How good is Kranjkar now?

[Mellowhoop]

There is championship winning team....

[stainrodisalegend]

If he is fit then surely yes. hard to think of anyone with his technical ability (now we no longer have Adel). only player who has the potential to me mentioned in the same breath is tom ince. all that said we all thought park, zamora, etc wd be brilliant and they turned out to be busted flushes. If it was injury keeping him out a lot last season I wd be interested to find out what it was and why Kiev agreed to loan out a 29-year-old they have only had a year (kind of crazy thing Rangers would do!).

[swede]

If he is fit then surely yes. hard to think of anyone with his technical ability (now we no longer have Adel). only player who has the potential to me mentioned in the same breath is tom ince. all that said we all thought park, zamora, etc wd be brilliant and they turned out to be busted flushes. If it was injury keeping him out a lot last season I wd be interested to find out what it was and why Kiev agreed to loan out a 29-year-old they have only had a year (kind of crazy thing Rangers would do!).

According to Kievs official site: Injured in march, back in business in may, season ends, injured again 16th of july, out for a month.......now with us.

[Marshy]

He's good enough for this league, and that's all that matters at the moment.

[The Lurker]

Evening, all! This is going to be a bit of a mega-post!

I'm new here & probably won't be welcome for a couple of reasons - I am neither a Ranger or a boy! But, I've made over 3500 posts on my own club's forum & more importantly, I like to think I know a thing or two about Niko Kranjčar!

When Niko signed for Dynamo Kiev in June 2012, he was escaping from two 'wilderness' seasons at 'Spurs. At the time, it seemed like a good move. The Ukrainian club were in the Champions League and I'm sure the salary they offered was pretty good. Niko played in the first few games & scored 4 times. Then, things came off the rails a bit. Manager Yuri Semin wasn't very popular & when a few results went against him, he got fired. The guy who replaced Semin was Oleg Blokhin (Ukrainian legend, as a player). Niko didn't seem to be Blokhin's cup of tea & found himself in & out of the team. In November, Kranjčar had some ankle problems and this kept him on the sidelines, until the League's winter break.

In January/February, Niko worked really hard at Kiev's winter training camp, getting himself in good condition & match-sharp for the re-start in March. After three League games, he went off on international duty & injured his knee in Croatia's win v Serbia. He didn't play for Kiev again, as by the time he was rehabilitated, the season was over. In the summer, he was called up for Croatia, but played no more than three minutes, in their WC qualifier against Scotland.

After a break of only 9 days, he headed back to Kiev's summer training camp; played in most of the pre-season friendlies & was ready to go. About 4 days before the first Ukrainian League game of the season, he damaged a thigh muscle/hamstring in training and was out again. If he should be on the team sheet for Rangers on 14th September, it will be his first competitive start since March.

Give him a chance and show him some love. Hopefully, he'll get regular playing time with you guys; build up his fitness again & show you the Niko Kranjčar who was one of the main protagonists in getting 'Spurs into the Champions League, in 2009/10. But, there are some things you need to know:

1) He makes the ball do the work. He is not (and never will be) a speed merchant. People interpret this as lazyness. Personally, I wouldn't call him lazy, but he has the ability to look lazy! However, I guarantee that before this season is out, at least one of you will have called him lazy!

2) He wears vests, base layers & shirts that are 3 sizes too big for him! These things often make him look bulkier than he actually is. He's 6ft 1" and he's got chunky legs, but he's not fat! However, I guarantee that, before the season is out, at least one of you will have called him fat!

3) He also has a tendency to pull long sleeves over his hands. It's just a habit, but supporters of the clubs he's played for have always commented on it, in a negative way.

4) He's not the world's best tackler & often ends up getting booked for his mis-timed attempts.

5) On his day, he is a magician - an absolute joy to watch! He has vision; can play killer passes; has a great shot & takes a mean free kick/corner. There are still those in Croatia who think he is more technically gifted than Luka Modrić.

You've signed yourselves a diamond of a player (provided he stays injury-free & gets plenty of game time). On top of that, he's a really nice guy and a looker, who will add several hundred female fans to your attendance figures! And, I guarantee that, before the season is out, at least one of you will have developed a man-crush on him!!

Thanks for hearing me out! Hope to exchange more news & views with you, as the season develops. Good luck!!

[Kevin Mcleod]

Excellent post, thanks for that. Well worded and taught me a lot I didn't know.

[fisnik]

Evening, all! This is going to be a bit of a mega-post!

I'm new here & probably won't be welcome for a couple of reasons - I am neither a Ranger or a boy! But, I've made over 3500 posts on my own club's forum & more importantly, I like to think I know a thing or two about Niko Kranjčar!

When Niko signed for Dynamo Kiev in June 2012, he was escaping from two 'wilderness' seasons at 'Spurs. At the time, it seemed like a good move. The Ukrainian club were in the Champions League and I'm sure the salary they offered was pretty good. Niko played in the first few games & scored 4 times. Then, things came off the rails a bit. Manager Yuri Semin wasn't very popular & when a few results went against him, he got fired. The guy who replaced Semin was Oleg Blokhin (Ukrainian legend, as a player). Niko didn't seem to be Blokhin's cup of tea & found himself in & out of the team. In November, Kranjčar had some ankle problems and this kept him on the sidelines, until the League's winter break.

