Emerging talent, Slovenian reaction, footballs morals

Delighted to hear Ronny Deila is planning to rest players ahead of Tuesday’s Cup Final.  There is plenty to be gained from playing the next wave of Callum McGregors at Inverness tomorrow, and little to be lost in the league race.

Our unique position in world football, a club who are so massively bigger than all others they are not involved in a proper competition to win the league, has more drawbacks than advantages, but we need to exploit this position by developing emerging talent when the stars align.

The morning after the day before the Slovakian media were very respectful of Celtic.  There was an acceptance that their assessment of Celtic was based on two unrepresentative performances against Legia.

Perhaps the most encouraging aspect of Slovenian coverage was the appreciation of the “modern football” Celtic played.  Assessments of Maribor’s chances in the return leg were pragmatic.  Expectations are low, but with the tie level, they know they still have a chance.  Hopes are, that Maribor’s misplaced optimism is viral, and that Celtic will be infected by the same disease.

Celtic’s job on Tuesday is to make sure they treat Maribor as though they were Bayern Munich.

Oh Malky.  You and I both know that football is remarkably indifferent to moral uncertainty, the actions over the last 24 hours of the thoroughly reprehensible League Managers’ Assocation testify to that.  Practically anything is forgiven or overlooked, but only up to a point.  Malky MacKay has been implicated in attacks against Chinese, Koreans, black people, gays and Jews, quite a unique full house.

Cardiff City have already leveraged this to obtain a grovelling apology and have now cost him a seven figure contract, offered by his friend at Crystal Palace.  Question is, after the controversy dies down and the obligatory contrition is served, will another club offer him a contract?  I don’t think so.

As far as the football industry is concerned, Malky’s unforgivable sin is not racism, homophobia or anti-Semitism, these matters are often overlooked as ‘banter’, after all.  He’ll not get another job because he blew millions on players who were useless to Cardiff.

That’s the only kind of offence football really tales notice of.

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