Cheap shots and dirty tricks in vain as hamstrung team beats club on its knees

We should have known something was in the air. Indeed, we would have been warned had we been the sort of people to buy the Daily Record: Incorporating the Rangers News.

As the worst paper in Scotland heading further into decline, the Record is the ideal vessel as the tabloid of choice for Rangers. However, even by its low standards, choosing the morning of a game against the Scottish Champions to announce David Murray’s team of all-time Rangers greats was questionable. The content of that list pointed at a man transparently desperate to regain popularity with the lowest form of his club’s fans.

Conveying a bizarre message that he intended to pick only players who “knew what the club was about”, Murray therefore confined himself to Protestant Scots, scorning the contributions of the likes of Brian Laudrup, Mark Hately, Paul Gascoigne, Ray Wilkins, Trevor Steven and even Terry Butcher. (His man at the Evening Times surprisingly got a mention).

He began by declaring that Andy Goram, a known associate of terrorists and other gangsters, recently quoted as having boasted about his racial and sectarian abuse of Pierre Van Hoydonk, a notorious debauched drunk and incorrigible gambler was “a great character, … the best we’ve ever seen”. (Presumably a role model for young Rangers fans).

In case you need reminding, this is the same Rangers Chairman who celebrated his 20 years wreckage of the club by insisting that he acts with “dignity”.

So much for the value of the Record-Rangers alliance – they thinking they’re helping Murray but in fact are only giving him a platform to make an even bigger fool of himself and stripping him of every last shred of credibility in the process.

By the time the teams left the tunnel, it was clear that Murray would do anything to regain that respect that others understand as notoriety. Long ago, when he still occasionally bemoaned the “FTP brigade”, however unconvincingly (he never mentioned Donald Findlay by name, after all), Murray admitted that he had to stop playing the Tina Turner number, “Simply the Best”, because his supporters insisted of shoe-horning “F--- the Pope and the IRA” into their rendition.

On Saturday, however, the strains of the song – and the sectarian abuse that goes with it – were again heard echoing around the stadium. Already, we had some indication that Murray policy at Ibrox is dangerously close to being dictated by the kind of supporters groups usually noted for their fondness of Nazi salutes.

On the pitch, there was something more sinister. There has again been criticism of the Ibrox pitch, with the suggestion that the grass had been watered on the coldest day of the year and the undersoil heating “not working properly”. This is clearly a farcical euphemism. Every time a better team plays at Ibrox – that means every time Celtic play there – the pitch, once described by Murray as one of any football club’s most valuable assets – seems to be in any condition from atrocious to dangerous.

Only a very friendly press and Scottish football administration would continually ignore the fact that this has been a deliberate ploy to frustrate superior teams.

They do have form for this, after all. As far back as their European tie with Dynamo Kiev, Rangers illegally narrowed the pitch between Dynamo training on it and the start of the match. Before their tie with Marseille, the pitch was mysteriously flooded. When they are forced to do so in order to play a team seriously hampered by injuries, it makes clear just how desperate their sense of inferiority has made them.

As usual in the game, the match was notable for the Rangers culture of cheating and dirty tricks – apparently the only speciality of the Walter Smith-Ally McCoist coaching partnership. From Kirk Broadfoot throwing Artur Boruc into the net to Celtic reject Kenny Miller’s diving, it was clear that this was to be a day for winning by unfair means or foul.

Having controlled the ball with his hand before diving outside the box to see his Scotland team-mate Gary Calwell booked, Miller screamed at the referee, apparently believing that his cheating merited a penalty. In doing so, he merely further illustrated that bitterness and second-rate football is now the order of the day at Ibrox and that he is better suited to Rangers than Celtic.

However, in contrast to his last outing against Scotland’s top team, when he seemed to celebrate scoring by shouting “We are the f---ing peepul”, at least his form in front of goal showed that he didn’t discriminate when it came to missing chances. It is unlikely that a Premiership club will be pursuing him this season.

