“Rangers’ Class” seems to
be a completely forgotten phrase. Nowadays, with the level of the team at
something approaching negative values never mind the bottom, Rangers supporters
find themselves in endless debates with each other about which players of this
current squad would be good enough for an SPL Rangers.
Many suggest Bell,
Wallace, McGregor, Vuckic, and even Law; these sorts of players get repeatedly
peddled as good enough to play for Rangers in Scotland’s top tier, which only
goes to show just how standards have absolutely plummeted among Rangers
supporters.
Let me be clear; not a single player in Rangers’ entire squad
is good enough for the SPL at this club.
The truth is after Sunday, no
matter the result, none of the players who have recently been lining up in the
Light Blue are likely to play for Rangers again. Certainly not as starters.
Squad depth, maybe, based on the likelihood that the board will not want to pay
all the rubbish off.
Newly-installed chairman Dave
King stated we want players who are ready to step up to the SPL when required, rather
than us having to construct a completely new team by the time we get promoted.
So, when the inevitable happens
and Rangers fail to make the grade on Sunday (and even if they defy the odds to
overcome the Steelmen) it is extremely likely a number of pay-offs will be
taking place to rid Rangers of players who simply are miles off the quality the
Club needs.
Look at the team who started last
night and compare them with the kind of team we had in 2011:
For Bell see McGregor
For Foster see Whittaker
For Wallace see Papac
For McGregor see Goian
For Zaliukas see Bocanegra
For Murdoch see Edu
For Shiels see Davis
For Law see Aluko
For Vuckic see Naismith
For Miller see Jelavic
The gulf here is laughable. For
any Rangers fan to seriously suggest there is a single Rangers player in this
entire squad good enough to continue beyond this season highlights just how
depressingly below Rangers quality expectations have sunk.
The most common case is always
made for Wallace but he struggled to hold down a place in the SPL at Ibrox, and
instead of replacing Papac, often rotated with him. He has sacrificed the best
years of his career but his performance in these playoffs and these past three
seasons in general have not been of a player capable of playing at a higher
level.
Think about it this way; which
players in this Rangers team would you trust to do the club some kind of
justice in the Champions League? When we look in the past and see the likes of
Beasley, Ferguson,
Cousin, Hutton et al, it is truly comical that anyone tries to make a single
case to support any of these present players as good enough for the SPL at
Ibrox.
King wants a Rangers capable of
stepping up to the SPL. Well, Mr King, you have made your bed – it is time to
loosen the purse strings and replace near-enough the entire first team. Hearts
did it, at a fairly low cost – there are absolutely no excuses.
Win or not on Sunday; you have a
busy summer ahead.