Ibrox Noise, in interest, posed a theoretical question to our readers yesterday, and one reply of hundreds stood out.
Asked what the first thing they’d do as Rangers manager Philippe Clement on his first day on the job, a lot of the responses were predictable, but one really did jump out:
“Ask the players what position they are naturally played in?”
What a wise question.
All-too-often Rangers players are being played in weird slots, in counter-intuitive positions.
Souttar on the left beside Goldson, Lammers as a right winger, Matondo as a left winger…
Wouldn’t it be great to know exactly where each player sees himself properly, and either guide them to be better in that position or figure out that they’re being idealistic and they’re better elsewhere?
Far too much, Giovanni would play guys out of position, Gerrard certainly would, and Beale absolutely did.
How much nicer would it be to see nothing but square pegs in square holes and everything fitting.
This would mean players understand their position completely, are good in it, and now all that’s left is to improve themselves and grasp the tactics.
It seems an underrated thing to do, to actually consult with players and say ‘where’s your best position, where do you see yourself playing, how are you at your best’ rather than saying ‘you’re playing where I tell you’.
It becomes so much more player-focused, and has been said many times – you fit the system around the players you have, you don’t force the players to fit a system you want.
We do hope that’s something the manager does, and you never know, we might just see a few changes as a result.