Steven Thompson savages Ranger ace Robin Propper live on BBC
Steven Thompson was less than impressed with Robin Propper as Rangers took on Athletic Bilbao on Thursday night.
Gers played host to the La Liga side at Ibrox and put in a spirited performance against them.
The final score in Glasgow was 0-0 with the visitors missing a penalty to win the game.
Barry Ferguson’s side played most of the game with 10 players
Robin Propper certainly had a game to forget as he put his team in grave danger in the 12th minute.
He made a silly challenge on Nico Williams and after an initial yellow card, VAR intervened and having re-looked at the incident, the on-field referee decided to send him off.
Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland, Steven Thompson said of the incident at 8:16pm: “I agree it’s harsh and on first viewing, you don’t think it’s ever going to be red, but he is last man.
| Matches | Starts | Minutes | Goals | Goals Conceded | Clean Sheets | Yellow Cards |
| 24 | 20 | 1761′ | 2 | 22 | 8 | 8 |
“Williams is getting a shot away. I would say [Propper is denying a goalscoring opportunity].
“It’s a rubbish tackle.”
This saw Gers playing most of the game with 10 men as they played a 4-4-1 shape – asking Bilbao to play wide and tired to keep things compact in the middle of the park.
However, the man disadvantage meant that the Ibrox outfit did not have an out ball and that thwarted their attacking threat.
Rangers must consider selling Propper this summer
Propper’s naive red card against Bilbao was a disgraceful moment that laid bare his inadequacy for Rangers.
At 31, signed for £1.5million from FC Twente to steady the ship, his brainless, reckless lunge as the last man, barely 12 minutes into a crucial Ibrox clash, was unforgivable.
Leaving his team with ten men for 78 minutes, he dumped a depleted backline that was already without John Souttar into chaos against a rampant Bilbao side.
If Rangers are serious about challenging for the Scottish Premiership, they need to ditch this liability fast.
His exit can’t come soon enough as his blunder could derail their European run and has already sparked doubts about his worth.
Facing Aberdeen away on 13 April and Bilbao in San Mames on 17 April 17, Rangers can’t afford a weak link.
Fair play to Ferguson for keeping it 0-0 at half-time, with the team sporadically dangerous on the counter despite the mess Propper left.