Barry Ferguson - Brenda got lucky.

[gmcf 34,093]

Sorry if already posted . But i thought it was one of BF's better articles

 

celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is no managerial mastermind and got lucky against Rangers - Barry Ferguson

Barry isn't convinced last Sunday's 3-2 win was a masterclass from Rodgers everything ran for him.

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Take last Sunday. A day when celtic’s manager should have walked straight out of Ibrox along Paisley Road West and into the casino at Springfield Quay to stick a year’s wages on black.

Because absolutely everything was coming up for Brendan Rodgers.

celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is no managerial mastermind and got lucky against Rangers - Barry Ferguson

Barry isn't convinced last Sunday's 3-2 win was a masterclass from Rodgers everything ran for him .

Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.

Take last Sunday. A day when celtic’s manager should have walked straight out of Ibrox along Paisley Road West and into the casino at Springfield Quay to stick a year’s wages on black.

Because absolutely everything was coming up for Brendan Rodgers.

So please, leave me out of this theory that Graeme Murty was being schooled by some sort of managerial mastermind as Rangerslost to 10 men.

That has been the talk amongst a lot of fans who are using this latest derby defeat as proof that Murty is in way over his head his against Rodgers and not up to the job of taking my old club back to the top.

Excuse me, but what have these people been watching? If they can’t see the strides Rangers have made in a very short space of time under Murty then they don’t have a clue what they are talking about.

And to use last Sunday as a stick to hit him over the head with is just a massive over-reaction to another painful result. I sympathise because I’m hurting too. I’ve been a Rangers man long enough to know winning means everything, especially on derby day.

But I’ve watched the game again and keep coming back to the same conclusion – the only real difference between celtic and Rangers on the day was a massive slice of good fortune.

Yes, Rodgers has taken all the plaudits because of the decisions he made in the second half. And who am I to disagree?

I take my hat off to the guy because, as a manager, he is different class.

When he made the call to take off James Forrest and replace him with a striker, with his side down to 10 men and the game balanced at 2-2, it was incredibly brave and bold management.

But what happened next was also incredibly lucky and he’s fortunate it all went his way because had Rangers won 3-2 it would have been him and not Murty who has spent the last week under fire.

Why did he start with Dedryck Boyata and a back three when this was always going to be the most vulnerable part of his team?

Why then change a midfielder for a striker with the game in the balance?

Rodgers would have had to find answers to some seriously difficult questions but he was spared from that because the gods were smiling on him. Had Sean Goss showed Odsonne Edouard down the outside – as he should have done – then the celtic sub would have been unlikely to score the winning goal two minutes after coming on to the pitch.

That wasn’t down to Rodgers being a genius, that was down to sheer luck.

Long before that Rangers could have had the game wrapped up when they were by far the superior side.

Had they taken one of their chances to make it 3-1 in the first half then I’m pretty sure celtic would not have come back from it.

They got another break early in the game when Goss was too inexperienced to realise he had to take one for the team when the ball broke to Tom Rogic seconds before the Australian curled home celtic’s first goal. Goss should have cleaned him out before he had a chance to line up his shot.

celtic got lucky again when David Bates had to be carried off right after the Rogic equaliser because the youngster has been Rangers best defender for some time now.

I am absolutely certain Bates would not have got on the wrong side of Moussa Dembele seconds before half time the way his replacement Fabio Cardoso did – allowing celtic to end the half on a huge high.

There was another massive moment at the end of the second half when Alfredo Morelos missed an open goal from two yards out. On any other day he scores to level it up.

I would even go as far as to say Rodgers got lucky again when Jozo Simunovic was sent off because, for as long as the game was 11 v 11, Rangers were the better side.

It was only after that moment celtic really got to grips with the game and I know from experience how a match can change when one side goes down to 10 men. The decision gave celtic a shot in the arm and created a siege mentality.

Rangers didn’t react well to it at all.

That was frustrating to watch because they should have been moving the ball quicker and using the whole of the pitch to tire their opponents and open celtic up. That they failed to do that was another sign of inexperience and, yes, Murty has to take his share of the blame.

But he will learn from it and so will his players.

I agreed with every word he said after the game and I’m a bit surprised that he has retracted some of it. He wasn’t too harsh at all.

Yes, all three of celtic’s goals could have been avoided. Yes, Rangers could and should have played better after celtic went down to 10 men.

And yes, these players might just have missed the best ever chance to get one over on their old rivals.

Murty was right on all points but that doesn’t mean that Rangers won’t recover and become stronger for it.

What I see is a work in progress both on the pitch and in the technical area. These are inexperienced players working for an inexperienced manager.

But where Rangers are now compared to where they were under Pedro Caixinha is night and day.

The manager and his players now need to regroup and bounce back quickly. By the time they head to Hampden to face celtic in the Scottish Cup semi-final on April 15 their tails should be up again.

They should look back on Sunday and learn their lessons.

But most of all, they should realise how far they have come together and how far the gap has been closed.

What I saw was a Rangers side which no longer lives in fear of celtic. I described the fixture as a boxing match and Sunday showed me Rangers are now confident enough to go toe-to-toe with their old rivals for the first time in a long time.

The fact they were so disappointed on Sunday tells me this is a group of players who will be bursting a gut to put it right at Hampden.

Murty is no longer setting his players up just to survive against celtic. He’s setting them up to beat them. Next time, with a bit of luck on his side, that’s exactly what might happen.

