All posts by h79snht.top

It has been an awful season so far for Wolverhampton Wanderers. They are without a win in the Premier League, sitting rock bottom of the table with just three points to their name. The Old Gold are also the worst defensive side in the competition, conceding 27 goals, more than any other team.

The Midlands club are led by Gary O’Neil, who did an excellent job last season keeping them up, after tough circumstances landed him the job in the first place.

Although his job is under pressure this term, he might well have enough credit in the bank following his performances in 2023/24, a campaign that Julen Lopetegui was meant to be in charge of the club.

Lopetegui’s Wolves career

West Ham United manager Lopetegui has had an interesting 18 months or so. At the start of last season, he left his post at Molineux, just three days before their season opener against Manchester United.

The official statement from Wolves explained that both the club and manager “accepted their differences of opinion on certain issues and agreed that an amicable end to his contract was the best solution”. This largely surrounded the fact that he was not given any money to spend in the summer of 2023.

For what it is worth, the Spaniard did a good job in the hot seat at Molineux. He was originally appointed in November 2022, around the time domestic football temporarily stopped for the 2022 World Cup. He replaced Bruno Lage, who was sacked the previous month.

The former Real Madrid boss was only in charge for 27 games but brought them from the bottom of the Premier League when he took over, to a 13th place finish.

He changed the club’s fortunes around and left with a good record, winning ten games in all competitions and ensuring survival for another season in the Premier League.

Lopetegui stats as Wolves manager

Stat

Number

Games

27

Wins

10

Draws

5

Losses

12

Goals for

31

Goals against

42

Premier League points

31

Stats from Transfermarkt

However, things did not go according to plan that summer when it became clear the higher-ups at Molineux would not spend money to help strengthen the squad. Thus, he left his post and was replaced by O’Neil.

Interestingly, neither Lopetegui nor his successor O’Neil could have ended up at Molineux. Following Lage’s sacking there was another manager who the Old Gold targeted, although they ultimately missed out on him.

The manager Wolves missed

The man in question here is Portuguese manager Ruben Amorim. The former Sporting boss has recently landed himself one of football’s top jobs, that of Manchester United, and he replaces Erik ten Hag at Old Trafford.

Incredibly, back in October 2022, the Sun reported that the new Red Devils boss was one of four managers in a shortlist to replace Lage at Molineux, claiming that he was ‘at the top’ of the list to take over.

It would certainly have made sense to bring the former Sporting boss to Molineux given they had a strong Portuguese contingent at the club back in 2022/23. Ten players within the first-team squad that season were from Portugal, including Joao Moutinho who was a former teammate of Amorim at international level.

Looking back on it, the Old Gold may well regret missing out on the 39-year-old, who was named “Europe’s most wanted” manager by journalist Lewis Steele. He has a superb record in Lisbon, winning five trophies as Sporting boss including two league titles. In all, he has 164 wins in 230 games in charge of Leoes, who have scored a whopping 511 goals in that time.

His side recently dispatched Manchester City in the Champions League 4-1. It was his final home game before he makes the move to the Red half of Manchester, and was the perfect send-off after a stellar time in Portugal.

Wolves fans will surely look back on their chase of Amroim with great regret. They came close to securing his services a couple of years ago, and now it seems like their chance to get him has well and truly gone.

This season could have been a far different story for the Old Gold if they had managed to bring in one of the best young managers in Europe.

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Posts ByJoe Nuttall Nov 6, 2024

Ahead of the T20I series in India, New Zealand stand-in captain opened up on the effects of packed scheduling and quarantine protocols

Vishal Dikshit16-Nov-20212:43

Southee on NZ schedule: ‘We haven’t had a chance to stop and think’

