Rangers dropped some needed points yesterday and Ibrox Noise wanted to mythbust the facts about this match.
We’re hearing a lot of ‘Kamara stunk’ and ‘Tavernier did nothing’ etc, so we wanted to show the reality of what those players factually did out on that pitch and see what was true and what wasn’t.
1: “Kamara was terrible.”
Ok, for a start, Kamara played as a central midfielder yesterday, not a defensive one, as demonstrated by his heatmap:
His passing level was good, at 87%, and he was on the ball second only to Jack for the most touches. He managed two key passes, 2 dribbles, and won one foul. He was relieved of the ball just once despite all the possession. Glen Kamara did not have a bad game.
2: “Tavernier was useless.”
No one crossed the ball more than James Tavernier, with 16, and 6 of those hit their targets. He managed 10 long balls, 3 of which got there, but his passing level was fairly modest at only 75%.
His heat map shows he spent pretty much the whole match in Livi’s half. In reality, his performance was decent if not incredible.
3: “Jack had a bad match.”
Actually, no he didn’t, even in our eyes he looked decent. The heatmap shows he was playing a DM role behind Kamara, and as an attacking force he managed a shot, and two key passes. He hit nearly 90% passing range, and his range passing was outstanding, with 19 attempted and 14 hitting their aim.
4: “Rangers didn’t shoot, or had no creativity.”
This was partly true. There were just 3 shots on target from Rangers, but with 23 attempted. Morelos and Kent were particularly guilty of being wasteful with their shooting, with 10 missed attempts between them. The creativity aspect is not backed up by the facts. Rangers did make chances, they just didn’t take them.
5: “Livi parked the bus, but they didn’t defend well. Rangers were just terrible.”
Well not really true. They managed 25 successful tackles, the same number of successful interceptions, and they cleared the ball 49 times. They also blocked 9 shots and ‘only’ produced 10 fouls, which isn’t half bad for a team who’s supposed to be defending badly.
It was the definition of parking the bus, yes, but they did so extremely well, and while Rangers were poor, credit has to be also given to Gary Holt and his players for concentrating that intensely for the full 90 minutes.
Our point is Gerrard’s job is to break these teams down with tactical changes, and shifts. He failed to do that yesterday, but while the players hardly shone, the numbers do demonstrate they weren’t actually as horrible as some might think.
The tactics didn’t help, and neither did Livi’s stout commitment to their own plan.
Much to ponder.
Spot on! You could of bet your life savings on Livi parking the bus! & if after 2 full seasons SG still dosemt realise that the patience game dosent work against the anti football mobs then his managerial credibility has to be questioned! Simply put We need to be more ruthless against these teams! Gerrard needs to be more ruthless as a manager in general! I’m not going to blame Morales either, but Tav & Borna can whip in tidy crosses all day, but Freddo ain’t the man to be in the box to try get on the end of them! Once he realised Lyndon Dykes was not playing, why not go for 2 up top? Drop Hagi (he hasn’t shown much since his permanent move anyway) for Itten or Roofe, then you have a target man who given time (& not a 15/20 min cameo) would surely get on the end of some of the crosses……if Morales takes the huff because he dosent like playing with a partner then Fuck him, on the bench & start Roofe & Itten! Celtic showed last season how devastating an extra striker can be when you know your going to have the Lions share of the ball/possession!…..bit let’s face it, SG is stubborn & sticks to his guns as far as team selection & tactics go, so let’s forget the 2 up top method & let’s look at something else that had me screaming at my TV, especially in the 2nd half!………..can SG & his team of coaches not spot how many of our crosses go in & end up missing everyone in the box only to run out to the opposite flank where Boran or Tav will pick it up & swing it in again? 🤔 Why do we never ever have a man on the back post……if Freddo is pushing into the box for the cross but generally surrounded by 2 or 3 players & Tav/Borna are sitting out wide then why isnt guys like Kent or Kamara or Hagi bursting there hole to try run in towards the relitively unmarked back post area & try get on the end of the crosses that are missing Freddo or whoever are in the box? I watched it happen time & time again yesterday, esp in the 2nd half! Surely something the coaching staff & manager should be addressing……🤔, now my last point, Ryan Kent! FFS can someone please get the lad told, stop cutting in field into a sea of opposition players & use your skill & trickery to better affect & try getting in behind, hit the by line & smash the ball into feet…..surely we will find we get better scoring chances if we try these things!
How bout an answer to comment 6
6. Morelos was fukin awful !
A one word answer will suffice .
🧐
Was going to comment, but Glyn kinda said it all.
Problem yesterday was not really the players, but the tactics
You can hide a multitude of sins with stats. Sure Kamara and Jack had a lot of the ball and high numbers for successful distribution but that’s not difficult when all you doing is circulating the ball wide and back on the half way line to retain (pointless) possession when the whole Livi team are sitting on their 18 yard box. I’m not saying either had a bad game though Jack has been well off the standards he set last season. I’m also saying that we might need someone in there to break things up and keep the ball moving but we certainly don’t need 2 players in that role in these games. Livi posed no threat going forward so 2 centre backs and one sitting midfielder was enough. With Morelos a shadow of the player he was we need a second striker up there to put pressure on their defenders. It’s a problem we need to solve now because the way Morelos is playing he will be going nowhere.
I agree here…..this pish keep ball sideways backwards pass fest between Goldson, Helender and co makes no sense when chasing a game. All it does it end up with an intercepted weak assed square pass from the usual suspects eg Kamara, Tav and Goldson which has cost us in the past. Too many shitebags scared to take a man on and go past them and dont get me started on this trying to walk the ball into the net nonsense when facing a packed defence. Hagi has been a man down and disappears when the going gets tough. We have flattered to deceive in the first few games and this was just waiting to happen…only saving grace is that they have already dropped a couple…so free hit this time but I fear we will run out of lives sooner rather than later. Tactical change is required urgently….
Will, we weren’t trying to prove one thing or the other, we were relaying the facts. Nothing else.
1: He played as a defensive midfielder but also chipped in with attacking too. Not an attacking midfielder at all, where did you read that part?
2: Yes, for a defensive midfielder there to tidy the game up primarily, it’s very good.
3: Not even Borna can nail 16 crosses out of 16. Didn’t say Tav was good, said he was decent and not terrible. You’re getting ridiculous.
What a rotten reply mate, just ignoring the facts, twisting them and spinning them to prove your agenda.
We don’t have an agenda, unlike what you seem to.
PS no one else disagreed with this piece, of the dozens of replies it got. Because it was factual. There’s nothing to disagree with. Unless you have an agenda to.
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