Rangers veteran Kenny Miller is still waiting for a recall to the first team squad.

The striker has been dropped since the defeat by Celtic last month and reports have suggested that the forward had an argument with his manager, Pedro Caixinha.

People have since speculated that Pedro made an example of Miller for the Scottish players not being welcoming to the management team and their new summer recruits. Others have suggested that Kenny spoke out of turn after the loss to their Old Firm rivals and then there’s the reports that have linked Miller with being a leak and giving away important team information to the press.

Miller was told to train away from the first team and he went with the youth side to play a game with them down south. Obviously his exclusion from the Gers side shows that something must’ve happened in the dressing room.

Before his expulsion, Miller was a regular starter under Caixinha and he was rewarded with a new one year contract earlier this year. He seemed to be a player the Portuguese boss trusted.

The speculation regarding Miller not being in the first eleven has led to his agent David Baldwin to come out in social media to criticise the Glasgow giants and suggesting they believe that Miller is the ‘rat’ feeding the press:

“To make those accusations and then leave Kenny out of the squad and not say a word is embarrassing – and then do it again!”

Now obviously an agent owes it to his client to be loyal and to fight his corner but I think Baldwin has misjudged this one. If the player and his family is getting abused over certain things, then he does have a right to attack that mindless behaviour but to go after the club is odd.

No player is bigger than the club and the rants on Instagram come across as self serving and childish. Reacting in such a manner during a big week for the club, as they get ready to face Motherwell in the Betfred Cup semi-final this Sunday, seems very negative and unnecessarily disruptive.

Then you need to factor in the fact that Kenny wasn’t in top form before he was dropped. The forward was struggling in games and he looked very tired on occasions.

I think some supporters don’t give Kenny Miller enough credit for his contribution to Alfredo Morelos’ start to his Gers career. Miller linked up well with the young Colombian and they did seem to have a decent understanding with each other. But overall Miller’s contribution to the team this term wasn’t good enough for him to be considered an automatic starter.

Rangers haven’t missed Kenny in those two games that he’s been absent from. They’ve comprehensively beaten St Johnstone and Hamilton in those fixtures and the performance against the Saints has probably been the best since Pedro arrived at the club in March.

Carlos Pena has came in for Miller and while he’s still adapting to life in Scotland, the Mexican has made an impact with four goals in eight appearances.

David has also accused the Ibrox club of trashing the thirty-seven year old’s reputation by not clearing up the reason for his absence in the squad.

But Pedro has recalled Miller to the first team’s training sessions and the Ibrox side’s gaffer has also stated that the forward has missed the last game due to an injury issue. So Caixinha has said why Miller wasn’t selected, if that explanation is true or not I don’t know.

Plus does the agent think publicly coming out and criticising the club (again in a big week) is going to strengthen his clients reparation within the game?

It certainly won’t endear him to the Ibrox crowd, including hashtags for two tabloid newspapers that the fans hate will certainly harm his clients reputation with the fans.

All in all, I think football agents need to understand that they need to keep their grievances quiet. A football manager will make team selections and doesn’t need to explain them to anyone. As long as the player is being paid and is in the first team squad, then he just needs to bide his time and wait for his chance.

If he can’t do that then instead of public rants, the agent should meet with the club’s hierarchy and reach a resolution. That might mean cutting all ties between his client and his current employer.

Posted on October 19th, 2017 by scott
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