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Rangers Vs Motherwell preview: Long live the King

  • Writer: Adam Bortkiewicz
    Adam Bortkiewicz
  • Mar 1
  • 3 min read

Morning all, hopefully you've all had time to recover from the rollercoaster we witnessed on Wednesday night. It's Barry Ferguson's first home game as Rangers manager with Motherwell visiting Ibrox today.


Before we get onto the game there was a surprise departure yesterday as it was announced Leon King has joined Queens Park on loan for the rest of the season. I wasn't aware the loan window was still open, so it was an especially surprising announcement for me.


It's a shame to see someone who was involved in the first team for so long depart on a loan which probably tells you that he's not expected to get any minutes before the end of the season. King was once a truly sought after talent, Rangers had to fight off interest from Manchester United and Arsenal to tie him down to a deal at just 16. He was considered by many at the club as a similar to level to Billy Gilmour. Seeing him head to a championship club on loan 4 years later is especially sad when we aren't exactly flush with brilliant centre backs at the moment. On paper this injury crisis should have been his chance to stake his claim by having a run in the team, instead he was used sparingly by Clement and then sent on loan by his successor.


Speaking of the injury crisis, there's been a break in that case as Leon Balogun, John Souttar and Dujon Sterling have all returned to training. Once all 3 are back fully we might have something approaching a normal squad balance for the first time this season. I also noticed Connor Barron trained on Tuesday and Yesterday. So with nothing to really play for, we finally have a nearly fit squad. Even Oscar Cortes made an appearance!


That brings us onto today's game. I'm intrigued to see if we stick with the 442/424, given the result I'm sure there will be no reason to change things in the Managers mind. But I'd be worried that against the low block that likely awaits us, the front 4 look isolated from the midfield and we end up getting frustrated.


Our opponents today have recently undergone a management change too. During the week they beat Dundee 2-1 with a much improved performance than what they've been able to produce in recent weeks. I think this is a good challenge for Barry Ferguson, we saw how easily Clement and this Rangers team were undone by a 3 at the back counter attacking approach in the last home match. The new Motherwell manager seems to favour a 343, a different prospect from the 352 of St Mirren, but still something that may require some tactical thinking to unpick.


Cyriel Dessers will look to continue his recent good form in front of goal. In that second half his general play was back to heights we've rarely seen him hit this season. I don't expect the Nigerian to stay at Ibrox beyond this summer, but hopefully he can keep up his form and end the season well. Especially given that Igamane is having a dry spell at the moment.


At the back I wonder if Barry will restore Nsiala to the team as a show of faith in the young Frenchman. He was very poor on Wednesday, but there's been signs of promise this season, and I'd hate to see his confidence totally obliterated off the back of one game.


We will wait and see what kind of solutions this management team can produce against deep blocks at Ibrox. I'm hoping it amounts to more than just long balls and crosses, I've seen enough of them this season to last a life time.



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