When Ibrox legend Walter Smith issued a statement in June 2012 saying, “We wish the new Rangers Football Club every good fortune”, he no doubt hoped that one day the club would win a major trophy. That happened yesterday, when Celtic lost only their second domestic trophy since 2016 and their first league in a decade.
Credit where it’s due, “new Rangers Football Club” have yet to lose a league game this season and are worthy winners. Like old Rangers, they chose to play Casino Football, accumulating £86m in operational losses in their 8-year of financial history, while, as ever, Celtic live within their means. There is not a hope in hell they would have won the league this season otherwise.
Notwithstanding this, Celtic can reflect on a season of unmitigated failure, and the feeling that they never asked a question of a team who famously bottled every opportunity to win a prize against full time opposition. Had we got our act together, even as late as January, the outcome may have been different.
Today, the consequences of failure are ours. We will explore the reasons at the end of the season, none is insurmountable. The consequences of playing Casio Football are structural and also for a later date. We got many things wrong this season but trying to live without our means is not one of them.
In January 2005, When Martin O’Neill’s Celtic were sliding below the water line before our eyes, I told you we were 5 years into a Generation of Domination (I was mocked and abused thoroughly for my trouble). How spectacularly correct that turned out. It was not a gambler’s hunch; it was the inevitable outcome of how Celtic and Oldco were corporately managed.
I know it’s difficult to step back and look beyond today’s pain, but this is not Self-Flagellation Quick News, I’ll leave that to others. What was overwhelmingly evident in January 2005 remains so today. 21 years in, we are now in our second successive Generation of Domination (cue 2005’s blind reaction). All that has changed is the weather, not the climate, so forgive me a lack of panic.
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mmccartney
Irrational anti SNP bias?
I see different rules applied in similar situations
Hardly irrational.
Think the SNP are biased – somewhere in the Govan area.
PS ” Let me first congratulate Rangers”
MADMITCH
NFL and Now JK say they have weekly calls with DD. A billionaire with his business empire doesn’t make weekly calls to management if he’s not hands on.
Criticise his influence, decision making, role in the clubetc etc , but to say he is only trying to make money is just lazy.
In any case, Id rather not chase away a billionaire at the moment.
They can bury their heads in the sand as to who was at fault for the weekends events but make no mistake they will gather again on the 21st to visit paradise and try and cause carnage.
D :)
I know it was he asked it at the press conference when New balance were being unveiled as a sponsor I didnt mention MON, likely he has asked this several times to embarras the club.
“Speaking at the daily coronavirus briefing, he said: “The Government and Police Scotland reminded Rangers of the need for the club to remind fans to adhere to the current restrictions in discussions on February 26 and March 5.
“It is a matter of profound regret that that did not happen.
“The Scottish Government will be making our extreme disappointment at the lack of leadership clear to the team management.”
MMCCARTNEY on 8TH MARCH 2021 12:44 PM
John Swinney has just released a serious reprimand to The Rangers football club.
Spot on amigo!
He also said , The silence from the club was deafening ‘
Let me be perfectly unclear ,give Nicola a break, it’s easy to forget a potentially awkward press conference.
so what are saying Paul that things are not as bad as we think and can only get better.
Interesting that the Sun correspondent ‘s query was not re yesterdays shenanigan’s but was about children returning to school.
Just trying to change the subject if you ask me!
I sincerely hope that P67 has no relationship with the incoming CEO. Maybe then we will get fair and impartial articles.
P67 currently has access to PL and the upper echelons of Celtic management and therefore will not utter one word of criticism.
Any criticism would result in being thrown out of the circle of trust.
Everyone has been in it for themselves PL, Neil and P67. Here is hoping for wholesale change.
So, everything’s great.
Thank feck for that.
Oh, BTW, don’t mention that we just handed them £30m CL money before they kick a ball next season.
The guy smith was the one who reported from outside ibrox “ this is like the old normal , rangers are champions again”.
ROLLING STONE
You got hard proof of that or is it just your opinion?
DESSYBHOY- Smith definitely asked MON ,re IRA songs at CP, HH
My reaction to the COVID briefing today;
There was clear condemnation of the behaviour of the people who engaged in the celebrations yesterday – these people should have been told to immediately self-isolate.
There was a clearly stated and repeated condemnation of the lack of cooperation from the Ibrox club. Maybe the government would wish to punish the lack of co-operation by putting Rangers on a 2-3 month delayed re-opening schedule for Ibrox?
Some posters have taken a party political or nationalist/unionist reaction to posts on here, possibly including mine as I have posted about the incumbent SNP administration as they are the policy/decision makers at present. Sadly, I have no belief that Labour, Liberal Democrats, Conservatists or Greens in Scotland would have handled the Elephant in the Scottish Room any differently.
NTB @ 12.57
Who is DD?
Is he the owner of the club — No.
Does he have a management or executive responsibilities in running the club — No.
So who is this DD and what is he doing and why?
And now for the detail — what meetings is he having and with whom?
Why is he having them and what is being discussed?
The Irish raj is just playing to the gallery.
Total rid neck that he is discussing tactics with our managers.
