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As the 2015 draws to a close and managers draw up their transfer window shopping lists, Rangers find themselves in a mini-slump in the race for the Scottish Championship.

A haul of five points from a possible 12 has seen Hibs draw level with Mark Warburtons side. Draws with Livingston and Morton, followed by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Falkirk, could see the Easter Road men leapfrog the Gers and go into 2016 with a three-point lead at the top of the table when the sides meet on Monday at a sold out Ibrox.

Read more: http://www.shoot.co.uk/rangers-need-to-tweak-to-escape-mini-slump/

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Another good piece and agree about there not needing any big changes. I've said elsewhere there seems to be a lack of confidence right now and we need to get that back pronto.

Interesting about Will Vaulks . Thought he's looked quite good against us , though I can't help but feel if we go into the transfer market ( and I'm not too convinced we will ) MW may be looking for a bit more experience to get us through this spell , and go for someone he's either worked with , or opposed , in his time in England.

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Another good piece and agree about there not needing any big changes. I've said elsewhere there seems to be a lack of confidence right now and we need to get that back pronto.

Interesting about Will Vaulks . Thought he's looked quite good against us , though I can't help but feel if we go into the transfer market ( and I'm not too convinced we will ) MW may be looking for a bit more experience to get us through this spell , and go for someone he's either worked with , or opposed , in his time in England.

Cheers mate.There does seem to be an issue there, whether it's confidence, complacency or something else remains to be seen but it needs fixed and it needs fixed quickly.

I think you're likely right tbh. I think any moves will likely be players MW has worked with previously (or played against). Theres a few boys in Scotland who I think would be ideal there although we'd be likely priced out of moves for most.

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Good article, but going 442.... NAW!!

Couldn't agree more mate. Remember reading a thing about Barca a while ago and the general consensus was it took around 10 years to truly bed in their "cruyff" system so that it was replicated at all levels and youth players were developed in a way that they were comfortable playing that way. We're 6 months in. While there are definite area of improvement to simply rip everything up and start again would be madness.

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(tu) - ( not a criticism but)

Our problem is defending - you sort of allude to that but out me goal to games ratio is great it's the way we lose goals that we need to sort. That long ball over the top to a pacy forward has accounted for a lot of our goals against.

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(tu) - ( not a criticism but)

Our problem is defending - you sort of allude to that but out me goal to games ratio is great it's the way we lose goals that we need to sort. That long ball over the top to a pacy forward has accounted for a lot of our goals against.

Completely agree. One of my earlier blogs was about just that. I think a big part of that is the way both full backs and Halliday often find themselves much further forward than the centre backs and the two centre backs try close the space a little and get caught by a ball over the top. There's been a few times too where you'll see Ball, Wilson or Kiernan trying to win the ball near the centre circle and leaving a nice big hole for the other team to play the ball into. We get away with it at times because some of the finishing has been utterly woeful but better teams will kill us off if presented chances like that.

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I'm not keen on Warburton's 4-5-1 formation to be honest.

It is supposed to be 4-3-3 but it has two wingers and a striker which is 4-5-1 in my book.

I keep seeing the centre backs pushing too far up, the full backs not being heavily involved with the defensive side and the midfield not cleaning up the play when the ball gets knocked out from centre half positions.

I'd prefer a switch to 5-3-2 or 4-4-2 diamond.

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I'm not keen on Warburton's 4-5-1 formation to be honest.

It is supposed to be 4-3-3 but it has two wingers and a striker which is 4-5-1 in my book.

I keep seeing the centre backs pushing too far up, the full backs not being heavily involved with the defensive side and the midfield not cleaning up the play when the ball gets knocked out from centre half positions.

I'd prefer a switch to 5-3-2 or 4-4-2 diamond.

The only time it comes close to being 451 is in defence. In attack it is a 325. The standard formation is 433. When we get a proper CDM, one that plays that position in the 433 formation, then we'll see the best of this team.

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As the 2015 draws to a close and managers draw up their transfer window shopping lists, Rangers find themselves in a mini-slump in the race for the Scottish Championship.

A haul of five points from a possible 12 has seen Hibs draw level with Mark Warburtons side. Draws with Livingston and Morton, followed by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Falkirk, could see the Easter Road men leapfrog the Gers and go into 2016 with a three-point lead at the top of the table when the sides meet on Monday at a sold out Ibrox.

