Falling further

After the fair praise the side received for a fighting and passionate victory over Aberdeen, they were strongly berated for an abject display in Inverness in which three points were conceded along with all the good work previously carried out.

It stood to reason, then, that the subsequent home game against St Mirren was a real test of the Ibrox men; the pressure was on to prove the good run hadn’t been some kind of brief fluke, and that a corner truly had been turned with the ICT result a blip.

Witness then the worst display at Ibrox this season, and a serious contender for worst display in the modern age against a Buddies’ side languishing second from bottom in the league.

This was a performance which plummeted new depths of tragedy, and left a feeling of pitiful despair among the fans. Not even the normally magnificent Ferguson could lift himself or his side to even one level higher enough to conceive a decent display and result over the Paisley minnows.

What was provided at Ibrox was beyond abject, and when Brittain scored on 14 minutes it was a clear sign that the shambles in the Highlands wasn’t going to be corrected today. Boyd did fire in a headed equaliser, but it only papered over the cracks of a match in which Rangers scaled further heights of ineptitude.

The catastrophe of the afternoon’s desperate showing was highlighted by none other than the abysmal Papac. During one sequence, he managed to make around four hideous blunders sequentially, and put his side in serious jeopardy thanks to his embarrassing incompetence. By no means should blame be attached to any one player, but the fact that such shocking poverty of quality was not isolated to an auxiliary left back was enough to ring the alarm bells at epic proportions.

The final result was 1-1, and in many ways, it was a point won rather than two dropped.

The boos at full time summed up the state of play among the fans – it was a shuddering crescendo of disapproval, and represented the rank grief shared among the supporters over the current plight of their proud club.

Once again a flicker of hope has been blown out by a return to the worst this side has to offer, and one wonders truly if Rangers will ever be a great club again.

Many steps backwards.

Just when you thought maybe a tide was turning, a corner being turned and a hundred other whimsical superlatives were surfacing to describe a renaissance of Rangers, it comes to a shuddering and embarrassing halt at the hands of an ICT well below par and having failed to win a game in nine attempts.

Le Guen made one enforced change to his team, starting the maligned Slovakian Sebo in place of the injured Prso, without an ill Buffel to call upon for backup.

ICT, in 11th place in the SPL, stood between Rangers and a pretty successful festive period, and signs were more than promising that the Ibrox men could sustain the recent good form they had enjoyed and continue the clutch of passion surging through them, one which had aided them to a real battle against Celtic, and a hard fought defeat of Aberdeen.

However, by the final whistle of this encounter in the Highlands, another three points had been thrown away with all the progression reversed and passion missing.

This was truly a dire display, and ICT were worth their victory. They did not play especially well themselves, but the fact McGregor was the man of the match with stunning save after stunning save sums up the poverty of what was witnessed by the Rangers faithful.

From kick off, the complete lack of spark and guile was blatant, as Rangers lacked any kind of direction, with not even Ferguson able to control the game and dictate flow. Indeed, when Novo converted a soft (but still valid) penalty at the 20 minute mark it failed to paper over the cracks of a pretty bleak performance up to that point. Then it fell to Dods to equalise despite McGregor’s valiant attempt to save his side.

Cue half time, and surely the side would come out all-guns blazing in an attempt to reverse fortunes in this game and ramp the ante up a tad?

Not a bit of it; if anything the second half was even worse than the first, with McGregor being called upon to bail his team out at an alarming rate. Indeed, if we are honest, he stood between Rangers receiving a real thumping at the hands of a bottom-feeding side struggling to stay in the division.

There was just no cohesion, spirit or flair on display, despite Novo’s trickery in the second half. Where had all the passion gone? What on earth had happened?

Half time was Le Guen’s chance to truly flex his managerial muscles on an epic scale. His side was struggling, and needed a severe pep. So when the second half delivered a more inept display than the first, signs were there of a gargantuan problem which appeared to lay at the door of the boss.

We have not even begun to mention Sebo, the struggling former Vienna player, whose performances cannot be described as such. A good lad, but possibly the worst Rangers signing in the modern era, approaching the embarrassment of the likes of Ostenstad, Capucho, and even that insult to the jersey, Bernard.

A massive step back has been taken tonight, and suddenly the cracks have ballooned right back into focus.

Swedish delight

When the announcement was made by Rangers via their official site that they had signed Karl Svensson from Swedish club IFK Gothenburg the news was greeted in a generally positive manner by the fans.

Swedish players are usually well rated, their national team tends to give a good account of themselves in tournaments, and Swedish players have historically excelled in British football. Particular examples would be Mellberg, Ljungberg, Linderoth, and of course arguably the most successful of all, Larsson.

So to the news Rangers had signed the captain of Gothenburg, a 22 year old Swedish international, fans were by and large pleased at the apparent quality obtained. Granted, few of them had even heard of the boy, but his pedigree was impressive.

Unfortunately, signs were there in pre-season of a fish out of water and a defender who was maybe not what the supporters had expected. Following on from this was his mediocrity in the SPL. He showed glimmers of occasional competence but by and large his displays were poor; by no means a ‘bombscare’ but chronically below the level expected of a club like Rangers, and it contributed towards a thoroughly flaky defence which suffered constant rotation due to Le Guen’s desire to find the best combination.

Svensson’s form continued to waver and some of the complaints levied at him were that his positioning was off, he was too slow and got turned too easily, and that he seemed to lack the heart for the likes of full blooded challenges. He did not seem to be imposing himself as a defender. The fans expected better, and before long he received the ultimate thumbs down from Le Guen who decided to drop him entirely to the bench.

This merely unsettled the backline yet further, and atrocious displays cost yet more goals.

He was recalled for the Hibs game at Easter Road and had his best performance in a Rangers shirt; this was the first sign of his renaissance. During this game Rodriguez had probably his worst game this season, and for some time. Surely this was a door being opened for Svensson.

Curiously, the Swede was left out again until the match in Tuscany V Livorno, when he put in a decently adept display. He never lost his place again. From here on in, his partner was Hemdani, a quiet and effective utility player, and this has worked ever since.

Svensson is currently flourishing for Rangers, continuing to improve and grow as a defender. He is a young boy who was taken out of his country and placed in an alien culture. It has taken a long time, but he has finally begun to reveal why Rangers invested in him, and his greatest hour was being effectively the best defender on display during the last Old Firm encounter.

His positioning, heart, tackling and even aerial ability have all tuned into the league, and suddenly he looks the real deal.

If he keeps up his current form, there is no reason to suggest he will ever be dropped again.