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Division 3 for Rangers; but it’s business as usual for Scottish Football

by Johnny Connelly

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Charles Green reacts to the news the his Rangers Newco will be playing in the 4th tier of Scottish football

So the Rangers Newco’s first experience of domestic football in Scotland will be in Division 3. The final nail is in the coffin, the four horsemen of the apocalypse have been summoned, the 10 terrible plagues of Egypt will reign upon our game, and the universe will implode around teatime. Well, that’s pretty much what we’re being led to believe by shameless ‘red-top’ tabloid journos.

Give me a break. The seemingly eternal and bureaucratically orchestrated demise of Rangers FC as we knew it has come to an end. Surely this is something to rejoice over? We can actually start thinking about playing football again!

One could be forgiven for thinking that the Scottish media’s handling of the Rangers situation in recent weeks has been one last hurrah for lazy journalists who’ve been spoon fed their copy since the day the HMRC story broke. This “£16m cost” figure is as fictional and unfounded as Craig Whyte’s friendship with Prince Albert of Monaco.

Yes, the absence of Rangers in Scotland’s elite footballing division will have monetary ramifications, but to report only this aspect of the drastic change is an insult to football fans across Scotland.

To illustrate the point, I’ve picked up on two stories reported in the media today on the matter. The first, an understandably stunted and sensationalist piece in the Sunday Mail; while the second is an altogether more surprising angle, from the usually enlightening pen of Graham Spiers.

The Sunday Mail today claimed that 5 current SPL teams will go bust within a month as a result of the Rangers debacle. Sorry, but that’s just factually incorrect to the point that I feel embarrassed for Gordon Parks, who penned the piece. The suggestion was that St Mirren, along with Inverness Caledonian Thistle, Motherwell, Dundee United and Kilmarnock will no longer be able to function. This constant scaremongering about such things does nothing for the game in this country. The game is constantly in motion, and will always face new difficulties. Yes, the current Sky & ESPN deals could be subject to a negative change, but doesn’t that ‘crisis’ sound a little familiar?

I seem to remember a similar media frenzy when the proverbial arse fell out of Setanta. Also, on a smaller scale, silly behavior ensued when the Scottish Cup was struggling to find a sponsor. Even in the untouchable land of English football, OnDigital’s meteoric rise, and cataclysmic fall had little or no impact on the day-to-day running of the game. Time has proved that the game always survives, and another option always presents itself.

The SPL clubs will survive too. The Scottish game isn’t exactly wealthy, and never has been. For this reason, the clubs in question have become accustomed to live within their means. A restricted income will simply result in restricted outgoings. It really is that simple.

In the second case I stumbled across today, the aforementioned Mr Spiers put across his usual erudite, punchy and enjoyable opinions on how things have transpired in the last few days. But I took umbrage, not to what he said, but to what he omitted.

A clear focus in his piece was that Peter Lawell, Neil Lennon, and Celtic as a whole will miss Rangers more than they’ve ever missed any aspect of professional football. Perhaps true in some respects. The Old Firm derby is amongst the most prestigious and exciting football encounters on the face of the Earth. Of course the thought of it not being a regular fixture for at least the next three years is somewhat harrowing for football fans, that’s a given, but Spiers failed to highlight the fact that Rangers are where they are by virtue of their own financial mis-management.

Rangers have suffered a fate no different from any other team in Scotland who ever have or ever will go through the liquidation process. There’s no conspiracy, and conversely, no exceptions to be made. Rules and regulations were broken by Rangers. They’ve been punished to the point where their club as they know it, no longer exists. The Rangers Newco begin life in the Irn-Bru Scottish 3rd Division, where they’ll have to claw their way up and rebuild their illustrious 140 history. The world loses one of it’s greatest football derbies, not as a result of an unjust punishment, but as a result of procedures being followed correctly in a structured national football league system.

What everyone seems to be missing is the huge, gaping avenue of opportunity that’s been thrust into focus as a result of the seismic shift in power within Scottish football. Our game has been on it’s knees for many years, this is no secret, nor is it a revelation. Poor crowds, with even poorer revenue streams have been the symptoms of this, but until now these have been portrayed as the illness.

There are so many unexplored options to boost the wavering stature of Scottish Football, and now is the time to throw our collective weight behind them and turn the game around. Expanding to a 14 or 16 team league, summer football, a foreign player quota, wage caps, Friday night football, reintroducing the Glasgow Cup, and TV finance restructuring are all options that instantly spring to mind, so why aren’t we exploring them?!

