Rangers should have already sold Borna Barisic as UEFA decision mocked by Gary Keown
Rangers should have sold Borna Barisic “yonks ago”, according to Scottish Mail on Sunday columnist Gary Keown.
Barisic, 30, has had a polarising five-and-a-bit years at Ibrox but his absence was clear on Thursday night (26 October) when the Gers drew 0-0 away at Sparta Prague in the Europa League.
The Croatian left-back was injured for the trip to the Czech Republic and Michael Beale failed to register another left-back in his squad before the group stages started.
That’s led to understandable criticism from Keown, who doesn’t think Barisic should still be a Gers player.
Writing in the Scottish Mail on Sunday (pages 98 and 99, 29 October), Keown said: “By the time Philippe Clement, having lost his hair and already carrying a mildly haunted look in the eyes, has worked his way through the mess left by Michael Beale at Rangers, he’s going to end up resembling Max Schreck in Nosferatu.
“Look at the Europa League visit to Sparta Prague during the week, for example. Your first-choice left-back Borna Barisic, who should have been sold yonks ago when he was worth money, is injured and no one has bothered to register his backup Ridvan Yilmaz for the squad.
“As a result, you end up having to play arguably the best goalscorer in your squad, Abdallah Sima, as a wing-back.”
He’s right
Rangers have made some bizarre calls over transfers and contracts in recent years.
And while allowing Barisic’s contract to run down to nothing isn’t as criminal as it was with Ryan Kent’s and Alfredo Morelos’, it shows that there’s still a lack of forward planning going on behind the scenes.
Barisic isn’t any spring chicken and even when he is fit and playing weekly, he’s hardly amazing.
Yilmaz isn’t the best of back-up options either but at least he is a left-back who can slot in as and when needed.
It just shows how baffling it was for Rangers to hire Beale when you look back at some of his decisions.
A lot of Gers fans were blinded by the fact he’d been at the club already or that he said a few things to rile up Celtic when he was hired.
But ultimately, he was an out-of-his-depth rookie who threw darts while blindfolded, hoping to hit a bullseye.
He was awful – possibly as bad as Pedro Caixinha.
Failing to register Yilmaz as a back-up left-back for Barisic was a shocker of a call and completely unexplainable.
Now, Clement is paying for it but the Belgian is at least a manager with his head screwed on and he managed to salvage a point away in Prague.
In other Rangers news, Derek McInnes has a story to tell over a failed move to Ibrox.