What is/was the catalyst for our dramatic loss of form?

We look knackered, we just haven’t become a bad team over night. Injuries have been a big issue, , we need th fitness level of gerrards teams, we might not have the best players but we are definitely fit enough to compete all season..
 
Injuries have caught up with us and the players who are fit are knackered. Clement has made repeated mention of the fitness levels not being anywhere close to where he wants them, and that's down to the preparation before he took over.

We've also lost our left side, with Yilmaz and Cortes injured. Sima playing on the right isn't working for me, as, like Matondo, he's at his best coming in off the left. I'd be playing Dessers or Silva up top, Sima left, McAusland right for the remaining games.
 
I think certain players fail to perform when under real pressure. Lack of organisation in defence and midfield recently has been terrible. And some players have form for this from previous seasons.

Also one or two picks in Clements teams in last few games havent been great, but Clement for me has a lot of credit in the bank. I feel more inclined to look at individual performances all over the park which have cost us points since the celtic game.

Then injuries have hampered us. Even if only one addition, such as Cortes was available that could make a significant difference on the left.

I do feel like the league is now out with our grip.
 
We have blown it and I’m absolutely scunnered. Aye, we have had injuries but so have that lot this season. Blows my mind how quickly we seem to fall apart at the business end of the season every year.

A full clear out of the old guard is needed and Clement needs backed in the summer. We will probably need to sell Butland to fund a rebuild.
 
IbroxMainStand said:
I honestly think something has happened behind the scenes. That was a complete lack of effort tonight and one or two players being injured doesn't make half a team suddenly give up.
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I was also thinking along these lines.
A month ago the squad looked really together.
Clement would hug players being subbed and have a word.
Now players come off looking really pissed off and don’t even acknowledge the manager.
Why?
 
GazzaLegend said:
I’m trying to keep a level head now the dust has settled and understand what has brought about such a dramatic turn in fortunes over the past 5 matches.

This is not about the manager per se, he has done enough by getting us to this point to be the right man to take us into the next season and we need to back him.

I’m trying to find a tactical reason for such a dramatic change in performance. The sudden switch is every bit as dramatic as the change from bad to good when the gaffer came in.

The single biggest impact for me is the complete collapse of our midfield structure.

Back in January/February, we were playing g]some good stuff and we looked really secure at the back. One of our strengths was a high press, well coordinated and effective. We were also really good at winning the 2nd ball and winning the ball back quickly if we lost it.

I’ve given it some thought followimg tonight. Trying to take a sensble un emotional approach despite my rage and disappointment.

The biggest change I can see is moving back to single holding midfielder in Lunstram. Why? Lundstrum is far to immobile to play the holding midfielder on his own, that’s a fact and he has always played better alongside another sitting midfielder, with one of them holding and the other going forward when we were in attack.

We were at our best, beating the likes of Hibs away 3-0 with Lundstram and Raskin as a pair, or if not Raskin, it was Sterling in there with him.

We have reverted back to Lundstram on his own, with Raskin sitting on the bench and Sterling sacrificed as a 2nd rate LB. That has resulted in a massive hole in our midfield, the back 4 exposed and Lundstrams form dropping off a cliff.

Take tonight’s game for example, both Borna and Raskin sitting on the bench and Sterling at LB at the expense of our midfield structure. Why the hell would we do that?

There has to be something else driving that change in direction from the gaffer as the former lineup was the catalyst for the rapid change in good fortune when he came in.

Why would he give up so much tactically and structurally to sacrifice Sterling to cover LB and leave Raskin and Borna on the bench?

I do think we under estimate just how big a loss Yilmaz and Cortez has been as well.
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I definitely think that the midfield performance of late are the biggest factor in our loss of form .
 
Rumours of the terrorists' capitulation were greatly exaggerated. We were nothing more than ordinary, but people were bigging us up for the Quadruple. The vast majority of it was an exercise in believing our own hype. This week has been a crash-landing, back to the REAL world. You don't win league titles, by turning in performances like we have of late.
17 shots on target last night - not one of them hit the back of the net.
 