Let us also not forget the positive consequences of Rangers holding a place in Scotland’s lower leagues. As the Newco inevitably work their way up the divisions over the coming years, the clubs who are really in the financial doldrums can expect a monetary shot in the arm like they’ve never seen before. Each club in the 3rd division this season can guarantee 2 full houses against Ally McCoist’s men, with the added bonus of two trips to Ibrox too. The money this brings in, and the spectacle for the league itself is something that would be beyond the wildest dreams of clubs like Annan, East Stirling, Clyde, and Stranraer (to name but a few).

This redistribution of wealth, and media attention on our lower leagues can only bring good things. Prior to this odd turn of events, when would any of you have considered going to a Scottish third division game?

The ubiquitous notion that Scottish football is, ‘on its knees’ is being reported as though the troubles have come in the form of a bullet in the head; when it’s really more like a slow debilitating illness.

Now is the time to make football an enjoyable commodity once more. A brief and inadvertent break from the drudgery of the ‘Gers in Crisis’ news stories, and renewed passion behind restructuring Scottish football from top to bottom gives me hope for this season, and seasons beyond. The ultimate goal is to develop a football industry in Scotland where all aspects of society can support their team of choice at a reasonable cost, viewing a decent standard of play, with levels of hospitality and consumer amenities that are on a par with the elite divisions across Europe.

That’s the dream, and there’s no reason why it can’t become a reality.

Yes Rangers are down, but they will return. Cleansed, well structured, and most welcome in Scotland’s top division.

Next season will be a bizarre one. Perhaps the most bizarre yet, but the game goes on.

It always has, and it always will.

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We are all Neil Lennon?! We most certainly are not…

Hitthebyline reviews the spontaneous combustion of Neil Lennon

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Pushing the self-destruct button – Lennon at the centre of controversy

Congratulations to Neil Lennon for guiding his young Celtic side to the SPL title. What a fantastic achievement, and on the face of it, everything is rosy at Celtic. An average squad age of just 23, operating in a financially prudent manner, and looking forward to launching an attack on the Champions League next season. However, the headlines this season (aside from the financial crisis at Rangers) have been dominated by Lennon’s ill-tempered approaches to officials, when they could so easily have been about the positive aspects of the Glasgow club’s season.

This petulant and puzzling behaviour again reared it’s ugly head when Celtic suffered a 2-1 defeat to Hearts in the Scottish Cup Final. Of course Celtic and Lennon have the right to feel aggrieved at that penalty decision that was at best, ill-judged and at worst, downright ludicrous, but what the Hoops boss did next was quite unprecedented. In a national semi-final, with 50,000 eyes on him in the stadium, and several million more watching at home, Lennon took it upon himself to dash on to the pitch and confront the referee in an aggressive manner.

Treating this case in isolation, perhaps you could almost put it down to a freak loss of temper, but this is now the third incident in a matter of weeks, and it’s getting to the stage now where the Celtic support are having to watch the name of their great club being besmirched by the manager’s thuggish actions.

18th March, Celtic are denied a debatable penalty in the League Cup final. Lennon doesn’t like it. Lennon criticises the referee’s decision. Lennon is warned about his conduct. Celtic lose the match (and the Cup).

25th March, Celtic suffer two red cards in an Old Firm match. Lennon doesn’t like it. Lennon foolishly approaches the referee at half-time. Lennon is reprimanded. Celtic lose the match.

15th April, Celtic concede a dubious penalty in the Scottish Cup semi-final. Lennon doesn’t like it. Lennon gives the ref a mouthful. Lennon will be punished. Celtic lose the match.

See a pattern forming here?

Let’s say for the sake of argument that Celtic have fallen victim to poor officiating in the above matches. Let’s also again take each game on it’s own merit.

First up, the League Cup final. If Celtic require an injury time penalty at Hampden to draw level with a distinctly average Kilmanock side, then the manager has failed to motivate and organise his team to do a job.

Next up, two red cards in an Old Firm match. Lennon decides to drop Kelvin Wilson for this match after a poor performance in the cup final, only to bring in one of the biggest bombscares I’ve ever known in Cha Du Ri. Cha’s sending off was by far the more suspect looking of the two but you’ve got to ask yourself some key questions. Why would this below-par player even be on the field? And why did he allow himself to be caught so far up the park, when Celtic had fielded a 5-man midfield? As much as the decision was a joke, I’m firmly of the opinion that Cha shouldn’t have been anywhere near the team, and even if he was, then he should have the savvy as a professional football player to be able to conservatively hold the right-back position as part of the 4-5-1 tactic deployed. Wanyama’s red card is unquestionably deserved. Two-footed tackle off the ground is a straight red any day of the week. Yet still, Lennon makes a fool of himself by challenging the referee in the tunnel at half-time (something we all know isn’t allowed).

