Glen Middleton

He only recently turned 19 and he already has 15 first team games behind him, which is more than most. He is a stick out at youth level as well, for club and country and he has already scored in the Europa league ..as an 18 year old. I'd like to see him go out on loan in England for a year. He has all the attributes to be a top player and imo he has been managed superbly by Gerrard who took him out the squad at the correct time.
 
He’s possibly the low-key highest value asset we have in our squad. The official Europa league social media guys have been using clips and infographics of him of him all season, suggesting he’s up there with the likes of Calum Hudson-Odoi as the next big talent. He’s got loads of potential and he’s our player.
 
It’s always about opinions but I’d rather have Middleton than Grezda who’s delivered zero so far. I’d rather have Katic than either Goldson or Worrel. Katic is our best aggressive defender.
I’d rather have Halliday than any other left back.

It’s always been the case that unfashionable players get dropped faster than big money signings but it’s not always right
You’d have Halliday over a Croatian international?
 
I think people are forgetting that he got more games in the early part of the season, than he was expected to get over the whole season (when you look at how many signings we made last summer before the season had started). European games, league, cup and even a hat trick.

It's been great for the kid.
 
Can’t tell whether he’s a good talent who just needs a lot of development to his game or whether he’s genuinely a one trick pony.
 
I can't help wonder if he would benefit from being played through the middle much like Lovernkrands.

I tend to remember Lovernkrands struggling at times on the wing and getting flak from the fans. However due to his pace and finishing he went on to have a great season for us when played through the middle. I see Middelton in a similar mold. He may not be the trickiest player, but he has drive, pace and a good finish.
 
You only need to go back to Gerrard’s first few interviews and his comments about the way Murty handled McCrorie to get an insight into what he’s doing with Glenn.

Gerrard will protect young players. He rates Middleton massively and after his confidence went after a few poor games, he’s let him get it back up by playing with the reserves.

He’ll probably go out on loan next season and that will do him good.

And it has to be said, our support don’t let young players settle which really frustrates me. There was a game we were chasing at Ibrox and instead of taking a man on, Middleton played it back and the groans were deafening. I completely understand the mental strength and bravery players need to play for us but we as fans need to help our youngsters as well.

Wingers are always going to naturally be inconsistent. Especially young players. We need to encourage them not instantly say they are shite when they hit poor form.
 
Big fan of his and a bit disappointed he hasn't got more game time.

But and it's a big BUT he did dip. Although Kent is keeping him out and quite rightly so.
 
I can't help wonder if he would benefit from being played through the middle much like Lovernkrands.

I tend to remember Lovernkrands struggling at times on the wing and getting flak from the fans. However due to his pace and finishing he went on to have a great season for us when played through the middle. I see Middelton in a similar mold. He may not be the trickiest player, but he has drive, pace and a good finish.

Don't talk utter pish Gaz. Lovenkrands only tried because it was the last few months of his contract, nothing to do with the fact that he was playing in a position he was any good at.
 
Not keen on loaning players out very few come back and make any serious impact,Our reserves should be as good as any mid to lower SPL team.
 
What I am hoping from SG as a a manager is that he is someone who can develop and improve the player we already have.

It’s was one of Rogers key strengths at Celtic.
 
Hes fine when he receives the ball in space and drives forward but the Scottish game demands he needs to bulk up a bit to cope with the hammer throwers. He could talk to Morelos and Defoe about how to turn players with his arse, or watch some old Dalglish clips.
 
People don’t like the Greg Wylde comparison but here goes. He came into the team with pace to burn, played very well as an unknown quantity, especially in Europe (where there is space). He then came into games where there is no space in behind and defensive banks and he didn’t have the guile or skill to deal with it. I personally think the similarities between the two are there for all to see.

My positive on the comparison between the two is that I think Middleton is a better finisher and therefore hopefully he finds a position that plays to his strengths. I don’t think out and out left wing is it though. I remember being absolutely convinced of this fact when he was brought on to change the game when 1-0 vs Livingston and he couldn’t even keep the ball in play never mind offer anything positive.

Harsh perhaps as he is only 19 and I think he has a lot to offer potentially. At Rangers though you should be judged harshly or we end up with mediocre seasons like the last few.
 
