Probably the cruelest thing you could do to the Ibrox klanbase right now would be to give them some hope.
Indeed, it would be incredibly sadistic, and I must admit dear reader that I am tempted!
However, your humble correspondent has to be faithful to the facts.
For the avoidance of doubt, there isn’t any in terms of winning the league.
It takes substantial resources to triumph in the attritional campaign of 38 games.
Of course, anyone can win a cup and Sevco came close this season in the League Cup.
It was just that their £40m striker couldn’t do the business.
I recently had a long and illuminating chat with a chap who had a unique perspective on the Fergus McCann takeover on Celtic in 1994.
Moreover, his business dealings have continued within the beautiful game.
Consequently, he knows the football finance landscape of Planet Fitba very well indeed.
He told me that he was a regular reader of the site and that he concurred with my egg-chasing buddy on the contrasting financial situation of Celtic and Sevco.
Of course, when it comes to these matters, I am accustomed to Rugger Guy with this nuanced analysis full of caveats.
However, this chap simply stated the situation as he saw it:
“The financial gap between the two Glasgow clubs is now unbridgeable”.
I challenged his rather stark assertion, but he immediately countered with the facts and figures that he had at the end of his fingers.
Moreover, this is before you factor in the substantial increase in revenues that will come from the deal with ADIDAS.
I doubt that the child protection vigilantes at Ibrox will do much to derail that one.
Therefore, the financial gap is certain to widen between Parkhead and Ibrox.
That makes the Sevco hotseat close to unbearable for the incumbent.
You go from looking like this on Day One.
Two trophy-less years later you look like this.
Cruel, isn’t it?
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The biggest problems for Sevco are really off-field. A severely rancid fan base is concerning. Their repertoire consists of blood/guts/gore songs about the 15 century, wishing ill health, or worse, on an elderly spiritual leader of different faith, and warped obsessions about sexual abuse. Some of them are openly praying for a pandemic-to put the brakes on a championship formality. Their Nazi saluting element don’t help matters. Almost like a ‘death cult’.
15th century?
Don’t think so…
Their ancestors were all Roman Catholics in the 15th Century. (The 1400’s).
Correction: Typo error. ’17 Century’
Well spotted our Phil!! I replied to that without thinking of the date accuracy.
However the sentiment of the article is bang on.
Really hope tae fuck it’s NOT an arguement you’re looking for!!
Watched Sevco vs Hearts – they played really badly and couldn’t score. Oh, how I laughed.
Watched Sevco vs Hamilton – they played really well but couldn’t score. Oh, how I laughed.
Don’t go, Slippy, don’t go.
10IAR would be brilliant but the Celtic support have put an awful lot of pressure on their own club by making such a big thing about it. My only wish was to see Celtic win 9IAR and it looks like I will (god willing) to do it once could be by chance but to do it twice is no coincidence.
Now this season Celtic had nothing left to spair all the way up until Christmas. Sevco pushed them hard by staying right behind them. So they deserve every praise they get this season for seeing it through to 9IAR. it’s an almighty achievement.
Sevco on the other hand have a manager and a team of players who know they have only one job to do at the start of the season, Stop Celtic winning the league.
So who has the most pressure on them! I think it’s most definitely Celtic. The players know by now what this means to the support. They are not trying to topple anyone, they just know they have to win the league as a minimum. That is a lot of pressure on players and manager.
No matter how bad the other mob are finishing their season next season (if they are still going) they will have new faces in all trying to be the heroes that stopped history.
As much as I like Edouard and Griffith as a partnership I really believe next season they are going to feel the pressure after the Celtic supporters singing about the historical 10IAR for so long. So we desperately need a top quality striker to come in that will not feel it as much. Just like Sevco someone who wants to be a hero and to be part of history but wasn’t there over the last few seasons to see actually what this achievement really means.
Remember how bad Celtic were but fought so hard to stop the original Rangers doing ten, that Rangers team couldn’t believe they let it slip. We really need to make sure those same mistakes dont happen to us.
Remember this season we seen Brown score a winner in injury time to keep the winning run going after conceding in the final minutes of a game we thought was won. We really cant afford to be relaying on those kind of last gasp winners next season.
I would love to win the 10, but if not I can now died a happy man. I have seen us win 9 in a row, win a treble three seasons in a row and of course, I have seen Rangers die. As football supporters go, WATP We-are-the-privileged
Well said Sam
Let’s do a couple of reality checks here.
The Rangers team (original) that did 9 had been creaking for a couple of seasons and no one other than their toxic fan base actually thought they would do 10 or was really surprised when they didn’t.
They won nothing either side of their nine.
Celtic won BOTH cup competitions either side of their nine and were EXPECTED to win ten titles. AND but for an injury run that almost beggars belief probably would have!! Of the eleven players who started the first league game of that potentially historic season TEN had been under the surgeon’s knife by Christmas.
Put this into the perspective of the era. A knee cartilage operation now is keyhole surgery. A BAD one puts you on total rest for a week. Within 2-3 weeks you’re back in full training and within four you’re back playing. Back then, if you had a cartilage operation in September your target was to make it back for pre-season the following summer.
The ONLY thing that stopped Celtic doing 10 was rank bad luck!!
From 1966 until the great Ajax side emerged in 1971 we WERE the best and most consistent side in Europe. During our NINE we made Scottish football a force to be feared.
During their NINE they turned us into the laughing stock of Europe!!
Should probably have added that in our last season of the nine we would have been in our THIRD European Cup Final but for the absolutely savage treatment hand out by Atletico Madrid in the semi.
Conversely by my reckoning at the split the Ibrox club will have played all 5 of those in the top 6 twice at home.
No one saw that situation coming though no doubt our fearless legislators will have everything in hand, not!
No one?? I’ve been pointing it out since last September!!
You say cruel , I say delicious
As things stand the top 6 will be Celtic, Rangers, Motherwell, Aberdeen, Livvy and Hibs.
When the split comes around Celtic will have already played all 5 twice away from home.
Sort that one out SPFL!
This happens every single year. It’s evidence of pre planning to fix the league for Sevco.
Sevco will have less away games to the top clubs. Every year it’s so.
It’s pre orchestrated and planned at the beginning of the season.
Phil; conspicuous by his absence, as well as his silence, is a certain GASL. Has he not been able to replace his phone and laptop yet to be able to communicate with Ibrox/media?
On a more serious note, was he not supposed to be stepping away in early March after having ran one last (ponzi?) share scheme to bring in much needed funding. Also, just curious if you can enlighten us any more as to the peculiar nature of the security/securities he obtained in return for his last loan to the club?
The CHISLING chairman they love so much and want to build statues of this loveable rogue around their stadium is on a sponsored silence at the moment. No doubt drumming up some make believe fake news story with head of the PR department The Fat Controller himself to get some heavy duty news out there pronto to take the heat off the Poundland coach and the nickel & dime players they have . They need a distraction so watch out for club 18to30 being called in to get a statement out there to keep the Klan at bay . We know it’s coming it’s what they do when things are ugly over there. Flag up some real juicy fake news about challenging a club on something or maybe some noise on the refs or maybe even the SFA or SPFL someone needs to pay or kop it oops sorry cop it for their own mistakes but never them.