![The midweek flashpoint at Easter Road involving Alfredo Morelos and Ryan Porteous](https://wpcluster.dctdigital.com/sundaypost/wp-content/uploads/sites/13/2021/01/20052379_37748945-540x372.jpg)
Alfredo Morelos was in the headlines for all the right reasons three weeks ago after his double at Pittodrie saw Rangers take three points back down the road.
It’s a pity that the chat in recent days has not been about the fine performance he had at Easter Road – and the quality of his winning goal – but about the Colombian once again causing controversy.
He has been issued with a notice of complaint by the Scottish FA after an alleged ‘stamp’ on Hibs defender Ryan Porteous.
Morelos is the only person who will know 100% what his intention was at that particular second in the game.
But having watched the incident, my opinion is that as his leg came down, Morelos didn’t try to miss Porteous.
I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t face another suspension for it, and that is likely to amount to three games at a crucial time of the season for his club.
It comes just a few weeks after there was retrospective action against him for catching Mark Connolly with his forearm in a game against Dundee United at Tannadice.
Steven Gerrard has backed Morelos many times over the past three seasons.
But it must be frustrating for him when the player ends up suspended for incidents which are avoidable.
Morelos has ability, and is a top player. Defenders up and down the country are scared of what he could do to them on the field because of the talent he possesses.
But because he has this fuse – that is live all of the time – he also scares his team-mates and manager because they never know what’s going to come next in terms of negative flashpoints.
Morelos, and every other player, should know by now that there are cameras in every area of the stadiums, and that they are going to get away with nothing.
Steven will look at this incident, and decide what needs to be done.
He has called it right with Morelos more often than not, but I’m sure he’d rather not have to deal with negative questions about Morelos.
He’d prefer to talk about the striker’s ability, just the way he does when talking about the qualities of Ryan Jack, Filip Helander or whoever.
By only calling up Morelos, and not Darren McGregor for his clash with Glen Kamara, the SFA are leaving themselves wide open to accusations of having one rule for one player and a different one for another.
But Rangers are still motoring towards the title and that should be dominating all the talk, not the potential for another retrospective ban on Morelos.
There was never a shadow of a doubt that Steven was going to deliver success to Rangers, and he is now very close to getting that all-important first trophy over the line.
He has improved his team year on year, and the strides they were making under him – domestically and in Europe – were obvious.
The Ibrox board were quite right to give Steven a third season, and they are about to be rewarded for the belief they had in him.
That’s why I don’t see that there should be comparisons made by Steven’s situation, and what happened to Frank Lampard at Chelsea a few days ago.
I was surprised and shocked he was sacked by the Stamford Bridge hierarchy.
I’m not sure how quickly they expected him to deliver success, but the trigger was pulled after not a long period of time.
The club spent significant amounts of money during the summer transfer window, and the likes of Timo Werner and Kai Havertz didn’t deliver as quickly as everyone would have liked.
There was also an ongoing concern over the goalkeeping situation with Kepa Arrizabalaga, so they moved to sign Edouard Mendy for Rennes.
Rangers showed patience. Chelsea wanted instant success, and that was why Frank was relieved of his duties.
I wish him well, and I know he will have plenty of offers to consider because he is, quite rightly, highly-regarded.
Shuggie was a big character, Jo Venglos an absolute gent
I’m saddened to be paying tribute to yet another former team-mate who has passed away.
It feels like I’ve been doing that non-stop over the past 12 months.
Big Shuggie Edvaldsson passed away last week, and he was a good friend and a talented footballer.
When Jock Stein signed him for Celtic in 1975, he moved into a flat around the corner from us on the south side of Glasgow.
Marina and I were not long married and Kelly was a baby.
He was on his own, so I told him to come and have his dinner at our place, rather than be alone.
Shuggie was a character and good company. He would say to Marina that he just wanted to find a beautiful girl, with big blue eyes, to settle down with!
He also wanted to win a league title and a few cups, and he helped the club do that.
He could play anywhere across the middle of the park, or at centre-half, and chipped in with a few important goals.
Dr Jozef Venglos is also no longer with us, and his passing was equally sad.
He managed Aston Villa when I was manager of Liverpool the first time around.
He then came to Celtic in 1998. John Barnes and I moved to Parkhead the following summer after Dr Jo and the club parted company.
Eric Black was assistant-manager to Dr Jo, and was also John’s assistant.
He introduced Dr Jo to me a few months after I returned to Celtic in 1999, and we had a good chat.
He was a gentleman and an authority on the game. Well educated, he was also highly regarded at UEFA and FIFA.
As ever, the thoughts of everyone in the Dalglish household are with the families and loved ones of the Edvaldsson and Venglos families.
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