Fingers are being pointed in all directions following Rangers’ failure to overcome Dynamo Kyiv in Champions League qualification.
The Ibrox club are counting the £40m cost of this latest Champions League failure and will have to contend with another run in the Europa League.
The finances involved in Champions League qualification promised to be transformational this summer and now the club’s fans are stuck looking at a squad for which they have scant belief.
Whilst everyone from the Rangers board, to Philippe Clement, to Italian referee Marco Guida, have had to take their share of the blame, so do many in this bungling Ibrox squad.
There are several in our midst who have failed to deliver and it’s time for no fewer than ten first-team Rangers stars to start delivering, or move on.
Here we look at those names who’ve been cashing in on the blue pound but have so far failed to repay us in an equal quantity of silver.
*All fees taken from Rangers transfer history from 2016 to present day
*All salaries taken from Salary Sport
Ben Davies
When Rangers signed Ben Davies we were supposed to be getting a Premier League defender who had the quality to at least see Liverpool plunge for his services.
But as the years have passed we’ve begun to see why the skittish centre-back never managed to play a single minute for the Anfield Reds.
A nervous defender who struggles to deal with any type of physical challenge, that Rangers signed a £4m deal to sign Davies is one of the biggest blights on the Ross Wilson era.
Davies quite simply does not look committed enough, full-blooded enough, hard enough or interested enough to make it as a Rangers centre-half.
Coming off the bench for Ridvan Yilmaz last night, the ex-Preston skipper cut the forlorn and terrified figure he so often does as he was introduced at Hampden.
Fourth choice centre-back whilst banking a weekly fortune, between injuries and a string of poor performances Davies is currently pound-for-pound one of the worst signings in our history.
Time ran out several windows ago and that Davies is still sitting back on our wage bill is a genuine embarrassment to every single person who sanctioned the deal.
Transfer cost: £4m from Liverpool, 2022/23
Salary: £27k per week, £1.4m per annum
Ridvan Yilmaz
It’s hard not to feel a bit sorry for Ridvan Yilmaz.
As the left-back was stretchered off the pitch in the 2-0 defeat to Dynamo Kyiv, there wasn’t a Rangers fan in Hampden who didn’t feel for the defender.
But given Rangers signed a £5m deal to sign Ridvan Yilmaz from Besiktas in 2022, there is no argument to suggest that the Turkish international has been a rip-roaring success.
Whilst showing flashes of his quality whenever he has played, Yilmaz has proven so immensely injury prone that there is not enough data to properly assess his qualities in a Rangers shirt.
Whenever we’ve seen the 23-year-old he’s either been returning from injury or only just getting up to speed before suffering another set-back.
Another who could genuinely run down his contract before leaving for nothing, we’re starting to think we should’ve taken Galatasaray seriously in January and cut our losses.
No harm to Ridvan, he does look like he has something from left-back, but there are now major doubts we’re ever going to see it in an effective sense at Rangers.
Transfer cost: £5m from Besiktas, 2022/23
Salary: £12k per week, £624k per annum
Nicolas Raskin
Following the Ridvan Yilmaz archetype is Belgian midfielder Nicolas Raskin, although we have even less data to quantify the qualities of the once highly-rated 23-year-old.
When Rangers signed Raskin there was talk of interest from the likes of Barcelona and Napoli so – rather justifiably – Gers fans had cause for optimism.
Raskin started brightly too.
The midfielder made a strong impression in the latter half of the 22/23 season but since then has been largely anonymous in a Rangers shirt.
Injuries have once again been a huge obstacle to Nicolas Raskin getting into the Rangers team with the midfielder struggling to break back into the XI following a serious injury last season.
There was renewed optimism in the case of Raskin with a full pre-season under his belt before an injury sustained in a pre-season friendly against Ajax cut short his preparations.
We cannot keep feeling sorry for constant sick notes and crocked or not, Nicolas Raskin has everything to prove at Rangers.
Transfer cost: £1.75m from Standard Liege, 2022/23
Salary: £19k per week, £988k per annum
Kieran Dowell
Kieran Dowell, the one-time England youth international who impressed in the Premier League with Norwich City, looked to be a shrewd Michael Beale acquisition last summer.
