Kent - trying too hard?

Hes certainly not lacking effort.

Whst is obvious is a lot of times when he gets the ball and beats a man there is often no one to pass to in an advanced position so he either tries to beat one man too many or has to turn back or go sideways.

Our fans need to cut him some slack.
 
He offers nothing at the moment no penetration constantly turning back the way

spell out the team on the bench required
 
archimedes said:
Looks a different player to the end if last season. The ball just won't stick to him, nothing seems to be coming off for him right now. We've seen it all before with other players, it seems to me like he's trying too hard and it is having the opposite effect.
Like Alfie, I feel like he just needs one or two things to go his way and his confidence will come back.
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He'll be fine.
The free role gives him a lot of choices to make, it's a lot to learn when you've been used to doing what your told, Mark your man in defence and escape him on attack, to suddenly have the ability to drift wherever you want, yet still have defensive duties.

I think Kent, Morelos, Hagi next season run all over everything in this league if we can keep them together.
 
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Those saying to rest him tomorrow. I would say he has the best chance of regaining some confidence tomorrow as the game should be more open. I've said before I think he struggles (and he's not alone on this count) at Ibrox with teams dug in for the 90 mins.
 
One of my favourite players , an alarming drop off in form .

On a basic level he seems to be playing about 30 yards deeper than when we saw him at his best . He used to get the ball and either drive into the penalty area or down the touch line .

He’s now collecting the ball centrally well short of the penalty area , cutting inside and losing the ball .

Is he being told to play in that deeper area and more centrally ? I think so because he is not near playing his natural game and looks totally out of sorts .

I hope and believe we can and will see Ryan back to his best , it’s terribly frustrating right now for the player and us to watch him struggle the way he is .
 
Delboy19 said:
Those saying to rest him tomorrow. I would say he has the best chance of regaining some confidence tomorrow as the game should be more open. I've said before I think he struggles (and he's not alone on this count) at Ibrox with teams dug in for the 90 mins.
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He struggled against Braga and that was a very open game. I think he needs to be benched for a game or two.
 
He's continually getting the ball with his back to the touchline and two players up his arse. I'd encourage him to wander across the park 40 yards out to stretch and confuse the defenders.

If he can get the ball facing the goal from those areas centrally then he'll be a massive threat.
 
JMT73 said:
He struggled against Braga and that was a very open game. I think he needs to be benched for a game or two.
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To be fair though I don't expect St J to be as good as Braga. I just feel in the SPL, away from home is his best chance to shine.
 
Absolutely he is trying too hard and just digging himself deeper into a whole. He needs to sit out for a game or two and Gerrard should have done that weeks ago.
 
If you take the 2/3 great games he has played against Celtic away your left with a player who really doesn’t excel for us. Might sound harsh but we can’t afford to pay £7m for a player who doesn’t look a cut above players in the league
 
I think a spell on the bench and coming on for the last 20 mins or so might benefit Kent just now. He does seem to be trying too hard and as such his touch has deserted him.
 
He is off form at moment. However he always gives 100% and never hides,he will get back to top form . He might need a break from starting for a while . Just give him our backing.
 
He's never a no10 in a million years. Left winger or nothing imo. This cutting in constantly and running into trouble is so easy for the opposition to read these days..I know in the past even playing on the wing he still cut in but seems to be far more central these days which is costing us big time.
 
HenningBerg said:
One of my favourite players , an alarming drop off in form .

On a basic level he seems to be playing about 30 yards deeper than when we saw him at his best . He used to get the ball and either drive into the penalty area or down the touch line .

He’s now collecting the ball centrally well short of the penalty area , cutting inside and losing the ball .

Is he being told to play in that deeper area and more centrally ? I think so because he is not near playing his natural game and looks totally out of sorts .

I hope and believe we can and will see Ryan back to his best , it’s terribly frustrating right now for the player and us to watch him struggle the way he is .
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I’d like to see Kent given a more direct role rather than this fanciful double no.10 thing or even playing as a left winger.

What’s been noticeable when Kamberi has replaced him is that we become more direct. The Swiss player is a striker so his instincts are to go for goal. This also seems to give Morelos more room to play too.

I think Kent, and we, might benefit from being given license to play closer to Morelos.
 
He needs to go back to doing basic things right. Work hard, good first touch and pass to a Rangers player.
When his confidence is so low, fancy flicks and mazy runs will not come off for him and will just frustrate the crowd.
Keeping possession should be his main focus at the moment because everything is breaking down when the ball goes to him just now.
Look at the last 2 games, we have improved significantly when he has been subbed off.
Not a lost cause but he just needs to re-discover his touch and confidence imo.
 
brain said:
I think he’s simply overrated among our support. Yes confidence helps but he simply doesn’t have the ability many think he does.
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Bit of both I think. He’s not as good week-to-week as his reputation from last season would suggest. I think this is mostly down to him turning it on in big games, so the reputation among the wider fanbase, who maybe don’t watch our games every week think he’s a great player. He had plenty of duff games last year as well.
BUT he does switch it on in big games, and can be a match winner. He needs to find a way to do it week-in-week out. Needs to take a bit of responsibility to get goals and make chances.
 
archimedes said:
Looks a different player to the end if last season. The ball just won't stick to him, nothing seems to be coming off for him right now. We've seen it all before with other players, it seems to me like he's trying too hard and it is having the opposite effect.
Like Alfie, I feel like he just needs one or two things to go his way and his confidence will come back.
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I think the boy is carrying the weight of the £7 mill.price tag on his shoulders.
He wasn't a regular first team player when he came to us , and has found out that he's now playing for a massive club, where the expectations are enormous, compared tio what the boy used to.
I think giiven time he'll settle down, and become the player we all thought he would or could be.
Let 's encourage the kid, and help him to become a true Ranger.
 
