When I think of the Ibrox match day experience I have to admit that the word “honour” doesn’t immediately spring to mind.
Whether it is Rangers or Sevco post-2012 that word appears to have a different meaning at the stadium John Brown played for.
It is worth noting that the stadium was the home ground of a club that practised a discriminatory employment policy for most of the 20th century.
Of course, the SFA didn’t lift a finger to challenge Rangers about their institutionalised bigotry during those years.
However, they did get into a lather about Celtic flying the Irish tricolour.
I suppose that shows the priorities of the men running the national game in those years.
The late Sandy Jardine opened up about the club he served so well when he said:
“When I came here in 1964, we had no Catholics,” he said. “Not just the playing staff, anywhere. There was no bit of paper, it was an unwritten rule.”
For the avoidance of doubt, Sandy had a sense of honour.
That’s why he could reflect on that shameful episode in the history of his club.
Sadly, there are few among the Ibrox klanbase who has his honesty and humanity.
One thing that is also in short supply among Sevco’s current customer base is self-awareness.
When their city rivals built a bigger stadium in 1998 David Murray decided that he would need to get creative to overhaul that financial advantage.
In keeping with the concept of honour as understood at Ibrox, he enlisted the professional advice on taxation matters by struck off lawyer and pornographer Paul Baxendale Walker.
Well, that Light Blue movie did not have a happy ending for the klan.
The three-man SFA tribunal who found against Rangers in 2012 then had to have police protection and they were not the only ones who attracted the ire of the Ibrox klanbase in the summer of 2012.
So much honour…
This week there seems to be a whiff of an invented controversy about the guard of honour question.
The important fact is that Celtic are, once again, champions and Sevco are still without a major trophy in their seven-year existence.
Consequently, the match at Ibrox will have no bearing on the title.
Celtic have three matches to play this season and only the last one, the cup final, matters.
It is not uncommon for league winners to have a few meaningless games to play at the end of a campaign.
On this day in 1995, I recall Celtic beating the original Rangers 3-0.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN5lcQyRdzM
The Hoops were well worth their victory, but the financially doped Ibrox outfit had already won the league.
Of course, the Celtic fans cheered at the rented out Hampden, but the fixture did not alter the fact that Rangers were champions.
It is worth noting that the guard of honour thingy is merely a convention and nothing more.
However, it does seem to matter a lot to the current Sevco captain.
Given the history of both Ibrox clubs, I think they are correct to give this one a body swerve.
It could bring the spotlight on the lack of it over generations at that place.
The idea of honour and Ibrox just seems to be a strange juxtaposition.
For the avoidance of doubt, Celtic don’t need to be honoured by the basket of assets.
Moreover, everyone out with the Ibrox klanbase on Planet Fitba knows it.
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Don’t worry the Celtic team will have no chance of sevco clapping them onto the pitch more chance they will yous there hands to slap them 🙏slidetackl Sunday hospital Monday 🚑the Bitter side from ibox is ripe the Celtic team is now better to rest the best players give the youngsters a chance! 🦁🦁🦁🦁 watch out Gerard there’s 800 lions
Absolutely Phil, Celtic do not need to be honoured by the basket of assets. What they do need to do though, is to rest the treble treble hampden players?
Where are the media lackies that punted Maxwell for the top job?
What attributes did he bring to the job?
Played his part in Thistle’s relegation to the Championship and apart from that we know nothing about him.
Having read the letter he penned to Haddington Athletic, with spell check either beyond him or he couldn’t be arsed using it, it truly beggars belief that someone in his position doesn’t have O grade English.
Write instead of right, complaint instead of compliant, just a couple of his beauties.
Imagine writing to a club giving them the bad news that their application to get on the ladder was non complaint!
It’s seriously embarrassing and speaks volumes of the SFA selection process.
It’s fairly standard these days for organisations to give prospective employees an IQ test of some kind.
I guess that wasn’t the case with Maxwell and any tests in his way were of the sniff and handshake variety.
It’s truly appalling that the most senior SFA official lacks a basic education.
What does that say about the rest of the Hampden roster?
