Barry Ferguson on Barisic

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Borna Barisic would make Rangers a tidy profit but cashing in now would be wrong - Barry Ferguson
Barisic is the ultimate conundrum at Ibrox but Barry is convinced he can shine in the problem left back area if given another chance.




Anyone tuning in for the Wales game in Croatia last weekend would’ve been impressed with the guy who was doing a marking job on Gareth Bale.
The Real Madrid man took a good throw in at one point but barely got a sniff against the left-back.

If you didn’t know any better you would think the player snuffing out Bale was plying his trade in one of the top leagues in Europe – or if he wasn’t he would be costing someone a serious wedge.
He looked a class act taking on one of the best players in the world but I would bet a fair few folk would have been shocked to discover Borna Barisic can’t get a game for Rangers.
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It’s a tough one to get your head around even for those of us who know the situation.
Barisic looked a class act and he’s now a regular starter for an international team that got to the World Cup Final last summer. Yet he ended up the season fourth choice at Rangers.

Steven Gerrard ended up playing right-footed Jon Flanagan instead, or Andy Halliday, who we all know is a midfielder, and even Lee Wallace got in ahead of him for a clash against Aberdeen last month.

It was a hard one to work out because Barisic looked the real deal when he played against Rangers for Osijek in the Europa League qualifiers last year. For whatever reason it didn’t quite happen for him.


(Image: REUTERS)
It’s not like Gerrard didn’t give him the opportunities. Barisic made 24 appearances during the campaign and I know he picked up a couple of niggling injuries but we didn’t see the same player on show last weekend.
He arrived with a lot of promise – and a big price tag after costing more than £2million – but too often he looked off the pace. I’m willing to give the guy the benefit of the doubt. I’m not writing him off at Rangers.
Don’t get me wrong, if Gerrard does think about cashing in, it won’t do any harm seeing Barisic established as Croatia’s left-back. Rangers will get their dosh back and then some, if someone comes in for him this summer.
You couldn’t buy a Croatia international for £2m and the funny thing is he would cost a heck of a lot more if Rangers were trying to get him now.
But I’d like to see him given another chance. I know from experience it’s not easy for foreign players when they first come to Scotland. Barisic played at a decent level in Croatia but performing each week with Osijek is nothing like the Rangers.
I’ve seen it with my own eyes with players who played for top sides in Europe, had international caps and turned out at
World Cups. They come here maybe thinking it will be straightforward but they get a rude awakening.


(Image: SNS Group)
The pace of the game surprises them but it’s also the size of the club and the pressure that comes with being a Rangers player where you are expected to win every week.

Believe me it’s far from easy and it took a lot of guys a good while to get to grips with everything. When I was captain I’d try to have a word with them and see if I could help settle them down but a lot of the time it has to come from themselves. Sometimes it’s sink or swim in that kind of environment.
That’s why I wouldn’t be so quick to dismiss Barisic. He seemed to struggle as the season went on but he has obviously worked away in the background and produced when he’s got the chance with his country.
He parachuted in to the squad during the qualifiers last year but this time around he will have a full pre-season to get up to speed along with the rest of the squad.
It’s not much of a break these days with some of the Rangers players due back in next week but the good thing for him is he won’t be needing too much of a rest as he didn’t have the gruelling campaign others went through.

Getting Barisic back and with a bit of confidence will be like signing a new player for Gerrard. He won’t be the only one as it looks like he’s keen to do his business early with the qualifiers less than a month away.
I don’t think the squad needs a huge overhaul this time but one or two bits of quality that can make the difference over the course of a title race.
There’s still talk of Ryan Kent coming back and that would be a massive boost but if Barisic can continue his international form then Gerrard can at least score out a left-back from his shopping list.
 
His talent isn't in doubt. It never has been.

But do you trust him to burst a gut at Pittodrie or Parkhead ? Or Tynecastle or Easter Road ? Do you trust him not to shit a 50/50 ? Do you think he has the ability to take a heavy tackle and get up ? Not to let his head drop because the winger has went by him once or twice ?Because if the answer is no then no amount of talent will compensate for those flaws in this league.
 
I think we all know there is a player there, we have witnessed it on occasions but clearly not enough occasions...

He has a chance to start the season well if it doesn’t work we can and will most likely make a profit on him

I hope he takes his chance
 
His talent isn't in doubt. It never has been.

But do you trust him to burst a gut at Pittodrie or Parkhead ? Or Tynecastle or Easter Road ? Do you trust him not to shit a 50/50 ? Do you think he has the ability to take a heavy tackle and get up ? Not to let his head drop because the winger has went by him once or twice ?Because if the answer is no then no amount of talent will compensate for those flaws in this league.
Yep i'd agree with this, and unfortunately i just can't see an answer other than no.
 
