The Sevco High Command must have been in a jubilant mood last night at the fine performance of their team in UEFA competition for the first time.
I think they were very pleased with the quality of football on show.
Indeed, one was so enthused that he remarked to his Blue Room colleague that it was like watching a team coached by Ally McCoist!
Harking back to the days when Super Salary was in the dugout really does say it all.
It is a measure of Portuguese genius that he has been able to unite the disparate parts of his squad into a harmonious unit so quickly.
The inspirational leadership of the Senhor Caixinha has spread harmony throughout the team.
Of course, it could all have been so different.
A lesser manager may have inadvertently created a situation whereby the established players he inherited decided to lobby against him.
In this unfortunate scenario, senior pros would approach members of the board and complain about the new coach.
Indeed, a nightmare situation could develop whereby a player who is the darling of the supporters would be telling board members that they had made a terrible mistake in appointing the new chap.
Furthermore, a linguistic barrier between some of the new players and the established incumbents could also have created difficulties.
Not so for Pedro.
After the impressive performance last night against the highly rated Progres Niederkorn, it is clear that he has magical powers.
I’m afraid that this could be a long and difficult season for the green side of Glasgow.
As it is medically proven that prolonged laughing can be harmful.
Nice bit of satire there Phil. Somewhere in the recesses of mind I feel that I may have witnessed that story before. Then again maybe not. (Lol)
Pedro, the boat builder, reminds me of either Rocinante or Dapple . I’m not too sure which. Suppose we’ll find out soon enough.
Phil, If you haven’t heard it… You should have a listen to ‘Walkaway Rainjur’ Naismith being tactically interviewed by a well known seacoist on BBC Radio Scotland yesterday.
Apparently – now that he’s ‘around’ and the Rainjuurz are back… it’s the same club after all!
He didn’t mean that it wasn’t the club he’s signed for. just that the people running it weren’t the same.
Shame on the BBC…
Sevco and Sevcoist appeasement stratagem on full tilt at Pishific Quay.
I see Pedro is getting huge praise from the support with his latest soundbites.
Green boots are banned and a WATP slogan to be painted on both home and away dressing rooms.
What next Pedro, Orange strips?
In the unlikely event that his team fail in Luxembourg no amount of gobbledegook will save him from the wrath of the support.
He’s not going to get the same easy ride that The Hat enjoyed from the press and with a cabal in the dressing room plotting against him it could get very messy in the blink of an eye.
Good to know. It could be oh so different, some of the sevco sites could be slating the manager and players already.
Wee Ped, I have said in many blogs is hopeless, he will be away before santa comes and will be slated for the kaflik so and so he is soon.
Hi Phil. What’s your thoughts on Uefa saying Danny Wilson was youth trained at the same club he plays for now?
Perhaps they were given that information by the home association…
This sort of Damocles hangs over they’r head as we speak, karma is a wonderful wonderful thing.
Pedro’s talk of miracles needed soon shows he grasps the magnitutde of the task.
A question for John Motson. “John, when did a club last turn over most of it’s squad in the summer and then finish a place higher the next season having halved the points gap to the league winner?”
Because I’d say that is the very least Pedro needs to do to keep his job.
Mottie, “Cass, I think that is a Pointless question.”
I can understand the language difficulties.
Same thing happened under Paul Le Guen.
The problem was that Barry Ferguson couldn’t speak English.
More than a few stories going about that the manager in waiting is orchestrating a dressing room revolt at Ibrox amongst the non Spanish/Portoguese speaking personnel.
However the new signings turn out, Pedro’s tactical nous seems to be at a much lower level than his interview performance which blew the hiring panel away.
In the unlikely event that progression in the Europa Cup comes to an abrupt end then the gloves will be off.
If Pedro fails then what? Bring in a Scottish/English manager, hire an interpreter or two, and continue with the experiment or rip it all up and start again?
I read that Progres have only ever scored one goal in European competition and it will be a tough night for them at home – nice symmetry with TRFC
Oddly enough I’m in Portugal on holiday. The main sports news is Porto accusing Benfica of sorcery over the last two seasons. Perhaps it is the way in Portuguese football? Having said that I’m surprised DK hasn’t yet accused Celtic of similar.