Ignoring the Rangers’ madness for the present, you could not fault the team for effort yesterday, in fairness they played well except of course for the usual messing about in front of goal. We have another fine young player thankfully in Welsh and I Agree with Roy Keane the Hoops will bounce back. Looking forward to next week against them.
I actually feel sorry for Swinney now.
A man promoted far beyond his competence because he offers no threat to any leader.
I swear he said somethimg today along the lines of “R****rs should have told ther fans to stay at home or if they do come out to wear a mask”. With confused thinking like that, there is maybe an explanation of why Sevco did not follow their instructions.
However, I am going to surprise the “Not a natural SNP supporter; I just vote for them” group by saying that
1) John Swinney did genuinely issue a unique admonishment of Sevco
& 2) The actions of the GB in chasing buses at CP, gave an element of legitimacy and cover for their fans actions yesterday.
Make no mistake , in his own confused and mixed mesaging style, John Swinney threw the Sevco management under a bus today. He stated categorically (doesn’t mean it will turn out to have been true) that Sevco management were asked to issue messages to dissuade their fans from publicly celebrating in crowds and that Sevco did not do as was requested.
I was astounded by this revelation. If the SNP asked them to do so, why would the Sevco mnagament not have complied? It would have been really easy for them to follow the instruction and put out a not wholly convincing plea for fans to behave ( hell- they could have got Ian Bankier to draft it for them) and they could have covered their backsides from the fall out here if they had posted this once on their official site and on their twitter account. Of course it would have made no difference to the fans who turned out yesterday but the club would have been seen to have done their bit and would have been easily cleared by the hapless Mr. Swinney.
Now, if his allegation is true, the Sevco leadership have shown a brazen disregard for political niceties and are either being provocative or incompetent in not responding.
I checked just now to see if tthe Ibrox club had responded to the accusation and I see the following statement:-
“DURING the last number of weeks, Rangers can confirm that we initiated open dialogue with key stakeholders in relation to the possibility of us achieving a historic 55th league title.
We have proactively engaged with our local MP, the Justice Minister, the Scottish Government, Police Scotland and the SPFL in relation to maintaining a cohesive message regarding public safety during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We understand the jubilance of our support across the world who recognise this has been a historic year for the club.
Nevertheless, it has been of great frustration for all football fans across the world that they have not been able to watch their team within stadiums, especially for the loyal Rangers season-ticket holders who have stood by this football club through thick and thin in the last decade.
We reiterate the message from our manager, Steven Gerrard, who highlighted that fans should adhere to government guidelines – stay safe, socially distance and look after each other in this difficult time.
We are aware there is the possibility of more, significant milestones within this season, and we will continue to proactively engage with key stakeholders to maintain a cohesive message in relation to government guidance at this present time.
We look forward to further open dialogue with the government, police, SPFL and other key stakeholders.
Article Copyright © 2021. Permission to use quotations from this article online is only granted subject to appropriate source credit and hyperlink to http://www.rangers.co.uk”
————————————–
That basically says that Steven Gerrard did do as the Government asked (without citing any evidence for this) but that it is still understandable why their fans did what they did.
This is a remarkably bold and defiant response to the SNP criticism. It manages to both call John Swinney a liar AND offers a defence of their fans’ behaviour. This sounds like reckless defiance to me and a call to the SNP to “Bring it On!”. My prediction is that, this time, the SNP will decline the invitation and will try to bury this argument as quickly as possible.
On my point 2, I realise that our club did try to discourage people from gathering at CP and they are in the clear but all Celtic fans who today decry the Sevco fans’ behaviour, will be called hypocrites because many defended the GB’s right to protest the Board. It was certainly an own goal and a shameful sight to see the team bus chased.
But the GB got to look like proppa naurty Italian Ultras, so all is good.
Scenes from Belfast just as bad as Glasgow.
It wasnt a minority, it runs into thousands of them all across scotland and the North of Ireland.
All towns had some gathering.
THE BATTERED BUNNET on 8TH MARCH 2021 12:41 PM
Casio football is all well and good, but you can’t beat a game of the ol Casdon Soccer.
===================================
Now yer tawkin.
Can’t remember what happened to mine 👴🏻
Between 2005 and 2011 the Huns won 4 Titles. Hardly a GoD. Nonetheless they did die , which created a vacuum for Celtic to hoover up Titles virtually unhindered for 9 seasons. That has now changed and to suggest otherwise is ignoring the very fact that they are now our betters on the field. Nothing else matters at all my spreadsheet friends.
As for Police Scotland, I’m sure they all had a great day celebrating with their brethern to be too bothered with breaches of coronavirus or the peace.
Scotland the best wee bigoted country in the World.
No SFA ban for the party of 5 yet?
Those fans yesterday looked Chelsea fans to me 😜
Paul67
Meanwhile back at the ranch.
Celtic squad remains a fully exposed shadow of its former self.
Four loan players ( one unselectable ) all stripped in the dead embers of the most disasterous end to a G.O.D. ever. An interim manager till the end of the season? the same season that ended in November. A wise man posted more than once, that the biggest threat to the ten, was Celtic themselves.
