The best form of attack is defence

[Super_Ally 0]

Wrote this before the Aberdeen game but couldn't get it posted right on the main site before it.

 

Given an impotent attacking display it's still relevant though.

 

Isn�t that how the old saying goes? Or has supporting Rangers this last year or so left me confused. As we succumbed to a dire 0-0 draw for the second week in a row on our SPL travels (albeit hampered by a shocking display of officiating) it was once again evident that our main creative force is so often our star centre back Madjid Bougherra.

 

The bulldozing runs of the stocky Algerian are now a feature of our play and we reaped the rewards in Germany with an excellent Champions League away point in our opening game. As he served his suspension whilst his teams mates faltered at Rugby Park it highlighted the lack of creativity and invention from the players stationed in front of our backline whose primary roles are to create and finish off attacking opportunities.

 

Too few of our midfield and attacking players have the ability or the desire to commit themselves to the attack, to run at their opposite man, to hit the bye line or to find that killer ball. All too often we can enjoy the lion�s share of the ball but fail to use it in areas that will hurt the opposition. It is perhaps more than coincidence that a run of poor results was arrested with the Algerian powerhouse back in the starting line up. And it does not say much for the former premiership starlets that as well as keeping the opposition at bay the creative responsibilities of the Rangers first team also fall on the broad shoulders of the combative defender.

 

Madjid Bougherraââ?¬â?¢s will to win, his desire to compete and come out on top can be no better typified than by his highly dubious red card at Fir Park that led to his enforced absence last weekend. Boogie was perhaps a little unfortunate to be penalised for a potential foul in the area late in the game with the Motherwell forward running away from goal and the defender appearing to take some of the ball. To add insult to injury the referee deemed Bougherraââ?¬â?¢s protestations worthy of two yellows and of course a red card. Scottish football fans of the last decade or so will be all too familiar with what I like to think of as ââ?¬Å?Celtic faceââ?¬Â. That contorted look of hatred, veins throbbing as yet another Sutton, Thomson, Lennon or McDonald is almost nose to nose with an official, screaming obscenities for not receiving yet another dodgy decision. Yet Bougherra received two cautions and was ordered from the field for disagreeing a little too vociferously.

 

However, this desire, this yearning, this need to be the best, to leave the enemy exhausted and defeated is all too often absent from Bougherra�s team mates. We all worry about our ability to hang on to our star man. We worry that a lack of quality; quality of the SPL, quality of opposition and quality of our squad might dissuade him from staying should a team from one of Europe�s big leagues come calling. Scoring a barn-storming on the biggest stage goal reminiscent of marauding Steven Gerrard or Frank Lampard will not help our case. But more worryingly, neither will the lack of commitment displayed by his team mates.

 

We cannot do anything about Bougherra�s excellent performances on a continent-wide stage attracting admirers, nor would we want to. We cannot do anything to alter the quality of the SPL or the quality of opposition we face week in week out. But we can do something about the quality of performance we display and the level of fight and commitment we apply, even when things are going against us. If Bougherra were to have second thoughts about where he should be plying his trade his colleagues� ambivalence and lack of application would convince him to seek pastures new.

 

In surveying the online Rangers community it would not be hard to find a poster suggesting Madjid could ââ?¬Å?do a jobââ?¬Â at right back, in midfield or on the wings. Bougherra could more than do a job; he could put some of team mates to shame in their own position. He in fact already does a job. He is defensive enforcer. He is midfield play maker. He is box-to-box midfielder making lung-bursting, defence bashing runs through the middle and up the right flank. The Algerian must be wondering why does no one else ââ?¬Å?do a jobââ?¬Â.

 

Bougherra is not infallible. But he is easy to warm to. His all action, combative style earns him many admirers. As early as the first few months of his Rangers career many were declaring ââ?¬Å?King Carlos is dead, long live the Kingââ?¬Â. Previously the only argument that those whom favoured Cuellar could mount was that Madjid had not proved himself in Europe. If he carries on like he did in Germany he could well surpass his Spanish predecessor.

 

Already in this new season we have shown a tendency to struggle away from home and against stubborn packed defences. Too often a frustrated Bougherra has decided to lead the charge from his own area. Not happy to sit a patiently pass the ball around in ineffective areas, the Algerian will drive on, commit defenders and ââ?¬Ë?blitzkriegââ?¬â?¢ the opposition defence to find an opening. But where is the guile, the class and the incisive play of former English Premier League stars like Davis and Mendes. Why are the pace and trickery of our wide men not producing opportunities for the clinical Boyd and hard working Miller? Something the lacklustre forwards must also share the blame for.

 

The attitude of the squad has not been what it should for a number of games now. 45 minutes in Germany aside. But it is not just the glamour of the Champions League that is the honour of representing Rangers. We have to earn the right to enter Europeââ?¬â?¢s premier club competition. And that comes from being the best side in Scotland, from securing the Championship. Those dismal trips to Fir Park and Rugby Park might not compare with the excitement of a continental adventure, but they are our ââ?¬Å?bread and butterââ?¬Â. It is only in winning these fixtures, in exerting our dominance that we are allowed to aspire to something greater. And we are more fortunate than many other big clubs. Aston Villa and Tottenham Hotspur are unlikely to ever experience the exhilaration of ââ?¬Å?Zardok the Priestââ?¬Â reverberating around their famous old stadiums. By merely being better than the hooped horrors we can be guaranteed to experience this honour year in year out. That should be motivation enough to go to New Douglas Park, the Falkirk Stadium or McDiarmid Park and make our hosts glad that we only visit twice each year.

 

Bougherra plays with an attitude not of someone motivated by shiny trinkets, by money or by promises of future glories in subsequent competitions. Bougherra plays like a man who is motivated by a desire to compete. To meet his challengers head on and to strip his inferior opponent of their spirit before leaving them vanquished on the field of play. Competitive desire is a trait more commonly associated with the blood and snotters football of the Scottish leagues and yet it is the cultured African who shames the rest of the squad with his spirit and will to emerge victorious. Walter Smith must instil the spirit of the Nine-in-a-row era if we are to achieve World Record title number 53 and qualification from what is a comparatively kind Champions League group. The challenge presented by our friends from the Granite City is exactly the kind of fixture to get the competitive juices flowing and our season back on track.

[Zappa 0]

I actually think that the reason Bougherra is proving to be (or at least look like) a stand out player for us is that he doesn't see his future being at Ibrox, while the rest of the team are all perfectly happy where they are. IMO Bougherra will definitely move on for the right offer if we're completely out of Europe come January. Even if we're still IN European competition, there's still a very good chance that he'll move on if it's to a good enough club.

 

Just thought I'd throw in my opinion, since this article is primarily focused on Bougherra & yet you haven't really suggested this as the main reason for his apparent passion. I'm not excusing the rest of the team by any means though, because every player should be showing that same spirit in every competitive game whether they're happy to stay at Ibrox or not.

[craig 5,199]

Very good point Shroomz.

 

It is, at the very least, pleausible that Bougherra's motivation is one of securing a move to a bigger league and we couldnt really begrudge the big man. At least whilst he is at Rangers he is playing with a passion and determination that his peers could at least take heed from.