If it seems to you that the media piled more pressure on Celtic ahead of our game in Bergamo than on the Ibrox club, who play Steaua Bucharest tomorrow, you’re not imagining it. The lack of real pressure on the Ibrox side is glaring.
It’s almost as if they’re being given a free pass.
In some ways, I get it. The Ibrox club isn’t going to win the Europa League. Any talk of them progressing to the latter stages seems fantastical. They have tough games ahead against strong opposition, and already, their victory in Malmö feels like it was years ago.
But more than that, they have bigger problems on the domestic front.
The real trouble for them is at home, where the pressure on Philippe Clement is building. For their fans, European football is less of a thrill this time around. In fact, given the current crisis at the club, Europe might be more of an unwelcome distraction than anything else.
Still, that doesn’t mean the media should be giving them an easy ride.
A European game, especially one they’re expected to win, can have just as toxic an effect on the atmosphere at Ibrox as any domestic failure would. There’s a sense that they should win this match, which is reflected in the media coverage.
Even though they’ve been struggling domestically, Europe has often been where they’ve taken solace and kidded themselves that things were better than they are. That’s been their crutch in recent years—just look at Steven Gerrard’s time or the brief relief it gave Giovanni van Bronckhorst when he was under pressure. The club’s supposed proud European record is something the media loves to hype, even when reality doesn’t quite match up.
This game is particularly dangerous. On its own, it won’t change much for the club. But with Manchester United and Spurs looming, they really need a win to keep any hopes alive of progressing. It’s the kind of fixture that’s a potential landmine because their fans expect to come away with three points. A defeat, however, would be catastrophic, leading to more pressure on Clement and raising serious questions about where the club is headed.
The fans still cling to the idea that Europe is where their team can perform.
But if they lose, that last thread of hope will be severed.
What would they have left to believe in? It would represent a real crisis in terms of their self-perception, even if the rest of us can see this Ibrox team for what it is. I think FCSB are more than capable of getting a win, especially with home advantage. But for the Ibrox fans, failure to win this would be seen as a disaster and confirmation that Clement has lost control.
The media might not push this narrative, but a defeat would make it impossible to ignore.
The calls for Clement’s head are already loud, and they’ll only get louder if he doesn’t deliver.
The problem for him is that even a win won’t really change anything. It might give them a shot at scraping through to a qualifier, or maybe boost their coefficient a bit, but the fans have seen this story before. They know European performances don’t make up for domestic failures.
None of them would trade Celtic’s clean sweep for a Europa League run.
A win might keep them in the hunt, but it would also force Clement to rely even more heavily on his first-team players in future European fixtures, and with their squad depth, or lack thereof, that could make things even worse. Their bench is weak, and their inability to rotate properly is already a massive problem. In a way, Clement might even welcome a situation where Europe isn’t an issue.
Of course, none of their fans will feel that way.
For them, this game is non-negotiable. They expect to win against Bucharest, and many of them still harbour hopes of a run in the tournament. They would be outraged if Clement rested key players only to get hammered by the likes of United or Spurs.
Regardless of whether the media wants to give him a free pass, the Ibrox fans won’t.
It’s curious how little pressure there is on the club going into this match.
The consequences of a loss, though, are very real, whether the media acknowledges them or not.
A defeat could spark protests, and that’s the last thing a club in crisis needs.
They are closer to a full-blown revolt than anyone at Ibrox should feel comfortable with.
Totally agree with what you said. We will never be treated fairly with the so called Scottish media.
Long may the mayhem continue over there, it keeps a smile on my face.
Less than an hour to go for our game, fingers crossed we don’t be embarrassed.
Mon the hoops ?
Agree totally Kate !
What I’ll never ever understand is how Celtic supporters can even consider funding The Scummy’s of The Scummy Scottish Football Media !