Rangers need to dump Lafferty
If players need to go, he needs to go first
There has been a lot of speculation about players leaving Rangers in the summer with most of it falling upon Kris Boyd. There appears to be nothing new about any move, nor is there likely to be before the end of the season. This means Rangers shouldn’t give up hope of keeping the player at the club.
However, books need to be balanced so perhaps Rangers need to jettison others first in order to attempt to keep Boyd.
The economics of a football club, like life, are very simple when you think at the basic level. There is obviously so much more to consider but like everything, the battle of infinite wants versus scarce resources is important to remember.
Clubs only have so much money and it is how they use their budget to build and shape a squad that is crucial for success.
The opportunity cost of having one player on board would be another player or players and the value of the player has to be weighed up alongside what other players could bring to the club.
Rangers haven’t bought a player for quite a while now, everyone knows that, it’s a harsh reality of the Ibrox club’s situation. However, when they did spend in the summer of 2008, they spent massively, one of the players they brought in being Kyle Lafferty.
The Northern Irish international was signed from Burnley for a fee that was reported to be in excess of £3m.
The table below compares the games and goals return for Lafferty, Nacho Novo and Kenny Miller.
In all competitions, 11 goals in 57 appearances is not a worthwhile return on investment.
To put that into context, a quick look at the SPL scoring charts for 2009/10 so far will make grim reading for Lafferty. We’ll leave aside Kris Boyd because he is in a different league when it comes to finishing but Anthony Stokes has scored 15 goals in the SPL this season, 4 more than Lafferty has managed in his entire time at Rangers.
Riordan at Hibs has 11, McDonald (now ‘Boro) and Samaras of Celtic have 10 as do Jutkiewiscz of Motherwell and John Daly of Dundee United.
Yes, these players may have played more games than Lafferty this season but Lafferty has made 25 appearances all in for Rangers this season with only two goals to show for it. As the SPL season is around 32 games old and none of these players has played every game, it puts more pressure on Lafferty to justify his high earnings at Ibrox.
If Lafferty was brining something else to the team, the lack of goals wouldn’t be an issue. The former Celtic management team were slated at the start of the season for stating that Marc Antoine Fortune would make goals but not necessarily take chances but teams need to create chances before they can score.
Fortune has managed 10 goals this season, one short of Lafferty’s total for two seasons, whilst playing mainly in a withdrawn wide position so it is capable to do both. Rangers fans have regularly laughed at the player they call Costa Fortune and the management team that brought him in but he hasn’t been a disastrous signing for Rangers city rivals.
Sadly, it is hard to see of the benefit that Lafferty brings to the team. The fact that he is deemed to be a “good Northern Irish lad” may see some fans give him some slack compared to other players but with money being tight, things like this should not come into it.
It wouldn’t matter which nation Steven Davis came from, he would still be viewed as one of Rangers top players but with Lafferty, his background may be buying him some time.
With talk of Wolves sniffing about Lafferty, it may be best for the Ibrox club to try and manoeuvre the player out of the door. A transfer fee and the removal of his wages could give Rangers a greater benefit than anything Lafferty is able to conjure up on the park.
In real terms, the player and fans wont mind if he leaves, after all, he will be doing so with two title medals in his possession, which is the real return fans look for but Lafferty has not had a huge impact on these victories.
Sadly for the player, his legacy in Scotland will revolve more around diving, Bentley’s and dog-shit as opposed to being a heroic £3m player.
The player has never been able to recapture his goal-touch at international level in Scottish football, which is possibly more infuriating for Rangers fans.
Would you sell Lafferty?
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Realisticaly what team or what manager is going to part with anything for big Kyle, no no, selik duped us(kidded on they were interested), Walter bought the hype surrounding the lad hook line and sinker and now we are stuck with him and his 15k a week wage for the next few years. He cost us a large percentage of our current debt, has he repaid any of his fee? im not sure.
He has struggled big time but funnily enough, i think he is a decent player, he just doesnt seem to be helped by team mates who are a) not good enough and b) out of position just like Kyle. he is not good enough to drag other players into games, hes not good enough to win games on his own yet but he does have talent, ive seen it.
the big man has a nice touch(unlike some team mates) and is pretty quick(again unlike some of his team mates), it just seems he struggles(like the rest of his team mates) when we are up against it and lets be honest, were up against it on a weekly basis nowadays thanks to Walters mental line ups and defensive tactics to accomodate Captain Dave and Big Lee.
Under a different coach in the right team, Kyle could do well, he doesnt have to move, he probably will come good eventually, all depends who his gaffer is. he needs coached better technically and mentally and he also needs told to keep his mouth shut and do his talking on the pitch.
no doubting he could and should be doing so much more but it is hard when your in such a negative team and you are an attacking player. ive been harsh on boyd lately, i suppose his invisibility is in part down to the lack of service he gets, there is zero creativity in our midfield and i include Davis in that. its boring, with NO comfortable wide men and lee mcculloch in midfield we struggle against everyone and anyone, we offer nothing from midfield.
Kyles struggling but so are his team mates.
Its a hard one, like Adam and Burke(who were boo boys), if he went, i have no doubt he would end up doing very well.
If the offer was good enough and i doubt it would be, i dunno, the club would probably sell him but a good manager could probably make him a star.
to most fans it will be a no brainer, sell him, but to football people, its a deal which may interest proper coaches who would like to work with him.
who knows?!?! Big Kyle is just a small part of the broken up puzzle at Ibrox just now. I hope he comes good, at Rangers, i really do.
I wish the stories would stop about Rangers maybe keeping Boyd, it does my head in and feeds the crazy fans who want to sell half the team just to fund keeping him. Hes leaving, ive accepted it, im not bothered, im really looking forward to a totally different Rangers team next year.
I hope McGregor(sell), Weir(contract up), Novo(contract up), Broadfoot(contract up), Boyd(contract up), Beasley(contract up) and McCulloch(free/sell) all leave in the summer. That would give the new gaffer plenty to play with and leave him all the better players to build a real team.
Future for Rangers could be bright under the right guidance, under the current regime, im dreading Bougherra leaving, im dreading Big Lee staying and im dreading Davie Weir playing another, im expecting more anti-football and more embarrassments in Europe.
Just really want this title wrapped up so we can start acting like a proper football club again.
ha ha james your an imposter, but some name has to spark a reaction
Interesting that both Lafferty and Novo are compared to Miller – Miller nearly always plays up front, whilst Lafferty and Novo spend most of their time in midfield. For this article to mean anything – you need to compare Lafferty and Novo to other attacking midfielders – McGreedy for instance.
If Rangers really want to get the best use out of big kylie, just give him a linesman’s flag and he can play the 12th man role. Why not? It has worked for others hasn’t it?
Don’t really agree with your assessment ScottishManx, Lafferty has played through the centre on occasions.
And Lafferty and Novo are fairly interchangable.
However, to answer your request:
Aiden McGeady has played 35 games with 6 goals. He also has 9 assists, Celtic’s highest for creating goals.
lafferty has not had his fair share of games up front, hes been a man missing out wide like every other striker walters tried on the flanks!
lafferty and naismith could work together up front. more skill and drive than miller and boyd.
ha ha james i bet youve never played football in your life. i bet you couldnae keep a beach baw up in a phone box .
He should be dumped for this.
jaz
beach baw up in a phone box??? did yer da say that tae you? lol
the saying is, he/you couldnt get a beach ball off me in a phone box, its said by good players as banter!!!
and ive played, im a class act on the park!