Yesterday I took the day off. March was a long and difficult month, and by the time yesterday came around I found whiplashed by it. So I have some catching up to do today, and a few different things to cover.
This is one of them.
Even before the late news that Howe is up for it and is doing due diligence, the Scottish press treated us to one of those early hatchet jobs which should have tipped us all off that a story involving the guy and the Parkhead link was coming.
It was, of course, the interview with Jermaine Defoe where he moaned about Howe’s skill-set and that he “didn’t know how to manage me.”
I can’t say the story bothers me all that much, as it makes Defoe sound like he’s the one who has issues with his professionalism, in dissing a former manager.
It’s basically him saying Howe refused to cater to his ego and play him when he didn’t think he was good enough. In short, it’s a bit of pitiful bitching from a player not getting what he wants.
[snack-countdown title=”Celtic’s Countdown To Champions League Disaster” date=”06/20/2021″ time=”00:00:00″ colour=”#000″ textColour=”#FFF”]
No, this story didn’t require any reading between the lines or the aid of codebreakers. Howe asked him to work harder, Defoe balked, therefore he didn’t get picked for the team. ABC stuff.
It was the attention the press gave this that bugged me yesterday and almost got me back to the keyboard. It wasn’t exactly a stunning revelation … and hardly qualified as news.
But still, they reported it widely. That should have been the moment the bells started ringing for us. Howe isn’t even in the building and the negativity has started.
You’ve seen how our media does this; Defoe will only be the first ex-player they go out and find who will trash this guy for us. They do it all the time with signings.
It’s the same whenever we play in Europe; how long does it usually take them to find someone with a connection to our opponents to say why they will beat us? How often have you seen that splashed all over the papers?
The Daily Record has already gone so far as to publish the “thoughts” of Simon Jordan, one of English football’s prized idiots, who dissed the idea on the basis that it lacks the “wow” factor.
You’d never believe this guy ran Crystal Palace into the ground, would you?
Would it be churlish to suggest that chasing the “wow” factor contributed to that?
The “wow” factor is for idiots. It’s a “bling” appointment.
It’s a Roy Keane or Frank Lampard versus Steven Gerrard Sky Sports Special appointment, a marketing move first and foremost, the exact opposite of what Celtic fans want to see, which is a sure, steady hand, a man who knows the game, a man with experience and gravitas, a man who has been at the top level in the business and made a name there.
If Howe gets it, you watch for the parade of football nonentities who the press dredges up to tell us how Howe isn’t a candidate who inspires people, or how it’s not the name Celtic fans wanted (there are a hundred different names out there which some segment of the support wants, you are never going to satisfy them all) … wait for the muppet who styles himself as a “football finance expert” telling us that his isn’t a name with global appeal.
It’s not just that it’s predictable, it’s that we’ve seen it all before.
If Howe really is doing his due diligence, I hope someone is clueing him into how snide and nasty the media up here can be. Because he’s going to have to do deal with them from day one, and he is not going to find that an altogether pleasant experience.