There’s a lot to be positive about in Danny Rolle’s first six months at Glasgow Rangers, but the most obvious example of the German’s influence may be the resurgence of Nico Raskin this season.
It’s worth remembering that the Belgian midfielder fell out with Russell Martin in August and appeared to be headed for the scrap heap. Last season’s Player of the Year award had previously been lost to Philippe Clement at Ibrox.
The 25-year-old has now been in talismanic form, particularly in recent weeks, and has become a key figure in the Je family’s title bid.
Big players step up at key moments and with five Premiership games remaining, Ruskin is hitting his stride at the right time.
Why Raskin is emerging as Rangers’ player of the season
For most of Rohr’s tenure thus far, the star attraction has undoubtedly been Mikey Moore. The teenager has scored all six goals for Rangers since the former Sheffield Wednesday man took over as manager.
The 18-year-old has started each of the league’s top nine and is firmly in contention to be named the club’s player of the year, while the rest of the frontline struggle for consistency.
Still, Ruskin’s performance levels have risen to new heights in recent days, with the former Standard Liege man producing his best performance in Sunday’s 6-3 win over Falkirk, making some contribution to five of the day’s six goals.
With 12 goals and an assist in the Premiership this season, it was the midfielder’s driving runs and driven finishes that propelled the visitors ahead in a frenetic second half.
He has also created 11 ‘big chances’, second only to James Tavernier in that respect, but the 2023 signing has been impressive in attack of late, with four goals and an assist in his last four league games alone.
Top scorer under Coach Rohr | |
|---|---|
player | the goal |
miofsky | 11 |
cermiti | 11 |
Tavernier | 9 |
moore | 6 |
Ruskin | 5 |
asgard | 5 |
Fernandez | 5 |
Gassama | 3 |
Danilo | 3 |
Bamboo Seki | 3 |
rare | 3 |
According to Transfermarkt, Raskin’s status as the team’s second most valuable player after Moore, who is currently on loan, has been cemented as one of Rolle’s key lieutenants.
That being said, have the Gells already parted with more valuable assets in the past?
The Rangers have already given away a bigger talent than Raskin for free.
It has to be said, the Gers haven’t been stung by many of the players who have moved over the years. There’s Joe Aribo, a £6 million man currently on loan at Leicester City who are struggling in the Championship. Nathan Patterson is a forgotten figure at Everton and Calvin Bassey is a solid performer in Fulham’s midfield.
Biggest contract in Rangers history
The Gers now have a new owner in the 49ers Enterprise.
If there is any regret, it may lie with the players who have moved on from the junior ranks, whether it’s Billy Gilmour or Lewis Ferguson.
In the case of Ferguson, the current Scotland international never got close to the first team at Ibrox, but was told he was “not good enough” to make it at the club and was transferred in 2013 aged just 14.
“This (leaving Rangers) was one of the most difficult points in my career. When I was 14 I was told I wasn’t good enough to play for Rangers.
“Of course, it’s a club that I supported because I had strong connections with my family. I just used the disappointment as a motivation to prove people wrong, but in general it was only my dream to become a footballer.”
Thirteen years later, that decision appears to have come back to bite the Gers, with Ferguson capitalizing on that rejection and building a fruitful career ever since, enjoying time at Hamilton and Aberdeen before a surprise move to Bologna in 2022.
The 26-year-old has since achieved cult status in the Italian team, most notably captaining the club to last year’s Coppa Italia glory, becoming the second Scot to win the competition after Graeme Souness.
He played 128 games in Serie A, scoring 21 goals and assisting in midfield, and his record at Pittodrie was also impressive, contributing 60 goals in 137 games.
For context, the aforementioned Raskin scored just 35 goals and an assist during his 147-game stay at Ibrox, after scoring just 18 goals in 97 games prior to his return to Belgium.
Ferguson, who is just over a year older than Ruskin, is active in one of Europe’s top five leagues and has an excellent market value, thought to be worth around €18m (about £15m), more than Raskin’s own worth of €12m (about £10m).
It may still hurt for Rangers to have such a talent slipping from their grasp, but to Ferguson’s credit, he didn’t let the defining moments of his young career define him.
Four years after his departure, Rangers’ £1.5m failure outweighs Chelmiti and Miovski
Failing to perform at Ibrox won’t necessarily be fatal to the Rangers striker’s career.
