Gordon Strachan: Old Firm Will Be Better With No Away Fans
No away fans at the next Old Firm will be a positive thing according to former Celtic Manager Gordon Strachan.
When talking about the Old Firm derby between Celtic and Rangers, the two powerhouses of Scottish Football, controversy is never too far away. The latest controversy in the storied Scottish derby comes with the decision by Celtic to not allocate tickets to Rangers fans for the upcoming Old Firm in Celtic Park on December 30th.
Strachan, who managed Celtic from 2005-2009, has backed the decision to not allocate tickets to Rangers fans ahead of the game. You can find his explanation below along with an assessment of Brendan Rodgers return to Celtic Park, Matt O’Riley’s credentials to make it in the Premier League and the job that Mark Robins has done at Coventry City.
Old Firm Games Will be better for the lack of away supporters in the ground
It is going to be noisy, aggressive and nasty. Anyone who hasn’t been already, you need to go and see it. It is exhilarating at times but sad at times when you listen to the songs.
There are no away supporters this time, which some people think is a bad thing but I actually think it is a positive. We don’t need to give a platform sometimes for the people and we need that nonsense out of the game.
*Celtic are 4/5 to win the SPL while Rangers are 10/11 according to the latest football betting odds at BoyleSports.
Brendan Rodgers Must Rely On Experience Of Previous Tough Times As A Manager
The thing about Brendan is, he knew what was coming because he knew about the stress of managing Celtic. However, he wouldn’t have known what it was like to lose at Celtic because he wasn’t used to that in his first spell, apart from maybe in Europe. It’s not easy going back somewhere, I’ve not done it before myself, so this is a real test of his management.
But he has experienced tough times with Liverpool and Leicester before so it gives you experience and knowledge to deal with moments just like this. There is no secret and no shortcut to dealing with tough times as a manager sadly.
The only thing that matters to Celtic or Rangers is just being better than the other. It doesn’t matter about the style of play, the formation, the players or anything like that – you simply have to be better than the other and winning games of football.
Don’t forget, Brendan has had to deal with an awful lot of goals going out of the team. Jota leaving was huge, but then also injuries to Liel Abada and Daizen Maeda really harmed the squad – that’s almost 40 goals that has just left the team there. What has happened is that when they had the front three of Kyogo, Abada and Jota, that is a front three where all of them can score goals.
Now, you have wingers in their place and they are not goalscorers, which is a huge difference.
Matt O’Riley is ‘without a doubt’ ready for the Premier League
Matt O’Riley, without a shadow of doubt, can follow Virgil van Dijk and make it in the Premier League.
He’s got the lot; he’s got the football IQ, he’s focused on his football, he’s fitter, he has vision and goals in his game, he’s got a good physique and I am really sure that he can play for a top side in the Premier League.
Coventry are struggling without Viktor Gyokeres – but Mark Robins has a job for life
Gyokeres was worth so much more than just goals to Coventry; he could run centre-halves ragged and take them to places they had never been before, hold the ball up and win free-kicks all over the pitch. They had good loans as well last year, which is a bit of a blow as well.
But Mark Robins is one of those managers that should never ever be criticised or come under pressure for the work he has done at Coventry over a number of years. Coventry should be willing to pay him forever – he has taken them from playing in Northampton to Birmingham to an established Championship side.
It’s incredible how his name is never linked to bigger jobs, with all due respect to Coventry, but I think his PR is not that great. I see other people who are subliminally trying to tell you how great they are and it is incredible to see how far they go in football!
Robins just gets on with it, loses his top players and then cracks on with his job and manages to just keep them ticking over. It is a phenomenal story there and he should be really proud at what he has managed to achieve. The crowds are the best they have been for decades, so it really is a phenomenal job by the manager.
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