Rangers…this season and next

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Charles Green labeled the current holders of the Rangers jersey, the worst side in the club’s history. That may be the only occasion where Rangers players were happy to side with Celtic fans’ jibes that that history only extends to one season.

Big changes are being promised for next season, but what needs to happen? Who must stay… and who probably should go?

GOALKEEPERS

Neil Alexander
Probably as close as Scotland has to a Steve Harper figure. Albeit, a Steve Harper with medals. Alexander has had spells in the Rangers first-team before, when injuries or ‘aberrations’ took their toll on Allan McGregor. Finally given the chance to cement a place as undisputed number 1, he’s shown his fine shot-stopping skills, but the shakiness of the defence in front of him poses questions. Is he let off the hook because of their poor performances, or does it highlight some failing in his ability to organise the back four in front of him?

Whichever may be the case, Rangers continue to be strongly linked with Cammy Bell, while an earlier move to bring in a highly rated young Australian keeper fell through when he finally bothered to consult Scotland’s league tables.

Scott Gallacher
With no first-team appearances for Rangers under his belt, it’s hard to judge him. His only taste of first-team action came during a loan spell at Forfar Athletic a couple of seasons ago. He’ll be 24 in the summer so really needs Rangers to bring in another keeper to allow him the chance to go out on-loan again and gain some vital experience.

DEFENDERS

Emilson Cribari
Much derided, but certainly capable of showing quality. He was outstanding in Rangers’ victory over Motherwell early in the season…though many players who have since gone on to underachieve were able to raise themselves that night. He appears less shaky than Ross Perry alongside him, but whether that will be enough to see the club try to hold onto him is up for debate. That’s assuming the club could actually find a taker for a 33 year-old defender who’s failed to shine at Scottish Division 3 level and is presumably on a decent contract.

Ross Perry
The positive that Rangers fans looked to take from this season was the chance to give products of the youth-team the chance of an extended run in the side. Ross Perry has had that (although managing to twice break his nose along the way) but unfortunately, he hasn’t shone. Unlike his former youth-team partner Danny Wilson, he can appear cumbersome with the ball at his feet and seems prone to moments of panic when facing an attack. Ally McCoist has preferred to move Lee McCulloch back into defence alongside Cribari rather than rush Perry back from his latest injury. That willingness to compromise the side’s attack shows that he feels the defence is more of a concern. Perry may get another chance to prove himself in the first month of next season, when Rangers are still unable to bring in new signings. It will be up to him to take it.

Lee Wallace

The jewel in the crown of the current side. Solid defensively and one of the side’s best attacking options too. His pace, drive, stamina and skill down the left are a bizarre sight to behold in the third division. Sadly, he’s often left to take on too much responsibility himself. By the time of Rangers’ 3-0 capitulation to Dundee United this season, even he seemed to have been dragged down by a season spent playing at a lower level. A powerful weapon, but needs help, both in defence and as an attacking threat.

Chris Hegarty
The Northern Ireland U21 international has broken into the team this season and shown some promising signs. A centre-half in the reserves, he’s more often played at right-back. Not a natural right-back, he’s sometimes looked hesitant going forward, which can create a bit of an imbalance when set against Wallace on the other flank.

Next season will be crucial.

Sebastian Faure
Although signed as a defender, he’s recently been deployed ahead of the back four as Rangers have opted for a 4-1-4-1 to protect an increasingly jumpy defence. He hasn’t had too many opportunities, but whenever he has played he’s looked like a decent physical presence. This has led to calls from many fans for him to be given the chance of a run in central-defence. He certainly doesn’t look the most technically adept, but a burly defensive presence doesn’t go amiss at the moment.

Anestis Argyriou
At the start of the season the Greek right-back looked to be a dynamic and exciting presence. Athletic and keen to rove down the right, he seemed like a reasonable budget replacement for the departed Steven Whittaker. Unfortunately, he took this role seriously enough to also take on his predecessor’s propensity for defensive ropey-ness. You get the feeling he’s too shaky defensively to play right-back and not technically gifted enough to play right-midfield. He’d probably be an ideal wing-back…but Rangers don’t play with wing-backs.

