the writing was on the wall. curious how this will effect Sands' chances of getting signed off his loan? wouldn't mind if he comes home but would be sad for him. don't think he's played enough to get other teams' eyes on him.
James Sands [Midfielder] [HG] [On Loan - Out]
- Thread starter Falastur
- Start date
the writing was on the wall. curious how this will effect Sands' chances of getting signed off his loan? wouldn't mind if he comes home but would be sad for him. don't think he's played enough to get other teams' eyes on him.
Curious why you think the writing was on the wall?
He achieved quite a lot with them. Of course there was the ucl campaign results, but I think they were expected
The champions league results were abysmal, Rangers lost every game with a -20 goal differential. No one expected them to get out of the group but I'm sure ownership expected them to compete a bit, they looked like they didn't belong at all. Ajax lost every game except the two they played against Celtic and they totally dominated Celtic in both of their meetings. Domestically Rangers are 9 points behind Celtic in the table, they have consistently dropped points to lesser teams, in what is typically a two-team league that's not going to be acceptable to ownership.
what gbservis said. i think rangers fans care more about domestic league performance and they just haven't been great. they haven't kept pace with celtic and that's pretty much the bar in a 2 team league.
Gio Reyna's namesake and Godfather...
Davo15
Registered
I think the feeling was the team that made the run to Europa final was mostly built by Gerrard. GVB managed to get that team to the final but failed in bid to retain the SPL title. Then this season after an off season where he could reshape the team they had the worst ever champions league group stage and are getting left in the dust by Celtic domestically. He's been a dead man walking for awhile.
I like how they don’t say “the board would like to thank” and instead say, “we want it on the record that we want to thank”.
Rangers came back to win 3-2. They gave up two early goals, and there was much grousing about his play on line. That quieted once Rangers went ahead.
Tillman assisted on two goals, including this beauty.
Tillman assisted on two goals, including this beauty.
Davo15
Registered
I didn't see the match but you have to imagine there was some rust after the lay off plus adjusting to a new manager might have affected the whole team (not just Sands) coming out a little flat ,
Not getting a lot of love on twitter for his performance, lots of talk about not signing him after his loan period ends
Oof. Just came to post the same. Not even one middling review.
I hoped it would reverse after some rest, but he clearly stalled/regressed after initial success and attention at the gold cup last year. He wasn't at his best, consistently, after coming back from that tournament. Despite getting a whole summer to integrate into Scotland, he hasn't performed with much consistency this season.
Hopefully he breaks out of this and hasn't hit a ceiling.
Hopefully he breaks out of this and hasn't hit a ceiling.
I fear he probably has. That being said, lots of players have had ups and downs in different leagues. Maybe scottish just isn't it for our boy
If I remember correctly, he slumped with us after coming back from a USMNT camp. He may be one of those guys who just has a little trouble adjusting and needs things steady as she goes.
You know, like in a nice long February-to-(hopefully) November MLS season. *cough cough* :smirk:
I've watched a good number of Rangers matches this season (I'm in Scotland, but not a Rangers fan), and it's been a lot of ups and down. Probably more of the latter at the moment, but it's minor errors or slips rather than anything fundamental from my perspective. Such as tonight he gave away the free kick the resulted in Aberdeen's first, and might have been able to do better at their second, but these things happen. A lot of the european games were tough as well, but Rangers were just outclassed all round.
I think the biggest challenge is lack of consistency and the situation Rangers have been in. He's never settled in either midfield or defence. Any time he gets games in midfield, where he seems to have better performances, he's either needed back in defence, or something else happens. For the past few months, Rangers have had a serious injury crisis in defence, with only an 18 year old and Sands at times any recognised defenders available. They started their last match with Sands and another central midfield player in defence alongside a young inexperienced left back. None of this helps his development, at least short term.
A change of manager probably not helping consistency either.
But I think if you take the whole of his performances I've seen this season, there's a lot more positive than negative. He's been comfortable in a lot of games and among the better performers in terms of stats. Maybe not just in the eyes of many Rangers fans who expect comfortable wins every match or there's a crisis (which of course needs a scapegoat).
If he can build on the positives, I'm sure he'll keep progressing. Just maybe not at Rangers.
I think the biggest challenge is lack of consistency and the situation Rangers have been in. He's never settled in either midfield or defence. Any time he gets games in midfield, where he seems to have better performances, he's either needed back in defence, or something else happens. For the past few months, Rangers have had a serious injury crisis in defence, with only an 18 year old and Sands at times any recognised defenders available. They started their last match with Sands and another central midfield player in defence alongside a young inexperienced left back. None of this helps his development, at least short term.
A change of manager probably not helping consistency either.
But I think if you take the whole of his performances I've seen this season, there's a lot more positive than negative. He's been comfortable in a lot of games and among the better performers in terms of stats. Maybe not just in the eyes of many Rangers fans who expect comfortable wins every match or there's a crisis (which of course needs a scapegoat).
If he can build on the positives, I'm sure he'll keep progressing. Just maybe not at Rangers.
I watched a little of the game yesterday, and he seemed to do well from my perspective.
However, I can understand how some fans might point fingers at him given his involvement on the two goals. On the first one, he stepped up to make a defensive play after a turnover, but his clearance bounced off the Aberdeen player and fell to another Aberdeen player in a threatening area. So, Sands gave him a hard professional foul that led to the free kick that scored. That's not entirely on him, and his part seems more bad luck than anything.
On the second goal, a searching ball came into the box, and Sands poked it away. Unfortunately, it came to an Aberdeen player at the top of the circle, and he hit a screamer into the corner. Can't really put that one on him.
Meanwhile, he was otherwise very sound defensively. He also was good in distribution, breaking lines on several occasions.
However, I can understand how some fans might point fingers at him given his involvement on the two goals. On the first one, he stepped up to make a defensive play after a turnover, but his clearance bounced off the Aberdeen player and fell to another Aberdeen player in a threatening area. So, Sands gave him a hard professional foul that led to the free kick that scored. That's not entirely on him, and his part seems more bad luck than anything.
On the second goal, a searching ball came into the box, and Sands poked it away. Unfortunately, it came to an Aberdeen player at the top of the circle, and he hit a screamer into the corner. Can't really put that one on him.
Meanwhile, he was otherwise very sound defensively. He also was good in distribution, breaking lines on several occasions.
Yes, almost always. Few times switched to back 3 in the european games. New manager seems to prefer 2 CB also.
