This week, we had one of those bizarre moments that seems to define Scottish football at times.
The discredited former hack Hugh Keevins apparently forget, entirely, the four matches that all but destroyed Rangers as an institution and a football club.
Keevins, who spent much of his career disdaining social media before leaving The Daily Record to become a blogger for a radio station, recently appeared on Twitter, to much bafflement amongst Scottish football fans who had become accustomed to hearing him tell the world how full of idiots the internet is.
I guess he felt it needed one more.
His career as a journalist ended last year, and can probably best be summed up by two things; his Wikipedia entry, which is a mere two lines long and the fact that when asked to choose a career highlight for a book he didn’t pick a story he had broken but the time he was kicked out of the Celtic Club in London Road.
That about covers it.
Over the years he gave us many hilarious moments, like when he declared the league race to be “over” in November 2007 or when he described Kaunas as “a two bob team from a two bob country” before they knocked Rangers out of Europe in 2008 or when he predicted that Atletico Madrid would turn Celtic over in 2011 and then, when challenged on the radio, could not name a single member of their first team squad.
In the course of his tenure at The Record and The Sunday Mail, he made excuses for bigots at the same time as he was suggesting that those who were calling for sporting integrity weren’t to be listened to because that’s what motivated us. He decried the signing of Lubo, suggesting we should have gone for John Spencer instead.
This week’s example of his sheer idiocy manifests itself in his on-going campaign against Celtic manager Ronny Deila, who has a big job to do to convince this writer and others of his ability to take our club forward.
The difference is, we’re basing our scepticism on what we can see before our eyes.
Keevins, and others, were determined Ronny would fail from the start, and that bitterness didn’t manifest itself in anything but arrogance and snobbery, the kind that can dismiss an entire country like Lithuania or Ronny’s native Norway.
You don’t have to look far to find evidence that this has little to do with results on the park.
In fact, shortly after his appointment Keevins wrote a quite deranged article saying our club should have ditched the idea of Deila as our manager because of the footage of him doing press ups on the park in his boxer shorts after Strømsgodset had won the league title.
That cannot even remotely be classed as “informed opinion.”
That article was nothing but a character assassination with the ancillary benefit that it took a poke at Celtic as a club.
The campaign against Deila has been relentless.
It reached its nadir this week when he had a go on Clyde and then followed it up on Twitter, calling Deila’s European record into question.
He has a point, because that record isn’t remotely good enough.
But with Keevins you know if it wasn’t that it would be something else.
Just so he could say “told you.”
Just so he could break out into his favourite song; “Celtic in Crisis.”
Then a Tweet asked him to square his treatment of Deila with the free ride he gave McCoist for much of that media’s darling’s disastrous tenure at Rangers and then at Sevco.
Keevins’ answer had Celtic cyberspace united in stunned disbelief.
“My point about RD is his failure to improve in Europe. Nothing to do with McCoist. He wasn’t in Europe.”
McCoist wasn’t in Europe? Really?
As history shows, quite clearly, and as many of us never tire of reminding Sevco fans, their former club died as a direct consequence of Ally McCoist’s notable failures on that very stage.
Were it not for the twin calamities of Malmo and Maribor they might well not have had to enter administration in February 2012, with everything that followed it.
The truth is, Keevins and others gave their mate Ally an appallingly easy time of it, which prolonged the agony for Sevco fans long after the rest of us had graduated from giggling to gales of laughter all the Adam Sandler movies in the world wouldn’t have stopped.
There are honest-to-god journalists working in Scotland, and even in Scottish football.
You can tell who they are because they get on with their day jobs without trying to be more than they are, treating their readers, listeners and viewers with a certain amount of respect.
They are careful in their pronouncements because they know it’s their job to inform the public, and not simply to shovel them bull.
Their not interested in making their names on controversy or cozying up to players, managers, chairmen or PR firms.
My disdain for Keevins goes back a long time, and he’s never convinced me that he’s more than a tabloid hack who often indulges his personal bitterness and spite, and lets that permeate his work.
