Are Celtic fans thankful for Steven Gerrard’s Rangers?

Ibrox Noise is hardly ‘proud’ of the fact we don’t talk much about Celtic on here, because we are a Rangers site for Rangers fans who talk about Rangers.

We do discuss the SPL occasionally, the SPFL and the SFA now and again, and yes, Celtic do crop up, but 99.9% of this site is Rangers.

So when we do have a Celtic topic to discuss, it certainly stands out. And in this piece we are going to take the honest and pragmatic approach to the subject:

Celtic fans and their club miss a strong Rangers.

While there is plenty of mentalism online with sevco this, liquidate that, and newco this, there is no escaping how bored Celtic fans are with winning the league every season with something to spare.

We do know Celtic fans on here, of course we do – Scotland is essentially Rangers V Celtic so avoiding crossing paths with Celtic fans is impossible – and the majority, in fact pretty much all the real ones in the real world away from the cesspit of the internet really do miss a competitive SPL with exciting Old Firm matches where either side could win.

There was no coincidence that when the ex-manager fluked a patch of purple form in February, Celtic fans were as excited as we were about March’s Old Firm – raging Celtic fan Chris Sutton admitted it was the first Old Firm match for years, a clash where, for once, he couldn’t actually foresee the outcome.

And quite honestly for a while Scotland looked to have an exciting game again.

And that is what Celtic, and Rangers fans have missed these past six years.

Call it pragmatism if you like, but whenever we chat to those of a Celtic persuasion away from t’internet and in that weird thing called the real world out there, the contrast between the bitterness online never fails to amuse – the real ones always pine for a real title battle, a real exciting SPL again – because that’s the lifeblood of Scottish football.

Without a strong Rangers (or Celtic) the domestic league is a complete joke – a non-competitive cakewalk for Parkhead to lift the league by default.

And their fans know it – and while they enjoy winning these titles, they aren’t taking anything like the satisfaction they did when they beat an equal Rangers fair and square.

That is why many of them welcome Steven Gerrard – the unknown quantity of a rookie coach and a legend in the game who could restore Rangers to what we should be. We hope he does.

And while bitterness online tries to laugh at it all, in the real world Celtic fans hope Rangers will put up a better fight next season. That they will have excitement domestically again.

Even Martin O’Neill, their admittedly excellent manager of the 2000s says it as it is – that a strong Rangers is good for Rangers, Scotland and Celtic, and he welcomes Steven Gerrard in the hope the strength of the league is improved.

Even if those crazies online foam at the gills and appear deranged, in the real world it’s quite a different place.

Let’s hope Steven Gerrard delivers the Rangers we all want.