Finally, and most recently, another Hampden park non-event for Celtic. It took Lennon’s Celtic over 35 minutes to register a single shot on target, despite admittedly dominating the game. The longer the match went on, and with Ki hitting the post from close range twice, the match was always going to swing in the Gorgie club’s favour. As previously discussed, perhaps Celtic shouldn’t have had a penalty given against, then, but the fact is that Celtic should have done more to win the match. Many of Celtic’s top players didn’t turn up. Of course Ian Black should have been sent off for that horror tackle on Joe Ledley, and the officiating standard was poor, but at which point was Lennon going to mention the fact that Hooper’s equaliser could have been given as offside?

As if the aggressive confrontation to the officials wasn’t embarrassing enough, the Celtic manager then took to Twitter. Why Celtic’s manager engages actively in social media at all is beyond me. I’ve long cringed at his interaction with what are clearly adolescent teens and ill-informed, angst ridden punters who’re partial to making a call to football phone-ins. His comments via this medium have often been knee-jerk, but Sunday night’s tirade of nonsense was a new low.

For those of you who may have missed it, the Celtic boss indicated that he felt his side had received a disproportionate number of ‘dodgy’ decisions in big games, and these latest ones were “personal”. What a myopic and ill-thought out reaction. There are so many statistics and incidents to counter his argument that I don’t know where to start, but a good place could possibly be the last time Lennon’s men met their Scottish Cup opponents at Tynecastle earlier in the season. Hearts, as we all remember, were denied a clear goal against Celtic early in the match on this occasion, before Celtic went on to score at the other end, and ultimately hammer the Jam Tarts 4-0. Was this officiating blunder “personal” too?

To avoid the inevitable accusations that I’ll be faced with for being selective in my use of facts, let’s look at the penalty awards in the SPL, for this season and last.

2010/2011 season – Which team do you think were awarded the most penalty kicks? Yes, you’ve guessed it. Celtic, with 13 penalties. That same season, Celtic also conceded the fewest penalty kicks. This season, although obviously not finished yet, the Bhoys have again conceded the fewest penalty kicks.

So where’s the conspiracy? Where’s the clandestine collusion? Or is it all just hokum from a paranoid manager with a persecution complex?

Lennon has faced things off the park that no professional, and no human should have to endure. For this reason I retain a modicum of respect for Lennon, solely because he stood up to the bigots and didn’t allow his dreams to be taken from him, but his increasingly bizarre behaviour indicates to me that this job in the goldfish bowl that is Scottish football is an unsuitable one for a clearly unstable individual.

Always a fiery individual during his playing days, but I’m struggling to see why he can’t recapture the discipline that saw him play at the highest level. Lennon’s actions have repercussions not only for himself, but for the club’s reputation, and the next generation of Celtic fans. It seems like a lifetime ago when Lennon was an integral part of the team that made it all the way to Seville, playing “the Celtic way” and winning thousands of plaudits from all over Europe. Celtic were the likeable sleeping giant of European football, with a fanbase that were clean-cut and fun-loving, so much so that they received the FIFA Fair Play award that year. What must those one-time appreciators from all over the continent thing when they see the manager of the famous Glasgow Celtic behaving like a common thug? The fan-base too are in danger of being reeled in by this persecution complex. The “them and us” tribal mentality from bygone years looks as though it could be returning in the minds of many of the more impressionable Celtic fans.

I’d sincerely hope that this doesn’t continue to creep into the Celtic support. Sunday also showed that poor officiating isn’t just a Scottish problem. South of the border a match was decided by a horrendous mistake from the guys calling the shots. Spurs could potentially have lost out on silverware too as a result of Juan Mata’s goal that never was for Chelsea. After the match, did ‘Arry Redknapp (not that he’s fit enough to) dash across the park in pursuit of the referee to vent his anger? No. He also didn’t bring the game into disrepute by insinuating that a conspiracy was behind his side’s failure to capture points from the match. Instead he spoke calmly to the media, and backed the inevitable introduction of goal-line technology. Altogether, a more classy approach to an officiating failure where more was at stake for his men.

