Soccer Football - Scottish Premiership - Celtic v Rangers - Celtic Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - December 30, 2023 Celtic's Kyogo Furuhashi celebrates scoring their second goal with Greg Taylor Action Images via Reuters/Craig Brough
Yesterday, at his presser, Brendan Rodgers was asked if he thought that there was something of a celebratory atmosphere after the game. He rejected the idea flat-out. The fans, he said, are staying as grounded as the players and as the coaching staff and as everyone else at the club. We all know that there is still work to be done here.
As he pointed out, that’s the attitude that permeates everything at Parkhead at this moment in time. No complacency will be allowed to creep into things. Everyone is in good spirits. That comes from confidence. Arrogance is difference. If there was arrogance at Celtic right now then I wouldn’t need to be writing about it, because the media would be way ahead of me in urging the Ibrox players to be pinning stuff to dressing room walls.
As per usual, the only people getting excited are the media, and Ibrox fans who require some motivation. It’s them freaking out over Rodgers’ “have a bit of fun” comments yesterday. The hacks are publicising it as if it’s a declaration of World War 3. The reaction on the forums of Sevconia is a little bit more mental than even that.
They obviously need to gee themselves up for the coming seven days.
An almighty amount of pressure is about to start squeezing in on their club. They have at least managed to dispatch ten-man Kilmarnock this afternoon, but anyone who endured the match until Lawrence got the third would have seen how horrible a performance it was and how utterly devoid of real quality they are. Next weekend, we could really hurt them if our players perform and we take our chances when they present themselves.
So, it was obvious that The Sunday Mail’s resident clown, old Ancient Embarrassment himself, would choose today to focus on the pressure on the Celtic players and the manager. And make one of his unsubtle digs about the Celtic fans as well, as though we were all lunatics prone to leaping off the deep end diving board at the first setback, something that he’s been proved colossally wrong on time and time and time again this season.
Hell, the narrative around Celtic all season long has been of a club in crisis, even when we had that seven point lead they bang on about so much. And old Ancient Embarrassment has been one of the loudest voices predicting doom, gloom and darkness whilst heaping so much praise on Manneken Piss and his team it’s a wonder they can walk upright.
Read this for utter garbage; this is the level this geezer operates at, this is the kind of hyperbolic guff that spews forth from his pen these days.
“The word “unforgiving” is synonymous with every (Glasgow) derby. But this one takes living with the consequences of defeat to an unprecedented level. Two sides with very few Scottish players have to understand the affect on the lives of their supporters that their performances will create. A Celtic team made up primarily of English, Canadian, American, Danish, German and Asian players is now confronted by the biggest game they will ever have played in.”
Maybe I’m missing his point. But let’s go over this nonsense.
The English player is Joe Hart who has played in title winning Celtic sides. In fact, Hart has played in an EPL title winning team as this eejit admits. The Canadian is Alastair Johnston; he made his debut at Ibrox in a massive match and has played in several of them since. The American is Cameron Carter Vickers. Hardly a babe in the woods. The Danish player I struggled to place. And then I remembered; he’s talking about Matt O’Riley. Matt O’Riley is going to crack under the pressure of playing in this game. Matt O’Riley whose second or third match as a Celtic player was against the Ibrox team in a game to put us top of the league. Who performed brilliantly at Ibrox in front of none but their fans (and had a bottle chucked at him) and scored a critical penalty. The German is Kuhn. We’ll see how he performs, if he starts the game. And the Asians … well I think Maeda, Kyogo and Hatate have all done sufficiently well in these matches before that none of us should be worried how they’ll sleep in the build up to this. It’s just another game for them.
I re-read that part again, by the way, in case I was hallucinating it. The Asian players might crack under the pressure. Kyogo, who has won games against them single-handed. Hatate, who like O’Riley, was only in his second or third appearance that night at Celtic Park in February two years ago which put us top … and he scored a beauty that night. And Daizen Maeda, who Tavernier dearly wished he’d never have to see again, except when he caught the odd Celtic match on the telly over in Saudi Arabia. Surprise! You’ll be seeing plenty more of him!
