GAFFERS COMPARED
Old Firm in line for Lyon tour invite
LIAM BRADY could feel Steven Gerrard’s Old Firm pain as his dominant Rangers side outplayed 10-man Celtic at rain-lashed Hampden and still came out second best in the Betfred Cup Final.
It took the Irishman back to a similar situation almost three decades earlier when Brady’s Hoops had a man advantage for 84 minutes of a Scottish Cup semi-final but couldn’t make their superiority count.
Like Rangers last December, Celtic were on the wrong end of the 1-0 result with Ally McCoist netting the only goal following David Robertson’s early dismissal.
The game was also played in awful conditions and Brady realised it was the latest in a list of startling parallels between his Parkhead tenure and Gerrard’s time at the Gers helm.
Both superstar midfielders who threw themselves in at the deep end for their first managerial jobs after accepting the challenge of taking on their dominant, big-spending rivals in a city where there can only be one winner.
And when next season kicks off Gerrard will join Brady as one of only three managers – with Jimmy McGrory the other – in Old Firm history to fail to win a trophy in his first two campaigns and start a third.
That’s where Gerrard must hope the similarities end as Brady lasted only a couple of months into his third season.
Having drawn the opening three league games in 1993-94 – including a home stalemate against Rangers – Celtic lost ground. Defeat at St Johnstone proved the final straw coming shortly after another 1-0 semi-final loss to 10-man Gers, this time in the League Cup.
It’s a sign Gerrard needs a fast start as the first manager in Rangers’ 148-year history to survive two trophyless seasons at the beginning of his reign.
The Ibrox board gambled on Gerrard’s top-level playing career compensating for his lack of managerial experience when they appointed him and it was the same at Parkhead with Brady who won the FA Cup with Arsenal and Serie A title twice at Juventus.
And the 72-times capped Republic of Ireland legend, 64, told Record Sport: “Steven has to put it up to Celtic right to the very end next season and not fall away. That would give the Rangers fans hope and belief they’re going to win the title.
“His team is playing good football, they’ve closed the gap and the supporters are believing in him up to a point but he needs to get over the line.
“In many ways you could say a lot of the same things about my Celtic tenure, right down to the Betfred Cup Final last season when Rangers were the better
CELTIC and Rangers could be handed invites to a prestigious pre-season tournament in Lyon after manager Rudi Garcia revealed they wanted to play Scottish clubs.
The new Premiership season has been pencilled in for an August 1 start but traditional pre-season tours face many obstacles because of restrictions and quarantine rules.
But outspoken Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas, a critic of the French season being ended, wants to host an eight-team tournament at their Groupama Stadium in July.
PSG and St Etienne are reported to have agreed to take part. Lyon boss Garcia said: “It will include mainly French clubs but also hopefully teams from countries who had their leagues stopped early too, like Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands.”
It would mean a reunion with ex-Celtic star Moussa Dembele, if he’s still at Lyon after speculation linking him with Man United and Chelsea.