End of the road for these two Rangers failures

21
End of the road for these two Rangers failures

We learned a lot about Rangers’ squad and management today at Ibrox, arguably even more than in any previous match this season. Many fans would point to the Old Firm debacles as the barometers against which Rangers should be judged, and that is absolutely spot on, but today a unique set of circumstances transpired to give a new and valuable angle from which to measure this climate at Ibrox, and it does not make for impressive viewing.

However, two players stood out head and shoulders of ineptitude above the rest (Jason Holt also had a stinker but he has been pretty good by and large the past couple of months so we will cut him the slack), with respective performances of absolute mince and if Rangers are to move forwards and upwards from here on in, neither can play another minute in the Light Blue shirt.

I am of course referring to the diabolical James Tavernier and Martyn Waghorn.

It is evident now that fans have absolutely enough of these two, and few can fathom why they continue to heavily feature on match days.

If we start with Tavernier, his painful inability to defend is not just his Achilles Heel, it is his entire leg. Tavernier’s carelessness, his lack of concentration, his bewildering lack of positional sense and his general disdain for simply doing his job has rubbed enough fans up the wrong way and lost him every ounce of goodwill he ever earned. More than once today he lost the ball in an inexplicable farce, with at least one of those moments leading to near goals; thankfully his colleagues bailed him out.

If we are to be generous, the guy simply is not a right back and should not be getting played there – and yet every manager at Ibrox has selected him mostly in that slot. It is getting to be such a joke now that the short-lived joy of seeing Lee Hodson start at last was tempered by the selection of him at left back so Tavernier could continue on the right as usual.

James, thank you for your time but you can go now.

As for Waghorn… this guy had a decent season last year in the Championship, no doubting that, but the SPL is not the Championship. Everyone who arrogantly claimed the gulf between the Championship and the SPL was pretty small (Bread Man, I am looking at you) was patently wrong, and Martyn Waghorn is proof of that. His ineptitude as a striker was summed up near the end – bulldozing his way to a one on one against Noring, before a pathetic finish right at the Hearts stopper rather than sliding it to the left and giving it to the completely free Joe Dodoo.

Waghorn has been an astonishingly poor prospect this season, out of his depth in the SPL and he too is now free to pack up his things and head off.

Yet why do these guys play? Is there some mystery at Ibrox we do not know about that means both must feature heavily?

Ibrox Noise has been pretty patient, especially with Tavernier, but enough is enough. Much better is needed or it is top 6 at best next season.

No posts to display

21 COMMENTS

  1. I was criticised heavily for pointing out, before we signed them, that these players (along with most of Warburton signings) were not good enough. I said they would stand out in championship then struggle in spl. I was right.

    However I think rangers fans are being unfair and really quite bitchy about the players that have struggled this season. They are trying as hard as they can, they just lack ability.

    The true fault lies with the board for agreeing to fund numerous signings of mediocre players. They blindly trusted a manager who was clearly not the right man.

    Also I feel for hill. Again I was against signing him but he has been along with Miller, and McKay in patches, among our best players in a very poor side.

    • Tav just comes across as lazy at time. What really bugs my head is when he is one on one when attacking 99% of the time he beats his man and is faster. But when defendIng (if he's at the right end of the pitch 50-50 chance) then he gets beaten 99% of the time, and by the same players that he jist bet… should retrain as a striker cause he loves the glory too much to defend properly

  2. Sorr but yes we want rid of them…but the whole why do they play? We have a small limited squad, and some of our best youth are out on loan..thats prob why they play

  3. How many bears are not renewing season tickets?after the last few games I suspect not many

  4. Why do they play? I think we should be playing them. We need to give them the opportunity to showcase themselves to prospective buyers.
    I will be hoping that both are heading to Nottingham along with Kiernan, we will not be too hard to deal with

  5. Its all about next season and whilst I am yet to be convinced yet with Pedro the fact he is starting his rebuild from the back is encouraging. Unlike the writer Holt has had just as bad a season as the rest and like many of his colleagues he is not up to it. In fairness however to him and the rest they try hard but lack any quality and the blame lies with whoever sanctioned their signings and that is why the board must scrutinise every player Pedro wants to bring in so we are not in this position next season. As for season tickets I have got mine once a bear always a bear.

  6. Couldn't agree more re Tav and Waggy .
    And I thought Hill was the worst C H we had ever signed but how wrong the big man proved me .He is one of the few who can hold his head high , just wish he was a couple of yrs younger.
    I hope Kiernan get his arse well and truly kicked out the door as well as the other two .

