Rangers accused of rewarding underachievement with contract plans as Celtic continue to restock
Rangers are “keen” to reward “underachievers” Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent with new contracts while Celtic continue to profit in the transfer market, according to The Guardian.
In the build up to the Viaplay Cup final between to two Glasgow giants at Hampden Park on Sunday (26 February) the relative standing of the two sides has been the subject of plenty of focus, particularly after Fashion Sakala’s comments were widely seized upon [Daily Record, 25 February].
With the Hoops in the driver’s seat to defend the league title the Gers have been accused of having a skewed perception of their position, over plans to re-sign the star attacking pair, as well as hall of fame inductions, and Michael Beale’s suggestion during the January window that Ange Postecoglou has been fortunate in his spending [Mirror, 8 January].
The Guardian‘s Saturday (25 February) look at the final says: “Beale’s assertion that Postecoglou was “lucky” to be afforded a certain level of spending clearly irked the Celtic manager.
“Strangely enough, Beale does not play the resource card when his own players face St Johnstone or Ross County.
“Celtic’s knack for continually trading players at decent profit – even during times of on-field difficulty – allowed Postecoglou to fund his rebuild.
“Rangers, meanwhile, are keen to bestow further and lucrative contracts on underachievers Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Kent.
“James Tavernier, who has collected two major honours since arriving at Ibrox in 2015, was last week inducted into the club’s hall of fame.”
Offended
It is a stick that will be used to beat Rangers with until trophies are collected again on a more regular basis, which is why the League Cup final is such a big occasion.
It is perhaps being overlooked that the club came back from oblivion over the past decade, affording Celtic the opportunity to largely clear up for years.
The SPFL title win under Steven Gerrard was a huge step back to the top in that context, and while the Scottish Cup lifted last season with Giovanni van Bronckhorst can’t be overlooked, as with the run to the Europa League final, the slip in the league in consecutive seasons under the Dutchman was what ended his reign at a year.
In the historical context of the Old Firm derby and Scottish football it is impossible for the Light Blues to satisfy critics until years have passed with more trophies and league titles.
The club’s own fans have had plenty of questions for the board as to the spending ability given what has been brought in, when the sales of players such as Calvin Bassey, Nathan Patterson, and Joe Aribo have netted healthy profits of their own.
Tavernier, Kent and Morelos are not perfect but it is impossible to argue they haven’t played key roles in their time at Ibrox, even if there is undoubtedly a price past which it wouldn’t make sense to extend the latter pair’s stays.
But even if there is an awareness that Celtic have been in the ascendency for the majority of the past 10 years it is unrealistic to expect the club or the players to go about their business apologetically when they are aiming to get back to the top of Scottish football.
In other Rangers news, the club have pulled off one transfer coup by signing a player on a free that European giants have been after.