An emotional rollercoaster

The highest of highs and the lowest of lows. As a football supporter you become used to experiencing dramatic swings in emotion and as a Rangers supporter never was this more apparent than in our two most recent fixtures. On Thursday evening we reached the very peak of footballing ecstasy with a dramatic fightback and victory against Braga in the last 32 of the Europa League. On Sunday afternoon whilst still riding high on the emotion of Thursday night we fell to the very lowest depths as any hopes of a title challenge evaporated the moment Stevie May slotted home an equaliser for St Johnstone.

It is perhaps because of what happened in the game against Braga that so many of us love the game of football. Despite being on the ropes for the majority of the match, with 23 minutes remaining Rangers somehow managed to claw themselves off the canvas and fight their way back into the game. It began with a sublime goal from Iannis Hagi before Joe Aribo then preceded to waltz past four Braga defenders and coolly slide the ball into the net. It was a wonderful goal, one of the best to be scored at Ibrox for sometime, and was greeted with delirium in Ibrox. Then in the 82nd minute we delivered our own unbelievable knockout punch.  

What happened next will ensure Braga 20 will go down in Rangers folklore and be remembered in the same breath as Marseille 92 and Parma 99. Iannis Hagi, having started the fightback with his own wonder goal, stepped up to take a free kick 30 yards from goal. As Ibrox held it's breath, daring to think the unthinkable, the wind that had howled around Govan all evening moved the ball forward. For a moment it felt like time had been suspended as Hagi carefully re-positioned the ball, stepped back and hit a right foot shot towards goal. 

We all know what happened next and as the ball nestled in the corner of the net Ibrox erupted with a deafening noise and bedlam broke out in the stands. (Scenes. Limbs. As the young folk refer to it these days.) It was pure unadulterated joy as the realisation of what had just happened dawned on each and every supporter.  It was one of Ibrox's greatest nights as we witnessed the most unlikely of comebacks.  Two nil down with 23 minutes remaining had somehow transformed into a 3-2 victory. As we left the stadium there was agreement that this was the spark that the team needed. This would get our season back on track. We could build from this. "Tell me this team can't yet win the league" I heard someone say to their mate as I walked down Edminston Drive.

As the teams took to the field at McDiarmind Park the adrenaline kicked back in. Here they were, our heroes, the team who made us believe again. A victory in the early kick off would allow us for the first time since the Winter break to apply some pressure on Celtic. There was some rumblings around the starting XI with Ryan Kent keeping his place in the team and no start for Florian Kamberi, who many believed had helped change the game on Thursday night versus Braga. Glen Kamara was dropped after an awful performance on Thursday with Ryan Jack coming straight back into the side after missing out through suspension earlier in the week.

Oh how naive we were in those adrenaline fulled minutes after the full time whistle versus Braga. It is said that a pessimist is never disappointed, yet how could we not believe as the game kicked off in Perth that our season was back on track. Within just eight minutes the euphoria of Thursday night faded dramatically as an awful defensive mistake from Niko Katic allowed St Johnstone to take a 1-0 lead. For Katic this was the beginning of what can only be described as an awful performance. His game was littered was mistakes and it's hard to think of a player who has looked so visibly scared to play football. Quite how he managed to play the full ninety minutes without being substituted is a mystery wrapped in a enigma.  

With so many of us believing that the dramatic victory over Braga would provide the much needed spark our season so badly needed it was unbelievable to see Rangers turn in yet another insipid and uninspired first half performance. There was no cohesion to our play, the tempo was slow, simple passes were not being executed and decision making both collectively and individually was awful.

It had to be better in the second half and changes were made at half time with Kamberi coming on for Halliday resulting in Aribo taking up the left back slot and Kamberi playing in front of him. After only four minutes Kamberi had equalized with a wonderful left foot half volley that rifled into the back of the net and fifteen minutes later Aribo deftly finished after great work once again by Kamberi. All of a sudden we were back on the roller-coaster, had been given another fix and were rising high again.

