So, Brendan has been nominated for the Sports Writers’ Manager of the Year award after already being snubbed for the SPFL one. I have very little doubt in my mind that Rodgers will be denied the Sports Writers’ gong. He should get it. He should win it by a mile. But I don’t think there’s any more appetite to give it to him there than there was amongst the so-called “industry professionals.”
I hope he does win it. He’s earned it. There’s no question that he’s earned it. There’s no question that he’s the outstanding candidate. And he should be confidently clearing a space on the shelf where he keeps his other trophies for this one to take its rightful place. Managers who win trebles can usually count on being named Manager of the Year—except here. The achievements of the bigger clubs are superseded by the smaller clubs, but only when the bigger club is Celtic.
Because of course, under the media’s own metric for judging this stuff, there has never been a more deserving winner in the history of the sport than Callum Davidson, whose two domestic cup wins in the same season with St Johnstone is one of the singular achievements in the recent history of our game—probably in all of its history. Alex Ferguson and all the other alleged top managers outside of Glasgow came up short on that particular honour. And yet Davidson wasn’t considered good enough.
It’s one of the true outrages in the history of the awards—the indecent haste with which they sought to confer glory upon Steven Gerrard.
As far as many of us are concerned, that completely invalidated the process thereafter. Especially when the rationale that sometimes the small club managers deserve the greater credit is exactly what was used to justify the first time Rodgers was snubbed for this award when he was on the brink of becoming the first boss in the history of Scottish football ever to win back-to-back trebles.
That’s why I’ve got no real faith in the Sports Writers giving this one to Rodgers. There’ll undoubtedly be a lot of canvassing going on behind the scenes by people who want to deny it to him. I strongly suspect they’ll get their way.
I strongly suspect enough will be done to make sure Brendan isn’t named Manager of the Year by either of the two bodies. McGlynn is a favourite of a lot of the media, and I fully expect him to make it two wins out of two as a result.
We’ve got Daizen nominated for Player of the Year alongside Callum McGregor—neither of those is particularly unexpected. Nor is the snub for Arne Engels in the Young Player shortlist. There are enough sports writers out there determined to brand him a flop that he was never getting on that list in a million years.
The Players’ list I had a feeling he’d make. And I thought he might even win it. But the writers—most of whom wouldn’t know a good footballer if he ran them over in a Mini—were never going to nominate him.
So it’s no surprise at all that he’s failed to make the grade.
In any normal world, Daizen should clean up. In any normal world, so should Rodgers. But of course, we don’t live in a normal world. We live in the Scottish football ecosystem, where anything can happen, and the strangest and most unjustifiable outcomes do tend to have their day. So, I’m watching this with no real expectation that Rodgers will get the gold. Although to deny it to Maeda would be quite an incredible development, even for our press corps.
There are no Ibrox players on either list. So Raskin has failed to make it. I’m sure that’ll do nothing to dent the stories over the summer that he’s worth £30 million or thereabouts. The media will continue to push that line for as long as the Ibrox club needs the money and they think it’s a potential source of it.
Scottish football continues to exist in this bizarre era of unreality. In any normal league, a manager on the brink of a treble would walk away with the award. Daizen Maeda would walk away with Player of the Year. But here, you just never know. There are all sorts of shady politics going on.
Like I said, for David Grey and McGlynn to essentially go up against each other as Brendan Rodgers’ competition for the SPFL award—and for one of them to still emerge with more votes than Rodgers—means there was some form of canvassing going on behind the scenes on McGlynn’s behalf.
I won’t be surprised if that’s the case this time too. The “Anyone But Rodgers” campaign will already be in full swing.
Who in the actual fuck would ever wanna win this utterly ‘Scummy’ award…
And who in the actual fuck would wanna mingle for an evening with these Scummy crayon level cognitive bandwidth with an IQ of a child’s fuckin shoe size…
Certainly not me anyway – That’s For Sure !
Although ah think BR deserves full credit for taking us tae a potential treble and he is arguably worthy of MOTY, surely certain factors like available rescources should be taken intae account, when we’re talkin about comparin managers achievements. It does leave room for debate. For example, should smith and co, have received all their POTY and MOTY awards they picked up at the end of the 80’s and in the 90’s when they were spendin millions that even we, as their closest challengers, could’nt even begin tae compete with. Ah don’t believe so. If we use the right perspective, there’s reason managers like imo David Gray can be considered. Although ah definitely agree at the same time, these so called media experts will always try and find a way open for some ibrox nominee before a Celtic one. Although nothin tae do with Celtic, the gerrard nomination over CD was just ludicrous and for me, rubber stamped how bent the whole thing was and is.
That (Callum Davidson getting omitted) as you say Kevcelt59 was the biggest ever scandal of these ‘awards’ ever !
Agree with Clach, who cares what the sportswriters think.
As long as we win the treble that’s all that matters.
Why don’t they have a sportswriter of the year award?
