Celtic and the Consolation Cup
If Scottish football were the school sports the Co-operative Insurance Cup is the egg and spoon race.
Don't get me wrong - a win's a win and I remember partying on Vimto till nightfall after I came second in the three-legged race, won - under suspicious circumstances - by a lad from the Isle of Man.
And so Celtic supporters were entitled to pop their corks in the wake of a victory over the team they most like to thrash.
But as I interviewed players and management at full time on the Hampden pitch I really did get the feeling that both Celtic and Rangers had their minds on other things.
You can call the Co-op the consolation cup if you like, but if Celtic now don't win the championship it will be no consolation at all.
They were thoroughly deserving winners on a Hampden surface which looked like had had just been hammered down with carpet tacks.
Frankly, I am becoming a little weary of horticultural talk in a football column - it is as if the game's tactics are unfolded in a potting shed.
But what are we scribes to do?
Fir Park looks like Macrahanish beach and now we are utterly incapable of laying a surface worthy of the name of the National Stadium.
Its sticky toffee pudding surface stopped talented players like Aiden McGeady running with the ball, although admittedly he did seem to get the hang of it by the time his pace left Kirk Broadfoot in reverse gear in the game's final throw of the dice.
Even Scott Brown - surely player of the year in waiting despite my earlier shout for Pedro Mendes - at first toiled to stay vertical on a surface which sprung like a bouncy castle.
Brown is now looking every inch the £4m high energy player that persuaded Celtic to burst the bank for him.
Even after 120 minutes of box-to-box action he was reaching pogo-stick heights in his jumps of celebration before the medal ceremony.
In any case the sight of the game's third most prized domestic bauble in the cabinet will surely be enough to lift Celtic on the home run.
Neither club is in great shakes in terms of the European game, but at SPL level Gordon Strachan's outfit seem to have more about them.
Incidentally, that scraping noise you hear is the sound of Strachan's critics digging for cover.
European failure will continue to haunt his season, but he was hardly a Scottish manager alone in that category.
Strachan has now won six trophies in four years at the club - with a seventh in view on the horizon - and if he does win that championship he will have out-performed Martin O'Neill, although I still insist that O'Neill's taking of the team to the Uefa Cup final was his greatest achievement of all.
But then Strachan isn't employed to out-perform Martin O'Neill - or even Jock Stein.
It's not history he is competing against, it's Walter Smith and other SPL bosses.
And in recent times he has bowed only to Gus MacPherson.
Football is a compromise sometimes.
Would Celtic fans have traded the Homecoming Scottish Cup defeat in the knowledge that it would guarantee a Co-op Cup win over Rangers? Probably.
Meanwhile, at Govan they stand at the this-could-be-heaven-this-could-be-hell crossroads.
A season which promised so much could deliver the square root of zilch.
Some crazy, wacky feeling deep within me said Aberdeen were going to win the Scottish Cup - so would someone please scrape the omelette off this column since Dunfermline beat them in a penalty shoot-out at Pittodrie?
And I have already declared my tipping of Celtic for the title.
And it is nearly nine months since they were booted out of Europe.
The natives would be restless if that scenario unfolded and I know exactly what event from their school sports they would want re-enacted.
The sack race...
"Tell them who you are and what you are about," they said. To be honest, there are days when I struggle to remember myself. Forty years toiling at the coalface of football journalism does that to you. But I have reason to believe that I have reached the heady heights of the title of Football Correspondent of BBC Scotland which gives me a renown, in Scottish terms, of somewhere between Alex Salmond and the deep fried Mars Bar.
© MMIX~RS~q~RS~~RS~z~RS~00~RS~)
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Jings, Crivens, help m'boab! Chico in 'Blog-worth-reading' sensation!
Have to disagree about the 'swapping the defeat to St Mirren for CIS victory'. In the sliding scale of things, the Scottish cup will always come further up the trophy hierarchy than the CIS.
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Good blog Chic, I think both Old Firm teams are in transition:- Celtic can't defend and Rangers lack creative guile. Both lack a proper striker partnership and I would say Smith will have to face up to the fact that his team lack fighting spirit and his squad is mediocre. Strachan, at least, can say his squad aren't at their peak just yet while Rangers have too many players past their best.
