Todd Cantwell’s absence from the Rangers starting line-up against Celtic was one that few would have seen coming.
The Gers number 13 has been Philippe Clement’s creator in chief on many occasions since arriving at Ibrox, however, it is a relationship that has had its rocky patches too.
The manager has since explained why Todd Cantwell never saw any game time at Parkhead, but has it been a week where the 26-year old’s Rangers future has now been put in doubt?
Todd Cantwell has Rangers future question to answer
A hamstring injury put a stop to a run of five goals in nine games, just as it looked like Cantwell could fire us to the title.
The first game he missed – Motherwell at home, and we’ve never really recovered since.
When Cantwell plays well, Rangers play well, when he doesn’t, they don’t.
Any system with a number 10 or central attacking midfielder who is given license to link play and get forward is hugely important to its success.
Which made it all the more surprising he didn’t feature against Celtic despite Clement’s explanation:
“He was fit yes but this was not the game to put him on when we were playing with 10.”
A cryptic social media post now looks like Cantwell was having a not-so-subtle dig at the manager.
His “caged bird” comments seem to contradict an interview earlier this season where he claimed to understand the squad first philosphy of Philippe Clement:
“Listen, me and the manager have had a lot of conversations and I have got a lot of respect for the manager. I think he is a good person as well as a good manager.
“For me personally, in football you have to hide your ego a little bit sometimes and you have to understand that things aren’t always done for your best interest, it is the club’s best interest. I think we have got a manager on our hands who cares very, very much about the club.
“I would like to think I do have a good attitude. The club is always more important than any individual, I believe that. It is probably more important here than at most clubs.”
Cantwell needs to do his talking on the pitch
There is a reason why Cantwell didn’t feature, and it doesn’t appear to be a tactical one.
Clement could well have been planning to replace Tom Lawrence with the former Norwich City player, however, John Lundstram’s red card put paid to that.
What it shows, is that the manager has a trust issue with a player who previously was our most important.
In a year and a half, Cantwell has had periods of play where he has looked like he should have the team built around him.
Unfortunately, it looks like he has forgotten what to do with his ego.
