I’ve said before and before and before that this blog is not a Celtic site. Don’t let the name fool you. It’s a Scottish football site written from a Celtic perspective. Of course one of the key focusses on here is our club above all else, but I make no apology for occasionally casting a look elsewhere and the club across the city in particular.
We cover the news wherever it happens and whenever it breaks. Celtic’s defeat last night has given us all something to talk about, for sure, but it’s not the only thing happening in the game here and there are other stories and it’s part of the job to write them and there’s a big one which broke yesterday at Ibrox. A bad one. But not for us. For them. For the remaining shred of credibility their manager had left.
I could care less that they are having their wee moment today; they are crazy for thinking that what happened last night matters at all to them and if they are taking amusement from it then the joke’s on them because the club they are laughing at plays right here in their backyard and spanks them repeatedly.
When we laugh at them for their reversals abroad we do so from the position of strength, sitting on the summit as champions and the biggest club in the country. Laughing at an opponent who has you beat is just stupid.
And they have bigger things to worry about over there in any case.
The news that Ianis Hagi has been welcomed back to the first team squad is genuinely jaw-dropping because Clement has made his position on that crystal clear. There was no ambiguity about it and he offered himself no wiggle room for a reversal on it. Yet he will be expected to sit in front of the media before this weekend and pretend that he’s fine with this and what amounts to a full-on public humiliation.
The hacks are already spinning this because that’s what some of them have been told to do. “In the end it was Clement’s decision” was the line they were being asked to push. You know what that reminded me of? Those hostage videos you sometimes see on the news where a guy sits and reads out a prepared statement with a sorry look on his face and occasionally flicks his eyes to the guy off-screen who has the gun pointed at him. The idea that Clement made this decision is rendered nonsensical by the facts in the piece itself and by the whole history of this issue. His hand has been forced both from within his dressing room and by those above him at the club.
In short, they cut him off at the knees here. He has no authority anymore. His directors are interfering in team selection and his players are lobbying for their mates. He’s finished. It’s just a matter of when the axe falls now.
Because this is a guy who was already starting to crack. His Basil Fawlty “Don’t mention the VAR” number the other day was just one of the more obvious outward signs of it but we all know he’s been forced to make peace with the idea of keeping certain players he wanted to move on and a captain he wanted to strip of the armband.
When the manager has been rag-dolled like this he’s finished, and all the spin in the world won’t make a blind bit of difference to how he’s perceived. Mr Winning Mentality has been shown to be weak and easily bullied.
There’s no coming back from that.
So there’s ‘Daddy’ Lawwell equivalents at Liebrox as well then…
As in interfering in on the field of play matters –
Where on earth did they get the money for Hagi’s extra wages then ?
On a Celtic matter – Could ‘Daddy’ perhaps tell Brendan to be as pragmatic in Europe with team selections and tactics as he is pragmatically wise with the purse strings !
Might actually be a ‘win’ situation for Cement.
By freezing Hagi out, perhaps they’ve managed to secure a ‘favourable financial deal’ which allows him to play without officially triggering the bonus in his contract.
Mibbees aye? Mibbees naw? ?????
Dead man walking, and they will soon hang him out to dry.
They don’t have tae look far for their own problems, tae say the least. We knew also, the media and other ‘friends’ would be sittin eagerly, droolin and waitin for our defeat tae happen. Good for them, they’ve achieved a bit of rare happiness and for us, unfortunately gutted and pissed off we had tae oblige. One thing tho, it’s always incredible, how their support love tae throw in comparisons and completely ignore perspective tae suit their self. Never fails. The actual word doesnae compute in their mindset. This latest example of them tryin tae compare the Dortmund side they beat ( who were without 3 key players that night, includin talisman Halland and a manager the support wanted rid of ) with the one we played last night. They don’t want tae accept Dortmund still have 3 quarters of the team and a new manager that reached the CL final last year and have spent millions on more quality since. That doesnae come intae it tho, not at all with this lot. These facts don’t matter tae their wee minds. ‘We beat Dortmund’ ! As if the circumstances were the same for both games. Wisnae even the same European tournaments. Tho ah hope our manager, has had enough reason tae think about our approach and set up in these remainin games. There’s still time.
Brilliant as always James
Maybe we should lighten up a wee bit James, they are having their moment today, and I cannot abide what that club is all about, but we would be doing the exact same and the fact we were pumped 7-1, you have to expect and probably deserve a ribbing for it. Football in Scotland and England has always been thus. If Hearts get thrashed, Hibs fans are giving it yahoo etc. We know the territory and what comes next, but with Spurs and Man Utd to play, the same grief could be coming their way real soon. I mentioned in another column recently that I believe it’s important not to hate “The Rangers” more than we love Celtic, and I really don’t mean or intend to piss anyone off with that thought.
My love for Celtic and my hatred for THEM are in the same ballpark, I’m 100% committed to both emotions.
Put out after the media’s attention was hammering celtic about the result, typical under the radar tactics, the scum media will go along with it spinning that hagi had clear the air talks with lurch, hopefully Lyon do us a favour and horse them tonight to see
if the scum media write with much the same venom about sevco .