Who in the current team will be there in 2016? - John Gow

[scarkev 3,540]

Continuation of Ian McCall's view in the times during the week; Interesting views on Hutton and Crawford.

In an interesting article for the Evening Times, former Rangers player Ian McCall suggested that only Lee Wallace and Lewis Macleod will be good enough to play in the first team when Rangers reach the highest division again.

It sounds like an overly critical piece and many fans will be unhappy with suggesting their young guns aren’t top quality, but it was written without malice, and anyone who believes this current Rangers team will be similar to the one in 2016 is in for a major shock.

Injuries, age, form and transfers will see many changes over the next 12 months, never mind in 36 months. Players might be snapped up by English Premiership clubs or fade into obscurity. It’s impossible to tell and anyone who predicts the future of football too precisely is a fool, so let’s waste no further time in doing just that!

Firstly, McCall is correct about Wallace and Macleod. The former is an established player who could easily play in the SPL today. If he stays on the journey all the way to the top division, then he will undoubtedly become club captain and a legend. If he leaves before then, no one should hold any grudges since he has done more for the club in one season than all the badge-kissers in history.

For Macleod, unexpected occurrences aside, the only way he will not be at Ibrox in the top tier is if he is playing in a better league. This is a teenager who plays with the head of a 30-year-old, both in vision and maturity. I’ve described him previously as the hub of the wheel. You don’t notice him with fancy flicks or 40-yard passes, but without him in the centre everything stops turning.

So far McCall was spot on, but what about the rest? He gives David Templeton “a chance” to be a regular but this is probably a tad unfair. He’s still relatively young and he certainly has plenty of ability so I’ll disagree with him here - Templeton alongside Wallace and Macleod will be in Rangers’ starting eleven in 2016.

Another two who are good enough to be close to a regular place are Kyle Hutton and Andy Little. It might be easier to score in the fourth-tier rather than the top tier, but the finishing from the Ulsterman has been clinical. You can’t teach composure in front of goal, and he has plenty.

Hutton has the makings of a really top midfielder if he continues to work hard at his game. He is strong, good in the air and can tackle and pass. Even this season he seems the perfect foil to Macleod. Whether he, or Little, will be an automatic choice is debatable, but it would be a good bet to think they will be in the squad.

On the negative side -- and you are welcome to disagree since it is only a guess -- Fran Sandaza, Dean Shiels, Ian Black, Chris Hegarty, Ross Perry, Anestis Argyriou and Sebastien Faure will not be Rangers. It shouldn’t surprise if most have gone by 2014, never mind 2016.

The first three were SPL standard but have not performed well this season and are unreliable. The last four are simply not good enough for a top-division Rangers starting line-up. It's also safe to assume Neil Alexander, Emilson Cribari and Lee McCulloch will also be gone.

But what about the young players such as Barrie McKay, Fraser Aird, Robbie Crawford, Kal Naismith and Tom Walsh? It’s really difficult to say who will fulfill their potential, but the one player who I’d be confident will still be a Rangers player in 2016 is Crawford. He’s still to develop physically, but like Macleod, he already has a maturity and class about his play that will only improve with time.

But then who really knows if any of this will come to pass? Life is full of surprises and maybe many more will be in the 2016 Rangers side, or none at all. Since it is only conjecture (and a bit of fun), please feel free to pass on your own views in the comments section below.

[Carsons Dog 9,878]

Bit unfair on Hegarty

He was played out of position for a while and I think with a run in the team next to a decent pro (Jig?) he has the makings of a player

[SwallowsHisOwnSpunk 8,009]

McKay is miles better than Crawford

the likes of Charlie Telfer, Tom Walsh, Luca Gasparotto, Jamie Burrows, Daniel Stoney, Ryan Sinnamon, Andy Murdoch & Darren Ramsay are all highly rated and i'm sure at least 2, 3 maybe even 4 of them will go onto become first team players.

I also think Kane Hemmings has a chance of making a similar impact to Little if he stays clear on injuries.

[scarkev 3,540]

McKay is miles better than Crawford

the likes of Charlie Telfer, Tom Walsh, Luca Gasparotto, Jamie Burrows, Daniel Stoney, Ryan Sinnamon, Andy Murdoch & Darren Ramsay are all highly rated and i'm sure at least 2, 3 maybe even 4 of them will go onto become first team players.

I also think Kane Hemmings has a chance of making a similar impact to Little if he stays clear on injuries.

Crawford and McKay are different types of player and obviously we have seen more of McKay but I think Crawford is a player...he has a really good touch and awareness and eventually I can see him playing as a second striker as he seems a very composed finisher.

