What will Murty’s new Rangers look like?

It is safe to say changes are seriously asunder at Ibrox. Looking at the new recruits already (Goss and Murphy) on top of those heavily linked (Docherty, Cummings) and those returning from loans (Halliday, Dodoo and O’Halloran) and Rangers are already starting to have a different feel from the disastrous Caixinha era.

But what shape are all these players going to give the side? And just how different could Rangers already be under Graeme Murty compared with a month ago?

Evidently, there will be no change in goal. Wes Foderingham has his critics, especially Ibrox Noise’s very own Richard, but while he is far from Goram or Klos, his shotstopping ability really is excellent at times. He was a major reason Celtic drew a blank last weekend, just like his opposite number kept us out similarly.

In defence we are seeing a settled pattern. James Tavernier, David Bates, Danny Wilson and either Lee Wallace or Declan John looks like the order of the day. It has been quite a solid area of the pitch and we do not expect much change there for now.

In midfield there is much upheaval. Jordan Rossiter remains sidelined, Graham Dorrans has joined him, and Ryan Jack is unreliable. So in has come Sean Goss and the QPR midfielder will be expecting plenty of game time, as will imminent capture Jamie Murphy, who will occupy the left either of a three up front or a four in midfield. Meanwhile Andy Halliday’s return may well see him deployed in advanced midfield and if Rangers should land Hamilton’s Docherty, the options for midfield deepen.

Up front is where the plot thickens even more interestingly. With Murphy now available, Miller out injured, Herrera outcast, and Hardie out of favour, Joe Dodoo has a chance to shine – similarly Michael O’Halloran looks like he may well be getting a serious crack at the first team at long last. The only remnant of the last manager will be Morelos, should he not be sold. But again the Colombian is out of form and finds goals hard to come by. While his work on the ball is good, his finishing has become a major problem, even when he is given plenty of good chances.

So… what could we look like?

Foderingham; Tavernier, Bates, Wilson, John; and this is where we are glad we are not the manager.

With a selection of McCrorie, Jack, Goss, Holt, potentially Docherty, Halliday, Murphy, Candeias, O’Halloran, Dodoo, and Morelos, fitting those eleven players into a smooth working last two thirds could be quite tricky to say the least.

Our best front six would probably be McCrorie, Jack and Docherty in a three, with O’Halloran and Murphy flanking Morelos and the likes of Halliday, Candeias, Dodoo and Goss on the bench – but the likes of Goss did not come to Ibrox to be a sub.

In short folks, your guess is as good as ours!

It is a lot of turnover and we are not exactly convinced it is the right direction, given we still do not seem overly top heavy up front with quality, or even in midfield. We do currently have plenty of wingers, with Murphy, O’Halloran, Candeias, and Windass on the books, but a lack of real strikers and defensive midfielders.

We will see what transpires over the coming weeks, but right now, it looks a little random, frankly.