It would be fair to state that this season hasn’t exactly gone to plan for Mark Warburton and co this year but it hasn’t been a total disaster. The Scottish Premiership title is more or less out of reach but Rangers could be set for success in the Scottish Cup this campaign.
The Gers booked their place in the fifth round with victory over Motherwell and Warburton will try to bolster his squad ahead of the business end of the year. Let’s take a look at three potential last-minute transfer targets for Rangers as they look to secure a 34th win in the competition.
Van der Vaart has been there and done it all at the highest
level of European football but could
consider a move to the Scottish Premiership if it suited both parties. One
of the main complications with a potential move for Van der Vaart would be his
wage demands – but Gers might be able to offer a competitive salary compared to
his current pay at Danish side FC Midtjylland.
Lars Bender
At the time of writing, Rangers are 80/1 to win
the title in bet365’s Scottish football betting and Lars Bender’s arrival would certainly give Rangers a much-needed boost in central midfield for the remainder of the campaign, increasing those odds. The Bayer Leverkusen man has featured in just five Bundesliga games this season and a move away from Germany could be on the cards in the coming weeks.
With 19 international caps for Germany, Bender has played at an elite level for the majority of his career – making him a valuable asset for any club. The 27-year-old has struggled to get back to his best after suffering a long term injury last season but a move to Ibrox could help to save his career. Rangers aren’t in desperate need of help in midfield but a loan deal for Bender would give Warburton another competent option at the very least.
Fabian Delph
The former Aston Villa man has failed to settle since joining Manchester City and a move away from the Etihad Stadium could be on the cards if the 27-year-old is willing to take a pay cut. At one point, Delph was widely regarded as one of England’s top prospects and he even managed to record nine international caps before leaving Villa Park. He has been limited to a handful of cameo appearances under Pep Guardiola and a move to somebody like Rangers would make perfect sense.
With a bit of training and match fitness, Delph should be able to pick up where he left off from his Villa days. If nothing else, his passion and energy in the middle of the park could prove useful as the Gers look to compete with the likes of Aberdeen and Celtic
for the Scottish Cup in the coming months.
Time to get real! There is no chance and nor should there be any chance that we should consider players that are not going to make a significant contribution next season. Have you been looking at the ones mentioned on your Fifa 17 stats? Rangers need and mean really need to sign good Scottish players in their early twenties to compliment what is available in the academy. Get a manager/coach in that can identify these players and delelop and manage them whilst having a knowledge of the SPL or capable of learning quickly. Get back to basics, understand that the likelihood is celtic will win the league next year hopefully not so easily but plan for season 17/18 we will be back with a strong team, made up of properly scouted players and a strong, intelligent management team. I can't really understand what has been happening, I am sure there are a few gems in our squad that with the right coaching could become much better but the reality is no one can say who they could be!
No chance and most likely no way to pay the wages their parent clubs would command.
There are far to many slow players in the Rangers squad. Too many players have been played out of position far too often, too many who shouldn't be at Ibrox to begin with and too many who are there but haven't been given a chance.
Many problems were identified last season but were not addressed. We needed two or three centre backs who could tackle and were good in the air. We needed a right back and some cover for Lee Wallace.
Above all we needed a couple of QUICK defensive midfielders who were robust, could pass the ball, could tackle, and step forward when it was required.
We needed players that would enable us to use the full width of the park. Players that could play out wide and players who could move the ball quickly side to side to keep defences stretched.
We needed players who could score a lot of goals.
MW brought some players in and continued trying to play his 4-3-3 formation. Soon we played Celtic at Parkhead and our glaring deficiencies became more clear than ever. Not, though, to Mark Warburton.
If Rangers are going to finish second then Kiernan, Wilson and Hill have to be replaced NOW. Halliday too. We must stop trying to play 4-3-3 with players who are not capable of playing that formation.
We need a 4-2-3-1 set up, like Celtic. A formation with players who can shift quickly into 4-4-2 if required to push forward more. We need to find these player from the current squad, our loaned out players, or bring others in NOW, before the window closes.
Here's a start, if all players are fit. Fill in the "blanks".
4-2-3-1
Foderingham:
Hodson, Blank, Blank, Wallace:
Rossiter, Crooks:
O'Halloran, Forrester, McKay:
Dodoo:
Subs Miller (late on and only through the middle) Thompson, Tavernier, Garner, Senderos ( a possible "blank" at a push) Windass and Holt.
Some of that lot will need replacing at a later date. But we might need "blanks" all over the shop.
MW has to move on now. His tactics are not working and his signings have been awful mostly. Wrong players and wrong positions. He can't fix this all now, obviously, but has had more than enough time to do it. I like Joe Garner but the money could have fixed our glaring problems that really need sorting. The time and money spent on wages for Barton, Senderos (needs a chance though)and Kranjcar is criminal.
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