Every manager dreams about a situation when he will have each and every player of his squad fit and available for selection. However, such situations arise very rarely as injuries are parts and parcels of the game. If Rangers had every player fit and available for selection, what would be their strongest possible XI?
Formation- 4-3-3
Mark Warburton has used only 4-3-3 this season at Ibrox despite many questioning his tactics.
Defence
Wes Foderingham’s number one spot under the bar has not been troubled by the signing of veteran Matt Gilks on a free transfer from Burnley so far. Foderingham has been very impressive this season for the Gers under the bar and makes our strongest XI. Rangers signed two experienced centre-backs in Philippe Senderos and Clint Hill this summer to provide competition from Rob Kiernan and Danny Wilson but neither of the two has been able to impress at the heart of the defence. So, we have to go with Kiernan and Wilson at the heart of Rangers defence.
James Tavernier and Lee Wallace are both brilliant bombarding full-backs and play a key role in Rangers’ system. The two attacking-minded full-backs make our starting XI.
Midfield
Warburton has tried a number of midfield combinations this season but none of those has been successful to be fair. Rangers are yet to find out their best possible midfield trio and we thought we could give the manager a hand.
Andy Halliday has been very impressive so far this season and deserves to take the role of the anchorman thanks to his brilliant defensive ability and a never say never attitude. Joey Barton should be one of the two box to box midfielders. His passing is top-class and Rangers can get the best out of him if they deploy him in a more advanced role.
Niko Kranjcar, with his immense top-level experience and creativity, should make the strongest XI completing the midfield trio.
Attack
Warburton has repeatedly used Martyn Waghorn on the right flank this season when he was fit to accommodate Joe Garner and Kenny Miller into the team but that has not gone well for the Gers. Waghorn is Rangers’ best striker by some distance and gets the nod for a start up front in the strongest possible XI.
On the two flanks, it should be Harry Forrester and youngster Barrie McKay. There is plenty of firepower up front at Ibrox apart from the three we selected, though.