I think he’s too good a player to write off but, he’s got to bring Croatia form to the Rangers shirt.
Unfortunately for Rangers, this would have to be immediately next season.
We only have till the end of August to have a decision made and a replacement found as we can’t go through till January with a Flanagan or Halliday as first choice left back.
 
I'm torn on him. He clearly has the talent but he has put in some truly gutless performances for us and you can't teach someone to have heart.
 
Pre season, injury free and time will tell. He has talent and may yet fit in and do well.

I hope so.

At very worst we might make a profit on him but I'd rather he became great for us.

Decent article.
 
I find it frustrating that Barisic is really on the ball against the better opposition but then loses his focus in the “easier” matches.

When people talk about someone being a Big Game Player, it’s usually a given that they show at least that level of performance against the lesser opponents. Barisic seems to take it all a bit lightly.

There a player there, without doubt. Whether the attitude can be improved is the question for me and it’s down to the player and the coaching staff to try to fix it. I’d give him another season but I don’t think he is an automatic starter at the moment.
 
I genuinely think we could get around £5m for him right now .

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Might be way off the mark but I think he’s another Hemdani.
Play him in Europe where the style of play suits him, and play Flanagan for domestic games.
Halliday is a decent deputy if or when Flanagan can’t play.
 
Barisic is still a relatively young boy - plying his trade in a foreign land.

Some people settle quicker than others........

Maybe Morelos was a lesser risk in that respect - as he had already made the move from Colombia to Finland.
 
Agree with the majority.

Although if I remember, Gerrard was quoted as saying Barisic cost nowhere near the £2m quoted in the press, around half of what was quoted actually.

Makes an even stronger argument that he should be given a chance, given the possible money we could rake in for a Croatia international.
 
I’d we could genuinely get a profit on him we’d be mad not to sell and try someone else more suited to our game and with the fight to play for Rangers.
 
Might be way off the mark but I think he’s another Hemdani.
Play him in Europe where the style of play suits him, and play Flanagan for domestic games.
Halliday is a decent deputy if or when Flanagan can’t play.

We can’t afford to carry players like that in the squad at the moment.
 
His talent isn't in doubt. It never has been.

But do you trust him to burst a gut at Pittodrie or Parkhead ? Or Tynecastle or Easter Road ? Do you trust him not to shit a 50/50 ? Do you think he has the ability to take a heavy tackle and get up ? Not to let his head drop because the winger has went by him once or twice ?Because if the answer is no then no amount of talent will compensate for those flaws in this league.


We'd a guy in the Scottish Triathlon Squad that would consistently post the best training figures, swimming, cycling, running, out of the whole squad at every testing session.

On paper he was the best athlete out of us all.

However, whenever it came to competitions he just couldn't perform.

He basically never had the mentality to cope with the pressure and expectation that comes with competing in national competitions, in front of big crowds.

His coach tried sports psychology, hypnosis, pretty much everything, but to no avail.

The guy never got close to fulfilling his potential.

I don't know if this is the case with Barisic, but a steely mentality and determination, along with a good attitude, are just as important as natural ability to succeed in professional sport.

You need to have the full package.
 
We do need another left back in to fight for that postion then its up too barasic to fight for his place we won't make a loss on him if we need to get rid but hopefully a full preseason under his belt and if he can stay away from injurys might see the best of him in the season coming
 
Barry seems to be placing a lot of stock on the Wales match, I saw this game, Croatia were all over them, Wales barely had a kick. I wouldn’t say Borna was anything more than average in this match
 
I still don't think he's the "warrior" that SG has repeatedly said we need in all positions, or ever will be.

It's a conundrum for the management, that's the only certainty here.
 
Might be way off the mark but I think he’s another Hemdani.
Play him in Europe where the style of play suits him, and play Flanagan for domestic games.
Halliday is a decent deputy if or when Flanagan can’t play.

We can't afford to be paying someone upwards of £10k per week to be pretty much useless for domestic competition.
 
Some players just aren't suited to Scottish Football, it doesn't make them bad players. Look at Basile Boli, he was one of the best defenders in the world when we signed him and he struggled over here.

Cash in for me, especially if we can get decent dough for him.
 
I think it'll have made more of an impact on Gerrard that he apparently was the only player to apologise to the manager after the bounce game where Gerrard called out some players performances as being unacceptable.

