Rangers fans; divided by Clint Hill
Yesterday news broke through social media and the Scottish Sun that Rangers were making serious overtures in the direction of QPR’s recently-freed veteran defender, Clint Hill.
To call reaction to this news mixed would be a mild understatement – indeed, it completely split supporters down the middle.
Hill is a 37-year old warhorse well-versed in both the English top tier and its underling the Championship, and the stopper has had a more than productive career in his time within the game.
However, the arguments have started primarily over his age, with over 400 appearances in the sport among his achievements. The obvious rebuttal many have countered that with is the “Sir Davie of Weir” fallacy which basically says if you are going to dismiss a defensive signing based on him not being in the springtime of his career, look in the direction of Rangers’ assistant manager for the impact he made at Ibrox in his playing days, during the twilight of his career.
Weir joined Rangers in January 2007, aged 36, and went onto arguably become a legend of the Club, and played a huge role alongside initially Ugo Ehiogu then Carlos Cuellar, which led to Walter Smith’s Rangers being so defensively sound.
That argument holds up on almost every level, with the one flaw being that Weir was coming from Premier League cracks Everton (where he spent nine top-class seasons in England’s strongest league), while Hill’s legacy only sees one significant season for him at that level (QPR 2011/2012), while the rest of his playing time was in the Championship fighting relegation.
But of course Rangers, regardless of whoever it is, desperately need an experienced head in the centre of defence – someone to guide the rest and to read the game in a manner Danny Wilson and Rob Kiernan are frankly struggling to do as a partnership.
Rangers have done right by McParland and Warburton (and Weir) so far, and this signing, if it happens, is said to have been personally recommended by Joey Barton himself; ergo it has merit.
Nevertheless many Rangers fans are unhappy with the notion of his joining the ranks at Ibrox, so I will open it to the readership. Do you want Rangers to sign Clint Hill?