Oliver Antman and his start to life at Rangers has not been the best. Despite a Dutch football expert proclaiming him as a £30 million player, and his Dutch stats confirming how good he had been in Holland’s top flight, he has not been able to shine at Rangers under either Russell Martin or Danny Rohl. The Finnish international has talent. No one would doubt the quality of a guy who has just won Finland’s player of the year. Unfortunately, he is not being managed correctly to his best strengths, and this is a recurring theme for many players at Rangers. Antman’s debut was electric. He tore Plzen to pieces. The Czech side were destroyed by Rangers new signing, and he looked every inch the £30M winger that Rangers had signed.
Martin’s tactics kill Antman’s spark
However, very quickly, Russell Martin coached that out of him, and he has never regained his confidence. Even worse for him, manager Danny Rohl does not play or prioritise with wingers. He even tried to shoehorn Mikey Moore into being a 10. He has used Gassama, and he has used Antman, but he is not a wide flanker type of manager. Antman has been in and out of the team since then, and he has now picked up that injury, meaning he is out until February.
Proven quality before Ibrox
The problem here is that Antman is clearly a talent. He is capable. For Go Ahead Eagles in the Eredivisie, he was outstanding. His stats were excellent. He produced 23 goals and assists in 39 matches. He was definitely capable of playing, and he was doing it for his country too. This was not someone who performed at a low level. He did it for a modest team in Finland and a strong Eredivisie side as well. This is not a low level, and he still won the player of the year, in contrast to what Rangers fans have seen.
Poor choices holding Rangers back
He is a great player. We need to get the best out of our best players, and he is one of them, but he has not flourished. Russell Martin could not do it, and it seems Danny Rohl is having the same problem. Maybe he does not suit the league or the club, or maybe his confidence is not there. We cannot tell you. What we do know is that an Antman on form would be an outstanding prospect. We will not see it until next year at the earliest. The biggest flaw involves Václav Cerny. The Czech international, who shone at Ibrox last season, was let go, and Rangers refused to sign him. Once the takeover completed, he had already joined another side. Rangers could have signed him for the same cash that got them Youssef Chermiti. That decision making is dire.
Hope for Antman’s return
Rangers fans would have been happy with Cerny remaining. Oliver Antman came though, and on paper, he is as good as Cerny. But Antman has not been able to shine at Ibrox for many reasons. Now he is injured, which is more unwanted news. Will we see the best of Antman? We hope so. He is a good winger, but it has not happened yet at Ibrox.