If he's got that level of self-awareness then it points to the desire for doing better. He's a player I'd like to see how he does after a pre-season behind him because i think he can offer something special when on his game.
 
His talent isn't in doubt. It never has been.

But do you trust him to burst a gut at Pittodrie or Parkhead ? Or Tynecastle or Easter Road ? Do you trust him not to shit a 50/50 ? Do you think he has the ability to take a heavy tackle and get up ? Not to let his head drop because the winger has went by him once or twice ?Because if the answer is no then no amount of talent will compensate for those flaws in this league.
That sums it up for me
 
I would sell him, his ability isn’t in question and he should be ripping the league apart, however it just isn’t working for him, it happens with talented players from time to time.
 
We'd a guy in the Scottish Triathlon Squad that would consistently post the best training figures, swimming, cycling, running, out of the whole squad at every testing session.

On paper he was the best athlete out of us all.

However, whenever it came to competitions he just couldn't perform.

He basically never had the mentality to cope with the pressure and expectation that comes with competing in national competitions, in front of big crowds.

His coach tried sports psychology, hypnosis, pretty much everything, but to no avail.

The guy never got close to fulfilling his potential.

I don't know if this is the case with Barisic, but a steely mentality and determination, along with a good attitude, are just as important as natural ability to succeed in professional sport.

You need to have the full package.
It doesn't seem to affect him when he plays for Croatia though. I think it might just be the frantic style and physicality that he's struggled to get to grips with tbh
 
Well I don’t know if Barry watched the game he is talking about because for most of the game Bale played through the middle and not in direct opposition to Bona! Bona did okay in the game without being a standout,Wales were on the back foot for most of the game and Croatia as a whole had little defending to do. Personally if we are offered our money back from someone take it and replace him with someone more suited to the game in this country.
 
I find it frustrating that Barisic is really on the ball against the better opposition but then loses his focus in the “easier” matches.

When people talk about someone being a Big Game Player, it’s usually a given that they show at least that level of performance against the lesser opponents. Barisic seems to take it all a bit lightly.

There a player there, without doubt. Whether the attitude can be improved is the question for me and it’s down to the player and the coaching staff to try to fix it. I’d give him another season but I don’t think he is an automatic starter at the moment.
If he cant play 100% in every game then not for me. During 9IAR far better players than him gave it all in every match. To me that was Walter's doing. Keeping guys revved up game after game season after season takes so so much effort by management. Maybe something Gerrard hasnt got just yet?
 
Why not ? Since he joined us he’s become Croatia’s regular left back .

I think we will make a profit
Yeah, I have read once or twice on here that he plays for Croatia. He's been poor for us and looks every inch the man you cannot rely on. If we can sell him for a profit then, as I said, I'd be delighted.
 
so we sell Borna, who replaces him?, why so many on here want to sell our most gifted players I will never understand, so far we should sell, simply because we can profit from said sell Tav, Alfie, Borna and Jack, anyone else?
 
Barisic is talented but either way it’s a big risk not buying a new left-back.

We can’t rely on him suddenly coming good. What happens if we get into the new season and it’s the same old Barisic and we’ve no time to replace him (or cash in?). It would be a waste of time for the player, his value would diminish and we’d be left with Flanagan who simply isn’t good enough.
 
If we are offered £3m for him this transfer window then take it. We need to strike while the iron is hot, if he spends most of the time between now and January on the bench or in the stands (probable) then his value will dwindle.

People thinking he is going to come good and be the player we all thought he was are deluded. He doesn’t have what it takes to play for Rangers.
 
It doesn't seem to affect him when he plays for Croatia though. I think it might just be the frantic style and physicality that he's struggled to get to grips with tbh


That could definitely be a part of it mate, however, there's no doubt that there's a unique pressure at Rangers, from a very demanding support, to not only win every game, but every tackle must be won too.
100% must be given in everything you do.

Many non Scots have come here and struggled with the demands.

Others like Butcher, Robert's, Gascoigne, Laudrup, Albertz, Gio, Numan, Mols etc. embraced it and became Ibrox legends.
 
His talent isn't in doubt. It never has been.

But do you trust him to burst a gut at Pittodrie or Parkhead ? Or Tynecastle or Easter Road ? Do you trust him not to shit a 50/50 ? Do you think he has the ability to take a heavy tackle and get up ? Not to let his head drop because the winger has went by him once or twice ?Because if the answer is no then no amount of talent will compensate for those flaws in this league.

I think he's drinking in last chance saloon, although he wouldn't be the first decent player in our history who has taken a season or so to get to grips with playing against the linebackers of the SPL.

I'd give him to the xmas window.
 
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