David_Blunkett wrote:

3-1, where the killer goal comes late, after at least having a go, is preferable to to the passive pish last time at home v them.

They're bigger, better, stronger than us, but setting out to not lose v them only usually ends one way.

Results went our way on a weekend where we played one of the arsecheeks, we've only one more game pre split v = Celtic, so shouldn't fear anyone else.



 

I want to win, that all  if that means we park the bus and snatch it in the last minute then that's what we should do.

Today we just played right into there hands, there's lots of examples this season where sides have been successful be trying to frustrate them.

Sevelj and Stephenson are simply not good enough to match up against a three, they need a third man in there with them.

As you say mate, another two difficult ties coming up then things should get a bit easier.

Aye we were excellent 1st half, could and maybe should have been 2 or 3 up.  Second half was such a downer, just let them walk over us.

On another note - cannot put into words how much I despise Rangers, their jakey, minky, bigoted fans and everything about their rancid club.  Fuck every one of them and anybody who has anything to do with them.

Very mixed feelings about today.

Gutted we lost, obviously, but actually felt we played some good stuff at times and you could see there are flashes of a good team in there, just as we seen in the last 20 minutes at Dens. It just isn't quite clicking in front of goal. And on top of that we are having horrendous luck at the moment.

I thought it was brave (and refreshing) of Goodwin to go 442 and to an extent it was working. We started the match brighter, sharper and more aggressive than we had been for quite sometime. Could have scored twice before we did score (Dalby's header off the inside of the post and Fotheringham's shot).

We then do score and for the next 10 minutes then look the more likely to score the next (Fotheringham should score with his header from close range).

Unfortunately, once Rangers got a foothold in the game you have to hold your hands up and say they played some very good football (in an attacking sense anyway).

I haven't really seen anyone else comment on it but i actually thought the ball was over the line in front of the dug-outs (Raskin) before they start the move for their equaliser. Was the quickest VAR check ever.

Second half Rangers were very good and the more dominant team, though we still had the odd chance and hit the post twice.

If the OG goes in to make it 2-2 i think it's a very different last 20 minutes, but it didn't, meaning we had to press for the equaliser and they were able to pick us off on the counter. Which they done very effectively, sadly.

That Rangers team gets a lot of criticism, but for me they're the best team we've faced both times this season.

Regrettably, the fact we conceded three will probably spook Goodwin and we'll now revert back to the ultra-defensive containment game, where we only open up and try to go offensive in the last twenty.

Yes, it has harboured results, but it's not good to watch. Some of my fellow Utd supporters don't seem to care much as long as we win. For me, i always want to see a United side try and play attacking football, if we can. 

I actually think the 442 can work for us if we can get the central midfield situation sorted out.

Dalby and Paton looked like they could have the makings of something. Paton whilst he never done much on the ball, was decent off the ball and his runs and physicality gave Dalby a wee bit more space than usual.

Echo what others have said about Stephenson and Sevelj. Both haven't been themselves for a few games now and probably need a rest for a match or two. Both have been unsung heroes, but maybe asked too much of in the past month in the engine room.

We need to hope a full week in training has Sibbald ready to go on Saturday. I've gave up on Docherty.

I'm not won over on Ryan Strain btw. He is 'ok' going forward but all too often he is out of position defensively.

On the other flank Will Ferry is an absolute baller. Best player we've had at the club in a few years. I have a slight concern someone bids for him this week. He must be getting noticed.

My final conclusion on today is that we have an assortment of pretty good players, but the balance of the team and the best selection of players in the best formation continues to evade us. Could anyone say in any certainty what our best XI is? I don't think even Goodwin could.

One other disappointment for me today was that our subs gave us nothing, in fact we got poorer after each sub. This was the same case in our last home game vs Hearts. The players coming off the bench need to offer much more. 

Finally, what are folks thoughts on David Babunski? Started the season so well, but now looks surplus to requirements. I actually think he may exit this week. Just a funny feeling. Which would be a shame in a way because i think there is a good player in there. But he has flattered to deceive in recent months (as has his fellow countryman).

Whether Lewis Fiorini is an adequate replacement time will tell, can't say he impressed me much today in his cameo, but it is early days.

Big game at Kilmarnock on Saturday night. After a brilliant Xmas period that's now 4 defeats in 5 games in 2025.

Losing can become a habit, just as winning is (look at Aberdeen for a prime example). Let's stop the rot on Saturday.

Big week for the club coming up and i hope we have at least one new recruit in before we travel to Ayrshire.

In terms of out-going's, i think it would serve us well to give Richard Odada and Miller Thomson some football elsewhere. Neither made our bench today and Odada hasn't made the last three now.

 

RogerTheAlien wrote:

The 4-4-2 attacking worked a treat and we were as attacking against any of the old firm as we have been in years. I also thought the wee man/big man partnership in Sam and Pates worked well.
.

Glad to see someone stating this.

Yes, we lost. But this attempt at being more attacking versus an Old Firm side at least gives food for thought.
 

Always_United wrote:

Regarding entertainment, to quote the much maligned Bobby Williamson, if you want entertainment then go to the cinema.

I don't go to Tannadice to be entertained, I go as it's my duty (as my father and his father did, and as hopefully my future son will) to support the team and defend the colours. If that team happens to play exciting expansive football then that's great, but as long as we get enough points to stay up, then that's all that bothers me. 90% of fans are the same I suspect.

I didn't go yesterday as I never go to games v the old firm, but watching on Sportscene it looks like we went toe to toe with a much better team. if you do that, 90% of the time you'll lose, and we did lose quite comfortably in the end.

