PLAYING THE PERCENTAGES
Gamble on Barton backfired but Ibrox boss is happy with majority of signings
ONE week on from the termination of his Ibrox contract, Joey Barton was back on Glasgow’s south-side to generate a postscript headline.
The one-match ban he received from the SFA for betting on 44 football matches is obviously an issue for his next employers. Rangers cut their ties in time.
Yet it will take a little longer to expunge memories of his signing. And the training ground bust-up that quickly U-turned him back towards the exit door.
Whenever the topic of this summer’s recruitment drive at Ibrox is raised, Barton’s rapid descent from marquee addition to millstone will inevitably figure prominently.
The 33-year-old was the centre-point of 11 additions made this summer. But with Rangers sitting third in the Premiership, already 11 points adrift of Celtic, wider questions are being asked about Mark Warburton’s signing policy as a whole.
The Ibrox manager, though, has offered a spirited defence in response to the scepticism. Pointing to his record across his full 18 months in charge, Warburton insisted the positives far outweighs the negatives.
Asked if he might now expect more scrutiny of future signings, the Englishman responded: ‘I would ask what you mean by that. I don’t want to be rude but what does it mean?
‘You are never going to get 100 out of 100. (Last season) 11 out of 11 were perceived to have gone well.
‘So if we have signed 22 players and one or two have gone wrong, I’ll take that average all day long. Any gambler in the world would take that average all day long. You can’t get everyone right.
‘What do people mean by that? I’m seeing some criticism of this. Do you get every one right? You make a mistake and you hope you learn from it.
‘Over the last 18 months, when 22 players have come in, I don’t think there are a lot of failures in that number, touch wood.
‘It’s too early for Crooksy (Matt Crooks), too early for Joe Garner, too early for Joe Dodoo. They have talent and we have no doubt about them at all.’ Warburton could point towards elements of bad luck in this year’s additions, particularly the seasonending cruciate ligament injury suffered by Niko Kranjcar. Jordan Rossiter has also been sidelined since August by a calf issue.
‘Maybe last year was too good,’ continued Warburton. ‘I don’t mean that in an arrogant way. (Wes) Foderingham went well. (James) Tavernier went well. (Rob) Kiernan went well. (Danny) Wilson went well. (Andy) Halliday went well. (Jason) Holt went well. (Martyn)Waghorn went well.
‘The loans, Dom Ball and Gedion Zelalem, went well. Harry Forrester did well when he came in and scored goals.
‘So out of 22 players, to turn round and say that one or two did not go as planned, that’s a great average.
‘Please don’t report that in an arrogant way. Maybe we’re a victim of last year being really good. Likewise, with the injuries.
‘Maybe we were very lucky last year that Lee (Wallace) and Tav and these boys could play right through the season, every minute of every game.
‘This season, I think Gilksy (Matt Gilks) has done great. He was signed to provide a challenge and has shown his quality.
‘Lee Hodson has done great. Clint Hill, I think you would agree, is first-choice at the moment. No problem there at all.
‘I was delighted with Niko and where he was when he unfortunately got the injury.’
Discussing Barton by name remains off-limits given the terms of his severance. Yet Warburton insisted this season’s experiences would not make him less inclined to sign a player with a volatile history.
‘Not at all,’ he added. ‘You’ve got to do your homework. Hindsight is a marvellous thing. If we all had hindsight, we’d all be sitting here with our Porsches outside.
‘But the fact of the matter is we haven’t got hindsight. In any case, you’ve got to do your homework, do your diligence, speak to people and watch people. There is loads that goes into it.’
Rossiter was perhaps second only to Barton in the intrigue his signing generated. A former captain of Liverpool’s Under-19s and a current England Under-20 international, his capture from the Anfield club seemed to represent a coup.
So far, though, Rossiter has been unable to confirm that on the pitch. He managed only six appearances before succumbing to a calf problem, suffering a setback in his rehabilitation late last week.
The 19-year-old encountered hamstring issues with Liverpool last term and Warburton confirmed the Ibrox medical staff were investigating whether his problems had a deeper source.
He said: ‘We are doing the tests and he is in good hands. It is just frustration for Jordan to get that close to first team training. We want him, he is an important young player for us and he has got a big role ahead.
‘Jordan was playing for England in the summer, played every game. He comes back and plays six games for Rangers. He got to the point where he would have joined us for training on the Monday. He had come through all the rehab and he was ready.
‘The medical team here are first class and will do everything they can. We will get to the bottom of it, he is a couple of weeks away now.
‘You have to be strong. It is part and parcel of the game. You are one tackle or pass away from an injury.
‘Jordan is more than strong enough. He is just frustrated because he lives and breathes football. We want him back as soon as possible.’