Firstly, it would be remiss of me not to send birthday wishes to that nice Mr Beale.
Have a great one, Mickey!
Hopefully, he was ambushed by cake today at the stadium John Brown played for.
I’m told that some members of the Sevco High Command were less than Zenlike yesterday.
Perhaps being in the presence of the man who saved Celtic was just too much for the poor dears.
Apparently, McCann’s chirpy tones rather carried across the room.
Obviously, the Transcendental Chairman remained an oasis of calm throughout the proceedings.
A lesser man would have been barking and snarling at underlings, especially as Mickey B went somewhat off-message in the post-match presser regarding the club’s spend in the transfer window.
His statement about nine players costing £13m is essentially correct if you include signing-on fees for so-called free transfers.
It is worth remembering that the Saudi Arabian transfer window doesn’t close until Thursday, so some of Sevco’s Gumtree Galacticos might still move.
My information is that THREE players had to go for cash.
Glenn Kamara is the only one of that imagined trio.
The “undisclosed fee” allowed the Stenography Corps to speculate as per Operation Soothe.
£5.5m was briefed to the usual succulent suspects.
My understanding is that the actual number is closer to £1.5m, rising to £1.75 with add-ons.
I’m sure that it was a massive coincidence that the deal went through the day after PSV decided that Sevco wouldn’t be getting millions from the Champions League.
As ever, we must follow follow the money.
The problem with Operation Soothe is that, eventually, there would have to be a reckoning.
As the hacks were throwing around inflated figures
The objective was of the messaging transparent:
Look at us. We’re able to spend BIG on players!
Obviously, if a player costs THIS much, then he must be a good one!
All of that was fine until Mickey’s new guys were found out.
Yesterday they were facing Celtic in almost perfect circumstances.
The Hoops were significantly weakened by injuries to key players, and the home crowd had the entire stadium.
Thankfully, Brendan was able to call on “warriors” to step up.
Being a football manager is to be at the mercy of the outcome of one of the most unpredictably fluid ball games yet invented.
Sadly, poor Mickey, having failed to capitalise on Celtic’s injury crisis yesterday, will not be feeling the love from the Ibrox klanbase on his special day.
In fact, I think it is fair to say that Sevco’s valued customers are revolting.
They now have the entire international break to cogitate in a quintessentially British way about how they got here.
Much was made by the breathless Stenography Corps of Mickey’s foray into the bargain buckets for a dependable striker.
The thing is, not one of them is capable of this degree of game-changing brilliance.
It’s all about levels, Mickey, and one day you will find yours.
Best wishes!
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Operation deflect from the manager and boardroom is well and truly underway with stories of Sevco wanting urgent talks with the SFA regarding VAR can’t they just accept they lost on the pitch without trying to pin the blame on other factors.
If Mick Beale was ever to appear on Celebrity (sic) Mastermind he could choose
The Bleedin’ Obvious as his Specialist Subject. His pre and post-match analysis of events affecting Sevco are worthy of a Work Experience manager.
His only saving grace is that he occasionally goes a bit off-piste and doesn’t just regurgitate the narrative that’s been fed to the “cut ‘n’ paste” brigade of the SMSM.
Hail and Hail again!
Hail, hail!
I thought the after-match boos were aimed at the Bhoys.
Apparently not – it was aimed at those wearing Blue.
I was hoping for a victory huddle in the centre circle – a Souness-esque moment with a Galatasaray flag at Fenerbahce in mind.
A bear’s rage is something to be savoured.
Happy Birthday Mick, but your next one will certainly not be at Ibrox.
Incidentally, you’re meant to receive presents, not give gifts to the likes of Kyogo.
Strong parallels with the issue in the news about schools with crumbling supports needing reinforcement but lacking the money to sort out the problem.