Have Rangers just paid for a big summer mistake?

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Have Rangers just paid for a big summer mistake?


As Ibrox Noise brought to you some days ago, yesterday Ovie Ejaria’s exit from Rangers was made official, cut short even before the January window.

It’s hard to know where to begin with this saga, because as out of the blue as it seemed, Ejaria’s exit could have been predicted from the off, and indeed, your friends on the site more than implied it.

On the day Ejaria signed a loan deal at Ibrox, he also signed a new contract at Anfield. In the press release for that deal he confirmed that’s where he wanted his future and where he wanted to establish himself. Not a word about his loan deal to Govan, nothing. It was plain from the off that he wasn’t interested in Rangers.

One look at his face when signing the Liverpool deal compared with posing with the Rangers scarf tells its own story – case in point:

Already, the signs weren’t good. Next was his apathy to the team when he played – quite frankly at no point during his entire time in Glasgow did he ever look remotely content with being here. He didn’t produce significantly impressive football either to offset his glum expressions, and his refusal to get involved with some major goal celebrations (walking off sullenly compared with the glee on his team mates’ faces) said a lot for his lack of both wanting to be here, and team ethic.

As we know now, the excuse we’ve been given is he didn’t settle, and found Scottish football too rough. We also understand he fell out with Gary McAllister too.

But the seeds had been sown from the start. This was a mistake of a signing, a player who didn’t want to be here in the first place, and who had no qualms about expressing it visually, if not verbally.

But… and here is the big nub of the matter – he didn’t fit in to Gerrard’s XI – he was adequate only as a CM and we had plenty of them. He simply didn’t develop as an AM at all, yet kept being selected to play there.

So… we have to question Steven Gerrard’s persistent inclusion of him in the first team.

It’s not that Ejaria was terrible, it’s that he was wrong. Wrong player, wrong club, wrong position. And yet he featured more than many of the more significant signings last summer.

We have to question why. He had all of one assists, and scored twice. A truly poor return for his position.

We need to ditch these loans. It’s been a waste of six months, to the exclusion every time he played of another player we owned, whoever it was.

And lessons must be learned from that.

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10 COMMENTS

  1. IN I have said it before we are taking players on loan from clubs and are being forced to play them. The answer is in your own question it did not matter what position he played in you said it yourself he was out of position most times. But this was Stevie G sticking to the rules of Liverpool by playing him week in week out even if not from the start but coming on as a sub. The other loaned players are the same they ain't coming up here for a training session the clubs they come from make sure they are getting game time hence the reason they get picked before players we have bought think on it. There are also rumours going around that this guy came off Twitter due to the abuse he received from our fans some of it racial though no proof of any of that but it's a sad day if there is any truth in it. But as you say maybe the guys heart just was not in it to be at our famous club.

    • Why would you repeat baseless so called "rumours" for which you admit there is no proof but which tarnish our support in a disgraceful way anyway. And where exactly did you hear this rubbish, I can't seem to find anything about it anywhere.

      As for loans, I think you have to judge each on their merit. The problem is that from a fans point of view it's been hard to understand why Ejaria, Coulibaly and Worrall have justified playing as often as they have. I know that some loans come with penalty clauses if the player doesn't play enough (Bristol City reportedly had to pay Liverpool 200k for not playing Ryan Kent enough). If that's the case for any of our players then I wouldn't have any of them. We can't risk losing games because of stupid loan conditions.

      However I think there are more obvious reasons. Worrall was played instead of Katic who started brilliantly but has looked dreadful in his last couple of starts. Since McAuley has been fit he's been starting more often than Worrall. As for Ejaria and Coulibaly, the fact is we've almost no other options for the attacking central midfield role apart from Arfield. I think they were playing by default. This clearly has to be a priority in January & Gerrard has basically admitted as much. First move should be to bring Docherty back ASAP.

  2. Scud the Spud 15 December 2018 at 19:45 "2nd place for us you and one more title closer for the tramps to get 10. There is no more time for us to waste with the beggers they must be stopped this season.No title this season for us = no job here for Stevie G it's either this season or never for our glorious club"

    Scud the Spud 15 December 2018 at 19:49
    "As I said before flood the team with the best loaned players we can afford and get stop 10 and then start from scratch again. All that matters to me is to put a stop to 10 double quick and if a big pile of the best loaned players is the answer let's go for it. WATP"

    Scud Above is the answer to your own question. This is why we can't play a team of 10 loans. A couple, if they help us progress, but never a team of them, or too many. If there was racial abuse, that is wrong and the Police should be informed. No time for that at this or any club.

    IN, I think the two pictures do tell quite a story. I have nothing against the player, but if you cannot commit to a club, as a buy or a loan, don't come. Worral could learn from that, as he may be next. Kent is the only one I would keep.

  3. God. Look at midfielders: Doran’s, Jack, coubaliy, arfield, McCrorie, and count up no of days they were suspended or injured. SG didn’t have too many choices. Young guy on loan would only have been considered to fill in for occasional game. Instead SG had little options. And look at other injuries and suspensions. SG has worked Miracles with his lack of choices. We are building for future. Unfortunately in all walks of life 20 year olds can be pretty stupid. Settling in Glasgow can’t be too easy. Racism has never held sway at a Ibrox or indeed in Scotland. Religious bigotry yes but not racism. Gerrard and McAllister can be trusted. A couple of weeks ago you were begging us to sign Kent. Now you want rid of him too. Long term we must build from youth. Stop moaning!! SG will have a strategy.

    • Alan, second time you've peddled this line about Kent in a few days and we're allowing it through this time purely out of courtesy. We've clarified the point in another post to you and you've evidently ignored it. We'd appreciate it if you represented our content a little more accurately.

    • Not ignored it. I am 6000 miles away in a different time zone. But I was certain I had read you wanted rid of Kent. My apologies if you didn’t say that or indeed you retracted it. I am back on Tuesday to urge the boys on. As I have done since 1957. Problem for a new manager in Scotland and playing in Europe is the transfer window timings. Nonsense that window closes after our season starts. Taking loans is a reality until we are financially stable and in a better place.

    • Alan I love your response and I know you don't mean it to sound negative, I've even heard myself saying very similar but it's almost like we're totally offended by being called racist because what we are is bigots.

      How dare you call us racists, we're bigots. Sad but true for some of us. Still we're getting better.

  4. Setting aside his attitude and his loan clauses (if they exsist) this boy his f'in keek. He's been told all through his youth hes a wonder player and the next liverpool legend, he got his first taste of mens football and completly bottles it. Calling it right now, will find his level at english league 1 by the time his liverpool contract expires and hes released.

  5. Spoiled brat type.As for loan players,Catch 22=a dilemma or difficult circumstance from which there is no escape because of mutually conflicting or dependent conditions.Amen and Merry Xmas.

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