  7. I applaud the Noise guys for this article as it is 100% fair accurate and to the point (I can be a right greetin face sometimes) I suspected both players would get found out in the top league and unfortunately they most certainly have,

    On the other hand I have to concede that I had the goalie in that category also but fair do,s to the guy as he, in my opinion, has raised his game to a level I presumed was beyond him and is now showing passion for the cause and bawling and shouting which I love in a gollie and would probably improve further if he had the luxury of having a decent outfield 10 in front of him, so sometimes it is nice to be wrong

    Fair comment also about Jason Holt, he did have a stinker today but he is a player I have a lot of time for and he does have it in him to improve unlike a few of the others currently wearing the famous jersey

    Its probably going to be the most vital close season summer period in our long and glorious history as you cant help thinking that we, as a club, have now reached a critical and far reaching point where what happens in the next 10 weeks or so will dictate what level we can expect to operate and hopefully challenge the manky mob and restore our stature, on the other hand if we continue to recruit mediocre at best players then the future will not be bright and certainly wont be orange

    WATP

    • I agree with you in regards to Jason Holt, his last few games have seen him underperform, but like you, I also have a lot of time for. Unlike many of his team-mates Holt covers the whole pitch in every game, covering up for other players errors, failures and at times where they give up, Holt doesn't.
      He has a great engine, reminiscent of the likes of Alex MacDonald from the past, but at 24 he still has time to improve. He might not even be a regular choice but we have to have squad players and I feel he sometimes doesn't get credit for the amount of work he does off the ball.
      We also have to make sure a clear out doesn't end up with importing players of similar abilities or less and there is a distinct possibility players may take time to settle in.
      The next 10 weeks are crucial, we have to utilise the European campaign as our pre-season and bed in new players and hope all that we do hit the ground running. That is why we have to be careful who we retain and who we release and or sell.

    • Must be a mind reader Alan, every game I have watched Holt where he has played well(there have been a good few) I bore my china's sober pointing out the similarities I see between him and wee Doddy, who they are all well aware, is my favourite player of all time in my favourite era

      I am convinced that if you put similar players around Holt that Doddy had re- technical talent, character and sincere love for the jersey then Holt could be that vital team member that every successful team has had in their ranks down the years who runs themselves into the ground for 90 minutes, clears up all the scraps and score vital goals at vital times from midfield

      Players like Doddy are not really missed until they are no longer there

      WATP

  8. Hodson was every bit as bad, if not worse than Tavernier. Virtually every attack came dow his side of the field, and he adds less than nothing going forward. We need two quality fullbacks unless Wallace returns a better player than he was before he was injured. Midfield we are a joke, Holt is the best we have but we need two quality central defenders. Anyone that believes that Holt can control the midfield is living in cloud cuckoo land! Unless we see some quality players arriving early June we will be out of Europe and scrapping for the minor places in the league!

    • Absolutely, Tom. Was looking yesterday at the photos from training, and what stood out for me was how undeveloped/puny the legs on Halliday (especially), Holt and one or two others looked. We don't need man-mountains, but we're featherweights in (esp. central) midfield. Makes the task against the likes of Armstrong, Brown and Rogic considerably more difficult. I like Holty, he's a tidy footballer, but he'd add to his game if he'd lift weights in the gym more often.

  9. I see Mallan from st mirren is heading to England think he's a very tidy footballer not shy in work rate or putting a foot in. Still young enough to improve and only 300k thought we might have made a move for him

    • Absolutely Iain. Mallan is quality. Another guy who's apparently on the market now is Ryan Gauld; I just pray he doesn't end up on the other side of the town.

  10. Tav would make a decent right-midfielder. How he keeps being picked as a defender is anyone's guess. Hodson has been viewed more favourably than he otherwise would simply because he's not Tavernier.
    It looks like Waghorn is delivering what he did his whole career; 29 career goals in 180+ appearances before signing for Rangers. O'Halloran before joining us got 19 career goals in 126 appearances.
    Glad to get the 3 points today.
    I see Stevie Mallan might be joining Barnsley for 200k. We should sign him up before he does.

  11. The pair of them are nightmares! Tav is a liability who never fails to disappoint. Waghorn is average at best. He is way out of his depth and suited to the Championship. He misses that many sitters that you expect him to mess it up now. Sooner we're rid of the pair and get some half decent players in the better!

  12. Tav and Waggy can move on not worthy to wear the jersey .. as fot holt asked to do a job in a position tht isnt his strong poing but still gives all and covers the park look at windass awful player hope big crooks comes back and makes the holding ball playing midfielder we need 👏

  13. Actually I think Tavarnier is a very talented footballer. He's just a lousy defender. Which makes it all the more surprising that managers continue to play him there. In a free ranging role in mid-field (he has no positional sense) he could do very well.

    • Totally agree. I don't know why he thinks that he's a full back. He's fast, skillful, and never stops trying, but he should never be classed as a defender. Maybe needs hypnotised. Bye bye Waghorn though. The task is beyond him.

    • yeah i think exactly the same take away his defensive responsibilities and he will shine as for waghorn ttfn

Comments are closed.