Malik Tillman has been searching for confidence within the Rangers squad over recent weeks and the American attacker gained some in Sunday’s Scottish Premiership win over Motherwell.
Tillman delivered the opening goal in stellar fashion as Rangers rebounded from Tuesday’s Champions League loss to claim a 2-1 win over Motherwell. It was Tillman’s first goal for Rangers since August 13 and his first league start since Sept. 3.
The 20-year-old’s magical run and confident finish in the 53rd minute propelled Rangers in front. Tillman picked up possession just within Motherwell’s side of the field before racing forward past several Motherwell players and drilling a low shot into the bottom-left corner of Liam Kelly’s net.
John Lundstram’s goal in the 69th minute doubled Rangers’ lead before Stuart McKinstry cut the deficit in half in the 77th minute. However, Rangers would hang on to move to 8-1-1 in league play this season.
Tillman won eight duels, made one interception, and completed two tackles in his 90-minute outing, delivering a Man of the Match performance from his midfield position.
“It was a great run [from Tillman], he had to get past a lot of players,” Rangers manager Giovanni Van Bronckhorst said. “You could see the powerful runs that he has and today he did that really well, which opened up the game for us and opened up the spaces.”
Rangers will next host Dundee FC in Scottish League Cup play before facing Livingston in SPFL action.
For me I take these 6 middies:
Adams
McKennie
Musah
Acosta
Mihailovich
Tillman
I think De La Torres lack of minutes has definitely hurt his chances.
With 26 you can take
3 keepers
8 defenders
8 midfielders
4 forwards
+ 3 players from a variety gift bag.
Point being you can take your 6 and LDLT as well.
I’ll say again here Pulisic still needs to find a new team. Clear Potter doesn’t rate him… regardless of how he plays. January move needs to happen.
I agree, I thought Potter would give him more chances; after his great performance against Wolves. He needs a move to a team like New Castle or Brentford.
He will have plenty of suitors. Newcastle, Leeds, West Ham, Tottenham in England. AC Milan, Juventus in Italy. Could see Dortmund emerge again. Valencia, Atletico Madrid in La Liga. Don’t foresee Chelsea selling him to a Premier league team. Chelsea knows what he is capable of doing.
I think everyone knows that. The story last transfer window was he had places to go but Chelsea said no. Seems the front office was hesitant knowing that Tuchel was in danger to sell off pieces the next guy might want? He’s played 84 mins for Potter and has 1g and 1a. It’s almost like the Englishman Potter doesn’t want Pulisic in form for the WC.
JR,
“He’s played 84 mins for Potter and has 1g and 1a. It’s almost like the Englishman Potter doesn’t want Pulisic in form for the WC.”
Potter has seen a lot more of the latest version of Pulisic than anyone here.
What does he know that y’all don’t ?
He came out recently and said that Pulisic is in the running for a starting spot but that so were a lot of players and that his job was to manage these players for Chelsea, not Pennsylvania or Transylvania or England.
Potter knows Pulisic but he also very probably knows all the English players and most of the Welsh as well. It seems to me that if Englishman Potter thought Christian was some Kraken waiting to be unleashed he would want that to happen for Chelsea. It would be good for Potter if it did.
And it will never happen if he doesn’t play him.
If I’m Englishman Potter I’d settle for a few weeks worth of Premium Pulisic and risk that he might reproduce that form for one game when surrounded by a disorganized team, much inferior teammates partnered with a striker who is not anywhere as good as Giroud was or Aubameyang is..
I watched the game nice goal by Tillman. Sands seems to be in dog house ever sense the red card in Europa Leauge. Also this is why we cannot have nice things with Berhalther. He does not set players up for success in that horrid ineffective formation. Tillman needs to be a CAM in a 4 or 5 man midfield. Having Long and Zimmerman play out the back. Last but not least stop this num 9 fiasco put Pefok and Sargent up top in a two man forward attack.
Gregg plays him the exact same place his Rangers manager does.
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If your playing a 5 man midfield you must be forcing Reyna and Pulisic to be two way players which neither are particularly suited for or do for their club. So your taking your two best players and making them do something they don’t normally do. None of our strikers inclining Pefok are good at winning long balls so if you don’t want to play out of the back we’re just going to give the ball back (see goal at Canada).