With previous Rangers teams going 2-1 up against St Johnstone with twenty minutes left would have pretty much guaranteed the three points. It should have done on this occasion as well, but like we did against Aberdeen at Pitroddie in December, against Hearts at Tynecastle and against Kilmarnock at Rugby Park we failed to see the game out. With ten minutes to go a long ball forward was once again not dealt with by our centre halves and from the resulting corner St Johnstone equalised. We were back on the canvas and this time we didn't get back up.

Whilst the players on the field must take individual responsibility, Steven Gerrard and his coaching team cannot be absolved from blame for what is happening on the pitch. It has been apparent for a number of weeks that a change in personnel has been required with a number of players clearly not performing. It's hard to understand why Florian Kamberi did not start the game against St Johnstone either for Ryan Kent or even through the middle in place of Morelos. Criticism of the management team should not stop at which names make the first XI. The stubbornness that they have shown to the rigid 4-3-3 formation has, as we have said before, made us far too predictable. 

It is not acceptable to keep doing the same thing over and over again and to hope that it will get better.  Perhaps what makes this more galling is that when changes to this formation are made, and when players are deployed in different positions, it has a positive effect. There was clear evidence of this against Braga when Hagi was moved into the No.10 role as opposed to the right wing and Joe Aribo was moved to left back. Our forward play and link up was reignited and we regained the balance and attacking threat that was missing earlier in the game.

Dropping seven points in the games mentioned above is simply unacceptable, particularly when in each of the games we have been in a winning position. Whilst it could be argued that results have come as a consequence of individual errors, once again the management team must take responsibility. It is their job to put the correct individuals into the correct position. They must now question whether they are employing the best person to handle situations such as this and whether they have equipped these individuals with the skills and qualities required to do their job effectively.

With the month of February not yet finished our title challenge has been extinguished and this is an unbelievable situation considering where we found ourselves at the start of the year. This week we now have two enormous fixtures. Defeat in both would effectively end our season completely and would heap enormous pressure on Steven Gerrard and his team. It would not necessarily be terminal for the management team but would leave them in an extremely difficult position.

It's hard to see at moments like this that progress has been made and their is a risk that should we fail to progress against Hearts on Sunday it will be obscured completely. Our performances in Europe should not be underestimated and their is no doubt that on this stage Gerrard and his staff have excelled. But the fans want success and to win trophies and whilst Gerrard will rightly highlight the impressive European performances, unless we were were to go all the way in the Europa League, which is unlikely, their will be no trophy. Having had an opportunity to deliver the league cup in December the Scottish Cup must now become an absolute priority for Gerrard. Winning it will prove to the fans that the management team and players not only have the ability but also the desire, attitude and belief to succeed. Failure to win will leave us with more questions than answers.

WDTCR 💙

Groundhog day

Despite what the fixture list promised, Rangers once again didn't play at Ibrox at 3.00 pm on a Saturday this weekend. For the first time in nearly thirty years a Rangers home game was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch with the news filtering through to fans around 1.00 pm. Many fans had already made the journey to Ibrox in treacherous conditions (myself included) and although frustrated with the wasted journey, accepted that the weather gods had made their decision and nothing could be done about it.

As talk turned to when this game could be fitted into the Bears hectic schedule (we still have an outstanding fixture vs St Johnstone to be rescheduled) it was announced that the game would take place in just 24 hours time at 3.00 pm on Sunday.  I don't think I was the only person to be sceptical about the chances of the game taking place, but then I'm no weather forecaster and so at 3.00 pm Sunday, Rangers did indeed kick off their league fixture against Livingston. As the players took to the field for their pre-match warm up they were subjected to gale force winds and hail showers and many supporters could have been forgiven for thinking they had seen this movie before.  

Despite the best efforts of Storm Dennis, by 5.00 pm Rangers had secured a 1-0 victory and many fans would be able to say in years to come, that they were at the game that was rearranged with just 24 hours notice. Whilst they may not remember much about the game other than the score, there were signs of encouragement that Rangers may finally beginning to find some form after what has been a disappointing run of matches. There is clearly still room for improvement but there were signs that the Rangers of Autumn/Winter 2019 might finally be waking up from hibernation.

