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  1. An excellent article on the main today from @JohnMcIntosh19 https://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/news-category/current-affairs/869-the-increasing-value-of-james-tavernier James Tavernier has probably been the biggest enigma in the Rangers side over the last few seasons in terms of splitting the opinions of many supporters. Whilst his attacking threat and excellent output going forward has never really been questioned, his defensive qualities, lack of positional awareness and a failure to competently defend his back post definitely have been. I’ll start this off by stating I love James Tavernier but that’s not to say in the past he hasn’t frustrated the life out of me. His development and maturity has shone through this season but while he has made mistakes in previous seasons, I’ve always thought he was used as somewhat of a scapegoat by certain Rangers fans for us going through a difficult period. In my opinion you can’t ask an attacking wing back to hit the byline and create chances when you give him no defensive midfield protection (Andy Halliday doesn’t count). Moreover, playing under Mark Warburton and asking him to be competent with Rob Kiernan playing as the centre back next to him and when any attack breaks down he simply can’t be in two places at once when a quick counter ensues. We are now seeing the best of James Tavernier this season because of quite a few reasons: his understanding with Daniel Candeias being the main one which provides Rangers with comfortably the best right side in the league. Candeias is the top creator in the league in terms of assists but unlike most wide men he is a bloody hard worker and his ability to press opponents and track back helps Tavernier out so much as he is no longer isolated defensively. The signing of Ryan Jack and the emergence of young Ross McCrorie occupying the defensive midfield role is also important for Tavernier as they know when to cover for the vacant right full back slot when he attacks. That solidity is something Rangers have been crying out for in recent years and it simply means we don’t get caught out as much and the defensive midfielders can break up the play quicker also. In the recent Old Firm game at Parkhead I felt Tavernier was a stand out, defending very well, blocking a Scott Sinclair shot on the line and almost scoring with a well taken volley. he also put in some top deliveries including a superb mazy run where he cuts in between two Celtic players and breezes to the byline before setting up Morelos with a point blank header which should hit the back of the net. He also volleys an early ball onto Morelos' head which he could have done better with also but for me it just shows how important Tavernier is to our side going forward. Signed for £250,000 I was thrilled with the capture at the time but his development has really impressed me: he has certainly found a level of maturity and some leadership qualities this season to drive on the side. If we take a look at Danny Wilson's pending MLS move, I of course wish him all the best but respectfully feel we won’t miss his inconsistency that much but if we lost Tavernier I just don’t see how we replace him and that’s probably the biggest credit I can give him. He has 22 goals and 37 assists in two and a half seasons and whilst this is skewed by the easier level of opposition in the Championship, those numbers are very hard to find. Last season he scored once and assisted six times in 36 Premiership appearances but he has went up to a different level this season with four goals and six assists in 23 appearances and you’d expect him to get in to double digits for assists from full back. He is the best right back in the league by a distance, despite a few commentators suggesting that is ludicrous because Lustig is a Swedish International. That take is ridiculous as he is nowhere near Tav, if we take that argument then Lee Hodson is also an International so he should be better? Stop laughing at the back! Let's say he’s the best right back in the league but how does he compare against boy wonder Kieran Tierney in terms of the best full-back? We’ll look at the stats for this season; now I’ll be honest and I think Tierney is a big talent but like Tav has his own defensive issues, when teams press him heavily he can make silly mistakes as we seen by Daniel Candeias' relentless pressing in the recent Old Firm derby. In 22 Premiership appearances Tierney has two goals and five assists, a bit behind Tav four goals and six assists. There are intangibles that statistics just don’t give us such as positional awareness and such but defensively and offensively in an individual sense I don’t see a great deal of difference. However, due to Tavernier's occasional concentration lapses I’d say he has that to work on and I'd argue Tierney is the more composed when he hits the byline but Tavernier whips a ball in better than anyone in the league as seen versus Aberdeen for Morelos opening goal. The above image is something you may have seen if you follow @TheSPFLRadar and I’d recommend you do if you don’t already. If you haven’t then it shows player statistics for their position and role, with the closer to the middle being the weakest and closer to the outside part of the radar being the strongest statistics for that position in the league this season. For example, xA is Expected Assists so, as expected, he scores very highly for his attacking output here but I’d also like to look at cross blocking % and dribbled past per 90 minutes. These are stats that we can use to look at the defensive side of the game and an area where Tavernier has been highly criticised and sometimes rightly in the past. The good news is that his cross blocking % is one of the highest in the league which means he is stopping dangerous attacks before they reach our area and something Declan John and Lee Wallace are both poor at. That point can be related to Tavernier lack of positional awareness at defending his back post, he does have that issue and I can’t defend that but he also has to deal with it far too often and he was excellent with vital blocks late in the Aberdeen game. In terms of dribbles past per 90 minutes, the stats show he is one of the best in the league in another defensive statistic. I’ve noticed this just by watching him but he is now more pro-active and aware of situations and when he can step in, has built up his strength to deal with wide men and is a very good defender one on one which he has massively improved on. The image above is also provided by @TheSPFLRadar: this time for Kieran Tierney. In terms of his attacking output he is rather impressive showing his creative attributes but frankly his cross blocking % is horrendous but that could be due to Celtic being more dominant and choosing not to get as tight to the opposing winger. Similar stats for the majority of this radar simply show that there isn’t much difference between the two players. They're the two best full backs in the league and by a massive distance at that. Yet, one is valued at over £20million whilst Tavernier has often been derided. Now we come to his contract situation, Tavernier has a deal until the summer of 2019 so he's now into the final 18 months of this contract. Given when he signed from Wigan for £250k he wasn’t a big name I can’t imagine he is on overly high wages though there have been rumours that he wants to move back to England with Sunderland the main club showing an interest. His contributions on the pitch recently have been outstanding and his Twitter activity does not suggest to me a player that wishes to move on. However you have to pay players their worth and make them feel valued or we will lose him. On a rough estimate I’d say he’s on around £6k per week and he’ll have seen Carlos Pena and Bruno Alves pick up over £20k per week and show nowhere near the contribution that he brings. In simple terms, we need to reward our star me and hope that if we can keep them happy and they will sign on. Sure we may lose some talents like Morelos down the line but I feel Tavernier wants to stay to win 55 and we urgently need to reward him with a massively improved contract on a long term deal which provides security for the club, rewards a star individual and is another marker of intent that we mean business to effectively challenge Celtic at the top of Scottish football. The soon to depart Danny Wilson may not have deserved a large pay-rise but Tav's performances and value to the team have to be fairly considered. Reward the man!
