Derek McInnes’s side have an itch to scratch in the League Cup final against Celtic on Sunday and a trophy would sit well for a club with off-pitch developments in the worksIt would be no consolation to Brendan Rodgers but if Aberdeen were to be the side to loosen Celtic’s grip on Scottish domestic silverware, that outcome would seem fair. There will be debate about how meaningfully they have done it but no team have recently threatened Celtic more than Aberdeen. The Dons have been runners-up for the past four seasons.Under Derek McInnes, Aberdeen have an itch to scratch. Six semi‑finals and three finals have returned one trophy, the 2014 League Cup. McInnes takes his players back to the final...
Hibernian and Aberdeen have also risen to the occasion as Celtic prepare to set out for an eighth title in a rowThe swagger returned to Scottish football in recent days. A close battle between Aberdeen and Burnley, Hibernian’s success over the fifth-ranked team in Greece last season and Rangers’ victory over the fourth-best team in Croatia triggered giddy excitement. Celtic had already taken a further step towards the Champions League with their defeat of Rosenborg. Glory, glory hallelujah. Related: Scottish Premiership 2018-19 preview: Celtic favourites but focus on Gerrard Related: Europa League: Burnley’s Cork and Barnes sink Aberdeen in extra time Continue reading...
The Celtic manager may not want Rangers to seriously challenge his Celtic side but, as he prepares for a trip to Ibrox, there have been indications he needs more to sustain himA wider desperation for Rangers to create a title race in Scotland has not been difficult to trace in the past week. Whereas the noncompetitive nature of a league that has been won by Celtic for the last six years is alarming in itself, there is a depressing element to the narrative whereby only the Old Firm must dominate the Scottish game in supplying something akin to a natural order.Brendan Rodgers has indulged in some traditional managerial sport by insisting there is “huge pressure” on in-form Rangers as they...
Celtic have a foot in the Champions League group stage after beating Astana 5-0 in the first leg of their play-off but this success will not benefit other clubsIt was not enough to appreciate Celtic’s 5-0 trouncing of Astana in isolation. The full-time whistle had barely blown on yet another stirring European occasion when the tired cliche arose regarding how wonderful imminent Champions League qualification was for Scottish football. There should be no harm in dismissing such a theory even if it is obvious why it arises: Scottish football is desperate for all the scraps of hope it can gather. Related: Scott Sinclair double inspires classy Celtic to march towards group stages Continue reading...
Manchester City and Chelsea continue to produce and stockpile English players, but neither club seems keen to see the job through and select themWhen Ron Greenwood remarked, while responding to criticism for dropping the young Glenn Hoddle from his England team in 1979, that “disappointment is part of football”, he was widely derided for appearing to stifle the expression of creativity. But Greenwood knew what he was talking about, even if he chose the wrong words at the wrong time. Beneath them lay a truth that comes closer to the surface as the rewards for success in English football grow ever more outrageous.It’s a sad fact that young footballers sometimes have to gamble with their lives if they want to...