“Wasting away” – is it time Steven Gerrard made a dramatic decision?

Following Andy Halliday’s less than impressive display against Livi on Saturday, coupled with Borna Barisic’s ongoing fitness issues and Jon Flanagan’s form struggles, it’s evident that Steven Gerrard has a problem at left back, and one which doesn’t seem to be going away any time soon.

There’s a glut of choice for that slot, but no one player seems to have convinced the place is theirs, and while Halliday has been getting a run on the left recently, and we at Ibrox Noise have defended him more than most, he was definitely found wanting on Saturday and his naivete caused the backline to be exposed more than once. Not his fault, but in short, he’s not a left back.

Surely, surely there has to be a serious consideration now to giving Lee Wallace his place back.

Wallace will never quite be Arthur Numan, we know this, but he’s an experienced SPL fullback who has been perfectly able enough for Rangers in that slot in whatever division we were in at the time.

And he’s wasting away in the development/reserve squad while Flanagan and Halliday underwhelm in the first team.

By trade, Flanagan is a RB, so we certainly cut him a touch of slack over his increasingly average performances on the other side, while Halliday by trade is an attacking midfielder let’s not forget. He’s been shoehorned into defensive midfield and left back purely as a result of being willing to play anywhere for his team.

And that is admirable, but it is by no means the best solution, either for his career or for the club.

Wallace, as former club captain, might never have been the most vocal of leaders, but as an aspiring coach himself and current assistant at Tynecastle FC, he commands the respect of those around him.

Following the Kenny Miller shambles where the striker’s departure left Rangers thin up top, Wallace is, on the other hand, still at the club but his position is equally troublesome.

We don’t truly know why Steven Gerrard is ignoring Wallace – he’s the best fit option we have at LB and until Borna Barisic secures fitness that’s the way it’ll stay. Neither Flanagan nor Halliday offer much up front, and both of them have started to struggle defensively as well.

If this is club politics, it’s not very mature. We need our best players at our disposal, and it’s our conviction here at Ibrox Noise that Lee Wallace is one of them.