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Opinion: Van Bronckhorst really needs to start picking 29-year-old Rangers player more often
Rangers are going to need to be at their very best over the next nine weeks as they attempt to get over the line in this dramatic title race. They could do a lot worse than involving Kemar Roofe a bit more in the proceedings.
It would be fair to say the former Leeds striker has struggled a little under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, with niggling injuries and a fight back to full fitness meaning his game time has been somewhat limited under the new boss.
Rangers can be rightly encouraged by this past week, which has seen memorable 3-0 victories over Red Star Belgrade in the Europa League and Dundee in the Scottish Cup yesterday afternoon, with Roofe looking an absolute menace from the moment he entered the pitch at Dens Park as a half-time substitute.
His constant pressing and ability to put the foot in and win the ball high up the pitch really terrorises opposing defenders and is something Rangers have missed a bit since his injury.
While this past week has definitely been a bit rosier, the previous one saw the Light Blues make hard work of securing back to back victories against St Johnstone and Aberdeen. When the chips were down against the Dons, it was Roofe who showed his killer instinct to steer home James Tavernier’s knockdown and save the day on the occasion of the Ibrox side’s 150th Anniversary celebrations.
Domestically, in recent weeks, their dominance of the ball hasn’t been capitalised upon when seeking that all-important second goal, creating some anxious moments where really there needn’t have been. Fitting a natural goal-scorer like the Jamaican international into the line-up could be the key to Rangers imposing themselves onto proceedings and putting these games to bed a lot sooner.
Rangers’ No. 25 has an impressive goal scoring return in that jersey and, despite his injury troubles this season, has still managed to notch 12 goals in 28 appearances, with a strike rate of a goal every 117 minutes.
You would think he’d be keen to shake off the super sub tag and play more of a starting role between now and the end of the season, the rewards of which have been well and truly documented, but there’s no way you can accommodate both himself and Alfredo Morelos in the same team…or is there? I took a look at a couple of ways Rangers could fit both of their goal-getters into the same team.
RW
Roofe has played on the right wing a number of times as first Steven Gerrard and then Gio sought to get more goals from the rest of their frontline. With Amad Diallo struggling for fitness in his short time at the club so far and Ianis Hagi out until next season, the ex-Leeds man looks like the best option if he can get back to full fitness.
Two Up Top
Fans of the Famous have been impressed with the way they’ve played in recent seasons, especially in Europe. Yet, domestically at least, is it now time to favour more of a battering ram approach? With goal difference potentially playing a key role come end of season, Rangers embracing a two upfront method could make all the difference. As mentioned earlier, Roofe is tigerish in his approach to harrying defenders and winning the ball back high up the pitch. He’s then proved more than capable of putting a great cross into the danger zone after the scrap. If Morelos is on with him, he’s more often than not converting these chances.
CAM
This one’s a bit more left field, even though it is in the No. 10 position. With GvB favouring a CAM in behind his lone striker, could Roofe offer a more natural goal-scoring alternative and allow us to really put the pressure on the domestic opposition who come to Govan and park the bus? This would effectively allow the two up top option to be implemented without changing the system too much.