Why these stats from summer signing might worry Rangers fans…

As Rangers fans are well aware, this summer we invested £2M on a player we’ve had nothing back from.

We want to like Albania’s Eros Grezda but as yet there’s nothing to show for Steven Gerrard’s gamble in an injured player, and while many can argue about match fitness, Grezda managed the full 90 of his country’s disappointing loss to Israel in the nation’s league.

So, let’s try to look at exactly how he performed in his second international start in a row, which, incidentally, he found himself on the left wing for.

Observers to his previous cap had been disappointed, claiming he didn’t look anything like the player he was pre-injury, but then he was being played as a striker.

Against Israel he was on the more natural wing, and so he would have a better chance of impressing.

Ibrox Noise watched said match, as we’re sure many of our readers did, and sadly we have to report Grezda struggled badly to assert himself. He got a lot of the ball but did effectively nothing with it.

Let’s have a look at his stats for the night:

He touched the ball 64 times, which is a very healthy number. He touched it more than any other attacker on his side, and touched it more than any player on the opposition. He was certainly heavily involved.

He also managed 41 passes with an accuracy of 85%, which is pretty respectable.

Sadly, those were the only successes of his night.

He managed 2 shots off target, and just one weak cross in the whole 90, which went straight into the arms of Ariel Harush in Israel’s goal – not great for a winger. He did manage two decent long passes though, so it’s not all a complete bust.

A particular encounter we noted was a decent enough dribble, which the defender simply stopped him during – for a big lad he appears to lack much power. Indeed, he managed just one successful dribble, although he was fouled three times as well.

It all adds up to a pretty disappointing night, and while he is still regaining match fitness, for a number of fans who knew him well pre-injury to suggest he has lost his edge is certainly worrying.

Here’s hoping he gets it back.