Scott Arfield was once again the best player on the park, scoring his fourth goal in three games and being at the heart of most of Rangers best periods of play. Ianis Hagi continues to impress, in particular his sublime pass for Arfield's goal. That this came when Hagi had drifted into the No. 10 role from his berth on the left wing gave an indication that perhaps he could be most effective in this position. Florian Kamberi also impressed in the thirty or so minutes he was given. His movement across the front line, added to his physicality proved troublesome for the Livingston defence and suggested that he could yet play a part in what remains of the season.  His ability to hold the ball up, play with his back to goal and then bring other players into the game made an enormous difference to how we played in the second half. He looked fresh, keen to impress and was wrongly flagged offside when finishing well when put through by Morelos.  

Ryan Jack took control of the midfield and whilst his passing radar still looked like it was slightly awry there is no doubt that he is a massive player for us and we are weaker as a team when he doesn't play. He controlled much of our tempo and was prepared to engage opposition players and move the ball forwards. Andy Halliday having got his first ninety minutes in some time under his belt on Wednesday night also provided width on the left and was a much more positive influence than he had been against Kilmarnock. There is no doubt that we miss Borna Barisic at left back but Halliday was an able deputy in this fixture.

There do remain concerns around a number of players form however. It would be hard for anyone to argue that Ryan Kent perhaps requires some time on the substitutes bench.The player looks a shadow of the dynamic winger who won the young player of the award last season and appears to be unbelievably short of confidence.  There were positives to his performance today, a great run and shot in the first half being a standout, but it could be argued that Kamberi produced more than Kent did today, with Kamberi being on the park half the time Kent was. It's now reached the stage where anything that doesn't come off for Kent is met with moans and groans from the fans and some time out of the firing line would be of benefit to him.

It was also an interesting afternoon for Alfredo Morelos. He played some delightful cross field balls, setting up Davis with a big chance in the 1st half and scored what was a perfectly legitimate goal for the second game in a row but despite this Morelos still looked somewhat out of sorts.The intensity in his play is not what it was earlier in the season and he looked sluggish and almost disinterested at times. Morelos is an enigma and clearly thrives when he feels he is performing well and we must hope that he can snap out of his current malaise prior to Thursday's game. 

Niko Katic also continues to struggle and on current form will drop again to the bench when Filip Helander returns to fitness. There is no doubt that there is the making of a good player here but Katic's rawness has been exposed this season. He is prone to diving into unnecessary tackles and seems to struggle to maintain his concentration at times. He also needs to be braver on the ball and start looking for forward passes more often, instead of taking the safe option of going inside. Something that Steven Davis also needs to get out his system.  Despite being one of our best players in the first six months of the season Davis is not delivering the level of performance required and his position in the team can now no longer be assured.

Ultimately Sunday was all about winning the game. Conditions were awful, preparations had been disrupted due to the postponement and subsequent rearrangement and therefore securing the three points was the main objective.  And lets not forget that had it not been for some awful refereeing decisions the margin of victory could (and should) have been much more comprehensive.

Livingston should have been reduced to ten men for an awful tackle on Connor Goldson just before half time and a clear penalty for handball was not awarded to Rangers in the second half. These are game changing decisions which once again the officials failed to get right.  Rangers also had the ball in the back of the net on two further occasions only for both to be ruled out for offside. In the first of these Morelos is clearly onside, whilst in the second Kamberi is at the very most level with play when played in. A 3-0 victory gives a very different complexion to the result than 1-0.

Rangers as a club must push to see the poor level of officiating within the Scottish game addressed. The number of high profile incidents that officials are getting wrong should be an embarrassment to the SPFL and SFA and they must take steps to address this. It is not only in Rangers games that officials are getting decisions wrong with the weekends fixtures littered with mistakes, perhaps most notably in the Hearts v Hamilton fixture.  The high number of mistakes only increases the clamor for VAR to be introduced and Rangers will get their first taste of VAR when they host S. C. Braga on Thursday night in the last 32 of the Europa League.

