Hindsight is a wonderful thing, however, so is being brave enough to be proactive in the first place.
Sir Alex Ferguson did alright in his managerial career and he lived by this mantra, getting rid of key players at their peak or making substitutions when a game wasn’t going to plan.
Giovanni van Bronckhorst could do a lot worse than taking a leaf out of the former Man Utd manager’s book when it comes to how he is setting his side up for away games, against Dundee United we were dominant but lacked balance in our attack until Fashion Sakala came on for Scott Arfield, a change that should have been made at half-time when you look at the upsurge in chances being created.
More data coming in from Rangers vs Dundee United to back up initial assessments of the game.
Rangers win 92/100 📊
Statistically DU win that game 1/100 📈
DU ceased to create any chances from 52nd minute 🛑https://t.co/c9HVSX1m6T pic.twitter.com/cxgc26EnFT— Jonny McFarlane (@jonnyrmcfarlane) February 21, 2022
The change was made in the 58th minute, and as you can see from the graphic provided by The Rangers Review, the impact was almost immediate.
Sakala got behind their defence, created space for others by attracting two defenders and was able to support the counter attack, his pace out of possession is hugely valuable, that the home team didn’t have as much as a sniff of our half, never mind a chance, in the last half hour shows that it wasn’t a move that weakened us defensively.
Against defensive teams you need individuals who can cause problems 1 v 1, that simply isn’t Arfield’s strength and with one of the best goal contribution rates per minute, Sakala deserves his chance, especially against teams who will set up in a similar way to Tam Courts’s side.
We’ll soon find out when Motherwell come to Ibrox on Sunday, if Van Bronckhorst has learnt his lesson.