YOU KNOW you are talking guff when Kris Boyd says so.
After all, Big Mouth Boydy is an acknowledged master of baloney and gobbledygook as he demonstrates so capably when the Sky cameras whirr into action.
Philippe Clement was on the receiving end of the curt appraisal from the one-time Ibrox striker following the manager’s comments after his team’s decisive loss to Aberdeen in midweek.
After watching Celtic take care of business against Dundee, I viewed the full recording of the game in the north east. Please do not accuse me of wearing green-tinted glasses, but if it had been 4-0 at half-time for the hosts, no-one could have complained.
The team that was dismantled by Brendan Rodgers’ men at Hampden last night were leading 1-0 and had fluffed a penalty-kick, smacked one of the woodwork and forced Jack Butland into a couple of decent saves.
In the end, the better team won. Boyd, clearly irate after what he had just witnessed, launched into a verbal tirade at the Belgian. “Unacceptable” and “talking guff” seemed to be the prognonsis from the satellite TV analyst.
On this occasion, it was well nigh impossible to disagree with him.
X-CERTIFICATE…Philippe Clement during the loss to Aberdeen at Pittodrie.
Had the manager actually said it had been one of the better performances? Trust me, dear reader, neither you nor I would have gone along with that potty summing-up if it had come from one of our own in similar circumstances.
This current Rangers side, or whichever label you want to stick on them, are a car crash. If Clement cannot see that you have to wonder what he believes he is witnessing on matchday.
After being acclaimed as the man to lead the Govanites into a fresh new era about a year ago, he must now realise he is far from bombproof. Or clear of quicksand.
Mistakes are being made on and off the field while a procession of decisions by Clement have become simply unfathomable.
Thankfully, that’s someone else’s problem. The cold fact they find themselves nine points adrift of Celtic and Aberdeen at the end of October would rather suggest Ibrox season ticket holders will not be getting value for their buck between now and mid-May.
It will be interesting to note the numbers in the Rangers end for this afternoon’s Premier Sports League Cup semi-final against Motherwell at Hampden.
There has already been talk of a boycott among some of the disgruntled support who have had enough of the hoo-ha emitting from their manager.
People across the river are now fearing a repeat of Pedro Caixinha who had 229 days in charge at Ibrox and bewildered friends and foes alike with his observations during his brief – and hysterical – interlude in Glasgow.
Big Phil will need to show he has a head for heights because he is now stepping onto a tightrope.
No chairman. No chief executive. No director of football. No money.
And, alas for the Belgian, no safety net.
This could be the point of no return when the talking, guff or otherwise, has to stop.
ALEX GORDON
