Nobody holds a grudge against Brendan Rodgers for his little moves, his little attempts to hit the ball over the net. He took a lot of trouble last season.
There were those of us who felt, until the Rangers and Philippe Clement suffered a 9.5 Richter scale chill attack, that their grand return to Paradise simply wasn’t going to work.
Much of it came from the Celtic fans, who were so angry at the level of performance at certain stages that even Santa Claus was caught in the crossfire.
Now that almost every single one of them has accepted an impressive collective commitment to selective amnesia, returning to the view that Brodge is one of Christendom’s greatest trainers and not “a Judas” or “a serpent” or ” A fraud”, the Northern Irishman has enjoyed his own small opportunity to ruffle feathers in a context as calm and tranquil as Parkhead.
Let’s get ready for last week’s Old Firm match. When presented during a television interview with the statistic that his team had scored 52 goals and was 14 points clear in the league, Rodgers, timing a mischievous smile for maximum comic effect, said: “Not bad for a team that doesn’t play.” Attacking football. “It plays very slowly and the rhythm is not there, so we are doing well.”
It reminded me of a night at McDiarmid Park in September when Celtic had just beaten St Johnstone 6-0 and Rodgers was commenting on the number of goals his team were scoring.
Celtic’s performance in their 3-0 Old Firm defeat to Ibrox has given Rodgers something to think about
Captain Callum McGregor grimaces as Celtic struggle during their 3-0 defeat at Ibrox.
“Not bad for a team that doesn’t play football well,” he said then. ‘I think that’s what they told us last year, right? That was the accusation. We were too slow and we didn’t play football. “We didn’t score enough.”
The jocular tone changed a bit a few days later, when Borussia Dortmund took a seven-to-17 lead from his team in the Champions League.
Likewise, after giving another airing to his tried and tested one-liners in the wake of the latest blow to the poor old saints on December 29, a reminder of the dangers of getting a little ahead of yourself was duly delivered at Ibrox four days later . later.
As bad as Celtic were in surrendering 3-0 to a Rangers team with a substitute goalkeeper, their left-back playing at right-back, Dujon Sterling in central defense and a goalscorer like Ianis Hagi, who was told to take his hook. In summer, these are not times of crisis.
The title is already in the bag along with the Premier Sports Cup and the team is in a decent position with two games left in the revamped Champions League.
However, what Ibrox must surely have done is concentrate minds. From top to bottom. It must have made the board realize that, despite the financial outlays of the summer, more money will have to be spent on recruits in the future.
This has raised further questions about how funds were spent during the pre-season. Adam Idah is the £9m acquisition not yet deemed worthy of a regular start, while Arne Engels, who received some unfair criticism earlier in the season due to the £11m price tag hanging around his neck, is now at the stage where you really need to start delivering consistently.
The developments in Govan should also focus Rodgers’ mind on the fact that his lofty ambitions for this season are far from being achieved yet.
A home win over Leipzig leaves Celtic in a good position to qualify for the Champions League Stage
When he agreed to give Celtic another chance in the summer of 2023, it was about doing what he had failed to do the first time around: making the club more competitive in Europe. He admitted it himself. That was the incentive. The intention.
So far, so good on that front. A hard-fought goalless draw against Serie A title contenders Atalanta eased concerns about his (and his team’s) ability to dig in and achieve results against major rivals.
The 3-1 home win over RB Leipzig, who remain in the Bundesliga’s top four despite their obvious struggles in Europe, was the kind of victory Rodgers desperately needed. Their players were exceptional that night.
However, the work is not done yet. Nothing of the sort. Celtic, who need to remain in the top 24 to reach the play-off round, are 21st in the Champions League standings. Manchester City, Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven and VfB Stuttgart are four teams that seem dangerous and will seek to overcome them in the last two days.
It’s what makes Young Boys’ visit in just two weeks so important. In reality, it should be a shootout for Celtic, even if there is a feeling they might have gotten a little out of control in recent weeks.
The Swiss team occupies the last place in the Champions League with six defeats in six, three goals scored and 22 conceded. Even in their own domestic league, they are working hard, a distant ninth in a 12-team organization, eight points behind leader Lugano.
They will travel to Glasgow with the Champions League fairly low on their list of priorities, easy prey for a Celtic team that could do without having to go to Aston Villa in their last game needing a result.
Get his team going again and do the job against Young Boys to ensure progress, unless results elsewhere put a damper on it, and Rodgers will certainly have made par for the campaign. When the draw was first made, reaching the play-off round would have been a realistic goal for everyone.
When Rodgers returned to Celtic the intention was always to make them more competitive in Europe.
The true objective of the Scottish champions has to be to reach the round of 16 of the Champions League.
The real goal, however, has to be to reach the round of 16, the knockout phases themselves. That would fulfill the ultimate goal of returning Celtic to the map of UEFA competitions after a decade without absolute records. It would prove beyond a doubt that Rodgers is capable of hitting the club above its weight at the highest level.
It would also give him carte blanche to respond to his critics, without discovering, as has happened on some notable occasions, that pride often precedes the fall.
Derby victory won’t save Clement if he fails in Leith
It is difficult to subscribe to the view that taking Celtic to the cleaners at Ibrox has given Philippe Clement time to get his reign as Rangers manager back on track.
For starters, two of the most important players in Thursday’s three-goal rout against Brendan Rodgers’ team were unable to make the team at the start of the campaign.
Ianis Hagi was persona non grata. Yes, there was a contract clause on future appearances that needed to be renegotiated, but Clement made it clear on the eve of the first Old Firm game of the season that he had told him there was no place for him in the first XI, and the arrival of Nedim Bajrami he showed it.
Without mentioning agreements or clauses, it was described as a purely football decision.
Nicolas Raskin was also no more than a supporting actor at the time. Of course, he had had injury problems, but you got the feeling that Clement didn’t like him.
Rangers manager Philippe Clement bought himself some time by beating Celtic
After leaving him out of the Glasgow derby in April, he gave the clear impression that he considered Tom Lawrence and Kieran Dowell capable of more.
Just when you thought sticking with Cyriel Dessers at the helm against all odds and whipping the fading James Tavernier to death were also good ideas.
Yet here we are, with Hagi now one of the team’s key creative forces and Raskin captaining the team against Celtic. It seems we’ve gotten to this point more by accident than by design.
Alright. It won’t be the first time a coach finds the right combination thanks to being backed into a corner. It’s just that Clement has a lot left to prove, starting with Sunday’s visit to Easter Road.
Rangers are still 11 points behind Celtic despite beating them. Their away record in the Premiership is almost surreal: three wins in nine, with four defeats.
If they fail to secure a fourth away win against Hibs, Celtic’s dismantling will not shield them from the storm.
Clarke has to find a way to get Ferguson into his midfield
Now that the transfer market is open again, rumors are circulating about Lewis Ferguson.
Bologna midfielder Lewis Ferguson has been linked with a move to Juventus or AC Milan
Inter Milan are the latest team linked with the 25-year-old Bologna midfielder following his return from a serious knee injury at the end of last year, following speculation last season about the likes of Juventus and AC Milan. .
Ferguson has performed brilliantly since taking the admirable leap of going abroad to prove himself and will surely reap his rewards in 2025.
A major transfer is one thing, but eventually becoming a Scotland regular needs to happen too.
Finding a way to make Ferguson a regular starter for his country should be one of national coach Steve Clarke’s New Year’s resolutions.