You would think to read some of the media commentary on him that The Mooch had proven himself a genius. Yet it’s not true. He is, in fact, a proven loser. He came into their club with a mandate last year, a mandate to stop the treble. He personally described Celtic’s winning of all three honours as “unthinkable.” And yet we did it.
He was lucky not to be sacked. It was his form against the other clubs which saved him, but I reckon he was fortunate there too. Some of their performances were less than impressive, and he’s damned lucky he didn’t have to manage games in Europe. We’re going to see in the coming seen just how limited this joker really is.
Celtic is miles ahead of their club. The press drools over “the revolution” over there, getting excited over players none of them has ever seen.
They appear largely ignorant of the fact that they’ve gotten similarly excited every year since the current Ibrox club reached the league.
In only one of them have they really had anything to be excited about and no sooner had that team put its trophy in the cabinet but we cleaned its clock and reclaimed it.
Yet Beale is hailed as some sort of tactical genius.
He is hailed as some sort of visionary, and the media firmly believes that he will match a far more experienced manager and a renowned winner like Rodgers. They cling to a single result against us as the proof that he had Ange’s number … what a pity for him that Ange is no longer at our club.
The playing style will not be markedly different, but it will be different enough. I expect there to be far more steel in the team by the time we roll into Ibrox. The press which is talking up this guy is going to have nowhere to hide if we go there and clean his clock.
He thinks he knows Rodgers. Ha! He has never come up against a Brendan Rodgers with these sorts of tools at his disposal and fully focussed on the job. That’s a different animal even than Postecoglou was. He isn’t going to know what’s hit him.
None of his players will either. Rodgers’ teams are fearless. He is responsible for the single best tactical change – bringing on Edouard when we had only ten men – I’ve seen from a Celtic manager in my lifetime. More of that awaits them.
The media coverage of their club is a joke.
It’s so uniformly positive that you were never know that most of these guys were acquired on frees, and that they might well have overpaid for those who have cost them money. Their former clubs must be rubbing their hands together.
And whilst it’s too early for us to say these guys won’t have what it takes it is definitely too early for some of the gleeful coverage that the so-called “rebuild” is getting.
As I’ve said before, I always try to imagine how I would feel if it was Hearts or Hibs signing some of these guys. I also try to imagine what the media would write. It would not talk with this much excitement. It would not be predicted a close title race.