And with his dire article today, he has, in addition, made one of his lamentable predictions, based on nothing more than whatever he sees through those thick specs of his; “All will be forgiven if Celtic win. All hell will break loose if they lose.”
All hell will break loose if we lose? Really? There aren’t still two games to go, with the teams just about level? No, if by some hellish confluence of circumstances we did lose next weekend there would be no “hell” breaking loose; there would, instead, be the same disciplined approach to the last two games that there have been to the games up until now. We would know we had to win them both, and win them both well … that would be the reality.
I am supremely confident about next weekend. Supremely. They were as dire today as we were exceptional yesterday. I have no fears about them, they are not a good side, and with our boys capable of upping their game I feel sure we will dominate from start to finish and as good as secure the title. I don’t expect old Ancient Embarrassment to give us credit when we do, because he’s already pushing the “two poor sides” narrative, which is especially unusual for someone who sang the praises loudly and lustily of the one across the city for long enough this season.
But I don’t expect he’s concerned about the double standard, or that he even recognises it. The man is a muppet. The man is a clown. The man should have given it up years ago. He is a relic of a bygone era when hacks could write this sort of dreck and not be called on it and those days are over.
Shankland should have been red carded for a second yellow offence which was ignored. It was enough the ref gave the penalty, I guess was the thinking.
You wonder what goes on in Lawwell’s big “bawheed” watching this. Is he not embarrassed?
I guess he is a Celtic supporter because I have seen a picture of him wearing the club tie and what further proof do you need than that.
One thing that has to be addressed by the board is that almost every tackle results in a foul for the opposition. It is getting tedious.
We have nothing to fear from that team, they’re awful. A fair refereeing performance and we could win by 3 or 4. Had Kilmarnock kept 11 men on the pitch they’d have at least a point today. And they were terrible.
I read BRodge’s comments more as the team will be working hard all week, so the game itself will be more fun than training.
He in everyone’s old grandpa who says everything opposite to what is the normal just to be different. He is told old to give a opinion based on some facts. Remember when he said Brown was joining rangers 100% no going back then after a few celtic fans came on the radio after he joined us after 3 people he was nearly greeting asking people to stop it.
“Hyperbolic guff that spews from his pen these days” –
I’d call it Hyperbolic guff that spews from his CRAYON these days…
And apt it is that his specs are thick – Because clearly so is he !
And so is any Celtic supporter that pays a pound or whatever his rag costs to keep him and the rest of the jobbies in their jobs !
Not that I would ever, ever suggest this, but there would be a delicious comedy value in losing next week and still winning the league. I’m not sure I would ever stop laughing.
Let them hype all they want. Can expect any sort of media BS in the comin days. It’s what we dae that matters tae us. They’re sayin it wasn’t a ‘vintage’ rangers performance. Vintage ?? Reality is they were poor, looked void of ideas and without Kilmarnock bein reduced tae 10, the likelihood is they were in trouble again. Ah’ve nae doubt we’ll just keep quietly focused on ourselves and take next week as it comes.
James , that sack of bile that the sleeveen is , has not as long as i can remember had a decent word to utter about all things celtic , and proven wrong in almost every comment or prediction he make’s as he continues to pityfully ingratiate himself to sevco and it’s followers at every opportunity he gets , he’s a pathetic excuse for a sports commentator and brings shame to the profession , i don’t buy his paper or read it online , stopped listening to SSB because of his and others involvement , but here i am commenting on the stuffy nosed git all the same .
the truth is that he’s used on these media outlets due to being a useful idiot and his shady gombeen antics to discredit all things Celtic , lets hope this time next week he’s be crying into his hot milk !!
His salient feature is that he knows very little about football, which in any other country would be a serious drawback for a football writer, but not of course in Scotland.
