Gerard and Ibrox are on an inevitable collision course, with the former Rangers boss believing he’s the only one who can halt Celtic

Following the weekend’s games, Scottish football has taken on a new perspective.

Aberdeen can no longer be regarded as pretenders, a passing fad, or a team that would be discovered sooner rather than later.

They came to Celtic Park and put up a fierce battle.

Aberdeen stood up for business, unlike the third-place club, which did not show up at all last September.

Jimmy Thelin shown tactical acumen over the weekend.

I was at the game on Saturday and told a friend at halftime that I expected Aberdeen to put up more of a fight based on their previous results.

My friend told me that Aberdeen looked like an average Scottish Premiership side in the first half.

My thought was that the second half would reveal Thelin’s tactical abilities.

So we did.

They were well-organised and picked us off at the counter to achieve both of their goals.

Despite having their third goal disallowed, they adopted a siege mindset.

They were going to keep what they had at Celtic Park, and they took what I thought was a fair point.

Many of the decisions in the game were thoroughly analyzed over the weekend, so I won’t go over them again.

What I will say is that based on current form, I would be surprised if the Ibrox side beat Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Wednesday week.

They couldn’t defeat Kilmarnock yesterday, who were ninth in the standings.

So, what hope do they have against a team that is undefeated this season?

Sitting on top of the joint with us?

Last season, Aberdeen ended Michael Beale’s time at Ibrox with a 3-1 home win.

Wouldn’t it be hilarious if Philippe Clement suffered the same fate after losing to Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Wednesday week?

I know everyone says his position at Ibrox is secure.

That they can’t keep firing managers a year into their tenure.

I mean, there isn’t a board to fire Clement right now, is there?

However, the natives are becoming increasingly restless.

And when the natives at Ibrox get restless, we all know what the end result usually is, don’t we?

Do you think it’s coincidental that we’re seeing a lot of Steven Gerard in the Scottish media right now?

Will his present troubles in Saudi Arabia pave the way for a return to Ibrox?

Where once he and the Govan club seemed to be a perfect fit?

The Record is releasing an article today about his troubles at his present club, Al-Ittifaq.

Apparently, he is dissatisfied with the refereeing standards there.

And it was the referee’s fault because his team lost 3-2 to Al-Orobah.

Of course, Gerard has a history of criticizing referees when things do not go his way.

Remember his rant about referees after an opening day draw to, you guessed it, Aberdeen, in his first season at Ibrox?

I’m going to play Devil’s advocate here and suggest that the following is going to happen over the next ten days or so:

1. Gerard will lose again in Saudi Arabia, thus ramping up the pressure on him.
2. Clement will lose against Aberdeen at Pittodrie on Wednesday week, thus ramping up the pressure on him.
3. Both will lose their jobs as a result.
4. Gerrard, with his nice big pay off, will leave Saudi Arabia, and when he gets back to good ‘ol Blighty, there will be a vacancy at his old club in Govan.

What do we think is going to happen then?

We all know their hero and messiah will be warmly welcomed back to Ibrox.

And you know what? I would embrace it.

Because everyone there seems to believe that he is the only one capable of stopping Celtic.

Just because of one championship win in a season when no supporters were permitted to attend games.

But hey, he did stop us from doing ten in a row, right?

This earned him martyrdom among the Ibrox faithful.

They’re gushing about it on Follow Follow right now.

That, and the fact that they require Real Raynjurz players at the club.

When Clement leaves, which appears to be the case, Alex Rae and Bazza Ferguson will take over as their true Raynjurz men.

Then all they have to do is await the messiah’s return from Saudi Arabia.

Then he returned to his spiritual home.

The world will once again be nice and good.

Unless they have to play football.

Isn’t it always the pesky football that destroys everything?

And Celtic, of course!