Rangers CAN Stop 10 In a Row

Since Rangers FC were placed into the Scottish Third Division in 2012, Celtic have been left to sweep the domestic honours without serious challenge from other competitors. Rangers have continued to struggle financially up until a regime change in 2015, when Dave King was made chairman of the club, appointing members of his choice in place alongside him.

Since then, Rangers had to overcome the embarrassment of defeat to Motherwell in the Premiership playoffs before appointing Mark Warburton as manager and David Weir alongside. Since then, Rangers stormed to the Championship title, finally won the Petrofac Challenge Cup and reached the final of the Scottish Cup, beating Celtic en route.

However, during this time Celtic won 5 league titles in a row with relative ease. Ronnie Deila however was producing unconvincing results and left the club at the end of the season of 2015/2016 and was replaced by Brendan Rodgers, a good friend of Mark Warburton and globally acclaimed manager who has managed teams such as Liverpool and Swansea with success.

This season, Rangers have struggled to adapt to top flight football, and Celtic have cruised to a 30 point lead at the top of the league over Rangers and 24 points ahead of Aberdeen, breaking a club unbeaten record set 50 years previously by ‘The Lisbon Lions’ in 1967. Rangers top priority now looks like stopping Celtic winning a record 10^th title in a row, as Celtic have more or less secured their 6^th title in a row already. Mark Warburton has since left the club in quite remarkable and dramatic circumstances. Despite the problems and the circus often associated with Rangers I believe there are many reasons why Rangers can stop Celtic reaching the much sought after feat of 10 in a row.

Celtic have been dominant in Scottish football since the demise of Rangers and are on course for a record 10 titles in a row 

Reason 1 – European Football

Rangers have fallen from 2^nd to 3^rd, which still guarantees them European football for next season. Their objective is to finish 2^nd but 3^rd guarantees the same rewards i.e. a 1^st round Europa League qualifying spot. Compared to previous eras in Scotland it is an extremely poor place in Europe but it would encourage investment from the Rangers board. European football will bring more money to Rangers and there are many good players who would be attracted by the prospect of playing in front of 50,000 fans in Europe and the opportunity to play against Celtic in similar circumstances.

Getting to the group stages is extremely difficult as teams from Scotland have to work their way through 3 qualifying rounds and a playoff round, where teams like Marseille and Hertha Berlin usually come straight into the competition. However with an intimidating atmosphere at Ibrox and the potential signing of one or two quality players, Rangers would certainly be in with a chance of getting through at least one or two of the qualifying rounds.



Can recapture their former European pedigree

Reason 2 – Rangers are adapting to top flight football

There is already evidence of Rangers beginning to deal with the pressures of winning in the Scottish Premiership. Until about half way through November Rangers really struggled but from then onwards Rangers have improved drastically. In December, they rose to the big occasions, notably beating Aberdeen convincingly on 3^rd December at a packed Ibrox before righting the wrongs of a Tynecastle defeat against Hearts on 10^th December in front of another full house at Ibrox. They then successively beat Hamilton Academical away from home and Inverness at Ibrox on Christmas Eve.

Since then they have admittedly stuttered. Before the winter break, they dropped 2 points to St Johnstone in Perth and lost to Celtic at Ibrox, albeit a much improved Old Firm display. This left them in 2^nd, but only 2 points ahead of Aberdeen, who had a game at hand.

After the winter break, Rangers have progressed to the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup but have only won 1 from 6 in the league. They have fallen to 3^rd place, with Aberdeen riding off into the distance with a 6 point lead in 2^nd.

Reason 3 – Rangers have impressive home form and away form is improving

 However, Rangers’ decline in form may partly be due to unhappiness behind the scenes and the departure of Mark Warburton. They have shown signs of realisation that they can’t put every player forward and are getting to grips with top flight football. Rangers will hope that they can get a strong management team in to get more out of the players and remain in the fight for second place. They are still to play Aberdeen and Celtic away from home, they are also still to play Aberdeen, Hearts and Celtic at Ibrox in the closing games of the season which will be crucial in attempting to secure 2^nd place.

