    And i haven't even began to talk about the whole Mike Ashey situation, FFP regulations or anything like that.

    Let's listen to your advice, pay off the manager, scrap the plans we are a little over a third of the way through and start again. (We can repeat this formula until we go bust again or fade away into mediocrity like Blackburn Rovers). We all demand instant gratification, we are Rangers after all. However we have to build for the future and not live in the past.

    Feel free to rip me to shreds for this post (if it's published), i am more disillusioned with this site than i'll ever be with the team. I read more realistic (and optimistic) analysis elsewhere

    • Kiernan was marking moult and stepped off him as cross came in – to mark nobody at front post. He has made very similar errors repeatedly throughout his time at the club.

      Get your facts right before being all dismayed.

    • Hyndman was a passenger you say harryboy!I honestly can't even answer that except with one word,"BOLLOCKS"!!!!!!

    • Kiernan steps off as Hodson is coming onto the cross not going back onto it.

      Dismayed with this site as their are so many contradicting points that other posters have mentioned.

    • Why read that it if your so dismayed? I don't read the ridiculous posts and sites that claim as is well. It's not.

      Kiernan needed to hold his position, he could see there was nobody making a run to front post. If he had held his original position he would have been able to at least challenge for the ball.

      No wonder some don't see how AWFUL Warburton tactics are if you can see the same thing over and over again and not recognise it.

  8. Agree with most of the article. It's not the players fault that they are not to the standard the fans want to see. I believe they are trying their best. Maybe most of them are weighed down and feeling the pressure of playing for such a huge club like Rangers.

    • We should now drop jason holt from our midfield as he's simply not playing well just now!I was a big fan of holt but we now must start emerson hyndman in his place!Hyndman is better and a very good,young midfielder who has a killer pass,doesn't hide,and is always making himself available in looking for the ball!!Our 3 in midfield should be halliday(until rossiter is fit),hyndman & toral!!Our front 3 just now should be,windass,miller & mckay!!!

    • We should now drop jason holt from our midfield as he's simply not playing well just now!I was a big fan of holt but we now must start emerson hyndman in his place!Hyndman is better and a very good,young midfielder who has a killer pass,doesn't hide,and is always making himself available in looking for the ball!!Our 3 in midfield should be halliday(until rossiter is fit),hyndman & toral!!Our front 3 just now should be,windass,miller & mckay!!!

  9. The general vibe on other rangers sites is "shut up we won", so yet again I commend this site for speaking the truth.

    Yes we won, but not without toiling badly against a team that offered nothing for most of the game. In truth Motherwell had a good 15minutes where it was blinding obvious to everyone except Warburton that a goal was coming.

    The game yesterday highlighted all the faults we can see but the manager is either incapable or unwilling to address.

    There are certain players who have had their time at ibrox and are clearly not of the required standard.

    Kiernan for example was caught out , yet again, by a simple cross. Just how many mistakes must he makes before Warburton realises he isn't good enough.

    Holt and haliday may provide effort, but neither are close to being good enough. Someone please tell the manager as they seem to be first names on teamsheet.

    MOH inclusion yesterday sums Warburton up. I know through a friend that rangers circulated his availability last week and that Warburton made it known to the player. Yet somehow he then picks him to play above the likes of waghorn, dodoo and Forrester – it makes absolutely no sense. Was he in team to be put in shop window? Really!?

    We got our first glimpses of the latest two signings. Fantastic ball from hydman so perhaps he may make an impact I saw nothing from total that suggests he will make any difference to our team. I have asked before, just how many players has this manager brought in without making any tangible difference to the team. Too many is the simple answer.

    I agreed with Neil McCann when he made a similar point. He highlighted that Warburton seems obsessed with neat and tidy midfield players, yet none of them really do anything.

    I honestly thought when we were losing that perhaps it would be better if we didn't come back, that an early cup knock out might prompt the board to see that Warburton has to go, not to satisfy fans but for the long term good of the club. In the end a bit of luck has saved him, but doomed this situation to continue.

    • "I have asked before, just how many players has this manager brought in without making any tangible difference to the team."

      So from the reign of McCoist, where we had Ricky Foster, John Daly, Kris Boyd Stevie Smith, Zaliukas, Nicky Clarke, Ian Black, Faiure, Peralta, Dean Shiels and Kyle Hutton

      You think the players that have been brought in are no better? The players that got us promoted are no better than the players that finished second and got pumped by Motherwell (the same team we beat yesterday)

    • Well done for the quote but you should of stopped typing there.

