The Full Scottish - January 2025
Welcome to the Full Scottish Football Report – Jan 25, a month when Rangers dominated in the latest derby, and Celtic prepared to part ways with star Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi.
Served by Brian P. Dunleavy
Rangers Dominate Celtic in Glasgow Derby:
Rangers secured a deserved 3-0 victory over Celtic, highlighting the challenge Celtic faces despite their current league lead, with the season still having significant fixtures remaining.
Brendan Rodgers’ Tactical and Moral Leadership at Celtic:
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers defends his players against criticism, emphasizing team consistency and protecting key players like Greg Taylor to maintain squad harmony and performance.
Potential Move of Celtic and Rangers Women’s Teams to England’s WSL:
Both Celtic and Rangers women’s teams are in exploratory talks to join the English Women’s Super League, seeking higher competition levels despite initial challenges and potential setbacks for Scottish women’s football.
Kyogo Furuhashi Likely Departure from Celtic:
Celtic’s star Japanese striker Kyogo Furuhashi appears set to transfer to Rennes, prompting the club to seek immediate replacements amid a busy schedule of league and European fixtures.
Season Outlook and Key Challenges for Celtic and Rangers:
The upcoming fixtures, including derby matches and European competitions, will critically influence the clubs’ seasons, especially in view of Kyogo’s possible exit and ongoing league efforts.
Celtic bruised but not broken by defeat to Rangers
Rangers were deserved 3-0 winners in the latest installment of the Glasgow derby, a victory many observers of the Scottish game saw coming after the Ibrox side played Celtic so closely in the League Cup final last month. In fact, in the days after that match, headlines blared in the Scottish press, conjecturing about ’Gers chances of catching Celtic in the Premiership title race.
Every footballer wants to win a derby match. Every supporter wants their club to win every time, too. Which makes Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers’ record in derbies—16-3-2 as of Thursday—all the more remarkable.
As for Rangers, even after this victory, the Ibrox side trailed Rodgers’ men by 11 points—and by 24 in goal differential. True, the Hogmanay clash in Govan marked only the halfway point in the 2024-25 season, meaning there are still two derby matches left—plus 17 other fixtures—for Rangers to make up the deficit. But the match also highlights the unique challenge facing Scotland’s only real legitimate contenders for the Premiership title, with all due respect to Aberdeen.
For as important as the derby matches are to supporters—and hopefully everyone associated with a club—it’s often how Celtic and Rangers perform against the other 10 Premiership clubs that determines where the league trophy heads in May.
Can Rangers turn the tide?
Consider that since their alleged “moral victory” in the League Cup final, which Celtic won on penalties, Rangers headed into the derby having won only one of three Premiership matches. ’Gers lost at St. Mirren and drew at Motherwell, clubs currently sitting fifth and sixth in the table, respectively, but double figures in points behind them. At the halfway point, they have already lost four and drawn three.
Within Glasgow’s big two, there’s an oft-heard cliché that “you need to win every week.” In this case, the cliché is true. What will be interesting is what happens next.
Very often, derby matches turn the tide in a season, reversing the fortunes of either or both clubs involved. Will Celtic, which has been on the ascendancy all season, falter now and find themselves in a crisis of confidence? Will Rangers, buoyed by Thursday’s comprehensive victory, find momentum in the league?
Only time will tell, but one thing is for certain: The most recent derby match won’t, in and of itself, determine the champion. Unless the loser lets it.
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers creates controversy
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers may be a lot of things—arrogant, perhaps even a misogynist. But he’s no fool. When he took Celtic supporters to task following the Hoops’ 3-0 win over St. Mirren for, among other things, grumbling when his side made a backwards pass and for singing Kieran Tierney’s name when current left back Greg Taylor was down on the turf injured, he knew exactly what he was doing: Protecting Taylor, who is popular among teammates and club staff, if not among supporters, and shielding his team from criticism. And there was plenty of the latter circulating following Celtic’s disappointing (to put it mildly) performance at Ibrox.
In fact, your humble reporter saw one social media post—“liked” by hundreds—calling for about one-third of the first team to be sold during the January transfer window. A first team that lost only two matches—and only one domestically—in calendar year 2024, by the way. And one that has lost only twice this season across all competitions, with one of those defeats coming at the hands of the Champions League finalists (Borussia Dortmund) from last term. Not much margin for error there.
“The consistency of the team has been incredible,” Rodgers told the press, before telling supporters to “be supportive. And then you get even more out of the team.” Of Taylor, he added, “It’s not very respectful to sing for another player, no matter what Kieran’s history is. I don’t like that.”
Tierney injury struggles
The current left back’s contract expires at the end of the season, and the Hoops’ manager has indicated he hopes to keep him around, even as reports of Tierney’s imminent return from Arsenal persist. In truth, Taylor is nowhere near the player Tierney is when the latter is at the peak of his powers, as he was for years with Celtic. However, Taylor is usually fit and available, and he always gives his all, which is, generally, pretty damn good.
