Retaining the youth
News has emerged today of two new deals for a pair of our younger players, namely the left full-back Steven Smith and the goalkeeper Allan McGregor.
In Smith’s case it’s pretty decent news. He’s been a stalwart and ever-present in the side this season, and has rarely let us down in the time he’s been established as a first-team player which is over a year now. It could be argued he’s not quite up there with the finer full-backs Rangers have boasted over the years, such as Numan, Ball, Stevens, and Robertson, but he has been fairly dependable if not one of our flashier players. It is the view of some that he would be better off as a more-than-able deputy to a first choice left back of real pedigree, but due to the utter lack of cash at our disposal, purchasing a more illustrious player has not been an option.
We have to hope he matures as both a defender and flanker, and develops further, improving in his position. He certainly has age on his side, being only 21, and his best years are undeniably ahead of him, and conceivably, due to the aforementioned lack of funds, a more ‘glamorous’ signing in his position is unlikely to occur in even the medium term. The only issue surrounding that slot in the team is only one other player in our entire squad can be employed there; that being the currently out-of-action Ian Murray, who’s been beset by some form of arthritis. But even he is only a utility player whose best position is something of a mystery. So there is no real option to replace Smith should he be injured, which is surely a grave concern. Our only alternative would be to switch to a back 3 formation.
Moving onto McGregor, it comes as something of a surprise that these contract negotiations appear to have been concluded in such a swift and timely manner in his case. Speculation surrounding his position has been rife, particularly in lieu of the controversy which permeated his dropping to the bench in favour of Lionel Letizi, but his agent Willie McKay did project a positive vibe regarding McGregor’s desire to remain in Govan. As such, the club acted quickly to tie him up for a further 3 years, but the surprising aspect about the speed at which these talks were finalised is that McGregor remains a rank understudy to Letizi, and presumably Stefan Klos too, who has recently returned to the reserves. Why would the youngster be so keen to remain under the tutelage of a manager unwilling to instil him as the first-choice keeper regardless of his own form? It stands to reason that Allan would desire first choice status, and yet he has signed a new deal which lends itself to the notion that he is content as 3rd choice. Either that, or he has been persuaded by the promise of something which the fans remain in the dark about.
The only curious aspect is that Chris Burke has not as yet been captured on a longer deal himself. As perhaps our most prominent club-reared youngster, Burke has been a fan favourite since emerging 2 seasons ago, yet his contract has not been extended. The reasons for this remain a mystery, and it is hoped his case will be sorted out as quickly as possible.
Lastly for today is a look ahead to tomorrow’s visit from Motherwell. The side we opened our account for the season against, the most interesting aspect of this encounter is being faced again by Ross McCormack, our former youth striker.
It is inconceivable that we fail to extract 3 points from this game, in surely a convincing manner given ‘Well’s close to bottom-feeding status.
Clement is mooted for a place on the bench, but Lee Martin does not return as of yet.
An on-song Rangers should really pummel Motherwell – Le Guen’s rotation system makes it impossible to consider what our starting eleven will be, so predictions are futile, but safe to say we’ve adopted the 4-3-3 formation in the past 2 games, so it seems logical to suggest we will engage this match in a similar manner.
We have a decent run of results building up, it remains self-explanatory that we desire to pursue its continuation.
In Smith’s case it’s pretty decent news. He’s been a stalwart and ever-present in the side this season, and has rarely let us down in the time he’s been established as a first-team player which is over a year now. It could be argued he’s not quite up there with the finer full-backs Rangers have boasted over the years, such as Numan, Ball, Stevens, and Robertson, but he has been fairly dependable if not one of our flashier players. It is the view of some that he would be better off as a more-than-able deputy to a first choice left back of real pedigree, but due to the utter lack of cash at our disposal, purchasing a more illustrious player has not been an option.
We have to hope he matures as both a defender and flanker, and develops further, improving in his position. He certainly has age on his side, being only 21, and his best years are undeniably ahead of him, and conceivably, due to the aforementioned lack of funds, a more ‘glamorous’ signing in his position is unlikely to occur in even the medium term. The only issue surrounding that slot in the team is only one other player in our entire squad can be employed there; that being the currently out-of-action Ian Murray, who’s been beset by some form of arthritis. But even he is only a utility player whose best position is something of a mystery. So there is no real option to replace Smith should he be injured, which is surely a grave concern. Our only alternative would be to switch to a back 3 formation.
Moving onto McGregor, it comes as something of a surprise that these contract negotiations appear to have been concluded in such a swift and timely manner in his case. Speculation surrounding his position has been rife, particularly in lieu of the controversy which permeated his dropping to the bench in favour of Lionel Letizi, but his agent Willie McKay did project a positive vibe regarding McGregor’s desire to remain in Govan. As such, the club acted quickly to tie him up for a further 3 years, but the surprising aspect about the speed at which these talks were finalised is that McGregor remains a rank understudy to Letizi, and presumably Stefan Klos too, who has recently returned to the reserves. Why would the youngster be so keen to remain under the tutelage of a manager unwilling to instil him as the first-choice keeper regardless of his own form? It stands to reason that Allan would desire first choice status, and yet he has signed a new deal which lends itself to the notion that he is content as 3rd choice. Either that, or he has been persuaded by the promise of something which the fans remain in the dark about.
The only curious aspect is that Chris Burke has not as yet been captured on a longer deal himself. As perhaps our most prominent club-reared youngster, Burke has been a fan favourite since emerging 2 seasons ago, yet his contract has not been extended. The reasons for this remain a mystery, and it is hoped his case will be sorted out as quickly as possible.
Lastly for today is a look ahead to tomorrow’s visit from Motherwell. The side we opened our account for the season against, the most interesting aspect of this encounter is being faced again by Ross McCormack, our former youth striker.
It is inconceivable that we fail to extract 3 points from this game, in surely a convincing manner given ‘Well’s close to bottom-feeding status.
Clement is mooted for a place on the bench, but Lee Martin does not return as of yet.
An on-song Rangers should really pummel Motherwell – Le Guen’s rotation system makes it impossible to consider what our starting eleven will be, so predictions are futile, but safe to say we’ve adopted the 4-3-3 formation in the past 2 games, so it seems logical to suggest we will engage this match in a similar manner.
We have a decent run of results building up, it remains self-explanatory that we desire to pursue its continuation.
posted by RangersMedia @ 9:39 PM
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