We have four players that will put noisy youngsters Rangers back in their place

[ian1964 10,448]

OUR Hoops blogger doesn't hold back in his assessment of who can do damage to his rivals as the big two get set to meet next month at Hampden

 

 

THERE is less than one month to go until the biggest game of the Scottish football calendar and regardless of which team ends up playing Celtic in the final, their semi-final tie against Rangers is arguably the biggest game of the season.

 

It’s a potential banana skin for Celtic but one I expect them to cope with admirably and here's why; We have the best players. I know it seems over simplistic but I think that's what it's going to come down to. In fact Celtic have 4 players which I think are the key to putting Mark Warburton and his gang of noisy youngsters back into their place.

 

Erik Sviatchenko - The Dane has been solid at centre half since joining in the January. He’s stepped right into the that position and made it his own partly due to the inconsistency of the players who filled the position before him but mostly down to his own qualities.

 

He’s composed, strong in the tackle and he puts defending first. You won't see him taking the ball for a daft walk up the pitch, only to give it away cheaply. Celtic have conceded 4 goals in 8 games since Sviatchenko broke into the side, compare that with 10 in the previous 8. He’s going to eat Kenny Miller for breakfast.

 

Scott Brown - ‘Broony’ absolutely loves playing against Rangers. It’s when he’s at his snarling, energetic, marauding best. He’s a pitbull in midfield, snapping at the heels of anyone and everyone who comes within 10 yards of him.

 

Making life utterly miserable for anyone who dares to think they’ve got more than 3 seconds on the ball. Rangers haven’t come across a player like Scott Brown this season, they’re in for a shock. Moreover as far as I can see the Rangers midfield is made up of 12 year old boys, all of whom are built like the side of a fiver. Broony’s going to need extra pockets sewn into his shorts for this occasion.

 

Kris Commons - 100% bonafide Rangers skelper. Pretty much every time he plays against Rangers, he scores against Rangers and it’s never a tap in either. Kris is a big game player and in what might be his final season for Celtic, he’s going to want to bow out out of his final Glasgow Derby with a performance to remember him by.

 

Leigh Griffiths - He is going to rip through that Rangers defence like a bad vindaloo. I don’t even know who plays in defence for Rangers, I could’ve researched it but it didn’t bother. It doesn’t matter. Leigh is in the form of his life, he’s the best striker in the country by a long way and he is absolutely no match for the best defences in the Premiership. So I expect absolutely no problems on this occasion.

 

With these four players in the starting XI plus an honourable mention to Craig Gordon, I’ve got confidence that we will be too strong for Rangers and we’ll put them back in their place and ourselves into the final.

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/opinion/sport/celtic-record-fc-four-players-7581776#ik10CYJzOyRFoTFy.97

[pete 2,499]

Well apart from Griffiths that is a lot of Bull. Brown will be chasing shadows and Fatty Commons is past his sell by date. Not being bothered to research what he is writing just shows what the Celtic mentality is. That is why WATP and they will always be second or win by cheating.

 

I agree with one thing. the Rangers players will need to watch their ankles with Brown about.

[ian1964 10,448]

Well apart from Griffiths that is a lot of Bull. Brown will be chasing shadows and Fatty Commons is past his sell by date. Not being bothered to research what he is writing just shows what the Celtic mentality is. That is why WATP and they will always be second or win by cheating.

 

I agree with one thing. the Rangers players will need to watch their ankles with Brown about.

 

They are worried!,no doubt about it and so they should be. Any time they come up against a decent football team they get pumped,see European teams!,bring it on.

[Frankie 8,183]

Click bait nonsense...

[Oleg_Mcnoleg 50]

Have Commons or Brown got better since we've been away? I can remember Brown playing well in maybe two OF games over the years. In the others, he's tried to cover up his shortcomings by kicking people. To be fair, judging by that article, it seems to have worked. I suppose he might try this time and it might work, but he'll have to catch our midfielders.

[RANGERRAB 3,299]

Halliday vs Brown could well decide the outcome of this game. It's vital Halliday doesn't get himself over-involved with the lego-eater

[der Berliner 3,286]

IMHO,this game and especially the midfield needs a strong referee. Brown will be out to goat Halliday and to wreck Holt, McKay and Forrester. If he gets away with his maniac tackling like last season (and everywhere else), he might become a problem.

 

As I just said elsewhere, the Scum haven't faced an attacking style like ours outside Europe (where they failed) and it is more a contest of who scores more than anything else.

[craig 5,199]

I predict Broonaldinho will get a red card. He will be chasing shadows so long that his frustrations will boil over and he will see red. He wont have played against a team that move the ball as fluently as we do. In fact, I think he could ultimately be their weakest link as he isn't a footballer, he is merely an enforcer - but it is tough to enforce when you don't know who you should be tracking, marking or tackling.

[ian1964 10,448]

I predict Broonaldinho will get a red card. He will be chasing shadows so long that his frustrations will boil over and he will see red. He wont have played against a team that move the ball as fluently as we do. In fact, I think he could ultimately be their weakest link as he isn't a footballer, he is merely an enforcer - but it is tough to enforce when you don't know who you should be tracking, marking or tackling.

 

Unfortunately the standard of refs in Scotland are so bad we don't have a ref with any bottle to protect football players!,I predict Broonaldo will injure one,or more,of our players and get away with it!,not to mention the lump of wood Mulgrew,but I still fancy us to win

[ian1964 10,448]

Bring it on