You can almost guarantee everytime Charlie Nicholas writes his weekly column for Scottish Daily Express that he will come of with some ridiculous observation that will leave you scratching your head. He doesn’t disappoint today when he states that he thinks this Sunday’s Glasgow Derby will be a close affair as he reckons even though Celtic cruised to a 3-0 victory at Parkhead back in February, that ‘Celtic weren’t fabulous’ that day.
I’m not sure what game Champagne Charlie was watching but the one I was watching it was lucky Celtic weren’t about 5 up by half-time before clearly taking their foot of the gas in the second half as they cruised the rest of the game as Joe Hart tried to stay awake in the Celtic goal. He even claims if Joe Aribo scores while the match sat at 1-0 then anything could have happened. Fine margins he called it.
Fine margins had nothing to do with the match back in February. Celtic absolutely blew Gio Van Bronckhorst’s men away in a scintillating first half performance which brought us back to the days when Brendan Rodgers teams used to produce similar performances against their city rivals. If Charlie thought that game was decided on fine margins then the man knows less about football than I imagined, and believe me I hadn’t set the bar high when it comes to his knowledge.
Anyway for those of you that fancy a laugh this is what Charlie had to say:
“If (the)Rangers were to lose to Celtic in Sunday’s high noon Old Firm (sic) showdown, then the Premiership title race would be all but over. It is a gigantic game for Giovanni van Bronckhorst’s Gers side. They can’t afford to lose at Ibrox. It would be very difficult for (the)Rangers to fight back to retain the title, especially as it would leave them six points behind the Hoops with just six games to go.
“Yes, (the)Rangers would still have the Europa League to aim for – but I think their title hopes would be over. Most of the pressure is on the defending champions. It is not just about the three-point gap because, even if (the)Rangers were to win, Celtic would still be top on goal difference.
“It is the manner in which they were embarrassed at Celtic Park last month that will have stuck in the throats of Gers players and fans alike. Celtic weren’t fabulous for much of that 3-0 victory at Parkhead. And you can also look back to the chance Joe Aribo had at 1-0. It’s fine margins.
“Celtic then had a good 15 to 20 minutes that saw them kill the game. (the)Rangers, under Van Bronckhorst that day, looked like they had changed tactics to try to combat Celtic’s unpredictable style. Ryan Kent was poor and they really struggled without goal machine Alfredo Morelos”.
Nicholas then goes on to state that Celtic should stick with Giorgos Giakoumakis up front for the Derby game instead of the returning Kyogo, which to be honest I doubt any Celtic fans would be expecting anything else from our manager as the Greek striker is in red-hot goalscoring form at the moment and the Japanese attacker is only returning after a long term injury and it would be doubtful if he is even fit enough to start the match.
“As for Celtic, I’d start with Giorgos Giakoumakis up front – even if Kyogo Furuhashi is fit after his three-month lay-off. Giakoumakis isn’t going to worry theRangers defence with his pace but it could turn into a scrap, which would suit him. I expect Ange Postecoglou to go with the Greek through the middle.
“Daizen Maeda and Liel Abada have pace on the flanks and they will trouble theRangers defence. Plan B’s in this match are not style or tactics, but bench options. It could be won or lost in the last 20 minutes, however. It is a difficult one for both bosses as they still have a couple of days before knowing if all their international players are fit”.
Finally Charlie finishes off by predictably sitting on the fence with his prediction, claiming he can see a 2-2 draw especially if Alfredo Morelos is on the pitch, a player he earlier referred to as ‘a goalscoring machine’. He also states he can’t really separate the two teams, clearly forgetting their last encounter, actually my mistake, I forgot he thought that game was won on fine margins. Nicholas continued:
“I can’t really separate these teams. But, if (the)Rangers have Morelos, I can see it being a score draw – maybe 2-2. It would keep both teams ticking over. But, if Celtic win, the trophy will be heading back across the city.”
Conall McGinty
