Glasgow Rangers finally gave a convincing performance at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership as Philippe Clement’s reign started with a bang.
Hibernian were the visitors and having gone undefeated under new manager Nick Montgomery, the tie had the makings of a potential banana skin for the new manager, yet this was avoided as the Light Blues strolled to a comfortable 4-0 win and a new era in Glasgow has begun.
The Belgian will hope that this result gives the players a much-needed confidence boost and with a European tie against Sparta Prague to come on Thursday evening, a chance to build momentum will come around rather swiftly.
The 49-year-old tactician looked like the most qualified person for the role following Michael Beale’s sacking and with a debut win banked, his priority should now be to get a tune out of the current crop of players and enable them to showcase their true talents.
Cyriel Dessers enjoyed a decent game against Hibs, getting on the scoresheet while making three key passes, and he could soon be revitalised under Clement as the season goes on.
Danilo and Todd Cantwell also returned from their recent injury woes, and they will both be dying to showcase their vast talents under the new manager.
One name who will also be keen on stepping up to the plate is that of Sam Lammers, who has failed to really woo the Gers support, despite having wonderful technical ability.
Has Sam Lammers been a good signing for Rangers?
With Alfredo Morelos, Ryan Kent, and Scott Arfield all leaving the club once their contracts expired at the end of last season, Beale knew he had to add some much-needed quality and depth to his attacking options.
Lammers was identified as a target, yet with his goalscoring record rather poor, it was clear Beale was looking at utilising the Dutchman just behind the strikers rather than as a centre-forward.
Since the start of the 2020/21 campaign, the 26-year-old dud had scored just six goals across 76 matches, and it was hardly a goal return that was going to satisfy the masses at Ibrox.
Beale clearly was not deterred by this and secured his signature from Atalanta for a fee in the region of £3m and on the surface, this was a lot for someone with such a poor record in the final third.
This has not improved since joining the Light Blues either, as he has scored just once in 17 matches so far during the 2023/24 season.
Even when you take his lack of goals out of the equation, the former Eintracht Frankfurt forward – who was part of the side that defeated Rangers in the 2022 Europa League final – has failed to stand out.
Indeed, he has failed to create a big chance in the Premiership so far, while ranking third across the squad for big chances missed (three) and ranks in a lowly 15th spot for key passes per game (0.6), suggesting that he is not contributing across other metrics either.
Unless Clement can give him a major confidence boost in the coming weeks, Lammers may go down as yet another summer signing who has failed to live up to expectations and these are ultimately what Beale was judged on along with the poor results.
With so many attacking players departing Glasgow over the summer, Beale looks to have made a mistake when buying Lammers, especially as one teenager who left the club currently has more goals than him this season – Robbie Ure.
What happened to Robbie Ure?
The 19-year-old striker emerged through the academy at the club and began to make waves for the B team during the 2021/22 campaign, scoring twice in the UEFA Youth League and he built on this platform last season, becoming a key goal-scoring threat for the B side.
He continued his wonderful form in the Youth League which included another three goals scored and he impressed in the tie against Napoli youth, with Rangers Review journalist Joshua Barrie stating Ure was a “standout” for the team.
By this point, he had already featured for the senior side, making his debut against Queen of the South in a League Cup in August under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
He certainly took the opportunity with both hands as he scored less than ten minutes into his first ever appearance for the Light Blues, and it looked as though he was a player who could develop into an excellent centre-forward.
He even drew praise from Arfield, who lauded the youngster as “magic” during a post-match interview, and it would have given him a wonderful confidence boost.
Ure even managed to play twice in the Premiership that season and hopes were high that he could kick on over the summer.
With his contract expiring, the Gers offered him a new deal but the 19-year-old wanted to depart the Ibrox side and go after new challenges, and following a trial at AZ Alkmaar he eventually ended up signing for Belgian side Anderlecht in what looks like a decent move for the talented striker.
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He has joined the setup at RCSA Futures, which is their B team, and they play in the Belgian second tier, yet it gives Ure the chance to experience first-team football on a regular basis rather than warm the bench at Rangers.
He has started off rather well too, finding the back of the net twice across just three matches and if he keeps this sort of form up, he may just be given an opportunity in the senior side before the end of the season.
Although not the immediate answer to Beale’s problems, Ure has scored more goals than Lammers this season, in far fewer appearances too, and perhaps integrating him more into the first team would have been a wise move.
It looks as though the Ibrox side have fumbled badly on this one, especially if he goes on to make a name for himself on the continent.
Lammers will surely embrace the chance of a fresh start under Clement, yet Ure is currently outscoring the Dutchman across the current campaign and the ceiling is high for the young sensation, which means that there is work to be done before the former Gers youngster can be forgotten.