The achievement of the club reaching this stage of the tournament should be celebrated and I hope that both the players and the fans can embrace and celebrate this achievement on Thursday. S. C. Braga are playing exceptionally well currently and we will need to once again deliver a high class European performance to get anything from the game but we have proved before on this stage that we can deliver.  Embrace Thursday night, back the players, back the manager and lets get the result that might just get this season back on track.

WDTCR 💙

Simply not good enough

I am sure that I am not alone in looking at the league table with disbelief this morning.  At the start of the year Rangers sat one point behind Celtic, following an outstanding performance at Celtic Park on the 29th December when the Gers inflicted the first home defeat of the season on the current champions. The Bears had played one game less and were very much in pole position in the race for the title. Fast forward to now and following defeat to Kilmarnock, Rangers sit an enormous 10 points behind Celtic following a turgid 6 weeks where the team have only collected 10 points from a possible 18.  This is not title winning form and any hopes of wresting the league flag from Celtic are slim.

This awful return of points has seen Rangers defeated by both Kilmarnock and Hearts and draw with Aberdeen. The fact that Rangers were 1-0 up in the games to both Kilmarnock and Hearts before losing both 2-1 only magnifies the calamitous nature of the performances this team has produced.  Hearts were bottom of the league when we played them and with a third of the game remaining we were leading. Against Kilmarnock we were leading 1-0 with only 13 remaining of the 90. The 0-0 draw against Aberdeen in January could perhaps be forgiven as a blip in performance but lets not forget that in early December the team were 2-0 up at Pittodrie and ended up drawing the game 2-2.  Teams who wish to win titles don't produce results like this.

However in December the Rangers side who went to Celtic Park and won looked like they could be title winners, or at the very least title challengers.  What has changed and why are we in the position where the league title appears further away than ever?  There is no easy answer to this question and perhaps if there was, we wouldn't be in the position we currently are, but it is clear to anyone who has watched the team over the last month that there are some fundamental issues that need to be addressed.

Many supporters have questioned the lack of mental strength within the current side with many arguing that the team doesn't have the required 'bottle'. Manager Steven Gerrard himself questioned the mentality of the side in his post-match interview following the Kilmarnock game last night and results like last night add fuel to this particular fire. For me it's more nuanced than this. It's clear that the team thrives on being the underdog and this perhaps explains our high level of performance in Europe over the past two seasons. When we play domestic games the roles are reversed and the expectation is that we will win against every other single side, perhaps with the exception of Celtic. There is no doubt that at times this season we have failed to deal with these expectation levels and this added pressure of 'must win' but do we 'bottle it'?  

Perhaps, but for me it's more an issue of leadership. A lack of lack of leaders on the park and to some extent on the touchline. We need leaders on the pitch who will drag others up to the level required when they are not performing. Allan McGregor fulfills this role to some extent but is limited by the very nature of being a goalkeeper. When playing against Kilmarnock almost immediately from the start of the second half Kilmarnock were on top, yet I failed to see anyone from the Rangers team provide any sort of leadership on the field. Leadership can come in many ways but sometimes a real demonstrable example needs to be given; a team mate being bollocked for not making the right pass, someone steaming into a tackle to get the crowd going, an individual talking to the manager to tell them to change things because it's not working. None of this happened in this game, not just from Tavernier but from any of the players.

Leadership on the touchline has also been missing of late. We have talked previously on WDTCR on how predictable we have become as a team and this issue must fall squarely at the foot of the manager and his team. We have to be more open to adapting our style of play and tactics to the opposition that is front of us rather than sticking rigidly to our plans.  Our shape and to a large extent our personnel, do not change and any team who has done their homework will know how to play against us. This is why Gerrard's refusal to use substitutes to influence the game is even more strange. Last night it was obvious that at 1-0 Steven Davis would have been the perfect choice to come on into midfield and try and take control of the game again for Rangers. There have been many other examples throughout the season when a lack of game management has been evident from the coaching staff and there is no doubt this is becoming a frustration with the supporters.