Darren Cole
It took a long time this season for the young right-back best known for making his Rangers debut in the Champions League against Bursaspor to actually be given his chance in the third division. Unfortunately, he sustained a serious injury soon after and is out for the season. Hopefully he can return to make an impression next season.

DEFENCE – THE CONCLUSION
Rangers need to bring in a whole new back four. Two centre-halves to come in as first-choices (unless Lee McCulloch’s move back is to be a permanent one), a left-back to act as understudy to Lee Wallace and give him the chance of a break at times. Argyriou doesn’t seem up to being right-back, Faure looks too bulky and technically clumsy to play there and Chris Hegarty is still young and inexperienced enough that relying on him as a first-choice there is a risk. A right-back to at least compete with him seems like a sensible investment. Then again, there is the hope that Darren Cole’s return from injury may provide that competition. Ross Perry and Cribari haven’t convinced at Third Division level…so the signs aren’t good for continuing with them.

MIDFIELD

Ian Black

We may as well start with the name that has been on many fans lips all season. Initially, doubts were raised over the signing, mainly due to his history in putting Nikica Jelavic out of action for around three months with a badly mistimed lunge when playing for Hearts. A couple of calm early performances, coupled with the backlash he faced when turning out for Scotland at Easter Road, helped swing the Rangers fans behind him.

Unfortunately, since then his performances have failed to warrant such support. He seemed to spend the first half of the season playing with such pent-up frustration that I suggested that maybe he should just relax and start kicking people again! He found himself on the end of a number of horror-tackles, something you can either put down to Third Division midfielders looking to make a name for themselves or to karma. Depending on how closely you adhere to the mantras of Bill Roache.

In the latter half of the season the aggression and the poor challenges have now been unleashed…but to no positive effect in the rest of his overall game. Is he a defensive midfielder? Is he a playmaker? Who knows. He slows the play down – which only hinders Rangers ability to raise the tempo of a game. When he’s on a yellow, one of the most experienced players in a young side doesn’t have the sense to avoid flying into challenges and earning himself a red card.

His signing hasn’t worked out…but he’ll be hard to move on.

Lewis Macleod
The player who provides the balance for Ian Black’s season. One was the high-profile signing expected to run the midfield…the other, a young midfielder few had heard of but who came in and actually did that job. It’s no coincidence that Rangers’ downturn in form has come since the loss of Macleod through injury.
He buzzes around the pitch pressing the opposition and winning possession, while accumulating only a fraction of the bookings that Black has this season. His touch is good, his passing simple but effective and he’d also begun to demonstrate an eye for goal when breaking into the box. The breakthrough performer of the season.

Kyle Hutton
It’s been a difficult season for Kyle Hutton. He started the season in the side, then was sidelined by Ally McCoist for a couple of months – despite the unspectacular performances of Ian Black. Against Motherwell, he was another stand-out and this eventually helped him cement a regular place. In the game where Macleod sustained his injury, Black had actually started on the bench with Hutton & Macleod entrusted with forming a midfield partnership. Unfortunately, Macleod’s injury snatched that chance away.
Hutton looks technically gifted. He has a good first touch, the skills to step away from the first man and to pick a pass. McCoist’s uncertainty over him seems to be a belief that he holds on to the ball for too long and slow down the tempo of the game. A recent Twitter-spat with Rangers fans aside, if he can step up the pace of his game a bit, he could be a first pick next season alongside Macleod.

Robbie Crawford
A curious case. Crawford hasn’t made as great a breakthrough this season as the likes of Macleod, McKay or Hegarty, but a handful of well-taken goals have shown a midfielder with the knack of arriving into the box at the right time and supplying a calm finish. Unfortunately, the problem is in working out what role he would fill for the other 89 minutes.

