February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
That’s 19 games in which anything can happen, especially when we’re talking about the Old Firm. Let’s not forget last season when the title came down to the last game when Rangers pipped Celtic for the title. Like Hoops fans need reminders.
We’ve seen many a table standing in the past when there was a 12-point gap between the Old Firm rivals. (They’re now at 35 and 23 points). But this time it’s a bit different. There are two teams between the Glasgow giants in Hearts (also on 35, but with an inferior goal difference) and Hibernian (31 points). So for the Gers it’s not just about closing the gap in a two-horse race this time around. Hearts and Hibs are two very big hurdles for Rangers to get over before they can even consider a title race with Celtic.
This Saturday there is even more pressure on Rangers and Alex McLeish to win at Parkhead in the Scottish Premier League. Confidence is very low at Ibrox, to the point where club captain Barry Ferguson admits his team is in a “rut.” Rangers have won only two times in their last 10 games and that spells danger for McLeish and his job.
Of course it wouldn’t make much sense to let McLeish go but strange things are happening these days in the SPL. Look at George Burley’s departure and his Hearts were winning. Funny old game is football, but it’s also hard core when it comes to fans and administration. Managers are replaceable. They are so often the unfortunate scapegoat especially when things are not going well. Football is a business driven on results and Rangers are not producing.
That was the case in their last game against Celtic when they were beaten 2-0 in the quarterfinals of the CIS Insurance Cup. Few are interested in the fact that it was a tough game. That Celtic had to fight all the way. What’s even more devastating for the Gers is that this was a knockout experience by their number one opponent. The defeat hurt. Rangers were knocked out of a tournament by their archrivals. It just makes it all the more painful for Rangers when it’s Celtic that causes the damage. Most if not all Old Firm fans think only in terms of Celtic vs. Rangers — that’s how they measure success and failure. Let’s face it when was the last time we saw two teams separate the old enemies at this stage of the season. When was the last time you were able to include Hearts and Hibs in a title race conversation.
At the beginning of the year McLeish did express concern for his team and did suggest that they might have a very apprehensive start. Now mid way through the season skipper Ferguson claims he cannot see a way out of this rut. Not the greatest of fighting words, are they? Remember this is a team with a qualifying chance in the group stages of the Champions League. Are they playing head games? That’s doubtful. It’s just that it’s strange to hear such a lack of confidence from top professionals. It sounds like they are throwing the towel in.
“The manager gets it, I get it, but we should be getting it because these fans pay good money and are entitled to their opinion,” Ferguson said. “We have not been doing it on the pitch. Maybe I haven’t been playing the way I can but I have always given the gaffer 110 percent and I like to think that everyone else has. He is going through a hard time like the rest of us. Time looks as if it is running out on us. Doesn’t it?”
The disappointment was “bitter” for Ferguson and Rangers after the cup exit while form in the league has been way under par. It’s no wonder Ferguson believes they didn’t play well against Celtic in the cup. The Rangers captain went on and described Shaun Maloney’s wicked shot into the Rangers’ goal as like “a knife in the back.”
There are many forces at work when it comes to the Old Firm. However one factor seems to be coming Celtic’s way and that’s fortune.
Whatever chance Rangers had to level matters were dealt a cruel blow in the 82nd minute. Rangers Stefan Klos was credited with an own goal from pressure by none other than Bobo Balde. Usually it’s Bobo who is causing the ogs. Yet again, Celtic get the rub of the green. Rangers, for their part, believe the soccer Gods are against them. It was an ugly goal that drove the nails home in the Rangers coffin. But out of the cup they went. But this Saturday they have a chance to put things right when they return to Celtic Park to play the Bhoys in the SPL. And like we said already it’s a must win. While a tie may be deemed acceptable a loss will put McLeish’s job under serious threat with fans and the Rangers board.
This Saturday starts the biggest test Alex McLeish has faced since he joined Rangers as manager. Regardless of the result against Celtic in the league, McLeish will and should make it to face FC Porto on the road in the CL. The pressure mounts once again in the next game when Rangers travel to Hibs in the league. From this Saturday, it’s going to be eight days of immense strain that could make or break McLeish. Indeed it may continue up to Dec. 6 when Rangers are at home to Inter Milan. Their final game in the CL and a potential final game for McLeish at Ibrox.
Amazing isn’t it that when McLeish won the SPL last year he was hailed a savior for the Rangers club — a savior who stopped the domination of Martin O’Neill’s Celtic. Now as Gordon Strachan begins to turn the corner, McLeish it seems could be on his last legs as Rangers manager. Indeed he could go from being a savior to a scapegoat. A bit of luck is badly needed at Rangers but for now only one team in Glasgow is receiving it.