Best midfielder in Italy

Jack Butland
Aaron Hickey Ryan Portious John Souttar John Doig
Lewis Ferguson Diomande Connor Barron
Todd Cantwell
Lyndon Dykes Lawrence Shankland

That team wouldnt get to a European final but can anyone tell me that would not be more effective and winning far more trophies at about 1/10th of the cost of what we have bought over the years?!?

Everyone of those players would have come to us if we had come in for them and for a fraction of what we have paid for Lammers, Dessers, Raskin, Davies, Matondo etc. We could have been sitting with that team above and then a warchest in the bank had it not been for us ignoring players infront of our own eyes!
 
tazzabear said:
It’s okay saying that but the same story could unfold if we don’t cut the home grown player snobbery and take a chance with the likes of Miller or Watson.
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True

Agreed it’s vital to not make the same mistake

Id take the boy Watson and keep him for next season

Miller Buy and loan back to Motherwell for a season he is developing really well there
 
Hilarious to read people doubling down here. It should have been a no brainer at the time. He was a standout for Aberdeen, scored goals, was energetic, combative and a bluenose from a family that has produced two great Rangers midfielders in the past.

He’s only been in Italy two seasons, has won the captains armband for Bologna and now been named best midfielder in Serie A. To suggest he wouldn’t have turned out to be a great player for us is ludicrous.
 
GascoigneMaestro said:
It's an award given by a panel of former managers and players. Previous winners include Xavi Pirlo Pogba Iniesta...

Premio Bulgarelli Number 8 - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
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When you look at the previous winners of this award, and it's not just players from Serie A btw, it's an absolutely astounding achievement by Lewis Ferguson.

Had he not picked up his serious injury, likely he'd have his pick of the top Italian clubs come the summer.
 
Just hope someone at the club is telling the new recruitment team that Lennon Miller could easily fall into this category of ones we let slip by.
 
Imagine the outcry if we had spent the money on him, he made the best move for his career and has been developed in a more technical league playing for a team that don’t have the intense pressure we have at Ibrox.

One bad game here and he’d have been written off.
 
ecossebear said:
Jack Butland
Aaron Hickey Ryan Portious John Souttar John Doig
Lewis Ferguson Diomande Connor Barron
Todd Cantwell
Lyndon Dykes Lawrence Shankland

That team wouldnt get to a European final but can anyone tell me that would not be more effective and winning far more trophies at about 1/10th of the cost of what we have bought over the years?!?

Everyone of those players would have come to us if we had come in for them and for a fraction of what we have paid for Lammers, Dessers, Raskin, Davies, Matondo etc. We could have been sitting with that team above and then a warchest in the bank had it not been for us ignoring players infront of our own eyes!
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Dykes and Shankland up front.

I shuddered when I read that.
 
strider said:
Our managers at the time we would have been looking at him - Gerrard and Gio - didn't agree with that.

Like others, I have my doubts that a move to us would have went as successfully as his move to Italy, for various reasons, and we'll never know now, but it wasn't only some fans who didn't think he was worth spending that money on.
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Why is it so hard to think you may have been wrong on something? He's literally proven that he was worth the money.
 
Well deserved. A real shame he's injured for the Euros. Would've been a right hoot to watch Scotland 2 down to Hungary while Ferguson was sat the the bench thanks to upside down face Clarke.
 
Every successful rangers team has had a spine of Scottish guys who knew what it took to play for rangers. We’ve lost that since Walter left and it’s one of the main reasons why we aren’t winning leagues anymore. On the flip side it’s probably what we have been much more successful in europe than nearly every other period
 
ecossebear said:
Jack Butland
Aaron Hickey Ryan Portious John Souttar John Doig
Lewis Ferguson Diomande Connor Barron
Todd Cantwell
Lyndon Dykes Lawrence Shankland

That team wouldnt get to a European final but can anyone tell me that would not be more effective and winning far more trophies at about 1/10th of the cost of what we have bought over the years?!?

Everyone of those players would have come to us if we had come in for them and for a fraction of what we have paid for Lammers, Dessers, Raskin, Davies, Matondo etc. We could have been sitting with that team above and then a warchest in the bank had it not been for us ignoring players infront of our own eyes!
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Ferguson in the Cantwell role.

You could have had someone like Ali McCann a young ulsterman then in the midfield 3 who would have walked over broken glass to play for us and would have been able to be picked up on the cheap.

Another one that might have been a good signing was Ryan Gauld when he was in Portugal imo.

You could have had that team with a sprinkling of foreign talent in and around the squad and I agree that we would have fared better, or at the very least, not worse.
 
tazzabear said:
It’s okay saying that but the same story could unfold if we don’t cut the home grown player snobbery and take a chance with the likes of Miller or Watson.
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We won't be taking a chance on their ability, we will be taking a chance on spending upwards of £5m EACH
Everyone in Scotland, England and beyond are aware these are the 2 next talents to come out of our League
 
stewie_griffin said:
Imagine the outcry if we had spent the money on him, he made the best move for his career and has been developed in a more technical league playing for a team that don’t have the intense pressure we have at Ibrox.