I just don't see it in hegarty. I think if he could improve his decision making then he would be a decent squad player in the SPL at best.

[SwallowsHisOwnSpunk 8,009]

Bit unfair on Hegarty

He was played out of position for a while and I think with a run in the team next to a decent pro (Jig?) he has the makings of a player

I wish people would stop peddling this myth! McCulloch has played at CB already this season he had a small run of games their with Hegarty and he was a disaster he gave away a few penalties and was generally run ragged by the opposition but because it was a few months ago everyone seems to have forgotten it and are pretending he is our best CB. Perhaps it's because people feel the need to fit him somewhere in the team in light of Little's good form. In reality McCulloch should be played as a striker and nowhere else and if other players are out performing him then he will have to make do with a place on the bench until the likes of Little stop playing so well. No player should be undroppable the players in the team should be their on merit in a Rangers shirt not past achievements.

[SwallowsHisOwnSpunk 8,009]

Crawford and McKay are different types of player and obviously we have seen more of McKay but I think Crawford is a player...he has a really good touch and awareness and eventually I can see him playing as a second striker as he seems a very composed finisher.

I just don't see it in hegarty. I think if he could improve his decision making then he would be a decent squad player in the SPL at best.

i'm not that impressed with Hegarty either, he is't the biggest physically so he isn't going to dominate strikers in that way, so you would expect him to have really good awareness and positioning to make up for that, plus you would expect him to be pretty decent with the ball likes most other small CB's; but in reality he isn't he's just an average CB whose level is 1st division at best. Luca Gasparotto is easily a more promising player maybe Stuart Urquhart aswell.

[scarkev 3,540]

i'm not that impressed with Hegarty either, he is't the biggest physically so he isn't going to dominate strikers in that way, so you would expect him to have really good awareness and positioning to make up for that, plus you would expect him to be pretty decent with the ball likes most other small CB's; but in reality he isn't he's just an average CB whose level is 1st division at best. Luca Gasparotto is easily a more promising player maybe Stuart Urquhart aswell.

I haven't seen enough of gasparato to judge but I'm sure there are more cultured, mobile and intelligent players at youth level....the biggest disappointment for me this year has been hegarty and more so perry...this was their chance and I just don't think they have taken it.. I think it's pretty poor that two young guys are as immobile and lack the physical and skill based qualities to build from....if it was just decision making/game awareness they lacked you would expect that to develop with experience but I just feel both will peak at SFL level as you say.

[joker69 60]

Harsh on Hutton imo.

I really think Crawford will come through and given the chance McKay and Aird too.

[whytes3 254]

I think that is a good fair piece, can't really argue with any of it.

Down to the young players to prove themselves as we go up the leagues but I don't think all will make the grade

[OneDavidCooper 2,505]

I think that Andy Little, Lee Wallace. Lewis MacLeod and Barry McKay will all be involved when we make it back to the top flight.

Black and Sandaza will hopefully not make it beyond this season.

I'm not that big a fan of Shiels and Templeton either.

Perry, Aygreiou, Faure, Kyle and Cribari should be released this summer.

Hutton might make it back to the SPL. Hegarty probably won't.

[BLUEDIGNITY 34,210]

No cunt !

[MasterD 7,464]

No-one.

[BLUEDIGNITY 34,210]

No cunt !

And am talkin aboot 20:16 the night !

[Stoorie 1,090]

No-one.

I agree.

But get that sig changed FFS.

[Mark Walters 206]

I'm delighted McCall has put his tuppence worth in, that an ex player of Rangers and competent manager is raising so many questions on our youth policy has to raise eyebrows with those within the boardroom.

We seem so poor at exploiting our resources and hopelessy inept at instigating anything at grass roots level to see significant change.

We need a complete rethink on our scouting and development in the youth system.

Massive massive challenges lie ahead both short term and long term on the footballing front.

[Spectre 1,663]

Shiels has been entirely anonymous in half the games he played. The youngsters are hard to gauge, even if they were performing well at SPL level there's been quite a few one season wonders who fade away and no-one can really tell who peaks too early or how they will develop. I don't think this prediction will be too far from the truth, McKay if he continues to develop well should be there and there are other young players, and I unclude Hemmings in this, who we've yet to see enough of to guess where they'll be in the future. Despite his scoring prowess at this level I will be very surprised if Andy Little merits a place in the Rangers squad in the SPL, he was nearly released a couple of seasons back and were we still in the SPL i'm almsot certain he;d have been away last summer.