He seems too slight and attack-minded to be a ball-winner, yet when he’s on the ball, his passing seems to lack ambition. There’s something to be said for keeping things simple and finding a man…but when you’re in a Rangers jersey and drawing 0-0 with Stirling Albion, sometimes you have to do a bit more. Whether it’s a matter of confidence or ability, he’s yet to show that he could win a place in midfield for more than the last 10 minutes of a game if you’re chasing a goal.

Fraser Aird
The young Canadian (but Scotland youth-cap) winger burst onto the scene, making only his 2nd appearance and his first start in the cup win over Motherwell. Since then, his form has fluctuated as would be expected with a player who only turned 18 last month. A winning goal at Hampden when coming off the bench against Queens Park will have helped his confidence, but in Saturday’s abject Rangers display against Stirling Albion he seemed as blunted as the rest of the players around him.

Hopefully next season he can build on the promise he’s already shown.

David Templeton
Unusually for a winger, he seems to provide more of a goal threat as a scorer than a creator. His shooting from distance has been explosive on occasion and that’s an incredibly handy asset to have in a side that has at times struggled to break down defences.

Tricky, rather than pacy, sometimes he’s been more content with beating a couple of men rather than finding a way to whip the ball in. If he can add as much goal threat to his game as a creator as he currently carries as a finisher, then he can become an Ibrox hero.

He’s certainly been the best of McCoist’s signings and the number of players booked for fouls on him highlights the difficulty Third Division players have in stopping him when he’s in the mood.

MIDFIELD – THE CONCLUSION
The signing of Ian Black hasn’t worked out. Lewis Macleod provides more defensive cover and endeavour without the accompanying fear of a red card. Meanwhile, Kyle Hutton, though perhaps not everybody’s cup of tea, can provide as much in a playmaking role as Black can. There’s no point having someone signed as a marquee player sitting on the bench, so it’d be best if he could be moved on. His wages will no doubt make that a problem though.

Rangers have struggled with width at times throughout the season. Andy Little has been deployed on the right side of midfield. He has scored many of his goals from there…but provides little in the way of creating for others from there. Though not slow, he is somewhat one-paced and doesn’t have the additional trickery necessary to make up for that when playing on the flank.

Aird, McKay & Templeton have all been deployed wide. Aird & McKay have been prone to the fluctuations in form that accompany young players, while some of Templeton’s best performances have actually come when playing in the hole behind the striker rather than wide. A replacement central-midfielder for Black will be needed for the squad, while the addition of one or two natural wingers would bring more options with a view to putting out a balanced side.

FORWARDS

Lee McCulloch

An incredible season. Although he’s been affected by injury in the latter part of the season, McCulloch’s stamina in matches has been a testament to the efforts he put into looking after himself over the summer. With Rangers unable to stage their own full-scale pre-season training, the 34 year-old was training with a local boxer.

Up front he’s provided an aerial threat but has also shown he’s better on the deck than he often gets credit for. At times, he’s slotted back into midfield as matches have gone on and he’s now ending the season starting matches in central-defence. This from a player who initially signed for Rangers as a wide-midfielder.

He’s led by example in his work-rate, his willingness to step up to take crucial penalties and in his incredible scoring figures this season.

Heroic.

Andy Little
Workrate. Andy Little’s ‘utility’ tag marks him down as similar to McCulloch in being a player managers’ trust to work hard wherever he’s put. He spent much of the early part of the season playing wide-right as previously mentioned and managed to score a good chunk of his goals from there. That still doesn’t disguise the fact that he’s by no means a winger though and he’s looked far more comfortable when given a run through the middle.

One of the classic “doesn’t like too much time to think about it” strikers, when it falls to him in the box on-the-turn you expect to see the net bulge…but when running through one-on-one you can’t help waiting for the ball to be smashed off the keeper.

He’s had a great season and his enthusiasm, work-rate and goal-threat are missed whenever’s he’s out of the side.

