Former Rangers striker turned pundit, Kris Boyd, has criticised Steven Gerrard in his Scottish Sun column, laying some of the blame at the manager’s feet for his side’s ’embarrassing’ penalty woes.
Ianis Hagi saw a spot-kick saved on the stroke of half-time in Braga in midweek and although it didn’t prove costly, it did highlight what is an ongoing problem.
The Gers have now used five penalty takers this season, but are yet to find a reliable option. Their respective records are as follows:
James Tavernier: Scored two, missed three.
Alfredo Morelos: Scored one, missed one.
Jermain Defoe: Scored one.
Scott Arfied: Missed one (scored from rebound).
Ianis Hagi: Missed one.
It’s a pretty dire collective effort and although the only time a miss has proved costly was Morelos’ failure in the League Cup final, Boyd is adamant it’s a problem created by the manager, by taking the responsibility away from James Tavernier.
“It has to stop,” he wrote in the Scottish Sun. “That’s six now this season which is just embarrassing.”
“James Tavernier started off the season as Rangers penalty taker and Steven Gerrard should never have taken the responsibility off his skipper.
“Tav missed a few, sure. But his overall record from the spot has been good down the years and changing the taker did no one any good. Gerrard shouldn’t have tinkered with it.”
As far as the ex-Gers striker can see, the remedy is simple. There should be no futher moving down the pecking order to find a suitable candidate. Instead, the skipper should be reinstated.
“Gerrard joked he might need to take the next one but this is now a serious issue for Rangers,” he continued. “What he should be doing is telling Tavernier he’s back on the penalties again and will be staying on them regardless.”
Verdict
It’s a fair comment from Boyd to suggest that the failings from the spot are unacceptable.
At this level, players should have the quality and mental strength to convert from 12 yards more often than not.
Yet, perhaps the only thing Steven Gerrard is really guilty of in this instance is having that faith in multiple members of his squad.
With the benefit of hindsight, it’s all well and good stating that Tavernier should have remained on penalty duties.
Yet, back in October, when he had failed from three of his five attempts, having also missed two spot-kicks last season, there was pressure on the manager to act.
Fans were unhappy that the skipper was seemingly continuing with impunity while others, despite apparently being more suitable options, didn’t get a look in.
It’s not the manager’s fault that after taking the decision to shake things up, the rest have largely failed. Clearly, they all showed a level of ability on the training pitch that failed to translate to games.
After Hagi’s miss, there’s little doubt that Tavernier is being considered once again, but to take aim at Gerrard for an issue that is almost entirely down to the takers themselves, is somewhat over the top.
