It would appear that if one wishes to retain…ahem…”legend” status with The People then you really should avoid the truth.
There was a time when Davie Weir was a darling among the Ibrox faithful.
When he arrived back at Ibrox he was the trusted deputy of the Admirable Warburton and one young chap (peace be upon him) was ever so excited.
I had reported here what the Ex-Brentford supremo had told the Sevco High Command about the Scottish Cup semi-final victory over Celtic on penalties.
The Admirable Warburton supremo told the Blue room chaps that the win had been massively fortuitous and that everything had gone their way that day.
Consequently, they should not think it was a harbinger of a new era where a team at Ibrox could best the Parkhead side.
This was not what the chaps at the top of the Marble Staircase wanted to hear.
However, the ex-City trader was correct.
It was the immediate aftermath of the semi-final victory where the real defeat was inflicted upon The People.
The official delegation rather overdid the unsurpassed dignity and an enraged Dermot Desmond called a halt to Heated Driveway Productions.
Having a CEO as an untitled director of football wasn’t such a good idea after all.
It was also, of course, the end of the Celtic Way for the likeable Norwegian Ronny Deila.
Brendan Rodgers took the job on the understanding he was in total control of all football matters.
He also got to choose his backroom team.
What followed next was historic.
The team that produced the Invincible Treble were mainly players that the Irishman had inherited.
Truth has a toxic quality at the stadium that John Brown used to play for.
Then the Admirable Warburton turned on the television one Friday night to find out that he had resigned.
It came as quite a shock.
To me and him.
Once more, a contemporaneous account of those events was reported here and nowhere else.
At the time of the semi-final victory, Davie Weir was held in huge esteem by the People.
He had been a veteran entre half for the Blessed Cardigan during his second stint as Rangers manager.
Then, as the dignified No 2 to the Admirable Warburton, became on message board land “Sir Davie of Weir” or “SDoW”.
This week Weir spoke to the SMSM about that semi-final victory and he spoke the plain truth as he saw it from the victorious dugout.
You can read it here in the Evening Times.
Such veracity was too much for The People and SDoW is now “a snake, a liar and a prick” in the same dysfunctional online community.
In the Daily Radar he stated that the financial edge that Celtic currently enjoys makes the Ibrox job unattractive.
For the avoidance of doubt that monetary advantage will not change unless the Parkhead club behaves like old rangers.
An occasional cup success is the best that Sevco can hope for.
The resources required to topple Celtic from the top spot in the SPFL are currently not available to a loss-making business with a secured loan from Close Brothers.
The footie experts that I have canvassed have all tipped Brendan’s Bhoys to prevail at the weekend.
Even if young Master Murts gets lucky it will not alter the unipolarity of Planet Fitba.
That is the truth that Sir Davie of Weir has spoken and The People cannot face it.
Mccann will be their next manager, park is now I line to become next chairman should celtic now stop given this man money.
Murty must be well pleased with sevco high command this week .Dave the Chisler statement telling him he won’t be in charge next season .Now the media putting it out there before the semi final this weekend for some feelgood factor fake news about the klan in talks with new manager .Ah old slim Jim at level 42 feeding the mugs again .
Refreshing to hear an honest account from a blue nose. Read a few things this week from him that won’t go down well with a lot of the staunch mob. Looking to Sundays semi final my feeling is the same as the last few meetings.
If celtic turn up and play as we all know that they can they should be too strong for this current rangers side.
Weir’s getting a doing, now Bates from the staunchest of the staunch.
He was rubbish anyway seems to be the feeling amongst the fans but yet the best of a bad lot compared to Cardoso, Martin and Alves.
With Danny Wilson recently slipping off to the States it would appear that the dressing room is not a happy place to be.
Is this a prelude to a cost cutting exercise, although Bates and Wilson were far from the highest paid players at the club?
One can only imagine the furore that a cup defeat at the week end will bring because of frailties in defence, especially a defence with Bates in it.