Barrie McKay
Another one who, like Macleod, little was known of before this season. The main thing McKay brings to the side is pace. In a squad crying out for it, he’s the only one who can offer the kind of jet-heeled speed that terrifies defenders. He also holds the distinction of being the player who scored Rangers’ first ever goal in the Third Division.

He needs to add a few more goals to his game, he’s been unlucky not to score more with plenty coming back off the bar or post, but hopefully that will come. As, with all young players, he’s struggled for consistency, but is a great option emerging off the bench as an ‘impact sub’. McCoist has tried not to overuse him as relying on a player who only turned 18 in December puts a lot of pressure on him. The trouble is that when looking for pace or width…they’ve had to rely on him.

A great prospect who can hopefully maintain his level of development.

Dean Shiels
A bit of a 6/10 season for Shiels. He hasn’t flopped, but he certainly hasn’t lived up to the expectations that others and – probably he himself – had for him. To be fair, the main problem has been that he hasn’t found a settled position…a problem exacerbated by Rangers not finding a settled formation.

He has a good first touch, turns well and brings others into play. He does lack pace though, meaning that playing wide in a 4-man midfield doesn’t really suit. It also means that when playing up front he’d benefit from having someone with pace around him to bring into the game – something Rangers have often lacked this season. He looks best suited to playing a wide attacking role in a 4-3-3 formation or playing behind the front man in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

He often looks completely done-in after 70 minutes of a match…though it’s hard to say whether this a worry about his stamina or a testament to work he’s doing in dropping deep to look for the ball or in trying to make space for others. Realising that he’s usually surrounded by a young midfield, Shiels can often be seen trying to talk them through the game on where to move when.

Out for the rest of the season through injury, next season may feel like a bit of a Catch 22 for the management team when pondering his role in it. They won’t get the best out of him unless they set up the formation to do so…but do you build the formation around a player who hasn’t shone?

His attitude and workrate aren’t in question. Hopefully things work out better for him next season.

Fran Sandaza
It feels like he must have broken a lot of mirrors on his first day at Murray Park…and no, that’s not some barb at his appearance. A serious facial injury blighted the early part of his season and he’s now been suspended as the club investigate his disclosure of contract details to a hoax phone-caller. All this with some disappointing performances in between…it’s been a pretty disastrous season for Sandaza.

To be fair, when he has played, it’s felt like he’s been wrongly deployed. While he may be reasonably tall, he’s not a particularly physical player or a target-man, clearly preferring the ball on the deck. Unfortunately, in some matches he’s been used as a replacement for Lee McCulloch and has been out-muscled by Third Division defenders as a result.

In one match at Ibrox he ran himself into the ground trying to make things happen and seemed to have won over the fans. Their reaction being laughter and then applause when a mazy dribble into a clear goalscoring position led to him tripping over his own feet, Ted McMinn-style. The reaction would have been a lot worse had he not clearly been trying so hard.

Sadly, some insipid performances later and now his (hardly shocking…) disclosure that Rangers are a “massive club” with “amazing fans” but that he only signed for the money and would move to a better league for more money…may have ended the fans tolerance.

The club’s “investigation” feels heavy-handed and like something that wouldn’t have been inflicted on a player in better form. If he’s still at the club next season, hopefully he can pick his confidence up and show the goalscoring ability that he clearly had at St Johnstone last season.

Kal Naismith
He’s been deployed as a striker and as a wide-midfielder, but it’s only in the former that he’s really looked a prospect. Not lightning quick but with a decent touch, good height and seeming a composed finisher, it’s perhaps a surprise that he hasn’t had more chances up front. Four starts and fifteen sub appearances have brought 3 goals though. He lost his head against Dundee United and was deservedly red carded, but hopefully this was a one-off rather than a sign of any innate weakness of temperament.

Kane Hemmings
A player who’s been unlucky with injuries throughout his time at Rangers. Still to score for the club, hopes were high for him after a prolific loan spell at Cowdenbeath. Unfortunately, he failed to take his chances in the woeful 0-0 draw with Stirling Albion on Saturday. With his contract up at the end of the season, he’ll be hoping he gets another opportunity and is able to take it.