A goalscoring, creative midfielder who already had links to several in the Ibrox squad, it was a pre-contract move which appeared to make sense.
But since his arrival, Kieran Dowell is another who has spent the majority of his time picking up decent wages to prop up the Ibrox medical room.
Injury problems have plagued Dowell’s year in Glasgow but when he’s been fit the midfielder has struggled to break into Philippe Clement’s squad.
That’s an ominous situation given there’s not exactly a richness of high quality, match-winning competition in front of him either.
Another middling English Championship footballer who has struggled to take the step up in expectation at Rangers, Dowell appears to be fit and has come off the bench in three of the club’s four games this season.
Time is fast running out for the 26-year-old to prove he has what it takes to play at a winning level of professional football and something tells us Rangers will be his last and only chance to do so.
Contracted to the club to 2026, given the lack of opportunity it wouldn’t surprise us if we ended up paying Dowell off at some point. As is tradition.
Transfer cost: free-contract from Norwich City, 2023/24
Salary: £16k per week, £832k per annum
Tom Lawrence
Tom Lawrence was arguably Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s marquee signing in the summer of 2022.
Yes, that’s the same summer that we committed a combined £9m on Ben Davies and Ridvan Yilmaz.
Picking Lawrence up on a free from Derby County, Rangers reportedly held off Premier League competition to sign the Welsh international.
But since joining the club, Lawrence has stumbled from one injury disaster to another.
There is no doubt the attacking midfielder has genuine, match-winning quality but unfortunately years of injury problems appear to have affected the now 30-year-old’s mobility.
Prior to that season ending injury just months into his first season, Rangers looked like they’d signed a player of Premier League quality who could add goals from all over the park.
A late arriver into the box, Lawrence can also shoot from range and is a direct dribbler who causes havoc in opposition defences.
Or at least he used to be.
The Welshman is coming in for huge criticism for his performance against Dynamo Kyiv and fans reckon his lack of athleticism is putting Mohamed Diomande and Connor Barron under pressure.
Out of contract next summer, we don’t suspect Tom Lawrence is going to agree another deal no matter what happens this season and the move has so far been a disaster for everyone involved.
There remains hope we can see the best of Tom Lawrence after he gets some match-playing rhythm, but those are not as bright as they once were.
Transfer cost: free-contract from Derby County, 2022/23
Salary: £22k per week, £1.15m per annum
Todd Cantwell
Where do we start here.
Todd Cantwell is a player of genuine ability who was given an immense platform at Rangers to restart his career after upsetting the hierarchy at Norwich City.
The midfielder could’ve taken a lead role at Ibrox in being the creative driving force of a youthful, progressive Rangers team.
This was after £50m links to the likes of Tottenham Hotspur and Bayern Munich earlier in his career had clearly gone to the kid’s head.
But having come to Rangers, Todd Cantwell’s egocentric behaviour has not fit with the ethos of Ibrox and despite showing flashes of quality, it’s the playmaker’s attitude which has stunk the place out.
There have been a number of run-ins with Philippe Clement which haven’t helped Cantwell’s case but it’s self-indulgence on social media and a lack of collective thinking which has him at odds with the fans.
Rangers really could’ve used a player of Cantwell’s creativity and quality to help them navigate the Champions League qualifiers but instead he’s training with the B Team because he wants to leave.
The thing is, given the midfielder’s increasingly awful reputation Cantwell’s team can only seem to negotiate a move to the quiet Black Sea city of Trabzon in Turkey.
It’s selfish behaviour like the player’s transfer request which has burned bridges with the Rangers support and let’s hope he’s let us down for a final time.
Transfer cost: £1.5m from Norwich City, 2022/23
Salary: £22k per week, £1.15m per annum
Ianis Hagi
There was a moment in Ianis Hagi’s Rangers career where he looked like the answer to many of our problems.
Initially signed on loan in the January of 2020, Hagi’s double comeback show against Braga remains a legendary night in the history of Ibrox.
Hagi also played an influential role in the 55-winning season, scoring the solitary goal on a number of occasions on league duties and offering genuine creative quality from midfield.
But then injury struck and that devastating cruciate problem of January 2022 has pretty much cost Hagi his Rangers career.
The playmaker went public with his complaints over playing time last summer and spent an unsuccessful loan spell out at Alavés in La Liga.
