After the Ibrox game, I published an article who’s main picture was Joe Garner, of Sevco, sitting in an Accident and Emergency ward waiting on a scan. Last week, a Celtic fan took a picture of Moussa Dembele flying to London for one. First class, no doubt. In a leather seat, with a nice meal and some good tunes on his IPhone. A relaxing trip, one which generated debate here in Scotland. On his return he nailed the rumours and lies with a superb tweet.
Moussa came on as a sub today and in the space of a half hour he wrecked a team that had given us one Hell of a battle – and one hell of a fright – up to that point. Yesterday, at Ibrox, Garner started the match. He snarked, growled, ran around, barged people but made no impact on proceedings whatsoever and was hooked early.
Dembele cost us £500,000. In the window, we paid five times that for an untried kid. Garner, if you believe what you read, cost them £1.8 million.
It’s the most Sevco has ever spent on a footballer.
I’m not suggesting that sitting in an accident and emergency ward waiting to be seen, like a member of the public, contributed to Garner’s poor form or that Moussa being flown to London for his own medical evaluation contributed to his; I’m saying that one of them is a genuinely superb footballer, with game-changing ability. He merits the first class treatment. The other is a lower league dud who belongs in a Sunday league and that’s reflected in his standard of care.
The differences go deeper, of course, and reflect the relative positions of the clubs, but Moussa today gave us the perfect example as to why we’re streets ahead of everyone else. Yesterday Garner summed up the honking standard of their team, and their terminal malaise.
We’re twenty seven points clear at the top of the table this afternoon. Incredible. Providing Sevco can win their remaining games, we will win the title against them at Celtic Park if Aberdeen drop points before then. I think it could be over before that.
Before I write another word, I want to say this.
St Johnstone, take a bow. Their fans are entitled to be frustrated today as much as they like, because their team gave us a game. They were excellent for large parts of the match and the penalty decision which gave us our equaliser was a shocker, an absolutely outrageous call, the kind that refs ought to get pulled and grilled over without mercy.
Neil McCann thinks it “changed the game.” Speaking through his bitter tears, I guess it did for him. But in point of fact, what actually did change the game was that Moussa came on and allowed Brendan to play others in their natural positions and we ran over the top of their team from that moment on. It was a tactical decision which altered the course of this one, that and being able to call on a footballer of such phenomenal talent.
The bandwagon rolls on.
The emphatic nature of that second half display – where we were brilliant and ruthless and the movement was fluid and the goals were excellent – suggests strongly that when this team means business we will simply drive over sides like a tank.
After the match, Brendan gave a superb interview where he outlined his philosophy for the club, its players and its future. It came in a week when his assistant, Chris Davies, told the press that they are laying the foundations for a long, and successful, stay.
I believe it. I believe that these guys have big plans. Today Brendan talked about turning us into a “Champions League club with a Champions League mentality.” I couldn’t agree more that this is where we need our focus to be.
In the meantime, across town, the Warburton version of long-term thinking is being laid out with loan signings and the Over 30’s club getting bedded in. Hill and Miller are going to be involved in contract talks and yesterday they brought Senderos out of moth balls and chucked him right into the team.
Ludicrous, but this is the Magic Hat Method.
Everything over there is reactive. We are proactive.
We have a manager right out of the top drawer and that’s been reflected in every single thing he’s done, and in all the changes he’s made. Amazingly, no player is out in the cold at Celtic Park; even Nadir Ciftci got a chance to come on during the match. This is a special time for our fans.
Today we showed why we are champions. In the course of this week we’ve demonstrated the mental strength of the squad and the depth of our playing pool. No other club in the land could have coped with having so many key players being out of its team, but we came through.
Our success is built on the strongest foundations, and that’s why even in their distant dreams, others can only talk about catching us.
Now, even their media allies acknowledge that it will take years. On many of their forums they have surrendered next year as well. They talk not about “not letting us” do ten in a row, as if saying it would stop it. They may not even be a factor by the time we get to that.
Even now, in the depths of their despair, they are being optimistic.
Because actually doing – stopping us – is so far beyond their capabilities even talking about it as an ambition far into the future has become embarrassing. In the absence of a plan they have hope. Hope will keep you warm at night but a hot water bottle will do the same.
Glasgow’s Green and White.
And staying that way.
In Brendan we most certaintly trust.