Ferguson Names the Rangers Player Who Frustrates the Living Daylights Out of Him as a No-Brainer Change Is Mooted
There is a particular kind of frustration that only comes from watching a player who is almost brilliant. Supporters know it well, and so do pundits who have spent their careers in the same dressing rooms. It is not the anger you feel when a player does not try, because that is simple to dismiss. It is the aggravation of seeing someone with pace, trickery and obvious talent repeatedly stumble at the last moment, wasting a promising run with a poor touch, a rushed shot or a pass that never finds its target. For Barry Ferguson, the former Rangers captain and interim manager, that player at the moment is Djeidi Gassama, and with the League Cup semi-final against Aberdeen at Hampden today, the debate about whether the winger should keep his place has become impossible to ignore.
It is worth stressing that Ferguson is far from a hostile critic. He is a club legend, he wants the team to succeed, and his comments on Gassama have been a mixture of praise and impatience for some time. Earlier this season he said he had been impressed by the winger, admitting that the 23-year-old had been excellent, while also saying that he wanted to see more calmness in the final third. That is a revealing combination. It suggests a pundit who likes what he sees in general but who cannot stop noticing the same flaw appearing again and again. The frustration is not the opposite of admiration. It is a product of it, and it grows precisely because the talent is so obvious.
To understand why Gassama divides opinion, you have to look at the whole picture. He is a young, fast and direct winger who has become a regular part of Derek McInnes’s plans, which is no small thing given that he looked set to leave in the summer. At one stage it seemed that he would depart Ibrox, but he stayed and had played 910 minutes in all competitions at the time of that assessment, a sign of how much the manager has trusted him. That kind of game time does not go to a player who is simply tolerated. It goes to someone the coach believes can make a difference, and in many matches Gassama has done exactly that, driving the team up the pitch and forcing opponents to retreat.
The problem is that the difference he makes has not always been the right one. Ferguson’s comment about decision-making in the final third hit on the heart of it. Gassama is excellent at getting into good positions, beating defenders and carrying the ball forward, but once he arrives in the penalty area, he can become hesitant or stiff. Ferguson said his dribbling had been impeccable, but he did not want him to tighten up further up the pitch. That is a polite way of describing a player who does all of the hard work and then fluffs the finish. It is the sort of flaw that drives managers and pundits to distraction, because it seems so fixable and yet persists from week to week.
The numbers back up the feeling. Gassama has not scored in his last nine games, and he has just one goal in fourteen appearances this season, with none in the league, to add to the three he managed last year. For a winger who spends most of his time in advanced positions and who is involved in so many dangerous moves, that is a thin return. It is also not simply a matter of bad luck. When a player goes that long without scoring or assisting regularly, the issue is usually about the quality of the final action, not the quantity of opportunities. The same article compared him to Ryan Kent, the winger who thrilled supporters with his dribbling but sometimes disappointed them with his end product, and the parallel is hard to avoid.
It is fair to point out what he has contributed. Gassama has four assists this season, and he has shown on several occasions that he can unlock a defence with a quick burst or a clever pass. The Rangers Review noted that his best spell under McInnes came at Pittodrie, where he drove the team forward relentlessly and helped to win a crucial match. That game sparked a long winning run, and his influence was clear. A winger who can do that is valuable, and nobody should pretend otherwise. The difficulty is consistency, because a player who excels one week and disappears the next is much harder to rely on than one who offers a steady level of performance.
The Hearts game brought all of this into sharp focus. McInnes started Gassama at Tynecastle in place of Badredine Bouanani, a decision that seemed sensible given the winger’s record in big games and the fact that Hearts had been forced into a makeshift defence. The result was one of his poorest nights in a Rangers shirt. He touched the ball only nineteen times in the time he was on the pitch and completed four of his seven passes, before being replaced eight minutes into the second half. Those figures describe a player who was neither dangerous nor involved, and who effectively took himself out of the game when the team needed him most.
