Strikers have us to four
Has Lawwell lost his touch as Rangers overtake Celtic on the park and the balance of power which only 2 years ago was his to exploit has now started to swing the other way?
Steven Gerrard wants to attack the Premiership title run-in with a four-pronged strike force.
The Rangers gaf fer expects Kemar Roofe to return from injury next week and complement the attacking trio of in-form Alfredo Morelos, veteran Jermain Defoe and Swiss ace Cedric Itten.
In the previous two league campaigns, the Ibrox side have relied too much on Morelos’ goals and have eventually come up short as they looked to challenge Old Firm rivals Celtic for the title.
But Gerrard is now top heavy with forwards and he hopes that firepower can take them to the top-flight flag honours.
Ahead of today’s clash with Motherwel l at Fir Park, the Ibrox gaffer said: “Having four strikers has certainly given me more options.
“It has also given me more headaches, in terms of selection.
“But I welcome having that amount of firepower in the group, not just to start games but also to call on from the bench if need be.
“When Motherwel l scored early at Ibrox recently and we were trying to break them down the subs were a big reason we went on to win the game.
“So to have those options has been very pleasing.”
Ger rard hai led the backing of Gers chiefs and added: “The board’s support with that at the start of the season was vital in giving me that firepower.
“Hopeful ly we can continue to maintain our consistency in terms of goals until the end of the season – because that could be the difference.
“We’ve got one out in Roofe but hopefully by the middle of next week we’ll have four strikers again.
“That could be a big help moving forward.”
On April 29, 2018, the day Celtic won seven-in-a-row, they took five goals off Rangers and put years on the Ibrox support.
Callum McGregor scored the fifth goal after just 53 minutes and, but for Jak Alnwick in goal, the final score could have gone down in history. Graeme Murty was carrying the bag for Rangers in the dug-out on an emergency basis and the team he chose had players in it like Daniel Candeias, Jason Cummings, Graham Dorrans and Jason Holt.
At the final whistle, Brendan Rodgers went to the area of the ground housing the Green Brigade and held up 10 digits.
The symbolism was unmissable.
A few days later a motion was put forward in the House of Commons by Scottish MPs who wanted to have parliament acknowledge Celtic’s achievement. Motherwell were duly beaten in the Scottish Cup final and a never-before-seen double Treble was won by a seemingly invincible Celtic.
It was the high watermark in the rivalry between themselves and Rangers.
At the same time the lowest ebb for an Ibrox side still coming to terms with the ravages of administration and liquidation.
The financial gap between the clubs was immense, as was the gulf in class in their playing personnel.
To have a look at the situation as it stands now is to appreciate that issuing an apology for making an ill-advised trip to Dubai in the middle of a global pandemic isn’t the end of Peter Lawwell’s worries. It might just be the beginning of them for the Hoops’ chief executive.
The moment that should have signalled a pivotal
turning point in the rivalry between Celtic and Rangers, taking the Ibrox club’s standing from bad to worse and threatening to leave them as perpetual runners-up, became the moment that Lawwell got careless.
A close season move for John McGinn turned into a spectacular pratfall as the CEO somehow managed not to get the grandson of a former Celtic chairman who was a devoted supporter of the club into the bargain and had made it widely known he wanted to go there.
The fee being asked for by Hibs for a Scotland international was nothing to Celtic.
McGinn went to Aston Villa after nothing was what Celtic got.
Then Rodgers tired of the club’s transfer dealings, culminating in the manager asking why Marian Shved was being signed when he already had a ‘million’ wingers.
He took himself off to Leicester City mid-season when the opportunity presented itself to get out of Glasgow.
Lawwell and Neil Lennon proceeded to have the most famous shower scene since Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh in Psycho.
The interim manager was, according to legend, offered the job as Rodgers’ successor while doing his ablutions after a cup final win over Hearts. An appointment that split the Celtic support – and continues to do so.
When Celtic stopped Rangers from winning 10- in- a- row in 1998, the fans didn’t start breathing normally until Harald Brattbakk scored the second and decisive goal against St Johnstone with 18 minutes of the game left to play on the final day of the season.
When Rangers beat Celtic at Ibrox on January 2 they effectively stopped 10-in- a-row with 18 weeks of the season left to spare.
A consistent failure to qualify for the Champions League in their years of domestic domination has helped reduce income at the club to an extent that Celtic’s Under-18 side are now on the government furlough scheme.
Meanwhile, parents of the players are left to wonder about the wisdom of the costly flight to the Middle East.
I don’t know the financial penalties involved in cancelling a charter f light and hotel accommodation in Dubai at short notice.
But it would be a bargain compared to the millions of pounds worth of bad players Celtic have brought in over the last year.
Lawwell, having originally been hired by Celtic as the club’s financial controller 30 years ago, might reflect on that observation with regret.
The charge against the club in the wake of Dubai becoming another sub- plot in the midst of a disaster movie of a season is not, as the CEO sees it, arrogance or complacency. It is more a question of whether Lawwell has lost his touch and to what extent that damages Celtic going forward.
I don’t know what Peter earns on an annual basis. It’s none of my business.
I could find out if I looked up the club’s annual accounts but it would still make no difference to me.
Lawwell’s salary wasn’t an issue when Celtic were accumulating nine titles in a row so it’s not relevant now the Ten has been lost.
His culpability concerning the col- lapse of the club on and off the park this season?
That’s another matter entirely.
Celtic find themselves in the middle of a revenge rampage.
Everybody wants a piece of them. Nobody involved in team affairs gets a free pass.
The question with regard to
Lawwell in the wake of poor player recruitment , poor judgement concerning an issue which has left an indelible stain on the club’s reputation and a disconnect between him and the fans is simple.
Has he lost his touch as
Rangers overtake Celtic on the park and the balance of power, which only two years ago was his to exploit, has now started to swing the other way?
Lawwell promised a review of Celtic’s progress before the end of January.
It will be fascinating how he sees the immediate future and what he sees as his part in the way forward.
A lot of momentum has already been lost since that day in April 2018.
ge reven a are in
Celtic everyone age .. them. ramp piece of sa ed in want involv y a Nobodaffair s gets team pass free