Scottish football is in turmoil again. This entire summer has been about nothing else.
Attention seeking yahoos have plunged our game into chaos at a time when it needed focus like never before.
Nothing sums these Peepul up more than that they’ve taken advantage of a global healthcare emergency to make their long-awaited move to purge the SPFL of the elements in it who they think are involved in the dreaded Conspiracy of The Unseen Hand.
The nonsense these folks believe, honest to God …
Hearts and Thistle made their own move earlier this week, and what all these clubs have in common is simply this; they are playing to the gallery. Sevco plays up to the white supremacist sect in its support which was out in force again in Glasgow last night, shaming this city. For what was allegedly a counter-protest to a Black Lives Matter rally, there was an awful lot of stuff about “fenians” getting flung about. They have no sense of embarrassment at all.
And nor will the media in this country do a proper job of shaming them.
Thistle and Hearts don’t have as many members of the lunatic fringe, although there are certainly more of them following the Edinburgh club than are following Thistle. But those in their support who have taken their eye off the ball and are pushing their boards towards the suicidal course of action they are taking today are focussed on the wrong targets.
Which is exactly what those boards want, as I pointed out earlier.
There are problems at all three clubs; indeed, they are facing the same existential peril right now. Sevco continues to pretend this is not the case; Hearts and Thistle won’t even try to deny it, as it’s so raw and real to them. Their fans get this too, which is why some of them reluctantly support court actions which will end up doing more harm than good.
Because, what do they have to lose?
(A lot, but you can understand, in part, why they might not agree.)
Sevco is in denial. Which is not unusual for them; it’s the default position for a club which is engaged in nothing more than a game of bluff and bullshit with its own supporters and the rest of the world. Their refusal to acknowledge either the gravity or the reality of the situation they are in right now is incredible. But this is the game they play and always did.
In the meantime, Celtic gets on with things. We have not played these games in the media, maintaining a magisterial silence whilst the ranting and raving was going on at other clubs. We have carefully, and quietly, gotten on with things.
It was Celtic’s board who took the lead in negotiations with the broadcasters over the virtual season ticket scheme. It was Lawwell who gave the most damning verdict on Sevco’s dodgy dossier at the SPFL meeting; he called it “embarrassing.”
We have taken a quiet lead behind the scenes. It has not been publicised, because that’s not the way we do things. But it’s real nonetheless.
Our players are back in training. Our coaches are working hard with them. Confidence is high at our club. Negotiations are going on with Edouard over an improved deal. We’re talking to Southampton over our two on-loan players.
And we’re going through transfer lists, looking for the players who will come in and assure that we’re in the best position we can be.
This is the ten in a row campaign, and we’re going to give it all we can.
What state others will be in is something we’ll leave to them, but Hearts, Thistle and Sevco are clubs in a lot of trouble, which is why they are making the most noise.
As Scottish football goes through the current crisis it is important to keep up with developments and the key issues. We are determined to do so, and to keep you informed as well. Please subscribe to the blog.