New Zealand have barely had the time to process their loss to Australia in the T20 World Cup final in Dubai on Sunday night, and yet, less than 24 hours later, they arrived in Jaipur for a tour of three T20Is and two Tests. The T20I leg of the series will start less than 72 hours after their defeat in the world tournament’s final.New Zealand’s stand-in T20I captain Tim Southee, in the absence of Kane Williamson who opted out of the T20Is, said the packed scheduling, quarantine and bubble life do take a “toll” and make “things a lot tougher” for the players but it’s something they “just have to adapt to and get used to” as they can’t control it. He hopes they don’t have to play in biosecure environments for too much longer.Related

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Stead admits NZ are facing a 'tough and challenging' schedule

“It’s obviously a pretty busy schedule, we knew this was going to be the case even leading into the T20 World Cup, we had a series in Bangladesh and Pakistan,” Southee said while interacting with the media online from Jaipur on Tuesday. “[Some of] the guys were at the IPL so something over last couple of years have made scheduling a lot tougher. Sides have to do quarantine and what not, it’s been a bit of a challenge but as players you just have to crack on and play what’s in front of you.”With what’s happened in the world in the last couple of years, it’s made things a lot tougher with bubbles, quarantine, and it does take its toll. After a while we don’t know what’s going to happen in the future, whether we’re going to have to continue to play in bubbles and schedules having more pressure on with quarantine time thrown in as well. It’s something we can’t control and something we just have to adapt to and get used to but it does take its toll. A few players have been in a number of bubbles for long periods of time so it does weigh you down after a while. So, hopefully, we don’t have to deal with bubbles for too much longer.”With what’s happened in the world in the last couple of years, it’s made things a lot tougher with bubbles, quarantine, and it does take its toll” – Tim Southee•ICC via Getty

“It’s busy and we haven’t really had a chance to stop and think after the disappointment in the way things finished there (in Dubai) but we have to shift our focus to this series and then obviously for the Test series. To represent your country is a great honour so that’s gets me up and going.”In the lead up to their T20 World Cup campaign that started on October 18, New Zealand toured Bangladesh for five T20Is in September and then Pakistan for an original tour of three ODIs and five T20Is, which they eventually pulled out of. Now, they play three T20Is in India within five days and two more Tests before they head back to New Zealand for their home summer.Southee said New Zealand could be looking at rotating their T20I squad in India, which was the same group of 15 that played in the World Cup in the UAE.”It’s something we have to look at throughout this series of three games in five days, with travel days in between and then a couple of days and then go into a Test series,” Southee said. “The guys have to be managed throughout the series and we’ve got a squad of 15 here that were involved in the T20 World Cup which I’m sure we’ll use throughout the T20 series.”

MatériaMais Notícias

Os bastidores do Botafogo continuam agitados e John Textor permanece fazendo mudanças internas em busca de novas diretrizes para o clube. O empresário, que está prestes a comprar 90% da SAF do Alvinegro, rompeu com todos os patrocínios que o Glorioso detinha. O objetivo do empresário é buscar melhores e mais valiosos contratos.

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John Textor olhou todos os contratos do Botafogo com os patrocinadores durante esse fim de semana e decidiu não continuar com os vínculos na noite deste domingo. Mais cedo, ele lançou uma nota em seu site oficial falando sobre a questão do fornecedor de uniforme.

Ou seja, EstrelaBet, patrocinadora máster, Centrum, que ficava na parte inferior da camisa, Bitci, que havia chegado durante a última semana, STX, no calção, Tim e Eletromil estão fora do Botafogo.

A intenção do norte-americano é trazer novas marcas para patrocinar o Botafogo. A condição dele é que essas companhias sejam reconhecidas no mundo. O desejo de Textor é criar uma “escala global” para a marca Botafogo, tentando valorizar o clube também fora de campo.

Contratos de empresas que patrocinam apenas as categorias de base também estão sendo revistos. Há a chance de, caso queiram, essas empresas voltarem a patrocinarem o Botafogo. Internamente, diz-se que a entrada é “mais difícil”: John Textor colocou condições para tal – que, se voltava, não vai aparecer na parte principal do uniforme.

As mudanças no uniforme, vale ressaltar, não serão feitas agora. EstrelaBet, STX etc continuarão estampando as marcas no uniforme do Botafogo até que o contrato definitivo para a venda da SAF seja assinado.

