Originally published at: https://www.rangersnews.uk/analysis/lassana-coulibalys-rangers-days-are-surely-numbered/
Rangers dropped yet more league points at the weekend, as fans once again left Ibrox disappointed at what they’d seen. Steven Gerrard made personnel changes after the setbacks against Hibs and Aberdeen, but the alterations weren’t enough to affect an upturn in fortunes. One of those drafted into the side, was Lassana Coulibaly. Coulibaly has…
Ross McCrorie what does this guy have to do to get a game. Every time he plays he does not put a foot wrong so they drop him, really. Some one will come for him like Bates and you will loose and excellent young talent
Seems this forum is all about slagging off misfiring players or guys who dont perform any manager will tell you to get the best out of most players they need a run of games in a settled side. Middleton, McCrorie, Grezda, Davies, are all suffering through this chopping and changing of the side. Fact is Gerrard knows Morelos, McGregor and Tavernier are first picks possibly also Goldson and Kent this leaves at least 6 positions where he does not know his first choice that is not going to help players like Coulibally a 22 year old who has huge potential but in my opinon will not reach it unless given more than 66 minutes in a team short in confidence and with no consistency.
Too many midfielders…Jack, Arfield, Coulibaly, McCrorie, Davis, Kent, Middleton, Murphy, Docherty, Candyass, Halliday, Dodoo, Kamara, Dorrans. Defence is also unsettled with central pairing being changed and Barisic and Halliday having alternate weeks. Gerrard needs to fix it before next season. Both Gerrard and McAllister are midfielders they need a settled 5 or 4 and this is not even taking into account the roles of Dafoe and Lafferty who also need a run in order to be at their best.
I just dont get how you guys supposedly follow football but dont understand it.You seem to think if a midfielder drops out then any other one will do, so if Jack is out McCrorie should play and Arfield drops out the Davis or McCrorie should play .This is not the case ,McCrorie is an out and out defensive midfielder and is a replacement for Kamara unless we want to play two defenders which we were never going to do at home to Killie . Jack is currently playing further forward so Davis would be his replacement not McCrorie and as Ive said before Coulibaly is in the side for his energy , legs around the park and hopefully driving forward . Admittedly it didnt work on Saturday but he is not in competition with young Ross for a place.
I don’t think there’s any immediate danger of losing him, he clearly loves the club and seems pretty grounded. Nonetheless, he’s went from seemingly undroppable to almost a last resort recently. Definitely a strange one.
The purpose is definitely not to slag players off unnecessarily, and we were the first to praise when things were going so well last month. After three poor results though, it’s tough to keep the same outlook.
Totally agree on there being too many midfielders, though. You can add Rossiter to that list too, as he’s making a case for next season with form at Bury. Point here is just that Coulibaly is likely to head back to France in the summer, so it’s time to start prioritising contracted players and planning for next year.
For me, there has to be a bit of flexibility in there. Point taken that he’s in for his legs and energy but that’s just not cutting it like it did at the start of the season. Games pass him by and he lacks that bit of composure. Lots of potential, but just not hitting necessary heights right now.
In my opinion, it’s about getting the best three available central midfielders out there at once. Obviously, there has to be a balance of some kind and you can’t just chuck out three CDMs all the time. However, players of the quality of Davis, McCrorie and Kamara could have made it work at the weekend. Coulibaly was a wasted selection.