It’s clear Hagi has no place in Clement’s plans so we don’t expect him to bounce back but there is some conjecture surrounding the situation.
Hagi appeared to have moved on from Rangers in comments made to his agents in the summer but he’s been giving mixed messages about his situation at Ibrox ever since.
Another who is with the B Team, apparently Rangers don’t want to pay Hagi a small salary increase and that’s why he’s not come into the team despite a lack of creative midfield options.
Transfer cost: £3m from KRC Genk, 2020/21
Salary: £21k per week, £1.1m per annum
Rabbi Matondo
The final name on our list from the disastrous 2022 summer transfer window, Rabbi Matondo is a source of immense frustration for Rangers fans.
Now in his third season at the Ibrox club, Matondo still plays like an inconsistent 17-year-old winger who is just beginning to come off the bench for the first time in his career.
There is a distinct lack of responsibility in the winger’s playing style and it’s for this reason that Rangers have suffered as a result of the expensive transfer of the attacker.
Rangers paid a reported £2.5m to sign Matondo in 2022 and there are reports that he wasn’t given low wages to come to Ibrox either.
It is unarguable that Rangers are yet to be repaid for their investment in Rabbi Matondo and time is very much running out for the club to see that change.
There have been brief moments of quality of course; Matondo had a strong run of form under Michael Beale before popping up with a stunner v Celtic for Philippe Clement last season.
Between injury and a lack of consistency however, we have not see it enough and we are genuinely scared that Matondo is going to run down his contract and move on for nothing in two years’ time.
Rangers signed the once £11m winger as part of their player trading ambitions and it’s time for the 23-year-old to either grow up or move on before we’re left counting the cost.
Transfer cost: £2.5m from Schalke 04, 2022/23
Salary: £23k per week, £1.2m per annum
Danilo
Perhaps some might think it’s harsh to include Brazilian striker Danilo on this list.
After all, the ex-Feyenoord hitman has spent the overwhelming majority of his time at Rangers in the treatment room.
But when Rangers spend the kind of money they did on the 25-year-old there needs to be greater returns and knee injury or not, there is huge pressure on Danilo to deliver for the club.
When that will be remains to be seen but Philippe Clement has told fans that Danilo will feature in his plans in the coming weeks and months.
Suffering a fractured cheekbone and then a long-term knee injury, we’ve barely caught a glimpse of Danilo between the serious medical issues.
But what we have seen, promising though it may be, must only be the start.
Big things are expected of the Brazilian and whilst he’s spent a lot of time on the sidelines, Rangers need to see more from Dani and quickly.
The striker has got everything to prove and the price tag only ramps up the pressure.
Transfer cost: £6m from Feyenoord, 2023/24
Salary: £26k per week, £1.35m per annum
Cyriel Dessers
Cyriel Dessers – unlike the other names on this list – has always been available for Rangers since signing for the club last summer.
That is to the ex-Cremonese hitman’s immense credit.
Cyriel has also had to shoulder some unacceptable abuse from Rangers fans as he bears the burden of goalscoring amid serious injuries to the likes of Danilo, Kemar Roofe and Abdallah Sima.
But despite leading the Rangers frontline for the best part of 12 months, Cyriel Dessers has still yet to prove himself as a reliable number nine in Ibrox colours.
Dessers might’ve scored a number of goals for the club but there has not been enough of a match-winning contribution when the chips have been down.
The striker has taken fierce criticism for his on-pitch decision-making, his hesitancy in front of goal, his stuttering link-up play and his inability to hold the ball up when Rangers need it.
Dynamo Kyiv was another disappointing performance in a big match and until Dessers becomes Mr Reliable in these games, criticism will continue.
If you are going to wear the number nine jersey at Ibrox then you are expected to lead the line and score the goals for the club when it really matters.
Ultimately the question is, do you trust Cyriel Dessers when it comes to the crunch?
Ask ten Rangers fans, nine will say no.
Transfer cost: £4.5m from Feyenoord, 2023/24
Salary: £27k per week, £1.4m per annum
TOTAL TRANSFER COST OF TEN PLAYERS – £28.25M
TOTAL SALARY COSTS OF TEN PLAYERS – £217k per week, approx £11.3m per year
