I’m not surprised tonight to see that Chris Sutton is talking up the Ibrox club and even offering them some friendly advice.
He’s entitled to his view of course, and he gets paid to express it, but more and more the feeling grows that this guy doesn’t have a good word to say about us at the moment and is under orders to be nicer to the club across town.
The anti-Celtic rhetoric in the places he works has been growing more pronounced as time goes by.
And we’ve all seen ex-Celtic players in the media start out as good, objective professionals but move slowly, but surely, towards a position of cynicism if not outright hostility to us … people like Andy Walker are a good case in point.
I just hoped that Sutton wasn’t going to be one of them, and he’s not gone completely over to the dark side yet. If he had, everyone would be talking about it. I just can’t remember when he last said something about us that wasn’t a dig or a snark or some criticism of the manager.
I’ve been writing about his insistence that Rodgers is somehow to blame for the poor signings, but let’s not forget he was slamming Idah before he’d even kicked a ball for us and that’s not kosher, that’s not the way a former player should be writing about a new Celtic signing.
That’s guaranteed negative headlines across the board and since he’s working in the media, I’m fairly sure that he knew that. Not to mention the impact it could have had on the player.
As bad as Mark Wilson and the likes of Andy Walker are, even they might have a drawn a line on that one. Frankly, it’s the kind of stuff I’d have expected from the likes of Charlie Nicholas or Frank McAvennie.
There’s really no excuse for how that was done.
Praising Clement is all the rage right now, and as he’s surrounded by people who would lick the guys boots at the next press conference it wouldn’t look blatantly unprofessional even by their naff standards.
So he’s only the latest to drink the Clement Kool Aid and he’ll not be the last, but his latest remarks play into the growing impression that this is a guy who knows what he has to do to stay on the right side of his paymasters and is willing to.
Slagging Celtic is always a good way of getting ahead. Ask Wilson, Walker, McAvennie and Nicholas. They all know how this works.
It’s how they stay relevant. Sutton has a higher profile and more talent than those jokers, so it’s hard to believe he needs to be putting the boot in just to keep his gig going, but it’s not impossible, because we’ve seen it before.
At times like these I think it’s healthy. The only thing is he’s targeting the wrong target in BR and not the Celtic board. That makes me suspicious because the full media want the manager to carry the can because a functioning Celtic board blows Sevco out the water and they know it.
He was very similar under Ronny Delia and although I liked Ronny as a person it was clearly not the right appointment as the players had chucked it big time after the first year after a fall out after CL qualifying ended in failure.
I want him criticising, we have regressed so badly we deserve it, its what ultimately makes us stronger because anything that lives in a harsh environment, finds a way to be tougher and better and that’s what we should be striving for. We’ve got stale, lazy and complacent. Even our fans have, making excuses for our board when the evidence is damning and having an attitude, that we just have to finish in front of Sevco in a race for who’s the least worse title.
Well done Sutton, pile it on just hit the right ? target please.
Well said Sid, i do not want any ex players being sychophantic towards us (ie) Celtic i might not like it but i want truth always, big Chris loves Celtic of that i am pretty sure! we need to take criticism! if it is warranted and of recent it certainly has been. The team and Brendan needed a shake last week against the buddies was a big improvement from which i hope we kick on now starting against Mcinnes lot on Sat Cumoan the hoops.
Not Kosher? This blog would be one of the first to criticise a McCann or a Miller for talking up someone who was 3rd choice for a poor Championship side, particularly one he’ll have plenty of contacts at. Any Celtic pundit who wants to be kosher instead of giving an honest opinion when the performances have been brutal all season will get zero credibility from me.
Quick answer to the question. Naw
James Chris Sutton has been having a go at celtic since he started working with sky .he’s now licking clements backside changed his tune about cantwell goldson and tavanier players he was having a go at now he says their great players the way he’s going he’ll be a idiot of a pundit like boyd his new best friend
my Facebook memories from 6 years ago came up yesterday. is Sutton joining the company with his commentary!!!!!!!!! scary HH
Although Sutton is an ex Celtic player he’s paid to call it as he sees it and that’s exactly what he does. Sometimes he’s required to take his green tinted specs off and that’s what he does. I don’t agree with everything he says but I always accept that his opinion is honest.
I don’t think there’s any question Chris Sutton is Celtic through and through. He’s always defended the club he played for so his comments to me are more in frustration than anything else. Like us he’s disappointed we didn’t make any signings over the winter break and he’s also correct in saying we haven’t been the same team since big Ange left. Like us the last thing he wants is Old Firm FC winning the league
I totally agree about Andy Walker, I can’t understand his constant anti-Celtic view but Sutton is a guy I credit with more integrity, he got his media profile by being honest, not by being deliberately controversial so I’m inclined to think he’s still expressing his view and not being twisted.
He will have been reigned in by his bosses as he was upsetting the melluable little snowflakes of their Sevco readership…
Most people have to do what the bosses want done –
There again most people are not in a position like these guys where they choose to sell their soul to the devil for the cash…
However – If he’s saying Celtic have regressed from last season, it’s the truth – We Have Sadly !
Of the 2 seasons timescale that Ange spent here I’d say about 2rds of it was right good and we spoiled by it. The other 3rd was setting in & a bad ending to his final season. In that time the huns were no great shakes riddled with injuries and inconsistencies. Clement Fraud has a more settled squad now with a bit more quality and a less injuries to players of importance to the their 1st team.
This has helped their consistency issues and thus results. So some credit has to be given as the outcome is they are challenging us neck and neck atm. So Sutton can rightly point to that rightly.
We have been the masters of our own downfall. We’ve lost quality from the squad and not replaced or added to the squad with quality and experience sufficiently enough. With injuries to important 1st team players adding to our woes it seems that wheel has turned the wrong and in their favour. We’ve all said it and so now is Sutton.
What’s harsh is that he has a sharp tongue and a fiery pen (keyboard then) and it’s hard to take as he’s was and is our man and our strongest verbal supporter of our club in both press and media.
My reality is though that he’s incorrectly punting the blame from the board onto Rodgers shoulders and directing some of his ire on the players. I believe he misdirected in not continuing to point out that the team from the midden is like us no great shakes either and that we have players that can return and increase our potential and they don’t.
There’s time yet to see if some these development players can show improvements at 1st team level but that time is not yet.
I’ll say it again; we need our injured quality players to return and last to the season’s end and we’ll be fine. Not to do so or only partly to do so leaves us in a precarious situation from which we may or may not take this title.
A bit of a more balanced approach, highlighting the truth of our situation and support for the players would be welcome.
So Chris Sutton let’s see a bit more of the Celtic fan and less of the misdirected despair in your reporting and a bit less of the turncoat hun love-in. In short stop acting like a piece of shite. HH
Wilson, Walker, Nicholas and MacAvennie are not relevant. Celtic fans who take any credence in what they say/write have a problem.
I trust the big man.
Is he building them up to then shoot them down, mibees aye, mibees naw, but I’m sure he will come out with all guns blazing in due course. Big Chris is Celtic through and through and we should not be doubting him.
SSMPM. Great post open, honest, fair. Chris is a celtic man, no doubt about that. Like a lot of us this season(so far) has had its frustrations and this shows in his opinions this season.