I know all of us are keen for the return of football, and that we are all up for it. I know too that all of us enjoyed the first part of the season immensely, although there were one or two shaky moments along the way.
I know too what concerns us about coming back.
The Mooch and his club are a minor consideration.
Only two things have ever been able to stop Celtic; some act of internal sabotage or stupidity and interference from outside … namely the governing bodies and their endless ability to mess with us.
Of particular concern, of course, is VAR and this hasn’t been lessened by the news today that Kevin Clancy will be in charge of the technology for the Aberdeen game. Worse is to come; most of us don’t even want to think about who might get the nod for Ibrox.
This is our biggest worry. Indeed, some might say that it’s our only worry.
We all believe that we’ll beat Aberdeen, that if the playing field is level that we’re good enough to win not only against them but against anyone else put in front of us.
But the nagging doubt is always how far unscrupulous individuals might go if they think they can get away with it. Every time the ball goes into the box you know that there is going to be scrutiny of every move one of our players makes. Every time an opposition player goes down they are going to rush to the cameras to see what they can find.
They are openly boasting about it. At a time when our club has been on the wrong end of half a dozen horrible decisions you have Ian Maxwell boasting that the system is working “as intended”, which I know is what a lot of us are afraid of.
How can it be that a system which was brought in to ensure fairness is already being wielded against us like a weapon? Teething troubles you expect … but one club which gets every major call given against them?
When does it start to smell bad even to those who have spent years calling us conspiracy theorists and paranoids?
The job of our higher-ups is to make sure that the governing bodies are on notice that we’re not going to accept being cheated. We need to keep the pressure on, not only right now but far into the future.
Inexplicable decisions used to be waived away. That is much harder to do now, and that’s where the technology does give us something to work with.
Officials might continue making these disgraceful calls, but we’re not going to let them get away with it any longer. We’re not going to allow them to duck questions and avoid scrutiny. There is no excuse for some of the more scandalous decisions … and from now on our club has to make the officials sweat every time they think of giving one.
Basic fairness; that’s all we want. A level playing field.
Because then we win.
Over a hundred years of basic fairness,???
Its time UEFA kept its eyes on “OUR” sfa.etc….Celtic fc.must be vigilant and take them to task at every opportunity.
Ange and the players must be aware of the Honest Mistakes by now.
Great points there – but with the grey (really yellow) suits at Parkhead sadly there’s not a hope in hell of any serious challenge to Maxwell and Co….
James it stank the place out on its first outing at Tynecastle, or is that the expectation?
IF it is, I’m probably gonna stop watching because what the World witnessed was bare-faced UNADULTERATED CHEATING. There’s no other words for what we all seen.
Worse still is that’s been repeated since and there’s the real worry.
Celtic must speak up over this or it’ll simply be more of the same… ad nauseam
Of course Maxwell will say it is working as it was intended. That is why all the decisions are against Celtic. That was the intentions behind it He is, if nothing else, honest about it but in a back handed way he is actually admitting that it is a fix.
He didn’t actually claim that it was doing the honest job for which it was really intended, only the job that they themselves intended.
To be fair to him, I think he deserves an apology for being accused of fibbing.