This morning, I caught Chris Sutton on Sky talking about England’s chances in the Euros and the challenges that await them. All very normal, nothing controversial or unexpected about that. Sutton played for England, although he didn’t get the number of caps his immense talents deserved, part of the general snobbery about players north of the border.
Regular readers will know that Sutton occasionally frustrates me when writing about Celtic, but he is one Hell of an advocate and ambassador for our club.
In fact, over the last season, I started to think that maybe Sutton’s only problem is that he cares a bit too much and that, he like the rest of us, suffers from a natural sense of frustration and even anger when things aren’t going right with us … and expresses that anger when he’s talking or writing about what he sees as our perceived failings.
And I like that, and I respect that. We don’t get an easy ride from Sutton, and there are times when we don’t deserve one anyway, and I always know that when those days come around that he will speak his mind and say what has to be said.
Aside from talking about England today, Sutton turned to talking about Scotland and let me tell you, its here where I think the big man occasionally shines brightest. Because he’s not just passionate about Celtic and a fine representative of our club, but he’s a marvellous ambassador for Scottish football as well, and that in a time when so many of our hacks are determined to talk the game down and can do nothing but criticise every aspect of it.
Sutton never does that. Not only that, he aggressively goes after anyone who does.
How many times have you heard him argue with some sneering eejit from south of the border who is busily running the game here down? If only our other hacks would do the same, the reputation of the game up here might be in better condition. Oh, I know it won’t make any difference to the product on the park, but having people in our media go around all the time talking about how terrible it is up here isn’t exactly the best way to sell the game to the outside world.
Sutton always does though, and that’s why when he talks about any aspect of our game I listen to him intently, and as usual he was excellent this morning, talking up the national team although we’ve been a bit shaky of late.
He thinks we’ve got a chance tomorrow, that we can take the Germans by surprise, and that we can give more than a credible account of ourselves across the tournament as a whole. Yeah, it’s a long shot but listening to that makes a change from all the usual doom and gloom rubbish which proliferates amongst our media, who spend much of their time drooling over the prospects of other teams, and England in particular.
Sutton is a breath of fresh air. If the day ever comes and we get off the floor and stop allowing the likes of Doncaster to sell us short, we could do worse than send Sutton out there as a salesman for everything that’s good about Scottish football.
He’d do it too. He already does.
I think Hart could be another one who’ll talk up Celtic and Scottish football at every turn. For him to say one of his highlights was playing away at Livingston says it all. I love that someone with his English national team pedigree will now regularly talk positively about Celtic and the game up here.
Big Chris has a passion for Celtic and always talks up Scottish Football. Quite a few players have come up from the “Best League in the World” and didn’t find it easy. I know that a couple have been at the fag end of their careers and one or two haven’t, the two most recently who failed to make the grade were Aaron Ramsey at Ibrox and sadly big Shane Duffy at Celtic Park and the biggest clown of all Barton, a guy who was going to sort Scott Brown out, Aye right. Playing for Celtic and The Rangers isn’t easy, to play nearly every game where a draw is a disaster takes a certain type of character, that’s why I get annoyed when eejits like Savage spout rubbish, that guy wouldn’t have lasted a season up here.
The hacks here in Scotland love to criticise most of Scottish Football, although there is a lot of gushing praise goes Ibrox way, especially during the close season. A couple of friendly victories and Mr Clemence will be a World class manager again and then sacked by October.
Another thing I want off my chest is this modern fashion of Celtic fans having an English team, this is total PxSH, As a veteran Celtic supporter there is and always will be only one club team for me in the World and that’s The Great Glasgow Celtic.
Chris Sutton is a Celtic legend. Clearly Celtic started to dominate in Scotland again from 2000-01. That O’Neil team was a turning point in Scottish Football history. And Sutton was a major personality that turned the whole inferiority complex on its head. Remember his first interview ? I am here to put Rangers on their place. Then he scores on 90 seconds. What huge personality. Fergus, O’Neil, Larson, Sutton, Lennon those 5 for me created the Celtic superiority that has been built on by others and lasted 25 years nearly and set to continue.