Rangers making Celtic wake up to danger as title race takes a twist

[Doc 280]

English will be getting pelters from others within the PQ gang hut for that article but seriously what else can he write? We have bossed Celtic more than they have bossed us over the last 6 Old Firm games and only bad luck and questionable refereeing have stopped that becoming blatantly obvious. Tom has simply opened his eyes to that fact at last, and is trying to do Neil Lennon's a favour and inject some urgency (and probably transfer money) into whatever they do between now and the end of the season.

[Doc 280]

5 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

Celtc aren't a bad side.  They topped their EL group and Lennon has won all three trophies since Rodgers left.  They have also beaten us at the Piggery, Hampden and Ibrox in that time.

 

We have done well, so far, this season but I'm not getting carried away yet.  The dismal second half display at Pittodrie, dropped points against an awful Hearts team and our inability to capitalise on our dominance in the LCF are reminders that we aren't there yet.

Totally agree. We can't get carried away with anything. Sunday's win will mean nothing if we drop points in January like we did last year. I really hope we have turned a corner. I was genuinely fearful of what would play out over our December fixtures with all those critical away games and the manager and the team have proved me wrong. Let's hope lessons have been learned and we start again where we left off on Sunday.

[DMAA 3,598]

It’s a good article. English has actually been saying this kind of thing for a while though, he has come across much more balanced than many other BBC pundits at times, especially after old firm games. 

 

What I am worried about is injuries and suspensions because we don’t have the depth Celtic have. In the games we have dropped points we have had key players missing. No Barisic, Kent and Helander in the first old firm game, no Davis and Barisic in the Aberdeen game and no Jack, Helander and Kent (came on after an hour when chasing game) vs Hearts.

 

We badly lack a threat on the left when Barisic in particular is missing and it’s no coincidence we’ve only dropped 2 points this season’s in games he’s played. 

 

If we can avoid disaster with injuries only referees can stop us and they haven’t managed so far. 

Edited December 31, 2019 by DMAA

[buster. 4,808]

58 minutes ago, Gonzo79 said:

Celtc aren't a bad side.  They topped their EL group and Lennon has won all three trophies since Rodgers left.  They have also beaten us at the Piggery, Hampden and Ibrox in that time.

 

We have done well, so far, this season but I'm not getting carried away yet.  The dismal second half display at Pittodrie, dropped points against an awful Hearts team and our inability to capitalise on our dominance in the LCF are reminders that we aren't there yet.

In your terms that is "stating the bloody obvious".

 

The main point I was making was that despite their squad depth advantage and significant wage bill difference that represents it, Celtic haven't been able to come up with tactical answers to the way we approach OF games. They had 3 weeks after the final and an hour of the game at the weekend before they attempted to change it.

 

For me it is a significant weakness between the two teams but as @DMAA points out, we depend more on keeping vital players fit because we tend to suffer otherwise.

 

SG has remarked on an improvement on lost games down to injury this season and we could do with that continuing BUT also 2 or 3 players this window to help in specific positions, eg. centre-forward and unless Halliday is deemed good enough, left-back.