New Rangers boss Steven Gerrard has arrived in Glasgow and he’s already brought in six new players.

Out of those new signings; two are centre-backs and another is a goalkeeper. That shows us that the new Gers manager is looking to build a stronger spine in the defensive line.

I wonder if Gerrard could look at starting with three at the back.

New defender Nikola Katic is player that’s used to playing in that formation. The Croatian international played as the left-sided central defender for Slaven Belupo as part of a three. It could be beneficial for the twenty-one year to play in a familiar formation, especially as he settles into Scottish football.

Fellow new man, Connor Goldson is a tall, athletic defender who can play as a centre-back or even at right-back. That could mean he’d be ideal as a right sided central defender in a back three.

You could then have veteran Bruno Alves as the main man in the middle. The Portuguese internationalist could be a good leader to have at the back as Katic and Goldson get used to the Scottish Premiership. He’s also the best when it comes to the aerial battles. Plus the other two could cover in behind Bruno if he gets caught under the ball.

Rangers were often too soft at the back last season and made far too many silly errors that cost them.

Having a three man defence could make it harder for teams to break them down, especially if the defenders compliment each other’s skills.

It could allow Gerrard to use various formations like 3-5-2, 3-1-4-2 or 3-4-3.

In James Tavernier and Declan John, Rangers already have strong full-backs that have good engines on them and are very capable at playing as wing-backs.

It’ll certainly be interesting to see what Steven Gerrard has in mind for his new team as the thirty-eight year old gets used to life as a manager.

The Gers gaffer recently said:

“I think for me it is important not to be obsessed with Celtic . I have to sort Rangers out,” 

“There are things we need to improve on and my focus is on Rangers.”

That shows you that he’s focused on trying to get things right at Ibrox and to do that then he needs to sort out the Rangers backline.

Could a bold move, like switching to a back three, be the answer to his side’s recent defensive problems?

Well we’ll probably find out next month as the Gers prepare to start their season in the early rounds of the Europa League.

Posted on June 15th, 2018 by scott
Filed under: Article