Brendan Rodgers will hope his goal-shy Celtic can break their fast at Ibrox against a defence that conceded five in midweekEven in as fevered a football environment as Glasgow, the shifting of bragging rights in the days leading up to an Old Firm clash felt novel. Rangers supporters were purring with expectation after St Johnstone held Celtic to a scoreless draw last weekend. The return of Brendan Rodgers had already been punctured by a feeble League Cup exit at Kilmarnock. The blue half of the city were licking their lips at the prospect of Rodgers bringing his team to Ibrox.The changing of attitudes came after midweek events in Eindhoven. The manner of PSV’s 5-1 humbling of Rangers left Michael Beale...
A return for Brendan Rodgers has been rumoured but a lower-profile manager like Enzo Maresca may make more senseCeltic’s supporters must know not to fall for managers. Ange Postecoglou’s exit for Tottenham maintained a theme which dictates those fans will surely be careful not to be seduced by the Australian’s successor. These marriages are only ever of convenience.Neil Lennon, Postecoglou’s immediate predecessor, is an iconic Celtic figure who was subjected to vile abuse before time was called on his second tenure. What Lennon should have had stored in the bank of goodwill counted for nothing. Brendan Rodgers was revered in the east end of Glasgow before he, like Postecoglou, was coaxed by the bright lights of the Premier League. That...
Old Firm’s struggles are mirrored elsewhere and makes it tough to be optimistic about Scottish clubs being competitive at the highest levelIt does not take much to irritate Ange Postecoglou. Even in these times of domestic harmony at Celtic, the manager rails against the tiniest of perceived slights. One wonders about Postecoglou’s demeanour were the going genuinely tough.Nonetheless, in respect of typical European analysis, Postecoglou has a point. He objects to Celtic being placed alongside other Scottish clubs when it comes to a dreadful Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League season thus far. Postecoglou is correct to highlight cliche. Celtic have been considerably more competitive than their compatriots. Continue reading...
Glasgow rivals’ meeting will be exciting, but broken system means gulf between them and other teams just keeps growingExcitement around Saturday’s visit of Rangers to Celtic Park is appropriate. The extent to which Ange Postecoglou can further elevate Celtic after the success of last season remains unknown. So, too, whether Giovanni van Bronckhorst can prove himself capable of re-establishing Rangers as the finest team in the country. It is early enough in the campaign for levels of intrigue to be legitimately high.That a nine-man Rangers slipped to a draw at Hibernian means Celtic could be five points clear of their oldest foes before the 3pm kick-offs get under way. This would represent an ominous scenario for those in blue even...
The Australian’s arrival in Glasgow was greeted by some with scepticism but for others a title in his first year is hardly surprising Some 26 years ago, back when the late Tommy Burns was manager of Celtic, a 20-something Ange Postecoglou was working as a bank teller in Melbourne’s CBD. He was in the middle of serving customers when he received a call from South Melbourne, the National Soccer League club with whom he had won titles as a player (including one under the tutelage of Ferenc Puskás) and was now assistant coach.“They said, ‘look, you’ve got the job for the next three games just as a caretaker coach, and then we’ll make a decision for next year’,” Postecoglou told...