Move over Morelos... Roofe is now the main man at Rangers
KEMAR ROOFE makes a difference. He makes a difference to this Rangers team. And he might just make a difference in terms of the outcome of this season’s title race.
You can’t really overstate how important Saturday’s 3-1 win over Motherwell was for Steven Gerrard and his players. The pressure was on. And growing by every minute they trailed.
They badly needed a response. Roofe delivered when it mattered most with two goals that helped open up a 16-point lead at the top of the Premiership. It was such a crucial contribution.
At the start of the season, all the talk was about Alfredo Morelos. Was he going? Was he staying? What kind of impact could he have? What would his attitude be like?
Fast forward to the weekend and Morelos was out with another suspension when Rangers were trying to bounce back from their Betfred Cup defeat to St Mirren. Without him, you could see Roofe emerge as the key striker at Rangers right now.
He doesn’t actually play as a No 9 most of the time — given that he tends to come off the side — but this guy is a born scorer. Eight Premiership goals from as many starts is a nice statistic.
He can finish with his left or right foot. He is decent in the air for a player of his size. I see him coming to life inside the box in an incredible way.
Saturday’s two goals were perfect examples. Close-range finishes. Good movement and determination. I know it can sound like a cliché, but there’s a striker’s instinct in there.
Roofe also has probably the goal of the season in the Europa League against Standard Liege — and another great finish to his name against Benfica — so there is no doubt he is a threat from a longer distance, too.
Thankfully, it seems the injury problems of his early time at Ibrox are behind him. I heard Gerrard say recently that he posts phenomenal numbers in terms of the distances he runs during matches. That tells you everything about his approach.
While I think Morelos is more of a team player this season than ever before, you are never entirely sure what you will get. His latest ban underlined that point.
Roofe looks reliable. Hi s attitude is faultless and he is delivering when Rangers need it — both domestically and in Europe. For me, he has been a massive signing.
I knew a bit about him from his past career but, even so, I’ve been pleasantly surprised by what he has brought to Rangers. If he keeps going, the £3.5million fee paid to Anderlecht will be a real bargain. Roofe looks like a 15 to 20 goals-a- season player. One you can bank on. Having t hat consistent input is vital when you’re going for a championship. He must be a dream to manage and he could be absolutely crucial to Rangers going the distance. At t i mes last season, i t was Morelos or nothing in terms of goals f r om advanced areas. It’s not like that now. Cedric Itten came off the bench to score at a hugely important point against Motherwell as well. Make no mistake, that was one of the biggest wins of the season for Gerrard’s team. I’d been waiting to see how they would deal with a setback. It was a crucial test.
I was always a little cautious about the course this season. Before l ast week’s l oss to St Mirren, we had heard people starting to speak about the possibility of Rangers going through the entire campaign as Invincibles. It was too early for that in my view. And so it turned out.
Even so, the defeat in Paisley came as a shock to everyone. And you can bet it was a shock to the players to see their first chance of a trophy disappear in a game they were expected to win.
The reaction was all-important. Had they lost or drawn against Motherwell, people would have asked if they were crumbling again.
We all know they were flying at the end of 2019. And we all know what then happened after the winter break.
Believe me, that would have been in the minds of the players who were there last season. I don’t think they would ever admit it, but I’m sure it would have been the case. Those memories can act as a source of anxiety or determination. You know that, this time around, you really have to perform in every single game to maintain the momentum.
When they went 1-0 down on Saturday, a lot of supporters must have been very worried. Was history going to repeat itself? Would a blip blow up i nto something much more serious?
Motherwell defended extremely well with two blocks of five for more than 70 minutes. The gaps were so small and it was fascinating to watch Rangers trying to find a way through.
They got there in the end. Would that have happened last season? It looked to me like exactly the kind of game where they wouldn’t have found a solution. Frustration would have grown and the game might have slipped away. Now, though, they have the keys needed to unlock three points from these awkward scenarios.
It’s a sign of a strengthened squad and maybe also a changed mentality. Celtic would have felt disappointment when hearing the final score at Ibrox, but t hat was l ong forgotten when they went out and — eventually — won last s eason’s Scottish Cup wi t h that dramatic shoot-out victory over Hearts on Sunday. You have to give them real credit for getting their hands on another trophy. That’s all that counts in the end. But was it a convincing performance? No. Time will tell whether the outcome is enough to give their Premiership form a lift. Clearly, their three games before coming to Ibrox are must-win assignments. I still don’t count them out of the title contest. Not at all. Thanks to Roofe and others, Rangers are f i nding all the answers in the Premiership right now. But the questions will keep on coming.