FORWARDS – THE CONCLUSION
Lee McCulloch and Andy Little have provided the goals this season, but it remains to be seen whether McCulloch will start next season up front or the management will prefer to keep him at the back, solidifying the defence. The attempts to sign Dundee United’s Jon Daly – a strong striker, club captain and with the ability to move back into central-defence – feels like Rangers moving for a younger McCulloch. Perhaps to replace him in attack and leave him free to continue in defence.

Rangers could certainly do with introducing more pace, with Barrie McKay being the only speedy attacking option. There’s also the nagging question of how best to deploy Dean Shiels.

THE MANAGER

Ally McCoist
McCoist’s Rangers management career has been spent in circumstances different from those faced by any other Gers’ boss. From spending last season having to deal with an owner who appeared to have escaped from the Iraqi Ministry of Information, to this season having around a month to convince players to sign for a club in the Third Division.

He’s faced criticism for not bringing in players of First Division standard. In his defence though, he neither had the scouting structure in place to be bringing in players of that type, nor would they have sold as many season tickets. The signing of players who were stand-outs for their SPL clubs last season should have had the double-benefit of being players he was familiar with and who would encourage the fans to buy into the club’s new project.

That those players have largely underperformed is a criticism that he has to face up to though. Templeton has done well (though can do more), Shiels just about gets pass marks, but the signings of Black, Sandaza and Kyle simply haven’t worked out. Admittedly, injuries have played an exacerbating role with the latter two.

Argyriou and Faure have failed to show themselves worthy of a regular starting spot, while Cribari falls into the Shiels category of showing flashes. Thing is, an inconsistent trequartista is one thing, but an inconsistent centre-half will land you in the sh*t a lot quicker.

There are certainly questions to be asked of McCoist’s success with signings…and by extension of the Rangers scouting network under ex-Ger Neil Murray.

Tactically, nobody in the Rangers support would be able to tell you what McCoist’s favoured formation is. Then again, Walter Smith was always fairly pragmatic when it came to formations and leaned more towards what suited the playing staff available and the opposition they were facing.

Recent performances mean that McCoist will come under increased pressure, not just from the support, but also from Charles Green. With a venture capitalist in charge of the club, sustaining high attendances and achieving value-for-money in the transfer market will be given far higher priority than sentiment. Hopefully having the luxury of a proper pre-season in which to work with the squad will see performances improve and some players turn their form around. The worry for McCoist will be that the club can’t make signings until the 1st of September… meaning the side that starts the season potentially being far different from the one that plays a few weeks later. Needing players for those early matches will presumably also hamper a desire to move some players out.

While there have been disappointing individual and team performances throughout the season, parting company with a manager who looks set to win the league by double-figures does seem like it would be ridiculously harsh. He must do better, but he deserves the chance to do better.

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About the Author

Twice runner-up in Scottish Comedian of the Year finals, Teddy was named ‘Best Up and Coming Comedian’ at the Scottish Variety Awards in 2010. He’s written for two BBC Radio 5 ‘Unsporting Reviews of the Year’, and has also worked as both writer and script editor on the BBC1 Scotland football shows ‘Offside’ & ‘Only An Excuse?’. He’s been a Rangers season-ticket holder for the past 17 years, but he’s all about the football not “all that other shite”. Also has a fondness for Dynamo Kyiv that can be traced back to an unhealthy obsession with Alexei Mikhailitchenko (or Oleksiy Mykhalychenko if you prefer to transliterate from the Ukrainian rather than the Russian. That’s the unhealthy obsession we’re talking about.)

“brilliant Scottish comic” Kate Copstick, Scotland on Sunday

“Head, shoulders, knees and toes above the rest…mighty stage presence and impressively high punchline ratio” Brian Donaldson, Scotsman

“freshly minted topical gags…pin-sharp lines…great routine…a class act” Steve Bennett, Chortle.co.uk

“has flourished…cracking lines” Jay Richardson, Scotsman

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