One bad game here and he’d have been written off.
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He’s been there two years and is their captain already. It’s nothing to do with development. He’s a quality player, he showed it in Scotland and now he’s showing it on a much bigger stage. He would have been brilliant for Rangers and is exactly what we are missing in a player right now.
 
ecossebear said:
Jack Butland
Aaron Hickey Ryan Portious John Souttar John Doig
Lewis Ferguson Diomande Connor Barron
Todd Cantwell
Lyndon Dykes Lawrence Shankland

That team wouldnt get to a European final but can anyone tell me that would not be more effective and winning far more trophies at about 1/10th of the cost of what we have bought over the years?!?

Everyone of those players would have come to us if we had come in for them and for a fraction of what we have paid for Lammers, Dessers, Raskin, Davies, Matondo etc. We could have been sitting with that team above and then a warchest in the bank had it not been for us ignoring players infront of our own eyes!
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I don't believe that team would definitely have won more trophies than we have in recent seasons, no. Doig, Porteous, Dykes, Barron and Shankland are not better than the likes of Barisic, Goldson, Aribo, Morelos and Kent, or certainly not better than we got from those players in their time here.

The reason we haven't won more trophies is because that lot have been better than us. Your suggested team there wouldn't have changed that.

And it was the money and progress we made in Europe that meant players like Butland and Diomande were affordable and interested in coming here. We shouldn't be dismissive of that.
 
IMO if Ferguson had concentrated on showing his talent against us instead of running about kicking our players maybe Gerrard or Gio may have picked up on the fact that he could play a bit too and signed him. Having only seen him in the flesh a couple of times I may be wrong.
 
Is it more concerning that we let him go as a kid because he was too small or that we didn’t we try to sign him from Aberdeen?
 
exeterbear said:
IMO if Ferguson had concentrated on showing his talent against us instead of running about kicking our players maybe Gerrard or Gio may have picked up on the fact that he could play a bit too and signed him. Having only seen him in the flesh a couple of times I may be wrong.
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He scored the winner against us at Hampden. Pretty sure he scored against us on more than one occasion.
 
ecossebear said:
Jack Butland
Aaron Hickey Ryan Portious John Souttar John Doig
Lewis Ferguson Diomande Connor Barron
Todd Cantwell
Lyndon Dykes Lawrence Shankland

That team wouldnt get to a European final but can anyone tell me that would not be more effective and winning far more trophies at about 1/10th of the cost of what we have bought over the years?!?

Everyone of those players would have come to us if we had come in for them and for a fraction of what we have paid for Lammers, Dessers, Raskin, Davies, Matondo etc. We could have been sitting with that team above and then a warchest in the bank had it not been for us ignoring players infront of our own eyes!
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Dykes and Shankland? FFS
 
Novichok said:
When does the Lewis Ferguson stuff end seriously.

Every week there's a thread with someone else looking for a pat on the back for saying we should have signed him years ago.

He's playing under one of the best young managers in the game just now in a system that suits him with a very specific role. Well done to him.
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And more than exceeded expectations over there,nobody could have seen how well he would do in Italy and good for him.
He was decent in an average side in Aberdeen,however at that point it's very arguable he would have been worth the multi million lay out to get him for us.
With hindsight it's a no brainer,hindsight is glorious as always though
 
stewie_griffin said:
Imagine the outcry if we had spent the money on him, he made the best move for his career and has been developed in a more technical league playing for a team that don’t have the intense pressure we have at Ibrox.

One bad game here and he’d have been written off.
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Nobody on here could deny that.
 
Novichok said:
When does the Lewis Ferguson stuff end seriously.

Every week there's a thread with someone else looking for a pat on the back for saying we should have signed him years ago.

He's playing under one of the best young managers in the game just now in a system that suits him with a very specific role. Well done to him.
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I’ve certainly moved on from Ferguson but, as I pointed out earlier, it’s going to happen again with one of the good young players coming through at the minute.
I’m fairly certain we’ll be having a similar thread about Watson or Miller or the Aberdeen or Dundee kids that are looking good.
 
JorgeCampos said:
He could win Ballon d'Or and I suspect we'd hear people say 'aye but might not have thrived with us' rather than be open to being wrong. Such is football opinion on social media. Double down etc.
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This isn't about doubling down.

It's simply as solid an argument as people who are saying he would definitely have thrived are making. Total guesswork either way.

We've seen many a "sure thing" not settle, I don't think it's out of the realms of possibility that it could have went either way with Ferguson.

I think he needed out of Scottish football because he was a bit of a marked man here. Others think he'd have thrived. Why is one side of this completely hypothetical debate "doubling down" but the other must be correct?