Glenton Stuurman and Prenelan Subrayen are back in the mix too, while Sisanda Magala and Ryan Rickelton have earned maiden call-ups

Firdose Moonda07-Dec-2021

Duanne Olivier leads the first-class wickets chart this season with 28 strikes at 11.14, including two five-wicket hauls•Getty Images

Duanne Olivier could make a Test comeback after an absence of almost three years after being named in a 21-player squad for the upcoming three-Test series against India. The squad includes two new faces – seamer Sisanda Magala and top-order batter Ryan Rickelton, who were both part of the ODI line-up that played in the series against Netherlands, which had to be postponed because of the latest Covid-19 outbreak – and recalls for offspin-bowling allrounder Prenelan Subrayen and quick bowler Glenton Stuurman, who have been part of previous Test squads but haven’t been capped.The rest of the group is largely the same as the one that toured West Indies in June, which is when South Africa last played Test cricket. That series, which South Africa won 2-0, was Dean Elgar’s first as the regular captain. The upcoming one against India will be his first in charge at home. His vice-captain, Temba Bavuma, who was on tour in the Caribbean but missed the Tests because of injury, is also in the squad.Related

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South Africa have given themselves several options in all departments, especially in the bowling attack. Kagiso Rabada and Anrich Nortje are expected to lead the pack, with Lungi Ngidi included after recovering from Covid-19, two left-armers in Marco Jansen and Beuran Hendricks, and two right-arm options in Stuurman and Magala.A lot of the focus, though, will be on Olivier, who has been in exceptional form for the Lions and leads the first-class wickets chart this season with 28 strikes at 11.14, including two five-wicket hauls.Olivier spoke to ESPNcricinfo after the last round of fixtures and confirmed that he had been in discussion with selection convener Victor Mpitsang and was available for South Africa again after his Kolpak-enforced absence. He is the second Kolpak-returnee to be selected for a national squad after Wayne Parnell, who played against Netherlands.Conditions, on the whole, are expected to favour quicks, especially at SuperSport Park and Wanderers, where the first two Tests are scheduled to be played, but Newlands could offer something for spinners and South Africa have three of them too. Keshav Maharaj remains the first pick, and will have back-up in allrounders George Linde and Subrayen. Tabraiz Shamsi, who was part of the Test squad in West Indies, has not been selected while there was also no room for the second-highest wicket-taker – behind Olivier – in the first-class competition, Simon Harmer. But South Africa have included one seam-bowling allrounder in Wiaan Mulder.ESPNcricinfo Ltd

The batting line-up has a more familiar look to it, with Sarel Erwee providing back-up to Elgar and Aiden Markram at the top of the order, and Rassie van der Dussen, Bavuma, Kyle Verreynne and de Kock expected to make up the top six.Rickelton, the other back-up batter who is in tenth place on the first-class run chart, has been preferred over Tony de Zorzi and Pieter Malan, who are leading run-scorers in the ongoing series between South Africa A and India A.This is South Africa’s first series in the 2021-2023 cycle of the World Test Championship, and first series at home since they hosted Sri Lanka over the festive period last summer. They finished fifth in the previous edition of the ICC tournament, winning two series – against Sri Lanka and West Indies – and losing three – to England, India and Pakistan. It also marks the start of a busy summer for South Africa in which they host India, travel to New Zealand, and host Bangladesh, before a winter tour in England, and it was all very nearly derailed after the discovery of Omicron, the new Covid-19 variant last month.The series has been pushed out by a week – it was initially scheduled to be played from December 17, and the first Test will now start on Boxing Day. The players will be in a biosecure bubble for the duration of the series, although they can expect to see some fans. As things stand in South Africa, 2,000 fully-vaccinated fans are permitted at sporting venues but this may change if further restrictions come into place in the next few weeks.

