Only one viable club in the Scottish game

An angry meltdown by Hibernian, many of their fans and lots of independent (cough) observers that the SPFL did not allocate them 50% of Sunday’s League Cup Final tickets all seems a bit demeaning to the League this morning.  500 unsold tickets were returned, it is unclear if it will be possible to sell them to Celtic fans while maintaining crowd segregation.

Can we once and for all agree that Celtic are the lifeblood of Scottish football?  They are the team who compete in and win most finals, they are followed by more fans than anyone else, they bring the game more money in ticket sales, as well as TV and commercial deals than anyone. They also keep Scottish journalism in business.

Celtic are run well.  They live within their means and pay their bills.  They do not duck and dive in the courts over contractual disputes, when they commit to something, it happens.  They do not need to over-promise on ticket sales, even when things go wrong, they meet contractual obligations and move on.

God love St Johnstone, who have achieved enormously well as the second most successful Scottish team over the last decade (three times more trophies than anyone else), but there is only one viable club in the modern Scottish game, everyone else, every last one of them, is making up the numbers.

This is not an endorsement that we will easily beat Ross County tonight, or win on Sunday.  It’s football, even Celtic cannot win them all.  Aberdeen are right to cut their stadium ambitions, Hibs have no choice but to send unsold tickets back, Newco have so little wriggle room you see what they are always at court.  Celtic are on their own, the rest live of our existence.