Edouard v Morelos
If I was on Football Manager I’d sign both ... but Alfredo wouldn’t have the same impact in Celtic’s team and Odsonne wouldn’t be as dominant in Rangers’ side
At the time, Kris Boyd wasn’t fazed by his lack of goals against Celtic.
But now? The former Rangers striker regards it as the biggest regret of his career.
No one knows how current Ibrox star Alfredo Morelos is feeling about his lack of Old Firm goals better than Boyd.
The Colombian, despite racking up 70 goals in 131 games so far in Glasgow, still hasn’t notched in the derby.
And for Morelos doubters, it’s the stick they continually try to beat him with.
It was the same for Boyd during his first four-year stint at Rangers.
He wasn’t helped when Walter Smith would regularly leave him out against their biggest rivals.
But when he finally fired the ball past Hoops keeper Artur Boruc at Ibrox in 2007, he was convinced it would be the first of many.
Instead, it was his only strike against Celtic – a stat which still irks him to this day.
Boyd believes Morelos will eventually get off the mark in the derby, potentially in next Sunday’s Betfred Cup Final at Hampden.
He is adamant that, such is the Colombian’s attitude, it WON’T be messing with his head.
And as he compared Morelos to his Celtic counterpart, Odsonne Edouard,
Boyd says neither player would have the same kind of impact on the other side of the city.
He said: “I know how Morelos feels. But as a goalscorer, at the time, it doesn’t play on your mind.
“I look back now and wish I’d scored more against Celtic.
“But when you are playing, you just focus on the next game.
“Obviously, if I was scoring against them, it would have given me more of an opportunity to play in Old Firm games.
“But looking back, I still had a big part to play – I set Kenny Miller up for a couple at Ibrox.
“And I should have scored the one that Boruc saved before Mo Edu put it in the net for a late winner.
“The goal I did get turned out to be my only one and back then, it was just another goal for me.
“I was always looking to score when I had an opportunity.
“I didn’t think it would be my only Old Firm goal. I thought that it
would be the start of getting a good few against Celtic.
“But now, it’s disappointing that it wasn’t to be. If there’s one thing in my career I look back on with regret – that’s probably it.
“But I managed to score 300 goals in my career and one of them was against Celtic. I’m sure a lot of other strikers would swap 299 goals for that one in the derby, so I can’t sit here and complain.
“Everyone is talking about who’s best, Morelos or Edouard.
“If I was sitting playing Footbal l Manager, I’d probably sign both of them!
“But it depends what team you’re in because they’re totally different players.
“Edouard wouldn’t have as big an impact in the Rangers team as Morelos.
“And Morelos wouldn’t have the same impact on the Celtic team as Edouard.
“With the players
Celtic have in the wide areas and m id f ield , they need a striker to hold the ball up, take touches, bring others into play.
“When you look at the Rangers side, a lot of their players look for little passes or play Morelos in down the side.”
Boyd loves Morelos’ style of play and says it’s inevitable that he’ll break his Old Firm duck.
He admires the 23-year-old’s selfish streak that will get him to where he wants to go in his career – and earn Rangers pots of cash.
Boyd said: “It’s only a matter of time before he scores against Celtic, especially when you see the improvement in him from last season.
“He’s a player who’s at the top of his game now. Rangers miss him when he’s not there.
“Morelos is something different, he’s a real throwback to the older generation of strikers.
“He’s robust and doesn’t bother with anything else on the pitch.
“With a lot of forward players now it’s all about how they look when they play the game.
“But Morelos doesn’t care. He’s still annoying people, he’s in your face, he’s angry, aggressive – and the control he’s added this season makes him a top-class striker. “He looks like he’s going to
It’s only a matter of time before Morelos scores in an Old Firm showdown I didn’t think it would be my only Old Firm goal. If there’s one thing in my career I look back on with regret, that’s probably it. But Morelos is a top-class striker who has scored league and European goals and also for his country. He’ll want to score against Celtic so he can add it to his CV
score in every single game he plays. Morelos is going to leave Rangers one day, we know that.
“And he’s playing like a guy who wants to get as much money for Rangers – but also as much money for himself when that move comes.
“He wants to be able to justify that money and say: ‘I’ve done this, this and this. I’ve scored against all of these teams’.
“That’s why he’ll want to score against Celtic, so that he can add it to his CV.
“He’s scored league goals, big European goals and is now off the mark for Colombia as well.
“What Morelos is doing right now is generating money for Rangers and getting a healthier wage packet for himself.”
If the Colombian scores at Hampden next weekend, it would surely go a long way to Rangers lifting their first piece of silverware under boss Steven Gerrard.
And the prize of ending Celtic’s domestic dominance – and finally putting pressure on their rivals – is why Boyd reckons the f inal is of paramount importance to his old club. He said: “It’s massive for Rangers. “If they can somehow find a way to win the cup, Celtic will be under huge pressure after losing a domestic trophy for the first time in three years.
“Their fans have been spoiled and they expect to win now. You can see it when they lose a couple of games.
“I got pelters when I was doing the TV at Livingston when they lost recently because they’re used to winning games.
“If Rangers find a way, Celtic will be under pressure in the title race and the start of the Scottish Cup. The fans will turn and it will be all on them.”
Kris Boyd was speaking at a media day as Five Star Events and 1st Star Events donated £ 10,000 to the Glasgow Children’s Hospital Charity from funds raised at their respective 2019 sporting events.