It is also clear that we have a system of play that relies heavily on our two full backs pushing forward and when our two first choice full backs, Tavernier and Barasic do not play the team struggles.  Last night was the perfect example of this with Halliday filling in for Barasic and playing in a completely different style i.e. very little overlapping and playing more like a traditional fullback. Whilst reliant on a particular style of play we also have to question the performances in these games of our so called star players. Last night Ryan Kent failed to provide anything of note, Joe Aribo didn't impose himself on the game and Alfredo Morelos although showing glimpses of his earlier form did not perform how we know he can. That's not to say that others in the team played well last night. It's hard to think of anyone who imposed themselves on the game with a lack of quality evident across the team for nearly the whole game.

Perhaps the most damming aspect of the last 6 weeks has been a collective lack of fight and desire from this Rangers side.  Yes guile, skill and craft is required to win league titles but the bedrock of any championship winning side is a desire to go out as a team and fight for every single point. As Kilmarnock pressed for the equalizer last night too many players from our side were hiding. This, certainly in the eyes of the supporters is unforgivable, and must be addressed perhaps even before some of the other issues. Livingston will come to Ibrox on Saturday in a rich vein of form and will fancy their chances at getting at this Rangers side. The team must show desire and fight in order to ensure they get the three points that are a necessity.

There is no doubt that the league title is currently far from our grasp.  However there remains a slim and distant chance and we must do everything we can to try and stay in the hunt. What we can't do is give Celtic the title on a plate. If, from somewhere, we can find the form that we showed in December and win every game between now and the next OF game the lead could be cut to 7 points and by winning the game in hand that we have it could cut the lead to 4. A win at Celtic Park after the split would be then leave us 1 point behind with 5 games to play. It may be fanciful to think like this but as big Marv once said - Keep Believing...

WDTCR 💙

Little by little

Storm Ciara is currently raging outside my window and had Rangers last two fixtures finished after 45 minutes I have no doubt that Ciara wouldn't have been the only one who was raging.  Thankfully however football is ninety minutes long not forty five.  On Wednesday evening we saw new signing Hagi score a debut goal to ensure we claimed all three points in our latest league fixture.  On Saturday we secured our place in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup with three second half goals resulting in a flattering 4-1 victory for the Gers. Whilst two vital victories were achieved their remains concerns about the level of the teams performance since the resumption of the season following the winter break.

Wednesday's performance against Hibs was littered with periods of labored attacking and indecisive defending and their is no doubt that had George Edmundson not scored a debut goal just before half time, the players would have received a tasty reception from the fans as they departed down the tunnel.  In fact Edmundson's goal had the opposite effect with Ibrox coming to life in song and a no surrender attitude and when the second half started the team seemed to find the spark that had been missing of late playing perhaps some of their best football of recent weeks.

The decisive goal came from Hagi with a sublime finish six minutes before full time but even before then he had shown enough movement, skill and desire to suggest he might just be the missing spark that is required for a title push. Arfield turned in another good performance and is starting to look like the player we saw at the end of last season whilst the balance and attacking threat we were missing from from the right full back area returned with the return of our captain Tavernier.  Connor Goldson continues to excel and his consistent high level performances are in danger of being taken for granted by some in our support.  He is an outstanding defender who has grown in stature in his time at the club.

There were however others on both Wednesday and Saturday who didn't reach the level of performance we know they can.  I don't think anyone can disagree that our Colombian Prince has looked slightly off the pace and indeed a little short of confidence since coming back into the team.  Off field issues may be playing a part in this but he also looks far from 100% fit.  In the first half yesterday Morelos spurned a great chance to make it two nil and it was interesting that although it was a good save from the goalkeeper, had Alfie placed the ball as opposed to going for power he may well have scored.  It's not the first time he has missed a chance similar to this, perhaps most notably in the cup final against Celtic, and I hope it is something he is working on in training.  We have to hope that his goal yesterday will be the catalyst for restoring some of his confidence and self belief and we once again see the player who was unplayable just a few weeks ago.

