Derek Ferguson says Rangers signings are ‘not up to speed’ in critical verdict
Derek Ferguson has criticised the summer transfer business from Rangers after a poor start to the season, following a string of poor results.
Ferguson criticised Michael Beale’s use of his new players, and whether they are good enough after the majority of the new arrivals have failed to impress in their short time at Ibrox.
Cyriel Dessers, Danilo and Jose Cifuentes were picked out in particular after slow starts to their Rangers careers, while there were also questions over signings that weren’t made in positions they needed.
Speaking on the Open Goal podcast [7 September], Ferguson claimed: “Our best players, we don’t play them in the positions where we can get the best out of them – that’s Cantwell. We’ve got Danilo where we’ve spent £5.5/6million, he’s sitting on the bench.
“Dessers is not quite up to speed, Cifuentes that’s been brought in to play in the middle of the park doesn’t play.
“He’s not addressed the problems we have at the back in terms of the full-backs. I thought he might have changed it up, maybe brought in a couple of centre-backs, maybe went three at the back. There’s loads of questions to be answered. He’s got to find a side that he thinks is his strongest side and work with them.”
Ferguson is right, the new boys have not been good enough
Rangers’ £13million summer spend in aid of building Beale a team that he could guide to silverware this season has been called into question even before the season started, with speculation over the manager’s squad-building abilities rising over the summer [Daily Record, 24 July]
Now, though, with the new signings having failed to impress. Names like Dessers and Danilo, who were brought in to fill the space left by the departing Alfredo Morelos have struggled to make any impact, with the former still not having scored a league goal.
The one Rangers signing that has impressed has been Jack Butland, as the English shot-stopper has filled the void left by Allan McGregor as well as could have been expected given the expectations.
Pressure is mounting on Beale’s job, and the club’s failings in the transfer market have only added to the pressure he is under, with questions around his ability to manage a club the size of Rangers beginning to ring louder.
In other Rangers news, you can read Ibrox News’ individual player ratings for the new signings here.