Seven Celts In The Team Of The Year And The Media Tries To Embarrass Hartson.

Seven Celtic players made the PFA team of the year yesterday, and whilst every single one of them deserved it, John Hartson was highly unimpressed with one of the remaining four players.

He was pissed off that Malik Tillman made the team, and he was right to be.

We all knew Tavernier was going to be in there. Not on merit, but because an Ibrox captain simply cannot not be in the team of the year. There would be some kind of global cataclysm if that were to happen, or so many in our game seem to think.

But Tillman?

He’s had a few good games, and he’s scored some goals … but the team of the year? How the Hell has that happened when there’s no Jota? You know, the guy who has been brilliant for us and scored some massive goals?

Hartson is right to wonder. He’s right to ask the question.

It’s a charity act, not towards the player but you get the impression towards his club.

There are always enough people involved in a process like this who simply have to nominate the “best” players from Ibrox wherever possible. Even if to most right thinking people it’s plainly ridiculous.

The other two non-Celtic players are perfectly good bets, although Daizen Maeda is a far better player than either of them.

That’s another thing that grates slightly; it’s as if there’s some sort of arbitrary limit on how many of our footballers can get into one of these things and beyond that there’s a lot of justification and scrambling.

Here’s what’s really annoying here though; all the headlines had Hartson’s name in them, as if he was making this statement out of bias. He wasn’t. There was a second person speaking alongside him, and that person was Craig Moore.

Ex-Ibrox Craig Moore.

And guess what? He thought that Tillman was lucky to get into the team.

“Team of the season, on the back of his performances? Maybe there were some better options in my opinion,” he said.

But that wasn’t as sexy a headline as their being able to slap an ex-Celtic player’s name in there, to make the big guy sound bitter or biased. The media continues to conduct itself in the most shameful fashion at times.

“I think Craig sums that up very well,” Hartson said. “The one for me is Tillman. You could argue, has he had a better season than Jota? And you wonder why is he in? I think Jota’s had a better season than Tillman personally. I don’t think he’s really made the difference in games and in the games against Celtic.”

You cannot deny that this is true.

He’s barely functioned against us whilst Jota has positively shone on that stage, and particularly in the cup semi-final where he scored the only goal. Tillman certainly has not earned his place the way the Portuguese has.

There are debates like this each and every single year, especially when Celtic are winning.

The media has its favourites, the collection of Ibrox supporting players and ex-pros and other “judges” will always make sure at least one of their favourite sons gets into the side on the flimsiest pretext.

You just know Tavernier will make the shortlist.

But at the end of the day, Celtic will sweep the boards on these awards just as we will the trophies. Because bias is one thing, but for someone outside Parkhead to win one of these would just be an utter embarrassment to the process itself.

In the meantime there is our media, which continues to act as its own worst enemy. To highlight Hartson’s comments as if they stood alone, as if they didn’t come from a place of logic, is a standard trick with them but one which plays into the overall image of an industry that puts sensationalism about everything else.

That and drawing a target on the back of any friends we might have in its environs.