Celtic’s Quality Is Such That Not A Single Ibrox Player Would Make It Into A Glasgow XI.

Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Motherwell - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - May 14, 2022 Celtic's Joe Hart celebrate winning the Scottish Premiership with the trophy Action Images via Reuters/Molly Darlington

In light of where we were last season, I would have argued that any Glasgow XI would be overwhelmingly dominated by Celtic. That was readily apparent to almost every person who looked at the issue with a critical, serious eye.

Right now, there is not the slightest doubt that this is the case. Not only would we dominate it, but we would fill each and every position in it. A Glasgow XI would be a Celtic XI and we would fill most of the seats on the substitutes bench as well.

Hart is without question a better keeper than either of the Ibrox options. They know it and we know it. They could mount an argument for McGregor but it would be a stupid one and will almost certainly be cruelly exposed as such.

Furthermore, when Charlie Nicholas said that our second choice keeper, big Siegrist, would walk into their team he knew what he was talking about. Hart would be the number one and big Benji would be the backup. Their two wouldn’t have a look in.

Central defence is equally slanted in our favour. I wrote yesterday about Jenz and Carter Vickers being an outstanding partnership. They don’t have a player close to either of them, and I would suggest that it would be Starfelt, and not an Ibrox central defender, who would be the best choice as a defensive back-up. The poverty their club has in that area is astonishing.

For a long time their fans would have argued for both Tavernier on the right and Barisic on the left. I think both of our right backs are better than Tavernier, and there is not even the least doubt that Juranovic is. The only people who would argue otherwise are the Ibrox hold-outs who cling to the belief that their captain should be playing for England.

The real upending of their hopes for even a single place in the team is at left back though, where they were already in trouble the minute we signed Bernabei. He hasn’t shown us enough yet for us to definitely say he’s better than Barisic … but Greg Taylor now is, beyond a shadow of doubt. He’s back in the Scotland team, he’s turning it on for us domestically and in Europe and generally just looks like a player totally transformed.

Midfield is not even close. The best three midfielders in the country are McGregor, Hatate and O’Riley. This is before we even consider the resurrection of Mooy and the potential of the brilliant David Turnbull.

Their best midfield, arguably, is Lundstram at the moment; he wouldn’t make our subs bench if McGregor was fit. Anyone who shoehorns him into the team would have to justify dropping one of our big three … it would be ridiculous.

There’s no real debate to be had about the wide positions is there? Who is there to challenge Abada? Matondo? Ha! Everything we wrote about him when he signed for them has come true in triplicate. His last club bought him for a fortune and sold him to Ibrox for a pittance. They were willing to take that multi-million pound hit just to get him off the wage bill.

Abada is the best attacking midfield player in Scotland and only one player could challenge that; the boy on the left, Jota, who is worth ten Ryan Kent’s. Their poverty of talent out wide means that Haksabanovic and Maeda would certainly be amongst the subs.

Their fans could attempt to mount a case for Colak as the best striker but it’s laughable when you consider Giakoumakis’ form right now, and the talent which we know full well is just waiting to be unleashed by Kyogo.

The truly terrifying thing for the Ibrox club is that is in a Glasgow XI only one of them would be on the park … the other would be keeping Morelos in the stand. Colak would probably make the bench, but Freddy The Ned wouldn’t get near it.

It is such a laugh these days to hear Ibrox’s defenders make the case that some of their players are better than our footballers. When the Glasgow XI is comprised solely of our footballers they don’t even have the best in any single position let alone the best overall.

And I know some of them will wail, bitch and moan and dispute this … let them try. I look forward to them trying to make their case. They can’t. It would be too ridiculous even for them.

Exit mobile version