Another season , another collapse in form.

The points raised in this thread are alll pertinent, but there’s always been suspicions about the squads mentality and once again the team have been shown to be bottlers.

Time for a complete clear out or we can pretty much guarantee we will be here next season lamenting another Celtic title win
 
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Kit_ said:
I think it’s multiple things.

Dressing room leaders who haven’t been able to handle it when the pressure is on and their heads drop.

Injuries causing us to play players who have one eye on the door or are just piss poor squad players.

Players like Goldson and Tav becoming some mythical jenga pieces that managers fear of even dropping in fear of it collapsing the rest of the squad.

The manager constantly tinkering to try and plug the gaps to fix it.
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Good post i cant disagree their
 
RangerInCanada said:
I was also thinking along these lines.
A month ago the squad looked really together.
Clement would hug players being subbed and have a word.
Now players come off looking really pissed off and don’t even acknowledge the manager.
Why?
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Ive literally just posted exactly this in another thread, glad someone else thinks this
 
I think its already been said but Ridvan bring out has really effected us. He gave us a natural balance and recovery pace to allow the higher line.

Sima playing on right has inverted Tav and he is no longer the back post threat.

I remember a interview with PC talking about providing the team with confidence , he said he no longer had to do that and can work on next phase of tactics he wanted to implement ( I may be paraphrasing), I think there are too many players in the squad unable to action what he is requesting. They aren't good enough. Last night was shocking. Goldson, with long pass after long pass, missing target, Roofe unable to link play. Silva, trying to do it himself, Cantwell , invisible. Literally no one had pass marks.

The pass in the last minute by lawerance summed everything up. PC needs to get back to basics again. Get ball forward quicker and win the fight first and foremost.
 
It’s a psychologists dream, the old self fulfilling prophecy. If we keep winning Parkhead is vital, if we cnut it before that the pressure is off.

Team of cowards it’s that simple.
 
GazzaLegend said:
I’m trying to keep a level head now the dust has settled and understand what has brought about such a dramatic turn in fortunes over the past 5 matches.

This is not about the manager per se, he has done enough by getting us to this point to be the right man to take us into the next season and we need to back him.

I’m trying to find a tactical reason for such a dramatic change in performance. The sudden switch is every bit as dramatic as the change from bad to good when the gaffer came in.

The single biggest impact for me is the complete collapse of our midfield structure.

Back in January/February, we were playing g]some good stuff and we looked really secure at the back. One of our strengths was a high press, well coordinated and effective. We were also really good at winning the 2nd ball and winning the ball back quickly if we lost it.

I’ve given it some thought followimg tonight. Trying to take a sensble un emotional approach despite my rage and disappointment.

The biggest change I can see is moving back to single holding midfielder in Lunstram. Why? Lundstrum is far to immobile to play the holding midfielder on his own, that’s a fact and he has always played better alongside another sitting midfielder, with one of them holding and the other going forward when we were in attack.

We were at our best, beating the likes of Hibs away 3-0 with Lundstram and Raskin as a pair, or if not Raskin, it was Sterling in there with him.

We have reverted back to Lundstram on his own, with Raskin sitting on the bench and Sterling sacrificed as a 2nd rate LB. That has resulted in a massive hole in our midfield, the back 4 exposed and Lundstrams form dropping off a cliff.

Take tonight’s game for example, both Borna and Raskin sitting on the bench and Sterling at LB at the expense of our midfield structure. Why the hell would we do that?

There has to be something else driving that change in direction from the gaffer as the former lineup was the catalyst for the rapid change in good fortune when he came in.

Why would he give up so much tactically and structurally to sacrifice Sterling to cover LB and leave Raskin and Borna on the bench?

I do think we under estimate just how big a loss Yilmaz and Cortez has been as well.
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Lundstram last two games reverted to sitting in so deep he was virtually like a spare centre half. Too often he’ll take the ultra safe option and pass sideways or backwards. This starts off a very slow build up. Tbh there has been very little movement from the midfield and front players. Not saying that’s our only problem of course. Not pressing teams and persisting with poorly performing players ( in some cases out of necessity ) has also contributed.
 
