Rhys McCabe and Jamie Ness

ELGers said:
It happens a lot when you have young players playing with a higher standard of player their games is raised and they look better than they really are.

Look at Gregg Wylde, Maurice Ross, Bob Malcolm to name some off the top of my head as soon as they left Ibrox their real skill and ability level came out.
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Wylde never, ever looked like he would make the grade, Boab just lacked something - pace? Ross again never looked special.

Ness was completely different. He oozed class, maybe injuries have taken their toll, maybe lack of ambition/drive after playing for us.
 
We overhype our young players. We want them to do well, naturally, but want 18 year olds to replace 30 year olds.
To be a Rangers regular, you have to be outstanding, especially when young. Very few are good enough.
 
adidasler said:
He's not exactly lived up to the "next Barry Ferguson" type billing though.

Doesn't even play for a terrible Scotland team.
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He may not be on Ferguson's level and it is hardly his fault that he was billed as such but he is a mainstay of a good Sheffield United team in the Championship. As for not being picked for Scotland, just think of John Brown and Alex MacDonald amongst many other good players.
 
ELGers said:
Look at Gregg Wylde, Maurice Ross, Bob Malcolm to name some off the top of my head as soon as they left Ibrox their real skill and ability level came out.
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Not to go off topic but was anyone in doubt about the real abilities of these players when they left?
 
Ness for me has some outstanding moments but didn't look fit enough to play centre midfield at that level, and tired after 30 minutes, didn't see that much of McCabe to form an opinion, they could have been mainstays for us for at least a couple of years but chased the cash, I assume that Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday offered them a big wage hike which couple with the uncertainty led them to make their decisions to move
 
cannavaro said:
Ness for me has some outstanding moments but didn't look fit enough to play centre midfield at that level, and tired after 30 minutes, didn't see that much of McCabe to form an opinion, they could have been mainstays for us for at least a couple of years but chased the cash, I assume that Stoke and Sheffield Wednesday offered them a big wage hike which couple with the uncertainty led them to make their decisions to move
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Ness father stays up the road for me i said to his father (a bear) he could of became a Rangers legend he shook his head and said i know.
Ness left for more money.
 
KopGer said:
McCabe was just a daft, thick wee boy who was badly advised.

I think his career would always have been destined for that trajectory, staying with us or not.

Ness, I think was a level or two above McCabe and could have potentially gone far were it not for the fact that his body is made of glass.
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That's it exactly, I'd say.
 
Ness looked the real deal but as we know he has had a promising career undermined by injuries rather like Jordan Rossiter.
McCabe might have been better staying at Ibrox and working up through the leagues as a starter in a Rangers team, but who can ever be sure.
Looking good in your teens doesn't always ensure a damn thing in football.
It is a tough business.
 
Coza said:
Never saw the hype with McCabe. Looked nowhere near good enough for me.

Ness looked the real deal but his injuries held him back and he never fulfilled his potential in my opinion. Not the first and won’t be the last player to struggle to hit their potential.
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Both had bags of ability and potential.

McCabe was most certainly badly advised, although you have to qualify that, by stating the club was an utter shambles and being run by criminals at the time. In a footballing sense he would have been better staying and playing through the divisions.

Ness was the more talented if the pair but was destined for a career on the treatment table. I think he knew that and could not be blamed for taking the money on offer.
 
Potential means next to fück all if the players don’t have the actual true ability or desire to kick ion. Coulda, woulda, shoulda.

Morelos has it. These kids never! Massive difference.

Where’s the Barrie McKay fan boys who promised us he’d be playing in the English premiership within 12 months of leaving us?
Suppose he’s still one for the future at the age of 25?
 
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Bluebrox said:
Happens to so many.

That's why I'm always quite cautious and don't get overly excited when a young lad starts to break into the team. The failure rate is absolutely massive.

