With yesterday’s unconvincing win over Morton in the cup fresh in the memory, Ibrox Noise wanted to do an early season assessment.

We’re now 10 matches (inc. friendlies) into the new campaign, and it’s warranted now to assess every significant player in the squad to sum up how we feel Rangers players have started this season.

So without further ado:

Butland:

Very poor in the cup, but has otherwise been very good indeed. Was great v Livi then exceptional v Servette, and the major reason we went through. We have to say he’s been great so far overall – justifying his reputation and CV. 9

Tavernier:

How can we say this… this is the worst RB in the history of Rangers, outwith the 2012- era. What Tavernier gets away with is murderous, due to his irresponsible cavalier attacking, which yields goals aplenty, because no one in world football knows how to mark a defender. Problem is it leaves the door wide open and we concede left right and centre. He simply doesn’t do his own job at all. He’s been ghastly this season, but as long as he nicks penalties and scores random goals, he will always have those in our support who have his back. He’s playing a man down. How this guy is in the Hall of Fame next to luminaries like Steven Davis and Allan McGregor is beyond us. 2

Goldson:

He’s played 3 matches, and besides a decent showing v Servette (he wasn’t bad in that one) and a few good long balls v Morton, he’s been horrible. He’s just a rank-rotten defender who is being paid an obscene level now and it frustrates us that like Tav he’s untouchable. 4

Souttar:

Exceptional – yes, he struggled v Servette because of the ‘partnership’ with Goldson, but paired with Balogun it’s been another story. The best defender in Scotland when teamed with the right cohort, Souttar has been excellent. 9

Balogun:

Suffered as Souttar did, alongside the hapless Goldson, when paired with the former Brighton man v Morton, but aside that impervious and not a single error. Common denominator here… but when with Souttar, outstanding. He’s a top defender. 8

Barisic:

He’s had a VERY good season. Let’s give this lad his due, good in preseason, great since the competitive action started, he’s thrived on having Balogun next to him especially, a strong robust CH to rely on. Even without him, the Croat has done very well. His best spell in ages. 8

Lundstram:

He’s lost all of what fans loved about him – he’s a yard slower, he’s not dominant anymore, and he doesn’t make the same number of tackles either. He’s also much slacker with his passing and loses the ball more carelessly. Unfortunately Lundstram looks a shadow now of his old Sevilla self. 4

Jack:

He’s not played a lot, but was excellent v Servette at home where he covered wonderfully for Tav and looked his own 55 self. Unfortunately the return leg in Geneva was more like his modern self with no impact. Had a pointless brief cameo v Killie. A mixed bag for a squad man. 6

Raskin:

Slow start really, he didn’t have much of a Rangers preseason and looked a little subdued, but that all changed v Servette when he came roaring back with his old self. Big reason we got through in that one. 7

Cantwell:

He’s not sparkled quite like the magic of last season, and also had his own slow start, but he’s still been very good and does things others just can’t. He’s definitely being targeted though and remains one of our best players. 7

Cifuentes:

Barely put a foot wrong since joining, he’s a strong lad and he will thrive for this club. He’s a speck of quality and the more time goes on we’ll see his worth kick in. 7

Dowell:

He’s just an ordinary Championship player filling in with versatility – Beale appears to play him as more of a DM half the time though, despite being an AM by trade. He’s not shone nor has he stunk. He’s just been ‘there’. Reliable enough. 6

Sima:

Oh here’s where the bad apples start. Sima has been atrocious. We warned about this signing, resisted by the ‘before a baw is even kicked ffs’ crew, but he’s sadly proven us right. He’s not very good at football and his career is littered with evidence of this. A journeyman who should be in England League One at best, and can’t believe his luck to have gotten the Premier League, Ligue 1 and now a goliath the size of Rangers. He’s the Senegalese Jon McLaughlin. 3

Lammers:

Was lauded by a lot of fans during preseason, but has proven Ibrox Noise’s dubiety about the signing of him to be correct once the serious action started. Sure, we didn’t think he was as bad as others did v Killie, but since then just useless. His miss v Servette was a shambles. Why did we sign him? Because Michael Beale said so. 2

Danilo:

Ignore a fractional improvement v Livi and a solo goal v Morton, Danilo has been awful. He’s been £6M of waste and he was signed to score open goals, not miss them – that disgrace against Servette was worse than van Vossen. He’s been an excruciating use of so much money, and we’re yet to see an ounce of evidence this guy is a ‘baller’ against anything better than Morton. 3

Dessers:

Oh Christ, if Danilo has been a waste of £6M, this guy has been an insult of it. We dumped goal machine Antonio Colak for this, at a loss of £3.5M, and if ever a signing was just painful to watch, it’s the Nigerian. At this point, Cremonese must be absolutely thrilled they were able to sell this guy because he’s been diabolical from the start with Rangers. 0

And those have been the main players, the rest consigned to cameos and little else…