No Country for Young Men

[Germinal 27]

The transfer window is closed for another summer and the players we have will be the players we have until January, barring freebies. While we've improved in some areas, it remains to be seen whether it's enough of an improvement to move forward from last season's mediocrity.

 

One area it seems clear that we have improved is up front, where Alfredo Morelos, although no-one's idea of a top drawer striker, has enough ability to rack up 20-30 goals a season, help the club forward, and bring in a decent fee in 18 months or so. Other than Morelos, though, it's Herrera (can't tell yet) and Miller, about whom, regardles of your view on the player, enough has been typed already.

 

Where then, does this leave Ryan Hardie, youthful scorer of goals and latest candidate for the Thomas Buffel Prize for getting more praise the less he is seen?

 

On this score I can say I have seen him play, both for Rangers u-20's when they played out of Dumbarton and for Raith Rovers. The games I saw at whatever Boghead has been renamed were some years ago, though, so should probably be discounted. For what it's worth, he looked a decent but not outstanding forward. His loan at Raith Rovers, both in 2016 and again last season, brought plenty of game time (28 games across the two loans) and 12 goals.

 

That's not bad, when you consider how inconsistent Rovers were. It should be noted that Rovers are on their 5th manager since 2015 in Barry Smith, not exactly the ideal spot for any young player let alone a striker.

 

Hardie's also done well as grade international level, scoring at all the levels he has played at. while getting picked consistently across the age groups suggests a level of appreciation from coaches which would hardly be the case with a duffer.

 

So how come we don't see him in the Rangers first team?

 

Clearly the main reason is that Caxinha sees Morelos, Miller and Herrara as the 3 main strikers. But even with that in mind, a month and more into the season the No.4 pick forward might reasonably have expected a few run outs in the last 20 minutes. There must be other factors at play. Perhaps it's his movement, not bad but not outstanding. Perhaps it's attitude, something fans can't be in a position to know. One thing we can probably rule out is that Caxinha has decided Ibrox is no place for a callow youth (allowing for license, after all Hardie is now 20), but it's a point worth pondering just the same - as fans, there's loads we can't affect, but the one thing we can play a part in, giving players confidence, is where we often fall down.

 

I remember, many years ago, Jim Traynor on the radio eulogising Stephen Pearson and excoriating Stephen Hughes, the one at Motherwell and the other with us. Both youthful products, it seemed to baffle Jim's mind that Pearson, developing away from the spotlight and able to throw in a few duff games with little impact on his reputation or confidence, had matured into a better player than Hughes, never more than two stray passes away from the chastisement of the Ibrox stands and the teeth sucking, head shaking, synthetic sympathy of the media, always willing to throw a young player under the bus to fill a few column inches.

 

You may have your own opinion on whether these two players ever amounted to much in the grand scheme of football, or of which was better, but the point is surely valid that developing as a young player with Rangers requires way more than the ability to kick a ball. You won't have time to develop mental toughness; you better have it before you make your debut. You won't have time to develop a level of consistency; lose form and people will write you off immediately and permanently. You can't betray the foibles of youth; mess with the wrong person's sister and you will be on the front pages the next day, your teenage exploits destined to be cast up for all eternity in the looper-Matrix of Scottish football coverage. A woman who once argued with Graeme Souness over the half time tea in 1990 - 1990! - is still semi regularly hauled up as a totem of resistance to 'the man'...if you think any mis-steps off the pitch wil be forgotten, you're wrong.

 

It's clear by now, I hope, that the young player who hopes to make the grade in a Rangers shirt needs to bring the full schmeer to the party, as well as being lucky. And how often will someone like that come along? Ian Durrant understood the gig, but crucially also had the advantage of being not only the best prospect we'd had in years, but was coming into a pretty lousy side of which little was expected. The stars aligned for him until Scottish football, with it's customary grace and elegance, scythed down its once in a generation talent and them blamed him for being carried off the pitch wrongly. Derek Ferguson understood the gig but also wanted to have a life, and a combination of Graeme Souness and the West of Scotland did for him. Coming up to date, Barrie MacKay seemed to understand the gig, perhaps too well - he couldn't get out fast enough.

 

I have never seen Keiran Tierney, the Celtic prospect many are raving about, kick so much as a ball so I don't know how good he is, but I hope he bails out of the crunching backwater he currently plays in soon, lest the same fate befall his career. We don't produce exceptional talents often enough to allow the thug life to beat them.

 

Anyhow, Ryan Hardie. Does he have in his hand all the cards that he'll need to finally break into the first team and start bagging the goals? Only time will tell. If he does get a chance, though, I'd love to see and hear the crowd get right behind him. Forgive the odd misplaced pass. Accept the odd shot skied over from six yards out. Ally McCoist missed about 100 chances a season but didn't too badly over the piece, as a player anyway. Now, that understanding can't be a free pass for ever and if the goods aren't there it will soon become obvious to everyone, the player himself probably included. Since so many have called for him to get that chance, if it comes lets back our call and back the player. Ibrox has been no place for young men for too long - it's up to us to help change that.

Edited September 4, 2017 by Germinal

[aweebluesoandso 290]

Good post, i admire anyone who can write more than two paragraphs, that's when i usually forget what the subject matter is, daftness or dementia, i can't remember what it is with me lol

[cooponthewing 1,139]

Great piece of writing and a smashing post. I would also love to see Hardie get his chance. Could he partner Morelos?

[Tannochsidebear 2,306]

Super post, I'm a big fan of Hardie for what I have seen of him, and his goalscoring record has been impressive given how little first team action he has seen. His success at International level suggests a talent that is in excess of what we were watching over the last couple of seasons, but he has pretty much always been overlooked. As our striking positions has been so poor in quality over the last year or more, it has annoyed me why we have not given him the gametime to prove himself in favour of other strikers who continually failed to score regular goals.

 

I am hoping he gets a lot more gametime this year, or if we don't we may lose him.

[Germinal 27]

Good post, i admire anyone who can write more than two paragraphs, that's when i usually forget what the subject matter is, daftness or dementia, i can't remember what it is with me lol

 

If it's any consolation I had to change the title when I got in as I'd put the wrong age in.

 

Comes to us all, AWBSAS, comes to us all.

[Frankie 8,150]

I'll get this online tomorrow mate - have been too busy today unfortunately...

[les186 271]

Young players have the best chance to succeed when they play in good established sides with good experienced players beside them. Rangers have not met that criteria for some time.

Edited September 4, 2017 by les186

[Frankie 8,150]

Now online: http://www.gersnet.co.uk/index.php/news-category/current-affairs/799-no-country-for-young-men

 

Many thanks!

[JFK-1 1,671]

Good post and thanks for the work but just a thought regarding this snippet.

 

a month and more into the season the No.4 pick forward might reasonably have expected a few run outs in the last 20 minutes.

 

While I too would like to see him get some game time that could only be when a game has already been settled with 20 minutes or so remaining and so far in our league games that hasn't been the case with 20 minutes remaining. Perhaps against Dunfermline but then that wouldn't have been SPL experience.

[ian1964 10,411]

Assessing Rangers' squad post transfer window

 

September 5, 2017

 

By Steven Clifford | Guest Contributor

 

https://www.rangersobserver.com/views/2017/9/5/assessing-rangers-squad-post-transfer-window