Glasgow Rangers may have won three games in a row for the first time this season, but the performances on the park haven’t been pretty to say the least.
A turgid 1-0 win against Motherwell in the Premiership more than likely buys Michael Beale more time at the helm, but having had to endure a chorus of boos ringing out at Ibrox when the final whistle went on Sunday, he may not have much of it left.
This summer saw the Gers embark on a much-needed overhaul of the playing squad, but it has yet to reap the rewards, with the vast majority of the new arrivals struggling to really hit the ground running.
With Danilo arriving for £6m and Sam Lammers joining the club for a fee of £3m, Beale will need to be careful that these players are managed well and don’t end up turning into another couple of expensive flops.
The Light Blues have endured their fair share of big-money duds since returning to the Premiership in 2016, with former manager Pedro Caixinha being responsible for a couple.
Carlos Pena was arguably the biggest mistake, having cost the Ibrox side £2.2m during the summer of 2017 as Caixinha sought to bolster his side as he looked to end Celtic’s dominance of Scottish football.
Another signing from that same year that turned out to be an expensive flop was that of striker Eduardo Herrera.
How much did Rangers sign Eduardo Herrera for?
Pena arrived in Glasgow the very same day as his compatriot as the Gers announced a double signing and Herrera ended up signing for a fee in the region of £1.5m from Mexican side Pumas, and it was clear that the Portuguese manager wasn’t standing still in the transfer market.
He was clearly happy at joining the club, saying: "I am very happy to become part of this great club that has such great supporters.
"I have been waiting for this move for many years now. I wanted to become part of European football and I hope I will be able to make my own contribution to the team."
He also added: “I am a centre-forward and I like to be in the opposition box looking for a chance to score.
"I am used to playing as a target man, to have the ball and support my team and other players in those types of situations.
“I like to compare myself with other players, I have my own style. I like to watch a lot of European football and I try to learn from other players."
Overall, Caixinha signed 11 players that summer in order to build a side which could compete on all fronts, but having suffered an embarrassing aggregate loss to Progres Niederkorn in Europa League qualifying, there was no way back from that as he was eventually sacked in October 2017.
It was hardly surprising news, especially considering the vast majority of his summer arrivals had underperformed massively as they lost in the League Cup semi-finals while slipping behind Celtic in the race for the Premiership title.
Having scored 57 goals in Mexico before joining the Light Blues, Herrera was looked upon as a main source of goals during the 2017/18 season, yet he became a giant drain on precious funds at Ibrox.
How much did Eduardo Herrera earn at Rangers?
The Mexican striker was reported to be earning a staggering wage of £20k-per-week when he signed six years ago.
This is a decent amount now, never mind when the Gers were still struggling financially following a stint in the lower divisions, and they couldn’t even count on European money either due to their woeful defeat before the league season had even got underway.
It was a ridiculous amount to pay the player, despite his goalscoring record and the fact he had won nine caps for Mexico, and he went on to perform poorly for the club.
How many goals did Eduardo Herrera score for Rangers?
For a transfer fee of £1.5m, Caixinha was expecting goals from his centre-forward, yet he failed to deliver. Across just 24 matches for the Ibrox side, he netted only twice and once new manager Steven Gerrard arrived to rejuvenate the club in the summer of 2018, it was clear he didn’t have a future in Glasgow.
Firstly, he was shifted out on loan to Santos Laguna before joining Club Necaxa in January 2019 for yet another temporary spell away from Rangers, and this lasted for a full year before Gerrard had enough and sought to remove the striker from his squad.
Herrera had clearly been frozen out by the former Liverpool captain and eventually left the club in January 2020, joining Puebla in his homeland and ending a two-and-a-half-year spell of utter misery in Scotland.
Indeed, while pulling on a Rangers jersey between 2017 and 2018, Herrera not only cost the club a staggering £750k per goal, but he rinsed the club of £2.6m over 55 weeks.
This was his transfer fee combined with the £1.1m in wages he earned whilst playing for the club, and it was evidently money the club couldn’t throw down the drain due to their financial situation.
No manager is immune from making the odd mistake. Even the likes of Sir Alex Ferguson has had a transfer howler or two during his successful career, yet Rangers have seen their fair share of expensive flops over the previous seven years.
Herrera certainly falls into that category and that time period wasn’t the best time to be a supporter, with defeats to Celtic commonplace and a number of uninspiring signings joining the club.
Beale has spent a vast amount of money this summer, and he will be hoping that this investment will ensure he has a productive stint in charge of the Gers.
Early signs aren’t promising, and he may not have enough time to see just how the team could perform with every new signing fit and firing.