What made the substitution even more notable was the way it unfolded. Another former Rangers midfielder, Derek Ferguson, said the incident did his nut in, after Gassama delayed leaving the pitch when McInnes wanted him off quickly, adding that he would have dragged him from the field. That is a separate criticism from the one about his playing, but it feeds into the same narrative. A winger who is struggling on the pitch and then reacts badly to being taken off gives the impression of someone who has not quite got the right attitude, and in a team with title ambitions, impressions matter. It would be unfair to read too much into a moment of body language, but it was noticed, and it will not have gone unseen inside the club.
Players hate being substituted, especially when they feel they have not been given a fair chance, and plenty react with annoyance. The difference is that for a winger who is already under scrutiny, the reaction becomes part of the story. McInnes was clearly unhappy with the first half, and he did not wait long to act. A manager who takes off a player within eight minutes of the restart is making a strong statement, and the player’s response will be judged accordingly. For a young footballer still learning the demands of a big club, it is a lesson in how quickly small details can shape the way you are perceived by those around you.
The change being mooted is simple. If Gassama is not producing, the team has another option who is. Against Dundee, Bouanani was arguably the most dangerous player on the pitch, with every shot he hit placed on target and only two superb saves denying him a hat-trick. Then, at Tynecastle, he came off the bench and delivered the free-kick that Olwethu Makhanya headed in to rescue a point. Those are not the contributions of a squad player who is making up the numbers. They are the contributions of someone who deserves to be considered for a start, and the fact that he has done so in successive matches strengthens the case considerably.
Barry Ferguson himself acknowledged as much. He said the manager’s decision to bring Bouanani in against Dundee had paid off, because he scored and looked a real danger. At the same time, Ferguson made clear that his own preference for the attack was a pairing of Kevin Kelsy and Ryan Naderi up front, saying he liked the two big forwards because it had worked well. That matters, because it shows his main concern is balance, not individuals. If the team plays with two strikers in a 4-4-2, the wingers have specific jobs to do. They need to deliver quality crosses, create overloads and track back when required, and a winger who beats defenders without producing a final ball is less useful in that structure than one who can find a teammate in the box.
That is the context in which the no-brainer language arises. The idea is that when you have a player who has been creating chances and another who has been wasting them, the decision is almost obvious. Selecting Bouanani in place of Gassama would not be a punishment, merely a pragmatic response to the evidence. In a cup semi-final, where there is no room for passengers, a manager should pick the players in the best form. The numbers and the eye test both point in one direction, and it would take a strong reason to ignore them. That does not mean the other option is wrong, but it does mean the burden of proof lies with those arguing for the status quo.
At the same time, we should be fair to McInnes, because his selections have generally been successful. He has taken a team that was struggling at the start of the season and turned it into one that has won ten of its last twelve games under his management. That does not happen by accident. He has shown a willingness to trust his instincts, to rotate when necessary and to stand by his players in public. His defence of Emmanuel Fernandez this week was a good illustration of his loyalty, and the way he has handled the Makhanya character debate showed a similar instinct for protecting the group. So when he chooses to start Gassama, there is usually a reason, whether it is pace against a certain full-back or the desire for a direct runner against a deep block.
That reasoning has merit against some opponents and less against others. Gassama’s biggest strength is his ability to run at defenders and stretch a back line, which is invaluable against teams who leave space behind. Against a compact, cautious side like the one Aberdeen are likely to present, however, the situation is different. The Dons have lost three of their last four league games, and they will probably sit deep and look to counter. In that scenario, raw speed is less important than guile. Bouanani, who is a good dribbler with a precise delivery, looks better suited to the task of picking a lock than to running into space that is not there, and that is a significant tactical argument in his favour.
There is a wider point about leadership and game management that links all of this together. After the draw at Dundee, a supporter on a radio panel suggested that Rangers lack a figure who can take charge of a game when it is going well and tell the team to protect what they have. Barry Ferguson was held up as an example of the kind of player who did that, and a former Celtic winger on the same show pointed out that Dan Neil had been described as a leader after the win over Celtic. The comments were a reminder that the team is still developing its identity. For a winger like Gassama, who is young and still learning, the lessons about composure and decision-making are part of the same education.