He’s very one dimensional. Gregg Wyle-esque in respect of his kick and run style, that’s not meant as an insult, it’s just that it’s something that defenders can suss out quickly.

He’s a decent young player who can and probably will carve out a decent career for himself, I’m doubtful about whether that will be at Rangers though.
 
I think Gerrard is very mindful of young players development and has a view to their longer term development which is why he’s taken Middleton out of the firing line when his form started to dip.

I’m very confident he will be a great player for us in the future, he seems to have a great mentality. A loan to get first team football next season may set him up nicely for the following season.
 
He’s very one dimensional. Gregg Wyle-esque in respect of his kick and run style, that’s not meant as an insult, it’s just that it’s something that defenders can suss out quickly.

He’s a decent young player who can and probably will carve out a decent career for himself, I’m doubtful about whether that will be at Rangers though.

I’ve seen him take men on and his finishing is very good. I don’t see him like Wylde at all, he was all about pace.
 
Looked sharp as a number 9 for reserves the other day, granted it’s only highlights I’ve watched.

This season has been a success for him, he was excellent in a few of the European games and chipped in with a few goals/assists in domestic games too. Well done to him, he’ll have developed a lot and shouldn’t be worried about lack of first team games recently.
 
He had a dip in form, got dropped and it affected him, mentally.

Hes still a kid, The experience he gained at the beginning of the season will help him. The experience of being dropped will also help
Him longer term


This is it essentially. Defenders also got to know his game a bit so lost that 'wildcard' edge.
 
Hes fine when he receives the ball in space and drives forward but the Scottish game demands he needs to bulk up a bit to cope with the hammer throwers. He could talk to Morelos and Defoe about how to turn players with his arse, or watch some old Dalglish clips.

So true , take Motherwell , they look like 11 juiced up fuckin Nightclub bouncers .
 
He’s very one dimensional. Gregg Wyle-esque in respect of his kick and run style, that’s not meant as an insult, it’s just that it’s something that defenders can suss out quickly.

He’s a decent young player who can and probably will carve out a decent career for himself, I’m doubtful about whether that will be at Rangers though.

19 year old kid who has nearly 30 first team appearances has scored 5 goals including one in Europe against Spartak Moscow and you've written him off :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
He was played on the left wing and looked lost a lot of the time. Hardly ever had a pop at goal, never mind scoring.

He scored a screamer for the reserves yesterday, wearing number 9, looking like he was playing through the middle.

I'd like to see him playing behind Defoe instead of Candeias to see how he looks more central
I've often wondered about his potential to be striker. I don't we try things like that nearly often enough- if a player has pace he goes out wide, as happened to Lovenkrands; it's naive, I think.
 
I've often wondered about his potential to be striker. I don't we try things like that nearly often enough- if a player has pace he goes out wide, as happened to Lovenkrands; it's naive, I think.
We’re not the ones who developed him, it was Norwich.

We’ve played him up front on a few occasions for the reserves, so hardly a Rangers issue.
 
19 year old kid who has nearly 30 first team appearances has scored 5 goals including one in Europe against Spartak Moscow and you've written him off :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Remember when Wylde came in as a 20 year old and put in a couple of great shifts for us in Europe?

Also, if you think what I just said is me writing him off then I’d suggest you look into enrolling on some sort of remedial English class.
 
I think SGs management of him has been good as Alot of folk say he's a 19 year old who had no 1st team experience he's gained that in abundance this year but it's crucial to not let the wee man think he's better than he is and keep him grounded so he develops well. I like him defo one for the future physically he will still get bigger aswell which can only be a good thing.
 
Remember when Wylde came in as a 20 year old and put in a couple of great shifts for us in Europe?

Also, if you think what I just said is me writing him off then I’d suggest you look into enrolling on some sort of remedial English class.

Wylde also played an important part in a title winning team, made a couple of wrong decisions and didn't fulfill his potential what that has to do with Middleton though is beyond me, a couple of similar attributes doesn't mean anything.

Your post came across massively as writing him off so if that's not what you were intending, perhaps you need to rewrite it.
 
Wylde also played an important part in a title winning team, made a couple of wrong decisions and didn't fulfill his potential what that has to do with Middleton though is beyond me, a couple of similar attributes doesn't mean anything.

