There’s a habit online of painting every player who leaves Rangers with the same brush. To be fair, if you narrow it to top-five leagues in the last five years the picture isn’t always glowing. But that doesn’t mean every departure is the same or that the club should be judged on a couple of examples.
Context matters more than a simple list
Look at the types of moves we’re talking about. Bassey is a starting centre-back in the Premier League — that’s not a minor detail. Aribo’s path can be used to make any point you want depending on which clubs you pick; Southampton and Leicester are completely different contexts to where some others have ended up. You can see why people get confused when comparisons are drawn without that nuance.
Injuries skew perceptions
Injuries change careers overnight. Hamza was doing well before his injury, which was outwith Rangers’ control, and Patterson’s recurring fitness problems are unfortunate but individual. Saying Rangers produce injured players isn’t fair when the circumstances vary so much — timing, type of injury and medical care all play their part.
Different players, different milestones
Then there are the players who’ve gone on and found solid levels elsewhere: Hagi in Turkey, Morelos in Colombia, Katic in Germany, Herlander in Sweden and Todd Cantwell — all very different stories. Many are older or took alternative routes to the ones Bodo normally use when selling talent. Two very different teams, two very different outcomes. Truth is, you can’t compare them all with one simple metric.
We need to stop reaching for convenient examples and actually consider each case on its merits. That’s the only honest way to judge Rangers’ record in producing players for other leagues.
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.
