The Kyogo-Dessers debate is another in a long line of desperate claims for Celtic fans to laugh at.

There’s a touch of pro-Ibrox delusion doing the rounds online right now, and while it’s barely worth addressing, it’s so absurd that it deserves a swift kick to knock it down. I don’t know which corner of their internet fanbase spawned this one, but it’s genuinely far-fetched, and the fact that anyone is taking it seriously says a lot.

The theory claims the Scottish media is pursuing an agenda against Cyril Dessers by highlighting Kyogo Furuhashi’s achievements while giving Dessers hassle over his lack of finishing, this in spite of Dessers scoring more goals than Kyogo since last August.

Somehow, that’s allegedly enough to accuse the media of bias.

Where do we start dismantling this nonsense?

Well, how about the obvious: anyone who follows football in Scotland knows Kyogo Furuhashi is the vastly superior player, and he’s demonstrated it in every big moment that counts. He’s a proven winner who has delivered on the biggest stages, scoring vital goals when it matters most, helping Celtic lift trophies, and ensuring titles come home.

The difference in calibre is clear to anyone watching the games: Kyogo scores when it’s needed, plays a crucial role in attack, and is constantly a thorn in the Ibrox club’s side. There’s not a soul seriously watching Scottish football who would pick Dessers over Kyogo if given the choice.

In fact, it’s amusing that even among the Ibrox fanbase, there’s a segment who would openly admit that none of their players would make it into the Celtic squad.

That includes their “superstar” striker. The fact some Ibrox fans see it, yet still other supporters are clutching at these numbers, tells you a lot about the desperation at play. It’s as if the only sensible voices on the other side are the ones willing to admit Celtic’s quality outstrips anything they’ve got. And that’s a fairly solid endorsement if you ask me.

And this theory about media bias?

If they look around, they’ll find that most of the criticism of Dessers isn’t even coming from the press; it’s coming from their own forums, their own fans, and from Ibrox’s stands, every time he fails to deliver. The criticism is deafening at times, and it’s obvious that the media doesn’t need to fabricate anything when Dessers is already under fire from his home crowd and, frankly, even his manager. Look at the facts: he’s been criticised openly by the coaching staff, and they even tried to offload him during the summer transfer window. None of that sounds like a media conspiracy against him; if anything, it sounds like his own side has made up its mind.

Stats, of course, can be twisted to say almost anything.

You could start with the premise that a striker should only be judged on goals, which would make Dessers appear like he’s ticking all the boxes. But the reality is that his lack of impact in critical games and his inconsistent performance aren’t winning him any popularity points with fans who actually know the game. Even when he scores, there’s not much else to his play—he isn’t influencing the match the way a top striker should, and it’s noticeable. He’s simply not effective on the pitch beyond those occasional goals, which is why he’s a far cry from what Celtic has in Kyogo.

In contrast, Kyogo is a game-changer, a striker who steps up when it counts, and who has delivered where Dessers has faltered.

He’s scored decisive goals in huge matches, and has racked up eight goals in 15 games against their club; that’s a record Dessers can only dream of. Kyogo’s presence in those matches is constant, keeping defenders on edge, capitalising on chances, and often creating something out of nothing. He’s a player whose quality is evident in the way he terrorises their side every time he plays, leaving an impact that extends well beyond the stat sheet.

And if all this fascination with stats feels familiar, it’s because we’ve seen the same kind of thinking before, courtesy of none other than Kris Boyd. Boyd has spent years puffing himself up by saying he’s scored more SPFL goals than Henrik Larsson, as though that makes him comparable. It’s an argument nobody with sense takes seriously, but Boyd clings to it because it’s the only way he can put himself in the same sentence as a player of Larsson’s calibre.

All this accomplishes is to highlight how misguided these ideas really are. The very notion that Boyd’s numbers would ever put him in Larsson’s league is absurd, just as comparing Dessers to Kyogo is. A player’s goal tally isn’t the whole story; it’s how those goals contribute to the game, what kind of games they’re scored in, and how they impact the team’s success that matters. Kyogo has proved himself in all these ways, while Dessers flatters to deceive.

In the end, even if the Ibrox faithful believed Dessers was up to par (which they don’t), or if the media was tough on him and lenient on Kyogo (which it isn’t), it still wouldn’t stand up to scrutiny. Kyogo’s performance as a footballer far outshines Dessers’. This is just one more example of the lengths some supporters will go to cling to a sense of competitiveness that’s not really there. And there’s even more of this madness making the rounds lately, which I’ll touch on in a later piece, but suffice it to say, they’re grasping at straws more than ever.