Madjid Bougherra return bigger than Robbie Keane signing

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FORWARD THINKING BOUGHERRA COULD BE THE KEY TO RANGERS TITLE BID

By Gary McDaniel

Rangers quest for the treble continues after a lackluster performance in Paisley against St Mirren.  Both teams will look to break their deadlock when they meet at Ibrox next midweek. The Buddies will probably regret not taking their chance on Saturday against a poor Rangers side who looked to be ailing up front with the combination of Steven Naismith and Kyle Lafferty.

On a positive note for the Light Blues there was the timely return of Madjid Bougherra to the team.  Timely in the sense that he managed to find his way back to Glasgow without any delay.  The Algerian has had more travel hic-ups, in a short space of time, than Michael Palin has encountered in his many series’ trekking the globe.

It is not to say that Bougherra has been missed due to his defensive exploits, as Danny Wilson has been an able deputy in that department, but for the defender’s willingness to get forward and create.

Back in the autumn, when the Algerian went AWOL and had injury problems, Rangers resembled an old rusty Austin Allegro making hard work of a slight gradient in the road.  Bougherra was then forgiven for his actions, as they really had no other choice, and he returned to the backline for a tricky set of fixtures throughout December.

The festive month seen Rangers, not only cement their place at the summit of the SPL, but also give their goal difference column a significant boost.  They put title pretenders Dundee United, twice, and Hibs to the sword in ruthless fashion.  Many pundits put this down to the form of Kenny Miller, who I admit had a purple patch, but for me Bougherra was the key.  The ex-Charlton defender gave the Ibrox side the forward momentum that they lacked in previous months to not just win but to win with a touch of class.

The Algerian can be the catalyst of productivity that you would usually expect from an industrious midfielder.  On the rare occasions in which Rangers have lit the touch paper this season Bougherra has provided the spark to ignite that display.  Their second half performance in Stuttgart is a fine example, the only bright spot in a dismal European campaign.  Without the 27 year-old Rangers seem reluctant to remove their security blanket.

Rangers manager, Walter Smith, now needs to make the decision as to which pairing he goes with from the three centre half’s available.  His likely route is to go with the experience of David Weir and Bougherra, due to the fact they have now developed an understanding. One option could be to move the Algerian into midfield alongside Lee McCulloch, especially for the old firm clash at the end of the month. With Celtic’s midfield being accused of being lightweight it could be a move that kills of any dwindling title hopes the hoops may still have.

Robbie Keane’s arrival has brought back the memories of when the old firm used to sign big names on a regular basis.

The Irishman’s arrival has been regarded as a gamble by the Parkhead club but it is without doubt a gamble that was required.  It may not pay off but it was a rare move by a board which has previously seemed reluctant to take such chances.  The question is, was it too late? Probably.

Celtic desperately require Rangers to suffer from a brutal bout of bad form, which is always possible with the Ibrox side’s thin squad.  The Bhoys can have a say in eating into 6 of those 10 points (11 if you count goal difference) but can Celtic quickly put a stop to the displays which have stemmed results such as draws against Falkirk and defeats at home to Hibs recently?

Keane’s loan spell at Celtic seems to have been instigated from those in the board room rather than from the dugout.  Tony Mowbray was absent when Keane was unveiled to the thousands of expectant hoops fans gathered outside Celtic Park.  It is not to say that Mowbray would be unhappy at not having a striker of the quality of the Spurs man in his squad. The Englishman may feel, though, that the control of his squad was taken out of his hands. 

The Celtic manager has been keen to inform both the media and Celtic faithful that his plans are more long term, meaning that sacrifices may have to be made.  The problem is that the likes of Peter Lawell and Dermot Desmond have looked around Celtic Park this season and seen dwindling attendances and a distinct malaise descend over Parkhead.  Their answer was to bring about the arrival of Keane and give the Celtic fans a moral boost, which it has. 

The issue though is when they currently have a manager who has openly admitted to not enjoying the job he is currently in. Will this lead to him doubting as to whether the Parkhead job is the one where he will be allowed the time to build the team of his desires?

The Euro 2012 draw was going great, in my view, until Spain came out of Pot 1. 

After the initial fear of the thoughts of what the likes of Xavi, Iniesta and Torres might have in store for us I went online to watch one of the finest goals scored by a Scotsman at Hampden. 

It was 1984 and Spain came to Glasgow in a mouthwatering World Cup qualifier, I remember it vividly as a child.  We knew it would be a tough task as the Spaniards had reached the European Championship final only a few months previously, losing 2-nil to France.

Maurice Johnston scored two first half goals to leave the Tartan Army in dreamland at half time.  Typically Spain fought back and scored through the fantastically named Giocoechea.  Then with the game entering its final quarter and Spain pilling on the pressure, Kenny Dalglish produced a piece of brilliance by evading a couple of Spanish defenders before curling an effort past the keeper. 

It proved that there are days that we can beat the best in which the world has to offer. Problem has been though our history is littered with disasters such as Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Iran and Costa Rica. 

I’m confident, though, that we can definitely finish second in the group and get a play-off, when this time we will be triumphant. So altogether now - We’ll be coming, we’ll be coming, we’ll be coming down the road…………….