This year's SPL championship will be like the old joke about two polar explorers where a polar bear charges towards them across the horizon with slavering jaws. One of them stops running to put on his trainers and his pal says: "You can't outsprint a bear even with those on!" His pal replies: "I don't need to outsprint it, I only need to outrun YOU!"
Celtic can and probably wheeze over the finishing line in a better position than a poor Rangers team but it is clear than there is a real dearth of truly world class players within the 2 teams and the SPL overall. Next year's Champions League oppostion won't lose any sleep.
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#1- You're easily pleased.
Celtic win a cup on Sunday, 2 days later it is compared to an egg and spoon race. If Rangers had won on sunday, this column would have been about a 'Celtic Crisis', not a supposedly meaningless trophy. Regardless of its worth in scottish domestic football, we showed our superiority on Sunday, and we aren't very good. That game showed that we don't need to be even close to our best to beat our nearest rivals and that is a worry for Scottish football.
Chic, you stopped short of saying that this is potentially the worst season for Rangers in living memory, so I am saying it. They are in a terrible state, but we don't see pictures of their shattered crests all over the press, do we?
Also, if I read the phrase 'the square root of zilch' again, I am going to lose my mind.
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"Some crazy, wacky feeling deep within me tells me Aberdeen are going to win the Scottish Cup"
Thanks for the curse chick, no way we are going to do it now. Just when I was getting my hopes up . . .
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The CIS Cup may be the third ranked tournament, but the confidence Celtic will take from beating Rangers in a Cup Final and still be "not at their peak" should mean a similar run of results to last year leading up to winning the title. Rangers just don't seem to have the same amount of passion or direction that Strachan\O'Neill can instill in a team.
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Agreed Celtic are superior but only just, and when you consider how bad this Rangers team is it does not say very much for Celtic at all. Despite their obvious deficiences Rangers are still in the hunt for two trophies, can Celtic say the same?
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I agree that the Co-operative Insurance Cup is the least 'glam' of the cups to win, however, I think if you ask anyone connected with both clubs it was an important one to win on Sunday. I must add that I fear for the Scottish game when our 'big two' go into a Cup Final with both playing one up front. You can forgive Gordon Strachan a little because his options were limited and he at least changed it after 70 mins and won the cup, but Walter Smith? According to most 'hacks' and the current stats, he had the best front two in Scotland on Sunday, yet refused to play both at the same time. Although it has got to be said, that you wouldn't think he had done anything wrong, as none of the journo's I have read have given him a hard time. Please let us see all teams playing at least two up front and having a go or fans are going to eventually start going to the movies on a Saturday or worse still end up spending time with the wives.
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#6 Celtic have already 1 in the bag as they say. It's no use being in for 2 if you end up with nothing which could well happen the way Rangers are playing.
I'm not a fan of either Old Firm teams coming from North of Aberdeen I prefer watching my home village team, but it saddened me when the quality of the CIS final made me want to flick over to England v France at Rugby Union or to the Villa - Spurs game on Sky.
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bofella-albertz, you're right about it not saying much for Celtic, but we are still in the hunt for two trophies this season, if you include the one we've just won!
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#6: No. Celtic are only in the hunt for one trophy. Although that might have something to do with them already having won the other...
And credit where credit's due Chick, I managed to read that blog the whole way through.
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Hoho! Me too (managed to read it all the way through)!
But I think it's more to do with the fact that it was shorter than usual...
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Whatever happens in the Scottish Cup and whoever wins the SPL title this season, it doesn't take a genius to work out which club can look to the future with some optimism....
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Good blog. Heh, stranger things have happened than Aberdeen winning the cup...you not finishing last in a race for instance!
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Comment 2 perfectly sums up the situation, (and the joke is rather good).
Winning the league this season is absolutely vital for either Celtic or Rangers. Both sides are so poor that, without automatic qualification for the Champions League, the one which has to qualify has got NO hope of reaching the group stages. And I can't see automatic qualification for the group stages being on offer to a Scottish club in season 2010-2011. There are HORDES of "small" European clubs which would wipe the floor with either Celtic or Rangers.
The one outstanding Old Firm player, Scott Brown, must surely be on the radar of a number of very big clubs. Once he goes... What will be left?
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Some real humour this week, Chico with your wee Gus M joke?! Can I have some more, please?