The highlight of the match was, of course, the perfect Celtic goal. Brilliance by Scott McDonald, helped by Georgios Samaras, against a backdrop of Kirk Broadfoot defending. McDonald has shown in recent weeks that a player can work his way through periods of poor form and looks ready to find a goal-scoring streak.

There were several outstanding performances but none more so that Scott Brown. Those who think that Brown must be a defensive or “nullifying” midfielder because he makes a lot of tackles are to be pitied. You will rarely see such a compilation of aggressive energy and attacking instincts in any one player and Brown is an asset far too precious to be allowed to leave.

Along with Barry Robson and Paul Hartley, who both performed heroics in the midfield, Brown seemed to particularly relish the occasion. Brown is maturing rapidly and the day when he utterly dismantles a Rangers team is coming soon.

At the end of the match, the Ibrox PA system belted out Rangers songs in a piqued attempt to drown out the singing of the Celtic supporters.

The attempt failed but did allow for ironic context. As the Celtic fans and players shared the victory, the words rang out: “There’s not a team like the Glasgow Rangers; no, not one and there never shall be one.”

To which the obvious response is: “Thankfully true; and we certainly hope so.”





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Motherwell 1 - 2 Celtic

Celtic’s ugliest three points all season also brought the greatest relief to a side that has now opened a sizeable gap at the top of the table. With Rangers having four games in hand, the Ibrox side remain favourites to win the SPL but Celtic’s eight-point lead must look like a chasm to the chasing side at this stage of the season.

Top-flight football will probably never be played on a worse surface than the disaster that is the Fir Park pitch, but Motherwell adapted their game better in the early stages.

A combination of a packed midfield, tenacious tackling and using an offside trap to limit Celtic’s previous aerial success against the home side, left Celtic struggling for answers as Motherwell won eight first-half corners. Celtic, on the other hand, failed to make any impression in the first period with Aiden McGeady’s threat negated by a combination of an uneven pitch and opponents prepared to double up or even send three players to challenge him.

For Motherwell, Keith Lasley and Darren Smith were especially impressive in a confident, committed and aggressive team display and such little football as there was came from the men in Claret and Amber.

The match came to life in the second half when Chris Porter beat Bobo Balde to a Brian McLean cross to nod home on the hour mark. However, it was Motherwell whose game was more disrupted by the goal and the over-excited players allowed Celtic hitherto unheard of space through the middle allowing Shunsuke Nakamura to find Scott McDonald who headed an immediate equaliser.

With the crucial goal came a sense that the momentum had swung in Celtic’s favour.

Gordon Strachan brought on Scott Brown for Nakamura, whose skills were largely wasted on the bumpy ground and under some rough physical treatment. Giorgious Samaras replaced captain for the day Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, who had had little joy with the few high balls that were launched his way and who seems to be penalised every time he tries to challenge for a header.

Samaras’s strength and skill on the ball gave Celtic a greater sense of composure married to the now expected resolute play of Barry Robson as Hartley tidied up when Motherwell pressed forward. Meanwhile McGeady, on the left wing, was benefiting from running on the only decent patch of grass on the field and getting forward more regularly, playing some testing deliveries.

On the other side, Brown’s energy gave Celtic more width and the ability to reach the touchline.

Mark McGhee decided to go for the win, replacing the excellent Smith with Ross McCormack while Strachan responded by replacing Lee Naylor with Mark Wilson.

The breakthrough came from a 79th-minute Robson corner which Samaras duly converted, being the hungriest man for the ball. It is indicative of the team spirit that exists at Celtic that Samaras’s first instinct was to head to the bench and embrace Vennegoor of Hesselink in a display of solidarity.

With the game now far more open, nerves were jangling in the Celtic supporters but another top-drawer performance from Gary Caldwell did much to alleviate the pressure, not just with his defending but through clever forward passes that relocated the play to the Motherwell half.

