If ever there was a player that Rangers could do with bringing back to the club it is Calvin Bassey.
The 25-year old defender is, unfortunately, miles out of Nils Koppen’s price range given how high his stock has risen recently but he is the poster boy of what can happen following a spell in Scottish football.
After dumping Man Utd out of the FA Cup, the official X page for the famous tournament has taken a battering from Rangers fans, far from happy with their praise of the former Ibrox hero.
Rangers erased as Calvin Bassey earns FA Cup praise
After scoring the opening goal at Old Trafford, Bassey took to social media to celebrate, however, how the Emirates FA Cup page celebrated the Nigeria international left a sour taste for those of a Light Blue persuasion:
“Calvin Bassey has had a wild ride to the top. He faced countless rejections from academy sides across the country as a youngster, having unsuccessful trials with the likes of Leyton Orient, Charlton Athletic, Crystal Palace, and Wolves, Leicester City took a chance on him as a 15-year-old, and Bassey hasn’t looked back.
“He’s played across Europe, and tonight scored a crucial goal for Fulham to help knock Manchester United out of the Emirates FA Cup.”
No mention of Rangers, despite Glasgow being the place where Bassey played his first senior game of professional football, won a league title and played in a Europa League final where he was man of the match.
Rangers fans fume at Bassey development ignorance
The Bassey that left Rangers was also completely different to the one that arrived in terms of positioning, ability on the ball, awareness and composure.
These Rangers fans were quick to remind those down south, just who was really responsible for providing the £20m defender with a platform to thrive.
“Missing out an important club for him…” noticed one fan, “Yeah, just erase the club that actually made him…” complained another.
| Match stats | Calvin Bassey v Man Utd |
| Minutes played | 120 |
| Accurate passes | 85/90 (94%) |
| Touches | 115 |
| Successful dribbles | 2/2 (100%) |
| Defensive actions | 16 |
“He was properly made at Rangers though and that was due to Gio (Van Bronckhorst) and Bassey’s hard work. He’s earned it,” reminded one Rangers supporter who highlighted just how influential Van Bronckhorst was in the Fulham defender’s development.
“Leicester getting the credit here hahahahahaha. They literally released him,” laughed one fan with this one raging at the impact playing in Scotland had on Bassey being swept aside, “This is peak English football elitism. Rangers are the ones who took a chance on him, built him up, gave him his first games, and then Ajax bought him. Intentionally ignoring the benefits of playing in Scotland.”
They are right, it’s a bizarre post when Bassey has played more games for Rangers than any other club, a fact maybe forgotten south of the border but one that will never be forgotten by those he impressed so much in his time in Glasgow.