This is unforgivable in any journalist – his mate Traynor was a disgraceful example of it too – but especially in someone who holds open contempt for the views of those who bought his paper or who listen to the radio show on which he still works.
Keevins is one of the reasons so many of us view that show with derision.
It could have been a crusading platform, doing real journalism and discussing the issues.
Instead, Keevins and others have turned it into a freak show instead.
When the panel on that show decries the attitudes of their audience they might want to consider that those attitudes are a direct consequence of a media that stopped caring years ago and went for the cheap laugh and the one day story.
They stopped doing journalism.
They treated us like mugs, turning the whole thing into a circus.
In promoting the views of hacks like Keevins they made damned sure Clyde became a forum only for slagging matches and one-upsmanship.
I don’t mind that if it’s marketed as entertainment.
But they dare not call it journalism.
That they market it as such is why I listen once in a blue moon and never for very long.
Cause it ain’t that.
“It’s all about opinions,” is the constant refrain on Clyde.
Surely no statement in the English language can be more intellectually lazy – or as fundamentally dishonest – as that one is.
Primary school children have opinions too, after all.
Try debating one of them on the finer points of Keynesian economics or particle physics.
All that particular excuse does is allows ignorance to flourish and people like Keevins to keep their jobs.
Because if he was being judged on any other criteria he’d have been washing dishes for a living years ago.
Gave up years ago with this so called Reporter?Years ago I was friends with his brother,who sadly passed away over 10 year ago.His brother had no time for him after a while,to think he was brought up in a Celtic family& acts with complete disdain to Celtic.His brother used to go to Celtic games also(he had to pay to get in) anything that comes out his mouth is a load of bull,trying to wind up Celtic fans.He banned me from phoning Record or Clyde because of a piece that was printed in the Celtic View that I wrote years ago,his report after a Celtic/Ranjurs(IL)game was so one sided,he slated a Celtic player,it was his fault we got beat?after reading these lies,I watched the game again & imo the player was 1 of our better players that day at Ibrokes(I studied the recording)then I e-mailed him about his blatant lies in the match report,his reply was about opinions,my mail was based on facts of the game,I then sent a copy to the View,which they printed.Next time I phoned someone else was on at the Record & asked if I could hold on?next thing he came on the phone & starting going on about privacy law on his e-mail reply & I was banned from any show he was on(spat the dummy out me thinks as the truth hurts)Unlucky me 🙂 Anything he comes out with he is trying to cause hassle with Celtic fans,most his family dont bother with him except children & Mrs.poor women having to listen to that every night.He will be next to join Level 5,if still Sevco still around.IN RONNY WE TRUST!!!!
Excellent piece mate well written. Keevins is sycophantic arseholio who makes my blood boil. HH.
Backstabber…..
Totally agree with your statement….keevins was just a trouble stirring hack..he never showed Celtic Football Club any respect, every chance he hot, he tried to stick the knife into our Great club, the jiurnalist community would be better off without him & his bigoted views…HAIL HAIL
That’s giving dishwashers a bad name!! 🙂
Spotty MacD,was that the brother who was a Priest? He lives in the Peoples Republic of Clydebank,my home town,a disgrace.
Hugh is a thick, unprofessional, performing dog sell out, not clever enough to realise the disdain he is held in by both sides of Glasgow. How could you live with yourself, being champion uncle Tim, and yet despised by those you curriy favour with.
Every village needs an idiot. As does every Newspaper\TV sportcast\ Radio ‘discussion’ panel etc.
So there will always be work available for Keevins.
Keevins is one very arrogant person who forgets were he comes from and believes he is always right feel sorry for him because he will end up as gerry mcnee mark2 and will laughed at and ignored whatever he says or does the man is a knob
IMO he was never a football journalist, years and years of reports and never once a mention of tactics,formations…. All he ever did was mention who scored surrounded by tittle tattle,typical red top hack, more interested inthe gossip around the game than the ACTUAL game, especially if it was on the downside of the game. Compare him to the pundits on Sportsound like Stewart, Prentice, Spence and yes even Derek Ferguson who’s enthusiasm for the game is incredible, Keevins had his day years ago its time he was put out to pasture
Gave up on that so called football phone in years ago.