نجم مسئولو النادي الأهلي، برئاسة محمود الخطيب، في حسم صفقة جديدة لتدعيم صفوف فريق اليد بالقلعة الحمراء.

وتوصل الأهلي لإتفاق للتعاقد مع محمد عماد أوكا، لاعب فريق طلائع الجيش، في صفقة انتقال جديدة ضمن خطة تدعيم فريق كرة اليد استعدادًا للموسم المقبل.

طالع.. الأهلي يفوز على طلائع الجيش في دوري كرة اليد علم بطولات أن أوكا وقع على عقد يمتد لأربع سنوات، حيث سينضم إلى صفوف الأهلي اعتبارًا من بداية الموسم الجديد، في خطوة تهدف إلى تعزيز قوة الفريق في المنافسات المحلية والقارية.

تأتي هذه الصفقة في إطار جهود إدارة النادي الأهلي لدعم فريق كرة اليد بعناصر مميزة، استعدادًا لخوض الموسم المقبل بقوة والمنافسة على الألقاب ومن المتوقع أن يواصل النادي الإعلان عن صفقات جديدة خلال الفترة المقبلة.

Glasgow Rangers head into the final international break of the year on a relative high after three positive results across three different competitions for the Ibrox side.

The Light Blues came from 1-0 down to beat Motherwell 2-1 in the semi-final of the League Cup at Hampden Park, which has set up a final against Celtic next month.

Philippe Clement’s side then battled it out in Greece to secure a 1-1 draw with Olympiacos in the Europa League, to keep them in the fight to secure automatic qualification for the last 16.

The Scottish giants then won 1-0 against Kilmarnock in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday, thanks to an early goal from centre-forward Cyriel Dessers.

Rangers had to play the bulk of those three games without attacking midfielder Tom Lawrence, though, as he went off injured in the first half against Motherwell.

The Wales international faces up to six weeks out injured with a thigh issue and the Belgian head coach has had to find solutions to his absence, with Mohamed Diomande moving up into a number ten position instead of his usual role in the double pivot.

Tom Lawrence's form this season

Lawrence has suffered from injuries throughout his time at Ibrox and these persistent issues could play a part in the club’s thinking when it comes to renewing his contract.

His current deal at Ibrox is due to expire at the end of May next year and it remains to be seen whether or not the Scottish giants are willing to extend it.

Since his move to Glasgow on a free transfer from Derby County in the summer of 2022, Lawrence missed 56 matches for club and country in his first two seasons in Scotland, and is projected to miss ten games with his current injury – taking the total to 66.

His fitness problems are frustrating because his form on the pitch for the Light Blues this season has been, largely, impressive, both in the Premiership and in the Europa League.

On the European stage, the 30-year-old playmaker has scored two goals and created one ‘big chance’ for the team in just three appearances – scoring against FCSB and Lyon.

24/25 Premiership

Tom Lawrence

Appearances

8

Starts

7

Goals

3

Big chances created

3

Assists

2

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Lawrence has provided a big threat as both a scorer and a creator of goals from an attacking midfield position in the top-flight.

However, his quality on the pitch is not useful to Rangers when he is consistently unavailable for selection, which is why Clement and Nils Koppen may be looking at potential signings to come in and take his place long-term, with his contract coming to an end next summer.

Rangers eyeing up Romanian star

At the end of last month, the Daily Mail reported that Rangers are interested in FCSB attacking midfielder Darius Olaru ahead of the January transfer window.

The outlet stated that Clement and his recruitment staff are big fans of the Romania international and that they could make a move for him ahead of the second half of the season.

It added that his current contract with the club is not due to expire until the summer of 2028, which means that Rangers will have to splash out a significant sum of money to convince FCSB to part ways with him.

The 26-year-old magician is valued at €7m (£5.8m) by Transfermarkt but it remains to be seen how much exactly the Romanian giants will demand for his signature if any clubs come in with offers in January.

This is not the first time that the Gers have been linked with an interest in the player. He was reportedly a target for former Rangers boss Michael Beale in the summer of 2023.

