Best Old Firm Starting XI

[pete 2,499]

It was interesting to see that the two pundits who are bears (Jackson & Dalziel) didnt choose McKay for their OF 11. It makes them look more stupid than usual. McKay and Griffiths are the two that should be in all selections, the rest can be argued, although I am struggling to think of another bheast I would select other than Gordon and perhaps Roberts for the other wing from Barrie. I am sure they must have better centre halfs than our two from last season but other than Efe I dont any of them well enough!

 

I think their two big Central defenders would probably be a first choice with Tierny. Their midfield couldn't get near us last time out so why anyone even thinks of their midfield beats me. Waghorn Griffiths and McKay are all Cetainties. Roberts can't even hit an open goal.

[cooponthewing 1,139]

Re Miller I remember reading Graham Roberts book and he absolutely slated the little weasel for stabbing him in the back at Clyde.

He is as bitter as they come, rabid and foaming at the mouth. Does make you smile though, must be awful being him lol.

Edited July 28, 2016 by cooponthewing

[ian1964 10,448]

I think their two big Central defenders would probably be a first choice with Tierny. Their midfield couldn't get near us last time out so why anyone even thinks of their midfield beats me. Waghorn Griffiths and McKay are all Cetainties. Roberts can't even hit an open goal.

 

Griffiths is a thug, so for that reason he wouldn't be near my team!,even last night he got away with punching an Astana player

[ian1964 10,448]

Barry Ferguson picks his best combined eleven

 

 

I HAD a good laugh to myself yesterday when I picked up my Daily Record and read various versions of the best current Old Firm select XI.

 

I saw my wee pal Joe Miller, for example, decided to pick a side made up of eleven Celtic players. I don’t know if he truly believed that was the best team available or if he just at the wind up but it gave me a good chuckle anyway. Until, that is, I took a call from the sports desk and they asked me to pick a side myself for this week’s column.

 

I must admit, suddenly it didn’t seem quite so funny. Like Joe, my first reaction was to name a team full of Rangers players because, well, I support them.

 

But eventually I was able to screw my football head on and once I did that I came up with a team that beats anything the rest of them came up with the other day. Hands down.

 

In goal I’m going to give Craig Gordon the nod because of his experience playing high level games in the English Premier league, European football and also the international set-up with Scotland.

 

I like what I’ve seen of Wes Foderingham but he has yet to prove it at the very top level so it’ll be interesting to see how he does this season. You can’t even say with certainty right now that he’ll be the first pick at Rangers because my old mate Matt Gilks has his eye on the No,1 shirt at Ibrox.

 

 

So for all of those reasons it’s a pretty straight forward choice to go with Gordon, the guy who has been there are done it.

 

My full-backs were also easy decisions, even though there is some stiff competition in that particular department. James Tavernier at right back, Lee Wallace on the left.

 

Yes, there is a strong case to be made for Michael Lustig and an even better one for Kieran Tierney but, for me, the Rangers pair go straight into my team because I want my full-backs to get on the front foot and attack down both flanks.

 

I’ve got to be honest with you here, I love young Tierney. He’s a tenacious, highly talented wee guy and I’d go as far as to say he’ll end up winning more than 50 Scotland caps.

 

But Wallace and Tavernier have been machines for Rangers over the last 12 months. The style of play Mark Warburton has introduced suits them down to a tee and that’s exactly the way I’d want them to operate in my team too.

 

At the centre of my defence my first pick is Erik Sviatchenko. I like the look of this guy. I like the way he plays. He’s not just a good defender but he reads the game really well and uses the ball well too. So he’s in.

 

My next pick is not quite so obvious because he hasn’t fulfilled his potential yet but, having trained and played with this guy I know what he’s capable of when his mind is on it. This will be a big year for Danny Wilson and I know a lot of people doubt his defensive qualities but, for me, he has all the talent and ability to become a top class centre half. There is no doubting his qualities as a footballer but working day in day out with Davie Weir and Clint Hill will make him a better defender.

 

There is a lot more to come from him and that’s why he makes my team ahead of the likes of Kolo Toure, even though the Celtic new boy is without question a top player. But Sviatchenko and Wilson give my defence the balance I am looking for.

 

In midfield I’m going with a flat, narrow three and the players I have picked are all capable of interchanging and swapping positions.

 

In the middle I’ll start with Joey Barton, with Scott Brown on his right and Andy Halliday to his left. I’d have them playing as a tight three so that my full-backs can bomb on down both wings.

 

Not only can all three of these guys use the ball but they’re most certainly not going to get messed about with.

 

Barton has the potential to be the signing of the season. I’ve played against him and gone through some of my coaching badges with him and what I would say is he’s a very underrated football player. He has this tag of being a guy who puts his foot in but he’s actually a very talented player in terms of how he passes the ball and dictates the game around him.

 

 

Brown also got a bit of criticism last year but the guy was playing with an injury for most of it and when he rushed back too soon he got tendonitis down both of his hamstrings. We all have our own opinions but anyone who doubts his ability as a midfield player just doesn’t know the game. He’d be in my team every time.

 

And then there’s Halliday who, for me, was Rangers best player last season. He’s another guy who can get about the pitch and who can handle the ball. Like the other two, he’s also got that nasty streak about him which I love to see in a player. Put it this way, together these three aren’t going to lose many battles. I know I’d love going up against them.

 

 

In front of them I need a creative player and that’s bad news for both Barrie McKay and Patrick Roberts who are two exceptionally talented young kids. I rate both of them really highly but I believe they are better playing in a wider role and the man I want behind my two strikers is a specialist in that position.

 

 

In fact, Niko Kranjcar is probably the most gifted football player anywhere in Scotland right now. Once he’s fully fit he will give this Rangers team what Lubo Moravcik brought to Celtic all those years ago - and what a player he was by the way.

