Source: FOOTYMAD
Smith's Swansong: Shackles off or Tactical Equilibrium?
We were told in the not too distant past of last summer that we were doomed. No new players, everything must go, Armageddon beckons. Thankfully, this has proved to be incorrect and we find ourselves riding the crest of a wave. 9 wins on the spin in the SPL, semi finals of the League Cup, unbeaten in the Champions League and playing some brilliant football into the bargain. We were told by some that we were in for the same 'turgid' victories we’ve had to endure for the last 3 years but something has changed. So what is it that’s changed? For me there’s 3 main reasons: 1) The departures of Boyd & Thomson. As revered as these players were by large majorities of the support, it is now apparent to me with hindsight that their inclusion may have stifled the team. Boyds’ faults are well documented and anyone can see the differences between Jelavic and Boyd’s partnerships with Miller. The loss of Thomson is also interesting as it has forced us to play with only one sitting midfielder. Edu assists with this task sporadically but for the main he’s more box to box than Thomson ever was. This has given us another attacking player which creates a whole new dimension to our play. 2) Kenny Miller's form. This is a follow on from the previous point as the departure of Boyd has meant Kenny getting a run as the focal point of the attack as opposed to supporting the main striker. He has benefited greatly from playing on the shoulder of the last man and his strike record this season cannot be questioned. 3) Weiss & Naismith. It’s a tired cliché but Naismith really is like having a new signing. He is scoring, creating, chasing back and getting in the faces of players twice the size of him. A player bang in form and confidence is soaring. When you have players like these in the team who have absolute confidence in their abilities it floods through the whole team like a river. This is not just down to the players. This is down to the manager as well. Only he will know, if he has stumbled upon this shape by accident or design (either seeing an opportunity to play like this without Thomson or simply having no other option) but the way it is working out is commendable. Add to that, youngsters getting valuable game time in the cup competitions (something many stated would never happen) and we actually look like we have a very tidy squad, maybe slightly short in central defence but it's manageable. Final point, in reply to many grumblers, is to the idea that Smith ‘doesn’t really work on tactics in training’. This may have been true back in the mid 90’s but this season, in our 14 games so far, we have played no less than 3 different formations and looked entirely comfortable in each and everyone of them. In conclusion and in reference to the article's title, I think it’s a mixture of both. The players Smith has are perfectly suited to playing this type of football, which couldn’t be said last season due to injuries and the form of some. Now we have these players, a few players such as Davis & Edu have been released from restrictions, and the benefits are there for all to see. Comparisons are now being made with the Nine-In-A-Row team compared to some moaners and their references to the ‘worst Rangers footballing team in a long time’. Seems that’s another point on the board for the wily old fox. Arise Sir Walter.
