Ibrox Noise received a request following our player ratings for the season so far article, a request suggesting we compile a similar list for all the rest of Ross Wilson’s signings. Now, the Director of Football arrived at Rangers in October 2019 so that’s three years of signatures we’ve to go through.

And go through we shall. Hold onto your hats, this could be a long one.

January 2020:

Ianis Hagi:

This is a talented playmaker, and initially Wilson brought him on loan – it was made permanent via an annual £1M a year for three years deal, and despite Hagi’s 2022 being ruined, overall he’s been a positive acquisition. He’s also a big name, with his father’s legend and reputation on his shoulders, but he’s done a decent job of doing it honour. 15 goals and 21 assists in 85 isn’t breathtaking, but it’s decent. 7/10

Florian Kamberi:

A surprise addition, Kamberi was a loan and not initially deemed good enough given he was ex-Hibs, but a sterling goal at McDiarmid Park hinted at his promise. But it died quickly. 2 goals and one assist at present club Winterthur in 15 appearances suggests this was a wise one not to make permanent. 4

Summer 2020:

Calvin Bassey:

No one knew who he was, but that didn’t stop then-manager Steven Gerrard saying he’d surprise people. He was underwhelming until summer 2021 when he completely overhauled his body, and thereafter never looked back. Was probably the POTY last season in many ways, and it’s only now we realise how vital he was. Sold for £23M, a profit of £23M. Hard to argue a single flaw with this signing. 10/10

Jon McLaughlin:

To this day can’t understand why a guy whose career high was Hearts and League One Sunderland was deemed even good enough as our deputy when guys like Siegrist were being linked. Talentless rubbish stopper who simply isn’t up to the level needed even as a squad player for Rangers. Still yet to make one truly ‘good’ save for the club. Couldn’t believe his fortune to get to play in the UCL. We know some fans will point to his place in goal in the cup win, but Stirling Albion, Annan, and Dundee were our opponents before Celtic in the semis, so it’s not like he had much to do in that run. As it happens, Celtic only had two shots on target in the whole thing, and one was the goal! Hearts didn’t manage a single shot on goal in the final incidentally. 0/10

Jermain Defoe:

The only really ‘big’ name of Steven Gerrard’s time at Ibrox, Defoe was an England legend who was about done in the game, with his not even being good enough to get minutes for Bournemouth any more. Came on loan, and in truth, was a very talented finisher, one of the most natural we’ve seen at the club. That 300th v Livi was absolutely outstanding. But that’s as good as it got. Shouldn’t have been given an extension, and the plan to make him a coach was extremely poorly-conceived. Found himself ditching the club to go commentate on Sky matches instead by the end. First half of his time at Ibrox was good, second was far from it. 6/10

Leon Balogun:

Strong and able stopper who just suffered too many injuries. Was great when fit though, and one of the quickest CBs we’ve seen. Ruined Ryoto against Celtic out of position, and the bad decision was letting him go. Top defender. 8/10

Kemar Roofe:

Don’t really feel we have had value (£4M) for this one, given he’s been injured so much – but his stats are good, very good. He could have been so much more if he could have stayed fit, but he’s one we know had a bit of injury history before joining. 6/10

Cedric Itten:

Ah Ced the Ted. Another £3M signing we got little from, just wasn’t favoured and came back from his loan even worse than he’d left. Likable lad and gave it what he had but this wasn’t a good signing and it didn’t work out. We could have had Lyndon Dykes for a third of the price. 3/10

Bongani Zungu:

His only contribution as a Rangers player was yelling ‘racist’ v Prague. Just a dreadful signing who wasn’t up to it. Gets the score for backing up his team mate. 2/10

Jack Simpson:

Quite possibly the worst defender we’ve seen at Rangers in SPL territory, Simpson was truly, truly bad, and we’ve never been happier to get rid of dead wood more than him. Diabolical addition. 0/10

Scott Wright:

Give him his dues, he’s never injured, gives it everything, and doesn’t lack skill. Great as an impact player in truth, he’s quick, and he’s honest. He falls short on pure quality and he’s not a starter, but he’s ok as squad. He’s not the worst use of £300,000. 6/10

