Can Rangers continue their Premiership winning run?
Well, the Gers did bring to an end their seven-match losing streak in Europe on Thursday, albeit a 1-1 draw with ten-man Braga at Ibrox did little to boost their hopes of reaching the Europa League knockout phase.
Back in the Premiership, Danny Röhl has won four out of four since arriving in Glasgow, albeit his team will kick off down in fifth place when Falkirk visit Ibrox on Sunday.
This is followed by clashes with Dundee United at Tannadice and then Kilmarnock at Rugby Park in the next week, presenting the Light Blues with a golden chance to climb up the standings, so which forgotten summer signing should Röhl unleash in these matches?
Can Rangers rely on Mohamed Diomandé?
Most would agree that, in a squad that otherwise lacks quality, the strongest part of this Rangers team is their midfield pairing of Nicolas Raskin alongside Mohamed Diomandé.
However, while the Belgian continues to impress, the same cannot be said of the Côte d’Ivoire international.
On Thursday, Diomandé was sent off in the dying embers of the underwhelming 1-1 draw with Braga, a pretty harsh dismissal in fairness, but this was his second red card of the Europa League already, having also been dismissed for a tackle on Zakaria El Ouahdi when Genk were 1-0 winners in Govan.
Thus, having now been sent off twice, the Ivorian will miss the next two Europa League fixtures against Ferencváros and then Ludogorets Razgrad.
That aside, he more broadly is not showing his best form this season, scoring his first goal of the campaign to snatch victory against Livingston last weekend.
Nevertheless, as a reflection of this, Diomandé has not been called up by les Éléphants manager Emerse Faé since June, putting his participation at both next month’s Africa Cup of Nations and the summer’s World Cup in doubt, unless his form improves.
Thus, searching for solutions as he attempts to configure a winning team, perhaps Röhl should leave Diomandé on the bench against Falkirk on Sunday, instead starting Rangers’ forgotten summer signing.
Rangers' forgotten new recruit deserves an opportunity
Given that Rangers brought in 13 new recruits during a busy and expensive summer, the first of those new recruits has been overlooked.
Back in January, 23 year old midfielder Lyall Cameron agreed to join Rangers on a pre-contract from Dundee, thereby arriving in the summer for mere compensation, having established himself as one of the Premiership’s most outstanding young players.
Of course, at the time he put pen to paper, Philippe Clement was still the manager, with a lot of change happening during the intervening six months, later admitting that the knowledge Russell Martin “didn’t sign” him was being used as extra motivation to prove his worth.
During his final season at Dundee, Cameron scored 14 goals across all competitions, an impressive return considering the Dark Blues finished tenth, narrowly avoiding relegation, certainly showcasing his talent.
Kai Watson was very much impressed, noting that “ball carrying, chance-creation, tenacity and vision” are his primary attributes, praising his “ability to be in the right place at the right time” in the penalty area, calling the signing a “no-brainer”.
Well, towards the start of the season, Cameron appeared set to be a key figure, starting three Champions League qualifiers and two of the first three Premiership matches, scoring his first goal for the club against Viktoria Plzeň on the road.
Overall, the Scotland under-21 international accumulated 409 minutes of action across July and August, but has seen a miserly ten minutes on the park subsequently, introduced as a late substitute by Röhl during home Premiership wins over Kilmarnock and Livingston.
Nevertheless, he surely deserves more of an opportunity, so let’s compare his statistics to those of Diomandé.
Goals
0.3
0.2
Assists
0.2
Zero
Shots
1.2
0.7
Shots on target
0.7
0.4
Chances created
1.8
0.9
Big chances created
0.19
0.17
Passes completed
32.1
39
Forward passes
16.3
10.4
Duels won
4.1
4.9
Ball recoveries
5.8
4.9
Tackles
1.2
1.4
Ground duels won %
44.5%
45.5%
Touches
63.8
65.4
Average rating
7.12
6.54
Note: all stats are Premiership only and per-90.
As the table documents, Cameron’s Premiership statistics last season are pretty much universally more impressive than those of Diomandé this time round, all on a per 90 basis, the Scotsman doing so for struggling Dundee, making it all the more impressive.
Cameron scored more goals and registered more assists, as well as coming out on top for a wide variety of underlying metrics, including shooting, chance creation, passing and ball recoveries.
Thus, considering Rangers’ lowly league position and, at best, mixed form, it is frankly baffling that Cameron has been given pretty much no playing time by Röhl, a fact that the German head coach should rectify against Falkirk on Sunday.
Rohl must bin Chermiti for Rangers star who was the SPFL's "best player"
After another anonymous performance by Youssef Chermiti against Braga, Danny Röhl must start the “best player in the league” against Falkirk on Sunday
ByBen Gray