I expect/hope Jim tightens things up a bit in the games to come to arrest the poor run of form.

Understand where you are coming from, but we matched up for 86 minutes against what I thought was a really good Rangers side.  We could have parked the bus and probably still lost, but bizarrely I came away from the game feeling pretty positive.  It could quite easily have been that scoreline to us and nobody could have complained.  They got a bit lucky with the second (Strain falling asleep and then Holt unluckily deflecting it past Walton) and the third was being caught on the break whilst we pushed for an equaliser (some finish too).  Play like that against any other team in the league (bar Celtic) and we are taking the three points nine times out of ten.

Another good game from Walton (three/four good saves and not at fault for any goal).  Strain continues not to impress me (defensively or going forward), but that might be because he gets compared to Ferry who I really hope we manage to keep for the rest of the season (he'll be off in the summer for sure).  Holt and Gallagher did well against as good a front two as they'll face in the league.  Between them they might have defended the third better, but I don't think you can legislate for how good that finish was.  They put him in a position where it needed a belter to score.  It was a belter.

Midfield was tough for us.  Hadn't seen Raskin in the flesh before.  He's a better player than I have thus far given him credit for and Diamonde (despite being a play acting wee shite) is some player too.  With Hagi and the fairy anonymous Bajrami they are a step up on what we have.  With that  considered I do think some of the crticism of Sevelj and Stephenson is unfair.  I thought they played well and I thought we missed Stephenson when he went off.  Slight criticism for Sevelj for their first but again a good strike.  We miss a better ball player in there and Docherty would have done a bit of that but not sure they game wouldn't have passed him by at that level.  Middleton was OK and if I am being positive I think Fotheringham needs more game time.  He is not enough of an outlet for the ball in that sort of game and a fairly poor Jefte managed him fairly easily, but he does pop up in dangerous positions and was probably a bit unlucky not to score on two occasions.  Perhaps a switch of wings might have been an idea.

Thought Dalby and Paton worked well upfront and I think they'll get better together.  Dalby played very well and Paton looks like he'll do fine.  We still need that pace option though!!

In terms of subbies, Moult was anonymous just not the game for him.  Trapa showed us that he's defintely worth persevering with and I think he probably gets back to the starting XI soon with Middleton on the other flank in that 442 formation.

vdS didn't make any difference but he was only on for 5 minutes before the game effectively ended.  As for Fiorini, not much to see in the 10 minutes or so on the park and therefore difficult to make anything of it.  Didn't look out of his depth though and seemed to want to get on the ball which is a good sign.

All in the most positive I have been after a home defeat in years.  I even thought the Rangers fans had cleaned up their songbook a little.  Although it was out with the usual as soon as we scored...

Conway11 wrote:

Ferry and Trapanovski should have overloaded that whole left side when Tavernier was on a booking and clearly rattled. 

To be fair I thought Tavarnier played well.  Only Jefte and Bajrami looked poor for me.  Even Propper looked a decent player in the flesh and i was convinced he was a haddy.

Conway11 wrote:

Finn Seemann wrote:

Conway11 wrote:

Ferry and Trapanovski should have overloaded that whole left side when Tavernier was on a booking and clearly rattled. 

To be fair I thought Tavarnier played well.  Only Jefte and Bajrami looked poor for me.  Even Propper looked a decent player in the flesh and i was convinced he was a haddy.

Feel like we didn't nearly expose him enough, middleton done it and resulted in a yellow card

 
By the time Trapanovski came on our midfield was being completely overun. We hardly had any possession to put pressure on any Rangers player.

Morphman wrote:

One thing that slipped my mind when putting my post in here yesterday. Did anyone see the argument between Ferry and Trap, probably around the 70 minute mark? 

Trap got the ball, and ran maybe 20-25 yards before winning a throw in, Ferry then came across and for a few seconds looked absolutely raging and was giving what looked like a mouthful towards Trap, who didn't respond but didn't look too happy, before launching in the long throw. Not sure if he was wanting Trap to play a quick throw to him, which was on, or if it was something else but he looked pretty raging.

It was probably nothing, but given Trapanovski has not been playing much recently I thought it was worth mentioning. Certainly happens that some players just don't seem to click playing alongside each other. Just wondering if that is the case here, and with Ferry very much being our star man, it's the reason why Trap hasn't been seeing the pitch very much.

I'd say keep an eye out for it next game but no doubt Trap will start in front of Ferry at the weekend proving my conspiracy theory completely wrong 

 

Just looked to me that Trap was trying to take a quick throw and Ferry politely suggested that he didn't 

More exciting than ferry going mad..
Any other tv viewers see the steward behind the goal holding his head when we scored?

I mean you don't need to support united to work there but maybe hide your allegiances a bit 🤣

Tangy wrote:

More exciting than ferry going mad..
Any other tv viewers see the steward behind the goal holding his head when we scored?

I mean you don't need to support united to work there but maybe hide your allegiances a bit 🤣

I digress slightly but talking of stewards...
Casting your eyes round the ground on Sunday there was a sea of high-viz yellow. Stewards of various denomination. You don't see them all, a lot of them are within concourses or outside the ground.
None of them will be getting out of bed for less than £50.
There must be at least 300 of them = £15k.
Then say 100 bobbies at £150 overtime for the day = £15k also.
£30k expense, ok it was a 'big' game but for your average game at Tannadice it must cost the Club at least £20k.
Are we getting value for our money? Do we need so much 'security'?