Rangers and right backs. It’s been a strange journey there over the years. Older fans will remember John Greig, Sandy Jardine, Gary Stevens, even Hugh Burns is fondly remembered despite not being with us long.
And younger fans have had a lot of the list below.
Somewhere in the 90s, the role of a full-back changed into something more akin to how wingers used to play, as they became the main outlet for attacks. It’s changed not only how they’re asked to play, but how they’re judged by fans as well. Check out debates surrounding James Tavernier and Lee Wallace these days; some think it’s vital they’re good going forward, others want them to “defend first”.
The list below is made up of players who predominantly played right back while with us, and were regarded by the fans as poor at the time. I’m avoiding players like Seb Faure or Zurab Khizanishvili who played a lot of games at right back but were centre-halves being asked to fill in, but there may be some players who played in different positions at other clubs.
So in no particular order:
DARIUSZ ADAMCZUK – 19 APPEARANCES
I’ll be willing to bet many fans have forgotten about Adamczuk. He did well at Dundee before signing for us at a time when we had a number of good players. He’d knocked back Celtic to come to us, which tends to help with instant popularity, but he never worked out for us at all.
The vast majority of his appearances came in his first season with us – he even started the games against Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Cup when we scored our amazing 20-odd pass goal. At Dundee, he was something of an attacking midfielder, but we were using him as a right back, and he was lucky if he was the third choice there.
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I can’t remember specifics about Adamczuk’s games for us. I do remember that he suffered from depression in his second season, where he only made around 3 appearances, and was released not long after.
KEVIN MUSCAT – 30 APPEARANCES
Kevin Muscat was a free transfer from Wolves in 2002. He was better known for his rather wild tackling than anything he’d done successfully on the pitch. He was an Australian internationalist, though, and had played at a decent level in England.
Fans have often questioned the signing of certain players, and the fact Muscat was never once trusted to play against Celtic made his signing a strange choice. Many feel it was due to his tendency to let his emotions get the better of him.
Muscat left with 3 medals from a treble winning season, but no real impact to speak of. He’s doing well in management and coaching, but I doubt many remember him fondly from his playing days. He nigh-on ruined a couple of careers.
ANESTIS ARGYRIOU – 27 APPEARANCES
Argyriou was one of the many now-infamous signings made when we were in the Third Division, brought in from seemingly nowhere to join in 2012. He had been released by AEK Athens, so many would have been justified in thinking he would stroll it. In fact, his first couple of games saw many fans think he was a good player, and they preferred him at right back to the likes of Kirk Broadfoot. It didn’t take long for that to change.
It may be that we were just so generally awful back then that no one would have looked good, but Argyriou somehow managed to look like a weak link in a poor side.
RICHARD FOSTER – 83 APPEARANCES (over 2 spells)
Foster was first signed from Aberdeen on loan in 2010, in what many were convinced was a strange move. His first start was against Valencia in the Champions League, a game where he missed a great chance but was voted man of the match. That was about as good as it got in his first spell, despite him qualifying for a league winners medal.
After a couple of seasons at Bristol City, he was signed again by Ally McCoist when we were in League One, and spent a couple of seasons as our first-choice right back. I think it’s fair to say Foster has done well at other clubs in Scotland, but he’s absolutely slated by every Rangers fan for his time with us. If I’m honest, I felt he was a bit of a scapegoat, but I did recognise he wasn’t playing well for us either. Take away his assist against Hibs in one of the playoff games, and I’m not sure we can point to many positive contributions.
MAURICE ROSS – 106 APPEARANCES, 3 GOALS
When you look at the list above, it’s pretty arguable that Mo Ross doesn’t deserve to be on here. For whatever reason, though, he’s often mentioned as a poor player for us when these things are discussed.
A youth prospect who captained the U21s, he was brought into the side most often by Alex McLeish, and one of his highlights was the opening goal in the League Cup final against Motherwell where he lobbed the keeper. I remember him playing in a back 3 against Celtic next to Lorenzo Amoruso and Bob Malcolm as we somehow escaped with a draw. He certainly had some highlights.
He fell out of favour pretty quickly in his last couple of seasons. I think he’s remembered in a poor light because we still had good players back then rather than him being a terrible player. He didn’t really kick on after leaving us though, which may say a lot.
Vote below, and tweet us @rangersnewsuk if you think we’ve missed anyone or are being overly critical of those named!
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