Celtic fans should do the easy thing and sit back,don’t phone, don’t listen, and don’t buy the rags that these clowns work or have worked for.Imagine them sitting there and not a Celtic fan has called in,it would be hilarious.
Evening lets call the two guys Hugh and Gerry here , any relevance to anyone with those names are this and do a radio show is just coincidence.
Well Celtic fans what about the game today lets here your thoughts on the zonal marking. Silence.
Hello Celtic fans lets here your thoughts on training ground bust ups. Silence. Oi Celtic fans lets be hearing you on Ronnies terrible team in Europe. Silence. Ok here’s billy from Larkhall with a point about a magic hat lol.
The show would be off the air in days.
All the truth you need bhoys and girls is found with the Internet bampots.
Hail Hail
Totally agree..should start a campaign to stay Clyde free for all celtic fans.their show would be a joke
Well even more of a joke than it is now I should have said.
i went on radio clyde a few months ago and pointed out about the big decisions that always go against celtic was told everything evens it self out when i said i am talking about semi finals finals results against dedco i was cut off
i wonder if you want to have a job in the media in scotland and you come from a celtic backgroud, you must first sell your soul to the devil and be anti celtic forever more ?……think about it!!!
what saddens me is that we have taken the bait and are starting a witch hunt against Ronny……winning in scotland is not enough……we have to beat good teams in europe…blah…blah….
this is coming from the media and we are taking it in. obviously european football is important and we want to do well, and i dont think its as bad as the media are telling us. ok we are all very disappointed that we havent qualified for the CL but we did get pass the group stage of the europa league and play very well against Inter and were unlucky not to win and this season we might still play past christmas again.
things arent perfect and there is work to be done but come on…..are things really that bad ??? and is it fair the way we are jumping on Ronnys head everytime we have a bad result ????
all we are doing is putting him under alot of pressure and that is exactly what the media want and are getting.
A very sensible point ewanbhoy and very well made.
However, I still want rid of John Collins.
He is like a broken pencil.
another reason he slags the celtic manager is because he cant get the stories from celtic park that he used to get, cause ronny wont give him any inside gossip.
Bumped into the bold Hugh a number of years ago in Pompeii of all places, do you know if Celtic have signed anyone I innocently inquired ? which sent him off on a rant.
His good wife seemed long suffering and a lovely lady.
Keevins became the new Gerry McNee when McNee left Clyde, he created animosity and mayhem especially to Celtic fc, he’s a judas and only done what he did to sell newspapers and get ratings up, he now lives in a leafy suburb on the outskirts of working class clydebank, where he spent his 30 pieces of silver, traitor is too polite for the likes of that.
Keevins a sad figure .
A man who sold his birthright for money .
He has no principles .
He is gone and soon will be forgotten but remembered by us for what he was a souper.
However he is not alone in this kow towing to the Establishment.
Utter disgust is their reward .
Keevins was never a journo in his life. He gathered gossip (sometimes paid for) and then peddled the rubbish.
He falls into the same category as that buffoon McNee…another waste of space…Who I had a “bust up” with at CP in the 90’s.
And I totally agree about these phone in programmes…
Some of our guys give them oxygen by phoning in…
I wish they wouldn’t…’cos its keeping the dicks in a job.
to keep himself in a job he has to make sure sevco can not be treated as inferior
Meant to say as well…
If anyone knows Packy Bonnar…gonny tell him he’s starting to go down the same road.
His comments on BBC Scotland about us…. are getting my hackles up.
Money..money..money…
Pack it in Packy…before its too late.
He lost any credence he had left, when Tosh MacKinlay called him live on the Radio Snide hotline, to chastise him for completely fabricating an interview with Tosh, regarding his training ground bust-up with Henrik. He was basically saying that Tosh felt he was being ostracised by Wim Jansen. Tosh pointed out that he informed Keevins he had no comment on the incident,when Hugh contacted him.Snivelling replied that it was “only fair to give your version of events!!!”
You couldn’t mark his neck with a cattle prod!
H × 2