PUNDITS are paid for their opinions. The more extravagant, colourful and controversial the viewpoints, the better it is for the ratings.
One comment on Clyde 1 Superscoreboard in the aftermath of Celtic’s fairly chronic showing against Aberdeen in the Scottish Cup Final caught the attention of of the fans.
Paulo Bernardo, who lasted 100 minutes before being replaced by Jeffrey Schlupp, didn’t have a particularly satisfactory afternoon in a malfunctioning midfield that couldn’t figure out the Dons defensive system that had skipper Graeme Shinnie screening his five team-mates immediately behind him.
I was suprised when Brendan Rodgers elected to replace Arne Engels with Luke McCowan in the 66th minute while leaving on on the Portuguese playmaker and I said so in the CQN match report which you can check out here.
RED ALERT…Paulo Bernardo is crestfallen after Shayden Morris’ shot had been deflected into the net by Kasper Schmeichel for Aberdeen’s late equaliser in Celtic’s Scottish Cup Final downfall.
It certainly was not an injury-enforced change and the club’s £11million record buy, who had smacked a shot off the post only two minutes earlier, didn’t look overly chuffed at getting the hook.
I think we can all agree Bernardo has played better, but you could ask which Celtic player excelled on the day the team blew the ideal opportunity to seal their sixth treble in nine phenomenal years.
One of the pundits took the criticism of the former Benfica prospect up a notch when he made the observation that the 23-year-old middle-of-the-park operator is “non-existent in big games”.
Actually, that’s not quite accurate, is it? Just look back to the soccer showpiece at the same venue almost exactly a year beforehand and recall the fading moments of the regulation 90 minutes.
It was Bernardo who picked up the ball in the centre circle, sidestepped a challenge from Nico Raskin and stamped on the accelerator to leave the Belgian in his slipstream as he sprinted determinedly towards enemy territory.
When Jack Butland’s posts came into view, he unleashed a pulverising right-foot drive from outside the box that flummoxed the keeper.
SPECIAL DELIVERY…Paulo Bernardo races away from Nico Raskin in the 2024 Scottish Cup Final as he is about to play a major role in Celtic’s 90th-minute winner.
The befuddled custodian could only divert the ball to his right and there was Adam Idah coming like an express train to lash in the rebound to win the Cup. A further 10 minutes of stoppage-time were added on, but the trophy was already heading across the city.
There are other instances of Bernardo standing up to be counted and, at £3.5million, the Parkhead powerbrokers didn’t have to break the bank to bring the player to the club on a permanent basis last summer.
Adding Engels to the Bernardo equation, the critic stated: “Both of them were disappointing on the day. I don’t think there is any getting away from that.
“I thought they struggled to identify space. I think Hatate does it brilliantly. He pulls people into tough areas and Celtic play through. I didn’t think Engels or Bernardo did that particularly well.”
The analyst added the coup de grace by insisting: “I have been quite consistent with Bernardo.
“When it was up for debate whether Celtic should sign him, I was probably one of the ones who said: No, I didn’t think it was worth the risk and the money.”
Fair enough. The so-called expert is entitled to his opinion, as we all are. He made what he believed were salient points and it sparked interest and provoked comment among the listeners.
Naturally, it was then flagged up on social media to an even wider audience.
RULER OF THE AIRWAVES…Celtic boss Brendan Rodgers is obviously comfortable when the microphones are around.
For me, there is one major flaw in all of this. The pundit was Mark Wilson, who was joint interim manager alongside Brian Graham at Partick Thistle at the time.
The former Celtic right-back had been in that position since February following the sacking of Kris Doolan. A week after Hampden, he was put in sole charge at Firhill and I wish him the very best of fortune in the role.
I, for one, wouldn’t be heartbroken to see the Jags back in the top flight.
But Wilson is going to have keep in mind his position when a microphone is shoved under his snoot. It’s an outrage that another manager should make comments about the transfer policy of Brendan Rodgers – or any other team chief you may care to name.
The 41-year-old head coach should realise there are certain niceties that have to be observed that come with the position.
How, for instance, would Wilson react if the Celtic gaffer singled out one of his Thistle players for such criticism?
That’s never going to happen, of course, because the Irishman has a lot of savvy when the microphones are running.
Rodgers is well aware when is the correct occasion to have your say.
He also knows when to button it. Wilson should take heed.
ALEX GORDON
