Every club which spirals into an early season crisis, no matter who they are or what league they are in, is like a wounded animal; easy prey for any big predator which comes along. There is nothing more soul-crushing than a start to the campaign which makes all the summer preparations seem like a waste of time, energy and hope.
The Ibrox club has already been robbed of its energy.
Their pre-season preparations are in absolute turmoil. The budget has been trashed by the costs of their unfolding disaster. Feel-good has been replaced by a sense of unravelling which all the positive spin from Jackson and others cannot halt.
Much of its hope has gone as well, and how could it not? Instead of being confident that they are on the right track the whole organisation is riven with doubt, and the feeling that all involved are stuck in a revolving door of shambles is very strong.
Celtic remains silent. And, in the only way that matters, idle.
Rumours about signings continue to swirl; no actual business has been done, something which allows the pro-Ibrox media to cast us as equally shambolic. We aren’t. But the people running our club are arrogant and the risk that they will look across the city at the mess there and decide they don’t need to work very hard is real, and we should not pretend that it is not. The people at the top of our own house are the gravest danger to our club.
The thing is, we have the power, right now, to deliver the death blow and we can do it without even kicking a ball on the park. They are in such an abject state that the mere sight of us doing big business, spending that surplus and getting our team sorted out, would have inflicted greater psychological damage on them than they can take.
The moment is ripe for this.
Their fans don’t even know where they’ll be watching their football, and that’s torturous for most of them and there’s no solution which is going to suit everybody or calm them all down. Half of this support will be uproarious regardless of what solution is eventually arrived at.
The only thing keeping the lid on this is us.
If Celtic was getting its business done more swiftly, if we had two or three new players – not re-signing the loanees, but new players, new strength in the squad – the meltdown over there would be just about complete. The unravelling would have kicked up a gear, and it is bound to when we do finally start to piece this team together.
Looking across the street at Celtic, with us having done no business, with us apparently no further forward in spite of our team being weaker than last season’s … that is what they draw the remaining shreds of their confidence from.
We can take that away in a heartbeat, and once we start to add to this squad we almost certainly will.
The cash is there for us to press the advantage, and as much as their fans were hyping the “rebuild” – with The Record running an excited story today about a goal scored in a training session – the truth is that they’ve not made a single signing which you would describe as a game-changer. If we complete a deal for, say, Bernardo that will, in all probability, be more money on one player than they have spent on their team thus far.
Once they see that we’re in a good place, the bad place they are in will seem ever darker and more oppressive to them. And that’s when teams fall apart quickly. That’s when seasons unravel right at the start. That’s when a wounded animal becomes easy prey.
We also haven’t presently lost any first team player of value, Hatate, O’Riley, Kyogo, CCV etc that in itself is a positive.
Bernardo, Idah and an international keeper will all be assets we should make money on re-sale so no real gamble. Hoping their will be another 3 or 4 on top of that.
On the other side of town, the rangers are doing as they have done in the past taking other team’s unwanted talent who will be first team ready MAYBE next season and trying to punt every one of their players it seems. They will definitely be weaker than last season but I do expect them to pick up Shankland, their BIG signing, if not they are definitely struggling.
Sadly the club are not biding their time. They are doing what they always do. Low ball, project hunt, tighten the wallet and lower expectations. Its shameful that we have known for 6 months we need a goalkeeper and a left back as a minimum and noone has been identified as yet.
As usual the Bean Counter Chairman will be pulling the strings.
Every Senior Executive at Celtic owes their appointment to Lawwell.
For Celtic to state that as Chairman, a so called honorary position, and that he has no direct involvement
with the day to day running of the Club, is a risible statement which is supremely patronising and dismissive of the Support.
His fucking DNA is all over the Club. He doesn’t need to dabble in events and processes. He handpicked and trained the Senior Staff. They will act in his ‘likeness’ as long as he’s around.
We need to drive him out.
Rogers’ 9-players comment was in part a jive at them.
We just need to do our part and the whole pack of cards(sic) will collapse.
I think we are probably trying to do some business but the wages we pay are a restriction as is our badly run league. With bent referees, players like Frimpong got kicked all over the park and couldn’t wait to leave. As Rodgers has said, we could have had a lot of players through the door already but the quality would not have been there, a la the pretendy huns. I’m keeping faith we will come good before the season starts.
It’s all ifs buts and maybes. We don’t have any control of this situation whatsoever. If, for example, they qualify for the group stages of the UCL then that changes everything for them. Sure we’re in a better position in that we have already qualified and that gives us the funds to do some damage. But we also have to take into account previous discussions about bringing in the right players.
We just need to have confidence that it will happen. As for that mob at Liebrox, I don’t see why their situation should be forcing us to do anything.
Think someone has to have a serious chat to lawwell about his obsession with all things sevco, I’m starting to worry his meddling is about to intensify , his arse was about to be thrown on the barbecue last season and only Rodgers and the team saved that by winning the title, this team has to strengthen for Europe, his obsession is hindering the team and manager moving forward.
The money is there and moves must have been made already in the background for team ready players, if not it’s on him.
Whatever is happening to that sevco sideshow is not , nor should be how we go about our own business, they are an irrelevance .
Your’e absolutely right, the time is ‘ripe’ (once again) for our club tae leave them behind. We have financial rescources way beyond them. We’ve been here before tho and ah think we all know the question is will they ?! First and foremost it’s Europe we should be prioritisin.
We ‘should’ blow them outta the water with us much as a sneeze so we should…
But O#D F#%M Pete and Lord Lucan And Butchers Apron loving Brian are still around the board so of course then we absolutely won’t then –
There must always be an O#D F#%M (even though that ‘thing’ is long rotting in hell) for these shower of charlatans tragically for us Hoops supporters !