It may only be a closed door
friendly, but tomorrow Rangers host The New Saints at The Hummel Training
Centre in Steven Gerrard’s official debut as manager and the watching world is
keen to see exactly how Gerrard’s ideas and pre-season camp have impacted his
fledgling squad in long-awaited action.
friendly, but tomorrow Rangers host The New Saints at The Hummel Training
Centre in Steven Gerrard’s official debut as manager and the watching world is
keen to see exactly how Gerrard’s ideas and pre-season camp have impacted his
fledgling squad in long-awaited action.
It has been very promising – all of
what we have seen, heard and read has bode well and encouraged us that Stevie
is taking this club in the right direction, but it’s truly time for us to see
the walk after the talk.
what we have seen, heard and read has bode well and encouraged us that Stevie
is taking this club in the right direction, but it’s truly time for us to see
the walk after the talk.
In terms of team, it barely
matters – this is about performance and fitness in ‘competitive’ action. As
Gerrard himself said in pre-season, the bounce games he set up in Malaga were simply ‘Rangers
v Rangers’ and that tells us nothing.
matters – this is about performance and fitness in ‘competitive’ action. As
Gerrard himself said in pre-season, the bounce games he set up in Malaga were simply ‘Rangers
v Rangers’ and that tells us nothing.
Tomorrow will be the first time
his newly-assembled squad will face fresh opposition, and while the result
doesn’t matter, it probably does in reality.
his newly-assembled squad will face fresh opposition, and while the result
doesn’t matter, it probably does in reality.
Last pre-season TNS held Pedro
Caixinha’s dismal Rangers to a draw, and that definitely bode accurately for
the season ahead.
Caixinha’s dismal Rangers to a draw, and that definitely bode accurately for
the season ahead.
The same fixture again would be a
decent indicator. True, our green and white friends lost to Bohemians recently,
so many would argue it really doesn’t matter – but a boost to morale would be
welcome.
decent indicator. True, our green and white friends lost to Bohemians recently,
so many would argue it really doesn’t matter – but a boost to morale would be
welcome.
As for the XI?
The whole squad is likely to get
minutes, but with only 10 days to go till Shkupi come to Ibrox, Gerrard only
has two matches (currently known) to prepare for it – he is likely to want as
many of his marquee players to be as ready as he can.
minutes, but with only 10 days to go till Shkupi come to Ibrox, Gerrard only
has two matches (currently known) to prepare for it – he is likely to want as
many of his marquee players to be as ready as he can.
We can see all summer signings playing
a part tomorrow, albeit perhaps not starting in every case.
a part tomorrow, albeit perhaps not starting in every case.
We would hazard a guess that the
starting XI for Friday’s fixture is going to be close to the one he’ll send out
against the Macedonians, but for now, we’ll concentrate on TNS and what the
performance and result could mean.
starting XI for Friday’s fixture is going to be close to the one he’ll send out
against the Macedonians, but for now, we’ll concentrate on TNS and what the
performance and result could mean.
Hopefully Stevie Ger’s Rangers
career gets off to a flyer.
career gets off to a flyer.
The result doesn’t matter either way. It’s not indicative of how the season will pan out. The best Gers sides of the past 30 years have lost all pre-season games to relative diffuse and went in to steamroll the league.
It’s good for the team to face unknown opposition, get to know each other and adjust to the new style of play etc but the outcome in terms of scoreline means nowt. Zilch.
Well said Dino.
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