The Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers enigma
By Scott Mckay
A wet and miserable midweek trip to the East of Scotland turned out to be one of the best nights of a lacklustre start to their Rangers careers for both Sam Lammers and Cyriel Dessers.
26 year old Dutch forward Lammers played a pivotal part in Rangers 5-0 win away to Dundee in Wednesday nights delayed kick off. He scored the third goal with a thunderous drive into the keepers top right hand corner then assisted Nigerian international Dessers for the 3rd goal with a defence splitting pass.
How Can Phillipe Clement get the best from Lammers?
The Rangers manager Philippe Clement said in his post-match interview that Lammers is very much a confidence player. When Clement first rocked up at Ibrox he said he likes players to get into the box when attacking. This was present for the 1st goal at Dens Park on Wednesday night when Ryan Jack scored the first goal where Lammers was in the box just behind Jack waiting for any scraps to come from the passage of play.
This is something that really could help Lammers’ confidence if he can get into the box and get on the end of the chances the team creates in wide positions. Just by being a physical presence in the box, he can cause opposition defences problems.
What we also saw from the playmaker on Wednesday for his goal was how he turned the opposition player inside out before driving his goal into the top corner. I feel in a low block, Lammers is best being utilised by being a presence in the box when Rangers overload from out wide. Lammers, who has been used as a striker before, has the intelligence to get around the penalty box to know where the ball is going to be. With the Dutch player being both footed and with an eye for a pass, he could be utilised in the number 10 role at certain phases of the match, and whilst I think his build up play needs some work as he isn’t the most mobile at getting past a tight defence, he can be utilised if he can get an opposition player in a one on one situation.
Is there more optimism around Lammers Rangers future?
For me, yes there absolutely is. I think in Phillipe Clement, we have a coach who develops players and I think Lammers can be used in the managers system and style of play.
He will need to utilise the former Atalanta forward correctly against a low block in certain phases of play as I have seen this is where most of the supporters frustrations come from is when he is with the ball looking at the low block, he looks a player devoid of ideas and generally stifled, which causes his style of play to become delayed and he makes bad decisions whilst on the ball.
Whereas if Lammers is focussing on making forward runs in phases of play, getting into the box and encouraged him to play his game in space, then I think Clement could have a player on his hands and finally help him realise his potential.
Cyriel Dessers
This is purely an opinion, but Cyriel Dessers is not good enough to be a Rangers player and I will be explaining my reasons why I don’t think the Nigerian international will make the grade at Ibrox.
The main ingredients to make it of a Rangers striker is:-
- Effort and Desire
- An eye for goal
I’ll break down why I don’t think Dessers has any of these in the last part of the article.
Effort and Desire
I have seen next to nothing from the Nigerian centre forward to give me any degree of optimism moving forward. If he wasn’t having the brightest starts and is short of confidence, the least we as a support should expect is a degree of physicality from a striker that stands at 6 feet exactly.
He can have a turn of pace as shown when he scored his goal against Dundee on Wednesday, so why doesn’t he use his physicality to good effect?
He could be moving around the opposition centre backs with his physicality but tends to be found wanting when in a low block. Pure effort and desire would see the striker work harder for his team mates when playing as a lone front man, winning battles in the air, holding the ball up and winning free kicks in dangerous areas – not purely as a target man but something in the mould of a complete centre forward.
The striker should be interchanging with Abdallah Sima and being a pest to opposition defences but seems confused to what his role actually is when he is on the park. This might seem harsh but he lacks the effort and desire to want to make it at Rangers.
I mean, if he’s not sure what to do he could at least mobilise centre backs, run channels etc. There seems to be next to nothing on offer when the striker plays. Compared to Danilo, who was doing all of the above things in Dundee, as well as creating his own chances.
If you think about the goals, Dessers has scored a tap in against Servette and a couple of deflected goals. Hardly whets the appetite for more.
He scored a good goal against Hibs and took his finish well against Dundee on Wednesday, but overall the value we are getting for the 4.5million euros spent in the summer is massively underwhelming.
An eye for goal
It’s very hard for me to praise Dessers’ ability in front of goal because his contribution to build up play has been nothing short of awful. So in terms of chance creation there has been next to nothing for the striker to contribute in front of goal.
He has scored a couple of deflected efforts and a good goal against Hibs and Dundee but I’m yet to be convinced we are going to see value for money in this signing. The way Rangers manager Phillipe Clement could get something from the Nigerian striker is when someone else has tired defences out and he has space to play in, as he offers nothing against a low block. Although he contributed an assist for Rabbi Matondo against PSV, we have yet to see the striker hit even half the heights expected for him against the outlay.
How Does Phillipe Clement Use Dessers in the coming months?
He has to find a way to get the striker moving around the park and contributing.
Dessers has to make space by moving opposition defenders around and only after that is he going to have the slightest chance to make it as a Glasgow Rangers player.
I would be starting him from the bench for the next period and work with him during the international break. Danilo for me is the real No 9 through his contributions to the team against Dundee and Hearts respectively and must be given the starting berth for the foreseeable.
There’s light at the end of the tunnel for Sam Lammers but I struggle to see any delight for Dessers in the coming months.