Billy Stark took just five minutes to make a mark on his Old Firm debut 35 years ago this week. The winner in the first Celtic v Rangers clash of the season set the Hoops up for their Centenary title shindig. And it cemented the big midfielder’s place in the hearts of the Hoops support.
Stark knows a thing or two about sharing goals around a squad, having contributed 13 from midfield that season as Billy McNeill’s side romped to the title by 10 points. But even he’s been blown away by the goalscoring prowess of Ange Postecoglou’s side who have netted 20 times in their last four outings – with 10 different names on the scoresheet.
Kyogo Furuhashi, Giorgos Giakoumakis and Daizen Maeda have done the damage up top while Liel Abada, Jota and James Forrest have chipped in from wide areas. If you throw in strikes from skipper Callum McGregor, central defenders Carl Starfelt and Moritz Jenz and full-back Josip Juranovic, the only part of the team yet to produce in the opposition box is the goalkeepers.
Which is timely given that the first Old Firm derby of the season drops tomorrow. Stark looks at a Celtic side bulging with goal threat. Even after making nine changes to the team that smashed nine past Dundee United, they still bagged four against Ross County on Wednesday in the cup.
On the opposite side he sees a Rangers squad that’s short of options in attack other than Antonio Colak. That’s why, while he would never douse either side’s chances in this fixture, the 65-year-old reckons Celtic are strong favourites to lay down a marker tomorrow. Stark said: “It’s quite amazing how many goals Celtic have scored in recent weeks.
“Even against Ross County they changed almost an entire team and roll them over, scoring four. The Dundee United game, that could have been anyone on the receiving end of that. I’m not saying they’d have scored nine but they’d have got a healthy return of goals because of the way they played.
“They’re just so difficult to stop right now. You’d certainly make them favourites this weekend. Anyone analysing it would be asking how Rangers cope defensively with the high intensity of Celtic’s game and it being at Parkhead.
“Celtic have always looked for a fast start on their own ground and it’s not as if Rangers can highlight one player that is the goal threat. It’s coming from all over the pitch!
“Rangers on the other hand are short striker-wise other than Antonio Colak. Scott Arfield and Tom Lawrence have chipped in with a few from midfield and there’s always the threat from James Tavernier.
“But with Kemar Roofe out injured and the Alfredo Morelos situation it meant they had to play big Robbie Ure in midweek. Predicting Celtic’s starting line-up might be a bit more difficult than Rangers’ at the weekend. You’d think it wouldn’t be too far away from the XI that blew away Dundee United.
“But maybe a few have given Ange Postecoglou something to think about after the Ross County job. The job Ange has done is quite amazing. Recruitment has been spot on and that’s probably the most important thing these days for top clubs.
“To a man they’ve hit the ground running and that’s allowed them to put in place the type of football he wants to play – high-energy, not giving teams a minute and then showing their quality on the ball. They’re a joy to watch right now but in saying that anything can happen in this fixture and Rangers have certainly been no slouches this season in big games in Europe.”
Earlier this week Stark was sent a video clip of his left-foot strike that downed a Rangers side who had been crowned champions under Graeme Souness three months earlier. McNeill had just returned to Celtic Park as manager and Stark was one of his first signings, arriving from Aberdeen.
The goal, and subsequent victory, teed the Hoops up for a run that saw them unbeaten against their rivals on the way to a league and Scottish Cup Double. And Stark said: “The goal was a big moment for me because I had just signed in the summer and the Souness revolution was well under way at Rangers.
“They’d just won the title and they kept adding top England internationals to their ranks. The challenge was there for big Billy who had just come back to Celtic Park and had lost key players like Mo Johnston, Murdo MacLeod, Brian McClair and Alan McInally.
“The first Old Firm was a huge game for us to lay down a marker. It worked out well. To score after five minutes, even I couldn’t have imagined that, and we should have won more comfortably. It was a big goal in my career. Certainly the most important with my left foot!
“Someone sent me a clip of it the other day. Tam Burns won the ball off Jimmy Nicholl, Mark McGhee put a good ball over, Peter Grant made a great decision to dummy it and I just came in behind and swept it away.
“It helped me cement my status as a Celtic player with the supporters. And that win was key that season. We went on a run that I think saw us lose just two games between then and the end of the season.
“That included three wins and a draw against Rangers. There’s no doubt laying down a marker in the first Old Firm is important. But it doesn’t guarantee anything.”
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