GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - FEBRUARY 17: A General View from outside Celtic Park before a Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and Aberdeen at Celtic Park on February 17, 2021, in Glasgow, Scotland (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Does our friend Keith Jackson get paid by the word? I don’t know. He certainly doesn’t get paid based on quality, I know that.
I just wonder if he actually needs us to do his job for him, or if he’s just too bone idle to do it himself. Because almost everything he writes these days reeks of second-hand smoke. It’s as if he has to read our sites first before any sort of original thought even dares pop into his own head.
Plagiarism used to be the worst charge you could level at a journalist. It used to be career-ending. That’s how seriously the profession once took it. If you were caught nicking someone else’s work, that was a death sentence in media circles.
You might get a job on some backwater provincial paper that didn’t care about standards—but your days writing for a mainstream title with national clout? Well and truly over.
One of the great workarounds for lazy hacks has always been that there’s no rule—written or unwritten—against lifting the central idea of an article.
Sure, you’re still in trouble if you copy entire sections word for word and pass them off as your own. No one gets away with that—although it’s rarer now that even that ends careers the way it used to. But if you simply repackage someone else’s original idea and have enough brass neck to present it as your own? That’ll get you by. For a while. At least until someone calls you out on it once too often.
Now, I’m not saying Jackson stole his entire idea the other day from Celtic fan sites. But I do know that not one word of it was an original thought. That it will be an issue if Brendan isn’t getting some of his own players, alongside the usual club-signed projects? Aye, cheers for that insight.
If there were a prize for stating the obvious, he’d be a contender. If there were a prize for stating the obvious badly, Keith would absolutely win it.
Because here’s the thing: none of us actually thinks Jackson is wrong. He’s right. If Rodgers is only getting the players the board wants, and this isn’t going to be one of those give-and-take windows where he has some say, then that is outrageous.
My problem with the article is that there’s nothing in it I haven’t read before—or even written myself. He says the thought just “dawned” on him. Maybe. But some of us had that dawning weeks ago and we’ve been talking about it ever since.
I was slightly late to the party on the idea that maybe there are people at Celtic who don’t want Rodgers to stay. But I’m still at least a week ahead of Jackson’s alleged brainwave that maybe these people don’t intend to give the manager what he needs.
I said in an article over the weekend—and again on the podcast the other night—that we’ve all been labouring under the illusion that Rodgers holds all the cards here. And maybe he does. But that only matters if it’s a priority for the board to extend his contract.
Because if they’ve already decided the club is better off going in another direction, they don’t have to give Rodgers anything but the finger. And they know he can’t do much about it. He won’t quit—he’s made promises to the fans. He won’t down tools—that would be a reputational disaster if and when he leaves.
I won’t pretend not to be angry at Rodgers in some respects.
I don’t think he fought hard enough for what he needed when he held more leverage. And I’m starting to wonder what Desmond’s role in all this really is. Because the perception a lot of people have is that Desmond is Rodgers’ guardian angel. But I’ve always said we are Rodgers’ true Praetorian Guard.
If Desmond is really Rodgers’ big advocate—his greatest defender—he’s doing a god-awful job of it. Either he’s not listening to the manager, or the yes-men on the board aren’t listening to him.
Either way, it doesn’t look like the manager is getting what he wants or what he needs. So if Desmond has indeed “gone to bat” for Rodgers, he’s swinging and missing. And that makes me wonder if he’s even trying.
And if you happen to read that thought in a Keith Jackson column in the near future, remember where you heard it first.
There was a particularly funny line in Jackson’s article that I’d be remiss not to mention. He said he’s “starting to worry” that Rodgers isn’t getting what he wants.
But come on—Jackson isn’t worried about that in the slightest.
He loves the idea that Rodgers won’t get his players. That he’ll get saddled with a bunch of projects. That he’ll have to rely on a weaker version of last season’s team to take on rivals who have strengthened. That would suit Jackson just fine.
That would suit most of the media just fine. And the only folk who’d be happier are that minority within our own support who worship at the altar of St Peter of the Balance Sheet… and, of course, everybody across the city.
Because if our directors are trying to sideline Rodgers, that’s the greatest act of self-sabotage this club has committed in decades. And if this ends badly, some of us aren’t going to let the blame fall on the manager.
Even if you’re in that section of our support which is as sound asleep as any of those Ibrox fans ever were, you must—surely—see what’s really going on.
