Brendan Rodgers knows Rangers mean business after spending £8million

[ian1964 10,761]

BIG SPENDER Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers knows Rangers mean business after spending £8million this summer.

 

The Hoops manager was keen to point out that their Old Firm rivals had spent more money than a Champions League club.

 

BRENDAN RODGERS knows Rangers won’t settle for second best this season after watching them shell out twice as much as Celtic.

 

Hoops boss Rodgers reckons Gers mean business after bringing in several new faces for a total of £8million.

 

Celtic’s only outlay in the summer was the £4.5m fee paid to Manchester City for Olivier Ntcham.

 

Rodgers said: “Rangers have clearly spent money in the summer.“They spent more than us, and we are a Champions League club.“So that tells you their idea is to win the league. It’s not to finish third or second.“It’s to win the title, and what they spent is a mark of that.”

[ian1964 10,761]

NOT LOOKING GOOD It is a struggle to see how Rangers can move forward under Pedro Caixinha says Michael Stewart.

 

The Ibrox side looked terrific at times against Partick Thistle but defensive struggles don't bode well for Celtic clash.

 

By Michael Stewart

 

PEDRO CAIXINHA’S job was to make sure there was Progres after Rangers’ Euro debacle in Luxembourg.This week above all others we’ll discover if his side are any further forward under their Portuguese boss.

 

Six months into the Ibrox manager’s reign the jury is still out on Caixinha and his Ibrox side.And performances like Friday’s at Firhill are exactly why that remains the case.

At times they looked terrific yet they then appeared to wilt under the slightest bit of pressure.

 

And that is not going to be enough as they enter the biggest week of his Gers career so far.On Tuesday they will go back and face a Thistle side who will be buzzing after their battling display.

 

Then it’s the small matter of Celtic at Ibrox, who, remember, beat them 5-1 the last time they met.Now, if Gers get knocked out of the cup and lose to Celtic the pressure on Caixinha will be immense.

 

If they were to beat Thistle and then beat Celtic that pressure, in contrast, would be pretty much off.

 

The bookies, meanwhile, reckon they’ll probably overcome the Jags and lose to Brendan Rodgers’s side.In which case Gers fans would be entitled to ask if they have indeed moved forward under Caixinha?

 

And, I’ll be honest, I’m struggling to see it. I don’t sense any identity to what they are doing.To Caixinha’s credit Alfredo Morelos looks a hell of a signing. He took his goal brilliantly the other night.

 

But at the back, Rangers looked shaky as soon as Partick showed signs of coming back into the game.There’s clearly still a fragility there and that’s not historical.

There are a lot of new players in that team.

 

If there is ever a week where that is going to get exposed it’s the one they’ve got coming up.And the bad news for Caixinha is I don’t think he has helped himself with some of the things he has said.

 

The Rangers boss has been caned enough by others for claiming he had the best squad in Scotland.If it was done to boost his own players’ confidence then fine — say it behind closed doors.

 

But by coming out and stating it so publicly he has painted a huge target on every one of their backs.And you’d better believe Scott Brown and co will be in the mood to go hunting in six days’ time.

 

If I was a Celtic player, all I would be thinking is: ‘I’ll show you’.Rodgers doesn’t need to say a word.I mean, come on. They cruised to the league last season. They’re unbeaten in over a year.

 

And they have improved over the summer with the likes of Olivier Ntcham and Odsonne Edouard.Can Rangers learn anything from what Paris Saint Germain did to Celtic at Parkhead on Tuesday?

 

Not unless they have any Qatari friends with the best part of £1 billion lying spare they can’t.I know there was a lot made of Celtic being poor but for me the big thing was PSG were ridiculously good.

 

Yes Rodgers’ side didn’t play well and looked like rabbits caught in the headlights at times.But the way PSG kept the ball, the timing of their movement and their play in the final third was just a joy.

 

Some people have compared it to Barcelona at their best, who used to keep the ball for fun.But this PSG side has a real purpose to them. They want to cut teams open and destroy them.And when they don’t have the ball they work every bit as hard as when they do.

 

Celtic weren’t exactly poor in possession although I thought Ntcham in particular was pretty quiet.But PSG shuffled them into areas they wanted them to be. It was phenomenal stuff.

 

Rangers can try and look at that, the way they suffocated Celtic and stopped them from coming out.It was a tactic Aberdeen had some joy with in the Scottish Cup final before they eventually ran out of steam.

 

But what the Dons did was down to dogged determination. What PSG did was pure class.And as soon as they picked up on one pass, they were in. They were so quick and efficient.

 

The thing is you need pace, power and real speed of movement to play like that. Rangers don’t have it.Morelos has shown what a difference it makes when you have someone who can put the ball in the net.

 

And the one new boy who has impressed me the more I have seen of him is Daniel Candeias.But this week more than any other Caixinha needs all of his new boys to deliver.

 

If they do there might be enough to suggest the gap between Rangers and Celtic has in fact closed.But if they fail to produce the goods it’s going to get harder for the Gers boss to protest otherwise.

 

https://www.thescottishsun.co.uk/sport/football/1573838/struggle-rangers-pedro-caixinha-michael-stewart/

[Gonzo79 15,299]

Anyone who reads The Sun or listens to Brendan Rodgers or Michael Stewart is a bit daft. Two nonentities and a guy who was a joke in England.

[pete 2,499]

Anyone who reads The Sun or listens to Brendan Rodgers or Michael Stewart is a bit daft. Two nonentities and a guy who was a joke in England.

 

I can't say he is wrong in anything except I doubt Caixenha is under so much pressure. Even if we do lose these 2 games the same excuses will be wheelbarrowed out and life will go on with the usual alien gibberish of how things will be worked on while on the park nothing changes. caixinha will be given a full season to change things.

[the gunslinger 3,366]

I think rodgers is gutted he had so little to spend. No wonder someone at celtc is making fortunes.

 

 

[trublusince1982 243]

Is it only rangers fans who propagate the drivel lings of our enemies so proficiently? Not five minutes after the next loony has posted his latest hatred of all things Rangers than its posted and passed from fan site to fan site spreading their words and ire. Certainly feels like it sometimes.

[Waltersgotstyle 307]

Beat them on Saturday - game on.

[SteveC 150]

Anyone who reads The Sun or listens to Brendan Rodgers or Michael Stewart is a bit daft. Two nonentities and a guy who was a joke in England.

 

How Stewart can still go on deliberatel misinterpreting the "best squad" remark after having it explained ot his face baffles me. You'd almost think a hate filled agenda was at work.

[SteveC 150]

Beat them on Saturday - game on.

 

Would have been a lot more game on had we not drawn on Friday and v hearts (the hibs game is hard to mention given the chreating ref)

[boabie 230]

Beat them on Saturday - game on.

 

My wifes pals husband seems to win a lot of money doing fixed odds coupons . He spends days studying form, etc. I spoke to him a few days ago and surprisingly he's taking Rangers to "spring a wee surprise".