{"id":227621,"date":"2026-02-09T07:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T07:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/ibrox-flop-now-looks-finished-at-rangers-after-naderis-debut\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T07:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T07:15:12","slug":"ibrox-flop-now-looks-finished-at-rangers-after-naderis-debut","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/09\/ibrox-flop-now-looks-finished-at-rangers-after-naderis-debut\/","title":{"rendered":"Ibrox flop now looks finished at Rangers after Naderi’s debut"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

\n

Glasgow Rangers<\/a> centre-forward Ryan Naderi properly introduced himself to the supporters with a brace in the 8-0 win over Queen’s Park on Sunday.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

The \u00a35m deadline day signing made his debut for the Light Blues off the bench in the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock last time out in the Scottish Premiership, but he did not open his account for the club.<\/p>\n

A home clash with a struggling Championship side at Ibrox on Sunday provided Danny Rohl<\/a> with an opportunity to hand the 22-year-old his full debut in a Gers shirt.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Naderi scored his first goal for the Light Blues by evading his marker at the back post to nod in a corner from James Tavernier to make it 2-0 at the time.<\/p>\n

The German forward then added his second goal of the game in the second half when Oliver Antman got down the line to clip a ball to the back post, allowing the striker to rise above the defender and head the ball into the back of the net.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n The tactical change that could win Rangers the title<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

After trialling it towards the end of the game against Kilmarnock, Rohl started with two out-and-out centre-forwards in Naderi and Bojan Miovski against Queen’s Park.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"skov-olsen-miovski-tavernier\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Rangers started in a 4-4-2 shape that allowed their two number nines to occupy the back four and create space in the wide areas for the likes of Andreas Skov Olsen, Tuur Rommens, and Antman to do their damage.<\/p>\n

The decision to play with two strikers also meant that the Light Blues always had players in the box to attack crosses and passes, as best evidenced by Naderi’s second goal.<\/p>\n

Rangers had five players in the box, along with Antman and Tochi Chukwuani just outside, when the German centre-forward buried his header, which is a stark difference from the recent 0-0 draw with Hibernian.<\/p>\n

There was a moment in that dull draw where Youssef Chermiti, who was leading the line, ran down the channel and put a cross in, but there was not a single Gers player in the box.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"youssef-chermiti-rangers-celtic\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Moving to a two-striker formation from the start of games in the league could avoid that situation happening again, and give the Gers a greater chance of converting those tight matches into wins by having enough players in the box to provide a goal threat.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\n Rangers flop may be finished at Ibrox after Naderi’s debut<\/strong>
\n <\/h2>\n

This tactic could, though, mean that there is a player whose career at Ibrox may be finished because there may not be space in the team for them moving forward.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"danny-rohl-rangers\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Thelo Aasgaard was brought in from Luton Town last summer to provide Russell Martin, in theory, with a top-quality number ten to be a difference-maker at the top end of the pitch.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the Norway international has not provided much in the way of consistency with his play in the final third in the Scottish Premiership or the Europa League.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"thelo-aasgaard-rangers-spfl\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

Since his move from the Hatters, Aasgaard has only scored four goals in 30 appearances across those two competitions, which shows that he has not been a regular contributor for the Light Blues.<\/p>\n

The lowlight of his season came back in November towards the start of Rohl’s reign at the club, when he was sent off in the League Cup semi-final defeat to Celtic at Hampden Park.<\/p>\n

Heart & Hand creator David Edgar described Aasgaard as “totally anonymous”<\/a> during the recent 5-1 win over Kilmarnock in the Premiership, and that could be used to sum up his season so far.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\n

Aasgaard (25\/26)<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Premiership<\/p>\n<\/th>\n

\n

Europa League<\/p>\n<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n

\n

Appearances<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

22<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

xG<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

3.66<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.42<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Goals<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

4<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

xA<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.39<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.69<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Key passes per game<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

0.8<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1.0<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n

\n

Assists<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

2<\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

1<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table><\/div>\n

The Norwegian attacking midfielder has simply not produced enough quality when in the team, with goals or assists, to justify playing a formation that suits him.<\/p>\n

If a 4-4-2 formation is more effective, and the 8-0 win on Sunday suggests that it may be, then that is what Rohl should be going for throughout the rest of the season.<\/p>\n

\n
\n \"thelo-aasgaard-rangers-hibs\"\n <\/picture>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

That would leave Aasgaard in a difficult position because he is not suited to playing in a double pivot, averaging just 1.5 tackles and interceptions per game in the league, and he does not have the pace to make him a natural wide player.<\/p>\n

This means that the signing of Naderi, who has presented Rohl with the chance to change his formation and try a new tactic, could end up being the end of Aasgaard’s Ibrox career.<\/p>\n

If he does not get much game time between now and the end of the season, having already struggled this term, then a summer move could be on the cards for the former Wigan star.<\/p>\n

\n\"skov-olsen-rangers-annan\"\n <\/picture>\n

\n
\n

\t\t
\n\t\t\tForget Skov Olsen: Rangers star could be a \u00a369m sensation in the making
\n\t\t<\/a>
\n\t<\/h5>\n

Rangers might have struck gold amid notable comparisons to one of Danny Rohl’s new signings.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Glasgow Rangers centre-forward Ryan Naderi properly introduced himself to the supporters with a brace in the 8-0 win over Queen’s Park on Sunday. The \u00a35m deadline day signing made his debut for the Light Blues off the bench in the 5-1 win over Kilmarnock last time out in the Scottish Premiership, but he did not […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":227622,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6808],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-227621","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227621","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=227621"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/227621\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/227622"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=227621"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=227621"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=227621"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}