THE GERMANS have schadenfreude – a feeling we Scots have admitedly bought into, but, we also have our own put down of those getting above themselves: “Him – Ah kent his faither.” We get a lot of fun out of seeing those who would put themselves above us, standing there with egg on their faces.
Thus, today is a good day for those of us who follow Scotland's “Diddy Teams” - those clubs who are not Rangers and Celtic. After Celtic's pratt-fall in Austria on Tuesday, social media was hit by a tsunami of celebratory posts from followers of the other one of The Bigot Brothers, absolutely relishing the pain, the wailing and gnashing of teeth among The Celtic Family.
I warned several gloating Huns down here in God's Orange County: “Don't get carried away, are you sure your bunch can defend a one-goal, first-leg lead?” They were all utterly convinced, Rangers' visit to Czechia was a mere formality; well, they ken noo, it wisnae.
Some of the fall-out has been spectacular. The calls for Derek McInnes' head have already started. Aye, that's the easy way out – sack the Manager, it's a lot easier than getting rid of the many members of the squad who have shown themselves to not be Rangers' class.
As a wee side issue here; I had to laugh at one post on Facebook, which laid the blame for Thursday night's massive Big Reddy in the hands of Sir David Murray. David Murray sold the club in May 2011, 15 years and ten managers ago. He would probably admit, he got one or two things wrong during his spell as owner, but, to blame him for Thursday night's debacle is pushing it a good bit.
I have long argued, the trouble with Rangers ar the moment is – they have a squad which is top-heavy with expensively-acquired non-Scots; badge-kissing mercenaries who arrive without a clue what they are getting into. They are joining a club where victory is not expected – it is DEMANDED.
We are told: “professional sport is all about winning”. That simple explanation does not quite cover what is demanded of Rangers' players and I've got the feeling, too-many of the current squad are simply not winners.
The strange thing is, Thursday night's reverse might be the break McInnes required as he builds the team he wants. Free from the unreasonable European expectations of the many glory hunters in the fan base, he can concentrte on domestic football and be better prepared for another tilt at Europe next season. Having seen what he did at other clubs, I believe McInnes has it in him to be a winning Rangers' manager, if he is allowed to clear-out the many Not Rangers Class players in his squad.
Sure, at lesser clubs, they could maybe do a job, but, it is already clear, some of them lack the mental strength to cope with the pressure to win which is thrust upon Rangers' players. I have long argued, Rangers' main problem is – they lack a spine of Rangers Men, Fans on the Park – Scotsmen who have been brought-up to know what playing for the club involves.
I said, back in 2012, when the institution was sent down to the lowest senior level in Scotland, what the then management ought to have done was: go with a squad of mainly young Scots, with one or two more-experienced players to add steel. Allow those kids to get used to winning as they progressed back up through the leagues, and by the time they got back to the domestic top flight, they would know what it meant to play for Rangers and would be ready.
Mind you, the argument against bringing-in more Scots includes the fact, it was a couple of Scots – Findlay Curtis and James Penrice who missed the crucial penalties on Thursday night.
What about Celtic then. Well, I wasn't surprised that they were turned over in Austria, LASK gave them a lot of problems at Celtic Park in the first leg, but had absolutely no luck in the Celtic red zone. I felt then, if they got one goal in the home leg, they could easily get four and while that early Celtic strike did cause me to have doubts, once LASK got their second goal, I knew they would win it.
The Celtic squad is not as poor as the one across the city, but, they lack a genuine spine and the lack of playing numbers from The Celtic Family is hurting them. Right now, in domestic Scottish Football, the Old Firm duo's best players are those Scottish referees who continue to make the honest mistakes which benefit the big two.
I doubt that we will ever see a truly level playing field in Scotland, but, right now, the Big Two are handicapping themselves with too-many inferior foreign imports, so really, a well-organised Diddy Team should be capable of upsetting them, then, all we would need is half-decent referees and who knows what might happen.
Just a final wee thought – how far could this Celtic team go in the Europa League?
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