Your post came across massively as writing him off so if that's not what you were intending, perhaps you need to rewrite it.

Not at all. I think he’ll “carve out a good career”, but I’m “doubtful” about whether or not that will be at Rangers. That’s not writing him off at all, writing him off would be “not good enough for us, destined for a career as a bit part player at Dundee”.

It’s hard not to have doubts given how quickly things can change for young players and given he has essentially been frozen out for a while now. None of us know how he’ll react to that or if he’ll continue to develop so having some doubts is normal.
 
We’re not the ones who developed him, it was Norwich.

We’ve played him up front on a few occasions for the reserves, so hardly a Rangers issue.
I'm not saying Middleton is necessarily a striker, he might be, I was making a general point which on reflection was most probably irrelevant.
 
It took Wylde 6 seasons to reach the lofty heights of 5 career goals. Comparing them is laughable. Middleton fell into the trap, and so did the management, of using him when we were chasing the game too often and people now have the impression of him as some no hope head down winger.

Who was the last 18 year old to contribute 10 goals to a Rangers team? 5 goals and 5 assists, for a player who has only started 12% of our matches.
 
I live in the states and so did not get to see him in the flesh but very quickly especially it seemed after Europe or even before we concluded the Group Stages he was suddenly and quickly ‘’bombed out’ and out the picture.

He was immense in the Europa qualifying games and even scored in a European game and made or at least started for me …the move that created our best goal of the season.Against a top La Liga side no less!
So where did it go wrong for the kid?

He certainly didn’t look out his depth to me.
In fact in some of the games …the exact opposite.
He was the one who was either lighting the ‘spark’ or creating the ‘spark’ for others that helped us out of some dark holes!

So why all of sudden did he get dropped from the first team squad?
One year on in his development in the first team could have made such a difference to us for next season.Now there are no guarantees he is even going to be here!
As possibly he is yet another one the manager may not rate…and may want to move on to free up wages for others?

I seriously just don’t get it!

He looks like a real talent……
He did what most kids do.
His form dipped and, as nearly always, so did his confidence, so his form dropped more.
Very few youngsters are immune to this.
I’m sure he’ll come good again.
 
You have to remember, he’s only just turned 19. It’s very normal for young players to dip in form after a promising start.

Players like him, the McCrorie brothers and even Docherty to an extent need to be viewed as long term projects. People will debate wether or not they’re good enough for us right now but that’s not why they’re here. We’re building for the future as well as now

21 year old and 22 year old long term projects , you can’t be serious? There’s 17 , 18 & 19 year olds playing regular in a large amount of clubs throughout the UK professional leagues
 
I've often wondered about his potential to be striker. I don't we try things like that nearly often enough- if a player has pace he goes out wide, as happened to Lovenkrands; it's naive, I think.
He’s left footed as well.
Left footed players nearly always find themselves in left midfield, or certainly in left sided positions, even if it isn’t there best position.
Fleck and Adam for two but the most blatant one and biggest waste of a player, despite our relative success at the time was Alexei Mikhailichenko.
 
He did what most kids do.
His form dipped and, as nearly always, so did his confidence, so his form dropped more.
Very few youngsters are immune to this.
I’m sure he’ll come good again.

I hope so and is given proper time to develop into a regular first team squad player.At least
He didnt look out of his depth from the live games I saw.

And if his form dipped which happens to every player at some stage he didn’t seem to be given the chance to get back into Gerrard’s first team plans suddenly.

Good enough for Europe but not the SPFL?
Usually it’s the other way around!
 
Not at all. I think he’ll “carve out a good career”, but I’m “doubtful” about whether or not that will be at Rangers. That’s not writing him off at all, writing him off would be “not good enough for us, destined for a career as a bit part player at Dundee”.

It’s hard not to have doubts given how quickly things can change for young players and given he has essentially been frozen out for a while now. None of us know how he’ll react to that or if he’ll continue to develop so having some doubts is normal.

Not writing him off but being skeptical would be saying he has areas to improve on and he has to work hard so he doesn't follow the same path as someone like Wylde. You went straight to doubting he's good enough for us... at 19.