Read more: http://www.shoot.co.uk/rangers-need-to-tweak-to-escape-mini-slump/

Agree on Vaulks. I also like O'Hara as well.

While the early penalty to Falkirk was atrocious (thanks to the Assistant Referee), the penalty to Rangers late on the handball was nothing more than a make-up call for the penalty given to Falkirk. The difference in that exchange is that Falkirk converted while Rangers did not.

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Completely agree. One of my earlier blogs was about just that. I think a big part of that is the way both full backs and Halliday often find themselves much further forward than the centre backs and the two centre backs try close the space a little and get caught by a ball over the top. There's been a few times too where you'll see Ball, Wilson or Kiernan trying to win the ball near the centre circle and leaving a nice big hole for the other team to play the ball into. We get away with it at times because some of the finishing has been utterly woeful but better teams will kill us off if presented chances like that.

Yep - look what St Johnston did!

One of the things that has always left me a bit nervous is MWs 'plan b is to do plan a' better - all good teams and coaches have variations on a theme - we all want a pressing, passing game but some flexibility in formation and tactics means that opposition coaches can't predict what we do - at the moment they can.

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As the 2015 draws to a close and managers draw up their transfer window shopping lists, Rangers find themselves in a mini-slump in the race for the Scottish Championship.

A haul of five points from a possible 12 has seen Hibs draw level with Mark Warburtons side. Draws with Livingston and Morton, followed by a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Falkirk, could see the Easter Road men leapfrog the Gers and go into 2016 with a three-point lead at the top of the table when the sides meet on Monday at a sold out Ibrox.

After the game I dont think many Rangers fans were too surprised with the scoreline at the Falkirk Stadium and the Bairns were simply more clinical than their visitors, making their limited chances count.

Rangers, not for the first time this season, were far too patient in their approach play and looked more than happy to play retain possession without it ever really having any real attacking threat. Falkirk keeper Danny Rogers, on loan from Aberdeen, had a good game and made a few good stops to keep his side ahead, although his opposite number had to be alert on a number of occasions to stop the Bairns extending their lead.

Mark Warburtons Rangers are in a mini-slump

Then there was the penalty decision for Falkirk. Ive already made it clear that they were the better side and deserved to win so please dont take this as sour grapes but the decision by Willie Collum (Scotlands refereeing representative at the 2016 European Championships in France) to give Falkirk a penalty for a foul which was clearly outside the box will take a long, long time for someone to explain. Of course, this being Scotland, Mr. Collum was punished for making such a poor decision by being chosen to referee a televised game next week. Its almost as ridiculous a decision as the one made at the Falkirk Stadium.

Looking forward, the Hibs game on December 28th now takes on massive importance going into the new year. Mark Warburton has shown a steadfast refusal to move his favoured tactics, however, theres now a few questions beginning to be asked about the selection and tactical decisions being made.

Over the last few weeks there have been growing calls for Gedion Zelalem to be dropped and replaced with Nicky Law, whilst some would like to see the team revert to playing a 4-4-2 and called into question the starting places of almost all of the players.

However, despite the recent drop in results, I dont think there is any need at all for wholesale changes to the side or the tactics but I do think there needs to be some tweaks made to recapture that early season form. The front three, particularly the two wide players, need to contribute more defensively and press the opposition much more regularly. Putting opposition defenders under pressure before they can get the ball into the middle of the park and cutting off the passing options higher up the pitch will make it harder for teams to sit in and allow Rangers to play passes around in front of a packed defence.

There also needs to be more urgency in Rangers play. Despite regularly racking up possession on the other side of 60%, the team struggle to break sides down who sit in and look to hit them with counter attacking football. Too often the players look to pass the ball instead taking a defender on or even taking a shot, leading to a recent post on the RangersMedia forum titled Shoot! which had, at least, one user left disappointed after expecting another of yours trulys blogs.

Now that John Eustace definitely isnt signing and Andy Halliday cant also be the back-up for Andy Halliday, Mark Warburton will have a conundrum on his hands when the transfer window. Does he keep Andy Murdoch after the midfielder returns from his loan spell at Cowdenbeath and let him compete with Jordan Thompson for a seat on the bench? He could use Dom Ball or Rob Kiernan as back up to Halliday. Or he could even bring someone else in who to play in that position and use Halliday elsewhere.

