As Rangers fans we have been fortunate to watch some of the world’s greatest players, however, as with any club, there is some that have shown themselves to be anything but that.
Today I bring you my worst ever Rangers side. The criteria I have applied is they must have played in a minimum of 20 games for us across all competitions, and I also must have seen them play, I was born in 1984 so my starting point was the 1991/92 season. I have also chosen to go with the traditional 4-4-2 formation.
I found this to be a much harder task than I thought, with plenty of players failing to meet the criteria I set out. Players like Filippo Maniero, Thomas Mhyre, Kevin Kyle and Oleg Salenko all not reaching the milestone of 20 games. I was also forced to rule out the dynamic striking duo of Erik Bo Anderson and Tore Andre Flo as their goal return for our club is far better than history, or some people would have us believe.
GOALKEEPER
1- Ally Maxwell. Yes I know he is a hero to legions of Motherwell supporters, for his display in the ’91 Scottish Cup final, but it is his performance in the ’94 Cup final, that he takes his place in this side for. Replacing the injured Andy Goram was never going to be an easy task and if truth be told Maxwell never coped well with the pressure. Along with single-handedly costing Rangers back to back trebles, he also had some shocking displays in Old Firm matches that can’t be forgotten.
DEFENCE
2- Kevin Muscat. Came to Rangers with a reputation as a hot head, and did not disappoint, famously never playing in an Old Firm game due to his lack of control. Would later be famous for ending the career of a opponent with a cowardly challenge.
3- Stale Stensaas. He might have been a decent player for Rosenberg, but he was anything but that for us. Struggled on loan at a terrible N Forrest side. Came with a price tag as well, that’s what edges him ahead in the left back slot ahead of Anestis Argyriou for me.
MORE RANGERS STORIES
4- Emilson Cribari. What possessed then manager Ally McCoist to buy a Brazilian centre-half, for our assault on the 3rd Division, we may never know. Lazio once even paid big money for his services, must have had some agent.
5- Karl Svensson. A Paul LeGuen singing that could neither tackle or head the ball. Later would go on to blame contact lens issues for his poor play.
MIDFIELD
6- Bert Konterman. Arrived in summer 2000 with a heavy price tag, and having just been part of the Dutch squad at the Euros, much was expected from him. Bert never took to Scottish football and one great moment vs Celtic aside was the weak link in our side at that stage.
7- Ian Black. I just knew watching Hearts beat Hibs 5-1 In the 2012 Scottish Cup final we would end up with him. Couldn’t pick a pass or even score the type of goals he had against us for previous teams, it always felt the weight of playing for Rangers was just too much for him, despite it must say a promising start winning a cap for Scotland in the process.
8- Kyle Hutton. I am never a fan of putting players who came through our youth system into this type of side, but I feel this is deserving. Despite starting and doing reasonably well against Man United in the Champions League at Ibrox in2010, Hutton’s time at Ibrox will best be remembered for the time in the lower divisions. He was a player who displayed so much promise at the start but would often get needless bookings and by the time he left us looked slow and off the pace for the Scottish Championship.
11- Hamed Namouchi. The man trusted by Alex McLeish for the big games. I still have no idea what he brought to the table, he was energetic but that alone shouldn’t get you a game for Rangers.
FORWARDS
9- Oleg Salenko. Spearheading my attack would be the one time World cup golden boot winner. Oleg never really showed any sort of promise in his time here and was moved on quickly.
10- Filip Sebo. Became something of a cult figure at Rangers but it wasn’t for his dynamic displays. Goals in friendly matches don’t count either and was a striker who couldn’t hit the proverbial cows backside with a banjo.
I hope you have enjoyed reading this as much as I have writing it, as always if you feel I’ve been unfair or missed a player out feel free to get in touch, either @rangersnewsuk or me direct @steven_harrigan on Twitter.