It’s not often that I do a retrospective on one of my own articles. But the day before yesterday, as I was preparing my work for the day, a good friend of mine, Dougie, emailed me and asked if I remembered writing a piece about Barry Ferguson.
He sent it over, and I read through it in gales of laughter.
I didn’t remember it at all. And I want to say that I laughed at my own wit and good humour in the article—although I do think I was pretty funny in it—but what really made me laugh was Ferguson’s appalling attempt at writing and his effort to explain away a certain Celtic victory at Ibrox.
This weekend, he’s going to come up against Brendan Rodgers.
That’s going to be funny in all sorts of weird and wonderful ways.
And at the end of the game, once he’s been well beaten, perhaps he can once again grace the pages of the Daily Record with another absurd take, attempting to explain Rodgers’ success.
The day I got sent the piece, I had published one about how this week marks the anniversary of the match at Ibrox where Rodgers’ team won with 10 men. I wrote about it in the context of it being the last time our 7,000 fans were allowed in their ground before the Ibrox board spat the dummy and savaged our allocation.
What I didn’t remember until Dougie reminded me was that I had written an excoriating piece on Barry Ferguson’s response to that game. Writing in the Daily Record, he accused Rodgers of getting by that day on sheer luck.
A manager who came back from a goal down twice. A manager who, instead of shutting up shop with 10 men, put on a striker, went for the win, and got it. A manager who extended Celtic’s lead at the top.
Reading it back, I couldn’t believe how shallow, petty, and small-minded Ferguson’s arguments were. There were more ifs, buts, and maybes in that article than I’ve probably seen in any other I’ve highlighted in such detail. I subjected it to the full Keith Jackson treatment. And why not? It deserved it.
I’m not going to relitigate the whole piece. If you want to read it, I’ll provide the link. But there are things in that article so absurd that I must highlight a few just to give you a flavour of it.
First, Ferguson framed the article as being about Graeme Murty and how he had restored some of the confidence and swagger to the Ibrox team. Yes, you read that correctly. Graeme Murty.
And this is how he opened it:
“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good.
Take last Sunday. A day when Celtic’s manager should have walked straight out of Ibrox along Paisley Road West and into the casino at Springfield Quay to stick a year’s wages on black.
Because absolutely everything was coming up for Brendan Rodgers.”
I mean, that’s the thesis.
That’s the point of the piece—that Murty wasn’t schooled by a better boss but beaten by a lucky one. It’s almost unbelievable that an elite-level manager like Rodgers was being talked down while a rank amateur like Murty was being talked up in a national newspaper column after Rodgers had cleaned his clock.
Ferguson even wrote this gem:
“If they can’t see the strides (the club) have made in a very short space of time under Murty, then they don’t have a clue what they are talking about.”
I laughed uproariously at the time. It’s even funnier now in hindsight.
It gets even crazier. Check this bit out:
“But I’ve watched the game again and keep coming back to the same conclusion – the only real difference between Celtic and (Sevco) on the day was a massive slice of good fortune.”
You can feel the pain seeping out of every pore, can’t you? It’s actually pathetic when you read it. If he truly believes that was the only difference that day, then he is absolutely out of his mind. And remember, this is the guy currently in the Ibrox dugout, about to face Brendan Rodgers in combat.
Then there’s this moment of football strategic genius:
“Why then change a midfielder for a striker with the game in the balance?”
If you’re thinking what I was thinking—“Uh, maybe to win the game?”—then congratulations. We are of one mind and officially smarter than Barry Ferguson. But then, the average family pet might make the same claim and be right.
I said in my response piece that “if sarcasm is the lowest form of wit, then woulda, coulda, shoulda is the lowest form of debate.”
I wrote that in response to this pearl of wisdom:
“Rodgers would have had to find answers to some seriously difficult questions but he was spared from that because the gods were smiling on him. Had Sean Goss showed Odsonne Edouard down the outside – as he should have done – then the Celtic sub would have been unlikely to score the winning goal two minutes after coming on to the pitch.”
That’s the whole argument—if only things had gone differently, Rodgers wouldn’t have won. That’s not analysis; that’s delusion. One of the most astonishing examples of poor journalism and faulty thinking I’ve ever read.
And then there’s this:
“That wasn’t down to Rodgers being a genius, that was down to sheer luck.”
Reading it back, between laughing fits, I am so glad Rodgers is going to have the opportunity to ram those words down his throat this weekend.
There’s even a little insight in the piece about how Ferguson thinks he should approach games like this. And everyone at Celtic should be paying attention because it gives a clear look into his mindset. As I said on the podcast the other night, one of the safest bets for the weekend is that one of their players will get sent off.
Read this and tell me I’m wrong:
“They got another break early in the game when Goss was too inexperienced to realise he had to take one for the team when the ball broke to Tom Rogic seconds before the Australian curled home Celtic’s first goal. Goss should have cleaned him out before he had a chance to line up his shot.”
That’s a man who thinks that’s an answer. If you can’t beat a player fairly, just smash him to the floor. That’s the mentality we’re going up against on Sunday. That’s the kind of thinking Ferguson will be trying to instil in his players.
