73 crosses and six attackers – Rangers problem is in attack
Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Livingston v Rangers - Almondvale Stadium, Livingston, Scotland, Britain - August 16, 2020 Livingston's Nicky Devlin in action with Rangers' Ryan Kent, as play resumes behind closed doors following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Pool via REUTERS/Willie Vass
Rangers finished Saturday’s game against Livingston with six attackers on the pitch. Despite that and 73 attempted crosses, there would be no way to win.
Abject failure would sum up the attacking output over the course of the 1-1 draw with Davie Martindale’s team.
80% possession as well as 14 corners came, as did 13 attempts to score but only three shots on target. It sounds as painful now as it did watching it unfold on Saturday.
A lot has been said about the lack of options in central defence and questions of personnel elsewhere but what is clear is that this team is facing its main problem in the final third. The wide men aren’t up to the job of a title winning team and there isn’t enough in midfield in terms of balance or attacking intent.
Up front, Antonio Colak has been in excellent form but his strike rate so far is too good to last, based on the numbers posted so far. The return of Kemar Roofe is welcome given the out of sorts, out of inspiration nature of Alfredo Morelos’ performances at present.
Gio tried to roll the dice, getting attackers onto the pitch to salvage something from the game. An equaliser materialised but there would be no winner. With more than 85 minutes available to turn things around, it just wasn’t good enough.
The game ended with Colak, Morelos, Roofe, Sakala, Kent and Tillman on the pitch but the lack of impact said it all.
Underpinning all of that, is a lack of a cohesive structure or system of play to maximise attacking opportunities. It is bleak and lethargic with very little cause for optimism.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst stated on Saturday that he believes he can still turn it around, that his team can play their way through this period despite the mounting evidence to the contrary.
Napoli and Aberdeen await over the next seven days with very little room for error. A defeat in Italy is almost expected at this stage but if that happens there cannot be another sore, heavy defeat just as dropping any more points in the league will not be tolerated, next Saturday.
Problems are mounting, the stakes are high but remaining patience is very low.