If there’s one thing we undoubtedly underestimated here at Ibrox Noise, it was fan feeling towards Calvin Bassey.
After a recent article in which we suggested LB wasn’t entirely comfortable with either Bassey or Croat Borna Barisic as the two options, the response from fans absolutely slaughtered the piece.
Not so much the criticism of Barisic, but it absolutely took apart the sentiments towards Bassey and told us in no uncertain terms how good he was and that he was clearly the best LB at Ibrox.
Last night’s performance from the Nigeria man was certainly no let down either:
He got the ball third-most of the entire team, managed two successful dribbles and was fouled twice, and while he didn’t intercept at all, he did tackle, block and clear plenty.
His distribution does need a little work, with only 1 good cross of 4 attempts, and none of his long balls hitting their mark, but as a workhorse there was little to fault him.
He also provided the (indirect) assist for Tav’s goal v Dortmund at Ibrox.
In short, fans have surprised us by strongly suggesting the former Leicester man is their player of the season, with many choosing him ahead of Tavernier, Aribo and Morelos.
From how he fared on his initial season under SG, the way Bassey has bloomed this campaign thanks to a complete physical makeover in the summer and taking advantage of Borna Barisic’s major dip too, the 22-year old’s present status in the team is now close to guaranteed starter.
We know he has work to do to truly become the complete LB, and he isn’t there yet (which is why we suggested we have weakness in that position), but Bassey’s recent displays have been among the most consistent.
Yes, he has made some big gaffes, and yes, his concentration isn’t perfect, which isn’t surprising for such a young lad.
But it does seem like Rangers have a first-choice LB for the big occasion now. And he isn’t Borna Barisic any more.
There was 1 cross in the first half Bassey whipped in right across the front of the 6 yard line, but Morelos didnt anticipate it and it just fizzed across and away. If morelos had just gambled he would have had a clear hit at goal.
I’ve had my doubts about Bassey’s distribution and positional sense, particularly at CB but credit where it’s due. He has been superb recently, even at CB. Hopefully maturing with more game time.
I also think you are being a bit unfair on his (indirect) assist v Dortmund. The full backs job is to put the ball into a dangerous area. It’s not to pick out a forward, it’s the strikers job to get himself on the end of the cross. In this case Bassey did everything expected of him. Sure the defender made a hash of it but that’s the point. He put a dangerous cross into the box that put the defender under serious pressure and Tavernier took full advantage. For me that was an excellent assist.
So the rules change for Bassey? Usually an assist is a direct pass to the player who scores from it. That wasn’t the case here.
Is it? Surely Tavernier gets an assist for the Balogun goal. I would argue that he didn’t specifically cross the ball to Balogun. He put the ball into a dangerous area, the defenders couldn’t deal with it, and Balogun rose above everyone to head home. To me that’s exactly what Bassey did against Dortmund. I suspect someone got an assist for the Morelos goal too. Jack chipped the ball in, it was helped on and landed at Morelos to score.
Getting a bit silly now. This is a slippery slope.
I agree Stuart. Just giving the lad some deserved credit.
Great wee player, full of energy but I prefer barasiac at lb, better crosser and plays better with Kent,
Wee? Are we talking about the same guy. He’s a man mountain 😂
Every dog has its day and I’m so glad Basseys getting his, during the covid party incident involving him I was wanting rid of him but I’ll admit I was too hasty, if he keeps playing and improving we could have a real catch on our hands.
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