Can Aberdeen split Celtic and Rangers? Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton have their say
The transfer window is shut and managers now have to make do with the squads at their disposal until January.
Celtic shattered their transfer record TWICE over the summer by splashing out £9.5million on Adam Idah and then a whopping £11m to lure Belgium wonderkid Arne Engels from the Bundesliga. Brendan Rodgers' league leaders are the team to beat and it's no surprise that some bookies have already paid out on the reigning champions clinching yet another title this season.
Rangers, on the other hand, are in a bit of a mess on and off the park as they go through yet another period of transition. Philippe Clement was tasked with this year's transfer rebuild but restricted finances limited his power in the market as several key transfer targets slipped through the Ibrox club's fingers.
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Already, Gers trail their Old Firm rivals and a joint-top Aberdeen by FIVE points after two wins, a defeat and draw from their opening four league games. A disappointing Champions League qualifying exit to Dinamo Kyiv has only widened the gulf in finances between them and Celtic and fed-up fans are now questioning when the Hoops' dominance will ever end.
Sky Sports pundits Kris Boyd and Chris Sutton have predicted how the league table will look come May but when asked if Jimmy Thelin's men can split Glasgow's big two, both were sceptical.
Tipping the Dons for third place, Boyd exaplined: "I'm purely saying this based on the start the other teams have made as I'm not getting carried away with Aberdeen. They've had a good start but they are yet to face any really tough opponents.
"They have a run of fixtures that will be difficult for them. Having lost someone like Bojan Miovski, I can't see them keeping this form for long. They do have a points gap on the rest but they will be dragged back into it. I am still to be convinced by them."
Sutton also backed the Pittodrie side to finish best of the rest, adding: "Jimmy Thelin has brought in one or two players he knows well which will really help. They've been a topsy-turvy team in the last few seasons where they've had patches where they're done really well, then the wheels came off. They seem to have taken their time in appointing Jimmy Thelin and he's a builder of clubs.
"He built Elfsborg and it took him three years to get them to a really decent level and he'll be hoping to do the same with Aberdeen who are a big club, but they're striving for consistency. I think splitting the Old Firm isn't going to happen, it's a great start for him but let's not get too carried away just yet."
It pains Boyd to admit it but the Rangers legend can't see anything else than Celtic being crowned champions for a 55th time this year. He said: "Even I've been impressed by the way Celtic have started the season and that takes a lot for me to say that! I just get the feeling they're going to have too much. The business they've done, they're strong enough and they will win the league by a good few points."
Sutton thinks the four-in-a-row chasers will only get better as the campaign wears on, saying: "They've started the domestic season really strongly and fast. Brendan is back in his second season and I think it has been a smooth pre-season for Celtic. They'll have to cope with the demands of Champions League football as well, hence why it was important to bring new players in. Brendan's strongest suit is coaching and developing players so I think they'll be happy with the work they've done in the window and they're still the team to beat."
As for Rangers? Boyd said: "I knew it was going to be a tough season, I didn't think it would be as tough as this. I still think they'll have more than the rest but I don't think it's going to be as easy as it's been over the last few years to get that second place. Once the season settles down a bit and players get up to match speed, they'll be ok. Once injuries start to hit the smaller teams that's when you see the bigger ones pull away. Rangers will have more than enough to finish second but I don't think they have enough to challenge Celtic."
Sutton believes Clement will be judged this season after two transfer windows in charge, adding: "Philippe Clement says Rangers will get better but they are still a work in progress. There's been such an overhaul and a messy summer and they're going to take time to gel. Whether Clement gets the time remains to be seen. He'll want his team to be hanging on in there and just staying on Celtic's coattails but then, as the season progresses, look to really hit a rhythm and find his way past them. It is fairer to judge Clement this season rather than last season when he inherited a real mess. This season it's his team and there will be no excuses."