Toothless Rangers lurched to their second league point of the season with a less than convincing display against Leicester City. Fortunately for Gregory, the home side weren’t up to much as if we had come up against decent opposition we could have had our arses handed to us again. 

There were three changes from the side that was battered by Southampton a fortnight ago. Camp was in goal behind a back four of Rehman, Cullip, Stewart and Barker. Moore, Bolder, Leigertwood and Rowlands were in midfield with Sahar and Blackstock up top. There was certainly plenty of head scratching going on at that selection, with the right flank causing particular consternation. 

There was the slightly odd sound of the home fans booing their new manager before kick off as the odious Gary Megson won few friends with a typically arrogant speech on the PA system. The fans to the left of the R’s contingent followed this up with a rousing rendition of Gerry Taggart’s blue and white army in the second half to remind him that they still don’t like him! 

It was the home side that started the game the brighter and Camp was called on in the opening couple of minutes to hold a header from DJ Campbell. Campbell did manage to get the ball in the net but he only did so after fouling Camp and causing him to spill the ball at his feet. Referee Mason rightly chalked the goal off. To this point Rangers had barely been in Leicester territory let alone had a shy at their opponents’ goal. It seemed that the 4-0-2 formation, that’s the one where the midfield goes missing in mysterious circumstances, wasn’t exactly cutting the mustard. 

Rowlands did finally have a shot at goal, although at goal is probably a touch generous as the ball flew a mile over Fulop’s head into the stand. Ben Sahar managed to cause some problems for McAuley when he skipped away from him on the edge of the box and the big centre half had little choice but to drag him down. He was shown the yellow card and Rowlands’ free kick was deflected wide for a corner.  

Rangers then almost took what would have been an undeserved lead when Rowlands flighted in a free kick from the left that Sahar attacked at the near post. He missed the ball but a Leicester defender got a touch and was relieved to see the ball skim off the front of the far post and away to safety. 

At the other end Danny Cullip was having an absolute stormer and produced two stunning pieces of defending. Firstly he sniffed out the danger as the lightening heeled Levi Porter bore down on goal. As the winger shot Cullip came skidding in and blocked the ball out for a corner. 

Soon after Damion Stewart added to his ever growing catalogue of examples of shabby defending and allowed Campbell the opportunity to round Camp for a shot at goal. He struck the ball well but once again Cullip had read the situation and stationed himself on the line and hacked the ball clear. This was the form he had shown when he first arrived at Rangers last season when we were up to our eyeballs in it and it was nice to have him back. 

Camp kept out a Clemence free kick as the half drew to a close and there was even a ripple of booing from the home fans as the teams trudged off after what was a pretty tepid half of football. Gregory made a change at the break with Sahar being replaced by Nardiello. The young Israeli had been pretty much starved of service due to our nigh on invisible midfield four. If Jose gets the tapes of his games sent to him he must wonder what he is going to learn as he would be better off playing in training sessions with Chelsea than for us at the moment. 

Rangers won an early free kick in the second half but Rowlands’ strike was once again deflected for a corner. Rowlands’ subsequent corner kick didn’t even get off the floor. At the other end Porter failed to hit the target when well placed at the far post and Camp got down low to cut out a cross from Wesolowski.  

Leicester were handed the lead when Rangers gave away a soft penalty. Possession was surrendered in midfield for the umpteenth time and the ball was sent into the box. Barker’s clearance was fed back in to Campbell and as he touched the ball Stewart thought he could win it and felled the former Yeading man. Campbell tumbled, Mason pointed and Rangers protested, albeit a bit half heartedly. Iain Hume, wasted on the right flank for most of the game, stepped up and drilled his pen home, sending Camp the wrong way in the process. 

The home side thought they had wrapped up the game minutes later when Carl Cort headed home at the back stick only to be denied by the linesman’s flag. Gregory made his second change of the game almost immediately with Hogan Ephraim coming on for the terrible Bolder. The R’s skipper has been well below par this season, the effort and application of last season is still there but he never seems to get to the tackle and you can almost count on one hand the number of decent passes he has made of late. Stefan Moore was still on the field at this point but you only knew that when somebody called him a lazy bastard as you wouldn’t have seen him actually do anything. 

Megson made a couple of changes of his own and my god they were negative! Off came a striker and a winger and on went a right back and a right back, both in midfield! Any momentum Leicester had was gone and suddenly Rangers started to play a bit. As the game moved into the final ten minutes Rangers found themselves back on level terms in spectacular fashion. 

Mikele Leigertwood had been frustrating. A good touch was followed by a bad one, a good pass followed by a shocker. I was just through venting my spleen on this when he seemed to miss control yet another bouncing ball but he managed to turn it to Rowlands. Rowly immediately sent it back into his path and Leigertwood suddenly whipped a swerving thirty yarder past Fulop into the bottom corner. It was an absolute beauty! 

Rangers had their tails up now and they were like a team transformed. The previous eighty minutes of aimless punting and listless movement was replaced by incisive passing and jinking runs. Fulop denied Blackstock with a brave save as the striker chased a bouncing through ball and then Nardiello fashioned himself an opening but scuffed his shot and Fulop gathered easily. 

Ephraim then mugged two Leicester defenders on the right flank and burst between them and sent the ball into the six yard box. Blackstock tried to apply the finishing touch but once again Fulop denied him. Ephraim and Leigertwood then combined to set up Nardiello only for Kisnorbo to snuff out the danger. 

Then Rangers almost got hit with the sucker punch. Leicester had sent on Mark De Vries as Megson tried to wrest the initiative from the away side. He was at the heart of a passing move that ended with Clemence curling a tremendous shot from twenty five yards onto the top of the bar.  

The final whistle saw the away players and fans far happier than the home mob and rightly so, they had managed to salvage a point from what was, on the most part, another terrible showing. It was only in the last ten minutes that Rangers showed their attacking teeth and as much as I hate to say it, it coincided with Bolder being sat in the dugout.  

Plymouth at the Bernie Inn is a must win game on Tuesday night. Gregory has to be a bit more attacking in his selection. Rehman and Moore have to go out to be replaced by Bignot and Ephraim. The pair of them are simply not up to this standard and their selection for this game was baffling. I am not sure what Biggy has done to find Rehman picked ahead of him and I should imagine he is equally bemused. Bolder will probably have to play unless we have magically produced an attacking central midfielder by then, if he does play then he needs to try and find the form and fight of last season. 

Bernie and Flav are supposed to be in town for this game, if the team turn in a display as tepid as the Southampton one and as aimless as the first eighty minutes of the Leicester one then Billy Costacurta could find himself in the corner office at Rangers sooner than he thought. 

Man of the Match – Danny Cullip. Cullip was outstanding all afternoon. His presence brought leadership and direction to the back four and I would imagine that whilst Gregory remains it will be Cullip +1 for the centre back berths from here on in.

simon@qprnet.com