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 💙