This is where the role of experienced voices like Ferguson becomes important. Gassama is only twenty-three, and he is still learning how to turn his obvious ability into end product. Advice from someone who has played at the top level, captained the club and managed it can be invaluable, particularly when it is offered constructively. Ferguson’s message about staying calm in the final third is not an insult but a coaching point, and if Gassama takes it on board, he could improve quickly. Plenty of wingers have gone through similar phases and emerged as better players, and there is no reason he cannot do the same. The key is to treat criticism as information rather than as an attack.
The squad context is also relevant. Rangers have good options on the flanks, with Bouanani, Minsu Kim and Gassama all competing for places, and the competition is healthy. A manager who has three capable wide players can rotate without losing quality, and that gives him the flexibility to respond to different opponents and situations. The presence of a strong rival also pushes each player to raise his game, because nobody can take his place for granted. If Gassama is dropped for the semi-final, it could serve as a useful motivator, giving him a chance to reset and come back stronger, in the way that many talented players have after a short spell out of the side.
There is also the question of how the manager wants to use him in the longer term. A winger who struggles to start games might thrive as an impact substitute, coming on when defenders are tired and space has opened up. That role suits his pace and directness, and it would allow him to play to his strengths without the pressure of ninety minutes. Plenty of successful teams have used a fast winger in that way, and it is not a demotion so much as a different job. If McInnes decides to hold him back for the second half of a tight semi-final, it could pay off handsomely, particularly if the game needs a spark late on.
The occasion adds another layer. McInnes has been clear that semi-finals are tense, nervous affairs where the favourites often struggle, and he knows how thin the margins are from his own experience at Hampden. A first trophy of his reign would be a huge boost, ending a three-year wait and giving the whole squad a sense of what winning feels like. In that kind of game, a manager wants players who can handle the pressure and make good decisions when it matters. If there is any doubt about whether a winger can do that, the sensible course is to pick the one who has shown it recently, and the evidence of the past fortnight points firmly towards Bouanani.
For Rangers supporters, the discussion is part of the normal rhythm of a football season. Every team has players who divide opinion, and every fanbase argues about whether to start them. What matters is that the manager makes the choice he believes is best, and that the player responds professionally. Gassama has the talent to prove his critics wrong, and the next few weeks offer plenty of chances to do so. If he can combine his work rate with better decisions, the frustration will fade, and the praise will take its place. The best answer to any pundit is a goal, an assist or a match-winning run, and he is capable of all three.
In the end, the story is as much about expectation as it is about performance. Ferguson and others are frustrated precisely because they can see what Gassama could be. A winger with his pace and skill should be producing more, and the gap between potential and reality is what causes the irritation. If he closes that gap, he could become one of the most important players in the squad, and the criticism will look like a footnote. If he does not, the manager will eventually have to look elsewhere, and the wingers who are delivering will take his place. For now, the decision is simple, and with a trophy at stake, it is hard to argue against giving the form player his chance.
Whatever happens at Hampden, the conversation will continue. If Bouanani starts and plays well, the pundits will say the change was obvious. If Gassama starts and scores, they will say he has finally answered his critics. If neither makes an impact, the debate will simply move on to the next match. That is the nature of football punditry, and it is part of what makes the game so entertaining. But the underlying point remains valid. Rangers need quality in the final third, and the player who provides it most reliably deserves to be on the pitch, whatever his name is and however much he has frustrated people in the past.
So when Barry Ferguson says that a particular player frustrates him, it is worth listening, because he understands the standards required at this club. He knows what it takes to win trophies, and he knows that small details, like a calm finish or a well-weighted pass, can be the difference between success and failure. His message to Gassama is a challenge as much as a criticism, and the best response is the one that is delivered on the pitch. Until then, the no-brainer change will remain a topic of conversation, and the winger will have to prove, one match at a time, that he deserves to keep his place in a side that is aiming for silverware
