So, as another rotten Old Firm result passes, we at Ibrox Noise would like to ask one simple question:
Why did Nicolas Raskin and Todd Cantwell not start at Hampden?
Rangers supporters are all asking the same thing, why on earth Michael Beale didn’t start with his two shiny new signings, and instead selected Mr Apathy himself Glen Kamara, and clearly-injured John Lundstram.
Ibrox Noise, in our selection, did not have Malik Tillman either, because quite simply his attitude isn’t very good and he’s not as good a player as some previously believed.
But the main focus is on the absence of Cantwell and Raskin, two players who have greatly impressed since joining in January.
The big question on fans’ lips is why sign these high-quality players to then not start them in a match this huge?
John Lundstram was clearly miles short for pace and fitness, and should never have started, while Kamara is short on balls and guts, and should never start, period.
So fans are wondering.
Our only theory is Beale didn’t want to throw them to the wolves of an Old Firm, that he didn’t want to make them freeze and lose all their progress. That is likely to be the real reason.
And if that is the case, it shows his judgement to be poor. These guys were ready, they were hungry for this match, and the manager keeps them on the bench for it.
Instead, he started one great but broken player with a good attitude (Lunny), one overrated one but broken with a bad attitude (Tillman) and one good one with a terrible attitude (Kamara).
That he removed the lot shows he knows he was wrong, even if he spouts mince about ‘shaking the tree’, and that he waited till 65 minutes before he did it made it even worse.
In short, Beale hugely ruined this, and we do not know why he selected the team he did. In truth, most fans called the team out before kick-off, they had huge doubts about the choices, and none could father why Raskin and Cantwell were benched.
It didn’t work. At all. Beale is massively at fault for this, given the quality he has in midfield, to start with the weakest combination he could.
So why did he do it? Only he really knows.
“I will only buy players who will be starters in my team” then proceeds to go into an old firm with Gios team. Leaving his only signings, who both immediately improved the team, on the bench. Then to wait 66 minutes to amend it, is even worse. Those decisions are both worse than bringing on Sands to see out a goal advantage.
Start with the team we ended with at the piggery and we should do them. But by then all we’d be trying to do is stop them winning a treble, again. Too little, far too late. Cheers Mick!
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