      So you think it us fair to compare players brought in to play in the third tier with players brought in to play in the top division?

      Even ignoring that most of Warburtons signings have made even less of an impact than those you mention. Black played more and slightly better than Barton, Clark has scored more than garner, Dean shields scored more and created more than just about every midfielder Warburton has signed.

      My point is since Warburton first transfer window he has signed over 15 players without making any major difference to the strength of the team. While I like some of the players and others may not have had a run in team, the reality is the quality of the team hasn't improved. The same problems exist, and what was good about the team has become our biggest problem- Warburton 'style' of play.

  10. I'm starting to go off warburton myself it is another get out of jail card for him because if we got put out the cup yest I think the board would have had a decision to make, the football on offer is very boring and very predictable. Why holt is in the team is beyond me he buzzes about like a wee wasp but he has no sting harry forester sitting on the bench who does all the same work but most importantly scores goals from midfield. What I will say is warburton made the subs n they set up the 2 goals but on the other hand he should b starting waggy anyway and if he brought hyndman in believing he's Better than what we have why is he not starting is it because he won't drop Halliday.
    It will be really interesting if ohalloran does go out on loan to see what position he plays out wide or CF cos I think he's wasted on the wings he's not good wen he has to much time to think, think if he plays on the sholder of the defender n we play balls through the defence or balls over the top he'd b more effective so it'll b interesting to see the way another manager sees him playing n if warbs is making the right or wrong choice. We'll soon find out.
    Said on here before that I think Lewis molte would b a good signing cos hes a goalscorer think it would b Worth a chance to do a swap deal with ohalloran.

  11. The very best thanks too KM the only top player we have none of the rest of forwards could have done that thank you KM.

  12. I think Warburton plays favourites and that is not going to change,as for Moh the guy needs games I thought he played well yesterday in patches.I know that Tavernier will be back in the side no matter how he plays,it is a shame Moh hasn't been given a chance and I can't help thinking to many Rangersfans don't like him because of his background which is a shame.The leaguefa is over so why not play our younger.players and get ready for next season I'm sure most gers fans would rather watch them than the same old this season.

    • The league is over but the race for second place is.

      The time to blood youngsters is when we are in a more comfortable position

    • Sorry mate with the team that plays every week there is no guarantee of second.Id rather play youngsters with a bit of hunger and talent than watch this team playing passing games without an end product

    • I agree we need to start playing youngsters, we just haven't had the right time to do it.

      Hopefully we'll see some played at Greenock if we can get a goal or two up quickly

  13. The fact is Warburton is clueless.
    Yesterday is papering over cracks as seems to be the case now.
    There's been so many issues with the manager. Picking favourites (the horrendous Kieran), man managing things terribly (Barton, Senderos), inability to change system or players to impact, the list goes on and on.
    Warburton is simply not good enough. Only change of mind I'd have if we win Scottish Cup and cement 2nd place in league, but realistically is that going to happen. I think it's going to be extremely hard confirming 2nd and there's just so much evidence this season (example: signings) on why the man is not the one to lead Rangers.
    I thank Warburton and wish him and Weir all the best, but I hope that King has plans to start afresh when season ends.

    Hugh

  14. I agree with most of the comments on the site, and most of the comments afterwards. I am coming to the conclusion that Warburton just isn't very bright (yes, I know about his financial background – let's call it 'football bright'). Yet again central defence gives away a sloppy goal. Kiernan did drift off his man to leave him unmarked; Hodson tried to cover the danger but was too small and too late (and left a man unmarked outside in order to cover for Kiernan's mistake, but I don't blame Hodson for that). However Kiernan is one of Warburton's favourites and can do no wrong in his eyes Which is why Warburton (and Weir – what is he doing?) is blind to our needs in central defence when everyone in Ibrox sees this shriek out week after week. Meanwhile we pack our midfield with tippy-tappy players. We must have one of the lowest goal to possession stats in the league. Kenny Miller is a great centre-forward but is often asked to play on the wing. I thought Toral had a poor game, but Hyndman looks as if he could add something. The failure to strengthen central defence in the window is criminal.

    • First of all superally is talking shite about fans dont like o halloran cause of his tims leanings..i dont give a shit who he supports.secondly, Waggy would never be out of my team.Id play him through the middle.last of all,get rid of Halliday
      .

    • What's your point ?I said Moh because of his Celtic connections not because he was a Catholic you seem obsessed by religion mate maybe you have a problem.

  15. No need to say anything with out KM then we where more than likely out of cup
    if it was a away game then i think we where out,we need to get better and get new players in but keep KM.

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