Ibrox flop who was as bad as Butland has shown where Rangers need to spend
Glasgow Rangers fell further away from a potential title race with a 2-1 defeat to Hearts in the Scottish Premiership at Tynecastle on Sunday.
The only thing that Gers supporters had to shout about was a 95th minute goal from Youssef Chermiti, his second goal for the club, but that came way too late for the away side to push for a point.
Light Blues head coach Danny Rohl should be disappointed with how his side performed against the league leaders, as several players failed to perform.
The worst Rangers performers against Hearts
Jack Butland was one of the players who let the team down with his display between the sticks on Sunday, as he had a nightmare for the second Hearts goal, allowing Lawrence Shankland’s short to beat him at the near post.
The former England international also gave possession back to Hearts with a poor piece of distribution in the build-up to the opening goal, as he struggled with his passing and his shot-stopping.
Butland was not the only poor performer on the day for the Gers, though, as Nicolas Raskin also struggled in the middle of the park, as he lost possession a whopping 19 times without creating a single chance, per Sofascore.
Worst Rangers performers vs Hearts
Rank
Player
1
Jack Butland
2
Bojan Miovski
3
Nicolas Raskin
4
Jayden Meghoma
5
Connor Barron
As you can see in the table above, we have also put Connor Barron, who lost four of his seven duels, and Jayden Meghoma, who lost four of his five aerial duels, among the worst performers on the pitch.
We have put Bojan Miovski down as the second-worst performer in the game for the Gers, though, after the striker returned from injury and struggled at Tynecastle.
Where Rangers need to spend money in January
The Macedonia international’s performance against Hearts was another reminder that Rangers need to spend money on a new centre-forward when the January transfer window opens for business.
Miovski had scored three goals in his previous two appearances, showing promise, but he looked back to the striker who had struggled at Ibrox before that burst of goals in recent games.
Journalist Joshua Barrie noted during the game that Rohl was “frustrated” with the centre-forward’s inability to hold the ball up under pressure when the Gers badly needed an outlet.
Per Sofascore, Miovski lost both of his ground duels and nine out of his 11 aerial duels throughout the match, which explains why the manager was unhappy with his performance. It was far too easy for the Hearts defenders to get the better of him in physical battles, which is why he was just as bad as Butland on Sunday.
The left-footed star did have the ball in the back of the net in the first half, tapping in from Emmanuel Fernandez’s flick-on, but it was ruled out for the finest of offsides.
Miovski’s all-round play, outside of that unfortunate moment, was simply not good enough, which is why the 49ers should consider dipping into the market to bring in another striker to compete with him and Chermiti in the second half of the campaign.
Neither Miovski nor Chermiti has proven that they can be relied upon to deliver consistent performances at the top end of the pitch as the starting number nine for Rohl in the Premiership.
25/26 Premiership
Miovski
Chermiti
Appearances
13
11
Goals
3
2
Big chances missed
6
1
Assists
1
1
Ground duel success rate
31%
41%
Aerial duel success rate
29%
53%
Stats via Sofascore
As you can see in the table above, they have both struggled for goals and struggled in their ground duels, whilst the ex-Aberdeen man has struggled in duels on the ground and in the air.
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Miovski’s poor hold-up play against Hearts was not a one-off, as evidenced by his statistics, and it has possibly been the most worrying aspect of his performances this season, as he does not look up to the task of leading the line on his own for the Gers.
The January transfer window is only ten days or so away and it will provide the Light Blues with a chance to improve their squad, which is why these performances from Butland and Miovski have come at a poor time, from their perspective.
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It will be interesting to see where they stand within the squad by the second half of the campaign, should Rangers decide to splash money in their positions next month.