Glasgow Rangers head coach Philippe Clement should have used the international break over the last ten days or so to find a way to improve his team’s fortunes heading into the next few months.
The Ibrox giants are currently sat third in the Scottish Premiership table and have already lost three of their 11 matches in the division, also drawing one game.
Their two losses came to the two teams ahead of them in the league, Aberdeen and Celtic, and both of those sides have one thing in common – they are far more prolific than the Gers.
Clement’s men have only found the back of the net 16 times in their 11 league matches. Meanwhile, the Dons have scored 24 goals and the Hoops have almost averaged three goals per game with 31 strikes.
Rangers have only conceded eight goals in the league, three of which came in their defeat to Celtic, and only the Hoops have conceded fewer, which suggests that their defence is not their biggest issue.
The Belgian head coach has to find a way to extract more goals from the group of players that he has at his disposal, at least until the January transfer window opens for business.
Rangers' top scorers this season
In the Premiership, no Rangers player has reached five goals in the 11 league games so far and two players – Vaclav Cerny and Cyriel Dessers – currently lead the way with four goals.
Only seven different players have found the back of the net for the Light Blues and only three players have scored more than two goals in the division.
This shows that Rangers not only lack quantity with goals but also diversity, as the manager does not have several players who can be relied upon in the final third.
Cyriel Dessers
6.42
4
-2.42
James Tavernier
1.42
0
-1.42
Dujon Sterling
1.29
0
-1.29
Robin Propper
0.97
0
-0.97
Ross McCausland
0.84
0
-0.84
As you can see in the table above, two duds have already failed to score from more than 1.00 xG and the team’s starting number nine has underperformed by more than two goals against his xG.
Dessers, who has been wasteful in front of goal, has scored ten goals in 20 matches in all competitions for the Light Blues, which currently has him at the top of the goalscoring chart.
Cerny is in second place in all competitions. The Wolfsburg loanee has scored six goals in 18 appearances from the right flank, providing a solid, but unspectacular, goal threat for the Scottish giants.
Clement could turn to academy talent in an attempt to add more goals to his side but B team star Zak Lovelace, who has scored 17 goals in 34 games at academy level, was out with a hamstring injury for 320 days before September.
The 18-year-old has showcased his goalscoring quality for the B team in the past. His long-term injury lay-off has stunted his development, though, and it remains to be seen if he can make the step up to first-team level right now.
Rangers did once have an impressive young centre-forward on their hands in Connor Young, but they decided to release the striker last year.
Connor Young's time with Rangers
In the summer of 2022, the Light Blues swooped to sign the 17-year-old marksman from Premiership rivals Hibernian for an undisclosed fee, which was reported to be five figures.
The Gers snapped the fantastic teenage talent up after his exceptional return of 25 goals for Hibernian’s U18s helped his side to win their league ahead of Rangers’ U18s in the 2021/22 campaign.
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At the time of the transfer, head of academy Craig Mulholland hailed the forward’s “excellent” performances against Rangers in the past and revealed that the club had been tracking him for some time, which suggested that the move was a coup for the Ibrox side.
Young immediately made the step up to B team level, despite turning 18 shortly after joining, and scored seven goals in 29 games for the B team that season.
He was then sent out on loan to East Fife in League Two for the second half of that term, with one goal in eight outings in the fourth tier for the 18-year-old.
Rangers decided to pull their B team out of the Lowland League ahead of the 2023/24 campaign and GlasgowWorld suggested that was part of the reason why Young left the Gers on a free transfer in 2023.
Where Connor Young is now
The teenage striker initially signed for Clyde FC and scored four goals in 25 games across all competitions for the League Two outfit in his first full season at senior level.
His solid, given his age, contributions in the fourth tier attracted attention from Edinburgh City, and he made the move to the fourth tier side on a free transfer in the summer transfer window earlier this year.
Young has been on fire since his switch to Edinburg and is currently on a sensational 13 goals in 13 games in League Two, which suggests that he is far too good to be playing at such a low level.
Spartans
2
Bonnyrigg
0
Forfar Athletic
1
Clyde FC
1
Peterhead
3
As you can see in the table above, the Scottish marksman has scored seven goals in his last five league games for his current club, including one against his former team.
The 20-year-old centre-forward has outscored every single Rangers player at league level this season and outscored Dessers and Cerny – the joint-top scorers – combined. He has also outscored every Gers forward in all competitions, as Dessers comes closest to him with ten strikes.
Of course, Young is scoring his goals in the fourth tier and it remains to be seen whether or not the prospect has the quality to make it at a higher level.
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