There’s so much going for Celtic at the moment, so why do the support and the likes of Lawell tolerate idiotic behaviour from the manager. The fans wouldn’t tolerate this nonsense from Martin O’Neill, Wim Jansen, Gordon Strachan, or anyone for that matter, so why does Lennon get away with it.

It’s time for Neil to hold his hands up when he loses in big matches. It takes a big man to say, “I got it wrong on the day” or “the best team won.” Lennon needs to focus on being the manager of Celtic football club, before his actions make his position at the club untenable. Time to shape up or ship out.

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Hitthebyline’s response to Mark Hateley

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In his prime – Mark Hateley celebrates better times for Rangers

Isn’t it amazing how broad the spectrum of ex-Old Firm professionals is in the Scottish media nowadays? Some, level headed and enlightening on the modern-game; while others, as Mark Hateley proved on Friday in his weekly column, are bereft of a brain and retain a bitter and twisted attitude towards the other half of Glasgow’s great divide.

It’s no secret that Hateley is as much of a stranger to biased reporting as Michelle McManus is to a Greggs steak-bake; but Friday’s moronic anti-Celtic rant showed that pretty much anything is fair game for Hateley’s type.

Last week Hateley’s piece sent twitter into overdrive, getting the backs of Celtic fans up, while also causing many Rangers supporters to feel embarrassed at the unfounded balderdash that their one-time hero was spouting. Out of curiosity, I found it necessary to read it for myself. How I wish I hadn’t.

Along with many others, I took umbrage to the Englishman’s article. In order to fully dispel and lambast his comments to a suitable degree, I’ve decided to analyse the ‘highlights’ sequentially.

Where better to begin than the opening line?

“CONGRATULATIONS, Celtic. This year’s title is yours and even though I believe it’s tainted that’s none of your concern.”

There is a whole host of things wrong with this, but I’ll stick to the blatantly obvious one. Celtic are in no way responsible for the financial implosion of their arch rivals, and Neil Lennon has transformed his wavering Celtic side, into a gutsy, resolute group of players who’ve steamrollered their way to no less than 17 consecutive SPL wins. This streak has included a win over Rangers, a 4-0 demolition of Hearts at Tynecastle, and a 5-0 mauling of Hibs at Easter Road to name but a few.

I assume the ‘tainted’ aspect Hateley refers to is the 10-point deduction induced by his former club going in to administration. Supposing Celtic had a lead of less than the 10-point enforced deduction, I could see where he is coming from. But this isn’t the case, is it? Neil Lennon’s men have come from 15 points behind, to amass a colossal lead of 20 points. (FYI Mark, 20 is a bigger number than 10).

Hateley continues: “I find the tone that has been set by the men at the top at Celtic Park in recent days and weeks has been ill-judged at best and, at worst, deliberately inflammatory.”

“Let’s be honest here, Rangers are lying in the gutter, bleeding badly. There is no need for the likes of Lennon and Peter Lawwell to continue to sink the boot in when our wounds
have been self-inflicted.”

Deary me. For someone who’s featured in many Old Firm Derbies, he really doesn’t get it.Such is the history of the two clubs, that petty rivalry and mockery of the other’s situation is almost mandatory for an active Old Firm fan. The situation at Rangers is not a tragic one; it’s come about by virtue of around 20 years of unsustainable spending. Of course I feel sympathy for the Rangers support as their pride and joy continues to be diluted into a shadow of its former self, but if you fly with the crows, you’re shot with the crows. The bubble was always going to burst. The Rangers fans filled their boots and enjoyed 9-in-a-row amongst other successes, while paying astronomical wages for Laudrup, De Boer, Gascoigne, Numan, Klos, Butcher, and yes, ironically, Hateley too. This list of players doesn’t even begin to quantify the money Rangers were recklessly spending to maintain a debatably unfair advantage over the rest of Scottish football. The club made their bed under Sir David Murray, now they must lie in it. The Rangers fans and low-level employees at Ibrox will tragically endure the repercussions, but why begrudge the Parkhead faithful a little pleasure after having to endure a lengthy era of being downtrodden, and up against the now infamous, “for every fiver Celtic put down, we’ll put down a tenner,” mentality?

Where was Hateley’s moral compass when Rangers were romping their way to league titles, and winning domestic cups at a canter? How very big of him now to speak up for the ‘little guy’, after picking up a hefty weekly wage for years at Ibrox, and playing alongside players that any other Scottish club simply couldn’t afford in their wildest dreams.