The home team continued to press, forcing corners and with Stevie Hammill’s shot flashing across goal in the 88th minute, Motherwell could yet have wrecked Celtic’s dreams.

The final whistle was greeted with joy from Celtic fans who were asking for nothing other than a “job done” performance. But, in difficult circumstances, the spirit of the team shone through. Special praise is due to Gordon Strachan who demonstrated all his managerial expertise with his substitutions and transformation of a match when the stakes were at their highest.

Man of the Match: Barry Robson for his insistence on taking charge of the midfield when most needed. Gary Caldwell could make a case for his own bottle of champagne.

Hail Hail the heroes – and the birth of a Celtic great

Celtic 3-2 Rangers

Cometh the hour, cometh the man they say and today saw the emergence of a player with the mark of greatness.

No, not Scott McDonald this time, though his two goals took him close to being the first man since Stevie Chalmers to score three goals against Rangers.

No, it was the moment that McDonald declined – when, rather than pursue that goal, a Celtic penalty was awarded and up stepped Barry Robson to assume the responsibility of salvaging Celtic’s season.

Robson, remember, started this season at Dundee United, played much of his career Inverness Caledonian Thistle and started off at another smaller club, Glasgow Rangers.

No-one should underestimate the determination, the raw courage and the utter professionalism of Robson in assuming the task. But it was only the culmination of a lion-hearted performance from the midfielder. His passing, running and energy ensured that Rangers had a torrid afternoon.

But his ability to take hold of the match – to refuse to lose the ball – was reminiscent of a Celtic legend, Roy Atiken. Robson is a far better footballer than the Bear but showed that he has everything needed to ascend to greatness for Celtic.

Scott Brown’s day will come. Right now he has the ultimate role model.

Pride and praise due

Celtic 2 – 1 Rangers
Celtic: Nakamura 20, Vennegoor of Hesselink 90 +4
Rangers: Novo, 55

After what seemed like an interminable wait, Celtic finally became lions when it mattered most, triumphing in what will be remembered as one of the great games between Glasgow’s top sides.

Buoyed by a home crowd hungry for victory and desperate for heroes to establish, even for one night, the rightful order of merit, Celtic’s men tore at Rangers, scornful of the plaudits showered upon the light blues, irked by four consecutive reverses and exuding the courage and craft that has shaped great Celtic sides of old.

Gordon Strachan’s team selection answered every Celtic fan’s prayer – obvious though it may have been to return the men who had responded so strongly to the home disappointment against Motherwell with their stylish, emphatic win. The captain Stephen McManus stepped up to his task, firing his men with rallying shouts.

Even before the kick-off, some Rangers players were gazing around the Celtic Park arena, looking for all the world as if their house had just crash-landed in Oz. Their initial onslaught was unexpected by most, hoping to catch Celtic cold and winning an early corner. Artur Boruc, in the Celtic goal was unperturbed.

But early on Jean-Claude Darcheville, who has enjoyed reasonable success since his move to Ibrox, looked like a man who could think of a hundred places he would rather be.

The sheer impact of the crowd’s audible volume, the loneliness of the amphitheatre where thousands of Rangers supporters became a muted irrelevance and, perhaps, the realisation that being a lone striker on one of Scotland’s biggest pitches was a task last appreciated by Captain Robert Falcon Scott gave the industrious Frenchman the haunted look of a defeated soldier whose only opportunity for salute would be in surrendering his weapons. He did just that before long, preferring to tie his boot lace off the field while his captain took a corner.

In Celtic’s ranks, was a midfield engine that might, given a chance, evoke memories of Bobby Murdoch and Bertie Auld. Certainly, in the absence of Scott Brown, whose multitude of tackles for the Celtic cause saw him suspended, Barry Robson played a role familiar to him – and on another sense stirred memories of many a fine Celtic player of the past.

