Lassana Coulibaly came in from Angers on loan and impressed in his first month at Ibrox. The Gers fans were raving about his robustness, work rate and ability to pick out a pass from midfield. However, since his injury and after his comeback the player has looked like a shadow of himself (from the first month).
Around a month back, Steven Gerrard claimed that he would love to sign Coulibaly permanently and various reports also suggested that the Bears are going to try hard to land him next summer. Off late his performances have dipped and we wouldn’t be too harsh in saying that many fans would like to see him replaced from the first team for the time being.
Former Rangers manager and player Ally McCoist spotted one problem with the 22-year-old midfielder. Working as a pundit on matchday at BT Sport, He said,”The problem with Coulibaly, for me, is that he passes it when he wants, and not when his teammates want it. He needs to pass the ball quicker and earlier, he is taking too many touches.”
McCoist is absolutely right in his assessment, and because of that, the midfielder was caught often napping as the Spartak players were able to nick the ball off him. Let us not even mention the fact that holding the ball for too long also negates the effectiveness of a counter attack. His work rate is still there but the Malian international needs to bring in more quality when he is on the ball.
Maybe Gerrard rushed him into the first team when he wasn’t completely ready to take 90 minutes of action after the injury, but we feel it’s time for the manager to take a harsh step and bring in Ryan Jack in as one of the midfielders. Even someone like Andy Halliday can do a better job at the moment, and Gerrard should make use of his bench strength when one of his players is out of sorts.
A kick at the backside and dropping the midfielder might once again bring the spark back in him, and Gerrard would hope that it can do the trick. The defence was all over the place in Russia, and the midfielders seemed a bit too static as they were being passed over way too easily. When the Bears had the ball, they were losing it cheaply, and Coulibaly was one of the primary culprits behind it.
The Malian can still go on to get back his place in the eleven if he proves himself in training but for the time being, one of the best players from the initial months needs to be shown the door from the first eleven.