It’s as though Pedro is making the same rookie mistake we all made the first time we played Football Manager…too many foreigners from South and Central America. But, when it all went tits up, I just hit the reset button and started a new game. I think Pedro is wading in shit, and he doesn’t have the shoes for it…
Coco the clown has a spare pair of shoes
Careful, Bhoys! Let’s not succumb to the charms of triumphalism. Last season was last season. Tomorrow is another day.
Cyprus holidays could be cancelled on Tuesday night. Limassol would not be an easy trip anyway. Seem to remember the Murray Bank team being rolled over by Famagusta back in the “asterisk” years. Pity we have to wait until late September for high fives again. It’ll be worth the wait!
I stand corrected: Murray International Millions scraped through on a 1-0 aggregate. The UEFA Co-Efficients prior to last night make interesting reading especially for those people in the highchairs of Scottish MSM: Progres Niederkorn (1.225), AEL Limassol (8.21) and Pedro’s team (0.0). And St. Johnstone, who have made a sorry start to their campaign, are rated 6.535 by UEFA. It looks like the Hoops will be propping up the co-efficient again this year for the rest of Scotland.
As pedro say’s he likes to play football on the vertical,Just like he talks football like a vertical blind he just doesn’t not know when to open or SHUT IT
The same man who a month ago said he had the finest squad in Scotland ?
Miracles versus Magick.
If only they could use smoke and mirrors on the park.
The best team Sevco has ever had was the lads that walked the Championship (second attempt). I was stunned when they offloaded those lads last summer.
The chances of this lot beating Celtic, Aberdeen, Hearts, Hibs, St Johnstone are slim. In fact, I put them sixth this year.
I hope that UEFA delegate noticed the bottle throwing at progres players at the end
Has anyone mentioned the Luxembourgese team were part timers yet?
me thinks that they just limp………popo’ded over the line…………………HH
Phil, methinks you know something! similarities to the tongue in cheek article, when you enlightened Scottish football to the multi millionaire Craig White takeover, almost 6 years ago! Brilliant!
Nothing gets by you…
If those gallant chaps succeed I will name my next daughter Progres! My sides were bursting at ‘Croc’ Krantjer and only a very quick free-kick got them in. Let’s hope they do goals at home, there was one cracking back-post corner I saw…will make a great T-Shirt ‘Progres Niederkorn? Mwaa Ha Ha!’
Progress Niederkorn.
No progress Sevco.
Progres Niederkorn? All I can say is well done to them. As part timers, they came to Ibrox and played in front of 50000 fans and left withand a very credible 1-0 loss.
Brother Pedro says he is not a miracle worker. Pedro my dear chap, the only miracle last night was the fact that Niederkorn did not conceed more than one goal.
For a bunch of part timers in front of a partisan crowd of 50000, a 1-0 loss is indeed miracle and I’m sure they left fortress Ibrox with their heads held high.
Beware though, miracles do really happen. A hot and muggy night in Gibraltar comes to mind. Pedro could work a miracle yet…..
Is that the ‘Fortress Ibrox’ where Celtic scored 8 goals in 2 games or the ‘Fortress Ibrox’ where Aberdeen scored their first victory in 25 years?
Or did Mr McCuttaway stick the glue tube up his nose when doing his handicrafts just prior to writing this comment?
Contrary to the adage, I believe that sarcasm is one of the highest forms of wit.
Magical powers you say…? Was he wearing a hat at the time by chance….?
Pedro does not wear a hat! he wears a magic sombrero, on a lighter note though, all these new players at the spam factory now, would appear to be, hmm, non-protestant, just as Pedro is, and it seems most, of them don’t speak English or understand it, thankfully Pedro does and he can translate the sayings and songs of the sevco support.
So he’ll be telling his Catholic players, ‘Yes, they’re chanting that they hate us so we will cheer them on in their stupidity and pretend we’re ‘on their side’ so Celtic can do Ten In A Row, Dave King gets shafted (again) and we all get a hefty wage packet for seemingly doing what Jim Traynor tells us, without him knowing that we’re all double agents like Chucky & Whytey before us.’ ..?
Hmm, sorry folks, I didn’t realise the full complexity of this situation myself until I wrote it here.
Either way, who’d wanna be a Sevco Man?
Or not ..?
Magic Sombrero