FCSB owner Gigi Becali also named Rangers as one of the clubs that could be in the market to sign the attacking midfielder from his side back in the summer of 2022, when Giovanni van Bronckhorst was in charge, with Ross Wilson as the sporting director.

Transfer Focus

Mega money deals, controversial moves and big-name flops. This is the home of transfer news and opinion across Football FanCast.

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Despite a whole new recruitment set-up, with Clement and head of recruitment Koppen, Olaru appears to still be a target more than two years on from that initial interest, and he could come in as a brilliant replacement for Lawrence.

Why Rangers should sign Darius Olaru

The Scottish giants should swoop to sign the 26-year-old whiz because he is physically and technically reliable, having avoided serious injuries and produced regular quality on the pitch in recent seasons.

Since the start of the 2022/23 campaign, Olaru has only missed six games through injury, 60 fewer than Lawrence in the same period, and this suggests that he is more likely to be available week-in-week-out for Clement.

So far this season, the Romanian wizard has already contributed with ten goals and five assists across 21 appearances in all competitions for FCSB, which shows that he has made a big impact at the top end of the pitch as both a scorer and a creator of goals.

The Rangers target has also averaged 2.2 key passes per game across ten matches in the Super Liga this term, whilst no midfielder or forward has averaged more than 1.6 per match in the Premiership for the Light Blues.

FCSB chief Mihai Stoica once claimed that Olaru is “like” Manchester City magician Kevin de Bruyne, due to their creative quality, and that was evident on his form last season.

23/24 Super Liga

Darius Olaru

Appearances

36

Goals

15

Big chances created

19

Key passes per game

2.1

Assists

5

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the Romania international created a whopping 19 ‘big chances’ in 36 league games for his teammates, to go along with 15 goals.

These statistics show that Olaru has de Bruyne-like creativity, as the Manchester City star has provided 171 assists in 390 matches for his club, but has not been rewarded enough by his teammates, whose wasteful finishing meant that his assist tally did not fairly reflect his creativity.

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Overall, the FCSB sensation could brilliantly replace Lawrence by coming in to provide reliability in his availability as well as being an attacking midfielder who can consistently contribute with goals and assists.

خاض فريق نيس، مساء أمس السبت، مباراته في إطار منافسات بطولة الدوري الفرنسي لكرة القدم موسم 2024/25، وذلك ضد نظيره موناكو.

وتلاقى الفريقان في خضم منافسات الجولة السابعة والعشرين من الدوري الفرنسي، حيث حقق موناكو فوزًا بهدفين لهدف.

تقدم نيس بفضل هدف اللاعب جيريمي بوجا في الدقيقة 41 من عمر الشوط الأول من تلك المباراة.

وتمكن موناكو من إدراك التعادل عن طريق اللاعب ميكا بيريث، بعدما سجل هدفًا في الدقيقة 55.

في حين جاء هدف تقدم موناكو في الدقيقة 73، عن طريق اللاعب بريل إيمبولو، حيث سجل الهدف الثاني لصالح أصحاب الأرض.

ولم يشارك المصري محمد عبد المنعم في تلك المباراة حيث ظل على دكة بدلاء نيس طوال اللقاء.

بتلك النتيجة، ارتفع رصيد موناكو إلى 50 نقطة في المركز الثاني، بينما تجمد رصيد نيس عند 47 نقطة في المركز الرابع.

وتأجل تتويج باريس سان جيرمان بلقب الموسم الحالي من بطولة الدوري الفرنسي، حيث كان في حاجة إلى تعادل موناكو مع نيس، بعدما نجح حامل اللقب في الفوز على سانت إيتيان بستة أهداف مقابل هدف في الجولة نفسها يوم السبت.

