Four Rangers stars look so much better under Barry Ferguson as 'Walter Smith-inspired' tactics work wonders
03/14/2025 02:00 PM
There was something almost ‘Walter Smith inspired’ about the way Barry Ferguson set Rangers up against Fenerbahce in the Europa League last-16.
The late-great Smith was plagued by accusations of his Rangers team lacking ‘flair’ on the continent.
But the man himself cared little about such criticism when quizzed on it back in 2008, on the brink of Rangers’ UEFA Cup final meeting with Zenit St Petersburg at Old Trafford.
Winning football is the best football, was Walter Smith’s usual approach to big European nights. And Barry Ferguson, a student of one of the greatest managers in Rangers’ history, certainly seemed to take some inspiration from his dearly-departed mentor as Fenerbahce became the latest high-profile scalp to add to a growing Ibrox collection.
James McFadden, the former Scotland international, feels that Ferguson’s shift to a 3-4-2-1 formation over the two legs was almost ‘Walter Smith inspired’.
An approach built upon a solid, beefed-up backline, but with plenty of potency on the counter-attack. Rangers had to strike the balance between keeping Fenerbahce’s talented forwards quiet while also posing a threat themselves.
It was a balance – particularly during a 3-1 first-leg win in which Cyriel Dessers and Vaclav Cerny gave Jose Mourinho nightmares – Rangers struck beautifully.
- READ MORE:Rangers Europa League Record Since 2017
Barry Ferguson’s tactics help get more out of four Rangers stars
Gordon Dalziel, a League Cup winner with Rangers in the early 1980s, has certainly seen the light with regards to what he feels may have been an overdue tactical shake-up.
Given that Rangers’ starting full-backs – Ridvan Yilmaz and Jefte – are usually far more comfortable going forward, surely it makes sense to deploy them as wing-backs instead. Giving them the freedom to bomb on while providing extra defensive cover?
James Tavernier is another who’s defensive deficiencies have been shielded while deployed on the right of a back three.
To quote Scott Arfield, Tavernier was ‘amazing’ against Fenerbahce.
Cerny is another clearly benefitting from a shift in approach. While pretty prolific already – 15 of his 17 Rangers goals came from wide on the right – the Wolfsburg loanee wreaked havoc with a brace in Istanbul. He would muster eight shots in the return leg too, relishing the leeway afforded to him in more of a roving ‘number ten’ role off the physical Dessers.
And Dalziel cannot help but wonder, if Clement had taken a leaf out of Walter Smith’s playbook, if the Belgian might still be in a job today.
“The one thing, touching on formation, you sit and look at Rangers and you wonder why has nobody ever went to that three [at the back before]?,” a bemused Dalziel wonders.
“See, if you criticise Rangers, you criticise them in the full-back areas. [People say Yilmaz and Jefte] cannot defend. Tavernier gets dog’s abuse.
“Jefte, for me, is not the greatest defender. But, going forward, they are very good. So the fact they are putting the extra defender in there, I think that has worked out.
“Every ball Fenerbahce put in the box, [John] Souttar and [Leon] Balogun just went and won it.”
Derek Ferguson delighted by Vaclav Cerny’s new role
Between them, Souttar and Balogun completed 48 clearances over the two legs.
Derek Ferguson, the older brother of interim boss Barry, is unsure yet whether his younger sibling will deploy the same tactics against Celtic in Sunday’s Old Firm derby. He felt that Cerny was a joy to watch, though, in a position which should give Rangers’ second-highest goalscorer plenty more opportunities to test out Brendan Rodgers’ backline at Parkhead.
“I don’t know [if Barry will stick with his new approach],” Ferguson wonders. “Balogun and Souttar in there, with that aerial power, but it’s a different factor going up against Celtic. The pace, the movement, the sharpness.
“The way Cerny was allowed to drift…
“Fenerbahce, those two in the middle of the park, they didn’t have a scooby where he was. And it was lovely, the way he was allowed the freedom to float in there in the number ten role and get on the half turn.”
