Ryan Jack is the brute Rangers need to catch Celtic
Muhammad Butt @muhammadbutt
Muhammad Butt
@muhammadbutt
Ryan Jack is just a few months into his Rangers career but has already been sent off four times. But could his brutal reputation be a good thing?
Let's get one thing straight: British football is physically brutal. The Premier League is intensely so but up in the Premiership things are even more thunderous. It's a rough-and-tumble style of football. The merits of that are not up for debate here, that's simply the state of things in Scotland.
With that established, it would still be easy to view Ryan Jack's 4 red cards so far (2 rescinded) as a problem. Including his time at Aberdeen, that makes 8 reds for Jack. 6 of which have come in the last year. That's a problem, right?
Look, no one likes to have a team-mate sent off. It creates a problem for the rest of the match and doesn't help subsequent games if a suspension is involved. It's usually something you have to eradicate from a player's game.
But with Jack, why should you? Rangers need to find an edge to help them close the gap between them and a resplendent Celtic. Under Brendan Rodgers, Celtic are a supremely silky side. A flowing unit who dominate through positive and progressive football.
Can Rangers chase Celtic down playing the same way as them? Absolutely. But it will take a long time and a lot of money. What can be done more easily is to set up in opposition to Celtic.
If Celtic are the artisans, the Barcelona, then Rangers should be the war machine, the Atlético Madrid. The powerhouse side who will get up and be in your face and defend so ruggedly you'll get carpet burn from every tackle.
Ryan Jack has firmly established himself as someone not to be trifled with. A midfielder who cannot be intimidated. His first two red cards (against Hibernian and Kilmarnok) were basically for starting fights with men older and bigger than him. He refused to be cowed, lashed out, and got sent off. Both of these cards were rescinded, but the reputation was set.
The next two reds (against Hamilton and Aberdeen) were for bad tackles, but that the latest was against former club Aberdeen, a side against whom you wouldn't hold it against Jack if he didn't go 110%, speaks volumes. Jack went full-tilt at them.
Rangers need an identity to help them catch Celtic, and a player who can bully Celtic captain Scott Brown - the one true brute in Brendan Rodgers' ballet - Ryan Jack is that man.
Rangers should take their cue from the 25 year-old and adopt a physical and take-no-prisoners approach. Become the war machine. Scale the mountain again. Topple Celtic and win the Premiership through blood-and-thunder.
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Head of Features, lover of midfield playmakers, La Liga enthusiast and relentless opinion-haver.