David Weir has been talking to the press. Exhaustively. And his comments should offend the fans of every club except for Sevco. And some Sevco fans as well.
It becomes clear the more you listen to people inside Ibrox now that there’s a bunker mentality setting in there.
If you’ve seen Downfall you’ll know what the extreme end of that looks like; a bunch of desperados crowded into a conference room whilst an insane leader moves resources which no longer exist around a map that he’s looking through to a fantasy world he’s invented for himself.
It’s not for nothing that so many spoof versions of that scene exist focussed on goings on in that ground.
Weir makes a number of utterly ridiculous contentions in the extended interviews, amongst them the notion that when players are criticised they feel bad for their families and not themselves. Eah? What a pitiful way to try and shield people from scrutiny; “think of their kids.”
My God, that’s desperate stuff.
Of course, The Daily Record bought it.
He bitched about the pressure he and Warburton have been put under. There’s a reason for that pressure; the league table. He’s sneering not only at the media but at the club’s own fans although he’s sure to praise them too. He’s asking for understanding, and rolling back expectations at the same time. Second is suddenly enough. Suddenly it’s an achievement. And it would be. It would also keep him and the manager in their jobs another year.
Their form has been dire. They are lucky Aberdeen and Hearts have been so poor of late. They are fortunate that the clubs around them are even less consistent than they are. That sense of entitlement is still evident in every word though; this is a team that expects to win games, that expects to be near the top and perhaps that’s what sets them apart from their rivals. It sure as Hell isn’t the standard of the playing squad.
Weir’s anger is designed as a deflection tactic, something to keep people from scrutinising the “progress” on its own merits. The arrogance is, as per usual, deeply insulting but reflective of the mind-set inside the club. It’s that other thing, the delusion, which bears a little scrutiny.
According to Weir, he and Warburton have “increased the value of the squad.”
There is precious little to stand that claim up, but it has a clear purpose to it and that’s January. This is a club that wants to bring in more players, but to do that they need to get rid of some who are on the books right now. This is why the media has been urged to extol the virtues of Waghorn this week.
Did you see The Daily Record “special” on “five of the best headed goals in the history of football?” An article sparked by the one he scored against Hamilton the other night? You don’t need to be able to read that between the lines, it was as subtle as a nuclear detonation and not even slipping Henrik Larsson’s name into the piece could lessen the OMFG face-palming reaction to reading such utter, utter drivel.
Waghorn’s goals were his first and second of the season in the league … this guy is a lower-league footballer and nothing more. This effort to turn him into something more, by giving him a good write up and boosting his value, will be about as effective as Dave King’s attempts to sell the club as a good investment.
Clubs won’t just part with the cash on the back of a few hysterical editorials; they’ll send scouts and when they finish laughing they’ll put Waghorn where he was before Sevco came along; in the box marked Only In An Emergency.
The same applies to Tavernier, who The Scotsman was beaming about the other night as if he’s turned in startling performances week after week against top tier clubs instead of having a couple of sub-par performances against the likes of Hamilton.
Most hilarious was his effort to boost the value of Rob Kiernan, who he described as a player who could “play in the Premiership or the Champion League.” Yes, you read that correctly. And what’s he basing this on? That the player is two footed and big.
They think they can talk enough and convince people of this. Earlier this month, if you recall, the star player was Joseph Dodoo. Now it’s Waghorn. The big money defender was going to be Danny Wilson. Now it’s Kiernan. Earlier in the week there was talk that there might even be resale value in Clint Hill … yes, Clint Hill, the over 35 defender. In the meantime no-one asks where Senderos is, or why they’re spending money on him.
Weir has also acknowledged “the gap.” That’s not exactly worthy of congratulations since one look at the league table reveals it …
Weir’s interview was designed to re-write a little history, take a slap at the critics and to talk up the footballers they intend to try to move on in January. Everyone knows when Warburton says he doesn’t want to sell Waghorn he’s trying to generate interest, because selling him is exactly what he wants to do. They would take any offer – literally any offer – that came in for Kiernan or Hill. But if they can lift those offer a couple of hundred grand … well it’s job well done.
The pressure is off over there. They are still jumpy and paranoid, although the challenges from Hearts and Aberdeen have collapsed. It’s the challenges from within that are eventually going to stick their heads on the chopping block and they know it, and that’s what’s keeping them awake at night. Because Dave King will not accept any responsibility for his own mistakes, and he has bet everything on them being able to reach Europe or sell players on for big money … and if they can’t, the hammer will surely fall.
These two are living on borrowed time.