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,621]

He writes some amount of shite at times. This is one of those times.

[jbm26896 995]

1 minute ago, Sportingintegritymyarse said:

He writes some amount of shite at times. This is one of those times.

Don’t see any shite in that article at all, 

Good points made by him , 

[gmcf 34,093]

1 minute ago, Sportingintegritymyarse said:

He writes some amount of shite at times. This is one of those times.

He does , but I think this one wasn't too bad . 

[StirlingBear72 476]

Just now, jbm26896 said:

Don’t see any shite in that article at all, 

Good points made by him , 

The only good points were the three points last Sunday, we didn't get them. He's full of it in that article. All if buts and maybes.

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

The game hinged on one moment (the red card). Brenda made a change won the game, Murty was like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Masterclass or not it won the game for them. 

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,621]

Just now, Courtyard Bear said:

The game hinged on one moment (the red card). Brenda made a change won the game, Murty was like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Masterclass or not it won the game for them. 

No no, them getting a red card was lucky don't you know ?

[Smile 26,600]

We are starting to sound like a Tommy Burns team we need wins now not excuses.

[Lloyd 10,756]

3 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

The game hinged on one moment (the red card). Brenda made a change won the game, Murty was like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Masterclass or not it won the game for them. 

Murty shat it

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

2 minutes ago, Sportingintegritymyarse said:

No no, them getting a red card was lucky don't you know ?

The man talks bollocks. 

[The Godfather 71,725]

8 minutes ago, Courtyard Bear said:

The game hinged on one moment (the red card). Brenda made a change won the game, Murty was like a deer caught in the headlights. 

Masterclass or not it won the game for them. 

The delusion on here is rife

[AGM_72 3,613]

There was an element of luck to them winning the game, however, much of what he attributes to luck is actually their manager making a good tactical decision.

As much as I think there probably has been a little bit of an overreaction because this one has hurt quite badly, the only real slice of luck for them was Morelos' miss.

[ronniemca 479]

What a load of absolute fuckin bollocks.we will never get a better chance to beat them.they had a third choice goalie making his debut,an injury weakened side which went a goal down twice and then scored a winner after going down to ten men and this fuckin muppet says they were lucky ? Dear oh dear. Your as thick as shit Barry

[bordersbear 1,105]

16 minutes ago, Siwel said:

Murty shat it

You going in the dugout on Saturday? You are obviously a tactical genius.

[Lloyd 10,756]

1 minute ago, bordersbear said:

You going in the dugout on Saturday? You are obviously a tactical genius.

Never claimed to be, I think Murty knew the changes he should have made but shat it when it came to making a big decision again.

[bordersbear 1,105]

2 minutes ago, Siwel said:

Never claimed to be, I think Murty knew the changes he should have made but shat it when it came to making a big decision again.

You think. So you are now claiming to be a mind reader knowing what Murty knew. 

[Lloyd 10,756]

1 minute ago, bordersbear said:

You think. So you are now claiming to be a mind reader knowing what Murty knew. 

Well if Murty didnt know what to do then that’s an even bigger problem don’t you think?

[backup 4,724]

He’s right brennda todgers is no managerial mastermind, constantly found wanting against the big boys. Unfortunately still outfoxed murty to our cost, lucky or not.

[SeparateEntityMyArse 53,621]

"We have to make sure that this group stay strong and all of that noise outside can stay outside,"

"I have said to the players that every single man and his dog, who has an opinion, who is an expert, will write their column and will say all these things we didn't do and that I didn't do, that I needed to change this and I needed to do that, and that is no problem."

He knows he fucked it. He just doesn't want to hear it.

[Mr Soprano 13,964]

4 minutes ago, backup said:

 brennda todgers

[markem 7,251]

A lot of shite from Barry. 

His theory is all of our failures were due to bad luck. Goss not showing him away from goal and onto his weak foot isn’t bad luck ffs.  

GM having no idea how to deal with Rodgers tactical change or their loss of a man isn’t bad luck.  

We got a early goal, our noses in front twice and a man adavantage and Barry would have us believe that the we were simply unlucky not to win on the day. 

I’m much more assured to hear acknowledgments that we got it wrong and have to play better. Luck? Gies a break. 

[bordersbear 1,105]

3 minutes ago, Siwel said:

Well if Murty didnt know what to do then that’s an even bigger problem don’t you think?

My point is it's easy to criticise from the sidelines. Too many armchair managers. I think the article was pretty much spot on for a change. Brenda got lucky. Think back a few months at how shite we were. Bad defending and striking cost us that game and probably a bit of inexperience on the players and management side. Also I thought Jimmy Nichol was supposed to be bringing an experienced head to the table.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,123]

If you were on the other side of the fence you could say the scum were unlucky to lose the goals they did, bad mistakes etc.

I’m all for sticking up for the team but they let us down embarrassingly

[Courtyard Bear 41,357]

35 minutes ago, The Godfather said:

The delusion on here is rife

We await your insight then. 

[Lloyd 10,756]

4 minutes ago, bordersbear said:

My point is it's easy to criticise from the sidelines. Too many armchair managers. I think the article was pretty much spot on for a change. Brenda got lucky. Think back a few months at how shite we were. Bad defending and striking cost us that game and probably a bit of inexperience on the players and management side. Also I thought Jimmy Nichol was supposed to be bringing an experienced head to the table.

Aye we can’t slag Murty off it’s Jimmy Nichols fault