Glasgow Rangers Fan's Upbeat View on Scoreless Draw at Celtic

Having decided not to write a match report on today’s Old Firm Derby as it was a rather even contest, I decided to read through a couple of Glasgow Rangers web forums and see where my views lie in comparison to other Rangers fans.

Rangers and Celtic played to a 0-0 draw today.

I was fully expecting Rangers manager Walter Smith to play 4-5-1 but had been hoping that “one” was not Kyle Lafferty. Having watched him play up front on his own against AC Milan, it was apparent that he couldn’t win a header or continuously hold the ball up.

For some to say that Lafferty got no service during the Celtic game was laughable, as it was clear early on that nothing played into him was going to stick and holding onto the ball by other means was the way to go.

I’m certainly not saying Kris Boyd would have definitely done a better job, as he probably wouldn’t, but he would have won more headers and might have been there and there for a half chance.

There was a lot of talk about Barry Ferguson passing sideways and how terrible he was, but when there is one man ahead of you and two to either side, then surely you are going to pass sideways more often, no?

The fact that anything played to Lafferty was coming straight back must have alluded some people.

Our captain has not been on top form since returning from injury or anything like it. I can admit that, but he shouldn’t have to play twice as well as other players just for some Rangers supporters to declare a semi-decent effort.

Rangers fans having been moaning that since Ferguson returned to the side, Pedro Mendes has been a shade off his best and it is all Ferguson’s fault. Yet, Kenny Miller has also been off color since the return of the club captain but that is apparently because he is a waste.

Many fans also complained about the Rangers not going for the game late on by switching to a 4-4-2 formation instead of continuing with the 4-5-1 that was destined for a draw.

I think the draw was a great result, and four points out of six at Celtic Park is terrific.

Switching to a 4-4-2 after Celtic had introduced the fresh legs of Aiden McGeady and Georgios Samaras would have opened the tie up to either side. The Rangers were away and it was Celtic’s job to chase the game, not our’s. The 4-5-1 nearly worked, and we could and maybe should have stolen all three points.

The simple fact is, it was much more important for Celtic to beat the Rangers today than it was for the Rangers to beat Celtic. We are two points behind and in better form than Celtic with a home game against our rivals still to come.

Celtic have been dropping points right, left, and center since the last Old Firm Derby, and travel to Motherwell next weekend a day after the Rangers have the chance to go to the top of the league.

That sounds pretty encouraging to me.

One thing that wasn’t encouraging was the amount of times I’ve heard and read the words “slant-eyed” as people refer to Shunsuke Nakamura. Scotland it seems, is wrongly behind the times.

I even heard a few make comments about him eating dogs. To a Japanese man, such a comment is like someone calling a Scot a frog, totally uneducated, and pointless.

Anyway, let us forget the negatives as the Rangers this season are undefeated at Celtic Park, and with just two points in it, we look forward to hosting Celtic at Ibrox and securing the three points that will bring a halt to Celtic’s run of titles.

It is not too much of a stretch to say the Glasgow Rangers are favorites for the title.