Alfie should not be alone in coming in for criticism following our past two games with Ryan Kent once again proving to be a frustrating figure on our left wing.  There were positives from him in the Hamilton game, a blistering shot just before half time following a swift counter attack and an assist for the Aribio goal.  Indeed it was this assist highlight which highlighted where many fans frustrations with Kent currently lie. Kent has blistering pace and attacked the full back direct, beating him with pace (and skill) before putting the ball on a plate for Aribo.  Many believe there has to be more directness in Kent's play to stop him from becoming to easy to snuff out of games as has happened to often lately.

George Edmundson after a solid performance against Hibs looked strangely out of his depth on Saturday and struggled for most of the game with the movement of Hamilton's limited front line. We have to remember that Edmundson is young and still learning the game so performances like this will happen. It has happened with Katic and perhaps highlights how much we have missed the experience and leadership of Filip Helander.  His injury has been less well documented than others but their is no doubt that our back four is weaker without him in it.  We can only hope that he can return to fitness before too long.  

There are some who may think I'm being over critical about our last two performances considering we have won both games, ensuring we stay in the title race and and progressed to the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup.  However neither of our victories were convincing (despite the 4-1 scoreline vs Hamilton) and their is work to be done to get this team back to where they were at the end of December. However little by little their are signs of encouragement that we are beginning to to find our tempo, rhythm and groove and heading out of a challenging period of form.  We must hope this improvement continues when we go to Kilmarnock on Wednesday where once again nothing other than three points will be enough.

WDTCR 💙

The village idiot

When I took the decision to start writing this blog my intention was to share my love and passion of Rangers and football with like minded people.  It was to be an outlet for my thoughts on how Rangers were performing on the field and I would try to steer clear of 'off field' issues.  Unfortunately with the blog only a couple of weeks hold I'm going to break my self styled rules and make comment on a situation which has nothing to do with the playing side of Rangers FC.

It is however an issue that cannot be ignored and which came to a head on BBC Scotland's Sportsound programme on Monday evening.  Earlier in the day Sky Sports had carried an exclusive interview with Alfredo Morelos.  The interview touched on many areas including his charity work in his home town and how he is trying to address his disciplinary record.  In the interview Morelos also touched on the regular abuse he receives both on and off the field. He described how he has had to listen to his mother being abused and in what should be a wake up call for the SPFL and the SFA, he has been subject to racist abuse.

Sportsound is BBC Scotland's flagship sports programme and given the context of what Morelos had said earlier in the day it would be fair to expect that a discussion of how Scottish football could begin to deal with the issue of racism in the game would take place that evening.  Instead we were subjected to what can only be described as a diatribe of incoherent rambling from 'pundit' Michael Stewart. In the small number of segments where it was possible to understand what Stewart was trying to say he claimed there was no evidence of racist behaviour towards Morelos (fans-charged-for-racist-remarks-at-aberdeen-v-rangers) and that recent press stories about Morelos had been 'planted' by Rangers PR department. The monologue that Stewart gave was embarrassing, bizarre, incoherent and not befitting of a national broadcaster.

However Michael Stewart is not the problem here because remember, every village has it's idiot. The problem is that this particular idiot is being given a national platform to express his views. And when a 'pundit' on a football talk show refuses to discuss the serious issue of racism in a controlled, sensible and intelligent manner the BBC have serious questions to answer. When a young black player has admitted that he has been the subject of racist abuse in Scotland, why was it was ignored? For a national broadcaster to ignore such a serious issue is a dereliction of duty and one they must be taken to task for.  Racism is a stain on modern society and pretending the problem doesn't exist in Scotland is unacceptable.

