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Phillipe Clement: Always The Loser.

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Image for Phillipe Clement: Always The Loser.

A couple of years ago, I published an article on Ange Postecoglou titled Always The Winner.

It felt particularly appropriate at the time, as he had just secured us a double and had become a title winner on three continents.

It seemed as though he’d be at Celtic winning trophies for years to come. In the end, we only had one more year with Ange, but he proved to be a winner, turning two trophies in his first campaign into three in his second.

A man like that demands a worthy successor, someone with a winner’s mentality. That’s why, when Brendan Rodgers’ name first started to surface—while Ange was still at the club, no less—it didn’t take much for me to feel he was the right man for the job.

I’d heard solid reports linking Rodgers to Celtic while Ange was still in the dugout, and there was no doubt in my mind that Brendan was the perfect candidate. He had already proven himself as a winner during his first spell at Parkhead with that stunning haul of seven out of seven trophies.

Since his return, Brendan has contested four trophies and added three more to his collection. He now has 10 as Celtic boss, and few doubt he’s on course to make it 11 with the league title all but wrapped up. A 12th could very well follow later in the campaign if the Scottish Cup comes home to Parkhead.

Celtic requires winners. Ange and Brendan proved themselves long before they arrived, and that’s exactly why we sought them out in the first place. I’m not saying Philippe Clement hasn’t won anything—he has—but he doesn’t carry himself like someone who commands authority. He lacks the presence of those two Celtic managers. Rodgers, in particular, embodies everything Celtic should be.

Across the city, Clement increasingly resembles a forlorn figure.

He always seems angry, perpetually on edge, and at times, completely detached from reality. His comments yesterday were extraordinary—or rather, they would be if anyone else had made them. But this kind of nonsensical rambling is par for the course with him, and his supporters appear to shrug it off.

That should concern them deeply.

Incredibly, some of them are treating yesterday like a moral victory. There’s been talk, yet again, about how “the gap doesn’t matter,” as if that were true. The notion that there’s no gap between us is pure fiction, but Clement and others are being allowed to spin this absurd narrative unchallenged.

Let’s use boxing as an analogy: if two fighters have faced off six times, and one fighter has won four by knockout, taken one on points, and drawn the other, no boxing pundit would claim they were evenly matched. In fact, the loser would be advised to retire—and certainly not step into the ring against their “rival” ever again.

At what point does this stop being humiliating for them? When will they finally confront the cold, hard reality of where they stand relative to Celtic? When will they take a long, hard look at the colossal failure their club has become, to the point where a day like yesterday can be spun as some kind of success?

I’ve read some of the media commentary on the game, and it’s astonishing. They did no more to us yesterday than Aberdeen did in the Scottish Cup semi-final last season. Aberdeen gave it everything that day, looked a threat, and nearly snatched the chance of silverware out of our hands.

That game ended 3-3 after we conceded a late goal. The last game at Ibrox last season followed a similar pattern, with Celtic conceding another crucial late goal. And yet, we celebrated because it put us in a strong position to retain the title, which we did.

After the Aberdeen game people confidently predicted that if Aberdeen could rock us like that we were in trouble for the final. After Ibrox you’d have thought they were world beaters due to the media’s crazy response to it.

Clement has become very good at deflecting attention away from himself and his team by focussing on stats and other rubbish. Here’s the only stat he wants to ignore; six games against Celtic, five losses, including two cup final defeats. Those are the only ones he doesn’t want people talking about and it’s easy to understand why. He’s adept at finding scapegoats and pretending their problems aren’t as serious as they clearly are. By any standard, yesterday should have been the day he was marched out of Ibrox. But he has “restored his reputation”, Jackson said this morning. How? By proving again that he’s Simply The Second Best?

Personally, I’m glad he wasn’t fired although if someone would have told me last week that we’d be League Cup winners tonight I’d have bet a fortune on him no longer being in the job. It pleases me that a few wins and a draw against a dire Spurs side has again been spun into the idea that a corner has been turned.

We’ll see. It won’t take too long for that to unravel.

I hope they keep him as long as he wants to stay. Delay the inevitable. Put off the reckoning. Because this guy is a loser.

And every day that passes makes it more obvious that he has no idea how to turn that team into winners. Watching him stage that ridiculous full-time pitch-side chat with his players was unintentionally hilarious. Seeing him with his arm around Yilmaz, whispering some words of comfort, I couldn’t help but wonder what he was saying. Probably something like, “Don’t worry, kid. You get used to it.”

