Rangers XI cited as Tom English fires back at Celtic fans over Brendan Rodgers return amid ‘hopeless’ verdict
Tom English has doubled down on his claim that Rangers are far stronger now than when Brendan Rodgers left the SPFL.
The BBC writer had suggested the Michael Beale-era Gers are “way stronger” than the outfit that the returning Celtic boss had the number of in his first spell in charge at Parkhead, in his BBC Sport report on the ex-Leicester manager coming back to Glasgow.
It appears that verdict didn’t meet with universal approval online, prompting English to flag up the Light Blues XI from the 5-1 defeat on 10 September 2016, of which James Tavernier is the only remaining, as evidence of his argument.
Posting on his personal Twitter account on Monday night (19 June) English wrote: “Loads of Celtic folk on here saying that Rangers are no stronger now than they were in Brendan Rodgers’ first spell.
“They were hopeless. A reminder of what they looked like in BR’s first game against them.”
Growth
The fact that the Hoops just completed a domestic treble under Ange Postecoglou might tempt some to suggest that the landscape hasn’t changed a great deal, especially when there were some similar thrashings in Old Firm derbies under Giovanni van Bronckhorst.
But clearly it is impossible to ignore the fact that, for all the failings at Ibrox since, Rangers did win the title two seasons ago, and recorded a Scottish Cup win last summer.
Beale himself took five cracks at it to finally get his first win against the now-Tottenham boss, but the direction of travel at the club feels like it is on the up currently.
Part of why Steven Gerrard’s SPFL win was such an achievement was because it had come off the back of years struggling to get back to the top.
That Rangers finished 39 points behind their city rivals in third place in the 2016/17 season, compared to just seven off the pace this season in second – 35 points ahead of Aberdeen – is proof enough that times have changed since.
But for all that is true Beale still has to deliver the goods in the head-to-head meetings on a regular basis, as a strong showing against the rest of Scotland is not enough.
He ended the season encouragingly but he ultimately came up short in three competitions prior to that, so this summer is a big one to ensure that Rodgers receives a shock next term.
In other Rangers news, an official club partner has reacted to reports of a big-money bid being prepared for a mooted striker target.