There was a meme or two about Tuur Rommens debut following Wednesday’s victory over Kilmarnock. Getting a little bit ahead of themselves, some fans created an AI image of former Rangers defender Sasa Papac handing over the baton, a quite literal baton in the picture’s case, to the new left back at Rangers. Did Rommens’ performance deserve that? Rangers shatter breathtaking record as Tuur Rommens arrives
The danger of overreaction
In all fairness, there is a distinct dichotomy with fans these days. Some overreact to a good performance. Others overreact to a bad one. There is very rarely a middle ground. Rangers make £3M bid to finally sort out left back at last
The reality is that Rommens did himself no harm at all. He also justified, in small parts, Ibrox Noise’s pleasure at his arrival in the first place. This was a signing Ibrox Noise wanted from Westerlo in Belgium. The lad was well rated. He was a good age. He also had a very strong CV around him. Rangers have finally sorted out a big problem area
Compared with Jayden Meghoma, he was a gigantic upgrade. Some of his runs were a little off with the timing. He failed to latch on to one ball. That was basic rather than a teammate misunderstanding. Nevertheless, aside from this, he got in a few crosses. He looked composed. He also seemed able to defend reasonably well.
Context matters
Of course, it was a completely dead on their feet Kilmarnock. Please do not overreact as some fans have. That applies not just to him, but to others too. Rangers announce signing of Tuur Rommens
There are also those unable to take a word of criticism against debutants. We saw this regarding aspects of Ryan Naderi’s performance. At the same time, we asked fans to give him time. We quite literally need him to have that time. Men’s January transfer window round up
Nevertheless, some supporters became abusive about that as well. In fact, they will abuse My Little Pony. They will abuse absolutely borderline anything. Tuur Rommens transfer details
A fair assessment
At the end of the day, Rommens’ performance was decent. It was promising. It was the level we would probably want from the get go. A Rangers left back should show quality, composure, and consistency.
We do not expect him to be Arthur Numan. As brilliant as that would be. Numan was quite frankly world class. He played for his country at the top level and was close to the world’s best left back in the late 90s and early 00s. He was one heck of a signing.
We obviously do not expect that from Rommens. Times have changed. Still, it was pleasant to see a decent debut. That remains true even against a dead on their feet ten man Kilmarnock with barely 20 minutes left.
The fact is, Rangers brought this guy in as a long term left back. Tuur Rommens debut looks like he could be the part. It is far too early to make judgments. Still, it is better to have a promising debut than a bad one.