If there’s one massive story coming from yesterday’s Old Firm shambles that surprisingly hasn’t gained a lot of traction from either the media or Rangers supporters, it’s the bewildering treatment of star playmaker Todd Cantwell who not only didn’t start, but was overlooked as a substitute as well.
Speaking after the match, manager Philippe Clement claimed:
“Todd is OK, he was fit, yes. But this was not the game to put him on when we are playing with 10 men.”
We’re not sure what that’s all about, arguably one of Rangers’ hardest-working players in recent times Cantwell is deemed the ‘wrong’ player to bring on when we’re chasing the game?
The one player we actually have who can put his foot on the ball a bit and make things happen? The one that we have who is very willing to press in the opposition half and make mischief?
In this match, chasing a goal, chasing our own tails, Clement decided our only creative spark, Cantwell, wasn’t the right guy to bring on.
Even more tellingly, he wasn’t even selected to start, with Clement instead using the completely useless Tom Lawrence in that position who offered next-to-nothing?
Todd Cantwell will very much feel overlooked and undervalued – this was literally Rangers’ biggest match of the season, the do or die match, and he wasn’t deemed as appropriate for it?
Even Scott Wright got to come on, alongside Kemar Roofe, but ‘it wasn’t the right match’ for Cantwell?
We must admit, Clement’s man-management really has gone to the utter crapper in the past few months – Cantwell, for us, has never been treated especially well by this manager, never been made to feel valuable or important, and this approach from the boss upon the one player we actually had on the bench who could make a difference really is just one of many, many examples why Clement isn’t the right man.
If this wasn’t the right match to bring on our most creative player, why was it the right match to bring on Scott Wright who had no impact?
Just one of a litany of bizarre errors this manager keeps on making.