January 2021:

James Sands:

His versatility is great, even if fans aren’t universally keen on his defending, Sands is one we may sign permanently this summer, given he’s still only a loan, and we have seen a lot worse players than him in the shirt. Exceptional at little but poor at nothing, Sands is professional and conducts himself well. 7/10

Aaron Ramsey:

Oh brother. Hyped as the biggest SPL signing since Gazza, it ended up a truly shocking addition. Injured almost his entire spell at Rangers, Ramsey was a disaster. Fans saw a player better than he was actually playing, when he actually did make an appearance, simply because his name was Aaron Ramsey and perception plays tricks on you when you cloud it with reputation. He was absolute * for us and his missed penalty summed him up. -10

Amad Diallo:

Bright start at County with a goal, but that Old Firm disaster ruined him and he never really got back from it. We saw some glimpses during the split but by then he was a busted flush. Is currently in the Championship with Sunderland and struggling there too. We now understand why Ronaldo is slagging off Man Utd if they’re chucking £40M at Atalanta for rubbish like this. 1/10

Mateusz Zukowski:

Literally never got a chance aside one cup outing, just a complete waste of time – the Pole was signed to replace Patterson but clearly he was rank rotten because he never got a look in. And this has been borne out – Lech Poznan signed him but demoted him quickly to their B team and that’s where he’s been ever since. Thank goodness we sold him for something. Ibrox Noise actually got abuse from some Poles that we were wasting the kid, wonder what they’re saying now he’s rotten at Poznan as well. 0/10

Summer 2021:

Nnambi Ofoborh:

Oh dear – how this lad’s medical never flagged up his health issues is beyond us – is that the damning indictment of Rangers’ health team? Won’t ever play for the club, and his career is over. Damn shame, but it’s a zero. 0/10

Fashion Sakala:

Ok he’s not horrible, but he’s so below the standard needed to play for this club that even a full preseason this year didn’t get any more out of him. He’s just not very good and mercifully was a free. The score he gets is for effort and a reasonable number of goals. 5/10

John Lundstram:

Slow start due to how Gerrard was using him, Lunny picked up hugely in the middle under Gio when paired with anyone not called Steven Davis. Became the hero of last season and was absolutely colossal from the turn of the year till the summer. Has struggled with the rest of them this season, but recently been picking back up a bit. Superb ranging of passing and no slouch in the tackle. He’s a £10M midfielder when he’s on form, and he was a free. 8/10

Juninho Bacuna:

Oh dear oh dear oh dear. Probably the reason Clickbait Insider is using Huddersfield and Ben Jackson for clicks to Rangers, this Curaçaon belongs in that division having come from the same club. Was painful in our shirt, his performance v Praha literally embarrassing. Had to be taken off he was that out of his depth. Thankfully we didn’t pay anything for him despite a £2M price tag. 0/10

And to see the ratings for 2022, go here.

Verdict?

Five good signings prior to this summer: Hagi, Sands, Lundstram, Bassey and Balogun of 19 players total suggests there has been a very, VERY poor return under Wilson.

If he wants the picture to look worse for him then just two of the seven (Lawrence and Colak) in the summer can qualify as good meaning 7 of 26 are overall a success.

There are borderline ones, like Roofe, Wright, and Defoe, but ultimately too many are below value for money and give us little back. We don’t see 6/10 as good enough. 7 or more is the base minimum to be a valuable addition, and just 7 players of note since October 2019 under Wilson is a pretty damning result.

Now, you may disagree on a few, you might think Sakala is Lionel Messi and we’ve been too harsh, or that Ramsey really was Ramsey rather than the rammy he ended up being, or you might even think we’ve been too generous with some, but give or take we imagine the general consensus will probably favour the verdict.

And it excludes the exits of Balogun and Katic while we’re at it.

Wilson just isn’t fit for purpose, he’s been the common denominator under two different managers, and that we can only find 7 of 26 players that improved our team says a lot about the merits of his performance.

Not good enough.