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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Just about getting over yesterday.
So much for DD being a great leader / business man .
The new kid on the block wiped the floor with you and your cohorts , the Celtic support will not let you forget that!
As Napoleon once said “ don’t interrupt your enemy when they are making a mistake !
Well we made mistake after mistake and DD sat back and watched !!
Let’s hope for a bit of direction next year, getting young players in to make money is not the way forward we need players that are willing to fight for the team, if we get a diamond now and again then so be it.
Take you back to May
Replaced Craig Gordon with Greek international with CL experience. Replace Johnny Hayes with AC Milan left back, replace JOZO with Irish captain and Premiership CH. Throw in a £5m striker from English premiership for good luck.
All good decisions made at the right time. Johnny Hayes went on to play for free, Craig Gordon dropped down a division and has struggled and Jozo cant find a club after nearly a year
Hindsight’s a wonderful thing, but I defy anyone to show me a post from the summer saying we were in bad shape.
The ‘scenes of celebration’- what else did we expect? What we didn’t expect was the entire Ibrox squad & management’s justification in rushing to meet the crowd at the gate.
Paul’s piece highlights the continuing fact that now we never meet our only serious challenger on equal terms.
Living within it’s means has been a foreign concept at Ibrox since Murray walked in the door. Of course they paid a heavy price, however, since joining the top-flight, the old club’s old habits have returned.
That they can get various people to pump in £80m+ with no obvious return, save for confetti shares, is testament to the pull of an Ibrox club. An institution that stands for triumphalism in Scotland – the establishment club in Scotland, supported by the establishment in Scotland.
Our latest 9iar & trebles were won in the face of a very weak challenge – of course you can only beat what’s in front of you. This season when the going got tough, we were posted missing.
This season’s debacle started and finished in the dressing room. The management & these players, so lauded at the start of our 10iar season, bolstered by £30m spending in the in the last eighteen months, failed us miserably.
This “winning machine” was kept in tact & the manager with “an eye for a player” given £30m to spend – is that not proof that the board wanted 10iar?
The outgoing CEO & the board have questions to answer, of course they do – but the gifting of the title to Ibrox was nothing less than a football department surrender.
Just bringing my wee yin’s birthday weekend to a quiet end with a Guinness or two.
Nice to get a seat at last.
Aaaaah!!
MADMITCH on 8TH MARCH 2021 3:19 PM
I am trying but you are literally flying off all over the place with your argument (s).
i think we shall agree to disagree
Yes, they are living beyond their means again, but what did the Celtic board do to ensure that there is Financial Fair Play in Scottish football?
PHILBHOY
Enjoy the Black stuff ! Lovely 👍
forget the talk of thems doing 55 or as it should be first title win , the issue is that we didn’t do the 10 , a complete and utter f*** up .
NOTTHEBUS on 8TH MARCH 2021 3:26 PM
Some valid points other than Laxalt didn’t come in until October and people on here were already questioning the decision to go for Ajeti over Toney – that wasn’t hindsight.
PARK ROAD67
Indeed!
And I deserve it!
JNB is right on this. This squad will not perform for Celtic again. As we saw on Sunday John Kennedy is in the same mould as Lenny and the players responded accordingly. These players would not play for Pep or Zidane.
We need at least 15 new players and we need 12 players who came through Scottish Academies min 4 for our own academy.
Broony can retire to Coaching and we need rid of the rest. Only Bain, Hazard, Ralston, Taylor Weish Turnball Soro Forrest Klimala should stay with the Development players.
i reckon 15 sold or freed. Its the players
Ernie,
All Celtic supporters use the terminology “we” when talking about our football club.
HH.
I want a midfield of Hay, Murdoch, Auld and Brogan (J).
Then build the team around them.
Simples.
VALE BHOY
How did we hand them 30ml CL money.I think they have 3 qualifying rounds to get through.
If they get the same strength of teams that we had then they could reach group stages.