If the manager decides to bring a fresh face in then he could do much worse than look at Falkirks Will Vaulks. The young Englishman can play a number of positions in midfield or defence and has been a stand-out in Peter Houstons side. Despite being only 22 he has made over 100 appearances for the Bairns and has attracted attention from clubs both sides of the border. Hes far from the finished article but he is a player who would fit comfortably into the current style at Ibrox. A sharp passer and strong tackler, Vaulks could slot comfortably into the role currently held by Halliday, who could be used to much greater effect further forward. He played a big part in helping Falkirk to last seasons Scottish Cup final and looks to have a bright future ahead of him.

Finally, since this is my last blog of 2015 Id just like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year and to say thank you for reading throughout the past 12 months. I look forward to speaking to you all in 2016.

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I would like Rangers to hold possession for 15 minutes after they score instead of the rush to score another. Make the opposition come out to seek the ball instead of playing the whole game 25 yards from their goal, pull them in to our half, then quick passing to cut through them.

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Yep - look what St Johnston did!

One of the things that has always left me a bit nervous is MWs 'plan b is to do plan a' better - all good teams and coaches have variations on a theme - we all want a pressing, passing game but some flexibility in formation and tactics means that opposition coaches can't predict what we do - at the moment they can.

I wouldn't be so quick to say Warburton & Weir have no variants of plan A mate, although I can see what you are saying mate.

Just because Warburton doesn't publically say he might sometimes tell the team to vary the plan A tactics a little bit (we would only really need to do that for Hibs just now?), that doesn't mean he never varies the tactics or tries to.

Bayern have a plan A for example and clearly use variants of it based on who is their opposition, but no-one from Bayern & certainly not Guardiola ever come out and say that the tactics were a variant of their plan A etc. In Toni Kroos' last season at Bayern, Bayern varied their plan A against Borussia Dortmund in a match and the variant was to use lots of long passes which switch the ball diagonally etc over Dortmund's midfield and players all the time, to effectively bypass Dortmund's press which it did wonderfully and Bayern smashed them. No-one from Bayern ever mentioned this variant anywhere to the media, except one Bayern player admitted/secretly released the variant to the media before the match and this created a situation at Bayern where they felt there was a mole in the camp. Effectively what I mean by including the above info is that MW if he did use variants isn't going to come out and tell the rest of the Scottish managers how he is beating them tactically.

Also, with only one transfer window having gone by, the summer window is still to come for MW to build the team with the players which McParland, Magic Hat & Weir will identify, as the players who we need to help take our game to the next level while fitting into our style and tactics, while possibly giving us variants also, to help us win 55. It would be a bit hard to come in and start playing variants of your plan A when you are playing with half of McCoist's team still.

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I wouldn't be so quick to say Warburton & Weir have no variants of plan A mate, although I can see what you are saying mate.

Just because Warburton doesn't publically say he might sometimes tell the team to vary the plan A tactics a little bit (we would only really need to do that for Hibs just now?), that doesn't mean he never varies the tactics or tries to.

Bayern have a plan A for example and clearly use variants of it based on who is their opposition, but no-one from Bayern & certainly not Guardiola ever come out and say that the tactics were a variant of their plan A etc. In Toni Kroos' last season at Bayern, Bayern varied their plan A against Borussia Dortmund in a match and the variant was to use lots of long passes which switch the ball diagonally etc over Dortmund's midfield and players all the time, to effectively bypass Dortmund's press which it did wonderfully and Bayern smashed them. No-one from Bayern ever mentioned this variant anywhere to the media, except one Bayern player admitted/secretly released the variant to the media before the match and this created a situation at Bayern where they felt there was a mole in the camp. Effectively what I mean by including the above info is that MW if he did use variants isn't going to come out and tell the rest of the Scottish managers how he is beating them tactically.

Also, with only one transfer window having gone by, the summer window is still to come for MW to build the team with the players which McParland, Magic Hat & Weir will identify, as the players who we need to help take our game to the next level while fitting into our style and tactics, while possibly giving us variants also, to help us win 55. It would be a bit hard to come in and start playing variants of your plan A when you are playing with half of McCoist's team still.

Sort of agree - just not really seen any variants yet - but I have faith that MW will learn and develop as well as the team needs to.
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