The Rangers dud is their biggest flop since Lammers

Glasgow Rangers captain James Tavernier has scored 77 of 97 penalties without a shootout, but was unable to convert on Sunday.

The Light Blues captain was the first player to go up in the quarter-final of the SFA Cup against Celtic and he put it on the side of the post and went off the post.

Although Djeidi Gassama also misses his pack during the penalty shootout, the captain will be very disappointed by his miss because of his reputation as a penalty kicker in the team.

However, Tavernier was far from the main reason why these Scottish Premiership giants failed to enter the last four games of this competition, because he introduced dangerous set-pieces and open play crosses that were not converted in extra time.

The captain came on at the start of extra time, replacing Dujon Sterling, and could have assisted the winner from one of his own balls into the box if his teammates had been clinical.

When Rohl made his team selection wrong

Danny Rohl started with the 4-4-2 he went with in the 2-2 draw with Celtic at Ibrox in the Premiership last week, playing Youssef Chermiti and Ryan Naderi up front.

That may have been the German coach’s first mistake, as it meant the Gers sometimes had to use more crosses to create half-chances, rather than taking the best chance, as they only had two players in midfield.

If Tochi Chukwuani, Thelo Aasgaard, or Nedim Bajrami started as a third midfielder, Rangers could have created more quality opportunities in open play, instead of relying on crosses and set plays, to end the game before it went to overtime or penalties.

That would have meant that the game would not have been decided by penalties and Tavernier and Gassama would have been sentenced to shame.

Rangers should be more frustrated with their failure to score in the 90th and 120th minutes, therefore, rather than losing on penalties, and one of the reasons why they failed to do so was because one of their attackers played disappointing football.

A Rangers flop that was worse than James Tavernier

Despite missing the penalty, Tavernier wasn’t the worst player on the pitch for the Gers, as he still threatened with his right-footed cross in extra time.

Ryan Naderi, on the other hand, scored his penalty in the final, to his credit, but his performance in the 120 minutes before the penalties left much to be desired.

His £4.7m move from Hansa Rostock in the winter made him one of the ten most expensive players in the club’s history, ahead of the likes of Cyril Dessers and Mohamed Diomande. The Gers will see a lot from the striker since they decided to capitalize on his performance at the end of the January transfer window, his only two goals coming against Queen’s Park in the SFA Cup.

In Sunday’s defeat to Celtic, the German number 9 worked hard to improve his performance, which you can’t criticize, but the lack of quality was evident. His touch, dribbling, and passing seem below par, which is why he’s worse than Tavernier.

While this should come as no surprise, given that he was signed from the third tier in Germany, Rangers should expect more from their signing for the better part of £5m, as he quickly becomes the biggest Ibrox player since Sam Lammers.

Rangers paid £3m to sign Lammers from Atalanta in the summer of 2022 under Michael Beale and, like Naderi, he has found the intensity of Scottish football too difficult to handle.

The Dutch striker scored two goals in 31 appearances in all competitions before being sold to FC Twente 12 months after joining the club, leaving as a significant flop.

Naderi is similar to Lammers in the sense that he seems to want to play alongside another striker, due to his inability to move and run, but he hasn’t shown enough quality in that role to justify building a system around him.

The 22-year-old played in his Premiership games, showing a lack of movement and movement, and he did not contribute anything in the final third, without goals or assists in five games, looking as ineffective as Lammers once did.

His lack of impact in regular play is a cause for concern as the £4.7m signing has struggled in league games and now in the SFA Cup against Celtic, and is not looking any better.

While there is still plenty of time for him to turn things around and prove he is not the next Lammers, Naderi’s start to his career at Ibrox has been disappointing on current evidence.

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