Celtic 0-1 Rangers: Gers Make it Two Old Firm Wins in a Week with Victory at Celtic Park
Rangers cut the lead at the top of the Scottish Premiership to just two points as we headed into the international break with a win at the home of their biggest rivals. Celtic came into this one off the back of two defeats against Rangers and Ferencvaros but had won six out of six in the league so far this season. Rangers have won their last five in all competitions only conceding one goal including the 3-0 win against today’s opponents last week at Ibrox. Celtic made three changes to the team that started against Ferencvaros in the Europa League on Thursday night as Auston Trusty, Luke McCowan and Benjamin Nygren have replaced Haissem Hassan, James Forrest and Oliver Sorensen. Rangers named an unchanged side to the team that started last Sunday as they looked for a similar result in this game. The first chance came to Rangers as Nico Raskin played through Djeidi Gassama but he couldn’t sort his feet out and Colby Donovan managed to get back and make a challenge before he could take a shot. Celtic put the ball in the net after just six minutes from a free kick that was knocked on by Liam Scales to Camilo Duran but Scales was offside from the free kick delivery so the goal did not count. Celtic had a trio of corners very quickly that were all put in the six yard box on top of the keeper but they were not able to trouble Ivor Pandur who caught the third delivery. Dan Neil was in a similar position as he was to his goals last week as he received the ball but he hit it poorly and it was an easy stop for Viljami Sinisalo. Sinisalo was called into action again as Neil put a cross in for Ryan Naderi to head towards goal but again it was easy for the Celtic keeper. Celtic worked the ball well from right to left and Kieran Tierney hit the ball hard and had Pandur beaten but the ball smashes off the crossbar and out for a goal kick. Rangers got a corner and it was cleared by Cameron Carter-Vickers out to Kim Min-su, it was a good save by Sinisalo but straight to Naderi who tapped in to put Rangers in front. Rangers were so close to a second when Gassama went through on goal and dinked it over Sinisalo but hit the post and came out to Kevin Kelsy but his shot was blocked by Carter-Vickers and away as Celtic were hanging on by a thread. As the half time whistle went Rangers were ahead and created the better chances but Celtic looked to have more control of the ball than last week and could be a threat at times. Straight at the start of the second half Celtic went up the park and Colby Donovan had a header that was saved by Pandur and they couldn’t make anything of the ball as it bounced around the box as they looked for a quick response. A good strike from Penrice was palmed out by Sinisalo and Naderi couldn’t latch on for another tap in. Naderi got another chance from a header that he never connected with properly and it went wide. Rangers got forward again as Kim Min-su managed to skip past a challenge from Callum McGregor but his long range shot went wide of the right hand post. Rangers countered well again with a long ball to Naderi but his pass across to Kelsy was just over hit and the attack fizzled out. Again it was Rangers who attacked well as Gassama and Kim link up and Naderi and Carter-Vickers fight for it on the line but it goes for a Rangers corner. As we reached the last twenty minutes of the game there wasn’t a lot of quality and it was going from end to end with no quality in the final third. Olwethu Makhanya sticks the ball in the back of the net with a stunning strike but it clearly hits his hand before he hits it and the goal is ruled out. Rangers work the ball out to the left and it ends in a shot by Findlay Curtis but it’s a fairly routine save for Sinisalo. It was Nico Raskin next to have a shot as he chips one over the keeper head but it goes right across the goal and out for a goal kick. As we headed into four additional minutes Rangers were trying to see things out and push Celtic high up the pitch as Celtic were throwing caution to the wind to get an equaliser. Celtic were throwing the ball into the box whenever possible but they weren’t able to make anything from it as the final whistle went and Rangers won their sixth game in a row and won at Celtic Park for the first time since 2024. We head into an international break now and when they return Celtic face a trip to Fir Park to play Motherwell on Sunday 11th October. As for Rangers they will return from the international break to face Kilmarnock at Ibrox on Saturday 10th October. Celtic Viljami Sinisalo, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Auston Trusty (Haissem Hassan 70) , Liam Scales (Shumaira Mheuka 90), Colby Donovan, Kieran Tierney, Mika Baur, Callum McGregor, Luke McCowan (Kasper Hogh 46), Benjamin Nygren (James Forrest 63), Camilo Duran (Sebastian Tounekti 70). Rangers Ivor Pandur, Dujon Sterling, Emmanuel Fernandez, Olwethu Makhanya, James Penrice (Ben Godfrey 76), Dan Neil (Tochi Chuckwuani 89), Nico Raskin, Kim Min-su (Finday Curtis 72) , Djeidi Gassama (Badredine Bouanani 72), Ryan Naderi, Kevin Kelsy (Cameron Devlin 89).
