Not just Propper: Ferguson must drop Rangers flop who the 49ers must sell

Glasgow Rangers turn their attention to the Europa League this evening as they prepare to travel away to Turkey to take on Jose Mourinho’s Fenerbahce side.

The Light Blues are fighting for a place in the last eight of the competition and will take on the Turkish giants, away and at home, in their next two matches, with a weekend off this week due to their loss to Queen’s Park in the SFA Cup.

Rangers come into this game off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership at the weekend, and interim head coach Barry Ferguson may look to make some changes to the starting line-up.

One player who could be taken out of the XI is Dutch central defender Robin Propper, who was hauled off at half-time in last weekend’s loss.

Why Robin Propper should be dropped

The former FC Twente star lost 100% (2/2) of his ground duels in the first half against Motherwell, before Leon Balogun came on to win three of his five as Propper’s replacement in the second half.

Ex-Gers defender Craig Moore said the Dutchman “is not a real physical player” and claimed that opposition forwards find it too easy to get the better of him in physical battles, which is backed up by his form in the Europa League.

The 31-year-old flop has lost 54% of his ground duels and 56% of his aerial contests in Europe this season, whilst Balogun has won 73% of his battles on the deck and 100% of his aerial duels across three appearances.

With this in mind, Ferguson should – as he did at half-time on Saturday – switch Propper for Balogun from the start for this clash with Fenerbahce to improve the physicality of the Rangers defence.

The former Eredivisie defender is not the only player who should be taken out of the XI, however, as Cyriel Dessers should also be dropped to the bench.

Why Cyriel Dessers should be dropped

The Nigeria international, who journalist Josh Bunting claimed can be “awkward” to play against, did score in the defeat to Motherwell at the weekend, but he also missed a ‘big chance’ and lost all seven of his duels with opposition defenders.

That, more or less, sums up the Dessers experience for Rangers. He has the ability to step up with a goal but his general play, duelling with defenders, leaves a lot to be desired, and the forward is far too wasteful with the chances that do come his way.

As you can see in the table above, the former Cremonese striker has been particularly wasteful in the Europa League this season, underperforming his xG by more than three goals.

Dessers, who also scored one goal in seven matches in the Europa League last term, has proven himself to be unreliable in Europe and that is why Ferguson must ditch him from the XI for this big clash with Fenerbahce, playing Hamza Igamane in his place.

Football FanCast recently published an article explaining why the club’s prospective new owners, the 49ers, must part ways with the striker in the summer transfer window, and his lack of consistency as a finisher was the biggest reason.

Dessers, as shown by his aforementioned statistics, has not provided a physical presence to make the ball stick for Rangers in European matches, nor has he offered a clinical touch in front of goal, and Ferguson must drop him to the bench to ensure that his wastefulness does not cost the team this evening.

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