Rangers dip in form after the winter break last season was partly due to Steven Gerrard’s team struggling to finish teams off and getting punished for it at the opposite end of the park, over the summer he looked to rectify this and has, so far, looked to have got things right.
Former Ger, Alan Hutton, has been impressed with one player in particular and, speaking to Football Insider, he reveals what it is about Cedric Itten that makes him an important member of the squad.
So what has Hutton said?
When asked if he thought that having an option like the big Swiss international was a game changer, he said:
“Oh definitely, we all know they relied heavily on Morelos over the last couple of seasons and I think Gerrard has known that.
“With the dip in form of Morelos last season and at the start of this season, he needed different options. He’s brought in a couple of strikers and they’ve taken the burden, the pressure off Morelos.
“I think you have to have that different style of player, it can’t always just be pretty football, with one-twos around the box, the way Kemar Roofe plays.
“Obviously Morelos plays on the shoulder of defenders but sometimes, to break down defences, you need that big, imposing spearhead where you can play the ball up to him, he can hold it up, bring others into play but he’s also got a good finish himself.
“It’s good to have that variety in the attacking options and Gerrard’s using that – he’s mixing it up, he’s rotating his teams and it’s making it difficult for the opponents to figure out what Rangers are going to do.”
So is Hutton correct?
Absolutely, we had plan A with Alfredo Morelos and plan A but with Jermain Defoe up front, when Itten started against Kilmarnock alongside the mercurial Colombian, a few eyebrows were raised.
We needn’t have worried though because, although he didn’t get many chances himself – he was denied the opportunity to add to his two goals by a great close range stop though – he was a constant threat, physically, and in behind the Killie defence, drawing praise from Gerrard in the process.
Can Itten be a game changer in title race?
Yes
No
He has the proverbial “good feet for a big man” and at one point Scotland international Stuart Findlay had to pay to get back into Rugby Park after being turned inside out, Morelos nearly scoring from the cross that Itten fizzed into the front post after working space for himself.
The 23-year old has had limited opportunities to impress so far but the early signs are good, successful Rangers sides always had a mix of attacking options and Itten provides something different to the rest, if I had one complaint, it’s that I’d like to see him getting played more centrally to get best use out of him, however, if it means that El Bufalo is still here, I’m more than happy to see the 6ft 3inch forward tormenting centre-halves wherever the gaffer plays him.