Haveblue said:
The boys got talent but with young players you are going to inconsistency in performance, they all do it. I suspect that Hagi will drop form at some point as well and no doubt he will get that treatment and there will no doubt be calls to cancel his loan. If we are going down the road of buying young players to develop them we are going to have to be more patient with them, I’d be looking at the older hands in the team to help them through
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This!
It sums it up perfectly. At least for me
 
No. He continues to turn inside, easy pass back to fullback, (pass the buck). Needs dropped now!
 
He has put up better numbers this season than last season in half the time he will start performing again and fwiw I think teams are targeting him putting 2 or 3 players on him when he has the ball because they know he can create something
 
Yes, he is trying to hard and is off form.

Remember a few months ago everyone was saying Arfield was never good enough. Players go off form and unfortunately we have quite a few off form just now
 
With the focus now on Hagi, hopefully that will take a bit of pressure off Kent and Morelos for that matter.
Look forward to seeing all three bang on form
 
Agree OP.

I think he is excellent, and has bags of ability.

I dont think he is quite ready though to be the main man. I also dont think our tactics suit him either. He needs to be out wide and linking with others. Not getting the ball centrally and doing it all himself.

I'd argue that our team shape and tactics are set up to accommodate Kent, but actually dont seem to be having the desired effect. But maybe I'm just not a fan of the two false tens setup.

Our front three need a better system to interchange. Kent would benefit from it.
 
He needs to get back to what he is good at, running at and committing defenders, teams have been doubling up on him but given the form of hagi since he came in then opponents will need to try and deal with him - hopefully that gives Kent more time and space to get back on form!
 
archimedes said:
Looks a different player to the end if last season. The ball just won't stick to him, nothing seems to be coming off for him right now. We've seen it all before with other players, it seems to me like he's trying too hard and it is having the opposite effect.
Like Alfie, I feel like he just needs one or two things to go his way and his confidence will come back.
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I must've been the only one who knew his form last season was a one-off.
And the same can be said for Hagi, he will not be as outstanding as he was last night if we sign him permanently. Unfortunately that's just the way it is.
 
Looks like a confidence thing. Always wants to check back now rather than beating his man which we all know he's one of the best in the league at when he wants to be.

He's always looking for the easy pass when it's the difficult ones we've seen Hagi make look effortless that are the ones that create chances.
 
Haveblue said:
We have a few players like this now, Aribo, Kent, Hagi even Morelos to an extent and I’d imagine we will end up with even more if we are going to go down the route of young talent to sell on eventually for profit. They have all showed they have quality in games and all shown inconsistencies at time’s as well we just have to be patient when they go off form because it will return and they will get better and more consistent with age. We don’t have the cash to buy the finished product anymore.
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At 23 he’s not a kid anymore though
 
Having him as a 10 and running into back lines of 5 and 4 players is daft. Keep him wide, have Borna overlap and then let him cut in.

Even Beale said in his Top Team he was a 10 but he thrived when he became a winger. So %^*& knows why they put him as a 10
 
If I had half the stadium Giving me absolute pelters after 1 stray pass , my confidence would take a dent over time too.

Definitely got the ability but our fans expecting too much of him some times and in my opinion a bit unfair the dogs he gets at times in the stands.
 
Agree 100% he is not alone, I think a few of them are trying too hard and overdoing it. He is working so hard, to be fair it’s one thing that we cannot accuse the players of and that’s a lack of effort.
 
His decision making is letting him down.
Two great feet with loads of pace , I believe he will come good.
 
I think a wee break would do him the world of good , but I'd agree he is trying too hard .
Sometimes we can find a player can have a lull in a second season before refinding their form . Im sure we'll find the Kent of old before too long .
 
Best thing that could happen is to drop him for a few games , give him time to get back to his best, at the moment he has been very poor , i put it down to being over eager .
Without doubt he is a great talent but he seems to be getting worse with every game to the extent becoming a liability.
 
Wingers are temperamental, and can be very up and down, but could never get my head around paying 7 mill for a guy who wouldn't make the Liverpool squad. He is a good player and had we paid 2 or 3 mill I could have seen the point, I think we expect to much of him because of the price tag,his form slump is worry some, a spell out of the firing line will do him some good hopefully.
 
I wouldn't say he is trying too hard, he has always worked his socks off for the team it's just not coming off for him at the moment, I think he needs a short spell on the bench to take the pressure off him.
 
Needs a break it's not working for him I think no pre-season and picking up an injury is showing in the way it did with Barisic.
 
I'd like to see him sticking to what he does best. Hugging the line and beating his man. Seems to cut inside far to much this season.
 
brain said:
I think he’s simply overrated among our support. Yes confidence helps but he simply doesn’t have the ability many think he does.
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Hes shown plenty times he has the ability. People have a drop in form or lose their confidence sometimes, thats simply what this is. Get behind him, show him support and we'll get the Kent we know back. Same with Alfie.
 
The other teams know how to play against him and they always have 2 men on him, so if he goes past one, the other one takes the ball. We’re too slow in the build-up, which gives the opposition time to get men back.
 
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