Raskin v Russell – Rangers talisman scores big win v Martin | OneFootball

Raskin’s Case Strengthens

The Nico Raskin at Rangers situation continues to dominate headlines, with the more the Belgian doesn’t play for Rangers, the better it becomes. Furthermore, manager Russell Barton’s case gainst the former Standard Liege man, weakened considerably with his first ever Belgium goal last night, meaning his stock has risen and the case against him playing for Rangers reduces.

A Weak Midfield

Of course, it must be remembered that Rangers midfield is slim pickings. As one outlet put it, Rangers midfield is not that strong to say the least at the moment, and while Raskin is hardly a Gascoigne or a Laudrup or even a Barry Ferguson, he is still nevertheless significantly better than a lot of the other options that Rangers have there, especially the now much maligned Joe Rothwell.

Clash of Egos

Russell Martin and Nico Raskin both have a similar problem, and that is that they are egotistical, stubborn, and think a lot of themselves. Raskin caused these problems at his old club, and Russell Barton has caused his own problems at his previous clubs. It’s a clash of two egos.

Manager Always Wins

In this case, it is always the outcome that the manager wins. Simple as that, the manager always carries the final authority, otherwise they lose their job. That’s what happened with Paul Le Guen, of course, and Barry Ferguson. Raskin is no Barry Ferguson. He is, of course, a good player. Ibrox Noise is not his biggest fan given his attitude over the years at Ibrox, but we will obviously acknowledge a player when we see one.

The Need for Agreement

However, he and Russell Martin, for however long the current Rangers manager retains his job, will need to see eye to eye and come to a proper working relationship, getting over their own egos and doing the best for the team. Unfortunately, these days, the best for Rangers team doesn’t seem to quite equate to what it used to be, but that’s a different story.

Fans Back Raskin

Raskin’s maiden goal for his country last night has strengthened his case considerably. In the eyes of 99% of fans, he is the hero and Martin is the villain. In fact, it’s probably 100% to tell the truth. But the reality is, of course, the truth is that the reality is somewhere in the middle. It always is in cases like this.

History Repeating

But, of course, Russell Martin is so deeply unpopular among Rangers supporters that it’s very, very, very easy to support Raskin, despite the fact that he pulled the same stuff at Standard Liège. He has history for this. Nevertheless, it is best for Rangers to not have an asset player who is worth a fair few quid and plays rather well, wasting away on the bench, especially when his current replacement is Joe Rothwell.

What Comes Next

So if Martin and Raskin can kindly come to some agreement, get over their own egos and personalities, we might actually see something a little bit better in Rangers’ midfield. But in fairness, it’s not exactly like we have an absolute plethora of outstanding options aside Raskin. And as we mentioned before, some pundit described how Raskin is not Paul Gascoigne or Brian Laudrup, doesn’t carry that level of aura or outstanding ability. But then ihe doesn’t need to, to be a better player at Rangers these days. And Raskin scores his first Belgium goal.

So we will find out in due course what actually transpires between these two.