Chris Sutton slams ‘overweight’ Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos and praises Antonio Colak
Rangers striker Alfredo Morelos is “heavily overweight” and has been “a disgrace” according to Chris Sutton, after the Colombian was dropped from the squad.
The former Celtic striker did find some praise for his replacement, Antonio Colak, as well as Gers boss Giovanni van Bronckhorst for how he has handled the recent situation.
Morelos’ red card 13 minutes after coming on in the draw with Hibernian last weekend (20 August) led to his teammates criticising him and the 26-year-old being left at home for the crucial Champions League qualifier against PSV Eindhoven, which was won 1-0 with a goal from Colak, and Sutton hasn’t held back over it.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live’s Monday Night Club (29 August, 7.10pm) he said: “Colak, the centre-forward who Gio van Bronckhorst has brought in, has done very, very well because Alfredo Morelos cannot be bothered to get himself into shape.”
Micah Richards asked: “What is the latest with that Chris?”
Sutton went on: “He’s heavily overweight, and he’s been a disgrace as far as I can see.
“The importance of Scottish teams getting into the Champions League and all the finances that comes with it, absolutely massive. So it’s totally, totally unacceptable for a player of his ilk, or any player.
“Good on van Bronckhorst for calling him out, didn’t take him over to Eindhoven… Rangers winning, that was two fingers up to Morelos.”
Scathing
It will surprise absolutely nobody that Sutton has criticised a Rangers player, but he is right that Colak has done extremely well in El Bufalo’s place.
He is also probably right on balance with his stance on the whole situation, as the manager appears to have handled it well and may have got the desired reaction.
If van Bronckhorst saw fit to drop a key player for such an important game he wouldn’t have taken that decision lightly, and if captain James Tavernier felt ready to brand the red card “stupid” [via Scottish Express] it suggests there is plenty more behind the scenes.
Morelos is a professional footballer and gets paid a lot for it, so it is his responsibility to ensure he can do that, meaning Sutton’s criticism has merit, for all his Celtic bias is always readily evident.
He is probably going over the top though and he is the last place anyone on the blue half of Glasgow will be listening to on the matter.
That Colak has been such a hit since arrival this summer has made the whole episode much less of a crisis, but if there is a way back for Morelos as the manager has suggested, and he is ready to do what he needs to do in order to take it, then it would benefit everyone at Ibrox if the reconciliation can be made.
In other Rangers news, former assistant Michael Beale has had his say on the situation, speaking from experience.