What Can Scotland Fans Expect From Sebastian Pocognoli?
The first Scotland squad in the Sebastian Pocognoli era has been announced and there have been a few changes now that Steve Clarke is no longer in charge. First of all the unsurprising things that have stayed the same, the likes of Andy Robertson, John McGinn, Lewis Ferguson and Kieran Tierney are still the same which I don’t think anyone will be surprised or will complain about. However there are plenty of new faces that you’d not expect to have been given a chance under the Clarke regime. Luis Binks has been persuaded to play for Scotland after representing both England and Scotland at youth level, looking for his first cap. Colby Donovan who just turned 20 earlier in September could provide cover in the right back area which has been a worry for a lot of Scotland fans. Luke Graham after having a great season last season at Dundee and by all means has had a good start to life at Stoke City, I can just imagine his place may have been taken by Grant Hanley or John Souttar under Clarke. Stephen Welsh similarly to Graham had a good season in Scotland at Motherwell and has made a solid start in the English Championship as he now plays at Swansea City. Josh McPake has been a huge part of Hearts putting together another solid start to the season like most being an almost straight replacement for Alexandros Kyziridis, and he has been rewarded with a spot in the squad. Robbie Ure after his record move to Sevilla in La Liga was destined to get a call up, again you’d imagine Che Adams would have still been selected under Clarke. And also Oli McBurnie has decided to patch things up with his national team after seemingly falling out with Clarke, with his goal record in the English Championship last season with Hull City has had some calling for his return to the squad looking for his first cap since 2021. Then lastly James Wilson who despite his age has been scoring goals for Hearts whenever he got his chance and Pocognoli has given him his chance. The only outlier in my opinion is Calvin Miller. I think his standout performances for Falkirk last season and his strong start at Hearts should have resulted in a call up but his younger clubmates in McPake and Wilson have been chosen instead. And that is what I take from this squad, youth, trying to get a good blend of the experienced players and younger players, to bleed through the younger players and get them playing with the experienced guys so that they can use their wisdom to guide the younger players before they are no longer playing international football. When the likes of Robertson, McGinn, Tierney, Ferguson, Scott McTominay when he is back fit are no longer there, they have done all they can pulling from all their experience getting Scotland back to major tournaments on a regular basis, these younger players will be fully aware of what it takes to do so. Then from Pocognoli himself there definitely be more of an attacking edge to what Scotland are trying to do, especially in these Nations League games against Slovenia, Switzerland and North Macedonia where you’re not playing elite opposition. The plan will be to play on the front foot and press high, then when it comes to playing the top nations that will need to be tweaked although not to the point that we saw in the World Cup. Scotland have the creativity to and forward thinking players to hurt teams and it’s about time we had a manager who could get the best out of them. This could be an extremely exciting time for Scotland and I hope that everything goes to plan as we could now have the blend of youth and experience to take that next step in the international game.
Lawrence Shankland To Miss “A Significant Time” According To Derek McInnes
After receiving a scan on Monday, Derek McInnes has said that Rangers captain Lawrence Shankland will miss a significant amount of time after hobbling off very early into his team’s 1-0 win at Ibrox against Motherwell on Saturday. McInnes didn’t give a direct time frame but he did say it was a similar injury to the one Shankland had in January while playing for Hearts where the striker was out for three months. He also confirmed that if it required surgery that may result in another three of four weeks on the sidelines. Speaking at his pre-match press conference before Rangers play St Mirren on Wednesday, McInnes said: “So he’s had his scan and we have confirmation that he’s had a tear, a 2C tear in his hamstring so similar to the one he had previously back in January back when he was with Hearts.” He continued: “He’s actually in London now getting an ultrasound scan, a follow up scan which is just to determine with the specialist whether he’ll require surgery or if you just let that heal naturally.” With this injury to Shankland along with an ACL tear injury for another striker in Youssef Chermiti, Rangers will now be without two striking options for a long stretch of the season, but McInnes was still positive about the situation. He said: “Having him and Youssef out, two guys that guarantee you goals at Premiership level its a massive blow but their disappointments are other people’s opportunity as you’ve seen from Saturday with Ryan (Naderi) getting his goal, Kevin (Kelsy) getting introduced and we’ve got Bojan Miovski who knows his way about the Scottish Premiership.” After tomorrow’s match against St Mirren, Rangers face an Old Firm double header two weekends in a row before the international break meaning Ryan Naderi, Kevin Kelsy and Bojan Miovski will have to be on top form to continue the winning run that Rangers are trying to build after a slow start to the season.