I hope the boardroom gets the same vigour, as the playing ‘stars’ deserve, as for absentee owners, please find a buyer that cares
Root and Branch CSC
All the dobbers had to do was take a leaf outta DDs book and erect Heras fencing round ipox for yesterday, the polis/ Glasgow city council could’ve done the same re George Square.
The Dundee Utd goalkeeper has impressed against Celtic yesterday and previously. Good physical presence and command of area , could he be possibly on The Hoops radar?
“Go home ya huns
Go home ya huns
Go home ya huns
Go home”
Joe McHugh on Video Celts kind of undermines the narrative that Sevco did all they could to prevent yesterday’s scenes
https://videocelts.com/2021/03/blogs/latest-news/police-scotland-announce-28-arrests-from-glasgows-night-of-carnage/
there is now a fund raiser page to “repair the memorial benches accidently broken during good natured celebrations of rangers fans”.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ev8czUOXcAcrdow?format=jpg&name=large
Hi Paul67
I’m sorry but yet again I do not share your lack of concern.
Just over 3 years ago I expressed my concern to you personally,that we were overly complacent with the challenge coming from The Rangers .
I expressed my opinion that it would only take them to win 1 league and qualify for 1 CL , and for us not to .
Then the whole financial outlook turns upside down.
With them on top and us under water.
You told me .
“ Andy , Rangers will NEVER win another league in your lifetime.”
We I’m alive , and they have .
Now before I get the “ even a broken clock is correct twice a day “ response from someone.
I’m hurt we didn’t do 10 .
However I am able to move beyond that .
The football department is in a terrible state .
Who ever takes over has a big job on their hands .
Underestimating the Huns will not make that job easier.
On your it’s their 1st title .
It certainly is .
I have real anger that our board have not said one word about the continuation myth .
If they want to get the fans back on board .
They could start by growing a pair of balls .
State that they have liquidated .
State that it’s 1 , not 55.
We have been let down do very badly
By they’re silence on this matter .
I’m starting to think that they haven’t the ability to solve the 20 point deficit .
The 2 concurrent EL last 16 placings.
You also stated that Celtic were not concerned with Stephen Gerrard’s appointment.
Well they should have been .
That a 9 year old new club could overtake us by such margins is an utter disgrace .
Mismanagement of the highest order .
Complacency of the highest order .
This is self inflicted and so avoidable.
You also said that PL did not want to be the man responsible for losing the 10
Well he is .
Pl if you read this .
This how I will remember you .
The luckiest Celtic CEO ever .
Rangers liquidated .
No challenge for 7 years for the SPFL TITLE.
Failure to qualify 5 times for the CL.
Costing us hundreds of millions .
Your track record is one of abject failure on a European level .
Domestically the 4 treble help balance the books a bit .
But to be honest Ronnie Deila would have won at least 8 of the 9 .
Due to financial advantage we had over Sevco .
Without a doubt your biggest failure is the 5 way agreement and you allowing their 55 myth to go unchallenged.
You were our leader .
You failed us badly.
TT
Apologies for the they’re , their typo
TT
I could have managed the team to 7 or 8 titles!
Hell I might have got the 10!
mmccartney on 8th March 2021 12:44 pm
An outbreak of common sense amid the paranoia.
Embarrassing hun like behaviour, no matter what the evidence shows the data can be twisted to suit the agenda.
SO which teams play the ball backwards most often?
The answer is…………
successful ones
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The surprising result is it is Man City with 41.6% of all passes going what we think is the wrong way, aka backwards.
Chelsea, Real, Paris St G and Barcelona run them close.
It is the kind of thing that surprises you at first and then makes sense.
These teams don’t lose possession and play the patient game until they see openings.
The data, from the CIES Football Observatory, ranks six other teams from the five major European leagues in the top 10 positions of the table: Chelsea (4th), Arsenal (5th), Sassuolo (7th), Barcelona (8th), Paris St-Germain (9th) and Real Madrid (10th).
The CIES Football Observatory using InStat data, drew a correlation between the competitiveness and the number of backwards passes made by its teams.
“The more competitive the leagues, the higher the percentage of backward passes”.
Finally they summarise the findings with a truism.
“The time for kick and rush is definitely over”.
https://football-observatory.com/IMG/sites/b5wp/2020/wp327/en/
That link I posted on backward passes lets you choose the SPFL stats for comparison
They show that the team with the most backward passes is Sevco with 37.5%. Celtic come second with 36%, Ross Co are, surprisingly 3rd but, otherwise, it correlates well with league position.
I’m sure by the time they are on the brink of winning their 55th title, plans will be in place.
However yesterday was their first title, so it is understandable that they got a bit carried away.
I would also note that Neil ennon’s Celtic stats for backward passes , at 36%, ranks just higher than Brendan Rodger’s at Leicester City with 35.8%
TIMMY7_NOTED on 8TH MARCH 2021 1:51 PM
Cult member compliments other cult member on his common sense in defending cult.
I see someone has posted on social media for Celtic fans to gather and protect the stadium, celtic shop and statues on the Celtic way on the 21st.
Watch how the police deal with Celtic fans.
There will be more carnage to come.
I hope not but I fear
D :)