Meanwhile in la la land there is much talk of who Mark Allen will bring in during the next window.
John McGinn’s name keeps popping up which is so, so wrong for so many different reasons.
This is all part of the pretence of being a big club, competing with the big boys in the transfer market.
It’s all bollocks.
Allen was credited for bringing in Martin, Goss, Murphy, Docherty and Cummings.
Martin is getting dogs abuse from the fans.
Goss, after a promising start, has disappeared from the line up.
Cummings can’t get game time.
Docherty seems unable to get through 90 minutes and was posted missing in the last Celtic game.
Murphy is the stand out success but as Phil has already pointed out Brighton will want most of his £1.5/2 m transfer fee up front, not spread over the term of his contract.
Docherty’s alleged £600k fee hasn’t been paid and on this one Accies have to be lauded for gifting their best player to an opposition club at no cost whilst staring down the threat of relegation.
Apparently this strangest of deals is not deemed worthy of a question from the Scottish media.
No one has sought the thoughts of Martin Canning or the Park family!
One would have thought that, having been the subject of a near £1m fraud, Accies would have been desperate to raise as much cash as possible to fill the gap.
What happens if Docherty fails his audition, or is unaffordable?
Does he just get shipped back to Accies with a thanks but no thanks card?
Will this no fee transfer mode catch on?
Can we expect further promising young Accies players turning up at Ibrox for an audition at no cost, apart from wages?
This could catch on and soon everyone will be doing it.
Blue Sky thinking indeed from the Ibrox club.
Another great piece Phil . The peepul don’t want to hear one of their own turning on them . We turned them over in there own dump with ten men and my ? would be on the hoops really turning it on this time . Can’t wait for Sunday too hopefully put them in there place . Any prospective manager will want real money to play with and hopefully the takeover panel hammer the GASL over his contempt of court . COYBIG ???
If Celtic play the way they have played they will lose. Simple as that. If they improve a little they will also lose. Celtic need to approach this match as if they are playing a Champions League game. That would mean the score should really be about 5-0 but will end up 2-1. Sending offs, penalties and off side decisions will ALL go against us. This will be a game full of honest mistakes.
Do you not think Phil, that the CEO has inadvertently wormed his way back in by brainwashing our Brendan of his mantra because Brendan appears to sing from his hymn sheet more often than his own.
£30m in the bank, 2nd stage euro competition ahead, opportunity to boost coefficient points, maintain momentum and we completely stalled it.
Failings of the team the same failings we all see as plain as day
I think you made a typing error at the start Phil….
The term is “LEGNED”.
Ha ha.
My bad.
Indeed.
LEGDNEDARY…
It’s like putting lipstick on a pig! The sevco manager’s job has only been interesting to those who know exactly how to extract the cash from the crumbledome and can rely on the SMSM to spin them into a great club with an historic past. We have seen McCulloch, Ferguson, McCall et al proving themselves in print to being real rangers men because they can talk the talk but now Weir has called it as he sees it and the truth hurts and suddenly he’s a Judas. No matter what the sevconians think their club is skint and unattractive to any decent manager. After all, who wants to work without resources and have to be imbued in the hun culture. It ain’t pretty and no amount of lipstick will make it better. HH
It’s bad enough when Timmy is shouting the truth at you.
But when one of your own does it,
Well…..that will not do…
Form an orderly queue of pitchfork wielding lynch mobs…
Lap up the slithery ones’ porkies and disregard the rest…..
You got my vote Phil……
What a time to be alive?
What a f***y.
Davie of Weird was never ever a real rangers man, probably a taig that slipped the net and likely a sellik supporter fae Coatbrigg or Shettleson. Jew diligence mist again. Anyhow, I posit that your consubstantial with the “other guy ” and continue fake newsing it between toys to make things worser for Mr King….. goodbuy.
Wtf are you slavering about ? I hope this is intended as irony otherwise you will be appearing as somewhat of a ??