But I haven’t even got to the best part yet. This is my favourite section of his piece:
“I would even go as far as to say Rodgers got lucky again when Jozo Simunovic was sent off because, for as long as the game was 11 v 11, (the home team) were the better side.”
I mean, how desperate do you have to be to claim that a red card for the other team was actually a lucky break for them?
Honestly, I was grateful to Dougie for sending me that piece yesterday.
It’s one of the most astonishing things I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t remember either Ferguson’s article or my response to it, but I’m so glad he highlighted it—especially with this game coming up.
And in some ways, it’s the perfect alignment of the planets. It’s almost poetic that these two men are about to meet in opposite dugouts at Celtic Park.
I’m not big on the idea of pinning things to the dressing room wall, but if ever there was a time and place for it, it’s now. Not in the Celtic dressing room—we don’t need this—but in Rodgers’ own private space. Just as a reminder of what Ferguson once wrote about him, about his tactical talents, and how he handled that afternoon.
Rodgers doesn’t need the extra motivation.
But I’ll bet you it would feel good to set the record straight once and for all.
Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images
You can read my original response – as well as Ferguson’s jaw-dropping piece – at this link.
Our latest podcast, Hampden Here We Come, is up now.
They will be as cocky as fuck going into this one for sure after last night…
And unfortunately it won’t be last night’s referee to protect the Celtic players with cards the way last night’s ref protected The Fenerbahce players from The Sevco Thuggery –
He definitely needs a right good bitch slapping down for sure…
C’mon Saint Brendan and your Bhoys – Do just that please…
And get that hint in at your press conference about ‘strong refereeing’
Not that it’ll make one little fuckin jot of difference – But do it anyway please !
I remember that game clearly but have no idea who Sean Goss is. He must’ve moved on to bigger and better things like Murty did.
As for this weekends game, the only thing that worries me is how confident the Celtic fans are but we’ve had a weeks rest, we owe them one and, even though it’s inevitable, there’s still a league title to win so fuck ‘wee Barry’ and his thugs let’s put on a show. They ran their only decent player into the ground last night. It was obvious Cerny was done before extra time, they decided to sub him, actually did sub him, then reversed it before the game started again because Cerny decided Ferguson was wrong. Haha
we need to watch about getting a red card the ref will not hesitate about it . go out determined but please no silly fouls in or around the penalty box.
@ scousebhoy. Think ah concern for some of us mate, is big Trusty’s bad habit of jersey pullin especially at set pieces. Hope our coachin staff have had a word with him about that. Does that on Sunday with these officials, they’ll get a penalty, guaranteed.
Ah don’t predict these games. Tho ah dae think, if we dont allow them the room and keep it tighter, especially our back door, our mid and forwards will cause them big problems. Don’t allow them the space tae get on the break. Tho can see this bein the most physical one yet. We can expect them tae try and muscle our players (in otherwords, boot them aff the park) from the start. We’ve also 2 obvious anti- Celtic officials in charge of refereein and var, so we’ll see what transpires. Anyway, thats ma opinion over. Tho quietly and quite confident, we can get our revenge for the NY game.
The fact that they wildly celebrated a 2-0 defeat last night( yes I know they squeezed through on penalties,) tells you everything you need to know about the mentality at Govan. The first time in their ( short) history that they’ve suffered four home defeats on the trot!
Contrary to some comments, that the referee protected the Fenerbahce players from their thuggery, I thought the man in the middle was dreadful. No consistency ( where have we previously heard that) and ignored a few big calls for the Turks, in my opinion!
Sunday will be tough, regardless of the fact they’ve played 120 mins. The MIB will cut them plenty of slack to bring their aggression and thuggery to Paradise. Ferguson will use those tactics to hopefully inspire his band of staunch brothers, and reckon on the officiating being as lenient, as most of us expect.
It’s all down to which Celtic team turns up on Sunday, and if it’s the dynamic, fast and skilful footballing one, then we should hopefully enjoy our day.
Let’s hope, unlike the Turks, that once we sense blood, we go for the jugular and give them a complete annihilation!
In Brendan we trust ! HH
I didn’t see the game last night but had a few quid on Mourinho’s boys.
Jose seemed a little upset suggesting his team were by far better and could have had 3 pens.
I have seen the Barry clip where he struggles with numbers 4,2,3; 3,5,1 or whatever the formation !! A true simpleton whose team last night got lucky. But 4 defeats at home in a row doesn’t deflect.
I hope we wipe the floor with them on Sunday.
I am 70 this year. Left the best wee bigoted country in 1977 with the Merchant Navy.
2015 retired after 38 years at sea and the O&G industry to a farm in Thailand with an angel, 11 dogs and many motorbikes as my DIY and Scottish Engineering for hobbies.
Bankrupt Bazz, his friends, his clothes, comments and views are still same I heard in the 60’s and 70’s from bigots.
No indigenous locals have told me to go home.
Hope tomorrow night I will be dancing with my dogs, half being Alsatians who live in a home with all foods open.
Will ask Buddha and all those that hear me.
The ref has glasses.
The ref knows the rules.
Bigots and foul play 49’ers walk away