“I Made A Mistake In That Moment” Jesse Randall Delighted To Forget Miss After Scoring At Killie
Dundee United forward Jesse Randall was pleased to have scored in his team’s 4-0 win against Kilmarnock and said that his miss against Rangers earlier on in the season had lingered in his mind since that game last month. In the first game of the season at Tannadice against Rangers with the score tied at 1-1 Randall was set through on goal before he hit a disappointing shot straight at Gers keeper Ivor Pandur. However, after scoring the fourth goal of the afternoon for his team at the weekend he was happy to exercise those demons that had been playing on his mind since the Rangers game on 31st July. Randall said: “I know I made a mistake in that moment and that’s the fine margins especially at this level, to learn from those mistakes and to really just move forward and it’s great that the team got the three points which was the most important thing.” Now that the team has its first league win of the season Randall spoke about how it’s important that Dundee United kick on after this result. He continued: “It’s great that we have a game in four days so now it’s in full flow so we need to pick up another good result on Wednesday.” Manager Jim Goodwin wasn’t at the game due to medical issues and Randall was again happy to provide a good result for him. Randall said: “It’s obviously a really tough week for him and his family so we’re very happy to get the result for him” Following on with this to talk about Goodwin’s absence from training Randall said: “Yeah it was a little bit strange, it was a little bit of a surprise obviously but we were professional and we just got on with the job and we just came to training with full energy and got on.” When asked about Dundee United’s new formation and tactics that Goodwin has been working on since pre-season Randall said: “We talked about how the other results hadn’t been great in the past few weeks but there have been signs in those games even though it hasn’t really clicked for us that we’re a good team with great players and it was only a matter of time… we only needed one goal.” After transfer talk regarding teammate and captain Will Ferry, who also assisted Randall for his goal, Randall was asked how happy he would be if Ferry remained a Dundee United player after Thursday Evening’s deadline. Randall said: “You can see the quality that he has and that goal with his right foot today was absolutely ridiculous and yeah he is quality.” Moving on to Dundee United’s next game against Motherwell, Randall was asked if he had spoken to fellow New Zealand international and former Motherwell player Elijah Just about what to expect at Fir Park. Randall explained: “No we didn’t really talk about Motherwell and what to expect from there but I guess we’ll see, I know a few players in their team so it’ll be nice to catch up with a few familiar faces but we’ll be looking to get the win.” Going back to the miss against Rangers and how it affected him Randall said: “It was definitely in my head for a little bit, it’s obviously natural as someone who wants to do really well, it’s important to move on really quickly but it does stick around and it’s just you only have those moments in games once a week its five seconds that you get a chance like that and to miss that chance in the first game of the season to get the three points it would have been important but I have to keep training and trying to get those moments right for the game.” Jesse Randall will get a chance to continue his scoring ways on Wednesday against Motherwell at Fir Park where Dundee United will want to keep up the performance and result that they got on Saturday.
“It’s Not Acceptable” Greg Kiltie Gives His Verdict On Killie’s Performance
Kilmarnock captain Greg Kiltie has said that his team have to find a way to turn their fortunes around as they slumped to their third defeat in three games at the start of their Scottish Premiership campaign. After 13 goals conceded and no sign of a win it’s been an overall disastrous start of the league season for Kilmarnock who sit rooted to the bottom of the league. Kiltie said: “Obviously disappointed, we only have ourselves to blame, It’s not acceptable and all I can do is apologise to the fans because that’s not on, that’s not us. It’s not what we’ve shown under the manager and obviously the feeling in the changing room isn’t the best.” When questioned about the team’s mentality when they go a goal down Kiltie said: “I think when we concede a goal we go into our shell a wee bit but we go on to concede two and three at the minute which obviously isn’t a good trait to have and we have to fix that.” “I think that it’s a positive that there’s a game on Wednesday, the quicker we get another game under our belts then we can put a good performance in and I’m sure if anyone’s like me they’re dying to get back on the pitch and put it right and that’s the thing we need to focus on.” He was then asked about how Kilmarnock can’t get their set-piece routines to work. Kiltie said: “I don’t think we help ourselves by going a goal behind, you want to get the fans on your side. It maybe just looks like that because of the feeling within the stadium that it just doesn’t come off. When you’re always a goal behind it’s tough to make that happen.” “It’s something we’ve obviously worked on but maybe easier to pull off when you’re a goal up or you’re still level. When something like that doesn’t come off you can feel the frustration from the crowd.” Kiltie was then asked about how close he feels Kilmarnock is to changing their performances he said: “We just need a few wee tweeks here and there and I don’t think it’s massively away. I know the results are not great but it’s the goals against, we’re creating good chances but I think if we just get a few things right it’ll turn around.” Finally he was asked about how good it is that the next game was so close, he said: “It’s excellent timing, it’s four days away from another game it’s what we need. I think we need to get back on the pitch and show the fans that we’re here to get a result.” As Greg Kiltie said Kilmarnock’s next game is on Wednesday night at home to St Mirren as they try to put things right and get their season turned around.