At that club, you pretty much have to.

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10 comments

  • Shimaloo says:

    On a somewhat unrelated matter, why is it that the primary, accompanying image on the BBC website, to their article on weekend ‘old firm’ violence, is one featuring only the Celtic crowd attending the match? Reading the story, the verified, reported details are all of Sevco fans committing anti social acts of unwarranted violence, being the thuggish aggressors. Why is it the article then meanders into talk of pyro usage?

  • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

    ‘Loo’ser – He is a Shite manager – And is also is an utter Shite human being as well !

  • BobL says:

    Enjoying your articles these days, James. Nail on the head, etc. On a different note, maybe, now that Celtic are now the most successful team in Scotand (the World??), you could do a wee list of Scotland’s most decorated teams, eg Aberdeen, Dundee United, etc, Rangers 2012?

  • Kevcelt59 says:

    And just about every single time he’s dropped points, he’s waffled this line ‘we created more chances’ and he’s at it again. And now the penalty decision was ‘decisive’. If thats no bein presumptious what is !? So that would’ve been it done and dusted then, if they had been awarded and scored, would it ? Why even bother playin the remainin 20 odd minutes of ET then ? Because by his logic, beaton couldve blew for time there and then. He’s a crackpot.

    • Clachnacuddin and the Hoops says:

      Your last three words Kevcelt59…

      He’s a crackpot –

      PERFECT fit for Liebrox then for sure !

  • Gerry says:

    The meltdown with his club started with him in his post match interview. Again, it was everyone else’s fault that they could not emerge victorious against St Brendan’s 11…the ref, VAR, the unseen Fenian governance at the SFA …CCV for being in the way when it was a 4 v 1 breakaway, blah blah & more waffle !
    Acceptance of reality is not something the inhabitants and followers of Ibrokes do, particularly well.

    The irony on display from Clement and the Sevconians does make you chuckle, and I would think there is plenty more to come.
    A brilliant time to be a Celtic fan and long may their misery and days of being serial losers, continue! HH

  • Jay says:

    Off topic from the article but you highlighting the similarities of the weekend & the Aberdeen semi last season made me wonder.
    When was the last time we put on a clinical performance at Hampden against that mob. We were electric against Aberdeen in the semi but when we play them we are never even close to our best when we play them there. It shows the quality of the individual players & the mentality of the squad that we still go on & win but surely we need to look at what is going on.
    Sunday should have been the day that the gap between the 2 teams was so clear that nobody could deny it. But we end up being very lacklustre & allowing the game to be far closer than it ever should have been. Maybe it’s the pitch or maybe it’s the fact the other team do a better job there at breaking up our style but something needs addressed as it allows all the nonsense that comes out of there club to have weight. We all know the gap is there but the one off game has made it look close. So now we have them all spouting about “see you at ibrox” blah blah
    I just want to get back to skelping them 5-0 again to really drive home we are the best team.

    • Kevcelt59 says:

      @ Jay. Btw that’s an interestin point. We were actually culprits of the same in the Scottish cup final. Until big Idah knocked it in, they were lookin the more likely. No just at the end, it was the pattern throughout that game. Ah was thinkin, as were a few pals on Sunday, that maybe ET would be better for us, because nearin the end of the original 90, they were startin tae look the more likely again after they made it 3-3. That’s 2 finals in a row we’ve won against them, even tho we never really played the way we can. Dont know what the remedy is there, tho maybe needs addressed as you say, because we’ll no be that fortunate every time.

      • Jay says:

        My thoughts exactly, we can’t rest on the fact we are winning these games in this manner.
        It feels like we try to be so clinical at times that it takes us a moment to build up to a goal where as they hoof it up the pitch get on the end of it & 21 seconds later all our hard work is gone. We are a very good side & I don’t think “heads need to roll” by any means but someone within the backroom team needs to at least give some analysis for why we aren’t hitting 3rd/4th/5th gear.
        It may simply be there tactics worked, they broke up play with fouls & manged to mark CalMac out the game for large parts until they got tired but at least them you can set out a plan to counter that tactic for the next one.

  • TonyB says:

    Everything he says sounds like Ooh be doo be doo be doo, in a whiny stupid voice.

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