There’s been a few poor performances from Rangers at Ibrox this season. On Saturday against Kilmarnock, they possibly put in the worst so far, certainly in terms of attacking play. Below are my opinions on how each Rangers player rated on the day.
WES FODERINGHAM – 6
There wasn’t really an awful lot for Foderingham to do. He will be annoyed with the goal, as he’ll feel the initial save could have put the ball further away. That will mainly be driven by self-criticism though. Kilmarnock had a couple of great chances late in the game, but didn’t hit the target. The distribution on the day was solid enough, with only one goal kick going directly out of play.
JAMES TAVERNIER – 5
Tavernier almost epitomised the day for Rangers. He was certainly putting in the effort, but his decision making and quality was very poor. He seemed to find it difficult to really nullify Jordan Jones. A lot of passes were inaccurate, and there was only one run of note into the box, where his attempted cross was the wrong choice. Despite all of that, it was his free kick which led to Russell Martin hitting the bar.
DECLAN JOHN – 5
John ran at Kilmarnock, and provided a good outlet for the midfield. He never really produced anything of note for the entire match though. Defensively, he was easily beaten a few times which led to decent chances. His link up play with Murphy looked like it may do well in the first 15 minutes, but never really sustained that level. As the midfield were struggling to find space, it forced John to play long more than he’d have liked.
RUSSELL MARTIN – 5
Martin had the two best chances Rangers created in the match. The first was a poor miss, a free header from six yards out which he put wide. The second was unlucky, a great header hitting the bar and bouncing out off of the line. Those moments aside, it wasn’t a great game for the centre half. His passing was poor, and he was too often struggling to win headers. As the tempo of the match was slow, he saw a lot of the ball but was forced into long passes.
BRUNO ALVES – 5
Alves had similar issues to Martin. He won just about every header, but couldn’t speed the game up with his passing. Too many were played into channels or hit long which didn’t suit the team on the day. He looks like a defender who doesn’t trust his fitness right now. As such, he backs off when players run at him, which can be fine, but when the midfield was struggling to cover the gaps, it caused a couple of issues.
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GREG DOCHERTY – 6
Docherty had something of a mixed game. Off the ball, he was excellent. He won loads of challenges, got his body in the way and broke up attacks. On the ball, though, he was somewhat poor. His passing is normally incisive and sharp. On Saturday, it was erratic at best, and he gave the ball away often. A couple of strong runs in the first half were stopped as he lost his balance, and didn’t lead to anything. He won free kicks, and put in loads of effort, but was largely ineffective.
SEAN GOSS – 4
Goss really struggled to get into the game, and was substituted at half time. His cross should have led to Martin scoring, but there was nothing else of note.
DANIEL CANDEIAS – 5
There was certainly plenty of effort from Candeias. His quality wasn’t on show on the day, though. Most crosses were easily dealt with. Because Kilmarnock allowed Rangers possession and wide play, he received the ball standing still too often, which was easier to defend. He was unlucky with two potential assists though, one playing in Cummings, the other a header that just wouldn’t sit for Morelos.
JOSH WINDASS – 5
As the team were struggling to get attacking players into the game, Windass suffered accordingly. For all the improvements shown this season, he’s still trying to find that consistent level. He tried to link up and make things happen, but it wasn’t his day. A couple of shots from just outside the box were blocked, one of them by Cummings, but not much else of note.
JAMIE MURPHY – 6
Murphy was the best player on the park for the first half hour or so. He was beating men easily, and had created a couple of chances. Kilmarnock’s right back, O’Donnell, wasn’t sure how best to deal with him at all. There was a pass Murphy played for a run Windass made which absolutely no one else in the stadium would have been able to pick out. After that, though, he struggled in the same way all the attacking players did.
JASON CUMMINGS – 5
Cummings couldn’t find good space to run into and stretch the Kilmarnock defence. His only real chance came in the first half, when an effort he stretched for was saved. He had a few long shots, some of which were poor decisions. This was a game where the striker would be focused on, and unfortunately Cummings wasn’t able to force the play enough.
JASON HOLT – 4
Holt played the second half, and showed plenty of industry. He was outmuscled a few times, though, and didn’t make an impact in an attacking sense.
ALFREDO MORELOS – 3
Brought on to try and chase the game for the last half hour. Barely got a chance to get many touches, never mind a clear chance at goal. The one time he did look like he might score, the ball just wouldn’t come down and it was defended well.
KENNY MILLER – 2
Miller came on for the last 15 minutes or so, but contributed little.
Any ratings you disagree with? Tweet @rangersnewsuk with your thoughts!