“Light blue movie”. Doffs hat.
I’m glad one of the newest teams in Scottish football has declined to offer us a guard of honour, the Celtic players should regard it as an insult and should use to motivate themselves even further to return that insult with a totally embarrassing defeat of the host club. Apparently lots of people have been randomly asked, “can you see them” and the answers have been “no haven’t seen them at all, nope no sign of them anywhere, I have been here for ages pal and cannae see them, no idea where they are” even people climbing mountain and up visiting the statue of Christ in Brazil were asked “can you see the rangers coming and all them replied in the negative. Hope my mate puts his phone video on you tube it’s a scream tee hee x8.
If anyone had any doubts as to Maxwell’s abilities I recommend the letter he wrote to Haddington Athletic which has been printed verbatim on the Scottish Football Monitor site.
Wow, the guy can’t even spell the simplest of words and the letter is strewn with schoolboy mistakes.
A ten year old could have done better.
How in heavens name could someone with that level of intellect rise to be CEO of a national organisation…..ok, it’s the SFA, different rules.
Have a read at his attempt at English, it’s hysterical.
Read somewhere the brilliant idea, the Celtic players should line up and clap their captain, Broonie onto the field, a very fitting gesture indeed.
Now THAT I would love to see!! What a cracking suggestion!! Can you just imagine how the Orcs would react???
Not a good idea at all, in fact it’s bordering on being childish and maybe even inflammatory. Since both sets of players are duty bound to be standing together in the tunnel to make their grand entrance for the cameras I doubt very much if it is even possible. Furthermore we are there for one reason and one reason only, to go out there and beat them in a sound and professional manner. Let’s do it with a bit of class, and not lower ourselves to their level.
My parents always taught me that I should never accept anything that is given grudgingly, so I hope there is no guard of honour offered. Unlike Justaghirl, in the tweet above, I do not require the services of Norris McWhirter to confirm that I have indeed broken the record for holding my breath the longest. I shall, however, gladly offer the lass the kiss of life at the point just before her face turns any shade of blue in her own attempt at it. 😆
It would be all fake anyway, fuck them.
Hail Hail 🍀🍀
‘It’s a small minority of their support’
Yes and I’m a Olympic Decathlon gold medalist😂
SMALL it is NOT,minority it is NOT.
Thanks Phil🍀
They’re caught between a rock and a hard place on this one; not doing the guard of honour will make them look bitter and twisted and if they do the guard of honour they’ll alienate the bitter and twisted element of their fan base.
Well that will be somewhere in the region of 99% of them!
Sevco giving a Guard of Honour would be like Stevie Gerrard giving a Guard of Integral Calculus.
“Concept unknown at this address.” xD
Just think we’ve won more titles and there existence just a thought
Love the way you have to turn to page 67. What a lovely number😃
I would play our our entire reserve team for 2 reasons; the game is meaningless and also there is likely to some industrial type challenges coming the way of our players. What we can’t have happen is someone getting crocked and then is not available for the cup final match.
That makes too much sense Peter,therefore,it won’t happen…
It’s not meaningless to them therefore it shouldn’t be meaningless to us. Field our strongest team and choke them to death otherwise they may not notice the gap over the close season. HH
Celtic wont be the same team they were the last time we played at ibronx
I think they will go there to wind up the sevco players
With brooney leading the way and at the end the celtic fans can laugh them of the pitch HH 8IAR
So let’s put the kids out, and let them be booted all over the place instead?
No chance, we go there with our strongest team possible and and put them firmly in their place, no quarter asked or given.
Maybe we should do the honourable thing and give them a guard of honour in recognition or their highest ever finish in the top flight of Scottish football. They may have one shag all this season but at least they could say they got a round of applause from the great Glasgow Celtic. I think Scott Brown would be up for it. Defibrillators at the ready!
Our bhoys should just trot out smiling and laughing as that appears to upset the tribute act and their following more.
We have no need of their Guard of Honour and if sevco don’t provide one then they are the ones who will look like sore, petulant, petty losers with tears in their eyes and petted lips. More of the same next season again. HH
Good comment this 👍