THE THIN BLUE FAULT LINES...
Gerrard must fix lapses fast or risk champions’ season falling into ruin
NOT so much an iron curtain as a tin shield, the Rangers defence continues to give up goalscoring chances with a frequency that would alarm any coach in football.
And, as Steven Gerrard and his Auchenhowie brains trust seek to reacquire the stingy solidity that laid the foundations for last season’s title romp, he’s facing one major problem.
Namely, the lack of a single, identifiable and fixable fault in a unit shipping goals at such a concerning rate.
So much is going wrong, in fact, that it’s tempting to suggest that opponents have simply figured Rangers out. Cracked the code and uncovered fault lines aplenty in a previously impenetrable unit.
In a week when they’ll be travelling to Armenia for a makeor-break Europa League play-off and then host free-scoring Celtic at Ibrox — and with a Covid outbreak disrupting their plans — Gerrard could certainly do with a rapid improvement in the business of keeping opposition attackers at bay.
From breaking a 114-year-old clean sheet record and barely giving teams a chance to shoot on goal last season, the Light Blue line has obviously been weakened beyond all recognition.
And it’s now being breached by teams hardly able to believe their luck. Honestly, the numbers don’t lie.
So far this season, Rangers have allowed seven goals against in as many games across all competitions. To put the crisis into perspective, you only need to compare this single figure with last year’s stats.
Helped by that record run of seven clean sheets to kick off the league campaign, surpassing the six straight shut-outs record by Celtic back in 1906, it took until November 5 — and a madcap encounter Benfica in Portugal — for Gerrard’s men to concede as many goals for season 2020-21.
A couple of weeks before that 3-3 Europa League draw at the Estadio de Luz, in fact, Rangers had gone to Celtic Park and denied the hosts so much as a single shot on target.
They’ve just given up five efforts on goal to Ross County in Dingwall. Continuing an established trend.
By no measurable criteria, then, can the reigning champions be said to have maintained their own high standards. Personnel issues have played a part, of course. The quality of player available remains the most influential factor in every area of the pitch.
But there’s more to this than just a missing piece of the puzzle. In search of a pattern that might point to some clue over their inability to keep the proverbial weans out of a close, Sportsmail has studied the goals — and chances — conceded by Rangers this season.
THE WEAK SPOT
SO many chances are being created by teams working the channel between left back and left centre-back. Forwards drift into the area knowing that they’re likely to sow confusion, while playmakers seek out a gap that keeps appearing.
STRUCTURAL ISSUES
THE 4-3-3 is a solid formation. Get it right and you can restrict opponents to throwing balls into the box from difficult positions on the flanks.
But Rangers suddenly look vulnerable to switches of play by teams quicker to exploit the spaces given up by their narrow defence.
They run a particularly high risk when trying to counter-attack, their attempts to add depth and width leaving them exposed when possession is then squandered.
This isn’t an issue that can be laid at the door of two or three individuals. It’s a collective failure.
INDIVIDUAL ERRORS
THERE have been plenty of these. The ‘marking’ at ten-man Malmo’s second goal in their 2-1 win at Ibrox is a case in point. That kind of thing just can’t happen.
SET-PIECES
IT’S the second ball that’s killing Rangers. Take a look at the goal conceded from open play in Dingwall.
The free-kick from wide is over-hit but kept in play. And then defenders, caught between sticking to their assigned marking duties and simply reacting to developments, are caught on their heels when it comes back into the box.
Look back through the footage and you’ll see that this isn’t the first time Rangers have been exposed in this way.
BAD LUCK… SORT OF
SuRE, Dundee united got a fortunate break to score the only goal of their encounter with
Rangers at Tannadice. Some will insist that it was always going to take something slightly odd to inflict a first league defeat in 41 games on Gerrard’s battle-hardened group.
But John Lundstram failing to track Jamie Robson, and Connor Goldson not being prepared to cover the danger area both allowed the united left-back to charge into the box virtually unchallenged.
SUMMARY
RANGERS are conceding all kinds of scoring chances. Suggesting that a quick fix simply won’t be possible.
With two such important games approaching, though, Gerrard and his staff must carry out running repairs. Or risk the cracks — and their season — being blown wide open.
THE NUMBERS:
Games played: 7 Goals conceded: 7 Opposition shots: 33 On target: 14