Hugh Keevin’s anyone?
They should certainly have a Sports Liar of The Year Award…
There would be some fuckin competition to win that for sure…
Think Valentines that writes on here knows who they are !
Honestly, some of the stuff I’m reading would make you question if folk actually support Celtic or if they’re just desperate to sound like a non-partisan soup-taker phoning Clyde 1. There’s always an excuse, always some qualification, always a way to deny one of our own a bit of credit. It’s tiresome.
Now, as far as I’m aware, the SFWA Manager of the Year votes are cast before the Scottish Cup Final. That’s important. Because if folk are using the final as their deciding factor, then they’re talking pish — plain and simple. If a one-off final changes your mind, why not a random cup result in September? Where do you draw the line? The league is the real measure. It’s the full campaign. That’s where managers are judged, not by a single Saturday in May.
Callum Davidson won two cups with St Johnstone — a great achievement, fair play to him. But let’s not pretend the timing of those wins should’ve dictated an award he wasn’t actually given. The League Cup was won earlier, but the Scottish Cup Final came after the Manager of the Year voting. So anyone saying he deserved it based on winning both cups is just making it up after the fact. Gerrard — and it pains me to say it — went unbeaten in the league that season and that’s why he got it. The league title, as grim as it was, was won convincingly. That’s the reality.
Now look at Rodgers. He’s on the brink of delivering another treble — and folk still want to pretend it’s nothing because of “resources.” So let’s get this straight: if you lose with a big budget, you should be sacked. But if you win with it, you don’t deserve any praise? That logic falls apart instantly.
You either reward excellence or you don’t. And if we’re going to strip back every Celtic success to some equation about finance, then we may as well cancel the league and hand out trophies based on sympathy. That’s what this line of thinking leads to.
Rodgers didn’t win Manager of the Year last season despite winning a double. And here’s a comparison: Jürgen Klopp — in a year Liverpool didn’t win the league and Gerrard cost them with a blunder — still became the first Liverpool manager in history to win the LMA Manager of the Year. Why? Because the achievement was respected, regardless of outcome. Over 100 goals scored, a relentless campaign — the quality was recognised.
Rodgers has delivered time and again under pressure. Injuries, media nonsense, and a Celtic support that’s been split and cynical from day one. And yet, here he is, potentially delivering the clean sweep again. That should be more than enough.
But instead we’ve got Celtic fans — Celtic fans — downplaying it, talking nonsense about resource gaps. See the next time you moan about the media treating the clubs achievements with a sneering disrespect, look in the mirror and have a think about it
The awards are a joke and Brendon should just say no thanks, to his name being included.
The media are a bunch of idiots.
not so much idiots as hypocrites they know what they are doing and why they are doing it callum davidson not winning it was a sad day for a supposedly free press..
The only free press they are is FREEMASONS press Scousebhoy !
Callum Davidson winning both cups is the greatest achievement in Scottish football history in my opinion. With the resources he had at St Johnstone it was simply staggering and to not win the award with 100% votes just confirmed the huge bias for club formed in 2012 that we all know about.
Hopefully BR doesn’t give a fuck about these small timers awards. One day they’ll look back on his Celtic career and wax lyrical, forgetting that they were clueless to what they were watching at the time. So never mind these pointless pats on the back and let’s carry on making history
It would be hilarious if he wins and refuses to attend or accept it due to his treatment by these klowns with crayons
I would love it if he won, and he turned up for the presentation and refused to accept it. Telling them to stick it where the sun don’t shine.
Similar to Billy’s point above. McGlynn should have had the balls to refuse the trophy in favour of the real manager of the year. As stated, Davidson’s achievements in 2021 should have been recognised, but the brethren choose another brother because his brogues were brown and his blazer was blue. Their contradictions give them away, every time. Scottish referees are the same, most aren’t huns, just hate Celtic. Anyone but Celtic and anyone but Brendan Rodgers.
The McGlynn pontification has to stop. It’s a bit too far now with this nonsense from the media and the award giver outers.
However, McGlynn hasn’t won the SWFA award. McCinness (guffaw) win it last year, he beat the incredible Clement to that award.
Del got the award purely for knocking us out of the league cup, of that I am absolutely certain. Cheating bastards
The main men at the SWFA
Chick Young is the Main man
Lindsay Herron
Gavin Berry
Newport
Scott Burns
I’m sure it was started by some Masonic snakes. And what was concerning was the blatant bias shown by him in the early day, so he was voted out to bring some creditably to proceedings and they changed it from top to bottom. As you can see that is no more. ?
Also, the SWFA is a hun cesspit. Walter smith was winning it merely for his services to cardigans. Not anything to do with his football talents or tactics. This is a guy who played backs to the wall anti football in Scotland. (Every Rangers sic team has done this anyway) but Walter the Legned was an embarrassment in Europe. Even his UEFA cup run was a scrape through with the skin of yer arse type of run.