What is the media’s fascination right now with everything that spills forth out of the mouth of convicted drug dealer and Phil Mitchell look-alike David Martindale? Does this guy offer insight or wisdom that others simply don’t possess?
No, he doesn’t. He’s a toe-rag whose presence in our national game is a joke and an embarrassment and whose brand of anti-football takes the sport decisively backwards.
Today he’s in the papers again offering a clownish statement about how no club in the league has “divine right” to expect points except for Celtic. Eah? He should leave us out of whatever game it is he thinks he’s playing here. That is not the prevailing view inside Parkhead or at Lennoxtown; we treat the opposition with a bit more respect than that.
If we went into games believing in some “divine right” to victory we’d have a lot less of them, and he knows it so I don’t know who he thinks he’s speaking for here. That kind of goonish, cartoonish statement should be called out instead of indulged in our press.
It is not a reflection on how Celtic sees the rest of the league, and that’s a point I am certain than Ange will be at great pains to make tomorrow if he’s asked about these daft remarks. He will make sure that the message is loud and clear.
Prior to the Livingston game, I wrote that Martindale should be ignored when he was describing us as the benchmark and all that other stuff. He thought his team were going to get something, and I said that I thought if we won comfortably that he would soon revert to type; giving us no credit, making excuses for his team, moaning about decisions.
He then had a pop at Ange for talking about that Hellish plastic pitch.
He did all of that, right on cue. Now we’re getting this. I don’t know what it is that he’s up to, but I do know that nobody at Celtic will play along.
Why do you have to say that he’s” a convicted drug dealer “, all the time. Has he not served his punishment for that. I’ve looked at his piece, he is actually praising Celtic, and saying we are the best in the league, and a benchmark. I don’t really get this piece at all james. Has it got to the stage were someone is praising us, we are to have a go at them. Take a chill pill bud.
He says it because regardless of him having done his time it is ridiculous that he is employed in our national gane. It’s like giving the job of coaching your Olympic Cycling team to Lance Armstrong FFS! Livingston are clearly now a club with zero ethics and have plummeted in my estimation since his appointment. Of course, the reason for his constant bollocks in the media is him putting himself forward for the upcoming job at the team he actually cares about…given they’ve had convicted tax-evaders and “alleged” drug-dealing gangsters run the whole club he’ll fit right in with their knuckle-scraping ethos….
Martindale made a mistake at selling drugs , but to compare it to lance armstrong is ridiculous. Lance Armstrong cheated in his sport, and basically cheated everyone. Lance Armstrong, Is like Kieran Fallon, guys like that. Martindale hasn’t cheated in football, he deserves a chance like anybody else does.
Armstrong cheated a sport, Martindale sold substances that could’ve caused deathh so no it’s absolutely not a ridiculous comparison. He might “deserve a chance”, I’m not saying the guy shouldn’t ever be employed, but not in a game where drugs of any kind are supposed to be utterly verboten. If I was the parent of a young player at Livi I would be very concerned about what might be happening behind the scenes if that’s the type of person they’re hiring. Whether or not that’s justified or just paranoia is irrelevant, it’s about optics and having a convicted criminal in charge is not a good look. Were you saying similar things every time James brought up Dave King’s “glib and shameless” criminal history?
Armstrong cheated a sport he was in.. and he was taking millions of pounds off sponsors, based on a scam, and lies. Martindale commited an offence, which had nothing to do with sport. Does our boy bernabei not deserve a second chance? . Comparing martindale to Armstrong is ridiculous pal. Football would be breaking the law, if he was not giving a job, based on his spent conviction. Lance Armstrong got banned for life.
I refer you back to my point about him supply substances THAT COULD HAVE LED TO DEATHS. How is that not worse than cheating sponsors out of money?
Bernabei we don’t know the full extent of what happened, and if he was driving just over the limit he should be punished but there may be extenuating circumstances in that he’d only been in the country 5 minutes and can hardly be expected to know every law of the land the moment he gets here. No excuse I know but I doubt he’ll do it again. If he was pished behind the wheel he should be absolutely hammered and booted out the club IMO but you know what? I don’t think if I was a parent of a young lad at Celtic I’d be concerned that Berna might encourage them to drink drive whereas if my kid was at Livi I’d be worried that some of Martindale’s associates might be hanging about offering “sweeties”.
As I say whether justified or paranoia it’s still not a good look for a top-tier football club to be managed by a convicted dealer, and I would say the same if he was a Tim.
Now, to be fair to Martindale, regardless of any of our opinions, it is what it is and I don’t think his past needs to be brought up every time he opens his mouth. I just can’t understand why the media think this is a guy whose opinion should be heard on every point going even if it’s bugger-all to do with his own club???
Oh wait, it’s ’cause he’s a massive hun, of course, duh etc….
