If you’re not one for criticism, you should look away from the opinions of Rangers fans on Umar Sadiq.
The Nigerian forward made his first ever Rangers start in the Betfred Cup against Aberdeen last night. Sadiq was the surprise package Steven Gerrard selected to gun down the Dons, but it never worked out.
There were moments in the game where Sadiq showed flashes. His hold-up play showed promise, but he lacked any real quality to ever threaten Alfredo Morelos or Kyle Lafferty.
Gerrard was disappointed in his big forward post-match. The Rangers manager stated he wished he never played Morelos against Ayr United. That was the match in which the Colombian picked up his suspension that ruled him out of last night’s game.
The Rangers fans also weren’t particularly keen to console their fringe-man. Taking their voices to Twitter, the Gers faithful weren’t impressed.
https://twitter.com/SamRangers/status/1056650717530939392
https://twitter.com/SantiSolario92/status/1056650156765011973
https://twitter.com/decmuir/status/1056648881700773895
https://twitter.com/CiaranRobson/status/1056646993257398272
Fair or unjust?
Bear with us, but we don’t think Sadiq was as bad as he was made out. Yes, he should never have dived when through on goal. That was a terrible error of judgment and brought some embarrassment to the team.
In the first half, however, he held the ball up particularly well. He was by no means the star of the show, but there were worse players out there. Jon Flanagan for a start.
Regardless, it isn’t looking good for the Nigerian at Ibrox anymore. Gerrard has already stated that he regretted the fact Morelos wasn’t available for last night. That means that he wasn’t impressed with the third-choice forward.
In terms of sending him back to Roma, it wouldn’t be overly-surprising if that happened. Rangers are likely to go out and look for some better quality as a third striker.
Wednesday night sees Kilmarnock visit Ibrox in a must-win game for Gerrard’s Gers. You can fully expect Sadiq to be nowhere near the team for that one.
