On Thursday night, and then again on Sunday, I’ll be cheering Motherwell on to a win over Sevco.
The reasons are many, and I usually don’t feel I need to go over them except that the Scottish media keeps on forcing me to, with their bizarre assertions.
Chief amongst those is the garbage running under Keith Jackson’s by-line today, that Hibs and Celtic could be the “main beneficiaries” of the Ibrox club getting promoted.
I have to laugh at Jackson.
He seems to think that promotion is now inevitable and that the rest of Scottish football needs cheering up about it.
This is his attempt at a silver lining.
And it’s garbage. It is unpardonable garbage.
For a start, the road is very far from clear and the end is very far from in sight for his favourite club.
Motherwell don’t simply boil down to a single footballer – Scott McDonald – although I see the Roy of the Rovers type quality in a story where he strikes to sink them.
The fact is, Sevco have struggled in the last four matches.
They won two of them but were unable to beat Queen of the South at home and they lost to Hibs away.
If I were one of their players or one of their fans I wouldn’t be quite so ready to count my chickens and start preparing for life in the SPL.
They’re in for a tougher time than a lot of people think.
Someone said to me recently, “Aye but they beat Motherwell a couple of years back, when the Well had a better team than they do now …” and whilst I have to admit that’s true there’s one wee caveat that person forget to recall.
The manager of Motherwell at the time was Stuart McCall … and I said then, and still believe, losing a game like that to a team who should have been cannon fodder ought to have been a sacking offence.
I’ve watched all four of Sevco’s games in the playoffs so far, and they were dreadful in all but the Hibs match at home, where they showed more hunger to win.
Their performances since McCall became the manager have been nearly always shocking; what they’ve done differently than under McCoist or McDowell is that they’ve put more men behind the ball. It’s painful to watch.
Jackson’s article contradicts itself on the main point; that we should welcome the promotion (if it comes) for the “challenge.”
But he acknowledges that they are a long way from being in a position to do that.
Apart from being stupidly bad reasoning, it also reeks of contempt for every other club in the league, who, presumably, are only there to make up the numbers.
I am offended by this line of reasoning, and by another; that it would be good, commercially, for Celtic if there was a Sevco entity playing in the league.
For a while now I’ve wondered if perhaps the era of the big season ticket base is over.
People pointed to empty seats at Parkhead and concluded, ludicrously, that it was because “there was no Rangers”, as if following Celtic was wholly dependent on that.
I always thought that argument was patent nonsense, and next season may very well put it to bed once and for all.
Football prices are too high these days. Fans are being ripped off left, right and centre. The type of people who bought season tickets year in year out can no longer afford it. The recession put paid to the days of 60,000 sellouts every other week.
Add to that the fact that Celtic have already modestly increased the price of a season ticket and will be hoping there’s no drop off in the number of renewals as a consequence.
Which brings me to another point; the deadline for renewals is already past.
The club knows roughly how many there’ll be anyway and those fans who’ve already bought them … most of them did so presuming Sevco wouldn’t make it back to the top flight.
Is Jackson suggesting that there will suddenly be a huge upturn in fans buying what’s left of them if Sevco makes it to the SPL?
I’m not even remotely convinced.
Then there are the number of Celtic supporters who think the club hasn’t done enough in the years of Sevco’s climb out of the basement.
A lot of them haven’t renewed anyway and if the Ibrox club does it, a lot of them will be sickened enough by the sight of a swaggering Dave King and any residual chance there was of them buying tickets will be gone.
Does Jackson really think that the sight of a financially doped NewCo playing in the SPL again, as if what happened to Rangers never did, will make more fans fork over their money to watch it?
Dave King’s “plans” for Sevco are either what he says they are or they are something different.
If they are something different, then they’ll not catch us for decades.
If they are what he claims – spending money they don’t have in an effort to swing the balance in their favour – then I can understand exactly why a lot of people will vote with their feet.
If they don’t get promoted, there’s a chance – just a chance – that even he will have to realise the futility of that financial insanity and get real.
That’ll give the SFA and the SPL time to bring in some kind of financial fair play rules which stop the madness in its tracks.
My other reason is much simpler;
Scotland can do without this over-hyped excuse for a rivalry and if it never again sees the light of day I will not miss it.
The game in Scotland doesn’t need this.
It will bring zero material benefits to Celtic because they have nearly all the season ticket money they are going to get already and those fans who do want to see “a challenge” would be better looking to the north of Scotland or Edinburgh for it, as that’s more likely than it coming from Glasgow unless Thistle really put a run together.
Come Thursday, I’ll be cheering on the Steelmen.
Because I don’t want Sevco in the SPL.
They will bring nothing to the party but hype and hate and the kind of stupid fiscal policies Scottish football ought to have left behind.
And if a guy called McDonald happens to score the goal that keeps them just where they are … well I’ll live with that too.
Well said James. Humanity never mind Scottish football could well do without the bile,barbarism and bigotry of the sevcovian hordes !
great piece James as per -no one I know wants or needs them or their bigoted fans who think they are still following the Oldco
GLASGOW RANGERS 1872 F.I.F.A
History shame on you TUT TUT
You are a bigot
barra, whoever you are, and anyone else who wants to call me a bigot …
WATCH YOUR STEP. That kind of talk is legally actionable and I have your email addresses.