Just don’t expect to read much about it in Jackson’s columns. He and the other enemies of Celtic will be too busy laughing. And as behind the curve as they usually are, even they can see where this is headed. And believe me—they can’t believe their luck.
Perhaps it’s because of a summer transfer market that seems to be going on and on just like the start of the season seems to be far away and always over another hill.
It seems to me that reporting everywhere is low on original thought and high on speculation or is it simply the expectation of a big signing that’s never appears to come to fruition.
There’s plenty of chat going around about bids for certain players, forwards mainly, from around the continent. Lowball bids apparently.
At least there’s friendlies of a higher category of talent on the increase. I’m generally a patient man and an optimist, you have too as a Celtic fan, but God it would great to see actual progress in the market and the start of the season.
Newcastle will be an interesting gauge after Wednesday’s positive performance and result and will further enhance our assessment of where we’re at in terms of progress and positivity. At least hope so
My thinking is if the board feels that Rodgers isn’t going to commit to a contract extension then they may not want to back him with big money signings that are going to be here beyond his term. I know they have done it with Engels and Idah but they will let him have signings based more in what they want, ie projects and “gems” ahead of the quality we need.
Fish on a Friday then – A good filleting once again of Jackshun…
Canny argue with what he says though even if it in The Scummy Day-Late Record x 31 days (a month late) !
There is a board running Celtic and if their priority and mission is to make profits for the shareholders and owner then they have been a wonderful success.
However, that is not the aim of the fans who partly finance the operation so there will be conflict.
It also isn’t the aim of the manager who wants to also be a success and win things.
So at Celtic the board buy players and expect the manager to mould them into a team. It is a crazy situation but not unusual in other sports.
I liken it to F1 where the experts in the Ferrari team build a car and tell Hamilton to go out and drive it. Hamilton doesn’t design the car although he may make a few suggestions on improvements.
The problem is who are the experts on the Celtic board choosing what players to buy? Are they experts? Who is making the decisions on transfer.
Or is it a case of Lawwell saying buy, if I can mix the examples, “Dunlop” as opposed to “Pirelli” tyres as they are cheaper and causing the manager to say I am not using them, why hence some players are never given a chance e.g. Nawrocki?
What is the point in having a contract of x length when it’s apparently all up in the air a year or more before that contract ends? Loses the dressing room, loses support of board, players don’t want to come, players want to go, board don’t want to back transfers…….ffs has no manager ever left a job before??
The whole point of a recruitment department is a consistency that lives with or without manager x. Also we buy player x on the managers say so and we have scouted correctly then if/when manager goes ( his decision or ours) player will still have value either to the team or on sale.
So question is why the drama, why is it a constant topic on blogs and in the press – it is relentless and boring and time from someone from Celtic to shut it down
Bang on Moisey17. The suggestions on here that Peter Lawwell is out scouting and signing players is risible. Paul Tisdale is Head of Football Operations and should be working with Rodgers to determine player needs in the immediate term and the mid term – it’s how clubs of any size operate. It follows then that at any point in time we will be looking for first team ready players and development players. It’s also to be expected that deals to secure first team ready players take longer to close out – more money, add-ons, competition, etc. – and are subject to board scrutiny given the sums involved.
Even Carlo Ancelotti when at Real Madrid complained that he didn’t get all the players he wanted!
I reckon 99% of us on here never read the Keith Jackson column or the rag he writes for. Why then continually obsess about him and give him the notoriety he seeks. I don’t fully get it, maybe once in a while but not on a weekly basis.
The celtic bloggers are quite right to call out the pro ibrox press how on earth this imposter is still stealing a wage is a disgrace . The days of believing what the media print or say are long gone.
I for one don’t really need daily reminders of what the media are all about, I have known of their anti-Celtic bias all of my life.
I’ve not read them for almost 31 years (since ma wee granny -x- passed away) as I just got her cast off the week I was night-shift…
But I still like to see what pathological lies that The Scummy Bastards are spreading about ma beloved Celtic and get a rant offa ma tits when they inevitably spread their daily lies that I find out about on here…
What I’ll never understand is why ‘Lucan’ allows them all the privileges that The Scummy Bastards get at Parkhead as these privileges to these Scum are truly fuckin disgusting for sure !
