Livingston wasn’t a surprise to anyone who hasn’t been hiding under a rock for the last two years. In fact this was the ‘norm’ when it comes to a ‘typical’ Steven Gerrard Rangers performance. This incorporates several factors we have seen before, those being the inability to take the initiative and get points on the board, the inability to break down a stubborn defence, the inability to change a formation or tactics which have found us fall short on several fronts for several years.
Before I continue it is worth offering this for anyone that doubts what my views are, this is not a demand for change nor is it a blog to slate and call for the management to go. I do back this management, they have done a good job to a point, we are a wonderful team when the opposition allows it.
However, this is what I consider to be the uncomfortable truth
Steven Gerrard has to learn and the frustration of yesterday is because we have seen this movie several times before.
Laboured in our passing and movement.
Players happy to play safe and do the simple thing meaning an endless amount of possession with no penetration. (kamara, Jack, Goldson and Helander then repeat)
The same tactics and formation that has overseen this very same outcome and a failure to rectify it.
Baffling substitutions that never seem to do anything other than offer a like for like solution.
Players not showing the correct attitude and being far too slow in everything we do until the closing stages.
An over exaggeration?
Sure we haven’t conceded a goal, we have ten points out of twelve and we are top of the league.
My issue is that we are now in season three of this managements tenure and the same repeated failings are still being played out. The manager has been very well backed but yesterday this was the same team and players who have failed before. There shouldn’t have been any surprise to the outcome.
We are slow in the build up. You don’t need two defensive midfielders in a game where you are facing a wall of defenders, especially when our centre backs are so comfortable coming out with the ball. We can’t keep persisting with the same tactics that every team is aware of (Why put on Itten and Roofe then suddenly stop putting crosses in, we should have been flooding the box at that point but we continue to be slow and laboured)
The reason social media is in such an uproar is this is the frustration of several years and it is justified.
The uncomfortable truth is unless this management sort this out, unless they are willing to be brave and mix things up, unless they are willing to admit this won’t work and a different approach is sometimes needed – they will fall on their sword and fail.
The evidence doesn’t lie.
The midfield has been crying out for new blood for a long time, the reason there is no ‘relationship’ with the front players is because not one of our midfielders can play that pass that can cut a defence open. Every pass is to slow, every pass is a safe one and every pass is always where it leaves the attacker with work to do. The fact that hasn’t been rectified leaves them open to that criticism.
There will be those that say this is ‘panty wetting’, there will be those that laugh it off and say we are only four games in ‘get a grip’.
That’s all valid I suppose depending on how you look at it.
There will be others that say we have seen these warning signs for too long.
Rangers won’t win every single game, Rangers won’t play well every game. When we keep making the same mistakes that’s when it becomes extremely frustrating.
We can’t afford to continue to do that or we will end up facing the same outcome we repeatedly do so.
That is the uncomfortable truth
Ignore the nonsense, the irrelevant and the noise 🔴⚪️🔵
Four Lads Had A Dream 