If anyone was in doubt about the financial position at Ibrox, Hamburg have just announced the signing of Bates from Newco, with his contract up at the end of the season.
He would have been certain to be on the bench at least on Sunday so what does Murty do?
Keep him in the squad despite his leaving in the summer and deny a place to someone else?
What a move for the boy with his wages probably quadrupling.
Mr Allen must have better up his sleeve.
Timing seems a bit off to say the least.
Why not keep it under wraps for a couple of weeks?
Park Snr’s principal role as Deputy Chairman of RIFC plc will be the strategic re-arrangement of deck chairs – whilst continuing his long established and prize winning wasp chewing duties.
Park Snr appointed Deputy Chairman of RIFC plc at the request of David “Cold Shoulder” King.
My rusty ‘O’ level in Kremlinology leads me to think that this is not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth 🙂
Phil…
Serious question…
Why would Douglas Park ( other and much better dealerships are available) want to come back into the firing line at Govan..?
I understand that it may be connected to King’s departure…but I thought that Park had left the building?
This travesty just goes on and on.
Putting money to one side for the moment Sevco will be ready and fully up for Sunday
It’s a one of Cup game!
They will come out the traps fast and Celtic must be ready to better that from the first whistle
We have the better players and saint Brendan but it’s not a walk in the park
Do not get caught cold like we did at Ibrox (although the result was positive)
There is no motivation needed by the manager
We are always aware of the honest mistake but we cannot dwell on that
Someone once said :
“THE CELTIC JERSEY DOES NOT SHRINK TO FIT INFERIOR PLAYERS”
Go get them Celts
Chapeau for another fine article Phil and I hope your Sunday is a happy one
The quote you’re thinking of;
‘Celtic jerseys are not for second best, they don’t shrink to fit inferior players’
The someone was Jock Stein.
In 1965 I played Junior Football…but badly damaged my ankle ligaments in late September of that year…and was out for 2 months.
October found me at Hampden Park for the League Cup Final against them…and I went along thinking that we would lose….(Shows you what I know.)
Point being…I have never gone into this fixture thinking we would win…and that still applies today.
However its really the significance of the result on Sunday that I wanted to write about.
From their perspective…a victory would add thousands onto SB sales …the supremacy factor would go through the roof…( not their Stadium roof I hasten to add…that would be catastrophic)…and the Orange Order membership would no doubt see an increase.
It would also give them desperately needed income from the Final…and overall would give a huge boost to the Club in general.
A loss for them however…could be their death knell.
As for us…
Other than me…we are expected to win…so no great change there.
If we don’t play well and lose, however, I don’t see the support just “taking it on the chin” and moving on.
I think there will be a backlash….based on this season’s form.
BR often stresses the need to continually improve…and that’s great…but…this season we haven’t.
I travel to the games, and of the 30 of us on the bus…over 20 of us are fed up with the way we’re playing just now…and I know other Celtic men and women who feel the same way.
So come on lads…play the way we know you can…and shut this greetin’ face up.
Hail hail.
Erm I think you must have banged your head as well with this injury, the team from the cup final you refer to sadly passed away several years ago, rip gone but not forgotten ?
Wow…Thanks for that Frank…I must have forgotten.
HH
Spot on mate i feel the same way because players aren’t trying as they did last season.
Sir Davie of Weir get his back pay yet?
Now if only sevco could find a heartless, gutless, legless sugar daddy with an UNLIMITED credit line from a Scottish Bank like dead ranges had, then everything might be different…..COYBIG. .
McInnes knew the score and said no as he would have been on a hiding to nothing.
De Boer has shot to the top of the betting to succeed Murty. Unless he’s desperate to be back in work he will need guarantees of the financial support in place to take on Brendan.
I think he will be shocked at the paucity of funds that will be available.
There is no HBOS to turn to or a sugar daddy prepared to burn 10/20m with no prospect of a return.
The pressure on the new manager will be massive as Celtic go into next season chasing 8 IAR.
It’s no job for the faint hearted, thats for sure.