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...
The fuss Gerrard’s former assistant created when knocking back Wolves means QPR fans are entitled to snort with laughterMick Beale will claim the lure of Rangers was simply too strong. An emotional bond created during time spent at the club as assistant to Steven Gerrard meant he was destined to return. Blah blah. He could reasonably point towards a wider culture in football. Beale is not the first and will not be the last to have weighty sentiment almost immediately contradicted by actions. It is just that, in this case, it is bordering on the preposterous.“It was a real privilege to be asked to go to speak to them but I didn’t think it was the right moment because I...
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...
First Old Firm derby of the season gives Ange Postecoglou the chance to test his side’s Japanese-inspired progress Every revolution has its icon. What helps Ange Postecoglou is that the pin-up boy during Celtic’s steep rise was plucked from the Japanese market which is fundamentally understood by their manager. All the data analysts and scouting algorithms in the world are irrelevant when a manager knows the specifics of a player who should fit his regime.Postecoglou has been at the helm as Celtic have gathered that crucial football commodity: momentum. But Kyogo Furuhashi’s seven goals in as many starts means supporters have a new cult hero. Celtic have become exciting again, with Kyogo at the epicentre of this relentlessly attacking –...