3 Rangers issues and why the time has come for Steven Gerrard to get radical

Rangers may not have matched the slick, liquid style that was so evident for much of last season, but they remain the best side in the land if you take an interest in the most old fashioned stat of all - the league table.

While top dogs in that regard but there's a growing sense the Ibrox club have regressed. All the while, their bitter rivals across the city have a manager capable of hauling Celtic out of the mire that enveloped them so suffocatingly last season.

From a margin of six less than two weeks ago, now only two points separate the oldest of football antagonists.

After the rock n' roll football of his first three seasons, Steven Gerrard's fourth has felt like a move from electric to acoustic.

It's all gone a bit mellow, like the current flowing through these men has been suddenly diminished.

While there's still a pulse yet, there are tangible areas of concern in many recent performances and across most areas of the pitch.

It was literary titan Ernest Hemmingway who once wrote of failure happening in two distinct ways: “Gradually, then suddenly.”

There is growing concern that Rangers are in the first of the two phases.

Gerrard has talked about a reset and hard work on the training ground but, as he admits himself, we've heard that record before.

It may be time to get radical.

Finding a new way

Much of Rangers' success under the manager has stemmed from their fluid 4-3-3 system.

It's never been one singular thing with flexibility built into its core - but it's safe to say that Scottish coaches have now seen every facet of every variation many times, and tactical solutions are now being found.

Gerrard alluded to this at the start of the season when he suggested a new shape would be implemented, with a plan to get both James Tavernier and Nathan Patterson on the field. The manager also directly addressed the issue with opponent's familiarity and pointed to the need for further tactical evolution of the team.

READ MORE: Three Rangers 'tweaks' Steven Gerrard can use to ensure tactical blueprint remains unpredictable

He was spot on in his assessment so it's slightly baffling such a plan has not been implemented to date.

A 3-5-2 variant with Tavernier in a Kyle Walker style right centre-back role would seem tailor-made for the now 30-year-old captain while adding the pace, enthusiasm and drive of Patterson into the mix on the right flank.

With three at the back, you have many options - including a 3-4-3 or a 3-6-1 which would force teams to come to terms with attacks from areas they are not as well briefed for.

Reigniting Morelos

He may have scored 101 goals but his goal tally per game has been on the slide for 18 months.

The Colombian looks a more complete player now having worked extensively on his link-up play but he also looks a far cry from the bulldozer that terrorized teams two years ago - becoming the Europa League top scorer in the process.

Never a twinkle-toed forward of true natural finesse like many of his countrymen, you wonder if he's taken in too much of his coaching and has forgotten where and how to truly upset teams.

He has never looked comfortable playing in a partnership through his spell in Scotland, preferring to plough a lone furrow - and his link-up with Kemar Roofe hasn't challenged that notion.

READ MORE: Should Rangers have sold Alfredo Morelos to Lille when they had the chance? He is the conundrum club can't seem to solve - Garry Carmody

Both players want to come short which results in them playing in the same areas and leaves little threat up against the last defender or in behind.

To this observer, he carries the air of a man less interested domestically than when he's in the European shop window - a case study being a vintage display against Malmo in the home leg of the Champions League qualifiers.

He seems too keen to take the ball in areas that won't hurt teams and doesn't show enough desire to burst a gut to get into the box.

It's incredibly frustrating to watch a player of immense talent regress in his peak years, especially in a league he should tear asunder.

Despite two goals in two games, seven in 18 is miles off where Rangers' number one striker needs to be. Perhaps a spell on the sidelines might jolt the re-emergence of the battering ram that we all know is buried in there somewhere.

Fixing the full-back areas

It's well known that Rangers full-backs are central to the Gerrard game model. But Borna Barisic and James Tavernier haven't lived up to their own high standards so far this season.

There have been injury disruptions and Covid issues that have made it difficult for either to build up steam. They've likely also been affected by the men in front of them.

Glen Kamara, Barisic's defensive shield, has been in and out of the side due to suspension while Tavernier's best partner Ryan Jack hasn't kicked a ball in earnest.

With John Lundstram and Juninho Bacuna added to the ranks and Joe Aribo, who is more attack-minded and less adept at covering runs, taking a more prominent role this term, teams have been heavily targeting space in wide areas to get at the isolated centre-backs.

The return of Jack and further time to bed in the new boys to a complex system will help matters. That being said, a failure to improve in this area could be the difference between lifting a second title in a row or losing it.