In January/February, Niko worked really hard at Kiev's winter training camp, getting himself in good condition & match-sharp for the re-start in March. After three League games, he went off on international duty & injured his knee in Croatia's win v Serbia. He didn't play for Kiev again, as by the time he was rehabilitated, the season was over. In the summer, he was called up for Croatia, but played no more than three minutes, in their WC qualifier against Scotland.

After a break of only 9 days, he headed back to Kiev's summer training camp; played in most of the pre-season friendlies & was ready to go. About 4 days before the first Ukrainian League game of the season, he damaged a thigh muscle/hamstring in training and was out again. If he should be on the team sheet for Rangers on 14th September, it will be his first competitive start since March.

Give him a chance and show him some love. Hopefully, he'll get regular playing time with you guys; build up his fitness again & show you the Niko Kranjčar who was one of the main protagonists in getting 'Spurs into the Champions League, in 2009/10. But, there are some things you need to know:

1) He makes the ball do the work. He is not (and never will be) a speed merchant. People interpret this as lazyness. Personally, I wouldn't call him lazy, but he has the ability to look lazy! However, I guarantee that before this season is out, at least one of you will have called him lazy!

2) He wears vests, base layers & shirts that are 3 sizes too big for him! These things often make him look bulkier than he actually is. He's 6ft 1" and he's got chunky legs, but he's not fat! However, I guarantee that, before the season is out, at least one of you will have called him fat!

3) He also has a tendency to pull long sleeves over his hands. It's just a habit, but supporters of the clubs he's played for have always commented on it, in a negative way.

4) He's not the world's best tackler & often ends up getting booked for his mis-timed attempts.

5) On his day, he is a magician - an absolute joy to watch! He has vision; can play killer passes; has a great shot & takes a mean free kick/corner. There are still those in Croatia who think he is more technically gifted than Luka Modrić.

You've signed yourselves a diamond of a player (provided he stays injury-free & gets plenty of game time). On top of that, he's a really nice guy and a looker, who will add several hundred female fans to your attendance figures! And, I guarantee that, before the season is out, at least one of you will have developed a man-crush on him!!

Thanks for hearing me out! Hope to exchange more news & views with you, as the season develops. Good luck!!

Thank you lurker... A most informative post. All these injuries you've mentioned have got me worried a bit to be honest.

[The Lurker]

Thanks for the compliments, gents!

@Fisnik I wouldn't worry too much! Niko seems to have suffered most of these injuries during spells when he's been in & out of the action. If he gets regular playing time, instead of 'One game in, two games on the bench' kind of thing, I think (and hope .... and pray) he'll be better off & will suffer fewer injury niggles.

[acricketer]

Looking forward to seeing him play in hoops.

[QPR71]

thanks lurker

we should get on well....
NK looks lazy buts isn't.....adel looked lazy cos he was.
NK looks fat but isn't......adel looked fat cos he was
NK pulls his sleeves down by habit.....adel would wear gloves in Qatar
NK mistimes tackles...adel leaves tackling to the tacklers
NK is a magician on his day......adel is too in the prem on his day....I think he managed 2 days in fact..
NK takes a mean free kick and corner....he'll be doing better than adel if he can clear the wall or first man.

one question
did you ever witness NK duck away from the ball when he was in a wall

[acricketer]

did you ever witness NK duck away from the ball when he was in a wall

[zeberdee]

thanks lurker

we should get on well....
NK looks lazy buts isn't.....adel looked lazy cos he was.
NK looks fat but isn't......adel looked fat cos he was
NK pulls his sleeves down by habit.....adel would wear gloves in Qatar
NK mistimes tackles...adel leaves tackling to the tacklers
NK is a magician on his day......adel is too in the prem on his day....I think he managed 2 days in fact..
NK takes a mean free kick and corner....he'll be doing better than adel if he can clear the wall or first man.

one question
did you ever witness NK duck away from the ball when he was in a wall

[robloft]

thanks lurker

we should get on well....
NK looks lazy buts isn't.....adel looked lazy cos he was.
NK looks fat but isn't......adel looked fat cos he was
NK pulls his sleeves down by habit.....adel would wear gloves in Qatar
NK mistimes tackles...adel leaves tackling to the tacklers
NK is a magician on his day......adel is too in the prem on his day....I think he managed 2 days in fact..
NK takes a mean free kick and corner....he'll be doing better than adel if he can clear the wall or first man.

one question
did you ever witness NK duck away from the ball when he was in a wall

[Marshy]

there are still those in croatia who think he is more technically gifted than luka modrić.

hahahaha

[Hubble]

The Lurker in 'most informative post ever written on a fans' forum' shock! I'm fascinated to know how you're so well informed, and also your moniker.. You're not from Ickenham by any chance?! Okay, that's probably way too obscure a reference for most of you. Fans of a certain punk rock band will know what I mean.