A thread for Mladenovic? What next, the Bert Konterman appreciation society thread? Only joking chivo. The fact that the Serbs see him as such an integral part of their plans suggests that he can play a bit. I'm still a bit disappointed they chose to play him last night though. McLeish has deliberately taken his time with Mladenovic so that the next time he plays for Rangers we can judge him injury free.

I've not given up on the guy yet, but performances like the one away to Maritimo make me a bit nervous. I don't think he's going to be our tackler in midfield, more of a footballer. I actually have my doubts that he'll walk back into the team, especially if we do the business on Saturday. Our midfield is going to be set up with Rae as the ball-winner and Ricksen with a slightly more advanced role. Given the form of Ricksen, I don't think Mladenovic is an automatic choice. He may be accomodated if McLeish drops your favourite player, with Ricksen moved to the right and Namouchi on the left.

 

He got injured again with 10 minutes to play in the match against Belgium. He asked to be replaced, couldn't continue. Dont know how serious it is. Looks like he is injury prone. Its a shame because he is very talented. This injury, if serious, will take him even further away from the first Rangers team.

 

I only gave him his own thread because there is a Rangers forum now otherwise I would have made it more general.
I do hope he does turn out to be good as I can see the signs but he definitely didn't look match fit in the games I saw him. With Ricksen, Malcolm and Alex Rae (maybe soon even Gavin Rae) we're well covered in central midfield so there is no panic I suppose to rush him back. He won't find it easy to get back in as you pointed out do hopefully that competition will give McLeish some good options there.

 

I really hope Gavin can sort out his injury problems, 'cause when he joined I had big hopes for him. I still remember Ivano Bonetti placing that £15 million valuation on him :howler:.

Back to Mladenovic, I read on the Serbian forum that he got injured, but couldn't find official confirmation today. I wouldn't be very pleased if it was serious, considering S&M knew he was not fully recovered.

 

I think it was most likely just a knock considering the Belgians were very physical and our players were getting hurt all eveing.
He's definitely a better player than the likes of Ricksen IMO, he just needs to get fit and adjust to the pace of the SPL and he'll prove that he is a very good player. He had a very good game until he was substituted, looked slow but made up with his reading of the game and great passing ability.

 

That would be a blow. I read about him playing last night on the official Rangers site but it didn't mention an injury.

 

I think it was most likely just a knock considering the Belgians were very physical and our players were getting hurt all eveing.
He's definitely a better player than the likes of Ricksen IMO, he just needs to get fit and adjust to the pace of the SPL and he'll prove that he is a very good player. He had a very good game until he was substituted, looked slow but made up with his reading of the game and great passing ability.

Thanks for the post Dusan, that is good to hear that it may just be a knock and also good to hear that you rate him. For people like myself who have only seen him play a handful of games at Rangers it's good to learn what kind of player he his from people who know him better.

 

He isn't the sort of player to do well in the two man midfield that we were playing with at the start of the season but judging from what those who have seen of him with Red Star and the national team have said i think he'll eventually come good, in a more balanced team.

 

So what system does he need Teddy? I know S&M played a 5 man midfield last night, but do you think Alex would change his whole system just to accomodate Mladenovic? Or would a 4-man midfield of actual midfielders rather than Lovenkrands and Burke suit him?

 

I did read in one of his interviews that he likes to play in front of the defence which I suppose we would term the sitting role or holding role. To accomodate that McLeish would have to stop using wingers unless he went with one up front or three up front if you use the wingers that way.

 

Unfortunately i don't think our wingers are good enough to play 2 of them at once - they don't offer enough of an attacking threat to compensate for the lack of bodies in more central areas. And if there is a lack of numbers in midfield there then the ones who are playing there need to work extra hard and do more "water carrying" than would otherwise be the case...the likes of Alex Rae or Ricksen are ok at this role but it's not suited to Dragan.

Recently it's been a bit better though with Namouchi playing, he's helped bring a better balance to the team...

 

Mladenovic is alright in my opinion, he has had what I would say is a 'false start'

I think he looks more of a sitting midfielder to be, and would have to benefit from the likes of Ricksen and Rae alongside him, or say Tainio if he signs for us.

Give him time and I believe Dragan can play a big part in our season

I have faith in the big man

 

Well at Red Star last season he was playing in a 4-4-2 formation, and was very successful playng in this formation, he was our player with the highest amount of assists and I still believe that if he and Vidic weren't sold we'd be playing CL football this season.

 

Where exactly did he play in that formation Dusan?

 

Mladenovic is a player with excellent vision, great passing ability and is technically gifted. He is not particularly quick, he can win balls but he is more than just a Gattuso/pit bull type of player. The Serbian NT can find similar types of players all over Europe but he is probably the best and thats why he was called up. I just dont know if he is cut out for Scotland. You got him cheap to be realistic but if he sits on the bench or is injured all the time, it will be a failed investment.

 

Cheers for that JV.
I do see what you mean. I think this is why McLeish is giving him all the time he wants to recover fully rather than rushing him back again. At the start of the season we had to rush him back as we had no cover in central midfield but that is not the case now so hopefully he'll be 100% before appearing.

 

Interesting stuff JV

He'll definately have to be eased back into the side, which we can do quite easily now that the midfield is somewhat settled.

 

Dule, actually he played in a 3-5-2 formation last season. Muslin tried the 4-4-2 a few times but without success. He was our anchor between defence and midfield. JV's description is pretty good. Dragan is not at all the "never say die, kill if you have to", type of DM Gattuso and C. Zanetti are for instance. He's much more of a footballer and since Scottish football isn't the fastest in the world (no offence ) I think in time he will settle and prove his worth for you guys.

 

Thanks again guys. It looks like Rangers may have to adjust little to get the best out of him. We play a 4-4-2 but we'd never move to a 3-5-2 nor a 5-3-2 for that matter. I think if McLeish maybe played the diamond formation with Dragan at the bottom of the diamond or even the Vogts' 4-1-3-2 formation with Mladenovic playing in front of the two central dedenders but behind the 3 midfielders then it might work. Again though both those formations would require McLeish to stop using wingers as that would leave us with only one guy in the centre of the park. Certainly alot for him to think about.

 

My mistake, just every time I saw us play, we played 4-4-2.

 

My mistake, just every time I saw us play, we played 4-4-2.

Did he though fit into that 4-4-2 though? The reason I ask is that Rangers play a 4-4-2 and I wonder whether Dragan can fit into that wihtout McLeish changing his tactics.

 

Well he probably could, but it would mean playing next to an engine type player who will do more running.

 

I see. So he would rather fall back and "mop up" in the area in between the Rangers defence and midfield. It's been a good insight into how Dragan plays so thanks for that guys and it will be interesting to see what McLeish does when he brings him back into the side.

 

Well, he's been back for a couple of games now. Still maybe too early to judge him, but i've heard he was non-existent in the Motherwell game. I've just read some comment's from his agent basically blaming the rest of our midfield for his performances. Something about average player's who only want to punt it forward. There's probably an element of truth to that, but that's not the sort of publicity he should be attracting for his client when he's trying to integrate himself into our team.

 

Strange thing is he looked better when he was supposedly not fit. He's suffering from the same problem as Vignal, Boumsong, Namouchi and Arveladze. They all want more time than they are allowed in the SPL. It leads to them getting caught in possession. The other problem is the lack of movement and Rangers seem to be a bit too static for my liking so players are caught trying to find an out ball.