IT would be churlish not to congratulate Celtic on winning the SPL title. Yes, as soon as Rangers (oldco) began to implode, it was obvious that for the immediate future the title and the trophy would take-up near-permanent residence in Kerrydale Street, but, even to achieve a walk-over, the course has to be, at least, partially walked.
If one was being really negative, it could be said that Celtic ought to have won the title sooner and more emphatically. But, that would be mean. It is not Celtic's fault that the other 11 teams lack the ability to mount a concerted challenge to them, or the industry and coaching nous to overcome the financial edge which Celtic enjoys.
By no means is this a great Celtic squad, but the fact they have wrapped-up the title with games to spare merely reinforces the depths to which Scottish football has sunk.
MEANWHILE, across the city, Rangers (newco) lurches from crisis to crisis; the latest being the search for a new Chief Executive to replace the disgraced and disappeared Charles Green.
I said as soon as things began to really go wrong - the best scenario for everyone would have been for Rangers not to have played this season; or until such time as all the issues concerning the Craig Whyte ownership had been resolved.
However, so desperate was the Scottish football body politic to keep some sort of "Rangers" involved, they tossed aside their own rules and allowed the Green Machine in - ill-prepared though that entity was.
A half-decent full-time Rangers squad ought to have scampered through the SFL's Third Division, winning every game comfortably. The fact they have not and have lost a handful of games surely shows: if he was guilty of lies, misinformation, hyperbole and deceit, at least - when he described the current squad as the Worst-Ever Rangers Squad, Charlie boy was correct.
It is perhaps just as well Rangers are not being fast-tracked back to the SPL, they really need all the time they can get to sort things out on the field, as well as off.
HOWEVER, there are still some areas of Scottish football on which one can rely. I refer to the much-maligned juniors, where this season's Emirates Scottish Cup Final promises to be a cracker.
In the almost inevitable Auchinleck Talbot and Linlithgow Rose, it will feature the two best teams in the junior ranks and this is one match to look forward to. Roll on the big day.
Luis Suarez, what can we say? Only this, had he bitten any Auchinleck Talbot defender, he'd have needed the services of an undertaker, far less a spin doctor to appease the critics.
FFS, Willie Woodburn got a sine die suspension for less.
The Celtic Family accept your praise, but would however like to point out that we were late in taking the title due to some rather magnificent nights playing fitba against some of the worlds greatest teams.
ReplyDeleteAs for Chucky, words cannot say anymore than the rather wide smile on my coupon.