Rangers close in on Joe Rothwell exit as negotiations continue | OneFootball

Hot on the heels of Kieran Dowell’s exit is that of fellow EFL slop merchant Joe Rothwell. It is unclear at this point where Rothwell is actually headed.

Unclear destination and broken expectations

It had been understood the former Leeds loanee was going to be a Sheffield United player come January. It was said he had agreed terms with the Blades. However that move now appears not to have happened. It is currently looking like Stoke City instead.

Rothwell was the quintessential example of the same fallacy many Rangers fans committed with Kieran Dowell. It was the overselling of rubbish. Rothwell was originally linked to Rangers during his Blackburn Rovers days. Ibrox Noise was on record back then utterly objecting to that potential signing. We were deeply relieved when it did not happen.

Linked again and wrongly valued

Then he was linked again at the end of his Leeds days. That happened because parent club Bournemouth had no interest in keeping him. Yes he had a fair few Premier League appearances with Bournemouth. We give him credit for that. However that was a long time ago. He is not that player now.

Fans listened to what Leeds fans said. Leeds supporters apparently rated him very highly. They rated him so highly that none seemed bothered he was gone. Consequently Rangers fans took that to heart. They decided Rothwell was the love child of Barry Ferguson.

Early praise and slow realisation

Ibrox Noise was the only outlet that did not want Rothwell at Rangers. Not in the slightest. Even so his early matches seemed to justify the fans view. That was at least according to them. They praised his European performances under Russell Martin.

Ibrox Noise could not believe what we were hearing. We had seen underwhelming and poor performances. We saw an average player. That was the same player who remained under Martin. Over time fans finally started seeing it. It took around a month and a half.

We do not know why it took so long. But then that is fans for you. We are not perfect ourselves.

Finally surplus and on the way out

Now it looks like he is finally on his way out. Nothing is confirmed yet. However negotiations are taking place. We are not sure what the holdup is. He has been told he is no longer required.

In Ibrox Noise’s eyes he was never required. That is just our view. The sooner he is out of the door the better. Potentially a Stoke player but anywhere else would suit everyone.

If we can get a good sum for him that would be even better. Rothwell staggeringly cost around £700,000 from Bournemouth. He was not a free signing. We could not believe the club spent cash on him. Never mind a fee that was not nominal.

To sell him would be impressive. It would mirror the Dowell deal. He has been absolute surplus at Ibrox since arrival. He was nowhere near the level required.

There were comments about him by Barry Bannon. We will cover those separately. For us they make no difference. We will simply be glad to see him leave. The likes of Chuckwuani have already replaced him. And let that be that.