The Rangers team that Michael Beale picked to play Hoffenheim always looked like one we would probably see a week later against Kilmarnock, Ridvan Yilmaz getting the nod over Borna Barisic.
Illness saw John Souttar and Ben Davies confined to their beds with one unnamed player having to be returned to the training ground feeling unwell after getting on the bus to the airport.
Who the manager picks for Rangers at left-back is going to be the biggest talking point though with Ridvan Yilmaz not doing himself any favours as he looks to oust Borna Barisic.
Beale has left-back headache as Rangers media reacts to Ridvan Yilmaz
Media outlets were also far from impressed with both Heart and Hand and The Rangers Review’s Jonny McFarlane questioning how Beale will solve the current issues.
“Yilmaz has had a shocker. Our left back area is a disaster right now.”
Said Heart and Hand.
McFarlane was equally as scathing:
“As bad as Barisic was on Wednesday, I think Ridvan has been even worse. You’d have to imagine Sterling has to be under serious consideration for that spot at Killie.”
Since joining Rangers for a reported £5m deal, Ridvan Yilmaz has had difficulty settling which has seen him constantly linked with a move home and then suffered a serious injury just as he was getting into his stride.
The 22-year old’s performances at the end of last campaign suggest that there is a player there though and one that will be a good fit for the manager’s system.
For Hoffenheim’s first, I think the Turkey international has been unfairly criticised.
What was he supposed to do?
Todd Cantwell, as hinted at by Beale, should just have cleared the ball or played it back to Jack Butland to launch out of danger.
Instead, he played a hospital pass to Ridvan who was immediately under pressure.
Other than trying to clip the ball past the attacker, he didn’t have any other choice given how close he was to goal and the way that he was facing.
What he does need to work on is his positioning.
Getting caught behind or with balls over the top is a positional issue that can be fixed and with a more experienced partner inside him because it isn’t something that we have seen before.
With barely 10 games played, it’s too early to be writing off such a young player, especially when the mistakes he made weren’t entirely his fault.
