It was a case of in with the old and out with the new for Rangers when the team sheet dropped for their Champions League clash with Napoli at Ibrox Stadium. It was the first time in 12 years a group stage game in UEFA’s premier competition had been hosted in Govan – and two of the Light Blues XI were involved in the last game.
But the sight of Allan McGregor – who proved his worth as he rolled back the years with two penalty saves only to be beaten at the third attempt from 12 yards – and fellow veteran Steven Davis lining up against Napoli more than a decade after facing Manchester United in the competition wasn’t even the biggest indictment of the club’s recruitment.
No, it was another statistic that has really placed a huge question mark over the signing policy: that nine of the Rangers starting line-up were at the club in Steven Gerrard’s FIRST season. The Liverpool and England legend, of course, took over four-and-a-half years ago and eight of those nine were there at the close of the summer transfer window, with Davis arriving midway through that campaign.
