If Ange seemed a little snappy towards Chick Young last night, then there is no doubt whatsoever what his feelings were towards one of Young’s colleagues when he was asked a scandalous question about whether the early winter break “benefited” us.
Ange is clearly sick of this nonsense. He has heard it before.
He has answered this question a half dozen times, and last night, as he was in a pretty good mood overall with the performance of the team he got it again, and this time he shot back at once.
“Well, the break would have happened, there would have been a break,” he said, and I think you can tell by the words that he was quite irritated. “What’s the commentary around they designed this break just for us?” he demanded to know. “There was a break in Scottish football wasn’t there? It was as beneficial for every other club.”
The man clearly finds this debate – and it’s not a debate, it’s a bunch of whinging from people who simply cannot drag themselves out of the Follow Follow basement – absolutely ridiculous and utterly tiresome, and I cannot blame him for that one bit.
These people are a bad joke. I’m sure at the back of their minds many of them wonder if perhaps we didn’t invent Omicron for this very purpose. They forget – or rather, they ignore – that the whole of the country was caught cold by Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that attendances would be cut to 500.
Nobody had expected it, and it was logical to bring forward the break to give fans the best chance to attend games.
Our stance has been vindicated.
They also forget – conveniently – that other clubs voted for this.
Hibs, as it turned out, would have faced an off-strength Celtic side in front of an empty Celtic Park with a full-strength team of their own; that was something they didn’t even think about when they voted in favour of this, because they, like the other clubs, were putting the fans first.
They haven’t uttered a word of complaint.
Neither have Motherwell, who’s CEO scorned any suggestion that things had been arranged to “benefit” Celtic.
Even Ross County, who voted with Ibrox, celebrated the return of fans as if they’d been on the side of the angels here.
Our manager shouldn’t have to deal with this nonsense, for nonsense is what it is.
The people who are promoting this garbage should hang their heads in shame; no-one outside of their pitiful cohort believes this crap. It is an insult to every other club in the game, this idea that we can bend them to our will.
The people pushing it are a disgrace.
And I think our manager must want to call them that sometimes.
Scotlands media shame have no shame . They are a disgrace to journalism .
I think you are absolutely 100% spot on to push back on the media perception that Celtic somehow benefited from the Winter break move whereas others (OK, let’s face it, Sevco), did not.
I know this has already been said on here so I am not trying to steal anyone’s thunder. The fact is that the press should be asking that lot why they weren’t so keen on the Winter break being brought forward.
Whether or not we (as Celtic fans) are being disingenuous when we say it was for the greater good, it does not matter. It WAS for the greater good.
What point would there be in playing the games when restrictions were in force then having the break after Nicola removed those restrictions? It does not make economic sense for the WHOLE of Scottish football.
Sevco would have been hit least of all as they had 2 big away matches to play – so the impact on their balance sheet would have been minimal compared to other teams in the SPFL. They would have also got the benefit of playing those 2 big matches in empty stadiums, effectively removing the home advantage for their opposition.
From a self preservation point of view, it makes sense. However, the mainstream media is not supposed to be in favour of one team’s (i.e. Sevco’s) self preservation. Surely the preservation of ALL teams in the SPFL should rise above the needs of one team.
So instead of asking Ange snide questions about Celtic benefiting from the Winter break move, how about somebody going out on a limb and asking Sevco why they didn’t think it was a good idea.
Very good point, well made. I’d love someone to call one of the hack’s phone-ins and put that point to them….
Would love sevco game postponed. Just for a laugh. HH
Only if they postpone it, that would be hilarious…
Sooner Govan Sevco FC is buried beside RainJurZ the better it will be for the whole of Scottish Football.They Bring nothing but Shame and Embarrassment to the Scottish game
No, not just the game.
They are a disgrace to the country, that goes for the Club and their fans.
Ian Archer got it right back in the day. He described them, in print when sports journalism was taken seriously and not as a fanzine for one club, he stated “ this has to be said about Rangers, as a Scottish Football Club they are a permanent embarrassment and an occasional disgrace. The country would be a better place if Rangers did not exist”.
The current iteration, Sevco, are 10 times worse. They know how desperate the league and SFA were to admit any simulacrum of the original club and it has held Scottish Football hostage ever since. To our eternal shame our Club’s Custodians we’re complicit in this by permitting this monstrosity to see the light of day.
10 years wasted when the game in Scotland could have been modernised, governance of the game updated and transparent, teams more competitive and UEFA participation shared with our teams better equipped to compete. All for the sake of the ‘Old Firm’ branding of a corrupt domestic game. No wonder the Broadcasters treat us as second rate when it comes to the pitiful contracts and shoddy service they provide.
Very good post SFA.