How Rangers can beat Celtic

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How Rangers can beat Celtic


On paper it has ‘massacre’
written all over it. Rangers, who have not beaten a side of real quality since
they overcame Celtic 3-2 in 2012, face a Celtic side who have strolled
continuously to the SPL title in the Ibrox outfit’s absence.
Rangers, whose current form is
nothing short of abysmal, whose squad is extremely poor for its supposed ‘on
paper’ quality, have effectively no management either.
Caretaker boss Kenny McDowall has
already handed in his notice and is waiting to be placed on Gardening Leave,
leaving the Club effectively rudderless.

All this while the off-field
nonsense continues to rumble in the background, creating unneeded distractions
which have clearly, to an extent anyway, affected the players on the pitch;
players who are being mismanaged as it is by McDowall who never wanted this job
in the first place.
And yet…
On paper Rangers have no chance.
The squad is out of form and morale is on the floor. But on the pitch, with the
unpredictability of an Old Firm encounter always prevalent, with the right
selection, could a gigantic upset take place?
A huge weakness for Rangers has
been defence. The constant selection of the atrocious McCulloch and Foster have
helped weaken the back line and better teams (and worse ones) have taken
regular advantage of it.
The midfield has had no bite or
presence, and there has barely been an ounce of creativity to feed the
forwards.
There is nothing to lose in this
match, Rangers are expected to be defeated, so I would strongly recommend a bit
of a gamble in terms of selection to give the Govan men a bit of a chance.
Simonsen, naturally, will be in
goal. No Bell
through injury so that one selects itself.
But defence…Faure as right back
would give protection that Foster struggles to on his own – the young French has
not let his side down when played, and has a good sense of position. Left back
obviously would be Wallace.
Central defence? Zaliukas and
McGregor, the best defence Rangers have and naturally the one never given a
chance. Zaliukas is fit again, McGregor has been excellent this season, and it
would be the best possible pairing McDowall could select.
Midfield? This is where things
get interesting. Drop both Hutton and Black and put McCulloch there. He cannot
defend but he does have dig and can pass the wall – if he has to play, and in
all honesty our midfield options are slim pickings, DM is probably the most
productive place he can be deployed. This will free Law up to express himself
in a way he has rarely been able to with Black or Hutton.
The left wing: Smith. The right
wing: Foster. Give Wallace & Faure the protection of two wing backs in
front of them respectively, both of whom can get forward effectively. Smith is
especially good with set piece delivery, and Foster’s pace can cause problems
for anyone.
And up front, Miller and Boyd –
two guys who know exactly what the Old Firm is about.
Some reading this might think ‘6
defenders’ and argue it is no better than what McDowall would do, that it is
turgid and stale, and I can entirely see that point. But Rangers would have 6
players who have experienced the chaos of the Old Firm and that experience
would be vital v Celtic who have seven players in their squad (Commons, Kayal, Stokes,
Mulgrew, Brown, Matthews and Izaguirre) with similar experience, albeit only
four featured v Ross
County (some injured, some frozen out, some leaving).
And the truth is (as if I require
to point it out) Rangers do not have an astounding attack with lots of quality
to choose from; this match does have to be set up to contain Celtic, with
Miller & Foster’s pace being used in a counter.
Rangers will not dominate this match,
but they can win it. It requires total concentration, a bit of luck, and a team
playing and fighting for each other. It also desperately requires the personnel
shift I have proposed because the side as it currently resides will be crushed,
especially that McCulloch selection in defence.
Make a few tweaks Kenny and a win
is possible. Not probable, but possible.

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14 COMMENTS

  1. I agree !!!!!something needs to change, not a lover of Foster but your thinking makes sense, Boyd ??? a no go for me, even Walter omitted him from Old firm matches in his hey day !!!! Drop him and give young Gallagher something to prove ( remember big Derek when a chance was taken on him as a 16 year old????)

  2. Ha ha – you have no chance. Cant wait to see your zombie like faces when we thump you, roll on Sunday!! Hail Hail

  3. I dissagree.

    Attack is best form of defense agains this lot. Teams who sit back will be picked off eventually. Templeton always did well against them when playing with hearts. He has to start.

    I would play 433

    Simonsen
    Foster
    Wallace
    McGregor
    Zaliuska
    McCulloch
    Law
    Hutton
    Templeton
    Aird
    Daly

    With Boydie and Miller coming on as the game goes on.

    Keeping Aird and Templeton high up the park and knock the ball long as their Full backs are often caught up the field.

  4. A ha ha ha ha! Celtic will pump Sevco silly! If McCulloch and Black are anywhere near that first team they will get destroyed!

  5. Not exactly over the moon with your team selection,RICHARD FOSTER is a DUD,who should never be selected for any RANGERS team.Without a doubt David Templeton must play wide left with the freedom to cut inside,his pace will be a telling factor and he can score goals.No matter what the team is I fear the worst,lets hope for a miracle. Greenock Teddybear.

  6. This is a one off cup game I'm sure I remember Clyde beating Celtic in a cup game I'm a Celtic supporter so let's not let the heart demolish the brain.

  7. Agree with some of the above, though realistically we can't make wholesale changes and Zaliukas isn't match fit. The key thing is a holding midfielder / 4-3-3 formation to contest possession and protect our vulnerable defence, a concept neither AM nor KM seems familiar with! I'd go for Hutton here, allowing Law & the much-maligned Black to concentrate on utilising their 'inside-forward' skills further up the park. Front three would be Daly, flanked by Templeton & Miller, either of whom to be replaced by Aird when the necessary tracking-back takers its toll.

  8. Interesting read, and i say that as a Tim. Living in Thailand for 12 years means i've not seen anything of the current Rangers team.
    Looking forward to Sunday though… HH

  9. Simonsen foster wallace mcgregor & jig. Smith & templeton to protect full backs & law with Black in cm because hutton not good enough with Daly & miller deeper almost makin a 4-5-1. If Zaliukas was match sharp id have him in alongside Mcgregor allowin jig to play cm with Law but thats unlikely.

  10. Kayal's not in our squad any more – gone to Brighton. And Boyd has always underperformed in Celtic-Rangers games

  11. i agree with most of what you come up with except id put daly at centre half [outstanding for arabs in the position yet it never occurs that we play him there ] and back four of zalukas mcgregor daly wallace,foster mcculloch law smith .temps and miller running at defenders up front. bellshill true blue

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