With five competitive games now
complete, having secured five stylish victories along the way, now seems a
reasonable time to give an early report card of Rangers’ new signings and how
they have fit in.
Readers are free to joyously
agree or angrily disagree where they like; there is a nice poll at the end of
this entry giving our readers the chance to choose their own personal
favourites. You should select up to five of the players. But one by one here
are the
Ibroxnoise.co.uk ratings for all the new arrivals at Ibrox this summer.
Wes Foderingham.
Had a sticky start, with some
suspect kicking and ‘that’ goal at Easter Road, but has grown more into the
role over time and produced a fine save v Alloa not to mention some excellent
defensive cover v Ayr United. Not been overly tested in truth, but has
impressed at cross balls. Still a little shaky with the distribution from foot,
but overall can be pleased at how he is settling in. 7/10
Danny Wilson.
Looks extremely composed on the
ball, and tends to use it well. Was caught napping for St Mirren’s goal, but
generally has led well from the back and seems to organise the players around
him rather effectively. Not really had to do a huge amount of actual defending, but
been mostly solid enough when called into action. 7/10
Rob Kiernan.
Big tough stopper who has a touch
of the aerial Mohsnis about him (the Tunisian was colossal in the air) but
without the crazy meandering of the now-Angers defender. Kiernan has been
impressive when it comes to brute-force defending, with solid tackles, but been
a little slack with passes, giving the ball away at least three times in the
past two games. Just needs to up the concentration a tad and he would be the complete
package. 8/10
Dominic Ball.
Debuted v Ayr
and, a couple of loose passes aside, was reasonable. It is worth pointing out
he and his partner Danny Wilson limited Ayr to
just five shots, only one of which was actually on target, so while we did not
see the full repertoire of Ball yet, he proved himself to be a useful squad
member. 7/10
James Tavernier.
When this guy is good, he is
absolutely exceptional. How Warburton managed to get him is unknown, but he did
a great piece of business in persuading this marauding right-back to switch the
English Championship for its Scottish counterpart. Tavernier can score goals,
support attack, tackle brilliantly and has pace to burn. Was less impressive
last night v Ayr when he was guilty of wasteful passing and some slack control
every so often, but generally when he is in the right frame he is every inch
worthy of the shirt. 9/10
Andy Halliday.
Boyhood Rangers fan Andy turned
down guaranteed offers in England
to trial at his heroes, and he was never going to waste the chance. Halliday
has been busy as a bee, covering so much grass in each 90 minutes he has
featured in, while rarely wasting the ball and scoring one absolute worldly in
the process. Hard-working grafter with no lack of ability and fits into Warburton’s
system effortlessly. 8/10
Jason Holt.
Quieter than Halliday but no less
effective, Holt has fit into Shiels’ adapted role last season of link man in
midfield. He gets forward to support the attack and provides the connection
between midfield and up front, while managing to get on the scoresheet too.
Always seems to be in space, always available to take pressure off team mates –
Holt is a vital cog in the Warburton machine. 8/10
Martyn Waghorn.
Intensely hard-working striker,
supporting everyone around him and getting into great positions; his off-ball
movement is excellent, but the one thing his game lacks is the killer finish.
He has scored twice for Rangers, but overall in five matches most of those
shots have either been saved, off target, or hit the woodwork. But his other
work is worthy of admiration, and while he is not scoring a lot, he is fitting
seamlessly into the system and is one of the major reasons Rangers are scaling
such heights. 8/10
Nathan Oduwa.
Showed disrespect to Scottish football
when he showed skill. How DARE he! All joking aside, Oduwa has talent, and
skill, and even on a drenched Somerset Park last night showed more than once
the quality he has (should have had a penalty and got chopped for his work on
multiple occasions) – and the home side’s Craig Moore was only too happy to
oblige Colin Hamilton’s wishes and endeavour to crock him. The lad has skill
and pace, but may just be a little selfish now and then and want to be the
centre of attention, losing focus in the process. Got plenty of development in
him and there would be no one better than Warburton to get the best from him.
7/10
Mark Warburton.
You did not really think I would
forget the most important signing of the summer, did you? Warburton has just
been sensational, ripping up the failures of the past and starting again, on a
borderline overnight basis. He has signed superbly well with limited budget,
and rejuvenated the likes of Lee Wallace and Barrie McKay. Even Law is looking
a player under Warbs. Praise cannot go high enough to this manager who has
gotten more out of his players in five matches than the previous three managers
managed in 36 months. 11/10.
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