Might not be popular on here, but I can see Middleton potentially being another who has a reasonable start at Rangers and then fades away.
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No I agree with Middleton. I think he looked better than he actually is as we’d just come through the Ally and Warburton years and any player of decent stature looked like the next Messi by comparison
 
J Dawg said:
Just not good enough am afraid. Playing at their level now. Happens to a lot of young players, they hit their peak and just don't improve any.
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McCabe was MOTM in an Old Firm game and thought he had made it..........then went to Sheff Wed.........and further downhill.
 
Yer da said:
Rhys was in the year below me at school. He was a good footballer but wasn't really known for grafting. A good Rangers man, but I don't think his career path would've changed much regardless of what happened to us.

I was told at the time that no one spoke to him about his future etc and he was left to sort himself out.
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You will have went to the same school as me then. WCHS.
 
Bluebrox said:
Happens to so many.

That's why I'm always quite cautious and don't get overly excited when a young lad starts to break into the team. The failure rate is absolutely massive.

Might not be popular on here, but I can see Middleton potentially being another who has a reasonable start at Rangers and then fades away.
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How it seems to happen is:
Youngster breaks into the team - fans love it. 1000% support. Can do no wrong.
Then once they become established, they are first in the firing line when things go against them.

Maurice Ross was a classic case for me.

He broke into the team and did really, really well - played in the 2002 cup final on merit.
Then, once established, the boo-boys got on his back. You could actually visibly see his head drop!

One of his better games for us was in the League Cup final where we beat Motherwell. He got a goal early on and built on that before the boo boys got on his back.
 
Ness was smart enough to realise that his body wouldn't allow him to have the career that his talent should have afforded. He took the best contract he could get because it was going to be his only chance to set himself up for the future. It was the best thing for him and us, given how his career has panned-out since.
 
I remember meeting Rhys McCabe in a nightclub (Club Earth for those who remember it) not long after he left Rangers for Sheffield Wednesday. I asked him how he was getting on, genuine question, and he was a wee dick. Think he presumed I was the one being arsey, either that or he was a wee prima donna and was too good to be talking to me but either way I’m pleased his career has gone downhill. Karma :)
 
The 2007 Youth team that bearpt Celtic 5-0 in the Youth Cup Final looked exceptional. Fleck, Lennon, Shinnie, Ness, MacMillan, Kinniburgh all looked the part. Only Fleck has made anything of himself but it took a long time and a lot of steps back. Why?
 
TNT said:
How it seems to happen is:
Youngster breaks into the team - fans love it. 1000% support. Can do no wrong.
Then once they become established, they are first in the firing line when things go against them.

Maurice Ross was a classic case for me.

He broke into the team and did really, really well - played in the 2002 cup final on merit.
Then, once established, the boo-boys got on his back. You could actually visibly see his head drop!

One of his better games for us was in the League Cup final where we beat Motherwell. He got a goal early on and built on that before the boo boys got on his back.
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Listening to the H&H podcasts on the Eck Era I'd forgotten how often Ross played in the helicopter sunday season.
All I can really remember is him playing really well when he came into the team and really badly at the end of his gers career.
The abuse him and Malcolm got was terrible at times
 
tambourineman said:
Wylde never, ever looked like he would make the grade, Boab just lacked something - pace? Ross again never looked special.

Ness was completely different. He oozed class, maybe injuries have taken their toll, maybe lack of ambition/drive after playing for us.
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Ness and Danny Wilson were the two best youth products I saw during the time I was regularly watching the reserves and u19s.

Even with Fleck in the team, who had flashes of brilliance, those two stood out an utter mile as being streets ahead of anything else.

Ness's body just clearly wasn't up to the rigours of being a professional athlete. It's a real shame. I don't really blame him for his move to Stoke on that basis.

Danny Wilson obviously had a decent career in football but never hit the heights of his youth exploits. Some players just progress at different rates.

I never really saw it with Rhys McCabe. He was great in the air for a smaller player but other than that he was ok. He had some really bad advice by all accounts. Attitude from friends and family goes a long way in the Rangers Youth Setup (rightly so IMO). It's not just about being a decent player alone. To be a Ranger, you need the full package.
 
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