Today, the Celtic fansite Celts Are Here highlighted the appalling questions directed at our new signing, Arne Engels, by one of Scottish football’s more desperate hacks during his first proper sit-down with the media since joining the club.
First off, credit to Celts Are Here for their piece—it’s an important article on a serious issue.
Whoever that journalist was, he showed no interest in welcoming the player or promoting the greater good of the Scottish game. Instead, he posed a deplorable double question, not only talking down our league but also suggesting that Engels lacked ambition for wanting to come here in the first place.
The obvious question to ask is, what motivates a mainstream journalist to ask that kind of question to a player who’s left an elite league to join us? But of course, the answer is just as obvious. If Engels had signed for the club across the city, no one would have dared to ask such a question. The hack responsible would have been applauding wildly, touting it as a coup for the country, for the league, and for his favourite club.
The media is a scandal in this country; there’s no other word for it.
This is why they constantly try to link any decent player at Celtic with a move away almost as soon as he’s signed. I touched on this yesterday with Paulo Bernardo and the stories already circulating about how much money we could make from him. Now, they’re doing the same thing with Engels, already talking about a potential £40 million transfer fee.
Who cares? The lad’s only just joined and barely played a handful of minutes. Maybe it would be nice if they let us enjoy having him at the club for a while before trying to sell him on.
But that is a different matter entirely from what the journalist tried to do with those questions. In particular, his second question invoked Matt O’Riley and his decision to leave, as if to suggest that’s what ambition looks like—someone walking away from this club to play in England, rather than wanting to come here from Germany. It was transparently obvious what the intent behind that question was: pure mischief-making.
What it reveals, of course, is something nasty and petty about those who cover the game here. Not only do they suffer from what we call “the cringe”—an embarrassing, almost self-loathing view of the country they were born in, and in the context of football, a disdain for the league we watch—but they are also incapable of separating their dislike of Celtic and their love for the club at Ibrox from their coverage. This makes their reporting hopelessly unbalanced and skewed.
There is a clear element of jealousy at play here, and it’s impossible to ignore. These journalists look at a signing like Engels’s and can barely comprehend it. They cannot fathom how, in a league they constantly talk down, our club can attract such top-level talent.
Funny how these same questions were never asked when Fabio Silva arrived last season or when Amad Diallo came to Ibrox the season before that.
The press gleefully reported those signings as proof that the club over there meant business—there were no questions about the players’ ambition. Malik Tillman moved to Ibrox from Bayern Munich, initially on loan, with hopes they could convince him to stay. Not once did anyone suggest that this move showed a lack of ambition.
The difference in how the two clubs are treated is stark, obvious, and much maligned here and elsewhere.
Yet our hacks continue to operate in this way, without the slightest hint of shame. The only wonder is that people like this are still allowed to attend our club’s press conferences, where they transparently try to talk down Celtic and Scottish football as a whole.
They don’t even try to hide their motivations.
Engels’s signing terrifies them. In this window, we broke our transfer record twice, while the other lot were scrabbling around in the bargain bin looking for rejects. It’s a hammer blow against their club, and they simply cannot believe we did it.
In their horror, their true colours are on full display.
Engels must have wondered yesterday what he had walked into because a signing like his should be celebrated across Scottish football by everyone who values the game and wants to see it improve. He must have wondered why a senior Scottish football journalist was so eager to talk down our league to that extent. But I have no doubt that it will be explained to him soon enough.
The simple way to explain it? Point to the green and white hoops, to the famous shirt and say, “This is why, son, this is why right here.”
Once he understands that, everything else will make perfect sense to him too.
Plenty of people are asking the same question on here; “Who was the hack?” The boys from Celts Are Here wrote the initial piece and they didn’t recognise the voice. Imagine people thinking I’d protect the identity of some Ibrox fan-boy making trouble! How little you know me, and after all this time too … haha! If I find out you’ll be the first to know.
This is why I haven’t been to parkhead/celtic park since the early 1990s middle class anti celtic/Catholic wee boys in the Scottish media are allowed access to parkhead and celtic player’s to ask these bigoted and sectarian questions with impunity kick them out and only let people like yourself and other celtic fan site’s in cut these pathetic middle class wee school boys off at the knees celtic don’t need them
You haven’t been at Parkhead because of journalists. I find that incredible that anyone could have that mindset. I have followed the club for 50 years and I have never read such a thing.
