You didn’t have to be a trained psychologist to catch a glimpse of what was going through Djeidi Gassama’s head as he trudged off the park against Motherwell almost a week a go. His face said it all.
In the 74 minutes that he played, he touched the ball a meagre 21 times and took on one shot that didn’t even qualify for the ‘on target’ column. Add to that a solitary successful dribble completed out of the three attempted, and it is easy to understand both his and the travelling fans' frustration.
Read more:
- Youssef Chermiti interview - Repaying Rohl faith, message to fans, big game player
- How Rohl's bold new system overwhelmed Hearts: Box loading, 4-4-2, flying full-backs
It was, of course, not his fault that Rangers would go on to concede a late equaliser to drop vital points in the title race. By that stage, he was firmly in the dugout. However, his inability to carve out a second for Danny Rohl’s side certainly did play its part in Rangers leaving Lanarkshire with less than they had wished for.
It was a story that those who pack out the stands at Ibrox have become all too accustomed to so far this season with the 22-year-old. Perhaps the frustration is because those same fans have seen, in flashes, the riches of attacking prowess that he can offer and are not content when his performances leave them feeling short-changed.
It was all supposed to be so different for the winger signed from Sheffield Wednesday in the summer. In his first four games in a Rangers jersey, he scored four goals. Three of them came in the prestigious Champions League qualifiers, with, ironically, a domestic league opener at Fir Park looked upon as an outlier in the early games for the frontman when he didn't find the net.
Coming off the bench with a quarter of an hour to go against Panathinaikos, just three minutes later he picked the ball near the halfway line and drove towards goal before unleashing a devastating finish into the bottom corner. Ibrox erupted, and the ‘Gassman’ had arrived. What followed was another goal from the bench in the return leg as a second-half substitute.
In the next round of qualifiers against Viktoria Plzen, he had worked his way into the starting XI and looked like a bargain for the relatively small sum that the club had picked him up for after the Steel City side were forced into a fire sale due to ownership struggles. This time he scored a double, either side at half-time, to set his side on their way to another impressive early-season win.
Then came the barren spell, ten games to be precise, where the forward didn't find the net. As Russell Martin’s tenure began to rapidly unravel, so did the form of Gassama. There was still a player in there; it was just slowly being beaten down by a team devoid of creativity and confidence.
Away in Austria, Rangers fell to a 2-1 loss to Sturm Graz. In any other season that would’ve been the lowest ebb, but during this spell it was just another calamity for the club to navigate. What that game did provide, though, was a moment of brilliance from Gassama, conspicuous in its arrival in a side that has offered nothing of the likes for weeks.
After he received the ball on the left wing, he took it down with an impudent mid-air chop on his back foot, before driving in and rifling it beyond the keeper. Had the result not been so catastrophic, it may have been remembered as an ‘all timer’ European goal for the Light Blues. Instead, he was robbed of his place in cult history.
A draw away to Falkirk in the very next game would spell the end for Martin and usher in the arrival of Danny Rohl, Gassama’s former manager in the Championship and what looked like the perfect foil to unlock his clearly massive potential. Indeed, when Rohl arrived at Ibrox he made mention of their previous relationship.
When others doubted the youngster, Rohl predicted with some confidence, ‘he’ll make the difference between winning games’. He did just that for Rohl at Hillsborough and was the jewel in the industrious steel crown of a team that the German crafted south of the border.
He finally got off the mark for Rangers in the league with a strike against Dundee at Dens Park, putting the gloss on a 3-0 win in the 90th minute. Once again, he picked the ball up on the left before chopping in on his right, exploiting the tired legs of the home defence, and bending his effort into the bottom corner.
It would be 15 games before he scored again though, also against Dundee. This time it was the crucial second in a 3-0 win at Ibrox, also in the 90th minute. But importantly, in this instance, he was utilised from the bench when the game was starting to become stretched as the visitors chased a leveller.
The arrival of Rohl also meant a new role and what looked like more responsibility on the shoulders of the forward. He spent much of his time shifted on to the right-hand side to plug a gap for the side and also allow Mikey Moore to thrive in his favoured position off the left.
Indeed, he has played almost the same amount of time on the opposite flank as he has in his natural position, where he has proven he can be effective. It’s hard to think that without this altruistic endeavour and a more settled role, he may have put up better numbers in the infancy of his Ibrox career.
An early header against Porto was only the second occasion this season he has found the net in the first half. Although it followed a familiar theme of capitalising on space left by a defence as the Portuguese giants took the game to Rangers, going for a progressive approach which left gaping holes on the counter-attack, although it did yield a 3-1 win for Francisco Farioli’s side.
After starting against Hibernian at Easter Road and again finding himself in the crosshairs for his profligacy of chance creation in the 0-0 stalemate, he was trusted in from the off against Kilmarnock. Could he deliver?
By that stage, his future was being discussed as well as his form. The Rangers Review revealed midway through the transfer window that Gassama was committed to Rohl's side despite interest from Club Brugge and Villarreal. We then broke the news that Monaco had lodged a loan to buy offer worth around £10million.
As outlined by the Rangers Review, it was immediately rejected. The stance was set before the window opened that none of those who were contributing - either from the start or from the bench - would be allowed to leave as Rangers sought to build over the month. Rangers would have made a healthy profit on their initial outlay but there is belief that such a fee, and potentially more, will be there come the summer, especially if Gassama is part of a title-winning squad.
Read more:
- Why Rangers have rejected Monaco's Djeidi Gassama bid
- How Rangers signed Ryan Naderi - Data standout, ten week scouting, Rohl references
Occasions such as the visit of Killie were important to the big picture. This time, Rohl’s side notched a 5-1 win, but an early red card for the strugglers skewed the perception of who warranted genuine acclaim. Before that trying evening against Motherwell left many lacking the belief that he was the man for the big moments this season.
With Rangers leading Hearts by a single goal, in what was, up until that point, nothing short of a game of basketball, there was one man waiting in the wings that Rohl knew he could rely on. Just like those games against Panathinaikos and Dundee earlier in the campaign, there was an abundance of space for Gassama to make hay in.
‘It doesn’t matter when you come on, please deliver!’ Rohl admitted in the post-match press conference that he had told his winger, and deliver he did. From a Hearts corner, he won the ball inside his own half before taking it past four opposition players.
His speed of thought and foot was mesmerising, and in that move alone, he touched the ball thirteen times. More than half the amount he managed four days earlier, all inside less than 15 seconds. The decisive thirteenth touch was to lay a perfect pass into the stride of Youssef Chermiti, who buried his hat-trick and sealed a momentous win for Rangers.
It was another moment where Gassama had struck in the closing stages of a game. He is a finisher, perhaps not in the traditional parlance of the word, where it would mean a natural goal scorer. But rather, he is a player who should finish games, rather than start them.
So far, Rohl has been the arch pragmatist and has utilised the tools he has at his disposal almost perfectly. As this title race becomes more tense and games go down to the wire, what a weapon it could be to have Gassama from the bench ready to fulfil the prophecy bestowed upon him by his current boss at their former club - 'he will make the difference between winning games'.
Share