The team will be led by Prithvi Shaw and will open its campaign against Maharashtra on January 13

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Dec-2021

Arjun Tendulkar has played two T20s previously for Mumbai•Sri Lanka Cricket

Arjun Tendulkar, the son of former India batter Sachin Tendulkar, has been included in the Mumbai Ranji Trophy squad. The team will be led by Prithvi Shaw, whom chief selector Salil Ankola termed as a “brilliant captain and fantabulous opening batsman”.Shaw was India’s captain when they won the Under-19 World Cup in 2018. Last season, he had led Mumbai to the Vijay Hazare title. However, it will be the first time he will captain a side in first-class cricket.Arjun, the 22-year-old fast bowler, had broken into Mumbai’s squad for the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy last year, and made his senior debut against Haryana, returning figures of 1 for 34 from three overs. He played one more game for Mumbai, turning out in their defeat against Puducherry. Arjun, batting at No. 11, was dismissed for 3 as Mumbai folded for 94; with the ball, he finished with 1 for 33 from four overs.Earlier this year, Arjun landed his first IPL contract with Mumbai Indians signing him for INR 20 lakhs at the auction. However, he did not play a single game during the season.Allrounder Shivam Dube, who has played one ODI and 13 T20Is, is also in the squad, as are Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Arman Jaffer and Aditya Tare. Dhawal Kulkarni will lead the pace attack.Mumbai, the 41-time Ranji Trophy champions, are placed in Elite Group C and will open their campaign against Maharashtra on January 13, before facing Delhi on January 20.Squad: Prithvi Shaw (captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Aakarshit Gomel, Armaan Jaffer, Sarfaraz Khan, Sachin Yadav, Aditya Tare (wicketkeeper), Hardik Tamore (wicketkeeper), Shivam Dube, Aman Khan, Shams Mulani, Tanush Kotian, Prashant Solanki, Shashank Attarde, Dhawal Kulkarni, Mohit Avasthi, Prince Badiani, Siddharth Raut, Royston Dias, Arjun Tendulkar

MatériaMais Notícias

O setor da lateral-esquerda da Chapecoense foi reforçado neste sábado (12) com a confirmação da chegada por empréstimo de Guilherme Guedes, nome que segue com seus direitos ligados ao Grêmio. O acordo de cessão tem validade até novembro deste ano, data de término da Série B do Brasileirão.

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>A campanha da Chape até aqui no Campeonato Catarinense

Como a Chape descreveu em seu site oficial, os vencimentos do atleta de 22 anos de idade que é formado nas categorias de base do clube gaúcho serão pagos de maneira integral pelo Grêmio. A negociação ocorreu desta forma em função de uma “contrapartida” pela ida sem custos do jovem Bernardo Zortéa para a equipe Sub-15 do clube de Porto Alegre.

Antes de se transferir para o Verdão do Oeste, Guilherme chegou a integrar o grupo de atleta utilizados em duas partidas na disputa do Campeonato Gaúcho antes do uso do considerado como elenco principal: na vitória diante do Caxias por 2 a 1, na estreia, e no empate por 1 a 1 frente ao Brasil de Pelotas.

Como o jogador já estava em atividade e tem seu nome publicado no Boletim Informativo Diário (BID) da CBF, ele está à disposição do técnico Felipe Endres para realizar a sua estreia.

Glasgow Rangers turn their attention back to domestic action as they prepare to host Hearts at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership this evening.

The Light Blues played in Europe on Thursday night and battled hard to secure a 1-1 draw with Greek giants Olympiacos away from home, which now means that they have only lost one of their four league phase matches so far.

Philippe Clement’s side must now focus on getting their Premiership form back on track as there is no hiding away from the fact that it has not been good enough this season.

The Scottish giants are currently nine points behind Celtic in the league table, and 11 points behind Aberdeen, who beat Dundee 4-1 on Saturday.

Rangers have lost three of their opening ten games in the division and two of those losses came within their last three Premiership outings, losing to Kilmarnock and Aberdeen.

Clement’s side have also drawn one game and that came against this evening’s opponents on the opening day of the season, with a 0-0 draw against Steven Naismith’s side, before the former Scotland international’s departure.

