Yesterday brought the news that the Ibrox club have appointed a new CEO, Patrick Stewart, formerly of Manchester United. This alleged strategic thinker and revolutionary will begin his role on 16 December—a date which follows the League Cup final.
The timing is no accident. It’s no coincidence. Clearly, they don’t want him in place for that particular spectacle. Why have his start tainted by this result, right?
We will be aiming to overtake their claimed trophy count; we all know it is nonsense, of course, but this is the level they operate on. They know we’re going to do it; I can’t conceive of any scenario where we won’t win unless it’s one of those where a Celtic player gets sent off in the first ten minutes or something. It could happen. I think we’d still beat them.
They plan to unveil Stewart to give the fans a lift on a day when they will be absolutely shattered. And we all know that this guy’s first day on the job will be about one thing; firefighting the huge mess that result will cause. And let’s be honest—his first real task will likely involve summoning Philippe Clement to his office to hand him his P45.
Such a move would scream of desperation, a panic response designed to placate their supporters. Once again, they’ll be stumbling into a new year with yet another manager at the helm. A CEO is supposed to end chaos, but this appointment seems destined to ignite it further, and in keeping with how they do things over there, that’s actually the plan.
That club lives in perpetual fear—fear of Celtic, fear of finishing second; Hell this year, they fear finishing third. Mostly they live in fear of their own supporters, and in fear of a media that relentlessly scrutinises them when they’re lagging behind us.
You’d think they’d be used to it by now.
Yet this development is extraordinary, even by their standards. To leave such a pivotal role vacant while the team flounders because you don’t want the guy tainted by association, as though he could possibly keep the blood from splattering onto him. No other club would operate this way, yet here we are, watching them stumble into another mess of their own making.
There’s little doubt in my mind that Stewart’s first day on the job will involve sacking Clement. If we win the cup final—as most of us expect given Celtic’s strong record in these games—his position will be untenable. All the talk he’s indulged in of “getting closer to Celtic” will be exposed as the nonsense we’ve always known it to be.
Frankly, I’m shocked Clement hasn’t been dismissed already. They know they have to do this; all of Scottish football is watching one of the great deceptions of all time. Fair play to him that he’s standing his ground and refusing to quit … they are going to have to pay him a fortune to get him out the door, and he should hang on for every penny of it.
The decision to keep him in place until the final is actually shocking, especially when you consider the optics. If it’s clear to us that scheduling Stewart’s first day until after the match feels like an admission that they’ve already written it off, expecting defeat—likely a heavy one – then Clement knows that and sees it himself.
And he will certainly know what their response to that inevitability will be; a headline-grabbing managerial sacking just days later, a feeble attempt to reclaim control of the narrative. At his expense, regardless of whatever payoff they give him. They could have acted this week, brought in an interim boss, and given themselves some kind of lift ahead of Hampden … their announcement that Stewart won’t start until 16 December telegraphs their plan in a way that is perfectly clear. They’ve cut the manager off at the knees and put him on notice that he wins the final or he’s gone … and they’re probably going to sack him whether he does or not.
I think it’s a pretty shocking way for them to behave, and it’s not even clear that any of this is going to do them the slightest good. The Union Brats are stamping their feet today demanding that heads roll all across the club, and they’re not going to settle for cosmetic changes even if they do result in the manager being dismissed. That club is on the brink.
Imagine trying to work in that environment. Who but a fool would want this job next?
There will be plenty of hasbeens like Rae and Ferguson chomping at the bit , even mCann to help pay his HMRC bill , reel ranjurz men .
McCann isn’t a reel rainjurz man – We won’t ever let him forget it either !
I hope this counting of chickens doesn’t end up with egg on the face.
I would gladly take the job if offered and duly go down the Craig Whyte/Charles Green route with a wee switcheroo here and there and then get rid of the family silver with the money going into my back pocket. Not very original I know, it’s been done before but I’m sure they would be wide open again for the same scam. The promise of orange strips would be enough to swing it in my favour.