BE WARNED … I am not pissing about. No-one is calling me that with impunity. You better be able to back it up.
What a sad pathetic figure Keech Jackson is standing there on the empty tabloid terracing waving his sad pathetic Sevco flag hoping above hope that others will stand behind him. The anachronistic stadium behind him is crumbling around his clogged ears and the football on the park is woeful.
Overpaid and overrated players scurry around pretending they are big shots while huffing and puffing to scrape a draw from teams of part-timers and other no-hopers. Meanwhile referees follow lodge instructions to the letter to allow enough time for the pretendy rangers to scrape a draw.
And this is what is going to save Scottish football!!!
aye right.
Good article…
I “interviewed ” 9 of my Celtic supporting mates on this subject….and NOT ONE…wants them back.
Leave the football side of it aside for a minute…and think on this…if they do get up.
Back will come the public bigotry…which has been at a much lower key in my vicinity up until recently…and the hatred that accompanies it.
The Ludge will attract new members…
Domestic violence will increase…
And the Accident and Emergency units will shudder at the prospect.
Nah…They’re a stain on Society and the further they’re away from us the better.
The flip side is ‘though…
IF they do get up…they will get horsed on a regular basis…and that would ease the pain an awful lot.
Hail hail
wonder how many honest?? Mistakes will be made over 2 legs
Of the dozens/hundreds of fans that I know I only know one who wants them back in SPFL. We don’t need them or their fans.
It was always a source of strange amusement that while McCall was at Motherwell, he could never bring himself, or his team, to play well against either the old OR the new Rangers.
But like you say, he’s not at Motherwell anymore.
Still, I can’t help thinking that the script has already been written and the games will be a mere formality, with the two teams going through the motions know the scores have already been ordained. Cynical? Me? Well let’s just see who ends up in the SPL next season.
From what I saw of the last 4 games, no-one seemed to be trying against them!
Put your money on Rankers, the referees will make sure they are promoted [ with the usual handshakes of course]
I think you’re kidding yourself on if you don’t think we would benefit financially by rangers being in the league, everything from tickets to TV interest to hospitality to sponsorship would increase, some immediately some as deals come to a end . The ordinary fan does what he does, business will buy more season tickets , more hospitality packages etc etc that’s where the substantial extra money would come in.
Have they got the bottle.??????????????????? Get intake them.if you’ve got it.
hey celtic fans,anyone checked out what fifa,yes fifa,has been saying about the rangers-that they are the same club.
judgement day is coming.
Bigots
Bigots
Totally agree
having watched their last four games i agree the only decent looking performance was the 2-0 over hibs, but i believe that was more hibs playing badly than them playing well. If you look at the games against QoS their equaliser in the first game was never a free kick, and the equaliser in the second game was off side. In the second hibs game hibs had a chance from a throw in at the end and the ref couldn’t blow full time quick enough. If that is the standard we are going to be facing with them in the league being handed victories by honest mistakes, then what is the point in even competing.
I have seen comments in the media attributed to former/present Celtic people ,who have said that they would like to see the Ibrox mob back in the SPL
Naturally real Celtic people who make a living in football are careful about what they say publicly.
I hope Motherwell beat them and they stay down for at least another year .
I believe that would be in the best interests of Scottish Football and have the faint hope that the GASL in not just that and changes the attitude and approach at Ibrox.
However even his stooge has stated it could take till 2022 before they are really competitive again and that is not just Murray talking.
The Scottish Establishment and Media are just sickening in their eagerness for a return to Ibrox supremacy.
Forget how the Oldco stayed at the top by cheating everybody in Scottish/ British Society including their Queen by fraud, deception and cover up.
The governing body, the SFA were and are also complicit in the struggle to ensure a revival of the disgraced Club just as soon as possible.
Thank you for a wonderful article. We do not want Sevco back. They should be playing non-league with Gretna. Their whole ideals and fans live in the dark ages. We do not need their bigotry. Even here in OZ – we still get it. In Perth the other day, my son proudly wore his Celtic shirt to the pub to celebrate our 4 in a row…only to be sworn at by a wee blue nose..who still lives in the dark ages with William of Orange but probaly never attends a church service! My son did not retaliate but simply said 4 in a row and left it like that…
The Huns are Vermin..’mon the Well
Wonderboy,
Have you brushed your nicotine stained tooth this morning?
Fart.
Sumbag lowlife
Wonder boy,boy wonder,plonker like a lot of your like,why comment here,go back to where you belong with the John Browns and Dregs of your support…………..H H
Well said I don’t want them back either. I would like to know why people are saying we are losing 10 million a year with them not being in the league. They only play at Celtic Park twice a season 7500 tickets x 2 at £42, you don’t need to be a mathematician to work out that it’s nowhere near Ten million. I also don’t understand why they aren’t being prosecuted for non payment of income tax and vat as they are adamant they’re the same club and working class people get chased up for non payment to HMRC. Hail Hail on our way to TEN TEN TEN
Fuck up ya sad bigot only you scum and the also fans in SPL deny rangers are the same club. And whilst the football is shire they will improve your fear of Scotland’s most successful club is evident. Grow up wee man and deal with it ya silly little orc