In the last week, you might have missed all the gurning from Ibrox. But only if you lived outside Scotland and without access to the internet. Otherwise it’s been everywhere.
The reason for this outbreak of tears and Premier League level bitching has been the failure of Gordon Strachan to cap players from Sevco’s lower league team.
This general moaning is particularly loud because of what it reveals about their team of misfits, free agents and on loan “superstars”; none are particularly impressive or worthy of recognition on the international stage.
The dearth of real talent in their squad is astonishing, but nowhere is this more obvious than when you look at how few of them have played for their national sides. Even those, like Wallace, who have are miles down in the pecking order and it says much that a young Hibs midfielder can get into the side ahead of some of theirs.
This isn’t the travesty many of their fans would have you believe; theirs is a side with better players, overall, than Hibs but not one outstanding talent like John McGinn.
And no matter what they might try to convince themselves of, their left back and captain isn’t a patch on Scotland’s best young footballer Kieran Tierney, who’s spent the better part of this season playing in the top division, not to mention gaining European experience along the way.
He was clearly entitled to the international recognition that’s come his way.
He’s not the only one. Celtic put a piece up on their website earlier – I won’t call it a bit of cheek or a GIRFUY, but it worked as one, so well – saying that at the various levels we have 33 players going out on duty for their countries. 14 of them are senior players. Our footballers will be representing no fewer than 13 different nations, at levels ranging from the under 17’s to those who will play major qualifying games. That’s an incredible number, and so vastly outstrips that of our “rivals” that it’s frankly embarrassing.
And, of course, it is. Which is why they are embarrassed.
Part of the Sevco Revolution was predicated on this idea of developing youth talent. It’s been such a disaster their manager wants to abolish the Development League and is pinning the future of the club on loan signings from other, better, youth academies.
What a strategy that is. What a reversal of their stated ambitions.
This is but one area where the gulf between Celtic and the also-rans is massive.