The point about the two holding midfielders is a good one, would be worth fan media asking that at the next press conference. Suspect the answer is Jack being injured and Raskin form going off a cliff have hampered us but it’s interesting other people have had plenty of chances yet Raskin has been bombed well out. As others have said though Sterling and Lundstram together would undoubtedly make us more solid as a team
 
A point was made last night that most if not all of our players seemed to have lost interest the minute we got put out of Europe

Hard to argue with this as everything seems to coincide with getting beat at Ibrox by Benfica
 
They just decided to chuck it again, spoilt brats the majority of them. This whole downing tools and throwing in the towel is the only thing consistent with this team over the past few years.
Infact downing tools is an expression I don't really remember being used to describe the attitude of rangers squads of past eras, but this squad is infested with them.
 
The core of the team are chasers not leaders, absolutely shocking once again but if im honest not suprised one bit !!!!
 
joseph said:
A point was made last night that most if not all of our players seemed to have lost interest the minute we got put out of Europe

Hard to argue with this as everything seems to coincide with getting beat at Ibrox by Benfica
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Let's be honest i came away from that game thinking 'how easy are we to play through'.....but i put it down to Benfica being a level or two above us.
The past few performances have shown our midfield set up is non existent.
 
Russell Nash2 said:
James Tavernier vs Celtic
21 secs

Season over
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This is what people refuse to admit. It's no example to set to the new players especially the young ones, it's no coincidence Butland had lost confidence to come off his line after that. Imaging having Tav and Goldson in front of you. Imaging a young player silva etc seeing that example. You'd fall apart. Since that moment we have been a shadow of ourselves.
 
One answer is that we didn't have the depth to cope with these injuries.

I said the day before he got injured that an injury to Cortes would be a disaster and I maintain that it has been. Silva isn't a winger. Injuries to Yilmaz, Cantwell and Diomande have been a disaster too.

Your point about centre mid bamboozles me too. What on earth is going on with Raskin? It has cost us because our midfield structure has been horrendous.
 
We beat StJohnstone at McDiarmid to go top the day after Celtic had drawn at Parkhead and the players and fans thought that was the league won. It was cringey hearing that eff you Celtic song were gonna win the league with so many games to go and i think the players believed it as well.
The euphoria that day was OTT.
 
Whenever a winning line appears on the horizon our most experienced players bottle goes. It might be mentality, in that they think something is already won and they take their foot off the bottle. It might be ego, thinking they are better than they are. It could be arrogance leading to them ignoring instructions from the manager. I'd also say it could be physical as most of the culprits have been here for years, but they have demonstrated this stage fright throughout their careers with us. They have become acclimatised to being perennial runners-up and we need rid of them all before they infect the more recent players with their losers attitude. Not a true Rangets player amongst them.
 
Pennine Walk said:
We beat StJohnstone at McDiarmid to go top the day after Celtic had drawn at Parkhead and the players and fans thought that was the league won. It was cringey hearing that eff you Celtic song were gonna win the league with so many games to go and i think the players believed it as well.
The euphoria that day was OTT.
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I don’t get this at all. It’s standard practise for songs like we shall not be moved to be sung when you are sitting top of the league, it’s been done for years. I don’t get why it’s cringey to celebrate something like that, I doubt many fans genuinely believed the league was won at that point

At the end of the day it shouldn’t matter what the fans sing, the players should be motivated and professional enough to keep up performance levels regardless of that
 
If we’re being honest, the results were good over winter but most of the time the performances were poor. Apart from hearts at home I genuinely can’t think of many games where I have came away thinking I’ve been entertained. It’s the same slow football with no pace or width and I’m fed up with it
 
Your only as good as your squad am afraid , the squad isnt good enough, first 11 is if no injuries but we lost diomande cortes yilmaz sima and players coming in not good enough to replace them

Dowell raskin barasic dessers lawerence
Not good enough

Before march it was goldson and balogun who were centre pairing for alot of games in spfl and it was soutter and goldson in europe now its been souttar and goldson and imo weve lost crazy goals with a punt up the park and souttar and goldson dont attack it like balogun

And the goals have dried up as dessers couldnt hit a barn door
 
We retreated into our shells, the play was more defensive than attacking at times. We tried to outthink the filth at Ibrox rather than outplaying them. Maybe that was because of the injuries forced on Clement, there is only so much you can do with a players losing mentality
 
TheScotty said:
You win and lose games in midfield.

