Every club has those players in their youth set-up that’s ready to make the step up to the senior squad and amaze everyone with their quality.

Unfortunately not every young prodigy lives up to the hype.

Here are five young potential stars that were predicted to hit the heights at Rangers and beyond but failed to reach the heady heights.

STEVEN LENNON

The young striker was banging in goals for the Gers youth and reserve sides and was tipped to hit the goal trail for the top team too.

Lennon was a small, skilful, fox in the box type hitman.

He made his Rangers debut in late 2006, under then manager Alex McLeish. But he couldn’t convince Rangers gaffers that he could grab the necessary goals at senior level. He only played three times in the league for the club before moving out on loan to Partick Thistle and Lincoln City. He didn’t make the most of those loan spells and was released by the Ibrox club.

Spells in Ireland and Wales proved unfruitful.

The forward then found his feet in Iceland and he also found the net regular whilst at Fram. He’d score twenty-one times in three seasons with the Icelandic side. A move to Norway with Sandnes Ulf followed but he once again struggled to hit the net regularly.

Steven is now back in Iceland and back amongst the goals with FH. He has forty-two goals in ninety-three appearances for the Urvalsdeild club.

It’s great that the player has found a home in Scandinavia. Lennon believes that Scottish society issues helped stall his career in his homeland:

“I know now, if I was 16 again playing
 full-time at Rangers, I’d never do the things I did back then. I would never go out twice a week, drinking all the time and going to casinos.”

JOHN FLECK

Once dubbed Scotland’s answer to Wayne Rooney, expectation was always huge when it came to John Fleck.

At sixteen years old, Fleck made his competitive debut for the Light Blues in early 2008. He was a substitute in the Scottish Cup final later that year and helped the side lift the famous cup. John was expected to become the team’s heartbeat and main creative force. Early signs were good and he made appearances in Old Firm games and was even tipped at seventeen to break into the Scotland senior set-up.

He would end up making forty-two league appearances for the Gers, winning two league titles in the process. But he never went from being promising to the star that everyone was expecting. Instead of becoming Scotland’s Wayne Rooney, he became Scotland’s Freddy Adu.

After a loan spell at Blackpool, Fleck left Rangers permanently and joined English League One side Coventry City. He became one of their better players and gained lots of first-team game time at the Ricoh Arena.

The central midfielder then joined Sheffield United and helped them to the League One trophy last season. He’s now in the English Championship with the Blades and has impressed in his first four outings of the campaign.

Seems like a decent footballer, just not the great one that so many predicted. Maybe the best is still to come from him!

JAMIE NESS

injuries have seriously hampered Jamie Ness’ career. Even during his early Ibrox days the midfielder suffered from time on the medical table.

Made his full debut in a loss against Old Firm rivals Celtic in the New Year’s clash in 2011. But it was in the following derby game a month later at Ibrox where Ness excelled.

In the third minute, El Hadji Diouf’s corner was headed away by the Cletic defence. The ball was controlled on the edge of the penalty area by young Ness. His second touch was a shot with his left foot. He hammered the ball into the top corner, leaving the Celtic keeper motionless. It sent the Gers fans wild!

Jamie had a composure that one would expect from someone much older. He was smart on the ball and with his passes, plus he possessed a cultured left foot. It was thought he’d be in the Gers engine room for years to come.

Injury unfortunately reared it’s ugly head again during his second season in the first team squad and he was restricted to just five league games towards the end of the 2011-12 campaign. The Scottish under-21 international decided not to move from the old company to the new. He left on a free in the summer of 2012 and joined English Premier League side Stoke City.

He’d get injured during his Stoke debut and he wouldn’t make any other competitive appearance for the Potters in his three years in the West Midlands. He did managed two loan spells in England’s League One with Leyton Orient and Crewe.

Ness would then join Scunthorpe in 2015 and he spent two years there, playing forty-seven times. He would then join fellow League One outfit Plymouth Argyle but has only featured for three seconds in the league so far as he returns from yet another injury.

A case of what could’ve been for Jamie Ness.

GREGG WYLDE

Wylde broke into the Rangers team around the same time James Forrest broke into the Celtic side. They were seen as wingers that would lighten up the Scottish national side. Forrest has since picked up league titles with the Hoops and seventeen caps for Scotland, while Gregg has played for eight senior sides and has been nowhere near the Scotland side.

His pace and directness caught the eye of the Ibrox crowd. Played in the second leg of the Gers Europa League tie against PSV and then played the full 120 minutes as Rangers beat Celtic in the 2011 League Cup final. He would score two goals in the 2011-12 season but he left when the club hit financial trouble, agreeing to walk away without any compensation.

The winger would join Bolton but due to delays in registration he would have to wait until the summer of 2012  before joining his new teammates, by that time they had been relegated from the Premier League. His time with the Trotters wasn’t great by any means, he failed to make a single appearance and was dumped just a year later.

Wylde then moved back to Scotland’s top flight as he joined Aberdeen but his deal there was cancelled after just six months. Moves to St Mirren, Plymouth Argyle, Millwall and Northampton (on loan) followed. But he’s always struggled to hold down a place and find consistency.

This summer he returned to Home Park and is back with Plymouth, playing alongside Jamie Ness. Gregg scored on opening day of the season but couldn’t prevent his side from losing to Peterborough.

Needs to find a home, get in the team and stay there!

RHYS MCCABE 

McCabe made his name at Rangers during the ill-fated 2011-12 campaign. The club were in financial meltdown but gaffer Ally McCoist seemed to have found a gem in young versatile midfielder Rhys, who seemed to control games as soon as he made his first team debut.

While the club was staring calamity in the face, McCabe was producing confident performances and seemed to suggest that the side had found yet another talented prospect. He seemed happy to be starring for his boyhood club at such a tender age.

Then the liquidation of the Rangers business happened and the Newco were placed in the bottom tier of Scottish football. Players could either accept deals that would keep them at Rangers or they could turn them down and leave on a free. Like so many other Rhys decided to head down south.

His move to Sheffield Wednesday was ratified in 2012 with the Owls agreeing a fee with the Glasgow side. He did well in his debut season, managing to make twenty-three appearances. But he then struggled to keep his place in the team over the next two seasons. A short loan spell to Portsmouth followed.

McCabe was released in the 2015 off-season. He had trials at Hibs and St Johnstone but failed to win a deal at either club. He would sign on at Dunfermline and he helped the Pars to the Scottish League One title. He then made twenty-three Championship appearances for the Fife club last term.

This preseason saw Rhys McCabe join League of Ireland side Sligo Rovers.

Again he seemed to leave Ibrox too soon.

Posted on August 24th, 2017 by scott
Filed under: Article