Reports in recent days have suggested that both Forrester and Garner have played their last games for Rangers. The former has allegedly been suspended by the club, with the latter on his way to Ipswich.
I would doubt any Rangers fans would suggest they’ll miss either player, as they never gave us a sustained run of good performances. I think it’s fair to say that both, however, had a short spell where the fans really liked them and they were huge influences on us winning games.
Harry Forrester is a particularly frustrating player. He’s now 26, and has clear talent, but across his career he’s never really shown it to any consistent degree. When we signed him, we hoped he’d mature and get past any attitude issues. Of late they seem to have grown. It’s possible Caixinha is making an example of him, but given his history it’s just as likely the suspension is deserved.
Forrester had a good run of games last season where he looked like our best player. We all loved his early goal against Dundee in the cup. There was genuine sadness when he broke his leg and had to miss the semi-final. Even this season, he started pretty well. Once he dropped out of the team, he looked like someone who had taken the huff. His fleeting appearances since then haven’t given the impression of someone working hard to get his place back. In time, all he’ll be remembered for is being the player Chris Sutton thought should have been sent off every time he played.
In the case of Garner, he was in many ways the big signing of the summer last year. Whilst players like Barton and Kranjcar came in with a much bigger reputation, fans are always excited by the signing of a striker. Garner’s fee was higher than we’d paid for anyone in years, and some of his goals in video clips made him look like exactly what we needed. We were far too reliant on the goals of Waghorn for a lot of the previous season, and no one expected Kenny Miller to do as well as he did.
It may not have had the most media coverage, but a number 9 signed for the biggest fee is your main signing in any window. Despite a goal on his first start (let’s not talk about the game it came in), not many were excited by his early performances. Garner is the sort of player who seems to prefer fighting with defenders than scoring goals. Whilst it can be fun to watch him at times, often it’s just stupidity and nigh-on embarrassing. You could never fault his effort, but his utility was certainly debatable.
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He got himself a bit of a cult-hero status when we turned things around in December somewhat after a horrendous month. He wasn’t scoring goals, but his performances were better. After the turn of the year, he got himself a few more goals, but never really strung together a couple of good games. In fact, his performance in the Scottish Cup semi-final could only be described as abject. He had a song, though…
We both expect and welcome a clear-out of the squad from last season, with debates on who is worth keeping usually pretty one-sided against the player. In the case of Garner and Forrester, there weren’t many who would have argued they should have been kept. I think it’s clear that both had far more to offer than we got from them, though. There’s a lot of bad feeling towards the squad from last season, which is something I don’t tend to get on board with. From my perspective, I hope they do well elsewhere, and lament the fact we couldn’t get the best from them. Any money they bring in from transfer fees will be very welcome too.
What were your thoughts on Forrester and Garner? Tweet us @rangersnewsuk with discussion and feedback!