Rangers parted ways with Joe Rothwell in the January transfer window, and it already seems to be proving a wise decision.
Rothwell moved to Sheffield United from Rangers on transfer deadline day, making him their final signing of the winter window.
Despite only moving to Ibrox in the summer, the 31-year-old failed to establish himself in the Gers side and was shown the door in the next transfer window.
Joe Rothwell endures ‘absolutely horrible’ debut for Sheffield United
Rothwell, a new signing at Bramall Lane, had a chance to show the home fans why the Blades signed him in the winter.
Sitting mid-table and not clear of relegation danger, it was important that they picked up something from their home game against Middlesbrough.
However, things did not go as planned for them, and as for how debuts go, it could not have gone any worse for Rothwell.
The 31-year-old was brought off the bench at half-time for Oliver Arblaster, and the expectation was that he would come on and give the team some control in the middle of the park.
That most certainly did not happen, and instead, the former Leeds United midfielder saw himself picking up a red card.
Middlesbrough winger Alan Browne was running with the ball at speed, and out of nowhere, Rothwell lunged in and had no control of his feet as he went studs first into the feet of the opposition player.
Real-time footage shows just how horrific the incident was, and manager Chris Wilder also knew at the time that it was a straight red card.
The commentator branded his action as “Absolutely horrible.”
BBC pundit Neil Maddison was also left fuming, and he said: “Disgraceful challenge, a red all day long.”
How did Rothwell do at Rangers?
Rothwell made 20 appearances in all competitions for the Light Blues, providing three assists and returning no goals.
While he did feature a lot under Russell Martin, Danny Rohl did not seem to fancy the English midfielder.
Since 26 October, he did not make a single league appearance and was on the bench just thrice, with him not even being on the matchday squad for the rest of the games.
Even in the Europa League, the midfielder did not feature post-October, and by offloading him, the board showed that they completely backed the manager.
