Barry Ferguson, who was in the front row for Celtic’s triumph in the Glasgow Derby, has been expressing his hurt and suffering.
The former boss of Alloa and Clyde currently works as an ambassador at Ibrox in addition to his media duties with Go Radio and the Daily Record.
Phil Clement was all over the place in his post-match media interviews, offering various justifications such as the ages of the two sides, the prospect of a 3-3 draw, and clinging to the advantages of a 6-0 victory against Ross County one week prior.
It was strange behaviour; modern managers are frequently given statistics to divert attention from scorelines, but Clement went too far on Sunday when a few sobering facts may have won him some credibility.
Ferguson admits that Celtic is the superior team, but as he watched the game, he became increasingly uneasy with Clement’s team’s lack of bravery, leadership, and character.
Ferguson acknowledged in the Record:
I will not be dishonest. It hurts, this one. Perhaps it was because I was seated in the directors’ box at Parkhead, witnessing it firsthand. Maybe it was the happiness on the Celtics supporters’ faces as they performed their little huddle dance and laughed in my face when their
But the fundamental reason for my ongoing pain and disappointment is that, on derby day in Glasgow’s east end, the Rangers’ performance was just not good enough. More than a day later, I must admit that I still feel empty inside, which is not like me. After a painful one like that, I would usually wake up in the morning and tell myself, “It’s a new day and a fresh start.” However, there is a persistent feeling of irritation due to the manner Rangers collapsed on Sunday afternoon.
In the game, there’s an old proverb that states there are appropriate ways to lose a match. Since I couldn’t bear to lose to any kind of opposition, I’m not sure that I ever truly agreed with that. However, the Rangers I saw on Sunday were definitely not what I had anticipated. Yes, no problem, they had a strong first ten minutes. Because of how aggressively they were pursuing Celtic and pressing them from the front, I really enjoyed watching it.
But when the game lasts ninety minutes, who gives a damn about having a decent ten? The thing that irritated me the most was that Celtic appeared to lose consciousness as soon as Kyogo Furuhashi placed the ball in Jack Butland’s net during their first-ever play on the pitch.
They appeared suddenly alarmed by the situation, and they didn’t really make Celtic work for the three points after that. That’s the part that truly gets stuck in my throat.
When Ferguson said to Record readers two years ago that Giovanni van Bronckhorst had Ange Postecoglou beat, Celtic won the Glasgow Derby 4-0 the following day.
The problems at Ibrox are multiple but the bottom line is that Celtic have a better team, better squad and are better managed and coached.
No one is currently putting forward a case for any of Clement’s players to be included in a Combined XI, it would be a stretch to justify a case for any getting on the bench when you look at what Rodgers had to bring on during Sunday’s match.
The next four months are all about management, working with the current squad before the January transfer window opens but when the Glasgow rivals meet again on January 2 it will almost certainly involve exactly the same group of players, as will a possible League Cup tie.
Leave a Reply