Supporters of a certain vintage will remember when Rangers Football Club was the side to beat when it came to elite-level soccer in Scotland, with the Gers proving to be a class above the rest.
Between 1988 and 1997 – with the likes of Paul Gascoigne, Ally McCoist, and Brian Laudrup gracing the books at Ibrox – the blue side of Glasgow savored nine consecutive title triumphs.
There has been plenty to shout about since then, but not as much in more recent times. Steven Gerrard oversaw the capture of the club’s last top-flight crown in 2020-21.
Quality
Steven Gerrard's first league title 🏆
Look what it meant to him ♥ pic.twitter.com/LBKHAr8XzE
— GOAL (@goal) May 15, 2021
Hope continues to spring eternal at Rangers, with there enough quality at their disposal to suggest that Old Firm rivals Celtic can be overthrown again. Like most sides with the grandest of ambitions, the Gers have pooled talent from every corner of the globe.
They have Turkish, Croatian, Senegalese, Belgian, and Dutch talent at their disposal, alongside a sprinkling of African talent. Fashion Sakala is one of those imports, and he will be hoping to give those in his homeland cause to take advantage of +110 odds in online betting Zambia markets when it comes to the battle for Scottish Premiership supremacy in 2023-24.
Sakala has been in Glasgow since completing a transfer from Belgian side Oostende in 2021. He arrived with plenty of potential to unlock his game and remains something of a work in progress – which mirrors Rangers as a collective.
There is no doubting his main attributes, with pace to burn and a keen eye for goal when said radar is in full working order, but he has tended to blow hot and cold throughout an inconsistent spell on British soil. He has, however, hit 12 goals in each of his two seasons in Scotland.
The Gers believe there is more to come, with club boss Michael Beale having said: “Fashion is still a young man, and he’s getting used to the hustle and bustle of Scottish football. We signed him as a striker, and he’s been shifted out wide at different times.”
Beale has added that Sakala can be “unplayable” at times, with the challenge being to get him performing at that level on a regular basis. The same can be said for many of those around him, with Rangers still searching for a winning formula that will allow them to recapture the glory of days gone by.
Challenges
🗣️ Fashion Sakala is excited to get started. pic.twitter.com/05jTHsJOWR
— Rangers Football Club (@RangersFC) May 4, 2021
Every effort is being made to piece together a competitive squad, with each passing window bringing with it fresh challenges when it comes to retaining the services of prized assets while bringing in shrewd additions that help to raise collective standards.
Sakala has formed part of that process and still has time on his side when it comes to delivering on expectations and hitting his own personal targets.
In him, Rangers have proved that they have Fashion, but the task now is to prove that they can be fashionable. They once set all the trends on a domestic stage, with others following their lead, but it remains to be seen whether they can become supermodels on the most prominent of Scottish catwalks once again.