There is no denying that it has not been a great Nations League campaign for Scotland again and manager Steve Clarke, who has often not found himself welcome at Ibrox, as the national side find themselves bottom of the League A, Group 1, table after four games have been played.
The October international break did give us a rather unexpected score draw with Cristano Ronaldo’s Portugal side at an almost full Hampden Park though and that may have been of interest to Rangers fans. Whilst many would now joke that the 39 year old Al Nassr (Saudi Arabia Pro League) attacker needs a zimmer frame to get through 90 minutes, his past career speaks for itself and he continues to be a draw for those in the modern game based on his past exploits.
For some in the Gers faithful, that may have been their reason for tuning into the game and following the action, but others may well have been interested in spending their time with online casino games that you can get from NoDepositFan. For those who stuck with the football, it is probably more likely that they developed an interest owing to Clarke somewhat unexpectedly drafting Connor Barron into the set up.
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The Tartan Army gaffer had plenty of runs in with fans from his time at Kilmarnock, and there have been numerous issues since he took charge of the Scotland squad as well when you factor in clashes with Steven Gerrard and Ryan Jack, and then there are the selection disagreements pertaining to both those named in his squad, and those inexplicably remaining absent – tensions are therefore generally running high.
For this international window, Clarke had previously named John Souttar in the squad and he was our only representative, but during the build up to the Portugal clash, the 61 year old former six capped right back put a smile on Rangers faces by bringing 22 year old Barron into the fray to cover another withdrawal. The midfielder joined us over the summer as a free agent from Aberdeen (Tribunal fee to be decided) and he has already gone on to make eleven starting appearances for us, with two more from the bench, and his performances under Philippe Clement had seen many argue for his involvement this window from the very beginning.
Clarke’s mini u-turn here was obviously welcomed by the fanbase, but there cannot be many who would have not preferred to see the lad make his senior debut as a late substitute in the clash. As it was, we just had to be pleased that with 28 year old Souttar receiving his first start in over two years in the prior game with Croatia, he kept the position for this tie and largely impressed again.
The November international break will soon be with us, much to the annoyance of those who only have eyes for domestic club football, but it will be interesting to see whether or not Barron joins Souttar in the group from the get go at the next time of asking, as his development as a player would have come on even further by then based on what we have seen so far.
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