Jon Flanagan is a name so scarcely seen this year you’d have been forgiven for thinking he’d made a deadline day beeline back down south.
The England cap and ex-Gerrard teammate hasn’t been since the 30th of January and Rangers 3-1 win over Cowdenbeath. He didn’t exactly have the best game then either.
But for a player so routinely used in the first half of the season, we’ve seen very little of him in the business end.
From July to October, Flanagan played 17 times for Rangers. Since then he’s only played six, with game time seeming to dwindle month-on-month.
From squad player to the fringes at Ibrox
Rangers boss Steven Gerrard also seemed to prefer Jon Flanagan in the big games, with the player frequently picked in Europe. Despite being a right back, he’s been a back-up option at left back for the majority of his Rangers career.
In fact, he was often the preferred option in that position. With Borna Barisic struggling for fitness Flanagan had plenty of chances there. And sometimes, the combative, no-nonsense full-back looked solid.
But others – particularly in the latter stages of his run in the first team – he looked pretty reckless. The emergence of Andy Halliday as a strong option at left-back has also done him no favours.
Whilst he was never really an out-and-out first choice, he was an important squad player. Now that doesn’t seem to be the case.
All of this has meant Flanagan, still only 26, has found himself on the fringes at Ibrox recently. But can he force his way back into the side?
He won’t depose Rangers captain James Tavernier on the right, and there now looks to be two players ahead of him on the left-hand side. And you wouldn’t bet against Rangers bringing in another option on that side in the summer.
Could it be curtains for the former Liverpool star’s Ibrox career come the end of the season?
