SPEAKING recently about the tactical changes Giovanni van Bronckhorst has made at Rangers Borna Barisic elaborated on the full-back's changing instructions.
“Yes, you can see that the full-backs don’t have the same things to do as under Steven Gerrard," he said. "But it’s another manager and how he wants to play, what positions he wants us to pick up on the pitch.
“I’m happy with it. It’s just part of the tactic, every game is another tactic it’s not always the same. For me sometimes I can go up and down, sometimes not. It also depends on who we play. Whatever I need to do, I will do to win the game.”
Barisic has seen his final third activity drop and his defensive role simplified in the past two months. Gerrard gave his full-backs plenty of offensive responsibility within the attacking unit, always tasked with providing width and creating chances.
Van Bronckhorst has reintroduced conventional, touchline-hugging wingers and advanced midfielders; Barisic and James Tavernier are no longer exclusively part of the attacking front five and generally speaking, they're arriving into attacking areas as opposed to occupying offensive zones.
Tavernier’s role has varied more regularly than his counterpart, depending on the team’s tactical setup. With Ianis Hagi drifting infield onto his left foot towards the start of December, Tavernier remained the team’s wide outlet on the right and away from home at Tynecastle, Pittodrie and Easter Road his involvement in the attacking phase was limited.
The most recent individual instruction issued to the 30-year-old corroborates with van Bronckhorst’s desire to maximise one-v-one duels on either wing and stretch the pitch.
Speaking after a win over Dundee United, the manager said: “When you’re playing against a team that is defending really deep, I always try to play with wingers who can keep the width and pace.”
Against St Mirren and Stirling Albion, Tavernier was often seen rotating infield in the opposition half, playing with Scott Wright and Brandon Barker outside of him.
The fact this position has been assumed during games at Ibrox reveals its intention. When Rangers are playing against a defensive system they can keep one-v-one threats in wide areas, bring full-backs infield to guard against counterattacks and, in Tavernier's case, use their attacking influence closer to goal.
Observation of the right-back's passing sonar (explained below) before and after managerial change in November displays an increasing influence in these central pockets. An explanation of the sonar can be seen below.
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By looking specifically at the two right half-space zones in the opposition half outside the penalty box, the second column from the right, we can see a change in behaviour before and after the arrival of van Bronckhorst. Notice also the fewer number of crosses from the wide areas.
Under Gerrard in 11 Premiership games, Tavernier played 18 passes from this location.
Under van Bronckhorst in eight Premiership games, Tavernier has played 26 passes from the same location.
Under Gerrard in 11 Premiership games, Tavernier played 20 passes from this location, slightly closer to goal than above.
Under van Bronkchorst in eight Premiership games, he has played 34.
His involvement infield based on passes alone has increased, but more importantly, he has played an increasing number of forward passes from the right half-space into wide areas.
Playing with one deep midfielder at home, there is space for either full-back to move inside and play on the same lateral line as Glen Kamara; allowing Scott Arfield and Joe Aribo greater license to break into the penalty area.
Coming infield supports ball progression and keeps wingers isolated, as the defending team must compensate for the extra central body (in the above case Tavernier) and therefore leave their full-back one-v-one. Even when a stubborn block prevents routes through the centre, the league leaders now consistently possesses a dangerous threat around the defensive team which either full-back didn't previously guarantee.
Furthermore, an inverting full-back facilitates aggressive runs from the midfield made by either No.8 and, specifically in this instance, allows Rangers to bring one of their most potent creative threats in Tavernier closer to goal.
When speaking about his own infield influence recently, Trent Alexander-Arnold, the poster-boy modern full-back, told The Athletic: “If you look at the chances created, a lot of them are coming from that inside channel rather than the wing. They are all coming from the width of the penalty area. It is a nice area to create from, as you are a lot closer to the goal. The defenders have got a lot less time to react to it and you can penetrate a lot more."
Tavernier has made notable impacts from the locations Alexander-Arnold relates to in the recent past.
Take his match-winning strike against St Johnstone.
A goal of similar quality at Fir Park.
The cross that earned a crucial penalty in a 2-2 against Aberdeen.
It makes sense that Rangers want to get their statistically most valuable player on the ball in central locations more regularly and given that tactical alteration facilitates van Bronckhorst's use of wide players, the evolution appears to suit both party and personnel.
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