Analysis Corner: Has Pedro Caixinha fixed the Rangers defence?
Last updated 24th May 2017
By Dougie Wright (@dougie_analysis)
It’s too early to judge Pedro Caixinha as Rangers manager. Having been in charge for 10 Premiership games, his record has neither been appalling nor excellent. In these situations, instead of making broad conclusions, it’s usually better to zoom in on specific aspects and consider whether they’ve been a success. This article will look at Rangers’ defensive tendencies under the Portuguese manager.
Caixinha’s Rangers have conceded eleven goals in ten Premiership games. That’s just over a goal per 90 minutes. However, averages don’t tell the full story: nearly half of these eleven goals were conceded in the 5-1 mauling by Celtic.
If you consider the 5-1, they’ve been about the same as Rangers were under Warburton (30 goals from 28 games vs. 11 in 10). However, with such a large result massively affecting such a small sample size, it’s probably not fair to make a like for like comparison.
11 goals have been conceded from 104 shots. Opponents are scoring around 1 goal for every 10 shots, which is roughly the same as under Warburton, although again taking the 5-1 out of this turns it into 1 every 14. So again, the small sample size is limiting us here.
What we can do is drill down into Rangers defensive record under Caixinha and see what’s going on.
Take a look at the following map of where Caixinha’s Rangers have conceded goals:
This could raise some questions about how aggressive Rangers are in defending their six-yard box. A lot of goals conceded so close to their net indicates that the
Of particular concern to Rangers fans should be their side’s vulnerability in the air. Over the course of the 2016/17 season, Rangers conceded nine goals from headers. Of these nine, four came in Caixinha’s ten games in charge. Rangers went from conceding a header one every five games, to conceding one every other game.
Small sample size? Yep.
Enough to still be a concern? Definitely.
Headers tend to be about defensive organization. When a ball’s whipped into the box, the defenders don’t worry about the striker passing, dribbling or taking a touch. It’s a one touch finish kind of game. It’s all about being tight to the attacker, making sure they don’t have space near the goal. Generally, this requires organization with your team-mates.
Unfortunately, Rangers centre backs haven’t really had the opportunity to bond with each other. Injuries have forced Caixinha into fielding five different centre half pairings in his ten games. With so such chopping and changing, it’s difficult to figure out the nuances of your partner’s game.
It’s not surprising that they’ve conceded four sloppy headers as a result. Aberdeen’s second goal at Ibrox last week saw two unmarked players win free headers in a penalty box containing seven Rangers players:
It’s fair to give Caixinha the benefit of the doubt. Arriving at a new club in a new league in a new country at the business end of the season is not an ideal situation, and if you’re kind enough to put aside a particular result against Celtic, he’s actually markedly improved the Rangers defence overall.
Be that as it may, the way the Ibrox side have conceded goals will worry their fans. When next season begins, Caixinha will have had a full preseason, a full transfer window and more than enough time to put across his ideas to his players, new or old. If they are still conceding these type of goals, their fans will have serious cause for concern indeed.
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