Ibrox View: This is why baffling Rangers stat v Stranraer is nothing to worry about
RANGERS OPINION
In some respects, Rangers couldn’t really win on Friday night.
Of course, in a very literal sense, they could – and they did – beating Stranraer 2-0 under the Ibrox floodlights.
But in a more figurative sense, there wasn’t a great deal to gain from a Scottish Cup fourth round tie against opposition who are currently stone dead last in the third tier.
Win convincingly and nobody bats an eyelid. Do anything else and the world and his dog are on your back for not being convincing enough.
In the end, a 2-0 win will probably suffice to keep the critics at bay.
A superb debut for young full-back Nathan Patterson will probably help to keep fans happy too, but there were other factions of the Ibrox faithful who were pointing out an altogether more bizarre statistic.
According to the BBC, the Gers had just 41% possession against their lowly visitors on Friday, and on the face of it, that is truly remarkable.
At home against at team like Stranraer, no disrespect to them, you would expect the Gers to be holding onto the ball with great ease, but instead the numbers make it look like they were chasing shadows, despite the final result.
But those stats are nothing to worry about, and there are a couple of reasons why.
Firstly, the Gers managed 33 shots on goal. Stranraer managed none.
Possession is important, but possession without intent is as much use as a chocolate fireguard.
Secondly, and this is key, Rangers don’t need possession to get the job done.
Steven Gerrard’s men haven’t had more than 60% possession in a match since they drew 2-2 with Aberdeen on December 4th, and at no point since then have they had more than 52% possession in any of their matches.
Despite this, they’ve only failed to win twice.
Once was in the League Cup final against Celtic a few days after the Aberdeen game, and again in the Europa League against BSC Young Boys when they were pegged back by a late Borna Barisic own goal and ultimately went down to 10 men late on. [All stats available via BBC Sport].
That means that the Gers have now gone on a run of eight games where they have failed to dominate possession, and they have lost just once in that period.
With that in mind, Friday’s stat against Stranraer might be eye-catching, but in the grand scheme of things, it’s ultimately irrelevant.
In other news, Alan Hutton claims transfer ‘priority’ could prove to be ‘massive’ for Rangers this month.