There’s a familiar feel to the noise around Rangers just now. We’ve been here before, and not just this season either. The team can have plenty of the ball, look tidy enough, and still leave you thinking: where are the clear chances coming from, and who’s taking them when they do arrive?

That’s the core issue for a lot of supporters. It’s not about wanting to be negative for the sake of it. It’s about watching the same patterns repeat. We move it side to side, we get into decent areas, and then it either breaks down with a rushed final pass or ends with a hopeful ball that never really tests anyone. In the SPFL you can get away with that for spells, but over a season it catches up with you.

Chance creation has been a long-running problem

This isn’t a brand-new complaint. Plenty of fans have been saying for a few seasons now that we don’t consistently create enough high-quality opportunities. Rangers can dominate territory and still look short in that last 20 yards. The tempo drops, the movement becomes predictable, and the opposition settle into their shape. It’s a tough watch when you know a goal changes everything but you’re relying on something scrappy rather than something worked.

It’s also why folk get so fixated on the striker role. If your patterns aren’t producing regular tap-ins and cutbacks, you need a forward who turns half-chances into goals. Someone with that wee bit of sharpness, the instinct, the cold-blooded finish. That’s what separates a good spell of pressure from a goal.

Chermiti: improving, but still not where Rangers need him

With Chermiti, you can see improvement. That part is fair. But the worry is the same one that keeps coming up: he’s not always getting himself into the right positions often enough. A striker can have decent link-up play and still not be the answer if he’s not arriving in the six-yard box at the right moment.

And at Rangers, that “killer instinct” is non-negotiable. You don’t get endless time to grow into it when every dropped point becomes a headline. If the team’s already struggling for clear chances, you can’t also have a forward who needs three or four looks to score one.

The Tav debate and what Danny Röhl prioritises

There will always be arguments about deals, contracts, and who deserves what. Some fans want a new deal for Tav, others can’t see the logic in it at this stage. That’s football support for you. But whichever side you’re on, the bigger point is what Danny Röhl wants this Rangers team to look like going forward.

If the aim is to raise the level, then recruitment and selection have to be ruthless. Not every player is good enough, and you don’t fix structural issues by pretending they don’t exist. For me, it still comes back to the same thing: Rangers need a proper striker, badly, and we’ve been saying it all season.

Written by Stromtrooper1: 31 January 2026

Tags: transfers tactics