In the recent argument over the early Winter break in the Scottish Premiership, one claim that we have heard all too often is that ‘Rangers are afraid to play Celtic in front of a full home crowd at Parkhead and would much rather play behind closed doors’.
What a load of absolute nonsense, that claim deserves absolutely nothing but contempt even now in the current break period after the majority of Premiership clubs decided to pull the final two scheduled games before the intial Winter shutdown, in order to increase the chances of fans to return quicker.
With Covid cases and Omicron concern lingering, it is very doubftful that supporters will be back inside stadiums by February, although the early break was particularly useful for those clubs struggling with several injuries and other reasons making key players unavailable ahead of those postponed matches.
Today is the perfect date to bring the perspective of reality back into focus. First of all, there was 29th December 2018 when the tide began to turn, no longer would Rangers be the pushovers that Celtic had got accustomed to:
🗓️ On This Day 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣8️⃣ : Rangers beat Celtic 1-0 at Ibrox. Ryan Jack's 1st half goal secured our first Old Firm win in 13 games in all competitions. The result meant we went level on points at the top of the league. Andy Halliday made a brilliant block from Ntcham late on 🟥⬜🟦 pic.twitter.com/javrJXW41j
— 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 (@WATP72RFC) December 29, 2021
Then there was the events of two years ago, today, when Rangers put Celtic in their place in their own back yard in what should have been the start of the march to the 19/20 title. Unfortunately, Steven Gerrard’s team suffered a drop of form before the title was awarded to our rivals, with the league curtailed early due to the onset of the pandemic:
🗓 On This Day 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣9️⃣ : Rangers beat Celtic 2-1 at Parkhead for 1st time since 2010. Ryan Kent's brilliant first-time effort and a Katic goal secured the win. 🟥⬜🟦 pic.twitter.com/KNyRmcXFCg
— 𝐖𝐞 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐏𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 (@WATP72RFC) December 29, 2021
Another date to keep in mind is that of 8th December 2019.
That was the last time Celtic beat Rangers, now more than two full years ago. Now the law of averages suggests that Rangers could be due a derby reverse soon and it will happen evutually, especially as there isn’t that much of a gap between the clubs – certainly not pre 2018 when Rangers were scrambling to re-establish the club and team back in the top flight after the torrid time of the previous few years. That job was completed and the next phase launched by Steven Gerrard and his backroom team.
Now, under Giovanni van Bronckhorst, as we approach 2022 the Scottish Premiership is led by the current champions with a six point gap at the top of the table.
It is Rangers who lead the pack and while some changes are almost certain next month, the team and squad is refreshed, vibrant and impressing on the pitch.
Catch us if you can, we welcome the chase.