The Messiah has arrived at Ibrox.
That’s the verdict from a hysterical media after just one game. They forget – but we should keep in mind – that Van Bronckhorst and The Mooch made very impressive starts to their own Ibrox tenures and all the press was united in writing much the same stuff. Clement is a better manager than the Englishman. Van Bronckhorst had a better pedigree by far when he arrived in Scotland. The hacks would prefer you ignored that.
Yesterday his team secured a 4-0 win in his first game in charge, to send the Ibrox fans into the kind of delirium we all know them for.
I have no idea whether they were good or not, I didn’t see a minute of it and haven’t even watched the highlights. I’m told the Hibs keeper was strongly suspect for the first two. I neither know nor care if I’m being frank.
They got their new boss bounce, which was broadly in line with my expectations.
But they also got a little help from their friends, the ones at the SFA, which was exactly in line with my expectations.
At the end of the game, the Hibs boss fumed at two decisions in particular. I don’t know why he bothered to be honest. But then, he’s not been in Scotland long.
He’s been here long enough, though, to have rolled a few familiar soundbites off his tongue, like how he “expected nothing” at Ibrox. His obvious anger at a couple of incidents is grounded in recognising that getting decisions at that ground is nearly impossible. His finger is already pointed at the SFA, and doubtless it will be him they place in the dock rather than his opposite number.
Clement has learned already – it has taken just one game – that an Ibrox boss can get away with things no other manager can. Gerrard’s first press conference brought the game into disrepute, with allegations that the governing bodies had traditionally been biased against the club … no action was taken. And this wasn’t just a case of a first timer getting the benefit of the doubt.
He repeated that allegation more than once in his time as boss there.
Now the Belgian has gotten his opening lesson in how easy it is for Ibrox managers to navigate the media and the governing bodies both.
The press today is filled with scraping and bowing.
The old familiar names are lauding him as a genius. One idiot – no prizes for guessing – thinks he’s the first “manager of substance” Rodgers has faced … the same person by the way was so far up The Mooch’s rear end at the start of the season, and writing much the same stuff, that if you’d stood close enough to the Ibrox manager you’d have seen two eyes peering out of his mouth.
Still, the media is going to do what it does.
Which is talk up Ibrox and set themselves up to look supremely foolish. The governing bodies are another matter entirely, and what makes the Hib’s boss’s comments so annoying is that his club prepared him for the near certainty of bad decisions against him but did nothing to avert that.
That’s the problem with these clubs, and even with our own. We all know that something stinks but we’d prefer to ignore the smell than track it to a source and deal with it. The Hibs manager was angry, sure, but he’s essentially shrugged it off.
In his scorn he referred to Clement keeping the ball in play when he should have let it go out as acting like “their 12th man.”
But their 12th man was already on the pitch of course, and they had a thirteen, fourteen and fifteenth standing by off it just in case.
Worst by far is the media coverage of the Hibs fans vandalism of some seats. Half a dozen seats roughly, all in marker and stickers by what looks like the same bloke writing wise. It’s unpleasant sure but 90 minutes of anti catholic singing chanting screaming??? Well that’s ignored of course coz we don’t confront that in our SMSM, the first minister chips in too , he’s becoming that desperate??? Sicking hypocrisy… And as an aside how dirty, actually filthy are the Ibrox seats ???? Manky, no been cleaned in forever looking at the pics at least 6 will get a wipe now.
Lol they are DEFINITELY heading for a King size fall,if not in the Europa next week DEFINITELY in the ganes coming up in the league.
The first sign of that 7 point lead hitting double digits PANIC will set in again.
Can’t wait to see their reaction when we stick a few passed them in the next Glasgow derby at Paradise, without any of their hooligans attending as a result of their own actions. I hope.
Will it be he’s an idiot, can’t understand what he’s doing and he looks like he’s lost the dressing room or he needs time, these are Beale’s players.
Regardless there will be nothing better to emphasise the point, I’d say absolutely necessary even, than to defeat them with a swashbuckling performance, widen that gap and wait for the potential implosion.
Equally a win today is absolutely necessary to shut that bigot Naismith up, though even if we win comfortably what’s the chances of that.
I know it can’t be expected to win every game with refs and VAR marshalling events but essential I’d say to keep the hun anxiety alive and our foot on the midden’s throat.
Good luck also to the women’s team today, theirs is another gap that could widen and bring great joy. HH
Another brilliant and straight to the point piece of journalism once again…
And another brilliant and straight to the point piece of journalism once again that totally vindicates my very good decision to ‘chuck it’ and stop paying money over the Parkhead turnstiles towards a farce of a sport rigged for an 11 year and 85 days old club (Sevco as of today) and rigged very much against their main competitor…
Watch as the Cheats with whistles, flags and monitors blatantly try to fraud your team and mine out of points at Swinecastle today and have a wee think about what you pay for going through the turnstiles the next game at Parkhead (which incidentally in the domestic game must seem like an eternity for a home game – another fix in favour of Sevco)
Definitely ma Absolutely best decision ever to stop paying towards the bent, corrupt and farce that is Scottish top league football !
Here we go after one game…..ONE ! Ye would think they had just won about 5 in a row. Keevins, whit an auld ibrox arse kissin, creep that man is. Ange arrives and it’s ‘absolutely not good enough’ ! Didnae get a hope. This guy comes in over there and after a win first game, against a poor Hibs side and tae keevins he’s a ‘different level’ and a ‘managerial heavyweight’. Tho, this is the clown who said gerrard was ‘refreshingly honest’. Would gie ye the boak.
I watched the game to see whether there would be any difference in tactics, attitude, etc. Got into a disagreement with one of them on YouTube going way over the top regarding the quality of their performance when I stated that it shouldn’t take a new manager to get them to show a bit of effort and I honestly couldn’t see any great improvement in terms of free-flowing football. Hibs were poor and didn’t deserve anything from the game. Dessers and Lammers I kid you not look to be the most expensive duds in Scottish football history and we’ve had a few ourselves. As I stated previously this week we still need to be careful as they (players and fans) have undoubtedly got a lift from the new manager, although I still don’t believe they will improve enough as they still have the same problems in key positions.