“I’m Convinced of What We’ve Got” Neil McCann Defiant After Another Defeat
Kilmarnock manager Neil McCann still has full belief in his squad despite the 4-0 loss at home to Dundee United at the weekend. McCann has watched his side ship 13 goals in just three league games and they currently sit bottom of the league in these early stages of the season. Regardless of that, McCann still feels confident his team can turn their fortunes around and win over the fans which are already starting to question his squad of players. McCann said after the game: “I think words are cheap right now for the fans and I apologise to them for what they saw today and we’ll be right back at it tomorrow.” Kilmarnock were hoping the return of central defender Robbie Deas could help stabilize the shaky defence but he was taken off injured after just 18 minutes and McCann was unable to say if it will be another wait before Deas can play again. McCann said: “I don’t know how he is, he’s down there with a boot on right now so we’ll have a wee look at him over the weekend and see how it is so we don’t really have any news other than that but obviously it was severe enough for him to come off.” When questioned about the amount of goals Kilmarnock are conceding at the moment McCann said: “I’ve told the boys what I think and I’m quite clear on that, I’ll have a look at it and see where the damage is happening and the most important thing right now is to start looking ahead to St Mirren.” McCann continued: “I still believe in this squad, I still completely believe in this squad and what we’re doing will bear fruit, I’m positive of that. I’m really bullish of the fact that I know that it looks a bit vulnerable. You can see when we concede a goal it knocks us a bit, but we just need to find that bit of steel.” “I think the squad we’ve assembled is more than good enough to start picking up wins and when we do we’ll catch fire. I’m convinced and I know that’s easy to say for me right now and you’re probably thinking on the back of the three defeats in the league but I’m convinced of what is sitting down there, they just need to make sure they perform.” Then asked about the forward play looking rushed and disjointed McCann said: “You concede and the anxiety is we need to get back on it and we need to do what we’re good at in order to get the goal and sometimes that requires just a wee bit of calmness because we know we can hurt teams.” McCann finished talking about how the next game being on Wednesday night is a positive: “I’ll go back and I’ll look at where I went wrong because I probably done a few things wrong today as well and collectively we’ll get back into work and see what injuries we might have.” “My last message to the fans is come back on Wednesday night and we’ll go again and we’ll try and put this right. In fact I know that the boys will already be looking to put that right, we’ve had a few frank words in the dressing room and they know they’re much better than that and we need to come through that.” Kilmarnock next face St Mirren back at Rugby Park on Wednesday 2nd September as they look to finally put a strong performance in for their faithful support.
