Ibrox Noise was not massively impressed by Ryan Naderi on his debut against Kilmarnock recently. We took a fair bit of flak for not praising his early performance and for, as usual, apparently not ‘giving him a chance ffs’, as so many fans love to say. Ryan Naderi v Queens Park was keenly anticipated as a result.
The Queen’s Park Context
Obviously, the match against Queen’s Park was kind of no win for Rangers. They were expected to win and slaughtered if they lost. Of course, it did not turn out that way. Rangers won extremely comfortably 8-0 deservedly.
There was one occasion where Queen’s Park did carve the defence open. However, it is easy to carve a defence open if your striker is five miles offside. Overall, Queen’s Park did not really provide an awful lot of threat. That was not surprising given their lowly position. Rangers had already shown intent in the build up to this match as seen in the Ryan Naderi deal.
Naderi’s Goals in Perspective
But Naderi’s performance is the one that we wish to discuss in passing at the moment. Both goals he scored were those of a player up against massively inferior defenders.
His first goal simply was not defended. He had no one on him. He had miles of open space to pick his spot.
His second goal was another header. He was up against a guy about three foot shorter than him. He had no difficulty popping that one in the back of the net. It came from a very decent cross from Oliver Antman.
Oliver Antman’s Contribution
Now, we like Oliver Antman. We are glad that the Finn had a good afternoon. He needed that for his confidence, much like the optimism shown when Rangers officially confirmed his teammate’s arrival on rangers.co.uk.
But again, you cannot really judge him either. That is because of who he was up against. By the time he swung that cross in for the deadly second, Queen’s Park were already five down. More on Antman here.
Doing What Was Expected
The simple reality was that Rangers did what they had to do. They did what they were supposed to do. They did what they should do against sides of this quality, as reflected in wider coverage such as this report.
Naderi still cannot be judged. We will not offer any significant opinion on Ryan Naderi. We will not judge any other players either. Not until they perform against better sides.
Looking Ahead to Stronger Opposition
Of course, we do not expect an 8-0 against Motherwell. They are a much more difficult prospect than Kilmarnock or Queen’s Park. But the same level of cohesion and effort is appreciated, especially given ongoing speculation such as this analysis.
Now, in all fairness, Rangers struggled for quite a while against Killie. They were down to ten men. Yet Rangers still ran out comfortable winners in the end.
At no point did they struggle against Queen’s Park. Quite frankly, who would?
The Real Tests
But it is against the upper sides of Scotland’s top flight that Rangers will be judged properly. In the tougher matches in recent weeks, Danny Rohl’s side have not shone.
Let us not forget the losses in Europe. Let us not forget that horrible draw against Hibs. The sides that are of any quality have given Rangers serious problems of late. That has not really changed.
False Dawns and Reality Checks
The simple fact is, if we don’t get that result against Motherwell, the game is practically over. Perhaps not with outright finality. But certainly not in a positive sense.
Fundamentally because beating Queen’s Park will once again have been a false dawn. Everyone’s overreaction will become stark.
What We Want to See
Ibrox Noise’s balance is important. We want our Rangers to win. Of course we do.
We did get a little bit of that vibe of our Rangers on Sunday. That came when we trumped a tiny team with ease. That is what we want to see.
But we also want to see our team beat Hearts, Hibs, and Motherwell. Not necessarily with something to spare. But with a professional level that shows we are Rangers.
Winning the Right Way
We do not want luck to do it and we do not want contentious issues to do it. Consequently we want to win fair and square.
We do not want anyone whining about a fortuitous refereeing decision. That begins against the Steelmen. That one will not be easy.
We will also see how that one goes before making judgments on any players.
No More Knee Jerk Reactions
Quite frankly, you cannot judge in a training ground match against Annan. You cannot judge against a 10-man Killie. You cannot judge Ryan Naderi v Queens Park either.
Anyone coming to positive conclusions already is knee jerk. Anyone coming to negative conclusions is also knee jerk.
Until we see what they do against a decent side, it is all a bit knee jerk.