DUNDEE, SCOTLAND - JANUARY 09: Rangers Manager Philippe Clement pre-match during a William Hill Premiership match between Dundee and Rangers at The Scot Foam Stadium, on January 09, 2025, in Dundee, Scotland. (Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Last night, we recorded our latest podcast, and I described it at the start as a therapy session. It kind of had that feeling about it. There was a lot of venting, a lot of anger being expressed, and a lot of frustration being let out and aired. And there’s still plenty of it—I’m not done yet. Not by a long shot.
But afterwards, as I was looking through all the news stories I’d missed during the day, I was reminded that we’re not the ones who need therapy.
The great thing about having a basket-case club next door—one that imagines itself as our great rival—is that even when you’re pissed off with your own club, these people have an incredible ability to cheer you up, to make you feel better about the world. Because you look across the fence and think to yourself, “Christ, I could be one of them,” and suddenly, your own predicament seems that little bit better.
The latest mad rant from across town comes from Scott McDermott of the Daily Record, who has penned a piece on Clement so sycophantic that it makes some of the stuff written about the Celtic board last week look tame by comparison. McDermott contends that the Ibrox club was lucky to hold on to Clement over the summer because, although he doesn’t know it for a fact, he’s sure there would have been interest in him and that clubs would have made a move.
Now, I know these people don’t have great standards, but isn’t that awfully close to the textbook definition of making shit up?
He’s just pushed something which he admits he doesn’t know as if it were a fact. He’s just made a claim based on a piece of evidence that doesn’t exist and which he invented. And even the premise of it is absolutely deranged.
On what basis would anyone have come in for Philippe Clement in the summer? He blew a title-race lead and finished even further behind Celtic than when he arrived at the club. He lost the Scottish Cup final. He won the League Cup by default because he arrived after they’d already reached the final—and we weren’t there.
I have read some truly ridiculous things in my time following the media’s weird landscape of Scottish football, but that has to be one of the most absurd, fantastical claims I have ever seen. It has no basis in fact. It doesn’t even have a basis in reality. It’s not based on whispers or rumours. It’s based on something McDermott thought up in his own head.
I had a look at the Ibrox fan forums on Sunday night after their latest win, and I expected the mood to be a little more pro-Clement than it had been—certainly more than it was two months ago. And what I found was that their fans haven’t shifted one inch on this guy. The ones who were convinced he should be given time still think he should be given time to see what he can do.
But the rest? They accept Clement the way Rodgers accepts the status of our squad. It’s just a reality they are forced to deal with—until they don’t have to anymore.
As I said the other day in an article, a lot of the hacks are falling all over themselves to talk about how maybe fans rushed to judgment on the Ibrox boss. Which is a convenient way of saying, “Please forget that we also rushed to judgment.”
Because almost all of them were convinced he was getting sacked in pretty short order. And as much as they might want to squirm off the hook on that one, nobody should let them. It’s on the record, and it can’t be easily erased.
Am I suspicious that the Ibrox fans are going to be proved right on this one? Of course I am—because Clement is not a good coach. All the talk about how he’s transformed the team is, I’m afraid to say, utter nonsense. Anyone who watched their last European game knows that had the Belgians been just a little more clinical in front of goal, they wouldn’t have finished in the top eight in the Europa League. And even in some of their recent wins, they haven’t been terribly impressive.
The fact is, the Ibrox fans are simply waiting, with the sure knowledge that it will all unravel. And they’re not crazy to think that. They’re absolutely right. But I never cease to be amazed—and disgusted—by the way the media is so capable of doing a full 180, reversing itself in this mind-numbing way.
The battle between Clement and his board is going to be very interesting to see, but for the moment, there’s a ceasefire. I still don’t think he’ll be manager there come summer, so it will really be someone else’s problem. But for now, he limbers on. And I think, out of everyone, it’s our board of directors who’ll be most pleased about that—because as long as that club remains stuck in the mud, they get a free ride.
Photo by Ross Parker/SNS Group via Getty Images
Our latest podcast was released last night … and it was a dramatic one.
James ,you stated in a previous post quite rightly I may add about our boards lack of ambition in Europe and they feel that nothing we could do or could have done would change the result against Aston villa and certainly not Bayern but as you then stated they will charge a premium price for tickets for the Bayern game,is this not a chance for the support to show their distrust and anger at the board by not taking up these overpriced tickets,as you state the game is lost anyway and the board have conceded that we’ll go no further in Europe so what difference will it make to the team if the ground is half empty,these are the only measures liewell and the board will take heed off,but I fear it will be a full house again and liewell and the smug board will be parting each other on the back for getting one over the gullible Celtic fans again.
Not gonna happen buddy, in fact never gonna happen ever. Celtic fans who have followed their team since their foetus days, it’s in our blood. So encouraging Celtic supporters not to support their team is totally futile, we are made of sterner stuff.