Hateley referred to “venom” at Celtic Park during this time of turmoil for Rangers. Have I missed something? The only thing I’ve seen is a playful mockery, not dissimilar to the “you’ll be watching The Bill, when we’re in Seville” chanting, which was predictably and understandably mocked by the Rangers support when the shoe was on the other foot. It’s all swings and roundabouts with the Old Firm, and it always will be. The club enjoying the lion’s share of success will poke fun at the other. It’s the way it’s always been; it’s the way it’s always going to be.

Regarding his besmirching of Neil Lennon and Peter Lawell, I can put that to bed quite simply. Lennon has done fantastically well this season, yet has to put up with all this talk of a potential title win being ‘tainted’. The Celtic boss simply pointed out that if that’s the line of thought, then surely many of Rangers’ title wins in recent times too are ‘tainted’ by virtue of living beyond their means – a fair point surely? Lawell’s comments about Celtic being able to survive without Rangers too are completely understandable. Lawell is a businessman, Celtic are his product that he has to market. During his tenure, he’ll paint the most positive picture to outwardly market the club, whether he personally agrees with it or not. What part of this is “sinking the boot in” Mr Hateley?

Perhaps unavoidably, Hateley did pass comment on the sectarian singing that reared its ugly head again last week.

He said: “It saddens me that these extreme times seem to bring out the worst in supporters on both sides of Glasgow. Include Rangers supporters in that because last week, when they were all hurting so badly, some of them chose to bring further shame on Ibrox by singing the kind of songs that have been making us cringe for so long. Thanks for that lads. Just what the club needed in a time of crisis.”

Fair play for casting it up Mark, but do songs of religious hatred really make you ‘cringe’? David Brent in The Office makes you cringe sir; the bile that was on show at Ibrox last week is unmistakably and utterly despicable. Not to absolve the Celtic support from blame, as they too have a small contingent that need to buck up their ideas if their club is to flourish in the 21st century. It’s well beyond time for both clubs to leave behind the socially backward mentality that’s held them back in recent history.

But just as the ex-pro began to regain a modicum of credibility, out he came with a final parting bitter, scathing attack on Celtic.

He concluded: “So let Celtic get on with celebrating their title – a title they somehow failed to win throughout the last three years of financial troubles – and let Rangers get on with the painful process of putting their club back together.”

Yes, a supposedly well respected ex-pro, who should be 100% focussed on what positive steps can be taken to thrust Rangers into stability, closes his piece with a petty poke at Celtic for failing to win the league in the three previous seasons. How obtuse of him. Yes Mark, Celtic have steadied their ship this season, after what’s undoubtedly been, a bad spell both on and off the park. But what does this have to do with the rest of your article? And indeed the major issue at hand, the impending and perpetual struggle that his former club faces. In recent weeks I’ve listened to many ex-Rangers players throwing in their two cents about the situation. In particular for me, Neil McCann and Richard Gough have spoken more sense than others, and exponentially more sense than Hateley. McCann and Gough held their hands up and acknowledged that the club was poorly run, in a financially imprudent manner. They however, accept the situation and try and draw on the positives, looking to the youth system for the future, and taking special time out to sympathise with the honest and hard-working staff and fans at Ibrox.

Perhaps the likes of Gough and McCann could do another honourable deed and give Hateley a call, solely to suggest he keeps his bitter, negative drivel to himself. Those who really care about Rangers would be entirely concerned about the situation at hand, instead of trying to score points with cheap slanderous comments against the other half of the Old Firm.

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Fraser Forster – Coming of age?

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At a time for Celtic when Neil Lennon was new to the dugout, a replacement for the recently departed maverick goalkeeper Artur Boruc was top of the agenda. After several trials and tribulations with transfer negotiations, Lennon opted for a short term solution in Newcastle’s highly rated youngster, Fraser Forster, on a one-year loan deal.

Forster came with a glowing reputation. At 6ft 7, and having just won Norwich’s Players’ Player of the year award under the guidance of former Parkhead favourite Paul Lambert, Lennon had every reason to believe he’d completed a shrewd deal by securing the 23-year-old’s services.

However, despite statistically being a success in Glasgow, and managing to secure a second season at the club on loan, the keeper has never really lived up to the billing he was given upon his arrival at Celtic. Forster regularly showed lapses in concentration, committed calamitous errors, lacked conviction, lacked confidence and generally looked clumsy. That said, in his last three matches, the goalkeeper looks like the model professional goalkeeper Celtic have generally been bereft of throughout the years, so is Fraser Forster finally coming of age?

