It’s official: John Lundstram is the “worst rated” player in the Scottish Premiership this season after his awful Old Firm performance against Celtic.
The midfielder for the Rangers, whose contract is set to expire this summer and who is expected to join Turkish team Trabzonspor, had a terrible afternoon at Parkhead on Saturday.
After scoring an own goal in the first half, Lundstram was already viewed as the match’s villain by his own supporters. However, he might have played his final match for the team after being sent off for scything down Hoops defender Alistair Johnston just before halftime.
Collum upgraded his on-field call to a red after seeing at a few different angles of the incident, a judgement that Sky Sports co-commentator Kenny Miller disagreed with. However, it was Lundstram’s general performance in the first forty-five minutes that was most depressing to read.
According to WhoScored.com data, the former Sheffield United player did not make any crucial passes, tackles, or interceptions. His overall performance rating was only 4.48 because to his two fouls, one of which resulted in his ejection, and one dispossessed incident.
After the game, the decision to bench Lundstram generated a lot of discussion, with distraught Rangers manager Philippe Clement reluctant to hold the player accountable for his costly error. Though he acknowledged that there “is question it’s a red card,” pundit Michael Stewart explained why it was “understandable” that Lundstram made the tackle.
After seeing many replays of the challenge, he remarked, speaking from the BBC Scotland studio: “Tom (English) was saying it’s a foolish tackle to do and I understand that train of thought. However, you also need to comprehend the game’s setting.
After a quick pass to Alistair Johnston, the Rangers had just tied the score at two. The ball is nearly in position to be won. You get the impression from the Rangers team that they are fully aware of the situation if Lundstram wins the ball.
Therefore, I don’t think it’s easy to criticise John Lundstram for going for the tackle, but it’s truly an all-or-nothing situation. We’ve seen that you could receive a red card if you don’t get it and win the ball. With 20/20 hindsight, you would say that it was a foolish move, but at the time, it made sense to take that tackle. There is no doubt whatsoever that this is a red card.
