Here’s the thing about stupidity; it rears its head over and over again.
Those afflicted by it never seem to understand that their ideas and their opinions are just crazy to other people’s ears. They persist in them, even they are held up to ridicule. Even when they are completely contradicted by evidence. It really is quite something.
Regular readers will know that I occasionally mention – with scorn – the notorious Daily Record hotline on here.
It is babysat by that most idiotic of Scottish football hacks Gary Ralston. Running a phone line is the newspaper equivalent of being asked to guard a bog door; this is about all he’s good for and they should keep him there rather than let him loose in a column.
It really is the perfect place for his “talents”, such as they are. The headline on there today is what prompted me to write this article; it’s a Sevco fan snarking about Celtic fans and our belief that our boy Edouard will go for more money than Morelos.
The call which gave Ralston the headline was a bunch of stats, as if they answered everything.
I only want to focus on it because this is not just one person’s daft opinion splattered all over the internet. This is part of an on-going discussion over there and in parts of the media still, even though the rest of the world is fully aware that it isn’t even worth having any longer.
Edouard won all the player of the year awards and deservedly so; the argument has been had, it’s over, the decision is in and everybody knows who’s on top.
This doesn’t just come down to goals, but if it did then Edouard scored more in the league. This comes down to application and effort, and only one of the two turned up for the full season whilst the other seemed to down tools like a spoiled little brat towards the end.
One has a sterling discipline record. The other is a snarling thug. Edouard had some troubles off the field before he came to Celtic Park, and the press duly reported them. Morelos’ own misdeeds off the pitch are roundly ignored by a media which pretends not to be aware of them.
Morelos has returned to Sevco overweight and disinterested. Why else do they think that Gary McAllister has already had to warn him to get his act together?
They know they might be stuck with the guy and they know he’s already testing the limits of the club’s disciplinary system, which he scorned so much last season that they dropped him from the Hearts quarter final which they duly lost. Oops.
When your best player effectively rules him out from a game like that by behaving like a ned off the pitch then what chance do you have of punting him for big bucks?
On top of that, we’re building an entire marketing campaign around Edouard.
So we know he’s going nowhere in this window. They have dropped Morelos entirely from the Castore publicity … not only does it send a message to the outside world but it sends a clear one to the player as well; if we hang onto you it’ll be reluctantly. That will do wonders for morale.
But it will also do wonders for his valuation, I’m sure.
The only place where Morelos has apparently done more than Edouard is in Europe; those goals seem like a long time ago now though. Edouard has been doing the same – consistently – for the French Under 21 team … and a lot of people are watching them because French football is the greatest conveyer belt of talent on the planet right now.
Football transfer business does not work on the whims and wants of wailing children.
It does not matter how many times or in how many ways they bang on the bars; Morelos will go this summer, if he goes at all, for a sum that is decent enough for Scotland but nowhere near the hysterical estimates their fans believed in.
Edouard will stay this year, but he may well go in the summer before the next campaign, and we will net a small fortune for him.
These are the facts of the case and they are undisputed.
Except in Sevconia, where the thicker they are the harder they fall.
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