Tierney, as talented as he is, has long struggled with injuries, even before fitness issues essentially derailed his career at Arsenal. Regardless of whether Tierney returns and/or Taylor stays, current and future players will appreciate the manager sticking up for his squad. And, in generating this “controversy,” Rodgers immediately turned attention away from last week’s derby defeat.
And through all this “controversy,” Celtic continued their winning ways on Wednesday, dominating Dundee United in a 2-0 victory. During the proceedings, the Green Brigade trolled Rodgers, singing the signature songs of several former Celtic stars. Kudos to them for having a sense of humo[u]r. And to Rodgers taking it in the intended spirit, too.
“It was just the kit man, he was the only one that missed out, I think,” the manager joked with the media after the game. “It’s all part of the dance here, isn’t it? Listen, my job is to put the best team on the pitch and win and win consistently, and everyone can smile.” Until the next loss (or draw) anyway.
Are Celtic and Rangers heading to England?
For decades, perhaps more, segments of the support at both Celtic and Rangers have agreed on one thing: A move to the English footballing pyramid would benefit both clubs. Unfortunately, the honchos at the English FA haven’t seen such a switch—the obvious precedent is Swansea City and Cardiff City—as being mutually beneficial.
And then, of course, is the concern over competitive fairness: If Glasgow’s big two were to take their relative riches (by Scottish standards) from the Premiership to England, they couldn’t rightly leapfrog clubs that earn promotion and start in the EPL or even the Championship.
With respect, Celtic v. Port Vale (currently in League Two) is even less enticing than, say, Celtic v. Hamilton Academical. At least the latter has tradition behind it. All of which makes the reports that the women’s teams at Celtic and Rangers have entered “exploratory talks” about joining England’s Women’s Super League (WSL) all the more intriguing.
While the clubs themselves have been tight-lipped regarding the switch, both managers have acknowledged the appeal of playing against more well-heeled opposition week in and week out.
“We can say that competing against Arsenal, Chelsea… it is a different level,” Hoops bench boss Elena Sadiku said. “Is it nice to play against those teams? Yes.” A different level indeed: On Wednesday, Sadiku’s side beat Aberdeen 8-0.
Women’s teams look south
Having said that, Celtic and Rangers have become dominant sides in the SWPL only relatively recently. In fact, Glasgow City remains a force to be reckoned with in the Scottish women’s game (they are currently league leaders).
Celtic made its women’s team “professional” in December 2018, two years before Rangers. Although WSL teams only went full-time professional prior to the 2018-19 campaign, the member clubs have devoted significantly more resources to the game than their counterparts in Scotland, because they have more, primarily, but also because the athletes have pushed them to do so.
As a result, Celtic and Rangers would both be at a competitive disadvantage should they make the move, at least initially. They’d also likely set the women’s game in Scotland back significantly: On the pitch, at least, Glasgow City, Hearts, and Hibs are all right there with Glasgow’s big two.
Of the pitch, though, Celtic and Rangers are Scotland’s biggest brands. Where they go, the eyes of the footballing world will follow. The t’s still need to be crossed, but should the WSL switch go through, it will be interesting to see what happens next. Could the women—who are already pioneers in their own right—pave the way for the men’s teams to follow?
Imminent Kyogo Furuhashi exit leaves Celtic in a flux
Say it ain’t so, Kyogo. That paraphrasing of an oft-used line in song probably encapsulates the thoughts of most Celtic supporters today, as they have learned that the club’s talisman, Japanese striker, has apparently moved on to Rennes.
The 30-year-old Furuhashi—known primarily by his first name—had informed Celtic months ago of his desire to move to a “top five” league in Europe, according to manager Brendan Rodgers. It seems safe to say now that those weird concerns over the striker’s body language a few weeks ago weren’t so strange after all.
The Hoops are now on the clock in finding a suitable (read: not long-term project) replacement, what with the Premiership and Scottish Cup still in play and the playoff round of the Champions League on the horizon as well.
Striking options
The club have no excuse. Its financials are in great shape, bolstered by the nearly ˆ40 million from advancing this far in European competition. They have also brought in a reported £8.4 million from the sale of Kyogo, a number that may be offset by the fee paid to bring winger Jota back from Rennes.
In other words, there’s no reason Rodgers’ side needs to go into the second half of the season with Irish striking duo Adam Idah and Johnny Kenny as the only options. Though, as options one and three, or two and three, they more than suffice, despite Idah’s recent barren run.
Ironically, reports indicate a loan move for another Irish striker—Evan Ferguson, currently at Brighton—may be a stop-gap measure. But will that be enough to satisfy a Celtic support sad to see a hero in Kyogo leave and worried (and always so) with so many important matches on the horizon? Only time will tell.
