Greg Docherty’s loan spell at Shrewsbury Town continues to go from strength to strength, so bringing him back to Rangers would be unfair on him.
The latest chat around the supporters regarding the midfielder is that a potential early return could be on the cards. Given the fact that Ovie Ejaria has left the club, a spot has opened up for someone to take charge.
For some reason, Docherty has been earmarked by many as the man to come in and fill that gap. Yet, considering the fact he’s flourishing and impoving on a weekly-basis down south, why should Rangers not allow him to see it out?
Docherty deserves the chance to end his Shrewsbury project this season. With six goals and four assists to his name this term, he’s thriving in League One. 22 outings before Christmas shows just how favoured he is down there, and he’s clearly thriving.
Steven Gerrard has already touched on potentially bringing Docherty back. He stated that he’ll have a chat with him to get his thoughts on the matter.
The door is open, but he shouldn’t step through it
This clearly leaves a door open for Docherty to come back, but in truth it’s totally unnecessary. Instead, that gap should allow someone like Ross McCrorie to step forward and claim a place in the side. He’s started Rangers’ last two matches, and is finally getting a deserved shot in the first-team.
Of course, Gerrard has stressed in the past the importance of midfield balance. He may see McCrorie as too defensive as opposed to the more attacking hole that Ejaria left behind.
Docherty, meanwhile, is more box-to-box and offers a larger attacking threat than McCrorie. That could be a huge part of Gerrard’s thought-process with this scenario.
If that’s the case, however, surely a new recruit in January should be the one to take over. If Gerrard deemed Docherty not good enough in the summer, surely he needs to finish his season at Shreswsbury before bringing him back and being so hasty?
Until the Winter break, surely the likes of Lassana Coulibaly and McCrorie can cover until then. Coulibaly also likes to think of himself as box-to-box, although his attacking threat has been minimal for weeks.
Docherty, however, deserves to stay where he is and play on a consistent basis. Coming back and constantly being rotated will do him no favours at Ibrox.