“He Messaged a Couple Times” Lee Sharp Reveals How Much Influence Absent Jim Goodwin Had On The Game
Dundee United assistant manager Lee Sharp was full of praise for the squad after their win over Kilmarnock and how manager Jim Goodwin was still able to make his mark on the game. Goodwin was unable to attend their game at Rugby Park due to being in hospital after receiving tests but that didn’t mean he was completely absent from the game. Sharp said: “I think he messaged a couple of times just to say to us a few things.” Speaking on the performance Sharp said: “Delighted, I think the boys were excellent from start to finish. Everything we done all week leading to obviously when the manager wasn’t there and then continued after he wasn’t in and all the messages he relayed to me were all positive.” “It was good to give him a performance where he could relax and not really worry about it if I’m honest.” He gave an update on Goodwin’s condition saying: “He’s fine, they just kept him in for observation and I think he’s a bit perplexed by it as well.” “The players all knew what their jobs were and what the message was etcetera so it was just about them going out and implementing that and they did and they were excellent.” Dundee United had been struggling to score before this game, not scoring in their last three games before this one. Sharp spoke about his delight at being able to score four in this game: “I think the performances in periods of those performances there were spells where we actually played well and the chances we created just not managing to take any.” “We prepared this week like we have last week and the week before and it’s came together today to score four goals and we could have had another one or two.” Will Ferry turned a lot of heads with his performance during this game including a fantastic strike for Dundee United’s third goal. Sharp said on Ferry: “Will is great, he comes in and trains like everyone else his professionalism is there so that will continue he’ll continue to do that until otherwise.” “He just applies himself properly and that’s just a testament to him as well” Dundee United had struggled to get the first goal in games, not scoring first since the opening day of the season against Rangers. Sharp said: “It’s important that we didn’t concede and we were organised enough that we could stop them from playing and getting into certain dangerous areas. When you score that first goal it gives you that wee bit of confidence and helps you settle down a little bit. Then when the goals come before half time it’s great.” Looking forward to the games ahead Sharp said: “We’ll just keep doing what we’re doing. We’ve got a massive game on Wednesday night which will be very tough and then obviously next Saturday as well so we’ll just prepare as we have done.” This was Dundee United’s first clean sheet in the league this season and Sharp was again full of praise for the players. He said: “Very satisfied, you would have took 1-0 before the start of the game but 4-0 is incredible and we could have scored another couple of goals. It’s great because we’ve conceded over the last three games anyway so to keep a clean sheet shows how hard the defenders have been working.” Dundee United face another away trip this time at Fir Park against Motherwell on Wednesday 2nd September as they look to build on this result.
Kilmarnock 0-4 Dundee United: Killie’s Defensive Troubles Continue with Another Heavy Defeat
Rugby Park saw yet another poor defensive performance from Kilmarnock as they lost another four goals taking their total to 13 against in three league games. Kilmarnock came into this game off the back of a derby cup win against Ayrshire rivals Ayr United in the cup but had shipped nine goals in their opening two league games which saw them bottom of the league before a ball was kicked. Dundee United had lost their last three in all competitions including a Dundee derby last weekend as they sat just one place and one point above Kilmarnock coming into this one. Killie made four changes to their derby victory as Cathal McCarthey, Mark O’Hara, Jonathan Meier and Nicky Clescenco replaced Jamie Brandon, George Stanger, Aaron Tshibola and Erik Ring. McCarthy and Meier were making their debuts for the hosts today. United also made four changes to their derby defeat as Vicko Sevelj, Dylan Tait, Jesse Randall and Idjessi Metsoko were replaced by Zac Sapsford, Emmanuel Agyei, Joshua Rawlins and Daniel Bennie. The first real chance of the game came for Kilmarnock from a long ball that was flicked on by Greg Kiltie into the path of Joe Hugill who struck on the volley from around 25 yards but it proved to be an easy stop for United keeper Jack Walton. United hit back a few minutes with a cross into the box from Zac Sapsford that was met at the back post from about a yard out as Meier lost his man but Michael Forbes somehow put his header over the bar. Dundee United took the lead after 13 minutes as a corner was floated in by Mehdi Merghem near the front post and knocked in by the head of Emmanuel Agyei who was unmarked just six yards out as Killie’s woeful defensive run continued. United continued to pile on pressure as Daniel Binnie won another header at the back post but it went wide and with Killie down to 10 men at the time as Robbie Deas had gone off injured and George Stanger came on to replace him. Killie finally found themselves with an attempt on goal around the half hour mark as Mark O’Hara flicked a deep cross towards the far post and Walton was at full stretch to tip the ball past the post, the corner that came from it was well overhit and not an issue for United. A penalty was awarded to Dundee United as Cathal McCarthy was adjudged to have pulled the shirt of Michael Forbes in the box, Sapsford took the penalty and slipped but managed to strike it past Max Stryek to put United two up. That was followed by a