The not-so-new reality

A few points you can take to the bookies without losing your money:

If Joey Barton bet on the Barcelona-Celtic game odds of this being his first offence this season will be around 100/1. This ‘news’ has leaked at a time of choosing, not days after the practice started.

Joey Barton is a self-certified rule breaker, but if his induction process didn’t cover SFA rules about betting on football, a large portion of responsibility on this issue lies with his employer. And it’s not their first offence. I know many of the faces at Ibrox haven’t changed since the old days, but rules are not there to be ignored.

It’s palpably farcical to suggest anyone other than a died-in-the-wool fan wouldn’t “prefer to come to Celtic” than go to Newco Rangers, and even then, Scott Allan jumped at the chance to pull on the hoops. We could take our pick of anyone from Murray Park, or a supporters’ bus on its way to Ibrox, for that matter.

The world has changed. No one would pay attention to a St Johnstone player who said he rejected Celtic to go to Perth, claims that Joey did likewise are equally fanciful.  Welcome to the not-so-new reality.