There is a lot to unpack about Rangers’ win over Hibernian last night at Easter Road, but Ibrox Noise, having pointed out the importance of the match, is more than pleased with the three points. However, the biggest takeaway that we have made from that particular encounter is the clear switch in formation. We discussed yesterday how Danny Rohl’s Rangers formation had suggested flexibility with his rearguard, but the reality is a bit different.
A Nod to Martin O’Neill and Walter Smith
In fact, it is abundantly clear that he has taken a leaf out of the book of both Walter Smith and Martin O’Neill. How? Rohl is using the same formation that Martin O’Neill did back in the day with Celtic. Three at the back, two wide men, three in the middle, and two up front. Essentially, the archetype that Martin O’Neill used was three big strong stoppers, two speedy wide men, a compact midfield, and the two up front as a partnership. It trod all over Rangers back in the day.
As for our very own Walter, he knew from the very start the importance of having strong men who could play football. His formations were often adaptable. He could be five at the back, three at the back, you name it. Walter Smith was very, very flexible when need be, something that no manager since him has ever been at Rangers. Danny Rohl may be the first who is.
Flexibility and Function
As we have often said on Ibrox Noise, one of the biggest problems with Rangers managers since Walter was an absolute refusal to adapt a system according to the players they had. Instead, the arrogance of shoehorning players into their own preferred system meant that Rangers could rarely be consistent. Every single manager had a system that they liked, and whatever players they had, had to adapt to that system.
Rohl, like Walter, is a lot more flexible and has clearly built a system based on the players he has, and he believes that that is a 3-5-2, or 3-4-3, or 3-4-1-2, depending on how you look at it. At the end of the day, Rohl is showing flexibility, but the big change is that formation.
Signs of Progress
Is it working? Well, given it’s two wins in a row, it would be hard to say it is not. Yes, the second half was a little bit hairy yesterday, because this is a brand new system for Rangers. But if it works as well as Martin O’Neill’s did back in the noughties, and works as well as Walter Smith in general, then Rangers could actually, shock horror, be onto something of a winner here.
We are not definitively saying that the 3-5-2 formation is the way to win the title, but it is a very good system which has always been Ibrox Noise’s favourite formation overall. It blends the best of every single world on a football pitch. You have the strong three-man, iron-clad, iron-walled defence, you have the zippy wide men, you have the compact three in the middle, and then you have the attackers being supported by a creative man.
It is the best all-round formation in football, and always generally was, even if Barcelona took over with a 4-3-3 tiki-taka. Rohl is using the 3-5-2, albeit it is slightly adaptable to the match in question, and it clearly worked last night, even if there were one or two nervous moments. But yes, there is definitely a bit of improvement, and we do like Danny Rohl’s Rangers formation.