New season, new players, but the same lazy punditry from the same old faces.
We all know that Sportscene is best watched with the sound turned down but after a groveling apology from both Michael Stewart and the BBC in recent months, there was an expectation that we might see a more balanced opinion when discussing Rangers.
Unfortunately, Antonio Colak’s disallowed goal wasn’t reviewed or the farcical decision from Don Robertson to allow Livingston to make a substitution rather than send off Phillip Cancar for the most obvious of second yellow cards which suggests that it is very much business as usual.
The same can be said of Stewart’s analysis too when John Souttar’s debut display was highlighted for less than favourable reasons, the Sportscene pundit jumping to the lazy conclusion that a slight position shift has seen an international quality defender have a sub-par performance, as reported by The National:
“It’s clear for everybody to see that John Souttar’s got to do better.
“First of all, he’s got to get himself in the right position and then he gets himself spun and outmuscled.
“It’s a wonderful finish from Joel Nouble.
“For me it is [a problem he’s never played left centre-half before] because last season, when he came back from injury, he was playing in a back-three at Hearts on the right-side. He was very, very good.
“He’s gone to a new club, he’s playing in a back-four, he’s playing on the left side and he’s playing with a full-back who’s not the best defensively.
“All those things and combinations have led to what was – let’s be honest – an uncomfortable opening day of the season for the club.
“But John Souttar’s a good player and I hope he gets the time to bed into the position because it is an important thing that’s been lost in a lot of the conversations.”
What has the side of the pitch that Souttar was playing on got to do with being out muscled on three separate occasions, twice leading to goal scoring opportunities?
Every time he was in the right position to deal with the threat of Joel Nouble, every time he was goal side and the favourite to win possession or, at least, nullify the situation, but he didn’t.
Lack of match sharpness, having to adjust to being more isolated for a team that dominates possession and having to defend a larger area on his own could be considered as possible reasons for his poor display, but what side of the team-sheet his name was on isn’t. Souttar wasn’t asked to play as a full-back or as an attacking midfielder but there is a technical difference to playing as a Rangers centre-half and one that he will need to adapt to very quickly if he wants to get fans back on side and off his back.