I’m sure our boy bernabei, was found to be over the legal requirement of booze, behind a wheel. I wouldn’t have thought, that would have been a good look either. See if you had a kid at our club, would you be happy with that, the same as if you had a kid at Livingston. Both guys made mistakes, and they have the right to make amends for it. Livingston like Celtic, obviously feel both guys have a lot to offer, and they are within there rights to stand by them. So let’s stop kidding on that we are Moses, or Jesus of Nazareth here. Lance Armstrong was a cheat, and a conman, and just not a nice human being, and he deserved what he got.
Where did I say Armstrong didn’t deserve what he got? I’m not trying to stand up for a cheat here for Christ’s sake!
You didn’t answer my question about whether or not you were as quick to defend Dave King every time one of us made a comment about his criminal past….?
You’re fullashit Sean.
It’s always nice to get praise from someone who is an angel with big thick wings ! Such a lovely , righteous ,human being . I can see the glow ……….it’s beautiful…..
He’s done his time James,and is entitled to a shot at redemption..He’s been out of jail for some time now.Time you put that to one side.Im as big a Celtic man as anyone,and I realise he will come out wit stuff which will have us rolling out eyes,from time to time,but I’ll be damned if I’m going to keep dragging up his past.This game is full of charlatans of all hues.
Hi James
Needless attack on Martindale -everyone is entitled to a second chance – tackle his style of football because that is a crime not for a crime he committed and he has served time for. A brief look at the rehabilition of the offenders act might do you no harm.
James has written many times on here of the threat posed to competitive sport by organised crime and their corruption: only the SFA would declare someone so far up to his neck in organised crime that he got a 6 year sentence for dealing class A drugs ‘a fit and proper person’. His presence in the dugout of a premiership club is a continuing embarrassment to Scottish football.
Everyone is indeed entitled to redemption but he’s hardly a poster boy for rehabilitation – in no interview I’ve ever read or heard with him does he take much responsibility for his earlier actions. He seems to claim to be a victim of circumstance, blaming it all on losing a lot of money when one of his pubs went up in flames whilst uninsured… and as he was in his 30s at the time I don’t think youth and inexperience are much of an excuse. There’s a lot of difference between regretting your actions and regretting being caught.
Is everyone who has committed a crime to be condemned for ever?
Very poor article.
What exactly was Martindale jailed for? What class of drugs, in what quantities , for how long and to whom? What was the sentence? Was he contrite, and what was his attitude to his victims?
Until you know the answers to these questions it is of dubious merit to decide whether he deserves a second chance or not, or indeed whether he should continue to be reviled.
I have no idea as to any of the foregoing. All I know is that he seems to be flavour of the moment with the Scottish media and someone is pushing him forward as the man to declaim on all football related matters. He appears to be getting groomed for something.
This makes me suspicious as to why.
Would he make a good manager of the national team given all the baggage?
Or would that be a step too far?
He would be an ideal manager for the Sons of Satan, his criminal background makes him the perfect candidate.
Nobody will take this junkie CRACKPOT seriously,well the sevco fans and their klub might because he is a cert to be their next manager with that baldy head and those mince pies drilled into the back of his skull,looking like an extra from the film The Hills Have Eyes or the film Deliverance.
Going by most of the posts on this there are a few people on this Forum doing a good bit of Punting themselves to be so laid back abiut a convicted drug dealer.
Think on it this way would he get to train or run or manage a school football team,the answer is no,if you had a 12 or 13 year old son would you allow the local drug dealer two bob Pablo Escobar in care or charge of your,no a didn’t think so get a grip.
Back to the football. St Mirren showed that sometimes with effort and endeavour you can beat the big bhoys (on an off day), we did it to Barca at their peak. I don’t think Ange will get complacent as a result of Martindale’s hallucination
Your right, he’s an ex-drug dealer and has probably not got a high level of education. I think he’s just used the wrong phrase. He was basically saying Celtic are far and away the best team in the league with the rest of the teams all being able to take points of each other. He’s was being complimentary.
On another subject, I know you need to get paid, but the amount of adverts on the site is getting ridiculous especially if your viewing on a mobile
E pyoor tox lirrat an aw.
He IS an embarrassment to the Scottish game.
Well said,hes an embarasment,thats why the press go to him,they know he talks rubbish that morons like him love to hear.
The guy is an arse celtic does not need this gutter snipe
Its embarrassing for Scottish football whenever you see and hear this man talking about our game not forgetting the rubbish football his team plays , and that awful patch they play on
Surely Rangers won’t sink to a new low, a convicted drug dealing, money laundering crook as manager of a major Scottish football club, who would be his assistant, David Goodwillie.
Spot on as usual James ????
This prck is actually believing he’s in with a shout for the rangers job
I hope he gets it ?