So many managers seem to come away from our games these days feeling hard done by.
Now, I like Tony Docherty. I’ve got no problem with the guy, and I’ve got no problem with Dundee’s club. But for him to claim last night, in the aftermath of the game, that our first two goals were questionable—because the first wasn’t a penalty and in the second there was a foul among other players before we got the goal—is, I’m afraid, pure nonsense.
Furthermore, I’m somewhat baffled by how he can say with a straight face that his team merited going in at half-time at 0-0. That’s simply not true at all, and I don’t even think he believes it. We were the better side, completely dominant—one of our most dominant performances of the season. It is outrageous to claim otherwise. And yet, in some ways, I’m sort of pleased that he did.
The reason I’m pleased is that I knew exactly what those comments would do to the people across the city, who don’t need any excuse to go off on one about Celtic and decisions that go in our favour. They thrive on these bizarre conspiracy theories—that officials are against their club and working in favour of ours. And all this is going to do is give them another totem pole to dance around for a while.
They started already last night. As people were winding down after the match, they were up in arms, quoting Tony Docherty, saying, “Look, this is another manager who has come away from a Celtic game complaining about decisions that changed the course of the match.”
And I love that they get themselves into these little states over this stuff. I love that they wrap themselves up in all this paranoia and that their focus is constantly somewhere other than where it should be—on their own club.
The lunatic things these people believe would astound you. I’m not kidding. I recommend that everyone, if they have some free time, spend a little of it on one of their forums or reading one of their websites. It’s nuts. It’s like a parallel universe. It’s like opening a door and peering into Narnia.
If they’re not wrapping themselves up in the Grand Conspiracy of the Unseen Fenian Hand, then they’re creating fantasies about their own club and imagining its brighter future when there’s no sign of it on the horizon.
One of their more notorious sites put out a post yesterday asking if there was a danger that Philippe Clement would resign over the failure of the January transfer window—that he had been hoping to sign big names and that the board had denied him, and therefore he should be furious.
Now, if you swapped that name for our own manager, Brendan Rodgers, you would have something approaching an argument. And what makes that an argument is that Celtic has tens of millions of pounds sitting in the bank and therefore no excuse for not fully supporting the man in the dugout.
Their club, meanwhile, has a guy whose job it is to pull up all the sofa cushions in their pre- and post-match lounges after every game to collect any spare change that might have fallen down there. And it’s weird, because for a lot of their fans, the reality of that—the implications of that, the truth about the state they’re in—just isn’t getting through. It’s failing to compute.
So of course, Tony Docherty is their latest poster boy. Of course, his comments rang out in the ears of their supporters. Of course, they were trending on the forums. Of course, their fans believe every word of it. They are convinced that Celtic only ever win games because of refereeing decisions.
They didn’t see the stunning football we played, or at least they blocked it out of their minds. They didn’t focus on all the things we did right because they would rather not acknowledge that we do anything right.
The 13-point lead and that vastly superior goal difference, which is now bordering on ludicrous, have to be the result of some overarching plot that has been hatched inside Celtic Park.
I think they should take a look at some of the stuff I’ve written in the past few years—and that other writers in Celtic cyberspace have written and said—about our directors’ colossal ability to inflict self-harm on this club.
These people aren’t capable of much more than making it into work in the morning. The idea that they are at the centre of a gigantic global nexus stretching into politics, finance, law, and having infiltrated every level of football, that they are in fact cackling supervillains, masterminds of a dazzling, globe-spanning plot to deprive their club of trophies and titles … well, it is about as ridiculous as the flat-earthers and their giant wall of ice surrounding us all.
I never get tired of going over there and reading their stuff. I never get tired of dipping a toe into their waters of insanity. Their club is caught in a permanent loop of madness. As long as it stays that way, I’m a happy camper.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
I also like Tony Docherty, his comments are usually well thought out and fairly sensible. Howeve3r after two 6-0 hidings in a row he may have thought his jaiket was on a shoogly nail and had a go at the referee to deflect from his sudden sense of insecurity.
As for the Scums comments, who cares, they are irrelevant.
Maybe the extreme views that the Celtic Board are either cackling supervillains or complete incompetents are both wrong.
Very few think the board is completely incompetent, they are very good commercially and govern well. The question is, do they have the ability to take us to the next level. The football department should have it’s own budget where the manager operates within the set constraints, but builds the team he needs. There is a balance to be found in transfer activity, but our finance guys are risk adverse by nature.