I agree with you Johnny. Dare I say it’s lazy copy and any novelty has worn very thin.
Are the board reluctant to spend “big” after Brendan wasted £26m on three flops last season?
This “Brendan wasted £26m on threes flops last season” shite does ma tits in.
First up they are not flops. Take away Idah’s 20 odd goals last Season and the League, Domestic Cups and advancing the Team’s profile in the UCL may have taken a different course..Engels penalty conversion rate almost 100% successful being the difference between draws or losses. His MoTM displays Domestically and in Europe. Trusty’s sterling performances in UCL and more than adequate Domestic performances with a variety of partners in Central Defence and LB cover.
The issue of the fees paid is not down to the players, it’s a symptom of Celtic’s, or rather Lawwells’s piss poor poker playing skills fronted by the Invisible CEO. Celtic tried it on with lowballing Norwich and having to come crawling back at the end of the Transfer Window, off course Norwich seeing the healthy Transfer Surplus sitting in Celtic’s bank quite rightly, sensing our desperation extracted their own ‘gotcha’ premium. We never learn.
@jimbhoy66 if those three players went up for sale in this window, would Celtic get £26m for then? lol!
Jimbhoy 66 are you telling me we couldn’t get a better striker number 9 for 9 million,or a better midfielder for 11 million,and finally any better centre half for 6 million,come on be real.
jombhoy – how many of Idah’s goals LAST season (not his 6months loan spell) were winning goals? How many goals did he score when starting a match? Almost all of his 20goals were in games that we were already winning. Have you forgotten Maeda had to be moved to CF beacuse Idah went something like 10games in a row without scoring. You’re right its the Board who spent 9m on him (when they could have got him for 6.5m) but Brendan insisted we get him and its clear he’s average at best!
We, the fans and foot soldiers of our wonderful club, deserve ongoing investment and improvement in the on-field playing team and squad.
Maybe the board don’t overly believe in Brendan’s ability to spot a player and that’s the dynamic that’s in play this year with a manager that may well walk within the next year.
Brendan is a very good man manager and developer of talent but not the complete package some of fanbase believe he is. They need to see passed that and allow recruitment if it’s not him. I don’t really care who that is as long as it works across the board; project, development, experience and quality.
That task needs to be put into action in no more than the next few weeks for us, regardless of Brendan’s future desires
@jimbhoy66 if those three players went up for sale in this window, would Celtic get £26m for then? lol!
Probably not but that’s mostly due to Celtic’s crap negotiating for incoming players.
They invariably have to pay over the odds because of either lowballing offers pissing of selling clubs or they leave it to last week / day of the Transfer window.
Celtic could probably have got Adam for £4.5 / £5 mill if they had negotiated in good faith at the start of the window.
Trusty a last minute acquisition £6 mill I think it was. Prob slightly overpriced. USA international player. I think over the piece he will prove his worth and possibly achieve a small profit on resale 3/4 years from now.
Engels is the enigma of the three. Good pedigree better than Raskin ffs. Possibly overpriced £2/3 mill again down to Celtics desperate last minute scrambling in the Window. I can see him kicking on this Season and will net us a decent profit over time.
Exactly somehow, they’re not bad players but 26 million FFS. We fucked up with what we ended up paying for these 3,the one that concerns me the most is Arne Engels, there’s nothing that shows that he’s ever going to be that good,hope I’m wrong but he’s not exactly Paul MC stay or Alan Thompson or any of our outstanding midfield generals.
James seen this movie before and we know it ends,you say Rodgers won’t walk he, will he form for it.
You have a go at the board as happened previously first time round when he left with fans not best pleased with Rodgers or the board,and guess what happened,the fans still lined up and bought season books and sold the place out.
We are all mugs,getting mugged off with the board and manager,remember it’s only my opinion,don’t shoot the messenger.
Stephen,my thoughts exactly,with the gullible Celtic mugs ,we never stop supporting the club financially but always get fuck all in return,this board hoover up all our money and grudgingly pay out piss poor sums of money to get us decent first team ready players to help us in Europe, forget about the pishy SPFL Mickey mouse,we need to do something in Europe but this board is only interested in keeping one step ahead of sevco,and maybe just qualify for the CL ,and take the money and run.
So, Doubles, Trebles and Quadruple Trebles, are fuck all in return, I doubt that I must be awfy easy pleased.