Rangers fans can argue all day about what makes a “good” striker, but it usually ends up in the same place: goals. You can respect effort, enjoy the hold-up play, even praise the pace in behind, but at Ibrox the centre-forward role is judged on one thing first and foremost. Do you put the ball in the net often enough to win games?
That’s why the whole debate around Chermiti (and who we should be judging him against) is so heated. There’s a tendency to overrate the bits you can see every week: running the channels, battling centre-halves, bringing others into play. And to be fair, those things matter. They help the team function. They can pin teams back and create space for wide players to attack.
Hold-up play is nice, but goals are the currency
Truth is, Rangers have never really been a place where a striker gets a long free pass on “all-round play”. Not if the goals aren’t coming. It’s the same way you wouldn’t judge a goalkeeper primarily on his passing range, or a centre-half on chances created. Those are bonuses. The job remains the job.
If you’re leading the line, you’re supposed to turn pressure into goals, and decent performances into points. That doesn’t mean every striker has to be a one-touch poacher, but they do need a reliable return. Fans aren’t being harsh for the sake of it. It’s just what wins titles in Scotland.
The “value” argument always comes into it
When a price tag gets mentioned, expectations go up. That’s normal. If a striker is talked about in the bracket of big money, supporters will compare him to other big purchases in the league, especially the ones across the city. If a similar fee gets you a forward who scores and contributes all-round, then it’s fair to ask why our man can’t do both.
And even when a striker isn’t playing well, goals still have a habit of changing the narrative. A forward can be anonymous for 70 minutes, nick one, and suddenly his “contribution” is undeniable. That’s football, and it’s Rangers football in particular.
Rangers have improved, but the missing piece is obvious
The frustrating part is you can see the team has improved in the last couple of months in various ways: sharper spells, better control at times, more cohesion. Yet there’s still that glaring moment in games where you’re crying out for a proper finisher to turn a half-chance into a goal and kill the contest.
That’s why the striker conversation never really goes away. It shouldn’t. Because if Rangers want to be the team setting the pace, not chasing it, the No.9 has to deliver the simplest, hardest thing in football. Goals, and plenty of them.
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