You would think that every club would have a budget for player purchases but this would also include the consideration of money received in players being sold.
Seems to me that Celtic either break even or make a small profit after each window.
sevcunts being mostly benefit scroungers an buroo barnacles, I can’t see many of them being ” capable of making it into work in the morning “.
I don’t think it was any major conspiracy but I do think the penalty was soft. Seemed 6 of one & half a dozen of the other between Trusty & Sylla. Both had a hold of each other.
Ref gave a freekick against Trusty initially which I thought was harsh but for it to then go to VAR & be reviewed to a pen.
It didn’t seem a catastrophic error from the ref but regardless it kicked us on for a magnificent performance all round.
I think we would have still won anyway but that’s not the point…
We do want to win fairly of course and wouldn’t want it any other way –
But that is the beauty of VAR – The referee got it wrong (not for the first time involving Celtic by the way) and also got the second chance to have a look and corrected the error of his ways and penalty it was deemed to be and scored with aplomb by Engels…
No doubt it will be dissected to pieces tonight on Trial by Scotland Today and BBC Radio Scotland which I’d only ever tune into after Celtic beat Sevco…
On another point – I am a lurker on Wallow Wallow and something believe it or not they muster up some interesting topics and I’d actually far rather give the commercial hits to them any day rather than The Scummy’s of The Scummy Scottish Football Media for sure – But they have a thread on Dundee United no longer supporting this KMI “independent” refereeing panel that contradicts Collum’s SFA review panel…
They are broadly in favour of DUFC’s decision (no problem there with me of it either) but openly state their ‘hatred’ of Dundee United…
There again – Who don’t they actually hate –
I’d be interested on you own take on Dundee United’s course of action regarding this should you find time for an article on it James !
I sit in the Lisbon lions, directly behind the goal, and thought the penalty was soft. I haven’t watched the highlights yet, but a few minutes after the award Idah was brought down just us he went to shoot. I can guarantee that won’t be discussed. 3 off our goals were top drawer finishes and Jota put in a beautiful ball for Meada. It’s all white noise, they hate how well we can play.
You would think that every club would have a budget for player purchases but this would also include the consideration of money received in players being sold.
Seems to me that Celtic either break even or make a small profit after each window.
Like yourself, I have a lot of time for Tony Docherty, and I find him to very articulate and eloquent, on the majority of times I see his interviews!
From my vantage point behind the goal, I couldn’t be 100% if it was a clear infringement for our penalty. Having watched the highlights earlier, it was a definite penalty and well done to VAR for intervening. Similarly, we could and should have had a second when Idah was impeded.
For the second goal I watched the Sylla challenge and it looked hard, but fair.
Last night, as Brendan said post match, we did, what we failed to do at Dens Park, and that was, be more aggressive!
And you know what, the Dundee players didn’t like it !
So as well as playing some sparkling football full of guile and invention, which led to superb goals, we showed that we can be a bit more physical too!
One game at a time, and the Sevco match will take care of itself.
However I’m sure BR has taken many notes and may well look at last night’s mixture and use it accordingly against their thuggery ( smsm use physicality!)
Onwards versus the men of Raith this Saturday! HH
Great post again Gerry !
Cheers Clach, hope you’re well and it’s good to see you are able to post on every article ! A medal will be winging your way for services to The Celtic Blog lol!
I thought second on Idah was a pen, if it were an out of the box challenge it would have resulted in a free kick. Jota looking very good.
Has any manager given us credit this season for some of the football we play? There’s always a gripe. The non-awareness of their lack of unprofessionalism and humility has been eye opening for me this season. It seems worse than usual. Its nice to know they are hurting but some credit highlighting our football would be preferable.
Manager under pressure 12 goals without reply in 2 games. Seems a nice guy but has worked too much with McInnes maybe.
Dundee had no chance last night. Celts were very good. Slight segway but Dundee’s Sylla is not a bad player.
Got to agree the laughs you get reading their mentalist comments,It fair cheers the soul up they are off their heads
It’s ludicrous wordplay from Docherty trying to protect his players from the scintillating mauling they got while Kasper was making rollies for 90 minutes.
And of course the ghouls and zombies are intae the conspiracy theory, they’re so deluded some of them believe they’re the same club.
It’d be great if they win a pair of breaststroke made from balsa – wooden tit?