So, how did Lawrence Shankland’s competitive debut go as Rangers captain? It was a huge honour for the new Rangers leader. He led his side out at Tannadice on his debut as Rangers captain. However, how did he fare on the pitch? How did Lawrence Shankland’s Rangers debut go?
Shankland received no service
Unfortunately for Shankland, he got next to no service. Pretty much everyone around him generally ignored his runs. From Gassama to Naderi and even Aasgaard, most of Shankland’s work went unnoticed. While he managed one or two efforts, he could not get the ball in the good positions he had found.
Think of the movement from the likes of Morelos, Defoe and others who came before him. They produced good movement that those around them did not pick up.
Strikers know their runs will be missed
Now, this is something that strikers do know about. They are well aware that a lot of their work will be wasted and go unseen. Their teammates will not pick them up every single time.
Only the absolute best, the elite of the elite, will see that movement and be able to feed them. Rangers do not quite have that in Djeidi Gassama or Thelo Aasgaard.
A difficult competitive debut
Put simply, Shankland was starved of service and could not really influence the game. That diabolically comical throw rather summed up his night. It failed miserably to go forward and found itself going into orbit instead.
Sadly, it was not the best debut. Shankland will be hoping for much better at Ibrox in the next one against Hibs. There is the trip to Poland first, of course.
Rangers need much more
Of course, there is still a European match to come before then. Rangers will very much hope there is much more to see from this squad than we saw at Tannadice. Lawrence Shankland’s Rangers debut could have gone better. It really was not the best start from pretty much anybody.