Doing well for Bologna doesn't necessarily mean he'd have done well for us, that's all I'm saying.
 
Would loved to have signed him, but a massive well done to him for carving out , so far, a good, not great yet, career for himself.
 
the_baron said:

Lewis Ferguson

Other than the family connection to the club I fail to see what the attraction with this boy is. Just looks like a run of the mill SPL player to me,
www.followfollow.com www.followfollow.com

A thread on here about him from 2020, only a few folk who rated him amongst a unanimous opinion of him being shite.
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It's quite worrying our scouting team don't appear any more clued in than your average FF punter tbh.
 
exeterbear said:
IMO if Ferguson had concentrated on showing his talent against us instead of running about kicking our players maybe Gerrard or Gio may have picked up on the fact that he could play a bit too and signed him. Having only seen him in the flesh a couple of times I may be wrong.
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I’m sure these guys could see a player there.
Or maybe not.
 
We’ve been utterly clueless for too long and letting good Scottish boys slip through our fingers and good Rangers ones at that. This has to improve going forward. We can do much better.
 
Josh Allen said:
There will be some on here sitting with a red face over their thoughts on Lewis Ferguson and rightly so.

There was a weird clique who didn't want a guy who is starring in Serie A because of his dad and uncle (both massive bluenoses by the way).
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It really doesn't matter if supporters wanted him or not. Gerrard and Van Bronckhorst had the opportunity to try and sign him and they chose not to. The fans are completely irrelevant.
 
ecossebear said:
Jack Butland
Aaron Hickey Ryan Portious John Souttar John Doig
Lewis Ferguson Diomande Connor Barron
Todd Cantwell
Lyndon Dykes Lawrence Shankland

That team wouldnt get to a European final but can anyone tell me that would not be more effective and winning far more trophies at about 1/10th of the cost of what we have bought over the years?!?

Everyone of those players would have come to us if we had come in for them and for a fraction of what we have paid for Lammers, Dessers, Raskin, Davies, Matondo etc. We could have been sitting with that team above and then a warchest in the bank had it not been for us ignoring players infront of our own eyes!
Click to expand...
If we're talking those players as they are today, then maybe they would have won more but buying them when they were available, most of them were nowhere near the same level and likely wouldn't have developed to the quality they now are. Hickey when he left for Italy was all potential with no guarantee, for example. Just as easy he could have ended up another Greg Docherty level player if he'd signed for us rather than get the chance in a better league. Porteous is in another camp where he'll never be good enough... just doesn't have the temperament for it. There was a period where he was costing Hibs goals against us regularly because he was too busy getting involved off the ball than actually defending. He'd never handle the mental resilience required at Rangers.
 
Well done to Lewis, he is developing very well

Hindsight is a wonderful thing, if anyone on this forum can say with all sincerity that they believed he would be classed as the best midfielder in 23/24 serie a then they are lying
 
Josh Allen said:
There will be some on here sitting with a red face over their thoughts on Lewis Ferguson and rightly so.

There was a weird clique who didn't want a guy who is starring in Serie A because of his dad and uncle (both massive bluenoses by the way).
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Guessing you’re including our former managers in that clique too?
 
Fair play to him taking a risk going abroad, he has obviously embraced the culture and is a big success. I am not convinced he would reach the same level if he has signed for us.
 
Galstonian Oranje said:
He wouldn't have become the player he is now if he signed for us
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It seems like a lot of our support prefer to glaze over this fact, almost like they believe the Lewis Ferguson that is tearing up in Italy, is the same player that was up at Pittordrie 2 years ago. He's improved massively since then, due to the quality of league, coaching and calibre of player he's working with now.

Look at the shambles we've been since the summer of 2022. If he signed for us, he would have fallen victim to the volatile state we've been in since Gerrard left. Most of the players we've signed, have, and that's probably the most galling thing about the last few years.
 
ronadamus_prime said:
It seems like a lot of our support prefer to glaze over this fact, almost like they believe the Lewis Ferguson that is tearing up in Italy, is the same player that was up at Pittordrie 2 years ago. He's improved massively since then, due to the quality of league, coaching and calibre of player he's working with now.

Look at the shambles we've been since the summer of 2022. If he signed for us, he would have fallen victim to the volatile state we've been in since Gerrard left. Most of the players we've signed, have, and that's probably the most galling thing about the last few years.
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So, how do we break this without actually trying to?
 
langsidebear said:
Regardless of how people spin it, Ferguson is the only SPFL player of recent times who was a no brainer of a signing. He would have improved us, he would have improved at us, and we would be looking at turning a big profit on him.
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How much did he cost the Italian club who signed him? (I'm that uninterested, I don't know who they are)

Do you think we'd have been able to purchase him for the same price?

Of course we need a core of Scottish, Rangers fans in our side who know what it's all about, but at the same time I don't want us being held to ransom financially.
 
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