Without someone like Sterling we have no power, no pace, no drive and no forward passes. Everything is pedestrian like and sideways or backwards. In short we are unable to control the game and are over run without the ball.

Quite what the manager is doing or seeing I have no idea.
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I agree entirely, midfield a disaster slow, ponderous with no drive. Regardless of how bad the defence is the lack of drive, creativity and scoring from midfield has been a big factor in our decline.
 
The teams’ mentality is fragile and has been for years, this is what they do when the pressure is on.

Anytime we play without pressure or expectation we play well like in Europe and the 3-0 game against the perverts last season.

These senior players just don’t have the mentality to be successful at Rangers and tbh they never have.
 
Barryhopez said:
Aye because everyone else is performing great and it's all down to Tavernier.
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Did i say that ? As captain, he is meant to provide the inspiration, leadership and mental fortitude to the rest of the team when it really matters. When have we ever seen that from him ?

(And please don't say he takes a good penalty - that's not the function of an effective captain).
 
Our dressing room leaders have a losing mentality. Cliques in the squad, do they actually talk as a team behind a locked door? Jobbers happy to take our money without putting in the work.
 
GazzaLegend said:
I’m trying to keep a level head now the dust has settled and understand what has brought about such a dramatic turn in fortunes over the past 5 matches.

This is not about the manager per se, he has done enough by getting us to this point to be the right man to take us into the next season and we need to back him.

I’m trying to find a tactical reason for such a dramatic change in performance. The sudden switch is every bit as dramatic as the change from bad to good when the gaffer came in.

The single biggest impact for me is the complete collapse of our midfield structure.

Back in January/February, we were playing g]some good stuff and we looked really secure at the back. One of our strengths was a high press, well coordinated and effective. We were also really good at winning the 2nd ball and winning the ball back quickly if we lost it.

I’ve given it some thought followimg tonight. Trying to take a sensble un emotional approach despite my rage and disappointment.

The biggest change I can see is moving back to single holding midfielder in Lunstram. Why? Lundstrum is far to immobile to play the holding midfielder on his own, that’s a fact and he has always played better alongside another sitting midfielder, with one of them holding and the other going forward when we were in attack.

We were at our best, beating the likes of Hibs away 3-0 with Lundstram and Raskin as a pair, or if not Raskin, it was Sterling in there with him.

We have reverted back to Lundstram on his own, with Raskin sitting on the bench and Sterling sacrificed as a 2nd rate LB. That has resulted in a massive hole in our midfield, the back 4 exposed and Lundstrams form dropping off a cliff.

Take tonight’s game for example, both Borna and Raskin sitting on the bench and Sterling at LB at the expense of our midfield structure. Why the hell would we do that?

There has to be something else driving that change in direction from the gaffer as the former lineup was the catalyst for the rapid change in good fortune when he came in.

Why would he give up so much tactically and structurally to sacrifice Sterling to cover LB and leave Raskin and Borna on the bench?

I do think we under estimate just how big a loss Yilmaz and Cortez has been as well.
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Teams know we don’t have much creativity from midfield, we only have pace therefore sit as deep as you can and put the ball out for a corner at all costs because we have no aerial threat either.

We will probably beat Hearts this weekend as they always come at us but they way we’re playing we would be better losing as the Tim’s will be smelling blood and we will not beat them at Parkhead or Hampden and I fear it would be another nail in our managers coffin. We have to hold onto PC and give him the budget to bring in his players, sadly, getting rid of the dross will prove challenging. We have seen this movie that many times over the last few seasons the club really owe us to give PC the budget he and all our fan base desires.
 
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