Aberdeen 2-1 Rangers: Lambs to the slaughter

In a result that was not really a surprise once we saw the over cautious line-up, Rangers fell to a 2-1 defeat at Pittodrie last night. We didn't deserve anything from the game, we didn't get anything from it. I had to watch the game this morning, as I blissfully missed watching it live to play 6 a side (we won 4-3 and I scored a hat trick, much better for my mental health than Rangers).

In the cold light of day, without the emotions that go with watching a game live, it's really clear how absolutely average we are. The approach to the game is woeful, we didn't seem to expect to have the ball so we didn't do anything once we got it. Defensively we were hanging on for the entire first half, we stopped getting scudded in the second but why where we in that position in the first place.

It was a return to the long ball approach that the manager was laughing about just last week, how long ago that seems to be. Hilariously when someone managed to get forward, they had no support or options, not even going to discuss Kasanwirjo having to cross the ball to NOBODY.

I feel like there's always a game in a season where you just accept that it's done, your club aren't going to do the things you thought they could. The moment Lundstram got that red card at Celtic Park last season, I knew it was over. When Liverpool made it 7-1 you knew it was a matter of time for Gio. With Beale, I don't know, he never really had a moment when it looked like it was going to work to begin with.

It's incredible to feel that again in October. It's already over before it's even begun. Truthfully I'm not sure where we go from here, Clement will be sacked, he will not see out his contract at Rangers. So now it's a matter of time and waiting till the board actually do it.

I think we could be waiting a while, we don't even have anyone to sack him, he might need to sack himself at this point.

To go over the positives of the game, Bajrami scored a good goal.

To say we don't have much to look forward to with Clement still here is an understatement. I'm already dreading the next game. He actually said it was one of our better performances, which is just so so deluded. I find it hard to believe he believes it himself.

When Clement was appointed, I preferred the alternative of Kevin Muscat. When they were compared we were told Clement is adaptable and can change his team has needed, I read that as he doesn't have a style of play. That's proven to be the case, and it's so disheartening that we had a chance to choose a manager who has a way of playing and sticks to it, and went for yet another manager who is a jack of all trades master of none.

In Scotland, when you're Rangers or Celtic, you play your style and you force teams to adapt to meet you, you don't start with a defensive line-up away to a team in form and try and knick a result. If you lose playing your style, it's far easier to spot the issues and what can be improved, whether it's personnel or a fault in the approach. When you are Mr Adaptable, well when it goes wrong, it could be the particular plan in that game, maybe the players aren't good enough, maybe some don't understand what they are being asked to do or maybe it's that the players can't build a rhythm if they are changing approach each game.

Every successful "adaptable" manager in history has still had a core style of play, which they adapt in certain ways but keep the core values the same. The unsuccessful modern managers seem to approach every game entirely differently, they lose their hold with the players as they don't have any fundamentals to fall back on.

To list some examples, Jose Mourinho was known for "doing a job" on teams, like beating Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield to spoil their title charge. Mourinho always had a core style, his training methods involved very intense small sided games designed to help the players be drilled into reacting under pressure. His best teams always had the core structure of a 4-4-2 which could drop into a block or equally squeeze very high up the pitch. In every game they had the core instructions to stay narrow off the ball, look to get the wingers in behind with quick play from central to wide areas through the centre backs and the midfielders, then getting the ball into dangerous areas for the two strikers to attack.

When they had to adapt for a game, they still did all these things, but with modifications, maybe the wingers tuck in further off the ball, or maybe the play from inside to outside only comes from the midfielders to reduce the risk of the centre backs losing the ball in key areas.

I've lost the point of this rant, oh yeah, every successful manager needs a style, until we prioritise that over "adaptability" we aren't winning the league, or even really competing.

Try and have a good rest of your week everyone.