James, if you and the other bloggers are concerned about this, and probably rightly so, why dont you say who this journalist is? Maybe you guys give HIM an easy ride? Just saying.
Agreed
Well, I think that’s yet another reason why I ALWAYS refer to them as…
THE SCUMMY’S OF THE SCUMMY SCOTTISH FOOTBALL MEDIA…
I don’t think any true Celtic supporter could argue about that extremely accurate ascertation of The Rancid Bar Stewards, that much is mos pt definitely certain…
And by they way – That’s one of ma ‘nicer’ descriptions of the sordid tramps that are a human disgrace to their profession that is long gone and is no more !
Time celtic employed a person to intervene when dirty tricks like this are asked . Someone with the expertise like celtic mad Benard Ponsoby . No player should be put in the position of facing these clowns and bigots alone
The irony of a media that trumpets that referees aren’t biased whilst at the same time they are incapable of it themselves….
Engels will settle in and understand these journalists for what they are soon enough.
I’m just looking forward to seeing him play, can’t wait for tomorrow… C’mon the hoops!
These people should be outed and for some reason you haven’t said who it is.
Why?
Wouldnae surprise me one bit, if it was young of the DR. Never even really tries tae hide his allegiances tae ibrox. His article yesterday was all about Engels bein transferred in the future and the guy’s no even played 90 mins yet. They’re a frustrated, jealous bunch and it shows big time.
It has been said on here ad nauseum, about these Sevco fans with access to keyboards…they are a disgrace to their profession!
The fact that they are still referred to as “sports journalists,” is extremely laughable, if it wasn’t so serious.
I am glad that I stopped buying any of these ridiculous tabloids, many moons ago, and it is no surprise that their circulations are rapidly dwindling!
You could probably mould a more intelligent, efficient and coherent reporter from some of their old newspapers, turned into a papier mache puppet! ( or maybe they’re already present at some of these press conferences!)
Celtic should start to vet some of these cretins and their obtuse questioning, and if they continue to be disparaging and disrespectful towards our players and club, they are banned! Simple!
On the subject of Taylor, I hope he is given a new contract. I agree that it has to suit all parties, and any new contract has to be meritorious…Retain him, and sign another quality left back to solve this issue once and for all. I know we have Valle on loan, but I have no doubt he will return to Barcelona, when the loan period expires!
Who was it James. Name him then we can check it out. We can then make our own mind up.
It’s about time Celtic banned these stupid clowns from press conference as there hatred for our great club seeps out of there pores
Why do we not name this hack?
So, what was the question? Nowhere in the article does it mention it!
Name & shame please, you don’t owe this biased “hack” any anonymity whatsoever, so don’t hold back, they need calling out !!
Aye its shocking kwm mind in the 90,s their cheating days laudrups and tor a whole flo amd gazza wasent the case of no ambition it was good for scottish football.Acording to the press back then but now were doin the signings its a nad move for certain players then tjeir tryin to sell them before theyve kicked a ball really shocking their journalists their meant to be impartial the same as the dummy so called commentaters their nothin but cheerleaders for their team but yet again lik3s of sutton if we dont play to the standered were used to he’ll say and the same with the transfer wimdows rangers are signing playwrs nobodies heard of but tjenpress are like aye this lot could get it right this time.While old sutty was like cmon celtic get it together and get some players signed and we did in the end the media in scotland including the ones on the tv should be all told look your here to cover xyz dont care whay team you suppo?rt youll be reporting like its for the greater good of our game or they get punted simple sick of seeimg that smirk on that boyds face everytime he either thinks celtic are getting beat or rangers are actually getting one over us its terrible you dont get that in any other league then we wonder why were looked at as a joke league nobodies fault but tje media circus up here simple sorry rant over
Keevins?
Lol who are these people we need to know their names,shouted a drunk.
Bring ALL the SNAKES into the open from under the boulder,HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA HAHAHA HAHAHAHAHA!name and shame the scum.and WE can do it in return
Why is he not barred from interviewing? Coybig
Dont let his rotten deluded feet enter our paradise,give him a bit in the bike shed outside and attach a live lead