Once a boy who might have played for Rangers, Robson is now a mature professional blessed with an almost irresistible combination of all-round skill, athleticism, and the accentuated desire that is so often the hallmark of the player whose chance came after it appeared lost. He, more than any other, set the tone for the match – battering Christian Dailly, whose prolonged shrieks to the referee hinted that his fellow Tannadice former pupil had articulated his point in a way that a thousand words could only talk around.

It should be said that the challenge was unfair, according to the rules, but it fired Celtic fans with the belief that this team would fight, as well as containing an acknowledgement that the early physical assertiveness that is so often a hallmark of the Rangers game can, like most things, be done better in green-and-white hoops.

Partnering Robson, was Paul Hartley who has an intuitive understanding of the “late bloomer” footballer psyche and might well have endured status as a Rangers player had Gordon Strachan not offered him salvation. Before long the two were combining their myriad talents, collective years of frustrations and differing early perspectives to form a unit that would rubbish an opposition superior in numbers but blessed with only one exceptional talent in the shape of their captain.

North and south of the central area would be two players diverse in culture and experience but well-matched in rebounding against vile abuse from their antagonists. The hands of Giovanni Trapatonni will have been raised high in praise of Irish international Aiden McGeady’s dissection of Kirk Broadfoot and Steven Whittaker, whose joint attentions served only to prompt Celtic mirth and leave acres of untended pasture for Lee Naylor, who has recaptured much of his verve.

Nakamura had the support of Andreas Hinkel, rich in attacking skill and speed of passing, but the Japanese star was in an ethereal world of his own when he scored one of the great Glasgow derby goals. Picking up a beautiful inside pass from Gary Caldwell 30 yards out, Nakamura’s predatory instincts took him forward before unleashing a strike of such viperous venom and coil that Allan McGregor in the Rangers goal could only move left and look right in horror as the movement of the ball left him stranded.

Wrecking the plans of Walter Smith who had hitherto effectively used ten of his men as a defensive unit, the goal, beautiful as it was, was scant reward for Celtic’s first-half domination.

In the second period, two substitutes would come to the fore. Mark Wilson replaced the injured Naylor with Nacho Novo disappointing home fans, in denying them another 45 minutes of entertainment from Broadfoot. Nevertheless, Novo is one of those nettle-like players who you may not want in your own back yard all the time but who often irritates the neighbours.

Celtic fans know that to utterly dominate a first half and lead by less than two is to prepare for an ill-deserved equaliser. Novo duly obliged, giving Rangers a goal for their eight second-half minutes of inspiration after a full half of perspiration. A foul by Dailly was missed by referee Kenny Clark before Wilson, lacking match sharpness, committed to a tackle and missed, leaving a gap for Novo to exploit and level the scores.

If that single goal was more than Rangers deserved, it almost discouraged Celtic for a few minutes; passes that were too heavy (or too light) resulting in lost possession or extraneous toil.

And then arose Nakamura. A model of composure as the visitors’ heavy defence crowded out Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Scott McDonald, the Japanese star had delivered a lesson in control, vision and use of the ball that suggested a man calibrated on a different time continuum from his near neighbours.

But while his colleagues struggled to create opportunities, a shift, a step and a strike from Nakamura looked set to claim this as HIS derby. Cynical cheating and the worst form of bad sportsmanship by Clydesdale Bank’s player of the season saw Carlos Cuellar sent off for using his hand to deny the midfielder.

That advantage should have been enough for Celtic, especially given that Scotland’s top goalscorer would have a penalty against an injured McGregor in the Rangers goal. In truth, McDonald looked to be wary of the task and struck the ball too close to McGregor, prompting fears of another injustice.

The drama had further acts.

McGregor, who had been hurt saving a McDonald shot, decided his race was nearly run but, clearly determined to spend as much of the remaining minutes not playing football, demanded extended treatment on the pitch. In the meantime, January signing Neil Alexander was summoned and dismissed as Walter Smith demonstrated the extent of his faith in the club’s substitute goalkeeper.

