After the badly needed massive change of personnel by bitter rivals Rangers, the recently reformed Ibrox side seem to have stolen a march on Celtic in terms of recruitment for the season which has already started with Champions League elimination and a rare away domestic defeat for the seven times in a row Scottish champions.
Celtic are left with five days remaining in the current transfer window to recruit possibly four players depending on probable outgoings like the seemingly inevitable departure of defender Boyata and the recently rumoured possible transfers of Olivier N’cham to Porto or Moussa Dembele to Marseille – both unlikely but who knows these days?
In previous seasons, this late late show may seem like a clever transfer ploy, but this season it seems like mismanagement on a massive level, a complacency that has failed to correct a back four that have obvious failings in three of the positions that have demanded replacements for at least a year.
Brendan Rodgers, while a capable manager with a track record of improving young players, has overseen some of the biggest European defeats in the club’s history, and has to shoulder some of the responsibility for the continual defensive shortcomings of his team more than two years after taking over.
For the first time in many, many, many years, there is a real sense of importance to the first Glasgow Derby game of the season with an unbeaten ( at the time of writing) and better managed Rangers side taking heart from the Celtic uncertainty and fans’ disillusionment with the current board for their lack of significant recruitment.
Similarly, for the first time in three years, Celtic have left the (hopefully) significant part of their transfer dealings until the last minute which leaves their opponents in a seemingly better position recruitment wise.
While not appearing mightily impressive in many of their wins, Rangers have remained unbeaten in their first ten competitive games, buying twelve players who all seem to be contributing to the cause, especially a new look defence who look solid and have not shipped many goals. This has an undoubted psychological advantage coming towards a home Glasgow Derby match where most of their opponents have not suffered the abject humiliation of the one-sided defeats over the last few years.
With the (hopefully numerous) potential signings having now less than a week to bed in and prepare for the Parkhead showdown with their Glasgow rivals, have Celtic handed an advantage to their title rivals ( a sobering thought – Celtic this morning are six points behind a Hearts side with a 100% Record ) due to an all too familiar penny pinching and transfer mismanagement?
Brian Fegan