I prefer knowing him as spew heavens as someone else has previously called him .
He only wr…scribbles this garbage as he’s not got much going for him as he’s a washed up “sports writer” and an absolute embarrassment pretending to be a radio pundit who actually does make a complete arse of himself regularly.
Says a lot about the rag he’s employed by allowing this outdated relic to spout this nonsense consistently.
No wonder it’s sales are falling off a cliff .
he is such a bitter, parasitic, hypocritical old git….he feeds, and has fed, off the very entity – celtic-sevco rivalry – for years (which appears to disgust him) if he holds it in such disdain, why does he continue to earn his living off it ?
Never wrote a word about a teams nerve when that lot dropped 5 points in less than a week
He was too busy doing hatchet jobs on Celtic fans for singing songs
The man for almost 40 years has been an embarrassing buffoon. Talks the biggest load of excrement I’ve ever heard . ? who sit on the radio programme are every bit as dim, unintelligent as he is. He’s nothing but a deranged pensioner seeking attention. He should be in a nursing home with fellow imbeciles like the American president.
this rag like the radar needs to be put to bed their front page headline today about a personal family matter really shows how low they have sunk, just like the radar they are no better than the ultra right wing english media scandal sheets.
I had to laugh at the Auld Fenian Hun last night. After inviting fans of Celtic, St Mirren etc., on to air their views about their team`s performance, a Celtic fan reminded him about declaring the league was lost to Celtic after early season defeats. He started spluttering that he has been wrong over 700 times, so what was the big issue. He told the caller that he was obsessed by
a 74 year old man and questioned why he called (despite being invited to do so earlier.). He told him to concentrate on what Rodgers and his Celtic team was doing rather than phoning up
and annoying him, this 74 year old man. Another Celtic fan who rang to complain about he refereeing in Scotland was virtually told that he would be better to celebrate the Celtic victory
rather than complain about referees. If he had complained when Celtic lost, it would have been
sour grapes. But poor old Shug, he even complained that the caller started calling him Shug
and finished with Mr Keevins, certainly lost his cool. The signing of Lubo was also mentioned, which didn`t help his blood pressure.
Oh make no mistake! If they got a one nil win, the last two games would consist of red cards and penalties in their favour we cannot allow that to happen.
Spew heevins being compared to Joe Biden is class ,
(brilliant) except Bidens got more facilities than a fading intellect than Shug the mug possesses.
I remember a friend telling me that he had to visit Keevin’s house to do a job.
They got talking about football, and his role on SSB. Basically, “Old Faithful,” declared that his sole purpose was to wind up any Celtic or Sevco fan that phoned up.
I never read any of his dross, as I do not buy any of our ‘lovely,’ smsm publications. By the sounds of it, I’m not missing anything.
He does not deserve any of our time, and his football knowledge would not even cover, the back of a stamp!
Insignificant, inessential and insipid!
It’s only Sunday a week from the game,and their manager is cracking under the pressure,their lickspittles in the press talking nonsense and their fans going full on staunch mentalness,with stupid banners about anything but the football.Rattled much?
Who is AE?
He’s told us that his brother was a priest, so obviusly we’re supposed to believe that, if anything, his leanings are towards Celtic. However he’s taken the cash for conscience money and performs as the Tame Tim for the Rangers Review !
The personification of a hypocrite !!!
I’m a bit like yourself on this one. Celtic are finding a bit of form at the right time and god it’s been a long time in coming. But your right, if Celtic win this one and I expect them to they’ll all disappear into the woodwork again. This includes the ex-players as well, the bullshit I have heard coming out of the mouths of Barry Ferguson, Neil McCann and the biggest biggot of them all Kris Boyd. I can’t wait to see what comes out of the mouths of the biggest muppets of them all.
As a chelsea fan , I read your article , and you are spot on. Celtic will just get on and play their football , and it will be a celtic win. The fans have been brilliant all season . The man from the daily mail , deluded eejit. HH