Glasgow Rangers eased their way past Kilmarnock, who went down to ten after just four minutes, with a 5-1 win at Ibrox in the Scottish Premiership on Wednesday night.
It was a brilliant evening for Tottenham Hotspur loanee Mikey Moore, who delivered a goal and an assist for the Light Blues in 90 minutes on the pitch.
The England youth international scored his fourth Premiership goal of the season with a fantastic driven shot into the bottom corner, and set up Andreas Skov Olsen with a pass to the open Dane in the box.
Moore was also involved in several other goals. He played the through ball that led to Djeidi Gassama being fouled for the penalty and red card, and he played Tuur Rommens in to set up Oliver Antman for his goal.
It was the 18-year-old star’s best performance in a Rangers shirt to date because his all-round display was sublime. He was constantly looking to progress and create chances for his team, and was instrumental in the 5-1 win.
Not all of his teammates impressed alongside him, though, as Thelo Aasgaard put in a performance that should see him dropped.
Why Thelo Aasgaard should be dropped
The summer signing from Luton Town was given another opportunity to impress from the start after he failed to be a difference-maker in the 0-0 draw with Hibernian in the previous Premiership outing.
The Norway international did not do enough to justify Danny Rohl‘s continued trust of him in the number ten position, though, as he struggled throughout his 60 minutes on the pitch on Wednesday night.
Aasgaard ended his hour on the pitch with no goals, no assists, no ‘big chances’ created, and no duels won, which illustrates his complete lack of impact on the field for the Light Blues.
|
25/26 Premiership |
Aasgaard |
|---|---|
|
Appearances |
22 |
|
Goals |
4 |
|
Key passes per game |
0.8 |
|
Assists |
2 |
|
Tackles per game |
1.2 |
|
Interceptions per game |
0.3 |
The Norwegian midfielder has not offered enough to the team in or out of possession throughout the Premiership this season, rarely contributing in the final third or defensively.
Aasgaard must now be dropped from the starting line-up for the upcoming matches with Motherwell and Hearts, after the SFA Cup tie with Queens Park, and his performance showed why the Gers should sign Tromso star Jens Hjerto-Dahl in the summer.
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There was another poor performer against Kilmarnock, who was as bad as Aasgaard, but is not in a position to be dropped for the rest of the league season.
Rangers star who must be sold this summer
Aasgaard is still young, at 23, and does have time on his side to develop and improve to show that he can still be a useful player for the Gers in the long-term, whether that is as a starter or as an impact substitute.
Jack Butland, however, is at the other end of his career and should be the first player to be sold by Rohl when the summer transfer window opens for business.
The former England international had a nightmare on Wednesday night. With Rangers 3-0 up and cruising to a comfortable win, the shot-stopper was “too casual” and had a “howler”, per Heart & Hand’s David Edgar, as he completely miskicked a backpass from Nasser Djiga to provide Greg Kiltie with an open goal from six yards out.
Butland, who only had one other shot on target to save in the match, lost his own clean sheet with an incredibly sloppy mistake, which is why he was as bad as Aasgaard. Unfortunately, mistakes have become too commonplace for the English goalkeeper for Rangers this season.
|
Errors leading to shots/goals |
|
|---|---|
|
25/26 Premiership |
Errors |
|
Dimitar Mitov |
8 |
|
Jack Butland |
6 |
|
Dylan Tait |
6 |
|
Auston Trusty |
4 |
|
Calum Ward |
4 |
Only Dimitar Mitov (eight) has made more errors that have led to shots or goals for the opposition in the Premiership than Butland (six) this season, in any position, not just goalkeepers, which speaks to how error-prone the Gers number one has been.
The ex-Stoke star also made two errors that led to shots or goals in eight outings in the Europa League, taking his total to eight errors in all competitions, after he made five in the entire 2024/25 campaign.
Errors, like the one against Dundee at the end of last season, have become far too common for Butland and it only appears to be getting worse, given that he has already made three more errors than last season, and it is only the start of February.
Butland, who turns 33 next month, is under contract until the summer of 2027 as it stands. Rangers should now be looking to make him their first sale of the upcoming summer window, with 12 months left on his deal, so that they can sign a more reliable number one who is not as prone to mistakes.
The English stopper’s errors have been costly at times, most notably when he spilled Paulo Bernardo’s shot for Adam Idah to score the winner in the SFA Cup final in 2024, and Rohl may need a number one with more quality if he wants the team to compete on all fronts.
There is no doubt that Butland can make brilliant saves, as he has saved three penalties in the league, but his errors are a cause for concern and are why he should be the first player sold and replaced in the summer.
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