Glasgow Rangers head coach Danny Rohl will have known what he was getting himself into when he took the opportunity to join the club earlier this week.
As shown in the graphic above, Russell Martin only won five of his 17 matches in charge and his side conceded a staggering 24 goals in that time.
That is why Rohl may not have been too shocked when his team conceded three goals in a 3-0 loss to Brann in the Europa League on Thursday night.
The manager will have learned a bit more about some of his players, though, and he decided to withdraw Oliver Antman from the game after just 45 minutes.
Why Oliver Antman should not be dropped
Despite being hauled off at half-time, the Finland international should not be dropped for the weekend because he showed more promise in his performance than some of the other attackers on the pitch.
Per Sofascore, Antman completed 88% of his attempted passes, completed one of his two attempted crosses, and created one chance for his team. The cross that he did not ‘complete’ was also a brilliant ball across the face of the goal that Youssef Chermiti was unable to get on the end of.
Meanwhile, per Sofascore, Djeidi Gassama completed 60% of his attempted passes, did not complete any crosses, and created one chance for the team, whilst giving the ball away 14 times, nine times more than Antman did.
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This is why the Finnish winger should not be dropped, and why he was unfortunate to be withdrawn, as he offered more out wide than the Frenchman did.
Meanwhile, a Rangers attacker who should be ruthlessly ditched from the starting line-up for Sunday’s clash with Kilmarnock is centre-forward Chermiti.
Why Danny Rohl should drop Youssef Chermiti
Rohl should take the £8m summer signing from Everton out of the XI to bring Bojan Miovski into the side this weekend, because the Portuguese dud did not offer enough up front against Brann.
Speaking on TNT’s live coverage of the match, former Gers striker Ally McCoist claimed that the forward is “showing nothing” to prove that he is worth the £8m that the club paid for him in the summer.
RangersReview writer Derek Clark also stated that the young attacker is “nowhere near ready to lead the line” for the Ibrox giants, and it is hard to disagree with Clark and McCoist’s assessments of the forward.
Minutes
76
xG
0.38
Goals
0
Successful dribbles
0/2
Pass accuracy
50%
Key passes
0
Ground duels won
0/3
Aerial duels won
4/10
As you can see in the table above, Chermiti offered little to the side as a passer, as a creator, or as a physical presence in the number nine position, which is why he was even worse than Antman, who was reliable on the ball and created a chance for the team.
His 0.38 xG chance came from a brilliant ball to the back post that he softly headed in the direction of the goalkeeper, instead of directing it back across to the other corner, as McCoist suggested that he should have done on TNT’s commentary.
Chermiti, whose last club career goal came for Sporting in the 2022/23 campaign, has now failed to provide a goal or an assist in seven appearances for the Light Blues since his £8m move to the club.
Meanwhile, Miovski has scored two goals for the Gers since his switch from Girona, with strikes against Hibernian in the League Cup and Falkirk in the Scottish Premiership.
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This suggests that the Macedonia international is more likely to make an impact in the final third if selected against Kilmarnock on Sunday, which is why Rohl should ruthlessly ditch Chermiti from the XI in order to bring the left-footed attacker into the side.