Keep the faith…..we will be true to thee till death!
There’s more joy in being a lifelong Celtic supporter than a lifelong angry conspiracist. Support your club. Hail Hail
Support your Club, as in Football Cub but interrogate the PLC that runs it.
Both Organisations have different organisational goals/aims.
The football Club wants to entertain the fans and win Trophies. The PLC wants to maximise Revenue based on the Football Club’s success and the emotional attachment of the Fans. The emotional attachment the Board rename as Brand Loyalty and monetise it.
To retain that Brand Loyalty the Board have to financially support the Football Club. Like all Capitalists, the Board will seek to raise Revenues while suppressing Costs thus maximising Profit. How that profit is used and shared is at the discretion of the PLC Board. Under a Capitalist structure the people who generate the Profits Fans / workers have no say in how the Profits are used or shared and with whom.
Football supporters must as a necessity constantly be vigilant and vocal in pressing for the team to receive adequate funding to meet its own Organisational Goals. The Football Club needs the Supporters to press its case as they themselves don’t have a seat on the PLC Board.
Wota and Johnny,I know what you’re saying lads and it goes against the grain but it is futile thinking we’re ever going to achieve in Europe while this present board is at the helm,maybe protesting with our feet is not what comes naturally but what’s the only alternative to get rid of this board who continually hold us back from a position of strength,I wish wee Fergus was back because that guy had ambition and his outlook was that we should be a massive club in Europe and not just staying ahead of sevco and being successful in the SPFL.i think Celtic should be judged on Europe, which this year we got through but could be so much more, I’ll bet that if sevco had 70 to 90 million they would spend a fair bit of it for 2 reasons 1 to leave us for dead and 2 to do even better in Europe,I’m not saying we should have spent crazy money but the board seems to hamstring Brendans transfer targets for the sake of 1 or 2 million,fair enough if we’re skint like the Huns but we’re loaded, anyway it is what it is so let’s just win the treble and hope this board sells up and let’s us tool up for a proper go in Europe,I hope Bayern take it easy .hail hail.
@ wota & JG. Would reserve that until we see how this season pans out. Just hopin, where a lot of us are concerned, our concerns (or worst fears) don’t materialise.
Would reserve what? Please explain, for all I said was that Celtic supporters support their team.
Wee should boo the board when we unfurl the league flag at the start of next season just as we did with wee Fergus.
there is only one organisation and that is celtic fc. no other organisation is in charge. no holding company or engine room subsidiary ..
I never said, holding company or engine room subsidy. I spoke about two different Organisational structures within the Club. Celtic is registered with the SPFL, SFA and EUFA as Celtic Football Club not Celtic PLC.
Celtic PLC, run the Football Club. Think of the Football Club as just a Division within a traditional Company like R&D, Sales or Marketing. Each of these Divisions may have a different organisational structure with specific Goals and KPIs reporting to the Board. The Board are responsible for funding all these separate Divisions / Departments. Celtic PLC is responsible for funding the Football Club.
Both the Club and the Plc have their separate structures and organisational Goals / KPI . Legally it’s just one entity.
Three Sevco fans with Daily Scummy’s in their hands in the shop queue at midday…
The crayon scribbler that you mention – His psycophantic clap trap seems to be working with The Sevco Hun Hoards at least…
They’ll read that on their lunch break and swallow swallow it all and swallow swallow the spunk they’ll no doubt cream themselves off tomin their work van cabs !
*EDIT – No doubt cream themselves off TO IN their work van cabs (and not tomin as it reads) ! EDIT*
What ahm sayin is, ah would reserve all the ‘faithful through and through’ stuff until we see how this season pans out now. If, by some horror scenario the unthinkable did happen, our support, if they really wanted tae hurt this board, would have no other option but tae boycott games, season tickets and merchandise and ah think most of us would. It would surely be the last straw. May seem ‘unfaithful’ but circumstances would dictate.
We will always be faithful through and through to the TEAM….. that will never change.
Now being faithful to the Club, that is another another matter, but the club will always reap the benefits of our undying love for Celtic, I don’t see insurrection happening any time soon and in my opinion you are underestimating our support if you think they will rebel against the board to the detriment of those guys on the park, whether it is warranted or not.
Ahm no sayin the support would turn against the team. Tho it stands tae reason, any action like poor attendances, taken against the board, will obviously have an effect on the team. If ye read my last sentence, ah said it would ‘seem’ unfaithful and that ‘circumstances will dictate’. Which ah believe they would. When we ousted the board in the 90’s, we were supportin the team, tho even at that, the crowds were gettin less and less, because we knew the only way tae force that board, was tae strangle their income. It would take the same with this board.