Failing so miserably this season is a very unpleasant experience but a few questions:
a) Would it have been just as miserable if it wasn`t a Ten in a Row season?:
b) What is so important about TIAR anyway? Winning 9IAR twice has never been done either;
c) Had it been, say, Aberdeen who won the title, would that have been less /more painful?
d) If the gap had been considerably less than it is, would that have been much more acceptable?
GREENPINATA on 8TH MARCH 2021 3:43 PM
While you’re absolutely correct, this Mitchell and Webb sketch is still brilliant :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xN1WN0YMWZU
PHILBHOY, would that be jim or frank brogan👍😎 hope you are well H,H,
BIG PACKY 1
Read my post again!
RC on 8TH MARCH 2021 3:32 PM
forget the talk of thems doing 55 or as it should be first title win , the issue is that we didn’t do the 10 , a complete and utter f*** up
you dont say.:-)
think it may be a topic for a while.
how long do we have introspection for? is there a limit?
its how we learn i suppose? from what we built 10 into or up for,? -in ourselves
we are now quite aware of the reality
and we have things to do.There is many a day and memory of Celtic and right now we have a CL qualifier to Prep for.before that
òl ceo new ceo handover
poss board realignment
new manager
new background team
new captain
new players in
players out
.
hh
stmaryhallongoinCsc
TIMHORTON on 8TH MARCH 2021 3:44 PM
Sevco will play two CL qualifiers and will be seeded for the first.
I would fancy them to beat the likes of Ferencvaros and while they’re not guaranteed to be in the group stages, I’d certainly rate their chances well above 50/50.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ev926MtXIAInOlR?format=jpg&name=medium
worser times, got better soon.
PHILBHOY, sorry just seen the J apologies, its the oul napper.LOL.
GEEBEE1978 on 8TH MARCH 2021 3:48 PM
I liked that :-))
Excellent.
coronation cup winners
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ev9JdqeWYAI_zHY?format=jpg&name=medium
Scott Brown still has a big role at the Club, a lot of new players and staff coming in,he needs to instill in them ,what’s required to play and represent Celtic. We all know it’s been a shambles of a season, but it’s stupid throwing all that experience out of the door, because we’re all pi$$ed off.
if you were offered the choice; beat Sevco next week to burst their run or win Scottish Cup?
My brain says the latter; my heart says the former.
Hail Hail
`…forget the talk of thems doing 55 or as it should be first title win `
You can forget it if you want, D but I can`t !
On that point. I get the impression that most football fans in Scotland hold an opinion on that topic one way or the other. Does that alone not warrant genuine debate on the topic on a National Sports Show?
I think it is clear why we don`t but I wonder if it has ever even been suggested ?
ST STIVS
Who is the player second left, front row?
Philbhoy,
I would rather have Charlie Gallagher than either Brogan.
CONEYBHOY on 8TH MARCH 2021 3:59 PM
I’d rather beat them, I think.
Cups will come and go but the thought of them “equaling” our invincible season (I know it won’t be a treble one but do you think they or the media will highlight that?) is quite a horrid thought.
Coneybhoy
Sometimes my heart says the former and my brain says the latter.
Other times my brain says the former and my heart says the latter.
All the time, my heart and my brain say: Both.
PS Are we playing THEM next week?
PCS
I like my choices because there is a huge amount of skill and a massive amount of dig……………in each player.
Charlie was a wonderful player on his day, but……………no dig.
Philbhoy
Neilly Mochan.
ST STIVS
Great pics by the way!
I am suitably cheered up……(aided and abetted by the Guiness)
Sftb
Your back pass statistics don’t tell the whole story
1) if you count a sideways pass in your own half as a back pass the Celtic rule supreme
2) back passes are often fine especially when you are 2 or 3 goals ahead. All the teams you mentioned are normally winning when doing their high percentage of back passes. Celtic meanwhile carry out a high percentage when drawing and in some cases losing.
3) more informative would be the amount of successful passes, forward OR back in the opponents half. I think your PSGs et al will have a far higher percentage than most, including Celtic.
Philbhoy
I often see Charlie G near CQN Corner. I am going to tell him what you said :-)
Paddy Turner ?
someone has climbed on the roof of Our Lady of Lourdes and put a rangers scarf around the statue.