David Bates’ progress in Germany should be praised, but Rangers made no mistake in letting him go.
The Scottish centre-back was picked up by the Gers from Raith Rovers. Yet, after a batch of unconvincing displays at centre-back, Bates’ contract was allowed to run out. This led to him signing on with Hamburg in the summer in the Bundesliga 2.
His performances have once again been shot into the spotlight after a call-up to the senior Scotland squad. Bates is unlikely to feature against Albania or Israel, but has secured his first ever call up.
He’s also thrown himself into the spotlight with comments made regarding his move to Germany. Touching on that, he believes it was the best decision he’s ever made to leave Ibrox and try something new.
“I think everyone respected that I wanted to go down a different route.
“I never had many comments saying things like, ‘Oh why are you doing that?’ Maybe some people did but I never really read or heard them.
“All the ones I saw were about how brave I was and how good it was that I was going out there and trying something different. For me, it’s the best decision I’ve made.”
Can’t argue with Bates or Rangers
Firstly, Bates made the right decision to leave Ibrox for Germany. It was going to be a long time before he became a consistent Rangers centre-back, and the club have since evolved at the back.
Bates simply had to find somewhere that he was going to be playing consistently, and Hamburg offered him that. Nobody can question his logic in making the move, or doubt him for it.
Yet, the same has to be said of Rangers. If Rangers fans were offered the chance of Bates or Connor Goldson, they would choose the latter every time. Nikola Katic has proven to be a better defender than Bates, but is struggling with a bit of a form crisis at the moment.
Meanwhile, you have the veteran centre-back Gareth McAuley waiting to break into the side. Comparing him to Bates is just ridiculous and a no-contest, and his experience will improve Rangers at the back tenfold.
For both parties, Bates’ move was a good decision. Rangers were able to get an unconvincing youngster out of the club and free up some first-team wages, whilst Bates moved on to Hamburg and found the regular game-time he was after.
Anything Bates does from here on should have Rangers fans proud of him, and not regretting his departure.