beautiful strike from Will Ferry as he cut in on his right foot and curled one from about 25 yards into the top corner leaving Stryek with no chance at all as United were starting to make it look embarrassing for Killie. Killie tried to get themselves back into the game as Michael Schjonning-Larsen had a couple of crosses that led to nothing as the half time whistle was blown there were boos all round Rugby Park as that’s now 12 goals conceded in two and a half matches. A good start to the second half from Killie as substitute Djenaro Daniels’ low cut back was hit by Hugill but he got it all wrong and it went well over the bar. United settled into the second half as Abdoulaye Yoro hit a shot on the spin after good work on the right hand side but it was a routine save for Stryek. Mehdi Merghem was causing Killie troubles again and his pass inside found Binnie who took a good touch and hit a powerful strike but again it was straight at Stryek. Kilmarnock then went straight up the park and Schjonning-Larsen hit a similar shot to Binnie but again Walton tipped it away. Merghem was at it again but this time he went for it himself, his curling shot looked to be mirroring Ferry’s from the first half but this one drifted just wide. As we entered the last 20 minutes United again found themselves with a player unmarked inside the Kilmarnock penalty area as Sapsford had a header saved by Stryek. Just moments later substitutes Lachlan Rose and Jesse Randall combined but Rose’s shot was again saved by Stryek who got his foot on the ball at a stretch. United made it four with just over 10 minutes to go as Ferry’s cross found yet another teammate unmarked at the back post, this time it was Randall whose volley found the roof of the net from close range. As the game came to an end Dundee United were deserved winners as an almost empty Rugby Park boos their team off the park, Killie need to fix this schoolboy defending or they could have a record- breakingly bad season. Kilmarnock Max Stryek, Cathal McCarthy, Mark O’Hara (Bailey Rice 63’), Robbie Deas (George Stanger 17’), Joe Hugill, Tyreese John-Jules (Cole Burke 64’), Greg Kiltie, Tom Lowery, Jonathan Meier (Jamie Brandon 46’), Nicky Clescenco (Djenairo Daniels 46’), Michael Schjonning-Larsen. Dundee United Jack Walton, Bert Esselink, Mehdi Merghem (Jesse Randall 63’), Panutche Camera, Zac Sapsford (Neil Farrugia 74’), Will Ferry, Emmanuel Agyei, Michael Forbes, Joshua Rawlins, Abdoulaye Yoro (Lachlan Rose 64’), Daniel Bennie (Dario Naamo 79’) .
Scottish Clubs UEFA Europa Conference League Play-Off Opponent Watch
As four Scottish representatives gear up to play for a place in Europe’s third tier of competition, let’s take a look at who stands in their way from reaching the league phase for this season. Hibernian vs KAA Gent The Belgian outfit gained a Conference League place by finishing fifth in the Belgian Pro League last season, they entered the competition at the same stage as Hibs, the second qualifying round and after defeating Ukraine’s LNZ Cherkasy 4-2 on penalties after two 0-0 draws over two legs and then winning 2-1 on aggregate against Sweden’s Göteborg they now face Hibs. They also have two wins from two at the start of this season’s Belgian Pro League. A player to look out for is Algerian international Abdelkahar Kadri, the creative midfielder who can pick a defence splitting pass and quickly has defenders on the back foot as he finds teammates in the final third to give them opportunities to score. Hearts vs Rapid Vienna Across Edinburgh, Hearts face Austrian opposition for the second time this season after they faced Sturm Graz in Champions League qualifiers earlier on this season. Rapid Vienna finished fifth in the Austrian Bundesliga last season and got through two rounds of qualifying to get here in quite convincing style. A 9-3 aggregate victory against Andorra’s FC Santa Coloma and a 6-1 aggregate score against Estonia’s Paide Linnameeskond. They also sit top of this season’s Austrian Bundesliga with three wins from three which includes last weekend’s 8-0 thrashing of Grazer AK. The player to look out for here is 31-year-old striker Tonni Adamsen, the Dane scored four at the weekend in the 8-0 win and will look to do more damage to the Hearts backline which has looked fragile in European competition so far. Motherwell vs SC Freiburg The Steelmen have the most mouth-watering tie of any of the Scottish clubs as they face Germany’s Freiburg who were beaten Europa League finalists last season after losing to Aston Villa. They finished seventh in last season’s Bundesliga in Germany to get to this stage and this is their only qualifying tie they face as they automatically got into the play-offs. The new Bundesliga season doesn’t start until the 30th August, however a noticeable pre-season result was a 3-0 win against Crystal Palace last weekend. The player to look out for is Italian international Vincenzo Grifo, the 33-year-old primarily plays left wing but can play centrally and scored seven league goals and five Europa League goals last season, Freiburg have him and various other dangerous players that Motherwell will need to keep an eye on. Rangers vs FK Jablonec Rangers have to contend with Czech side FK Jablonec if they’re to have European football at Ibrox this season. They finished fifth in the Czech First League last season and have won two qualifying ties before this. They sneaked past Croatia’s Varaždin 4-3 on aggregate and then they beat Latvia’s RFS 4-1 on aggregate to set up the tie against the Gers. They currently sit second in the Czech First league with three wins from three as well. A player to look out for is right-back Martin Cedidla, the epitome of an attacking full back has scored three goals this season in seven games and has one assist too. Rangers’ left side will need to be wary of his attacking play in order to protect their weak central defence.
