Rangers went past St. Mirren comfortably in the end as they won by a margin of four goals, but it wouldn’t have been that straightforward if not for the penalties that they were awarded. The team managed to score just one goal from open play and that too in the dying moments when the St. Mirren players’ shoulders had dropped as the scoreline was 3-0.
One comment which piqued our interest after the game was Gerrard was happy with what his team created in the second half. The manager said (The Guardian), ”There was an improvement second half: we passed it better, created more, looked better when we went to 4-4-2 with the wingers. Performance-wise, I was disappointed.”
Gerrard needs to find the best system soon
At the start, the team opted to play in a 4-4-2 diamond with Ryan Kent on the top of that in a no. 10 role. That didn’t suit him, and the gaffer went back to a traditional 4-4-2 with Kent playing from the left-hand side in the second half. It’s clear that the diamond system wouldn’t work without a natural no. 10 and Kent is better suited to play out from the wide given his ability to take on fullbacks in one on one situations.
After the signing of Defoe, the gaffer was quoted as saying, ”Jermain gives us the option of playing two up front, whether that be 4-4-2, a diamond, 3-5-2… it gives us that luxury. Kyle also does that we can go with a target man and a smaller guy around him.”
We think that the 4-4-2 diamond needs to be chucked from Gerrard’s plan and the manager needs to come up with a formation which would suit his players.
Gerrard needs to find out his best defensive pairing
We are more than halfway through the season, and one isn’t still sure who are the best centre back options for the club. Gerrard has stayed consistent with Connor Goldson, but he has often rotated for the other spot. To us, it seems like Gerrard is going to prefer Joe Worrall with Goldson as his first choice centre back pairing, but Nikola Katic and Gareth McAuley aren’t entirely out of the picture.
The central defensive pairing involves a lot of communication and understanding between the two players, and it would be better if Gerrard can finally finalise on one defender to partner with Goldson. After that, he needs to stick with that option for a consecutive number of games. Quite a few goals which the Gers have conceded have been due to sloppy defending, and the lack of communication has been quite evident.
So these are the two dilemmas which the manager needs to solve in the coming few weeks. The sooner he gets his formation and personnel right, the better it is for the consistency of the side. With too much chopping and changing, the players might feel unsettled, and that would start reflecting on their performances on the pitch.