Rangers’ home form has been extremely impressive over the last two years. Since the start of the 2015/2016 campaign, Rangers have lost just two games at Ibrox, and in that time they went over a year without defeat at Ibrox. Up until defeat against Celtic on hogmany 2016, Rangers had the best home form in Scotland.

Since the start of this season, Rangers’ away form has been far less impressive. They have played 13 away games so far. They have won 5, drawn 3 and lost 5. For a club like Rangers, this record is simply not good enough.

However, their form on the road did seem to be improving until defeat to Hearts and Dundee, but it is possible the defeat to Dundee could be partly down to uncertainty over the management team at Rangers. Before the matches against Hearts and Dundee Rangers had won 3 and drawn 2 away games from 6, taking 12 points from 18. This isn’t a fantastic return but it is better than it was nearer the start of the season.

 

Can Ibrox regain some of the magic of the past..???

 

 

Reason 4 – Rangers can still win a trophy this season

It has to be remembered that despite a lot of poor form from Rangers, they are in these positions in their FIRST year back in the league since 2012. They have also reached the semi-finals of the league cup, only to be knocked out by Celtic 3 minutes from time and have received a good home tie in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup against Hamilton Academical. If Rangers can somehow secure 2^nd place this year, why can’t they expect to improve and mount a title challenge in future seasons?

 

 

Reason 5 – It isn’t about being better than Celtic

Many people are overlooking the fact that in Scotland, it is not about being a better team than Celtic. It is about beating them for consistency over the course of the season and being better than all of the rest consistently. This has always been the case.

I think if Rangers can put more pressure on this Celtic side, who haven’t experienced any pressure at all in domestic football, Celtic will drop more points. The key for Rangers is winning the vast majority of their other matches and being good enough to expose Celtic when they lose or draw. If they are able to do this, the title may come down to the Old Firm fixtures, and that depends on who has the nerve for the big matches.

Rangers obviously have no chance of touching Celtic this season. Next season however, they will have a new management team in place and probably some new signings of a better standard than Mark Warburton’s recruitments for European qualifiers. They should look to make a good start to next season and win most or all of their opening matches before the first Old Firm which will be at Ibrox. If Celtic also win their first matches, the 2 sides will be close in the table.

I think Rangers should look to start to bridge the gap to more like 12 points at most and look to win the Scottish Premiership the following season.

 

 

Reason 6 – Celtic lose their key operators

Is it inevitable that Celtic will eventually their best assets...???

The biggest fear Celtic should have is that they lose Brendan Rodgers.  There can be no denying that he has worked wonders at Celtic. He has not done a lot in either transfer window but has revitalised a team who have performed extremely poorly for a number of years now. He has got the best out of the players at his disposal and has made key signings for low prices.

Would it really be much of a surprise if he was offered at a job at a top club in England or further afield in Europe? He has managed at this level before and almost won the Premier League with Liverpool. The major clubs in Europe could easily significantly increase his salary of around £1,000,000 a year.

If Rodgers leaves Rangers could benefit if Celtic make another appointment like Ronnie Deila. This would give Rangers a massive opportunity to attempt to win the league without being that great, especially if Rangers appoint a good new manager.

Another problem for Celtic is that there have already been about 5 or 6 players linked with moves away from Celtic, including Craig Gordon, Kieran Tierney, Jozo Simunovic, Erik Sviatchenko, Nir Bitton and Moussa Dembele.

Celtic have been on an impressive unbeaten run since the start of the season, but it is unlikely that they will go on another run like this 1 and if these players leave, it becomes even less likely.

Celtic and Rangers are not the European powers they used to be who could lure top players to their clubs. Celtic probably will not be able to prevent many of these moves. For example, Kieran Tierney is a very hot prospect and seems to be a wanted player for Manchester United. Moussa Dembele is constantly being linked with top European clubs. Celtic will struggle to keep these players and will have to make good signings to replace them.

 

 

 by Luke Randall