Rangers boss Danny Rohl was left to settle for what he described as a “fully deserved point” at Tannadice on Wednesday night, although for a club of such stature, these are the type of games that the Ibrox side simply have to win.
Just a few days on from the drab stalemate against Falkirk, the Light Blues were left relying on a last-gasp Nedim Bajrami penalty to bail them out of trouble this time around, having been abject at both ends of the pitch on the night.
Indeed, Bojan Miovski’s dry spell continued, having scored just one Premiership goal since his return to Scotland, while the centre-back pairing of Nasser Djiga and Emmanuel Fernandez were all at sea up against a lively Dundee United forward line.
Rohl, undoubtedly, is paying the price for the chaos that came before him under both Russell Martin and Kevin Thelwell, with the summer recruitment yet again under the microscope.
With question marks over how much will be available to spend in January, the German coach will largely have to make do with what he’s got for now, albeit with key decisions needing to be made.
Record of every Rangers summer signing
Perhaps it is still too early to judge the business that was carried out this summer, although the transfer failures have already helped claim one manager and could well prove fatal for another, unless Rohl can turn things around.
Of course, the biggest backfire appears to be the £8m investment in Everton’s Youssef Chermiti, with a player who failed to score in two years at Goodison Park having since scored just once in his new surroundings.
Former Aberdeen talisman Bojan Miovski hasn’t exactly fared much better, it must be said, with just two goals himself in all competitions for the Glasgow side, ensuring that – perhaps unsurprisingly – captain James Tavernier still leads the way with seven goals from right-back this season.
Despite looking brighter since the change in the dugout, more was certainly expected of Tottenham Hotspur’s teenage sensation, Mikey Moore, with the Englishman joining Thelo Aasgaard and Lyall Cameron in having scored just once in 2025/26 thus far.
Oliver Antman, another marquee summer addition, hasn’t even got off the mark at all, while perhaps the biggest concern lies defensively, with regard to Djiga, in particular.
Djeidi Gassama
27
6 (2)
Thelo Aasgaard
22
1 (1)
Nasser Djiga
21
0 (0)
Oliver Antman
20
0 (3)
Jayden Meghoma
20
1 (2)
Max Aarons
19
1 (0)
Joe Rothwell
19
0 (2)
Bojan Miovski
18
2 (1)
Mikey Moore
17
1 (2)
Youssef Chermiti
15
1 (1)
Derek Cornelius
12
1 (1)
Lyall Cameron
9
1 (0)
Emmanuel Fernandez
7
2 (0)
Already seemingly looking finished at Ibrox, following a string of errors in recent months, the on-loan Wolverhampton Wanderers man has been this season’s key disaster, epitomising a transfer window that won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
The Burkina Faso international has at least been consistent in struggling right from the off, with there perhaps more confusion over the shifting form of fellow new addition, Djeidi Gassama.
Martin's "shining light" now needs to be benched by Rohl
If there was just one positive from the brief Martin era, it was the early performances of young Gassama, with the ex-Sheffield Wednesday starlet looking particularly impressive in Champions League qualifying.
Four goals in just six games in that early round of European games suggested that Rangers had hit the jackpot with their £2.2m addition, with former England international Chris Waddle among those lauding him as a potential “bargain”:
From looking like the “shining light” under Martin’s watch, in the view of former Gers defender Alan Hutton, the France-born winger has frustratingly failed to kick on since then, with that Champions League form looking like a red herring on current evidence.
Indeed, since then, the underwhelming wideman has scored just once and provided only two assists in the Premiership, alongside chipping in with a further goal in the Europa League against Sturm Graz.
An asset in continental action, Gassama has been unable to replicate that form domestically, even despite reuniting with Rohl in recent weeks, following their prior link at Hillsborough.
The youngster was particularly poor during the draw with the Tangerines, having lost the ball 20 times from just 56 touches, while boasting a dismal pass accuracy rate of just 67%, as per Sofascore.
Part of a forward line that just isn’t clicking into gear, Gassama also squandered two big chances and completed just a solitary successful cross, having perhaps been fortunate to last the full 90 minutes in truth.
With young Findlay Curtis among those waiting in the wings, Rohl must forego any potential favouritism and shake things up next time around.
Gassama just isn’t looking like the player he did back in July and August…
Rangers "passenger" has been so bad that he makes Dowell look good
This Glasgow Rangers flop is currently making Kieran Dowell look like a good player by comparison.
ByDan Emery
