We accept in writing this piece, there will be a sizable portion of the support that will dismiss any analysis, especially that which they dislike, with the phrase ‘give him a chance ffs’ and ‘it’s only August’ and last but not least ‘judge them at the end of the season, not after 9 matches’. There may be one or two ‘who wrote this p*sh’ or a ‘was this written by a 12 year old’.
We’d have to say, frankly, 9 matches is a reasonable number of matches to form some sort of opinion, even if it may be subject to change, so we’re going to give an early season report card for all the summer signings.
You may wish to abuse for this article, just because it’s in your nature to rage and swear at anything not to your liking. Feel free but it’ll be ignored.
Without further ado, here we go:
Defence:
John Souttar:
This is a tough one to begin with. Signed as a body to replace the previously-departing Connor Goldson, Souttar’s position was made tougher when the Englishman stayed. He has been beset with bereavement and injury, and currently sits on the sidelines. But he has bad injury history and signing came with risk. We can’t judge his performances (albeit some rejected him after Livi then did an about turn with backing once they learned of his bereavement) but we can say that, on a pure value and signing basis, it hasn’t yet worked out. We know his talent, we saw it in the cup final, he’s a fine defender when fit and in form, but approaching September we’re yet to see that. That’s just being honest. Hopefully he’ll get the chance to shine.
Ben Davies:
We just don’t know what’s going on here. Injury? Personal issues? Davies set back £4M but hasn’t produced an ounce of quality for that. Had an ordinary starting debut at best v Killie and vanished thereafter. Gio extolled him for his left footed attributes but we’ve not seen a bit of it yet.
Ridvan Yilmaz:
We’ll be honest, this one is another to struggle – he’s made one starting appearance, and he really didn’t adapt well. He’s been benched ever since. We thought he’d be a guaranteed starter and yet Barisic has actually improved with the signing. Ridvan, so far, is a very expensive benchwarmer at £5M. Obviously he has talent, but few fans were impressed by his full debut v Killie. He’s not even been on as a sub since then.
Attack:
Rabbi Matondo:
Here’s another one to fail to really deliver yet. Great in preseason but hasn’t done much of note aside a decent second half v hapless St Johnstone, the Wales star hasn’t made much of an impression at all yet. That he’s a supposed proper RW yet rarely starts there says a lot. He’s been mostly bench and second half sub. Not the best investment of £2M yet.
Tom Lawrence:
At last, we have a decent success! Lawrence hasn’t been magical but he has been very good – he’s shown quite a few good matches so far, and while he’s had lesser moments, overall he’s been great value already for £0. His run and shot/post v PSV shows his quality.
Malik Tillman:
The successes are flowing now. This lad is a talent – he has a bit to learn at his age, but he’s taken to Rangers like a duck to water and most Rangers fans want him signed permanently. We’d shy from that till he’s done it for months, but we’re impressed by him so far. He effectively secured us Champions League with some brilliant hunting and composure, and gets big scout points for that.
Antonio Colak:
Well if ever a striker justified his transfer fee, the Croat is it. By far the jewel in the summer crown, Goalak has been remarkable. Sure, took him a match or two to get up to pace, but 7 goals in 9 matches says everything for his quality. Has only failed to score in 3 matches. Flawless and superb.
One thing is clear – every defensive addition has been a complete flop so far, whatever the reason and regardless of justification. 9 matches in and we’ve seen a total of 3 appearances between all 3 of them. And that’s £10M!
But aside Matondo it’s been the opposite in attack – Lawrence, Tillman and Colak have all been great and enhanced the squad.
It’s like any window – some will work, some won’t.
We’ll see if the ones who currently aren’t finally settle and start to bring their a-games.
The last 3 players you mentioned there, top matks but Souttar, Davies, Yilmaz and Mason do, to say I’ve been so underwhelmed is an understatement, our scouts need to take responsibility for these absolute duds, bringing in injured players or players that aren’t even good enough to sit on the bench, something has got to change, the tarriers have got a right few quality players whilst we just throw money doesn’t a stank, it is gut wrenching when 95% of our signings over the last few years have been an absolute disaster, nothing short of embarrassing
Looking at it it has been a solid window especially when comparing it to previous ones. Some of the signings have starting off really well and I hop that continues. The likes of Colak, Lawrence and Tillman have definitely caught the eye. For the some it’s wait and see. Matondo kind of feels like Diallo. A young talented and quick forward minus the loan deal. I feels he’s more of a project player and will get better as time goes on. Haven’t seen much of Yilmaz but I think if he’s given the chance to settle and people are patient I think he’ll be great signing. Davies is an odd one. Not having a proper pre-season has got to be the reason behind this one. Then there’s Souttar and honestly this is the one I’m most worried about. He’s not had an easier start on and off the pitch. He also has the issue of competition for places. Goldson is the main man, Sands has become a solid option, the existence of Davies and finally King who Gio clearly has plans for.
Why didn’t Davies have a pre-season? He was a Liverpool player and as far as I’m aware he wasn’t injured when he joined. And he signed for us SIX weeks ago. How out of shape was he?
I expect yilmaz and motondo to be a success not sure about davies and souttar tbh ,got to say we havent done too bad with 95 % of our signings being poor apparently ,league ,cup .eul final ,qaulification for CL ? have spent net 10 million a year until this one 15 million ,which quite frankly in the big world is BUTTONS punched above our weight in europe with that budget and sold bassey and aribo for MASSIVE profits .Apart from signing injury prone players well done rangers and the business model going extremley well .
I agree with your assessment. Souttar, Davies, Yilmaz and Matondo have all fallen well short. I see Souttar as one who will constantly be injured. I agree he had a good Cup Final but that was for a Hearts team under constant pressure defending for their lives. Our defenders don’t find themselves in that position very often. Like you I haven’t got a clue what’s happened to Davies. Sands has done well with some serious blips but I don’t think he’s a proper Centre Back and is not the answer. Yilmaz is a worry for me. He has obvious limitations, e.g. height, build, lack of pace etc. that can’t be fixed and whatever his other attributes are seem unlikely to outweigh those issues. Strangely, although Matondo has been poor I’ve seen a few glimpses of him that makes me think he’s just not settled yet.
Let’s hope they ALL prove me wrong. We can’t really afford 4 out of 7 signings to fail.
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