With the dust settling on a massive Old Firm, a must-win Old Firm in which neither side won, Ibrox Noise decided to take a look at a bunch of things we learned from this one, in a list which could end up rather comprehensive.
So here we go – 10 things we learned in Rangers v Celtic:
1: Philippe Clement isn’t up to beating Celtic.
Twice now our heralded new saviour, who we absolutely backed as Rangers’ new manager, has completely choked it v Celtic. He got the team wrong at Parkhead and somehow managed to get it even more wrong at Ibrox for the return. Rangers managers are measured on this fixture, and he’s just not good enough in these powderkeg matches. Maybe he doesn’t understand yet what this match means, because that team selection wasn’t from a boss who knew what he was doing.
2: Tav & Goldson.
We’re running the post-mortem on these two chokers today, this piece from Derek tearing Goldson to threads, but the reality is for all Tav’s goals against County and St Mirren, when it comes to Celtic, he’s not good enough at either end. Goldson is even worse. We can posit all the theories about why they’re untouchable that we like, but 3 trophies with them undroppable since 2016/18 isn’t really Rangers standard.
3: Lundstram has dipped.
He had another modest display at best, and for having been at Ibrox since summer 2021, has never once owned an Old Firm. He’s the big strong tubthumper in the middle, the giant enforcer, yet he’s so far off controlling these matches. He didn’t even face Callum McGregor yesterday and still didn’t dictate. His form recently in general hasn’t sparkled either, a bad time for him to droop.
4: Dujon Sterling is our best option in central midfield.
We’re not sold on Diomande at all yet, he’s been a lot of nothing thus far, and certainly lacks the power and pace of Sterling. Who is being perennially wasted in utility positions which see the least of him. The sooner the manager wises up and sticks Sterling in the middle the better.
5: It’s not all Wright.
No one could fathom Wright in the XI and this sub-Championship-level player seems to keep on getting the gigs, and keeps on failing to deliver. He’s absurdly average, a player better placed at a bottom-SPL side, and yet here he is, continuously getting starting slots under Clement. We don’t dislike the lad as a person, but as a player he’s painfully mediocre.
6: Celtic still have the mark on us.
If not for a dodgy penalty and a lucky deflection, Rangers’ chances of even getting that point were modest. There was uplift in the second half, but we still weren’t great, and Celtic can feel confident now that they have the Indian sign over this club.
7: Rangers players should STFU in the press.
We got slaughtered by fans for slaughtering Scott Wright’s nonsense about confidence, but they were a bit more agreeable when we criticised Goldson for the same thing. Either way, our players keep on saying this crap in the press leading up to Old Firms, and keep on looking dumbass for it.
8: Fabio Silva didn’t shine.
Just when the hype about signing him is becoming a thing, the Portuguese spent the whole match diving for free kicks. His simulation is embarrassing and that’s two in a row he’s been duff in. Rangers is a much higher level of pressure than your national U21 team mate.
9: Was Roofe injured again?
No place for him on the bench – this was surprising to see the Jamaica man, the only attacker to have previously scored v Celtic, not in the squad.
10: Rabbi Matondo.
He must be so frustrated that in two years he’s made just 55 appearances and 22 starts. Not great. His cameos keep on impressing and he’s surely earned more starts.
There are more, many more, but we’ll leave them there for now.