Glasgow Rangers may have laboured to a scoreless draw in their Europa League clash on Thursday evening, yet there were some positives to be taken from the match.
Sparta Prague were the better side for the majority of the match, yet Philippe Clement made some positive substitutes during the final 30 minutes and if it were not for a Danilo effort crashing back off the crossbar, the Gers could have snatched all three points.
The Belgian is having to rely on players whom Michael Beale had either signed or inherited himself, and it could take a few weeks for him to get them firing as he has not had the opportunity to bring in his own stars to fulfill his tactical vision.
His new side have kept a clean sheet in both of his matches so far, and it already looks as though the players are buying into his methods and tactical ideologies, which is a positive sign.
The previous few years have been turbulent to say the least. Since May 2021, the Light Blues have won just one trophy, the Scottish Cup last year, although they reached the Europa League final in the same season.
They have also gone through three permanent managers since the start of the 2021/22 season, as Steven Gerrard, Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Beale have all taken the reins on a permanent basis.
One thing is evident, they have all failed to enjoy much success in the transfer market. The three managers have either signed players who were not up to the required standard to succeed at Rangers or sold players far too soon, before going on to impress elsewhere.
A prime example is Nikola Katic, as the defender is currently starring for FC Zurich since departing Ibrox a year ago, as the club had a howler with his sale.
Van Bronckhorst sold Nikola Katic in 2022
The Croatian defender signed for the Gers in 2018 when Gerrard was building a team which would eventually be able to take on Celtic.
He made 30 appearances during his first season before featuring 29 times the following season, and he became a cult hero for scoring the winner against Celtic in a Premiership tie in December 2021 – the first victory at Parkhead for the Gers in nine long years.
Gerrard even lavished praise on the centre-back following the game, saying: “The kid is a winner and a warrior. We know what he gives. Anyone his age, after giving the penalty away, might have gone into their shell. It might have affected their performance.
“But if you knock Niko Katic down, he’s gonna get back up and come again. That’s the man, that’s the player.”
He did have to battle it out with Filip Helander for a spot in the starting XI, yet heading into 2020/21, Katic was ready to play his part. Unfortunately, a serious knee injury ruled him out of the entire title-winning season, and he was sent on a season-long loan to Hajduk Split in the summer of 2021 to build his fitness up.
24 games and a Croatian cup later, it looked as though he was ready to show Van Bronckhorst what he was made of, yet the Dutchman had other ideas, going on to sell the defender to FC Zurich as he was stocked with options at the heart of the defence.
His performances in Switzerland have proved that selling him has been a mistake, especially when he could surely have been a better option than Ben Davies.
Ben Davies has failed to shine at Rangers
Since joining from Liverpool under van Bronckhorst in 2022 for £4m, Davies has yet to showcase his talents in Scotland. Indeed, last season, the Englishman ranked in 16th spot across the squad for tackles per game (0.9) in the Premiership, while also ranking seventh for interceptions per game (0.8) and fifth for accurate passes per game (50.7), indicating that he did not exactly have the best of starts to his Ibrox career.
33
25.5
1.6
1.8
1.3
1.5
4.7
4.6
5.2
5.8
In comparison, Katic looked rejuvenated after his departure to FC Zurich, as he ranked sixth across the squad for tackles per game (1.6) in the Swiss top flight while also ranking fourth for interceptions per game (1.3) and second for accurate passes per game (33), clearly having a positive influence on his new team.
This season has been much of the same for the respective players. Davies has made only three league appearances all season, starting just seven matches across all competitions and while he could be back in the frame under Clement, Beale simply did not play him much.
Davies has just snuck into the top five for tackles per game (1.7) in the league this term, along with occupying third for clearances per game (2.7), yet he drops to 11th place with regard to interceptions per game (0.7) and while he is showing signs of improvement, Katic has still been outperforming him recently.
The 6 foot 4 brute ranks in the top five across the Zurich squad with regard to tackles (1.8), interceptions (1.5) and clearances (4.6) per game, and his statistics in these metrics are better than Davies’ figures of late.
At the time, perhaps moving him on was the best decision, especially with Davies arriving and Van Bronckhorst being able to call upon Connor Goldson, John Souttar, Leon King and Helander, ensuring he had a plethora of options available to him.
During his spell on the continent, Katic has transformed his game and become a standout performer for Zurich in the process, clearly proving he is back to full fitness and about to enter his peak years as a defender.
The defence was one of the Gers' weakest links last term as the club failed to win a trophy for the first time since 2020 and while Clement is still getting to grips with the players he has at his disposal, Davies might not be someone who has a long term future at the club.
Katic is another case of the Light Blues selling a player without giving him a proper chance in front of a new coach and his performances for the Swiss side suggest they could have made a mistake.
Not only is he shining, but the statistics show that the Croatian star is outperforming Davies across a wide range of defensive metrics, which is why van Bronckhorst had a howler with his departure.