 

God almighty, Moravcik was special. I still wonder how Celtic managed to pluck him out of nowhere because he was unbelievable to play against. I’d watch him take a corner with his left foot one minute and then the with his right the next and I’d think to myself: ‘Wow, this guy is different class,’.

 

Kranjcar is in the same bracket and plays with the same kind of elegance. He does things with a football which leave you shaking your head in disbelief.

 

And, with Barton, Brown and Halliday behind him, he’s the perfect set up man for my front two of Leigh Griffiths and Kenny Miller.

 

Griffiths’ goals make him a no brainer. He’s a natural finisher so if we get the ball in the box for him, he’ll take whatever chances come his way.

 

As for Kenny, his experience and link up play make him the perfect foil. While Griffiths will play on the shoulder of the last defender, Miller will drop into clever little pockets of space and drag defenders all over the place.

 

With Kranjcar supplying these two with ammunition, my team will run riot.

 

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/barry-ferguson-picks-celtic-rangers-8514628#ZVwHi15jYpz8HrSi.97

Edited July 29, 2016 by ian1964

[ian1964 10,448]

Suttons best eleven

 

PICKING the best Old Firm XI has really stirred up a real hornets nest and sparked some great debate.

 

Social media has been ablaze since the Daily Record printed the team selections of Brian Reid, Gordon Dalziel, Joe Miller and some of my colleagues on the sports desk.

 

You are never going to win any popularity contests when you go down this road.

 

However the Daily Record asked me to select my best eleven made up entirely of Celtic and Rangers players.

 

So for what it is worth here is my team.

 

 

I am not totally convinced with either of the goalkeepers but I have opted for Craig Gordon over Wes Foderingham.

 

The season before last Gordon was outstanding but he has not been his commanding self recently and Foderingham does not fill me with any great confidence.

 

I feel that Foderingham is vulnerable and suspect at crosses and he will get tested more this year in the Scottish Premiership good although he is good with his feet and a decent shot-stopper.

 

My two full backs would be James Tavernier and Kieran Tierney.

 

Tavernier is decent going forward but is suspect defensively but he can fill the role in that right hand side although it highlights the lack of quality in both teams in that position.

 

 

 

Rangers' James Tavernier opens the scoring with a shot which drifts past Motherwell's Craig Samson

Kieran Tierney makes the final cut over Lee Wallace.

 

I am a big fan of Wallace who going forward is a great outlet for Rangers but I just feel that Tierney is the better all-round player and just has the edge.

 

Defensively I prefer Tierney but it was a very close call as the left back area is probably the most competitive position on the field.

 

I have put Mikael Lustig in at centre-half as he is better deployed as a central defender as he makes good decisions and he is a good reader of the game.

 

I like steady defenders and people that don’t make rash decisions and that is why the Swede is in the side.

 

 

Kolo Toure is my other centre back but he will have to get himself fit.

 

The former Arsenal and Manchester City defender has been there and done it.

 

Toure’s experience alone will organise the Celtic defence better and will steady things at the back of the pack.

 

I have chosen Joey Barton as my first central midfielder.

 

People dislike Barton for the things that he has said and done over the years. I’m not judging Barton on those things I am judging him by the fact that he is a decent footballer. Barton has played at the highest level and has done well and he has a lovely range of passing and he is a fiery competitor.

 

 

 

Barton has matured the older he has got and and the Celtic fans may not like this but they will appreciate that he is a brilliant signing for Rangers.

 

 

He is a real leader on the pitch who will get the best out of the rest of the players around him.

 

There seems to be a lot of negativity towards Scott Brown who clearly has fitness issues last season. Brown would be my other centre-mid as he still has a lot to offer and people should not be writing the Celtic and Scotland captain off just yet.

 

He is still capable of breaking the play up and his physicality make his inclusion a must and people are jumping the gun to say that Brown is a spent force.

 

 

Niko Kranjcar also has to feature although I really like Kris Commons and it would be a tight one if he was fit.

 

Depending on what shape shape and physical condition Kranjcar can get himself in then nobody can argue with his awareness on the pitch.

 

 

If Rangers can get the Croatian anywhere near fit then they will have a wonderful footballer on their books.

 

Kranjcar sees the game in pictures and is a real creative type.

 

He is a game changer who can produce something out of the ordinary or something special when required.

 

I would also have Patrick Roberts in there because this boy is one hell of player who already excites supporters and gets the crowd up off their seats.

 

 

Roberts is going to be a major creator and scorer of goals this season and he is one of the few players in Scottish football that I would actually pay to watch.

 

Likewise Barrie McKay gets the nod as he is someone who has developed enormously in the last season. McKay might lack a tiny bit pace as he steps up a level but he is bright and he can see a pass and he is a tidy all-round football player.

 

 

Finally Leigh Griffiths would be my main man up front as his goals sum him up.

 

His Champions League goal against FC Astana was absolutely stunning with his one shot on target.

 

Even Robin Van Persie would struggle to get into the Celtic attack ahead of Griffiths.

 

My respect for Griffiths continues to grow because he has not had anything easy in is career and he had to work extremely hard on his game and he has done so tirelessly.

 

 

Griffiths has improved and is now a natural centre-forward and he is one the man that you want to be on the end of chances when they fall in the box.

 

He is not afraid to miss the target either which is a good thing and he will go in there again and again and my admiration for Griffiths knows no bounds.

 

Chris Sutton’s Old Firm XI: Gordon, Tavernier, Toure, Lustig, Tierney, Barton, Brown, Kranjcar, Roberts, McKay, Griffiths

 

 

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/chris-sutton-selects-celtic-rangers-8514814#7b6CzwvzFo4jz5cW.97

Edited July 29, 2016 by ian1964