There’s a weird habit at Rangers where the bar shifts depending on what went wrong after. If we sign a striker who scores, but doesn’t really fit what the team needs, then later bring in someone even less suited, folk start treating the first guy like he was the answer all along. That’s not how it works. If anything, it just underlines how messy recruitment has been.
On Dessers specifically, I’m not even interested in the usual back-and-forth about whether his goal return was “good enough”. He did score. Nobody’s denying that. But goals on a spreadsheet aren’t the full job description when you’re leading the line for Rangers. You need reliability in big moments, composure when the crowd is edgy, and that sense that when the chance falls, it’s done. The eye test matters at Ibrox. It always has.
Goals are one part of it, not the whole story
The bigger point is this: Rangers don’t get judged on finishing third or “improving”. We get judged on winning. And in tight title races, it’s the dropped points that haunt you, not the decent patch in October or a couple of tidy finishes when the game’s already opened up.
That’s why it’s hard to buy into the idea that he definitely would have scored the goals to win the league this season. Maybe he would. Maybe he wouldn’t. We’ll never know. But it’s just as fair to say the opposite: he might not have made the difference either. And pretending it’s guaranteed is basically rewriting history to make ourselves feel better.
When the season turns, it’s about moments
What sticks in the mind is that late-season collapse feeling. Not pinning it all on one player, because it never is. But when you remember that run-in a couple of seasons back, you can’t ignore the moments that signalled the wobble. The Ross County match gets mentioned for a reason. If Rangers go in three up at half-time, it’s a different afternoon. And missing a couple of big chances in a 0-0 at Dens Park is exactly the kind of thing that drags everyone’s nerves right down.
That’s not saying he was the only one at fault. Far from it. But it does cut against the idea that he was the dependable difference-maker when it mattered most.
The real issue is what Rangers actually needed
Truth is, Rangers need a forward line that’s ruthless and repeatable, not streaky. A striker who turns one chance into one goal often enough that teams start fearing you again. If we’ve brought in worse since, that doesn’t make the original call right, it just shines a light on how far off the mark recruitment has been.
So aye, give credit for the goals. But don’t confuse that with being exactly what Rangers needed to get over the line.
Related Articles
About Rangers News Views
Rangers News Views offers daily Glasgow Rangers coverage including match reaction, transfer analysis, SPFL context, tactical breakdowns and opinion-led articles written by supporters for supporters.