Now Rangers wanted only to stop and stand, to play football for as little time as possible, to see time wasted with bickering and spats.

And then the great gamble. Facing ten men and desperate for a goal, Gordon Strachan replaced Robson, the anger of many fans a vocal demonstration of the high esteem in which Robson is already held. But others have been crying out for just such a move – embrace the task in hand with three strikers.

The former group no doubt include those who can see no merit in Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, a Dutch international who has scored 19 goals this season. Adding Georgios Samaras to the attack at least made one emphatic statement: Strachan is willing to act with courage at the most crucial moments.

The result was salvation: Gary Caldwell, having his best game for Celtic delivered a pass across the field to McDonald whose header back and across goal found Vennegoor of Hesselink at his determined and clinical best.

The match was won, and the tortuous strain on the losers evident in undignified scrapping after the final whistle.

Has life been breathed into Celtic’s challenge? We may have found a pulse.

Gordon Strachan: the time for change

If there is anything more unedifying than a Celtic defeat it is the sight of Celtic fans who have never taken to Gordon Strachan consoling themselves that every misfortune is another excuse to say “I told you so” and strengthen their calls for his sacking.

However, sometimes criticism is just and the manager must simply learn or fall on his sword.

Celtic’s defeat by Rangers – Strachan’s fourth failure against Walter Smith, setting a record for failing to score in four consecutive matches – has profound implications for the partial remains of the season. Simply put, Celtic must win all remaining games and hope that Rangers’ away form sees them drop silly points, a scenario that seems unlikely.

But Strachan must be accountable for his own actions. It was a brave decision, some would say bordering on foolhardy, to drop top scorer Scott McDonald, favouring Giorgios Samaras. That decision was partially vindicated by the Greek forward’s performance – he looked dangerous throughout the match. There were also good reasons for the selection. McDonald has been a little off the boil lately, both in terms of goals scored and in his generally exceptional ability to hold the ball.

Samaras, performs that function admirably and has the strength, stature and attacking instincts to justify his selection. In picking a front two, Strachan was faced with a choice between the proven partnership (McDonald and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink), the top scorer and all-round forward (McDonald and Samaras) or the two form players (Vennegoor of Hesselink and Samaras).

His choice of the latter pairing was understandable and sensible, presuming that Strachan was as good as his word in saying that he had three excellent forwards he would like to utilise to the full.

In midfield he had one other key decision to make. Shunsuke Nakamura or Barry Robson. Again, the clever variety of passing and dead ball ability of Nakamura made him a reasonable choice over the recent acquisition of Robson. However, for all the ground that Strachan’s computer indicates Nakamura covers, the Japanese international has had an indifferent season and rarely imposes himself on a physical game (though he doesn’t lack courage in getting up after kicks).

In contrast, Robson has a variety of skills, including making aggressive driving runs, the ability to link with others, a strong scoring record and a dead ball ability that is bettered in the SPL only by Nakamura. Robson had one other quality – a sense of injustice that could only have further fuelled his undoubted hunger.

It is wrong to blame the manager for these decisions, using the benefit of hindsight, just as he can make a case for the exclusion of his best central defender, Darren O’Dea.

But where Strachan continues to get it infuriatingly wrong is with his reluctance to make changes at the appropriate time. With his team desperately needing a goal and crying out for a win, the manager waited until 78 minutes to make his first substitution. Yes, some teams have supersubs, but generally players need time to make an impact on the game. If Celtic’s front two had done a decent job of working the Rangers defence, 20-to-30 minutes is the least that a player like McDonald or Robson (who should have replaced Nakamura rather than Hartley) should be afforded to exploit a tired defence.

It is ridiculously precipitous to forecast Strachan’s decline but it has to be said that in his recent contests against Rangers he has evoked memories of a belligerent Martin O’Neill making a tactical genius out of Alex McLeish.

O’Neill learned eventually – but after unneeded damage had been done.

Smith, remember Farry; Reid, remember McCann

Today the integrity of Scottish football’s governing body, the SFA, is in tatters.

