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 💙