Lennon put his faith in the recommendations of ex-professionals he knows only too well, namely the aforementioned Paul Lambert of Norwich, and then Newcastle coach Alan Thompson, who also raved about Forster’s potential. On paper he’s been great, with 20 clean sheets in 40 appearances at Norwich, and at Celtic he managed 24 from 44, but now it would appear he’s finally puffing his chest out and believing in his ability.

For the first time, against Hearts at Celtic Park recently, I saw a Fraser Forster with conviction. In what could be a season-defining moment for the Bhoys, the giant keeper pulled off a miraculous save from the spot in the dying embers of the SPL encounter, preserving a crucial three-points for the home side.

This proved to be a spring-board for Forster heading into the next match. Next up, Serie A high-flyers Udinese. Many tipped the Glasgow club to take a hiding on the continent, as before the match, Scottish sides had won just 1 of the last 32 competitive fixtures on Italian soil. True enough, Celtic failed to win the match, but left Udine with their heads held high after recording a respectable 1-1 draw. Forster was in his element, unleashing breathtaking saves that Dino Zoff would have been proud of. Throughout the match, save after save was produced; Forster looked unbeatable. Had it not been for a poor defensive decision on the part of Cha Du Ri, he would have been. A matter of weeks earlier, the Spanish media referred to Forster as being ‘as graceful as a hippopotamus’ in Celtic’s home defeat to Athletico Madrid, but after his showing in the Stadio Friuli, the big ‘keeper correctly received plaudits across the board.

With his confidence surely at an all-time high, the Geordie approached Celtic’s next SPL match at McDairmid Park with an air of inevitability about the clean sheet that was to ensue. The 2-0 Celtic win won’t go down as a classic by any means, but on closer inspection, Forster perhaps is due more credit than originally given. Holding shots he’d previously have palmed, catching crosses he’d previously have punched or flapped at, and generally commanding his area in a way that exuded confidence for the defenders to gorge themselves on and feed off of.

In the goldfish bowl that is Scottish football, every move you make is scrutinised beyond belief. Every mistake is exaggerated and covered in-depth by the controversy-hungry sporting media; while every good performance spawns ‘red-top’ newspaper hype that is exponentially proportional to the credit that is truly deserved. Therefore, Forster’s recent exertions could well be blown out of proportion, in the same way that any errors in recent month have conversely been, but one thing is clear, the youngster is playing the best football of his Celtic career at the moment.

Broadly speaking, goalkeepers do of course peak later in life than outfield players. The true greats of recent times, Peter Schmeichel, Oliver Kahn, Gigi Buffon, David Seaman, and in Scottish football, Andy Goram and Jim Leighton, were all playing at their very best between the ages of 31-38. Forster has a fair way to go at just 23-years of age, but it’s now clear what Paul Lambert and Alan Thompson seen from the young man on the training ground each day.

If Forster can maintain this level of form, it would go a long way to seeing the SPL trophy making its way to Celtic Park in May. Although the issue that’ll no doubt be creeping into Neil Lennon’s mind is what’ll become of Forster in the summer. If the goalkeeper plays well for the rest of the season, Premiership clubs, including his own Newcastle United will take interest. It’s unlikely that Celtic would have the option of a third season-long loan, so Lennon may have to decide if Fraser Forster’s recent coming of age merits a plunder of a few million pounds to secure his services on a permanent basis. Forster himself has expressed a desire in making the switch a long-term one, but given the stringent financial limitations imposed on Scottish football at the moment, the complexity of the transfer could be increased despite Celtic’s need to galvanise the team with a steady goalkeeper in the squad for years to come. Time will tell if Fraser Forster is the man for the job.

 

 

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Why Rangers must condemn Aluko’s comments

Sone Aluko Dive
The incident in question

As Rangers new signing Sone Aluko looks to kick-start his Rangers career after a despicable diving incident, the Nigerian international appears to have shot himself in the foot again. The forward was banned for three matches following a clear dive to win Rangers a penalty (and ultimately the match) against Dunfermline; and was handed an opportunity to the media today to come clean and condemn his deception of the game’s officials.

Instead of doing so, Aluko has brushed off the incident, and likened diving to other foul play or stoppages of play in the game (namely, offside decisions, handball incidents).

