Barry Ferguson joined Simon Donnelly on the Go Radio Football Show to discuss the upcoming Glasgow Derby which will take place at Ibrox after the current International break. During their conversation the former Alloa manager, who walked away from the Indodrill stadium last month as his side continued to slide down the league table, commented that theRangers centre back pairing would choose to come up against striker Giorgos Giakoumakis over Celtic’s other attackers if they had the choice.
Ferguson said: “He’s a danger inside the box but outside the box he’s not the most pleasant on the eye.
“He’s not got the link up. I think if you ask Goldson and Balogun who they want to come up against, it’d be Giakoumakis.
“You can’t argue with his goal scoring record. He’s in the right area at the right time, he has a knack of scoring goals and you can’t take away his return.”
I think Ferguson may have a touch of amnesia regarding the last Glasgow Derby. I thought Giakoumakis was excellent against theRangers at Parkhead. He didn’t get on the score-sheet that evening but his ability to drag Goldson and Bassey out of position was evident. A lot of the hard graft he put in made it easier for others around him to find space, showing that he is more than simply a goalscorer but also does a lot of work to help make things easier for his teammates.
He also had plenty of chances during the match but unfortunately hadn’t packed his goalscoring boots that day. Since then however he has certainly found his form in front of goal and if he’s presented with similar opportunities during the clash on the 3rd April, I have no doubt he will take them. With 8 goals in his past 5 games for Celtic he is certainly enjoying a purple patch at the moment and has become a hugely important part of our title charge.
Incidentally his form has recently been rewarded back home with Gus Poyet calling the big striker up to the Greece national squad for a double header against Romania and Montenegro. The former VVV-Venlo striker started yesterdays friendly against Romania, which Greece won 1-0. Giakoumakis once again proved his credentials as a poacher, scoring with a crafty back heel although the goal ended up unfortunately being ruled out for offside.
From a Celtic fans perspective you will be glad to hear that Giakoumakis got through the match with a clean bill of health although chances are he will get more game time as his nation take on Montenegro on Monday. As usual during an international break we all pray that our players who are out representing their countries come back safe and sound, with this one being even more significant as we enter the tail end of the season with everything still to play for.
I hope come 3rd April that Barry Ferguson’s comments will come back to haunt him as our current man in form shows the former Ibrox captain that no defenders should ever be looking forward to playing against him. Giakoumakis has steadily won around the majority of Celtic fans over the past few months. Putting in a top performance that helps his team claim all 3 points could be the final piece of the jigsaw that puts an end to anyone who still holds doubts about how good our Greek striker truly is.
Conall McGinty
