Sweeping Rangers changes at Dens Park as Goldson dropped? | OneFootball

There is no doubt of the importance of Den Park tonight, but if Rangers manager Philippe Clement understands that and shares it, there will be BIG changes in the starting XI.

It’s safe to say there’s a motley crew core of players who desperately, badly need to be ‘rested’ and have no place in the team sheet, and if the manager has the cojones, which he hasn’t shown until now, he will make the changes.

Out go Connor Goldson, Borna Barisic, Fabio Silva, Kieran Dowell, Scott Wright, Tom Lawrence.

Lawrence didn’t start v County but he’s been absolutely abysmal – offers absolutely nothing in his position at all. And Wright? Nuff said.

Now, a lot of you are thinking James Tavernier and John Lundstram.

And it’s absolutely true, they’ve been horrible lately.

In Tavernier’s case though, there’s no player we can put at RB (the two alternatives we have we’d use both elsewhere and better), while also offering a huge caveat that if he is covered properly, he looks a lot less exposed and offers more. Look at 55 when Jack was in midfield.

As for Lunny? For reasons known only to Clement, he’s not restored Dujon Sterling into midfield. Put him back next to Lunny and you’ll get way more out of the ex-Sheffield man.

So we have some extenuating circumstances there with those two.

But Goldson, Barisic, Silva, Dowell, Wright and Lawrence offer absolutely nothing and cannot play again.

Meaning we’d change things thus:

Butland; Tavernier, Balogun, Souttar, Davies/Yfeko; Sterling, Lundstram; Sima, Cantwell, Matondo; Roofe

Sadly there’s no Ridvan, and while we know Balogun is supposed to be a 50/50 based on ‘illness’ we’d take the chance. A half-fit Balogun lamps Goldson for sure.

We don’t want to waste Sterling at LB so a left-sided defender like Davies or Yfeko suits.

Up front? Time for a rest for Dessers, and give Roofe a start – Dessers on the bench. A front four of Cantwell, Roofe, Matondo and Sima has pace and power. There’s goals in that.

This may all sound kamikaze, with a few ‘glad you’re not the manager’ comments but the manager is picking utter mince that can’t win now. So how is this any worse.

He definitely needs to change things.