Graeme Souness is Right About Rangers’ Recruitment
On Tuesday Graeme Souness talked about something that I have felt strongly about when it comes to Rangers for a long time. Rangers don’t have a good recruitment process. They have made good strides to sort the club out commercially however it has failed where it matters, on the pitch. The former Rangers player/manager spoke about Rangers at a Premier Sports promotional event for the start of the new season. He said: “You’ve got to get it right on the pitch and that’s where in their recent history they’ve got it wrong.” After he was asked how to fix it he said: “You get football people in to make football decisions, it’s not rocket science.” This is an obvious dig at Robbie Thelwell, the son of former sporting director Kevin Thelwell, who is the head of recruitment at Rangers. Take the Rangers recruitment this summer, they’ve signed eight players at a time where they’re extremely short at the centre back position and with players who have struggled in the wide areas. They signed Ben Godfrey who despite already being injured hasn’t exactly looked like he’s going to be that stalwart defender to partner Emmanuel Fernandez, a guy who I think could be a top class centre back if he has an older experience head beside him. Their only other centre back signing is a 22-year-old Olwethu Makhanya, who may be a good player in his own right, I won’t lie and say I’ve seen him play yet however he doesn’t strike me as that player who is going to anchor the Rangers defence, which looks shaky at best. Then you look at the Rangers centre midfield already full with Nico Raskin, Mohammed Diomande, Tochi Chukwuani, Thelo Aasgaard, Connor Barron and Lyall Cameron. They have added Cammy Devlin, Dan Neil and Vanja Dragojevic without moving on any of the aforementioned players that were already there. Then you can look at the right back situation, for 11 years James Tavernier held that position and really never once did Rangers sign an alternative, now Tavernier is no longer there and Rangers still haven’t signed a right back. Dujon Sterling has and probably will cover a multitude of positions including right back and Ross McCrorie who you could argue is a right back and will probably just be deployed there, he looked better at centre midfield. I think there’s a problem at Rangers where they struggle to properly identify what parts of their squad that are the weakest and the recruitment team have poor judgment skills when it come to identifying players. If you look at some of the players Rangers have signed and wasted a lot of money on, Jose Cifuentes, Oscar Cortes, Ben Davies, Rabbi Matondo, Danilo, Sam Lammers. So many of these players sign for big money, prove they’re not worth the price then Rangers struggle to get rid of them, take Ben Davies for example for two years Rangers were loaning him out and the other club had an ‘option to buy’ which at the end of the loan they did not exercise. The only reason he isn’t a Rangers player today is because his Rangers contract ran out, a complete shambles of a player trading model. Danilo is currently back in Brazil again on loan, with an option to buy but I fully expect him to back at Rangers for pre-season training next year. Cifuentes and Cortes have been away on two loans each with options to buy but both of them are still currently under contract with Rangers as it stands. For all the flack the Celtic board get for their transfer dealings, they’ve lost Kelechi Ihanacho and replaced him with Kasper Hogh and lost Daizen Maeda and replaced him with Camilo Duran. On paper that’s two clear improvements on what they had. Of course football isn’t played on paper and we have to wait and see what they do with their time at Celtic, however this has happened without a head of recruitment at Parkhead. Souness continued to say on Rangers: “If you’re giving that power to someone who’s never played the game, I’ll say that again, If you’re giving that power to someone who’s never played the game. I’ll say it a third time for a reason, if you’re giving that power to someone who’s never played the game you’re asking for trouble.” Rangers have recently given former Norway international Stig Inge Bjornbye the job of Performance Director, the only other person involved with the football side of Rangers to have a playing background, other than Derek McInnes and current coaching staff of course. A lack of knowledge of football at the football club I feel has cost them massively over the years and until people like Robbie Thelwell are sent packing like his dad, my fear is Rangers will continue to struggle in the transfer market.