  2. Graeme Murty has been in charge for a while now, and over the course of his tenure we have seen him experiment with a number of different shapes; some have worked, but others have not. A fruitful trip to Florida last week has hinted at another change of shape, and a new tactical focus, which we may see more of when Rangers return to domestic duty in the coming week. When he first took over, Murty quickly looked to go back to a 4-4-2, with two wingers and Miller roaming off Morelos. But, Rangers were too easily outnumbered and overrun in midfield. We also never had the number, or quality, of wide players to make this work -- Candeias being the only natural wide man we had, if you exclude youngsters. This approach was quickly discarded after several gutless performances. Up next came the 4-4-2 diamond, which removed the need for wingers altogether. We already had a good variety of central-midfield players, so this approach fit the players at Murty's disposal. Rangers ground out some of their best performances with this set-up -- against Aberdeen and Hibernian, respectively -- and picked up some much-needed points against close rivals. McCrorie came into the holding role, and Windass was able to play in his favoured central position -- it's no surprise that these two players in particular have been in a rich vein of form recently. A surprising couple of wins in Florida -- albeit against teams having their pre-season; and with hardly a strong-XI ourselves -- has seen another change. Murty used the trip to chop-and-change personnel, with youngsters and forgotten men getting their time in the sun. But one thing remained constant over the 2 games: the 4-2-3-1 formation employed. Rangers scored 5 goals in the two games in the Florida Cup, with all except Morelos' first against Corinthians (which came from Goss' excellent set-piece delivery) coming from some form of wing-play. Not only did we set up with natural wingers hugging the touchline, but we also overloaded the half-spaces and flanks, with Full-backs and Central-midfielders drifting in to support. Manchester City are running away with the English Premier League this season, chiefly down to their superb positional play, but also because of their productive wing-play. Guardiola employs a provisional 4-3-3, with Sane and Stirling playing wide and two No.8's just behind. City always try to get in-behind opponents by creating a 1-on-1 situations on the wings; and they do so in two main ways. Firstly, they'll overload the wing and half-space. One of Stirling or Sane will hug the touchline, with their Full-back close to support. This in itself is nothing special, with most teams now pushing on their Full-backs. To overload more, though, not only will Guardiola ask Aguero to drift wide slightly, into the channel or half-space, but he also gives De Bryune a free role to drift right out onto the wing. There are potentially up to 4 players overloading a flank, allowing City to pass around a low block; they are then looking to cross into the box, cut the ball back to on-rushing midfielders, or fashion a shooting chance. To deal with this, teams will naturally drift over to the ball, to try and stifle City. The second way in which City employ wing-play is by switching the play. As they overload one side of the pitch, the winger on the other side stays wide. City are mainly trying create in that overloaded side, but by dragging teams into that congested space, they then open up the switch of play to a free winger on the other side. Sane and Stirling in particular have scored several goals from these types of situations. It may be too early to tell, but there were examples of this first type of wing-play (overloading the wings) on show in Florida. In several game situations, Rangers would play into one half of the pitch; the winger would be wide or occupying the channel, the Full-back supporting, the No.10 playing in the channel, and a deeper midfielder an easy passing option just behind. There were as many as 5 players in the channel and flank. Game situation from 2nd half against Corinthians There were two variations in the way we played through our opponents. The first was with a pass, long and crisp, from Goss/Kranjcar (RDM) into the No.10 in the channel with a quick, first-time pass wide, or into the forward. The second is another long, through ball, but this time into the winger that takes up the space in the channel; again there is a quick, first-time pass into the forward or No.10. It seems to be about quick interchanges, and overloads on one side of the pitch; the aim being to get in-behind or create a shooting chance. The new signings are more evidence of this new wing-play focus. Thus far Murphy has been the marquee signing, and it would be negligent to sign a crafty winger and not play him. Moreover, wide-players like Atekayi and Dalcio have come into the equation, alongside O'Halloran -- whether they will play a part of not, remains to be seen. More wingers are lined up (Kilmarnock's Jones), but even players like Cummings and Docherty have an energy and flexibility to be comfortable drifting into different spaces. Another hint lies in the players used in the No.10 position. Considering the players used in Florida, Murty is perhaps not looking for an orthodox playmaker in the No.10 position. Murphy, and to a lesser extent Windass, have both been deployed there recently but neither are 'traditional' No.10's. Several