A lot of the chat just now seems to be about how Barisic, Morelos and Kent were all miles better than what we’ve currently got, but when you strip the emotion out of it, the picture is nowhere near as romantic.

Barisic and that back-post Celtic problem

With Barisic, people seem to have very short memories. How many times did we lose a goal at the back post against Celtic when he actually fancied it enough to play? It felt like every big game you were just waiting for that same error to turn up again.

And there were those spells in his last couple of seasons where he’d play every week right up until a Celtic match, then suddenly miss that one game, only to be back straight after. It turned into a running joke online that he went missing when it really mattered. That’s not the mentality you want to build a title-winning side around, regardless of how good his left foot could be on a good day.

Alfie: European nights but league frustration

Then you’ve got Alfie. Everyone remembers the European nights and the goals on the continent, and fair enough, he had some brilliant performances there. But domestically, especially in his last couple of seasons, he never really hit the heights he should have. Around 10–12 league goals a season is not elite level for a Rangers number nine across a full campaign.

There was also the fitness side and the constant noise about him wanting away. You even had a commentator in Europe openly laughing about his shape. That kind of stuff sticks. Add in only a handful of goals against Celtic and constant off-field nonsense, and it’s hard to paint it as some golden era up top. He gave us big moments, but he also held us back at times.

Ryan Kent: all the running, not enough finishing

Kent is another one people get misty-eyed about. He was excellent at getting us up the park, carrying the ball and driving at defences. On his day he could terrify full-backs, no question.

But the end product just wasn’t there often enough. For a starting winger at Rangers to be returning three or four league goals a season over multiple years simply isn’t good enough. You can’t keep relying on "he works hard" and "he gets us up the pitch" if there’s no consistent goals or assists at the end of it. We need more than nearly moments and flashes.

“Better than what we’ve got” isn’t a strategy

That’s why the line you hear all the time now, "they’re better than what we’ve got", doesn’t really wash. To be honest, at this point John, TomThumb, Fork and Parlane would probably look better than some of what we’re watching, and they’ll happily admit they’re not exactly in their prime anymore.

The standard right now is so low that being an upgrade on the current squad is not a high bar. Our recruitment can’t just be about improving on a poor base. It has to be about signing players who will actually win us titles, step up in Old Firm games, and deliver over full seasons, not just YouTube moments or memories of what they did a few years back.

Nostalgia is easy. Building a team that dominates Scotland again is a lot harder. The club needs to focus on that, not on trying to recreate a version of the past that, if we’re being honest, wasn’t as good as some are now making out.

Written by Boy blue 4 — 5 December 2025