Robby will be rubbing his hands as Old Firm focus falls on him
IGOT to know Robby McCrorie on the day I went to chat to his twin brother Ross about his proposed transfer to Aberdeen. The pair were sharing a house just outside of East Kilbride and I was struck by how driven they both were. Ross had decided he wanted to leave Rangers because he saw the importance of first-team football. Robby, too, had pushed hard to get out on loan.
I spoke to Robby again a couple of weeks ago at Ibrox and he was desperate for an opportunity.
He will be rubbing his hands at the focus that will be on him going into today’s game against Celtic.
The Covid situation that handed him his chance against Alashkert in midweek was not ideal for Rangers.
And while Steven Gerrard would 100 per cent prefer to have Allan McGregor or Jon McLaughlin in goal, I don’t think it’s going to be the deciding factor in today’s game.
I can’t see Robby going under due to the pressure. He will back himself — he’s just like Ross in that regard.
At 23 years old, he is still young in goalkeeping terms. Not many become trusted at that age and that’s
why they get the longevity
McCrorie’s emergence at Rangers is also good news for Steve Clarke
at the other end of their careers and play into their late 30s.
His emergence is also good news for Steve Clarke. Craig Gordon and McGregor have been Scotland’s top goalkeepers for 15 years but they can’t go on forever.
Having a young Scottish keeper getting game time at Rangers can only be good for the national team.
Circumstances threw Robbie into the team on Thursday and he showed bravery in the moment the Alashkert player Santos was sent off. More importantly, he was alert to the danger and was quick off the mark.
He is a good kicker. He has a good presence about him. The good thing for him is that he’ll have the 50,000 behind him today rather than it being the other way at Celtic Park.
He’ll have plenty to do. Celtic have twice scored six at Parkhead this season and even in the defeat at Tynecastle they created umpteen chances.
They haven’t faced a team like Rangers yet, so they probably won’t create quite as many today but Robby will be asked to make saves.
Ange Postecoglou will find out a lot about his team today.
Celtic lost two goals in Holland on Thursday night but that wasn’t a result of their all-out attacking play. Yes, that style carries risk, but the goals they lost were nothing to do with how they set up and approached the game.
It was two errors from experienced players Joe Hart and Carl Starfelt. And while Celtic continue to lose that kind of goal it does threaten to undermine their work at the other end of the pitch.
Kyogo Furuhashi has brought life to the team’s attacking play. He looks like the answer, the guy who can finish off moves.
Celtic are showing a bit more intent and cutting edge in their attacking play but Rangers remain stronger defensively. And that makes for an intriguing game. There will be plenty space if Celtic play the game in Rangers’ half. Tactically, Celtic try to play with inverted full-backs to increase their numbers in the middle of the pitch.
Rangers like to dominate in there, so last season Neil Lennon decided to go with a diamond to get four against three.
I think it worked to the extent they had good control of the games but it’s not all about possession.
Celtic did not get the desired outcome because when asked the question defensively, they didn’t have the authority, poise and wherewithal to deal with Rangers’ threat.
I don’t see Callum McGregor as a defensive type of player and playing him with David Turnbull and Tom Rogic has not been the balance of any Celtic team in recent years, even under Brendan Rodgers.
So it will be interesting to look at Postecoglou’s team selection and whether he decides to account for the quality of opposition and maybe bring in Ismaila Soro. Or does he just say — ‘this is us, deal with it’.
Despite all his experience and success in this fixture I don’t think Odsonne Edouard will start. If he does, then he and Furuhashi together would give a real added goal threat.
But I think, if fit, Postecoglou will want to select James Forrest and Ryan Christie. And what an option Edouard is to have coming off the bench.
While Celtic have the more attacking threat, and could dictate the game, Rangers might just carve out the better chances.
I think the availability of Ryan Kent could have a massive say. On Thursday, Rangers allowed Alashkert up the pitch in order to create that space in behind but although Alfredo Morelos got chances, they never had that out-and-out speed.
For all his ability, Ianis Hagi is not quick. Joe Aribo is more of a strong ball carrier than someone who will run in behind.
That’s why Gerrard has signed Scott Wright and Fashion Sakala.
And it’s why he needs Kent in his team. He offers the ability to go and stretch teams, isolate defenders one v one. Not having any of those players would be detrimental to how Rangers like to play.
The suggestion is it was a minor injury and not Covid that kept Kent out of the midweek European game but we’ll find out for sure when today’s teams are announced.
Rangers had to navigate that round trip to Armenia without Gerrard and several players. In those circumstances the result was the
only important thing. Today, however, presents an even bigger challenge.
They will have tried to keep that Covid disruption to a minimum but if the manager and key players are not there, then you can be certain it will be a distraction.
I faced it myself at Aberdeen last season.
Gary McAllister said he didn’t want to make any excuses but the Covid situation will have challenged Rangers’ focus.
Celtic had it going into the first Old Firm game last season. They were without a number of key players and that dominated the build-up.
Rangers need to guard against that and concentrate on the game.
They’ll benefit from the lack of away fans at Ibrox but I don’t like the way that situation has developed.
One of the selling points of the Old Firm game is the rivalry. The away support is a big part of that and it’s disappointing there will be no Celtic supporters at Ibrox.
The Rangers fans feed off how their team is playing. But Celtic are a side who can dominate possession and they can keep the home support subdued.
But there will be enough moments in the game where Rangers get encouragement. They do leave themselves exposed but if Rangers can find the space on the counter, it will be an issue for Celtic.
And so Celtic’s most important player on the day could be their goalkeeper Joe Hart.
Yes, he made a mistake in midweek by not dealing with that through ball, but he also produced some good saves.
Overall, I think he has done well. I have been there in a dressing-room when you don’t have a keeper who dominates. That has an effect.
But having Hart walk in, a former England goalkeeper with that level of experience, personality and ability, it will transmit to the team.
We have seen how important McGregor has been in these derby games.
A big moment from McCrorie or from Hart might ultimately decide this one.