Mikey Moore's loan spell at FC Koln has been described as a "mess" by German media, with the former Rangers star failing to register a goal or assist in his first eight appearances.
Moore scored seven times and claimed eight assists in 47 outings at Ibrox last season before heading to the Bundesliga in another loan move away from Tottenham over the summer. At Koln, he has teamed up with ex-Celtic defender Jahmai Simpson-Pusey and English prospect Reigan Heskey, son of former Premier League favourite Emile Heskey.
Substitute role and critical reviews
The England U20 international had to make do with a substitute appearance in Saturday's 1-1 draw away to Union Berlin. After the game, leading German outlet BILD offered a scathing review of the winger's performances so far.
Local source Express has gone further, writing that Moore himself is growing 'impatient' with his lack of minutes and that the player is simply trying too hard to make things happen.
Manager's response
Koln boss Rene Wagner admits Moore getting off the mark for the club with a goal or an assist is on his 'personal bingo card' but insists the youngster has already demonstrated that he has what it takes to make his stay in Germany a success.
Speaking after the draw with Union, he said: "An assist or a goal from Mikey Moore would still be on my personal bingo card."
Asked about his decision to leave the player on the bench, he responded: "Mikey started against Schalke and in the cup. He's already shown from the bench that he can bring a lot of energy. That was the idea. We wanted to become dangerous again late in the game with his substitution.
"We anticipated Union would play with a back five and wanted to have two holding midfielders on the pitch to be able to switch formations effectively. We had to do that after just five minutes."
