If Ibrox Noise regulars have noted one thing, it’s that we try to be fair. We rate Rangers players on what we see, and the data, to come up with as accurate a reflection as we can of how they played, and with Cyriel Dessers we nothing but a chaotic mix of work, ethic, decent goals and assists, but yesterday…
One of the worst-ever pass rates for a Rangers player who started – an abominable 38% and just 28 touches of the ball.
And yet?
A cracking goal and a sort of assist in two matches.
Whatever fans think of Dessers, and he is very, very unpopular, he makes his case for inclusion with work rate, effort, team play, and goals and assists.
He managed five shots on Saturday, one on target (the goal) and worked like a dog to make a nuisance of himself.
But his passing was diabolical.
And his composure generally even worse.
Basically, Dessers is an ugly messy player – he gets in opponents’ faces, he makes things difficult for them, and when he does get the ball he invariably makes a hash of that too.
A smooth cultured clinical striker he isn’t.
But the reason this manager backs him and uses him is the sheer work he does – he is a tower of menace, and power, and harassment, and he gets goals and assists.
That he will miss boatloads, lose the ball all the time, and generally be Bambi on Ice is irrelevant to what he offers instead.
That it doesn’t look pretty is irrelevant, what matters is Rangers have 6 wins and 1 draw with him starting under Clement, and the draw was the screw up Clement made v Prague with the selection.
In short, Rangers 90% win with Dessers there.
Might not look great, but the results are.