- Rangers lost 63 goals from last season’s side in the summer transfer window.
- Their replacements have not been a huge drop off stats wise – despite netting far fewer goals.
- The issue is in the amount of chances being created – and this will cause pain if not addressed.
Rangers have an issue with putting the ball in the back of the net. That has been the major stumbling block for Danny Rohl’s side this campaign.
In the summer, former boss Russell Martin allowed the sales of Cyriel Dessers and Hamza Igamane, combined with the loss of loanee Vaclav Cerny.
In total, 63 goals evaporated from the forward line.
Their replacements, Yousef Chermiti, Bojan Miovski and Djeidi Gassama, have produced just 27 goals across all competitions so far.
January recruit Ryan Naderi has added only two since arriving as a replacement for Danilo.
That is an alarming drop-off. But is the issue finishing ability, or the creative quality behind them?
The stats don’t lie
Chermiti vs Dessers
Start with Chermiti, the enigma. He has nine Rangers goals, eight of which have come against Celtic or Hearts.
In the Premiership, the only competition in which he has scored, he has attempted 45 shots, giving him a 20% conversion rate.
He replaced Dessers, who last season scored 18 league goals from 82 attempts, just under a 22% conversion rate. That suggests only a marginal decline in efficiency.
The sharper drop is in volume. With eight games remaining, Rangers starting striker has almost halved his number of attempts.
Dessers also posted an expected goals (xG) figure of 17.45, broadly matching his output. Chermiti, by contrast, sits at 7.08, indicating he is outperforming his xG.
By the eye test, Chermiti’s movement and willingness to shoot are not major concerns. The data supports that: he simply is not receiving enough chances.
Miovski vs Igamane
A similar pattern emerges with Miovski.
The Macedonian international has ten goals overall, but only four in the league, with an xG of 4.14, again, broadly in line with expectation.
His predecessor Igamane slightly outperformed his xG of 9.02 with 12 league goals last season, so there is a drop in quality, but not a dramatic one.
The more significant issue is chance creation. Igamane registered 91 shots last season; Miovski has managed just 26. That is a drop of over 70% in attempts from Rangers secondary striker.
Gassama vs Cerny
The decline is even more pronounced out wide. Cerny recorded 95 shots and 12 goals last season.
Gassama, his replacement, has just two league goals from 58 attempts, a conversion rate of 3.45%.
Even Cerny’s modest 12.63% looks clinical by comparison, he was around four times more effective.
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The evidence points to a systemic issue rather than individual failure.
Rangers are not creating enough opportunities, and the chances they do generate are falling to players in less favourable situations.
Until that supply line improves, the numbers suggest the finishing will continue to look worse than it is.
The onus is now on the likes of Andreas Skov Olsen, Mikey Moore and Gassama himself to create more for the forward line.
Without supply, their hard work will mean nothing and once again Rangers will be left empty-handed come May.