times against Corinthians, Murphy and Windass would come deep then spin in behind, sprinting into the channels, feeding off balls from the deeper players. Another tactic utilised a lot by Murphy and Windass was, when they received the ball in the channel, they would play a quick, first-time ball wide to the winger, then sprint to overlap. This movement by the No.10s, spinning wide and in behind, was a constant theme. Even the players used in the deeper roles have tended to be more the creative, playmaker-types, rather than defensive. Kranjcar and Goss have been the main players deployed in the deeper position; neither are natural defenders, so it seems Murty will be looking for them to feed the ball into the front line, dictating play from deep -- both had the energy of Holt or Halliday for cover. Kranjcar may be past it, but he still possesses a delightful left foot; a real asset if we can utilise it properly. Goss also looks to have an impressive passing range and a pin-point delivery. Most of our 'good' play under Caixinha came from the wing, but it was all too confined to Candeias on the right; there was no balance, and too often relied on an isolated moment of brilliance from a single player, which were few and far between. With the addition of more attack-minded players, we will hopefully see a more balanced and structured approach to our wing-play. We're all on a bit of a high, with the latest Admin Day being such a big success: deals for Cummings and Martin agreed; an offer for Kilmarnock's Jordan Jones on the table; rumours of an offer for Hamilton's Docherty. Mark Allen and Graeme Murty are spearheading what is turning out to be a productive recruitment drive. Another cause for optimism may well be the new tactical approach. The signings that have come through the door -- and even potentially those lined up -- all point towards a new focus on overloading the wings and getting in behind.
  3. By Geordie Perks Rangers encouraging recruitment drive raises more answers than questions with back-to-their-roots feel - Perks Graeme Murty and Mark Allen's encouraging mix of of signings has convinced Geordie. IT may not be the best of British – but Rangers’ recruitment drive does have a back-to-their-roots feel about it. There are no exotic experiments for Graeme Murty and his director of football Mark Allen’s with their identification of January transfer targets. And the bigger picture is looking very encouraging. Say what you like about their quite frugal approach to signing a host of players on permanent and loan deals with the promise of something more in the summer, it’s energising both the fans and the club. Forget Kris Boyd’s claims of bullying by Gers and trying to upset other clubs’ players. Killie’s Mr Big Noise knows better than anyone that all’s fair in love and war in the chancing-your-arm world of professional football. Rangers have bigger issues at play. This bid to freshen up the squad isn't a back-of-a-fag-packet approach, it's potentially a well thought-out master class in management. The January juggling act aims to try and marry short-term impact with a long-game strategy with signings who should be about both present and future. Murty’s trying to make his mark on the squad by restoring a “play for the jersey” culture, lost in recent managerial disasters. That DNA stamp began with Jamie Murphy, a dyed-in-the-wool Bear who gave the impression he’d walk over broken glass to get to Ibrox. Greg Docherty is another example of going for players who will bust a gut for the cause, although whether Gers are prepared to fork out £600,000 to get the Hamilton ace is another matter. The capture of Russell Martin is a master stroke by Murty as he’s getting a player who’s a leader and, at 32, ideal to lead this rebuilding project. There’s a false perception of the big defender that he’s an occasional Scotland jersey filler or a stop-gap option for Norwich. The reality is he has been the Canaries’ captain and has been rubbing shoulders with English football’s elite for three out of the last five seasons. A solid signing, who could sign for Rangers for free this summer if Norwich don't take up their option to extend his contract. Sean Goss is different. QPR have made it clear his move is one of learning and gaining experience before going back to Loftus Road in five months’ time. But, it will be exciting to see how this slender English lad fairs in the Scottish game. There is no long-term benefit to Rangers in getting the midfielder in, but it does provide cover when Rangers have a number of first-choice players injured in this area. Then there's Jordan Jones who's had a price tag of around £1million placed on his head by Killie chiefs but plays in straight lines and too often heads up blind alleys - but does have pace to burn. Killie boss Steve Clarke wrongly believes the £350,000 bid from Gers is an insult for a man who now carries the tag of a full Northern Ireland international. It’s a stretch though. If that’s the criteria to join the million-pound club then St Johnstone will be rubbing their hands at the prospect of offers for Paul Paton. The Perth midfielder was sitting next to Jones when he climbed off the bench to make his debut against Switzerland. Day after day another possible target is identified by Rangers and clearly it's a well thought-out policy of January window plotting.
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