---
title: "Total Duds: Jon Flanagan looked a shadow of his former self in his time at Glasgow Rangers"
canonical: "https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/total-duds-jon-flanagan-gers-ibrox-gerrard-released/"
type: "post"
language: "en-GB"
author: "Liam Togher"
section: "Features"
published: "2020-06-14T15:00:05Z"
modified: "2020-06-14T15:00:05Z"
---

# Total Duds: Jon Flanagan looked a shadow of his former self in his time at Glasgow Rangers

**This article forms part of our Total Duds feature series, which is where Football Transfer Tavern takes a look at how a player has fared since being signed or sold, using statistical figures and statements from pundits to prove how bad a deal the club got.**

Six years ago, the world seemed to be Jon Flanagan’s oyster. At the age of just 21, he had been a [regular feature](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jon-flanagan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/145922) in a Liverpool team that [came agonisingly close to winning the Premier League](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/premier-league/tabelle/wettbewerb/GB1/saison_id/2013), with one Merseyside derby performance leading Reds captain Steven Gerrard to describe him as “[our star man by a country mile](https://theathletic.co.uk/1841698/2020/05/28/jon-flanagan-liverpool-rangers/)” that day.

His stellar 2013/14 season saw him [given a full England debut](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/27383424) a few weeks later and he was even [on standby for their World Cup squad](https://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/international/england-world-cup-squad-announcement-on-standby-andy-carroll-heads-straight-for-dubai-9354719.html) that year. He was dubbed “the Scouse Cafu” by the Anfield faithful and the legendary Brazil right-back even paid him a visit (as per [The Athletic](https://theathletic.co.uk/1841698/2020/05/28/jon-flanagan-liverpool-rangers/)).

However, [a serious knee operation](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/32534493) wrote him off for all of the following season and he never managed to reclaim a regular place at Liverpool, with loan spells at Bolton and Burnley also [yielding little joy](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jon-flanagan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/145922). His [arrest for assault in December 2017](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-42715074) was another setback to his career, although Gerrard [offered him a lifeline at Glasgow Rangers](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/44563574) six months later after the defender was released by the Reds.

\[freshpress-quiz id=”303363″\]

There was no fairytale revival for Flanagan at Ibrox, though. He made only [16 Premiership appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jon-flanagan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/145922) in his first season in Scotland, with statistics from their Europa League run showing how his performance levels had dipped since his 2013/14 peak.

In the Light Blues’ 2018/19 European campaign, he posted match averages of 2.3 tackles, two clearances, 0.3 key passes and 0.5 successful dribbles, with a passing success rate of 76.8%. In his standout season at Liverpool, the corresponding match averages were 3.4 tackles, 3.3 clearances, 0.6 key passes and 0.7 successful dribbles, while he had an 83.7% passing accuracy rate. \[via [WhoScored](https://www.whoscored.com/Players/94030/History/Jon-Flanagan)\]

Flanagan’s fortunes didn’t improve in his second season at Ibrox, managing a paltry [nine appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jon-flanagan/leistungsdaten/spieler/145922) and [none in the Europa League proper](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jon-flanagan/leistungsdaten/spieler/145922). Unable to dislodge full-backs [Borna Barisic and James Tavernier](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/glasgow-rangers/leistungsdaten/verein/124), the club took the decision to [release him along with five other players](https://www.skysports.com/football/news/11788/11991219/rangers-andy-halliday-jon-flanagan-and-wes-foderingham-among-six-players-leaving-club) last month. Tellingly, [a number of ‘Gers fans celebrated the news](https://www.footballtransfertavern.com/scottish-premier/rangers/gers-jon-flanagan-exit-ibrox/) that the 27-year-old was being let go by the club.

\[freshpress-poll id=”303460″\]

The ex-Liverpool defender leaves Ibrox with [no goals and only one assist in 39 appearances](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/jon-flanagan/leistungsdatendetails/spieler/145922/verein/124), while he admitted in a recent interview with [The Athletic](https://theathletic.co.uk/1841698/2020/05/28/jon-flanagan-liverpool-rangers/) that he is “worried” about what comes next for him in his career now that he is a free agent. Having failed to revive his career under former team-mate Gerrard in Glasgow, one must wonder how many more shots at redemption Flanagan will get.

***‘Gers fans, how big of a letdown did Flanagan prove to be at Ibrox? Comment below with your views!***