Ibrox Noise last night commented on the fact Ajax absolutely destroyed 5th-placed Heerenveen 5-0 following their demolition of Rangers midweek.
That result of course put Gio under pressure, and fans have been slaughtering the players for the apparent lack of effort on the pitch, with more than a degree of merit.
However better teams than Rangers will go to Amsterdam and lose this season, and we’ll be interested in how Napoli and Liverpool fare out there themselves.
But it was the fact that a top Dutch team got utter ruined there that piqued our interest, and the responses were very telling:
Most fans argued about the lack of effort, that we didn’t run half as much as Ajax did, didn’t pass, didn’t show the same gumption.
You know why?
It wasn’t laziness or apathy – it was fear.
It was very telling the only two players who didn’t look outright scared were Tillman and Colak. And what sets them apart? They’re the only two players in the entire Rangers squad, Hagi, McGregor, Helander, and Davis aside, to have experience at this elite level.
And were the only two starters who did.
And it told.
From Goldson’s fresh air swipe inside the first two minutes, to the disjointed movement of most of the players, the performance wasn’t Rangers being lazy, it was Rangers players out of their depth and they knew it quickly. The only one without experience but who could hold his head high was Barisic.
Now, how does this get fixed?
Well, critically every single player who featured midweek now has UCL experience. Not great experience, but they have it now.
And they must use that v Napoli to completely up their game.
Rabbit in headlights is what we saw in Amsterdam, a lack of confidence and an abundance of fear. Players who forgot the gameplan inside seconds through pure intimidation.
Ajax of course have plenty experience at this level the past 10 years and certainly exploited that.
Rangers have a chance to put it right on match day two.
Even if we don’t win v the Italians, the psychology of the players needs to improve massively.
Least the fans deserve.
I don’t really think heerenveen are a “top team ” imo the rangers of last year would have lost but far narrower defeat ,also would have done far better v them at piggery .I think some players have downed tools hence why walking about during a heavy defeat 🤔also wrong players sold and bought as replacements so far . I don’t know how gio is gonna turn it around ,such is the mess at the moment …one can only hope 🙄.
I don’t buy this as an excuse. Doesn’t matter what level they are playing at, it doesn’t excuse being unable to pass the ball 10 yards to a teammate. It doesn’t excuse why players ducked at the first goal. If we were so far out of our depth the very least we could expect is to challenge for the ball. It doesn’t explain why Ajax ran 6k more than us. And I reckon James Tavernier has probably came up against 3 or 4 players in the last 4 years that were equally as good as the player that scored the third goal.
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