DANNY STEWART
Authorities should do more to avoid clashing with the Old Firm
From an entertainment point of view, today’s Old Firm derby will arrive at a great time.
Ange Postecoglou’s new-look Celtic go into the Ibrox encounter on the crest of a wave, with their early-season outings having produced six-goal thrashings of Dundee and St Mirren, 25 goals in total and progression to the group stages of the Europa League on the back of some electrifying football.
Happily for the broadcasters and neutrals alike, this trip to their rivals’ ground should present a much-stiffer challenge.
Rangers won all 19 of their home games in 2020-21, a run that included two victories against their rivals en route to an “Invincible” campaign. That was then, however. Rangers’ advantage of having all 50,000 of the fans in the ground will be offset by the fact the club have to deal with a Covid outbreak in midweek.
Manager Steven Gerrard plus half-a-dozen of his frontline players all missed the trip to Armenia.
Announcing Jon Mclaughlin’s absence from his squad for this week’s World Cup qualifiers, Scotland manager Steve Clarke mentioned only that the keeper had “a little bit of an issue”.
Such diplomacy is part of an international manager’s job.
Privately, anyone with any involvement in running the national
Unlike the incident, having a Champions League winner around would not have hurt
side is cursing the fact the Old Firm derby is being played today – and with good reason.
Why? In three days’ time the country are away to Denmark in a crucial World Cup qualifier.
And, as history has shown, from a Scotland perspective, local conflict ahead of national concerns can be a recipe for disaster.
In 1999, Paul Lambert infamously missed the Euro play-offs against England after he smacked his head into Jorg Albertz’s knee in a derby, losing four front teeth in the process.
Whether Paul Scholes would have grabbed his double at Hampden the following weekend – which helped steer the Auld Enemy through – had Lambert been in Scotland’s midfield is a matter of conjecture.
But, unlike the incident itself, having the Champions League winner around could not have hurt.
Lambert himself later described it as “farcical” that the league would schedule an Old Firm game immediately before a major Scotland match.
Straight after can be bad, too. Alex Mcleish was hit by the late withdrawals of Scott Brown and Alan Hutton just before Scotland crashed to Georgia in Tbilisi in 2007, a result that helped sink the bold Euro 2008 qualifying bid.
In both cases, injury concerns were given as the reason – but both men were able to play for Celtic and Rangers in the Glasgow showdown a handful of days later.
Given Denmark’s tremendous run to the Euro 2020 semi-finals, Scotland – who have already lost Scott Mctominay to injury – need to be as strong as they possibly can be.
Six of Clarke’s squad could be involved at Ibrox today.
Celtic quintent Callum Mcgregor, Ryan Christie, David Turnbull, Greg Taylor, and James Forrest, plus Nathan Patterson of Rangers.
Were any of the above to be injured in the Old Firm showdown, it would be a loss to the Scotland boss – some more so than others.
Mcgregor scored the country’s only goal of the Euro Finals. He is one of the team’s leaders, and a key part of the side.
Turnbull is arguably the form player of the season so far, while Christie – who appears to have been re-energised by the arrival of Kyogo Furuhashi – would be one of his chief rivals to that accolade.
In an ideal world, none would be playing this weekend. Not one player in Clarke’s squad would, to avoid them getting injured and giving him more time to work with his players.
But the Scotland manager cannot be the one to push for change.
The clubs pay the players’ wages. Clarke merely borrows them during international breaks and, if we are lucky enough to be part of them, for major Finals.
Upset the big clubs, and you may find that when it comes time to name your next squad, the pool of talent available to you has suddenly become shallower.
So it has to be down to the SPFL to do what they can to help the national team, and for the supporters to lobby them to be sure they do so.
Everyone appreciates that in this era of Covid and extra European action, there are more demands than ever on clubs’ schedules.
But that didn’t prevent the Dutch authorities from allowing AZ Alkmaar a free weekend ahead of their return tie with Celtic.
It may not ultimately have done them much good, but at least the collective will to look at the bigger picture was there.
Pushing Old Firm games a little way from Scotland’s biggest tests should be not be beyond the talents of the administrators.
Especially given the national euphoria last November after Clarke’s side qualified for the Euros.
That was 23 years in the making, and should not be forgotten about so quickly.