Just days after Rangers withdrew four players from George Burley’s first Scotland squad it emerges that Barry Robson not only reported for duty, he insisted that he was fit and desperate to play.

Despite this, he was overruled by former Rangers club doctor, Stuart Hillis, citing a knee injury that Robson’s own club manager didn’t know about and the player himself was convinced did not affect his fitness to play.

The result was media coverage lumping Robson together with four Rangers players – all of whom were declared fit for club duty on the evening of the match.

Predictably, SFA Chief Executive Gordon Smith has had nothing to say. Rarely found wanting a crass or inflammatory comment, Smith’s credibility has been in shreds almost since he was given the job.

• He implied that cheating was part of the culture of Lithuania and Slovenia

• Was found to have contributed to a book citing Catholic education as a factor in football bigotry

• Falsely claimed that every football club had complained to him about cheating

• When challenged, falsely claimed that he had been misquoted by journalists, an allegation he was forced to retract

• Has made the deluded claim that all criticism of him can be attributed solely to his association with Rangers and stated that he can disregard comment on his actions from football fans based on the assumption that he is being personally targeted as a “confident” former Rangers player

However, when it has been suggested that the SFA have colluded with Rangers to rest their players and at the same time undermined Barry Robson’s international career to manage the negative publicity that the moves would attract, Smith remains silent.

Let’s be clear: if Gordon Smith can question the integrity of two UEFA football associations, it is quite proper to question the integrity of the body that he is currently so badly mismanaging.

Smith cannot dismiss legitimate questions based on nothing other than his paranoid insistence that his status as a former Rangers player and his confident nature attract malicious comment.

Celtic have consistently found that integrity and commitment to Scotland leaves the club at a disadvantage faced with an association that discards all standards of fair play at the behest of its favourite club.

Recent manifestations of this have been absurd anomalies in disciplinary sanctions being taken against players and officials at Celtic and Rangers.

The last time that a Scottish official’s action blatantly favoured Rangers over Celtic – when Jim Farry deliberately withheld Jorge Cadete’s registration making him ineligible to play against Rangers – Fergus McCann let it be known that the Scottish League itself would find itself in court if it did not take appropriate action. Farry was sacked.

It cannot be that the current incumbents at Celtic Park, one of whom led the country into war and one of whom has been credited with being a vital contributor to a national economic revival, along with shareholders who operate at the highest level of international commerce can sit idly by while the interests of Celtic are being undermined.

John Reid, Dermot Desmond and Peter Lawwell must challenge the SFA directly: either produce a legitimate justification for its recent actions or find itself answering before UEFA.

In particular, some key questions should be addressed:

• Why has the SFA declined to enforce the rule allowing it to bar players from playing for their clubs when they have withdrawn from their international squad in midweek?
  

• If the Rangers injuries were legitimate, why were no other Rangers players called in as replacements, Cardiff City’s Gavin Rae, for example, being preferred to Kevin Thomson?

• If Barry Robson was so badly injured that he was unable to even remain with the Scotland squad despite his protests, why was the usual process of consultation with the player’s club disregarded? Evidently, communication between the Scotland team and Rangers management and medical staff had taken place.

Such responsibility cannot be left to Gordon Strachan, who has already been targeted by the SFA, most notably by the referee at Ibrox tomorrow, and who has faced the indignity of having a national bookmaker run a special bet on the possibility of his being sacked by Sunday night.

To fail to address this is to let down Strachan, whose career prospects are affected, as well as Barry Robson, whose opportunities have come late in his career only to find himself the victim of the most absurd brand of politics.

It is also obvious that holding high office at Celtic is not just an honour – it comes with responsibility to innumerable supporters the world over.

• One other thing – we criticise reporters when they unfairly attack our club but it only right to mention that Keith Jackson is the only Scottish journalist who has so far highlighted the issues in this case. Praise where it’s due and all that!