He said: “Everyone has had an opinion. There were seven-page spreads and every ex-pro had this and that to say.

“It was three weeks ago, let’s get on with it. It’s football, it happens.”

The correct thing to do would have been for Aluko to stop here. He’s committed a footballing felony, he’s served his punishment, and should now be free to press on with making a name for himself at the Ibrox club.

However, Aluko continued on, defiantly absolving himself from any wrong-doing.

Aluko said: “People have handballs, people are accused of diving. Those are football incidents and people like to talk, that’s what’s beautiful about the game.”

“Every player would be a cheat. If you get caught offside, that’s cheating, it’s not in the laws of the game. If you handball it that’s cheating. Who’s not a cheat in football?”

“I’m just going to carry on playing the way I do and everyone else will talk.”

“I’ll keep playing in the same way. I’m not going to change because there is a new panel or whatever.”

Perhaps the increased media spotlight that comes with the move from Aberdeen to Rangers, coupled with the player’s inexperience could be to blame for these ludicrous comments, but either way, the club must issue a statement to counter Aluko’s opinions.

Diving is in no way like being caught offside or touching the ball with your hand. If a player dives, they are trying to deceive the match officials to gain an advantage in the match. The case of the Rangers player is worse yet, as the simulation in question was the deciding factor in an SPL victory for the Glasgow club, providing three valuable points in a title race that is expected to go to the wire.
Does the average Old Firm fan or SPL neutral want to see the championship be decided in such a way? – Clearly not. In a time of proposed reform for the Scottish game, when every aspect of it is under the microscope for scrutiny, this kind of attitude to diving is not acceptable. On a global level, diving (or ‘simulation’ to give it it’s euphemistic FIFA title) is regarded as one of the biggest problems in the modern game.

Rangers, as with Celtic in the SPL, are huge clubs who’re leveled with the expectation to win with style, not by virtue of diving. Scottish football fans don’t want to pay to go and watch over-paid players diving to earn success in an unwholesome manner.

The baton of responsibility is now passed to the Rangers officials, and the manager Ally McCoist to quash this moment of madness from Aluko. The time is now for the club, and the SPL as a unit to take a firm and unequivocal stance on diving in the game.

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Bills, Thrills & Bellyaches

Introducing Hitthebyline.com’s first guest contributor, Celtic fan Felix O’Neill. In his first piece, Mr O’Neill discusses the seemingly never-ending political and legal wrangles that the Glasgow giants seem to be engulfed by, and how the fighting off the field may be detracting from the potential fighting spirit shown on it…..

Bills, Thrills & Bellyaches

by Felix O’Neill

On the day after the ‘Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill’ became a reality, I find myself exhausted with some of the internet bluster being spouted by a section of the Celtic diaspora. We can argue for the rest of this season and beyond about the nonsensical reasons behind regurgitating an anti-sectarian bill already in existence, who is right & who is wrong, what songs are political, sectarian or simply just offensive and indeed how the authorities intend to go about enforcing law. A law itself that is about as robust as Craig Whyte’s financial guarantees for Rangers existence beyond the Hogmanay bells.

As someone who stood on the Jungle and sang songs from the Rebel repertoire in my youth, it would be hypocritical of me to demand the guy sitting next to me to zip-it, however now with the new legislative implications and recent UEFA fine, it is clear that there are consequences for chanting these songs in a sporting arena. With that in mind, I don’t think it is unreasonable for those who want to sing these songs to confine it to a private Celtic supporter pub/club/bus. That is if you care about upholding the uniqueness & moral fibre of Celtic Football Club and if you yourself want to avoid porridge.

Last season there was good reason to fight for justice on a number of fronts as we tackled institutional bias from the Footballing Association, partial referees, and, the unfair treatment of our manager. This culminated in a joyous celebration of supporter unity at Hampden Park where we lifted the Scottish Cup. The days and months since has seen the development of a worrying trend.

My plea is towards a minority of Celtic bloggers/supporter associations who in my view have undertaken self-promoted roles as social media agitators and have corralled sections of the Celtic support into adapting myopic positions that sit uncomfortably with the ethos of the club. Opinion and debate is one thing, but I would argue that the dogmatic positioning of some Celtic bloggers and associations, on a variety of Celtic related issues, helps foster a notion of us as the perpetually afflicted and constantly taking the moral high ground. Unfortunately, once it has filtered through social media, into the pubs and stadiums , the fall out is a section of the support who feel aggrieved without properly weighing up both sides of the argument.

