Ovie Ejaria’s departure from Rangers should point to Rangers missing a creative spark. But, if you look at his stats, you’ll see that’s far from the case.
The Liverpool youngster has went back to Merseyside. He failed to settle in Glasgow despite playing on a weekly-basis and having the trust of Steven Gerrard. Considering that Ejaria is just 21-years of age, nobody can blame him for wanting to head back as he’s still young in football terms.
Considering the fact that the midfielder had made 28 appearances already at Ibrox, it’s safe to say things were going well, right? Well, not exactly.
Out of those appearances, Ejaria only managed to bag two goals. Better yet, despite being a creative midfielder, the youngster could only manage one assist on top of that. These stats aren’t of the standard that Rangers require for a title-charge this season.
Of course, that doesn’t tell the whole story. Ejaria’s overall displays have been even worse. There was a short period before the Betfred Cup semi-final defeat to Aberdeen that supporters were starting to take to him. More ineffective performances, however, have seen that love quickly turn sour.
Was Dundee the breaking point?
Fan disappointment hit breaking point at Dens Park last Sunday. Ejaria came on in a desperate bid for Gerrard to inject some form of spark into the game at 1-1. Yet despite being one of Rangers’ “impact subs”, Ejaria earned fierce criticism from supporters for a timid display.
The Liverpool loanee was clearly still in development. He had and still has a long way to go before he reaches his full potential. Rangers, however, aren’t a club you can play at with that minimal level of ability and hope to improve your game.
Rangers, like it or not, have a pressure to them that’s perhaps even unrivalled by Liverpool. The demand to win is even more incessant, and criticism can be a lot more hurtful in Glasgow when you aren’t performing.
Nobody knows whether Ejaria was struggling with criticism, but he certainly wasn’t enjoying himself up here. But it was a two-way street, as Gers fans weren’t enjoying his performances either.
It’s unfair to call him scared or anything like that. Nobody truly knows why Ejaria never settled up here. But Rangers most certainly never lost a dynamic player, they just lost another midfielder who wasn’t good enough to get the club where it wanted to be.