He's hardly been frozen out, he's still in the first team squad and that is huge at this stage of his development. There's no hard and fast rules about how a young player develops into a first team player so why doubt?
 
Not writing him off but being skeptical would be saying he has areas to improve on and he has to work hard so he doesn't follow the same path as someone like Wylde. You went straight to doubting he's good enough for us... at 19.

He's hardly been frozen out, he's still in the first team squad and that is huge at this stage of his development. There's no hard and fast rules about how a young player develops into a first team player so why doubt?

Fucks sake it’s not rocket science is it. Plenty of young players are hyped up and don’t quite make the cut or continue their progress, it’s extremely common and that alone is worth some feeling of doubt.

But to give you the breakdown again:

1) Very reliant on his pace and often defences get wise to it and players can’t adapt or come up with new strategies of being effective, there was already evidence of that before he disappeared.

2)He’s been frozen out okay, he’s not playing games, that’s frozen out to me, his ability to perform in our first team isn’t improving by sitting his arse on the bench or in the stands.

3)The squad quality will (hopefully) only improve next season, so places will be even harder to come by as Gerrard and us as fans, become even more cutthroat as the desire, and lets face it, desperation to stop 10IAR increases.

4) The Gregg Wylde ‘wrong decisions’ thing I don’t really get, Wylde didn’t make bad decisions, he was just a one dimensional player who didn’t progress beyond that initial burst onto the scene. Simple as that.

When you factor all of that in I don’t really understand how anyone couldn’t comprehend why some would have doubts about Middleton’s future as a Rangers player, but then you said I had “written him off” before so maybe you just like the idea of the young players making it so much that you’re not quite being objective enough.
 
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Only have to go back to last November to see stats like these getting wheeled out.

I think he will make it with us, but he needs to be given time. I don't understand what the impatience is about with some of our support who are demanding for him to be thrown back into the first team right away.
 
You would expect a loan move will be the best for both parties next season. Allows him to progress in a less pressurised environment and we get a better player back.
No disrespect and I am in accord with your post.
I just wonder why it was back in the day that players like Davie Wilson, Ralph Brand, Willie Henderson etc....all got thrown in as young players and made it through the ranks under the pressures of the day, which surely were just as demanding?

Or have things changed?
 
No disrespect and I am in accord with your post.
I just wonder why it was back in the day that players like Davie Wilson, Ralph Brand, Willie Henderson etc....all got thrown in as young players and made it through the ranks under the pressures of the day, which surely were just as demanding?

Or have things changed?


Money has changed the game
 
Fucks sake it’s not rocket science is it. Plenty of young players are hyped up and don’t quite make the cut or continue their progress, it’s extremely common and that alone is worth some feeling of doubt.

But to give you the breakdown again:

1) Very reliant on his pace and often defences get wise to it and players can’t adapt or come up with new strategies of being effective, there was already evidence of that before he disappeared.

2)He’s been frozen out okay, he’s not playing games, that’s frozen out to me, his ability to perform in our first team isn’t improving by sitting his arse on the bench or in the stands.

3)The squad quality will (hopefully) only improve next season, so places will be even harder to come by as Gerrard and us as fans, become even more cutthroat as the desire, and lets face it, desperation to stop 10IAR increases.

4) The Gregg Wylde ‘wrong decisions’ thing I don’t really get, Wylde didn’t make bad decisions, he was just a one dimensional player who didn’t progress beyond that initial burst onto the scene. Simple as that.

When you factor all of that in I don’t really understand how anyone couldn’t comprehend why some would have doubts about Middleton’s future as a Rangers player, but then you said I had “written him off” before so maybe you just like the idea of the young players making it so much that you’re not quite being objective enough.

Make some good points DZ!

Still think young Glen deserves to be consistently with the first team squad.

Type of player that can turn a game with a piece of brilliance!

Not too many of those around …especially at Rangers right now!
 
Reminds me of Greg Wilde
Much more superior to Young Greg.
To me……he was a ‘one trick pony’
Another that used his right foot just for standing!
No offence to him!!

Walter without doubt got the best out of him!

Remember Mongo trying to stare Greg out and intimidate him at a throw in …Wylde just laughed in his face!
Sadly…I couldn't even imagine any of our players even doing that right now!
 
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