Retour
Evaluating the consistency of the Rangers attacking players is a constant topic of debate among pundits, but one former striker’s attempt to critique the Light Blues took an unexpected detour on air.
Derek McInnes has faced no shortage of tactical decisions upfront as his side look to build sustained momentum in the Scottish Premiership. While individual flashes of brilliance have kept the Gers competitive, the inability of certain performers to deliver week in, week out remains a point of friction for observers.
Speaking on the latest episode of the Let Me Be Frank podcast (22 October), former Celtic forward Frank McAvennie was eager to address these exact concerns within the Ibrox squad.
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However, before McAvennie could deliver his critical tactical verdict on Rangers forward Youssef Chermiti, his train of thought completely hit the buffers as he botched the player’s name. Muddling up the forward’s identity with a completely bizarre placeholder name, the former Celtic man was forced to rely on podcast guest Kevin Kyle to rescue the broadcast.
McAvennie said: “See, everyone was speaking about the boy. Was it Chikanti or something? The boy who was up front. The boy from last year. He was a big boy, and he turned up, and he scored goals against Celtic.”
Kyle and co-host Simon Houston immediately intervened to keep the conversation on track, interjecting with: “Chermiti.”
Once equipped with the correct name, McAvennie wasted little time getting straight back to his core argument, pointing to Chermiti’s contrasting displays across domestic fixtures.
The Portuguese striker, who arrived at Ibrox in an £8million move, established himself as a big-game player during his debut campaign, netting four goals in three Premiership appearances against Celtic and another four against Hearts – meaning eight of his 11 league goals came against those two sides alone.
However, McAvennie highlighted how the frontman was capable of turning in game-changing performances in those marquee clashes, only to completely fade into the background during trickier trips to venues like Dens Park or Fir Park.
The pundit added: “Turned up, and then you play against Dundee, and he was nowhere. Play against Motherwell, nowhere. I think there are a couple of players in the Rangers team that Derek’s got to sort out and say, ‘You’ve got to do this every game’.”
Chermiti is currently sidelined with a long-term ACL injury sustained during the 2-1 defeat against Hibernian at Ibrox in August. Once he recovers, McInnes will certainly echo the sentiment that every member of his attack must display unwavering consistency if Rangers are to achieve their silverware ambitions.