Sportsound was the ideal platform for the subject of racism in the Scottish game to be addressed yet it failed to do so. Questions have to be asked on why this was the case.  Do they not acknowledge that the problem exists within the Scottish game? Why are they afraid of discussing such an important issue?  What sort of message does avoiding the issue send to other players who have been the subject of racist abuse? Did the white middle aged panel feel uncomfortable discussing the issue? Perhaps the problem for BBC Scotland was that the individual who made this damming indictment on the Scottish game, happens to play for Rangers...

WDTCR 💙

Where's that team they call the Rangers?

At the end of the victory over Celtic in December, in a rare display of emotion, Steven Gerrard grabbed a TV camera and let out a guttural roar.  It was undoubtedly mirrored by Rangers fans far and wide and for many of us it felt like we were, finally, on the verge of something special.  When the final whistle went just before 5.00 pm on Saturday thoughts of our 55th title seemed further away than ever.

A 0-0 draw against Aberdeen, following the 2-1 defeat to Hearts last Sunday, means we have dropped 5 points in just 6 days and the pendulum in this years title race has swung back towards Celtic.  It's difficult to understand quite what has happened to this team since the season resumed after the winter break.

Prior to the two-week shutdown the Bears had gone to Fir Park and Easter Road and won convincingly with the victory at Easter Road in particular adding belief that this squad of players were ready to make the step up as title challengers.  A home victory versus Kilmarnock ensured confidence was high when visiting Parkhead and this confidence was evident in an outstanding performance which gave Rangers their first victory at Parkhead in nine years.

Following the return from the warm weather training camp the season resumed with a lacklustre performance against Stranraer in the Scottish Cup.  Although missing many regular starters those on the fringes did little to press their way into the managers thoughts, evidenced by Gerrard's team selection in the next game against St Mirren with the only changes from the Celtic game being forced on him by suspension, Morelos and injury, Tavernier.  Although we won the game 1-0 this was far from the same level of performance as this same group of players had put in during December.  

At Tynecastle the level of performance was so far below what we had seen prior to the Winter break it was hard to believe this was the same group of players. Their was a lack of composure, belief and perhaps most worryingly urgency in their play.  Wednesday saw a slightly more routine 2-0 victory against Ross County before we witnessed Saturday's 0-0 draw against Aberdeen . Where's the Rangers team of December gone?

It's extremely difficult to pinpoint where things have gone wrong in the last couple of weeks.  Were the players worked too hard on a mini-preseason in Dubai?  Personally I don't believe this to be the case as I feel we have to trust the medical staff and coaches who work with the players on a daily basis.  Have teams worked out how to frustrate us?  To some extent yes but teams parking the bus, particularly at Ibrox, is not something new that the players have had to overcome.  

Do we lack a plan B? Currently the answer to this has to be yes. If you are an opposition manager you know how Rangers will line up and what our style of play will be. Their will be no surprises even if our personnel has to change. This was clear in the games where Defoe played as a result of Morelos' suspension. Despite being completely different players our system did not change and as a result become ineffective due to the difference in style of play between Morelos and Defoe. Our play has become predictable and without the individual brilliance required to make the difference on occasion we have been unable to break teams such as Aberdeen down.   

We also can't underestimate how much we have missed Morelos and Tavernier in the recent games.  Both players at various points this season have individually changed games for us and the balance offered to us by Tavernier and the focal point created by Morelos have been sorely missing.  Although Morelos was back on Saturday he lacked match sharpness and was perhaps not even fully fit.  The absence of Ryan Jack has also upset the stability and dynamism of our midfield.  Losing three hugely influential players all at the same time has also highlighted the lack of quality deeper in our squad.

This has been addressed to some extent with the arrival of Ianis Hagi and Florian Kamberi.  Hagi comes with a glowing reputation whilst Kamberi is a proven SPFL player. We have to hope that one or both will add the missing spark that Steven Gerrard has been quoted as saying the team is missing. 

What is clear is that the drop in performance level has to stop now and cannot dip at any point again this season if we wish to remain in the title race.  Currently winning our 55th league title remains in our own hands and we must ensure that it remains this way for as long possible.

WDTCR 💙