Celtic and Rangers- the two clubs hate each other to the core and probably share one of the most bitter cross-town rivalries in the world. Even though Scottish football is not at the same level with top five leagues of Europe, but the ‘Old Firm Derby’, the blockbuster of Scottish football is an occasion the whole world waits for. The classic Derby was missed for the last few years due to Rangers’ four-year absence in the Premiership but with the Gers making their way back to the top tier, Scottish football’s stocks will definitely go a lot higher.
Over the course of history, Celtic and Rangers’ rivalry has become bigger and bigger and the Old Firm Derby on the 10th of September will be highly anticipated. Ahead of the Derby, let us take a look at which Glasgow side had the better transfer window. Both clubs had different purposes to fulfil and both somewhat did that. Let us take a look and both club’s transfers.
Rangers
The Gers’ priority was to make a squad capable of competing in the Premiership. It is not an easy task to drastically translate a team from the Championship level to the Premiership level. The job becomes somewhat easier when you have a wealth of funds available at your disposal but Warburton had to keep the side’s tight financial situation in mind. Without stretching the club’s finances, Warburton acquired a nice blend of experience and quality in the team. The likes of Barton, Hill, Senderos, Gilks, Kranjcar offer a great deal of experience as well as quality. Rangers also secured signatures of promising talents like Rossiter, Crooks, Dodoo, Windass. As many as nine free transfers were made while only Garner and Hodson commanded fees.
Verdict
Rangers did not have a Premiership squad and Warburton had to improve them as a unit with strict finances. He did his job perfectly. Rangers are blessed with a deep enough squad now and have players like Barton and Kranjcar holding the experience to lead them the right way.
Celtic
Rodgers job was much easier than Warburton to be fair. The Northern Irishman undertook a squad that were already the champions of Scottland for five straight years. Rodgers did not just sign players for the sake of signings but he signed players with an enormous quality. He has brought in an experienced Premier League campaigner like Kolo Toure, a right-back with 50 international caps in Gamboa while one of the biggest prospects in world football Moussa Dembele was also snapped up for free. Reunion with Scott Sinclair is also proving to be fruitful. A sweeper keeper in Dorus de Vries was also snapped up by Rodgers who looks to be a decent competitor to Craig Gordon under the bar.
Verdict
Rodgers already had a Premiership winning squad and his purpose was to add more quality to it. Rodgers did his job really well. Overall, it was an excellent transfer window for Celtic.
Who wins?
Rangers and Celtic both fulfilled their respective needs. Mark Warburton could not have done any better but Rodgers could because he did have more funds available following their Champions League qualification. Rodgers should have gone for a quality central midfielder who could add more creativity in midfield which Scott Brown and Nir Bitton lack. On the other hand, Rangers hardly have any flaws in their team. So without further ado, we declare Rangers the winners.