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It’s really easy to say we should play this guy here and this guy there but every change you make puts someone else in a spot they aren’t suited for. Yes we have a lot of talent but they don’t necessarily compliment each other with their style. Then normally people let’s just sit back and play conservative counter attacking soccer. Well guess what our guys are pretty crummy at that too because it takes discipline to maintain shape. Are Adams, McKennie, or Aaronson good at keeping shape or are they good at pressure and forcing mistakes?
Also Long playing with ball at his feet is bad, but when the three guys in front of him are hurt? His play on the Vazquez goal was a classic John Brooks move, so if we’re going to give that up anyway.
Yep. Long never checked over his shoulder to see where Vazquez was…. really bad defending in a must win game. Can’t trust that going into a WC. Bring Trusty in.
I think GB is set with Ferreira as the striker, at least for the first game of the WC. I would love to see Sargent and Pefok out there but GB is probably not going to even put Pefok on the WC roster, unless he takes 4 strikers. I rather have Pefok replacing either Morris or Arriola because both of them would just be accumulating cobwebs if they went anyway.
I really hope Morris is out of the WC picture. His recent USMNT work has been pretty rough overall.
“I think GB is set with Ferreira as the striker, at least for the first game of the WC”
That first game is critical. The USMNT must get a result in that game if they are to have any realistic hope of advancing.
Ferreira starting means the team will be at what Gregg sees as their “best”.
Their “best ” is inadequate.
Their best got them third place in CONCACAF.
That makes Gregg and his players proven underachievers.
They should be like Chelsea and run out with a “3” on their jerseys to commemorate their third place status.
They need to be better than the “best” they have shown so far to get a result in the Wales game and going forward.
Like Long, Ferreira is a weak link and I’m guessing will be exposed quickly.
For Gregg to get an “acceptable” he’s going to have to get out of his comfort zone and gamble a little.
I’m a Ferreira fan but if it’s Gio and Christian/Aaronson next to him it doesn’t make sense. He’s just going to drop into the same spaces most of the time. If Timo is match fit to start then I could see it working with Ferreira checking back and Weah running behind. Then Jesus runs near post and Christian runs to the top of the box and Wes crashes back post on 40 yd gut busting run.
JR
“I’m a Ferreira fan but if it’s Gio and Christian/Aaronson next to him it doesn’t make sense. He’s just going to drop into the same spaces most of the time.”
The only thing I have against Ferreira is that he’s not good enough. I’m waiting for someone to make the argument that this team is lost without him.
Ferreira, Gio and Brenden have similar skill sets except Ferreira is a step down from those two.
If Gio is healthy I see zero reason to include Ferreira. I’d put Brenden in Ferreira’s place and have Gio back Brenden up. Or vice versa.
Brenden and Gio play centrally for their clubs for a reason and are not particularly good “wingers”. Maybe he should make Dest a full time winger.
It doesn’t matter who Gregg takes from Sargent, Pefok or Pepi (I’d take all three) as long as Weston is on the team. At this point, Weston’s best role is dominating the opponents box and providing aerial superiority there and on set pieces.
Right now our best goal scorer is Pulisic and our biggest aerial threat is Weston.
Gregg’s challenge is to get these mismatched toys into the game at the right time.
Vacqui but Reyna and Aaronson don’t play as false 9s. They play as 10s (although Gio really has played mostly Wing this season under Terzic). I guess Brenden kind of does at times as he switches with Rodrigo, but Gio doesn’t want his back to goal. He wants the ball at his feet running at someone.
JR
“Vacqui but Reyna and Aaronson don’t play as false 9s. They play as 10s “.
That’s sort of the point.
The team will play differently with either one in the middle there. Both of them are more lethal than Ferreira and I trust both of them to make something good happen in that position.
Ferreira does exactly what Gregg tells him he wants out of the position, no more no less. In time, Ferreira may eventually become really good at this. But right now, he’s not at the level where he can be effective against our group competition
Right now, I don’t believe this team advances by playing by-the-the book Gregg automatons.
Even if they don’t like having their backs to the goal, Brenden or Gio will make that position their own and I trust them to do what they feel needs to be done to be more dangerous. Gio is being groomed to be the next Marco Reus. Which is a good way to be in that part of the field.
Brenden isn’t quite that good but he’s a lot more aggressive and dangerous than Ferreira ever will be even if it’s in a slightly different way.
I don’t care about the niceties of the “system”. I care about putting people on the field who can help win me some games.
Right now, I think Gio or Brenden can, while I don’t think Ferreira can.
It’s that straightforward.
Since*