The concern for me is that we very quickly find ourselves in a vicious circle whereby the energy of the Celtic support is pre-dominantly invested on administrative/legislative/internal club battles away from the pitch and we lose sight of the real battle on the pitch to help the 11 men in the Hoops over the finishing line and into first place. I have no doubts that the shenanigans of last season were instrumental in us finishing as runners up in the SPL. My biggest fear is that we take our eye off the ball again with this season’s side show and invest time and energy in defending the right to sing songs/stories from across the sea that have an increasingly distant link to the emergent Celtic story. By all means we should acknowledge and celebrate our proud Irish heritage and all the other components that make up the unique Celtic DNA, however, let us have perspective and concentrate on the team on the park so that our club can flourish in May.

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Short-term offers: a symptom of Celtic’s non-existent scouting system

Football fans across the country know that the transfer window is open season for lazy red top journalists, but this year Celtic have given these journos an even easier time of it than usual. The generic, “Celts swoop for (insert a randomly overpaid and disinterested English Premiership player of your choice)” headlines have of course been present as you’d expect. However, this year they’ve been coupled with an equally mundane and utterly frivolous genre of headline.

The summer of 2011 seems to be the season of “Hoops run the rule over (insert your own bizarre trialist who we won’t sign)”. Despite being in desperate need of a seasoned goalkeeper, attacking midfielder who goes beyond the play, and a prolific goalscorer, none of the above have been identified. The fans are left in the dark with the meaningless charade of pulling in players, who I can only assume have came from touting agents, for a few days training at Lennoxtown.

To name but a few, the Parkhead faithful have had their hopes dashed by trial spells from Cameroon striker Mo Idrissou, Katlego Mphela, Milos Lacny and Stipe Pletikosa. The question you must ask is why Lennon feels the need to take a player on trial in the first place. Does he have no faith in the findings of the scouting system? Or worse yet, is there no scouting system in place at all?

As mentioned above, the recent trialists in particular smack to me of agents touting for business as our naïve manager takes the bait in the hope of striking it lucky with at least one. This is a dangerous game to play. Celtic can’t hand any more power to devious agents, and continue to allow an air of uncertainty in the transfer market creep into an already shakily pegged Neil Lennon’s management tenure.

In a bizarre way I can identify with Stijn Stijnen, the Belgian goalkeeper who rejected the chance to go to Celtic on trial. Why should an experience goalkeeper with an aptitude for playing in big games have to endure a patronising week of training at Lennoxtown? If Celtic are interested, then sign him; if not, then let him go.

Sadly this saga doesn’t stop at trials. The capture of Fraser Forster on loan, and this never-ending pursuit of peripheral English Premier League players on loan is tiresome and impertinent to the cause. Put simply, Celtic have failed to identify a decent goalkeeper since Arthur Boruc parted ways with the club. Last season, on the recommendation of Lennon’s old pals Paul Lambert and Alan Thompson, we took
Forster on loan. Now, 12 months on, we’re no nearer finding a replacement, and have papered over the cracks by re-signing Newcastle’s third choice keeper on another year long deal. Next year we’ll have the same issue again. Why not address it now rather than next season? The same can be said of the EPL players we’re constantly linked with. Supposing Celtic signed Bellamy on loan again, what have you solved? In a year’s time you’ll be short of a striker, and will have blown a huge hole in the wage budget, without any transfer fee coming in for the player to soften the blow.

Celtic’s transfer policy must follow that of all other ‘big’ European clubs in ‘small’ leagues. Ditch this mindless pursuit of big names, ditch the loan deals, and ditch the trialist nonsense. Establish a decent scouting system to coincide with our formidable youth system. The likes of Kayal, Izaguire and Hooper are perfect examples of how the club should operate. Bring in under 25-year olds with talent and fire in their belly, get 2,3 or 4 seasons out of them, and sell them on for a considerable profit before reinvesting this in more players of the same ilk.

Perhaps this outlook could be viewed by some as pessimistic, but Celtic can’t compete financially, but can trade on the reputable name of the club. Celtic must operate the same way as Ajax, Sporting Lisbon, Anderlecht, Brondby, Rosenborg, and about a million other big teams who play in smaller leagues with crippling financial constraints. If this lesson isn’t learned soon, Celtic could find themselves with further humiliations in Europe, and in the unenviable position of having lost 4 SPL titles on the spin, to a lackluster, threadbare, and ultimately skint Rangers side.
Take heed, and send in the scouts.