We gave you our ratings last night, so now we’re going to go through the ‘things we learned’ as Rangers stumbled at Livi.
1: It’s obvious, but Ianis Hagi simply cannot play wide right. He’s wasted there. He’s also wasted on that surface. Just has no finesse or control. If Stevie keeps playing Hagi as a winger it’s bad management, pure and simple.
2: Into his third season, Gerrard still doesn’t know how to deal with adversity. For someone who’s presumably learned a tonne in 24+ months, it’s curious that he still has no idea how to create a comeback or winner on 95% of occasions.
3: Ryan Kent, overall, is Rangers’ best player this season, aside Borna Barisic. The winger has never hidden, and kept plugging away. Nearly pinched a wonder winner at the end. He tries, he works, and he is the biggest danger Rangers have. And before you mention Aribo, he blows too much hot and cold.
4: Alfredo Morelos’ stats usually indicate he’s working fairly hard, but it’s evident what we see on the pitch that his heart is elsewhere. He’s ineffectual now and the sooner we find a buyer, the better.
5: Kemar Roofe has potential – added energy yesterday, and for a while after he came on Rangers did lift. But he’s miles off match fitness and will need minutes to get there.
6: It’s early days but Cedric Itten has been distinctly average thus far. Looks awkward, clumsy, and at this point the name ‘Lyndon Dykes’ seems very topical.
7: Further word for Barisic – what a bright spark he’s been this season. His quality shines through and he’s one Rangers will do well to hold onto. Another decent show yesterday.
8: This new 4-2-3-1 formation works well enough in possession, but it struggles to break teams down. As we saw from Livi, a parked bus is hard to get past if you don’t have width, and unfortunately Rangers lack that with just the full backs giving any.
And we’re too grumpy to come up with any more.
Feel free to add your own.
How is roofe not match fit, thought he was playing games for Anderlecht just before we signed him.
Jordan Jones would have made an impact he’s a much stronger and direct player than Barker .
I hope that match fit excuse doent turn into another fuckin dud another check-in to the Rangers hotel,wages for fuck all,these are the bread n butter points that must be taken,pure fuckin dross and not accetable for the famous,sort it out now!
@ Paul I think Roofe hasn’t played this year after an injury
@ Bill I agree. Thought Barker was ok, we did improve after he came on but it wasn’t enough and I would rather have had Jones. But he is on the naughty step, like McCrorie, like Docherty, like Murphy. Once SG says your face don’t fit, Plastic Surgery is the only thing that is changing matters. Mind you he forgave Barisic.
We need a right wing, but when/if we get one, there will only be room for one CAM be it Hagi or Aribo. Unless we drop Aribo back into CM. More forward looking than either Jack or Kamara
SG is like Warburton – Plan B is to do Plan A better. Let’s play a target man, let’s buy Dykes – oh, too late. Fingers crossed Itten can do that. But i am tired of us buying people who cannot adapt to Scotland or take a season to do so. When there are cheaper players in Scotland already doing it.
Against teams sitting in, low block, holding their 18 yard box – call it what you like, we don’t need 2 CDM. Although to be fair to SG, we play 4 defenders the 2 CBs and the 2 CDM. Barisic and Tavernier are wingbacks in name only, wingers in truth. 1 CDM means a back 3 which may be rsiky. Perhaps we need a CM who can and will do it all. Like the South African who has faded away because he is not fading away!
I agree Hagi is wasted on the right wing but I thought his game was all about finesse and control. But he must do better.
When did you last see Morelos run the channels and mix it with the centre backs. I reckon he has mentally gone. Incidentally you can’t argue with his yellow card but 2 Livi players did exactly the same thing and went unpunished. Just saying!
Worried about what I’ve seen of Itten and first impressions are often correct (though I was wrong about Mark Hateley).
The full backs effectively play as wingers and give us all the width we need but the point of width is to get crosses into the box and that’s a waste of time for us because we don’t have players attacking the crosses.
Cant argue with most of that and seen enough of Roofe to be confident in his signing…itten less so. Lets add in a few extra points though ; 9. you are allowed to pass it forward quickly. Goldson, Helander, Jack and Kamara dont all have to touch it every time you restart. 10. you are allowed and given opposition should, be prepared to take a man on and not check out more often than not and, 11. pass stats mean nothing when the opposition are happy to stand and watch
You could see in the first half we had total control of the ball yet were creating no chances. So surely you have to go 2 up front. The fact that Gerrard isnt realising this is the most worrying thing
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