Latest Rangers team news

The only relatively fresh piece of team news is that attacking midfielder Tom Lawrence will not be available for selection once again, having also missed out on the clash with Olympiacos on Thursday.

He had to be substituted during the first-half of the 2-1 win over Motherwell at Hampden Park in the semi-final of the League Cup with a thigh injury, which is now set to keep him on the sidelines for several weeks.

Clement recently confirmed that the Wales international is due to be out of action for between four and six weeks, which could include him being out for the League Cup final against Celtic on the 15th of December.

This has come as a big blow to the Belgian head coach and Rangers because Lawrence had enjoyed a strong start to the campaign in the number ten position.

24/25 Premiership

Tom Lawrence

Appearances

8

Goals

3

Big chances created

3

Assists

2

Dribbles completed per game

1.1

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, the former Derby County star has contributed with six goals and ‘big chances’ created combined in eight league appearances this term.

He has also produced two goals and one ‘big chance’ created in three outings in the Europa League, which shows that he has made a big impact domestically and in Europe at the top end of the pitch.

The low-block issue for Rangers

His absence will not help with the low-block issue that the Light Blues have faced at times under Clement this season, with the side sometimes lacking in creativity and quality when a team decides to sit deep and soak up pressure.

Chalkboard

Football FanCast's Chalkboard series presents a tactical discussion from around the global game.

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In the recent defeats to Aberdeen and Kilmarnock, Rangers had 63% and 68% possession respectively but only scored one goal, as they failed to break down their Premiership rivals.

The Gers have either failed to score or only scored once in six of their ten league outings this term, holding the majority of possession in all bar one – the 3-0 defeat to Celtic – of those matches.

This suggests that Rangers are not doing enough with their possession of the ball to break teams down and create enough chances for their forwards to put the game out of sight.

Celtic have scored 14 more goals and Aberdeen have scored nine more goals than the Ibrox giants, which illustrates how far behind their direct rivals they are from an attacking perspective.

Clement has to find a way to solve this low-block issue ahead of this clash with Hearts this evening and one solution could be to unleash the rarely-seen Ianis Hagi from the start, following his two-match suspension.

Why Ianis Hagi should be unleashed

The Romania international had to watch on from the sidelines against Kilmarnock and St Mirren. with Rangers losing one of those two games, after his red card against St Johnstone.

Hagi made his first appearance of the season for the Light Blues against St Johnstone, coming on as a substitute at half-time, and registered an assist before being sent off for a high challenge in midfield.

The 26-year-old star created two chances and provided one assist, teeing up Vaclav Cerny for his second of the game with a defence-splitting pass into the box, in just 36 minutes that night.

Journalist Josh Bunting once claimed that Hagi has the ability to “pick passes” against a tight defence and that he has the creative quality to “unlock” teams that set up with a low-block, which proved to be the case against St Johnstone in his first senior appearance of the season.

As you can see in the clip above, the Romanian wizard also showcased his creativity in the final third with a brilliant cross to record an assist for the B team recently, during his suspension for the first-team.

Hagi is still looking to get his Rangers career back on track since suffering a knee injury that kept him out for 69 matches between January 2022 and January 2023, with a loan spell at Alaves last season helping him to play regularly again.

In his first spell with the Light Blues, prior to his horrendous knee injury, the attacking midfielder, who can also play on the flank, caught the eye with his creative quality.

Ianis Hagi

2020/21 Premiership

Starts

23

Goals

7

Assists

11

Big chances created

6

Key passes per game

1.0

Stats via Sofascore

As you can see in the table above, Hagi made a huge impact at the top end of the pitch with 18 goal contributions in 23 starts in the title-winning campaign under Gerrard.

These statistics, and his short cameo against St Johnstone last month, show that the potential is there for him to come in and ‘unlock’ a low-block, as Bunting illustrated, which is why he should start for the first time this season against Hearts.

He could either play on the left, with Nedim Bajrami moved into a central role, or directly replace Lawrence in the number ten position for the clash this evening.

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Posts ByDan Emery Nov 6, 2024