If Danny Röhl didn’t already know that he had a big job on his hands as Rangers manager, he certainly does now.
In his first game in charge on Thursday night, the Gers were ignominiously demolished 3-0 by Brann in Bergen.
That is now a sixth successive European defeat for the Glasgow giants, meaning they sit rock bottom of the Europa League table, with Roma their next opponents on Thursday week.
Meantime, domestically, things aren’t going much better either, so if Röhl is going to claim victory in his first Premiership match in charge, he simply must drop the summer signing flop branded an SPFL League Two level, potentially set to take the title of Rangers’ worst ever striker.
Why Umar Sadiq was a Rangers flop
Umar Sadiq was not at Rangers long, but he certainly made a lasting impression, albeit certainly not the one he would’ve wanted.
After arriving on loan from Roma, the Nigerian striker made only four appearances for the Gers, seeing a total of 116 minutes.
His sole start came at Hampden in a League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen, getting the nod due to an injury crisis, infamously missing a gilt-edged opportunity as the Dons defeated Steven Gerrard’s team 1-0 to reach the final, as well as producing a poor dive.
More recently, Sadiq has been on fire in Spain, scoring 43 goals across two seasons for Almería, earning a move to Real Sociedad, something Rangers supporters won’t quite believe, but will he be eclipsed as the club’s least dangerous centre-forward?
The Rangers flop who should be back on the bench
When 49ers Enterprises took over the club in the summer, this was supposed to be the start of a new era of success in Govan, but they’ve so far appointed Russell Martin, who may go down as the worst manager in the club’s history, and spent around £30m, an astronomical amount for a Scottish club, on 13 new signings, very few of whom have improved the team.
So, have 13 new arrivals made a positive impact?
Well, Djeidi Gassama has been the pick of the bench, showing glimpses of brilliance, scoring five goals in Europe, on target against Panathinaikos, Viktoria Plzeň and Sturm Graz, yet to get off the mark in domestic competition though.
Meantime, loanees Jayden Meghoma and Nasser Djiga have frankly looked out of their depth, Joe Rothwell and Thelo Aasgaard have been very underwhelming, while Emmanuel Fernandez simply hasn’t been given much of a chance to stake a claim, to name but a few.
The most bewildering addition of the lot, though, came on deadline day, with Rangers agreeing to pay £8m to sign Youssef Chermiti from Everton, a fee that could rise to £10m with potential add-ons, making him the most-expensive signing in the club’s modern history.
So, he must’ve really impressed on Merseyside, right?
Well, after joining the Toffees from Sporting CP for £11.5m, he made just 24 appearances for the club, of which only two were starts, totalling 295 minutes on the field, scoring a grand total of zero goals.
Earlier this month, he was on target during an 11-0 victory for Portugal’s under-21s against Gibraltar at Europa Sports Park, not the highest quality of opposition one may suggest, with this the first goal Chermiti has scored for anyone since converting a penalty for Everton under-21s against Mansfield Town in the EFL Trophy in November 2023.
His most recent senior goal was scored for Sporting at Paços de Ferreira on 7 May 2023, 902 days ago, and counting.
So, puzzlingly, Röhl gave the 21-year-old the nod for his first match in charge in Bergen this week, which certainly did not pay off, as the table below documents.
Youssef Chermiti’s stats vs Brann
Stats
Chermiti
Match rank
Shots on target
1
1st
Big chances missed
1
1st
xG
0.38
2nd
Dribble success %
0%
13th
Accurate passes
7
22nd
% of duels won
23%
18th
Possession lost
12
9th
Touches
23
19th
Average rating
6.0
32nd
As the table highlights, Chermiti had very little impact all night in Bergen, touching the ball just 23 times, fewer than half the number of touches managed by goalkeeper Jack Butland, while winning only three of his 13 duels and completing a miserly seven passes and zero dribbles.
His big moment came in the first half, but his tame header lacked any semblance of conviction and was easily saved; Mathias Dyngeland probably could have kept it out with his eyes closed.
As a result, Derek Clark of the Rangers Review posited that Chermiti should be sent out on loan to a lower-league club to “learn the game”, adding “he’s nowhere near ready to lead the line”, concluding that Stirling Albion may be his level; for context, the Binos are currently fourth in SPFL League Two.
Having said that, Röhl may be under pressure to play him, considering the sizeable outlay paid to secure his signature.
Nevertheless, the new manager simply has to start Bojan Miovski against Kilmarnock, as the summer signing from Everton is well on his way to being the next Sadiq at Ibrox.
Under enormous pressure to win vital games against Killie, Hibs, Celtic and Roma, Röhl does not have time to allow Chermiti to learn his trade, the striker having looked miles off the required level so far, as Sadiq did seven years ago, but he was only on loan, hence why this summer’s signing is certainly more concerning.
