On Thursday morning, it emerged that Jon Flanagan has suffered an injury blow [Daily Record].
The defender underwent surgery on Monday in an attempt to resolve a second hernia problem of the season.
He’s now set to miss several weeks of action, handing a golden opportunity to a certain £2m signing [Scotsman].
Rangers defender Barisic must cement his place
It’s time for Borna Barisic to put aside the indifferent form and the niggles and really show why Rangers splashed the cash on him last summer.
If the Gers want to win trophies, they need to have specialists showing quality and consistency in their positions. No makeshift players.
Jon Flanagan is a full-back, but he isn’t a left-back. He marshals wingers well, tackles hard and is generally positionally sound. He offers absolutely nothing in the final third though. Very one-footed, he won’t attempt a five-yard pass with his left, never mind swing a cross in from the flank.
Andy Halliday often does a passable job when called upon, too. He’s a midfielder, though. The stalwart doesn’t have the pace a modern-day full-back needs and against quality opposition, his lack of defensive nouse could be exposed.
Contrastingly, Borna Barisic is a specialist left-back. The first choice left-back for Croatia, a country which sits comfortably inside the Top 10 in the FIFA World Rankings.
We saw against St Mirren that he has quality in his left foot. Steven Gerrard recognises that he has all the attributes to be a star for the Gers [Belfast Telegraph].
Now, though, on the back of a morale-sapping Old Firm defeat and ahead of a Europa League campaign, it’s no longer a time for patience.
Barring injury on international duty, in Flanagan’s absence, Barisic should be selected for every game for the rest of September. Rotation simply must be sacrificed for the purposes of rhythm.
He needs his manager to show faith once more and the fans need to see a lot more in terms of performance. They want to see tackles, overlaps and quality crosses, while the odd repeat of those set-piece heroics from a fortnight ago wouldn’t go amiss either.
Flanagan’s misfortune is definitely Barisic’s gain. He has a near unchallenged run in the side ahead and he needs to make it count.