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it was a poor final, pitch was a joke, game lacked quality, particularly disappointing as a Teddy Bear.
many things could mention, but the most irritating thing was our complete lack of ambition, Smith and assistants obviously believed that we couldn't compete with the opposition so when McCulloch comes off he puts on a 35 year old man who hasn't kicked a ball for the 1st team all season.
Smith keeps talking about giving youth a chance, but there's Naismith, who has looked spritely in his limited appearances, since injury, but no let's go for the penalties and shore up our defence.
We couldn't even do that very well and we go 1-0 down and we then push the old man further up the pitch, not Dailly's fault, but our negativity back fired and the tactics were wrong.
This was tolerable in the run up to the UEFA Cup, where the negative tactics got us to a Euro final, but we've been promised a new approach, with youth such as Fleck (experiment on hold, why?)Naismith, Niguez (absolutely worth a run on Sunday as well, instead we resort to the same old, same old.
Either Murray Park is a very grand white elephant or it is working and we need to give the young players a real opportunity or we're going nowhwere.
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Chick......Bitter at all?????
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By my count, Chick has used "square root of zilch" the last 3 weeks in a row. It wasn't funny the first time!
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Chick,
I am suprised you even have a job? I am not a Celtic fan but know that had Rangers won the cup would not have been undermined, and you'd be talking about Rangers winning everything and Celtic in crisis.
You were quite funny and a bit different in the 80's but now you have no insight and are very limited. The way Walter Smith treated you at Ibrox a few years back when you were talking about Laudrup says it all.
Scottish football needs a make over starting from BBC Scotland Sport.
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This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the House Rules.
Second rate final on a very much second rate park, I hear Hampden is making a bid for the world swamp soccer championships, muddy field outside Dunoon beware... you have a rival. Hope Motherwell dont apply then we have no chance. The CIS/COOP Cup whatever you call it is second rate, the Scottish cup is the pinacle of the season played in the Hampden sun. Aberdeen are starting to come good, we will take this silverware with Lee Miller scoring the winner, what odds that one.
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You obviously have not been to machrihanish recently Chick,( is it not true that the last time Dukla Pumphy played down there you bottled it) the beach is flatter and harder than hampden, anyway two poor teams in a poor final. Rangers could still be playing and not score and the only reason celtic scored was because Kirk Broadfoot is pants and Davie Weir was knackered.
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The game itself was fairly even, though IMO after 90 minutes Extra Time was fair, I doubt Rangers (barring Chick Young) could complain about losing by a solitary goal. But E.T. it was, and form the wordgo, Celtic were the only team interested in NOT taking the game to penalties.
To be honest, Rangers could have lost by 3 or 4 at the end of 120 minutes. But I was delighted with the win. Regardless of score and/or performance. It's simple, it'san Old Firm Cup Final, which fan of Cltic OR Rangers cared more about the performance than the result? A minority I presume!
With regards to Chick's comments, I feel it's highly unprofessional that you should comment differently depending on whether Celtic or Rangers gain the win, and the first trophy of the season in the process. I agree with the vast majority of comments above that had it have been Rangers that had won the game then it would have been a "crisis" for Celtic and a "well deserved win on the way to a domestic treble" for Rangers.
I fully agree that Celtic have been way below par this season, but Rangers have been worse. Walter doesn't seem to know what a good striker is, Kris Boyd should be first choice full stop! I was relieved to see him start on the bench (dspite his poor record against Celtic) as he can easily pop up with a goal from nothing, much like Henrik Larsson did so many times.
I won't lose any sleep over the one sided column, but I do disagree that it's business as usual from a Rangers "fan", slate the competition when they lose, but rub it in had they won.
First blood to the Bhoys, the League is still unpredictable, but Celtic have more to give I think, and the FA Cup, i'll be delighted if the Buddies gt an Old Firm double!
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If only Fir Park was as beautiful as Macrahanish (sic) Beach I'm sure the attendances would be alot higher. Brace yourself for a string of law suits from the residents of Machrihanish, comparing their stunning Atlantic coastline to a Lanarkshire tattie patch.
Other than poor spelling of Scottish places, not a bad blog ;)
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Good article. As a game, it was a another display of the very poor standard of football in Scotland by the two top teams in the country. Certainly doesn't say very much for the rest of the SPL. As for Rangers, they can forget about winning the title if that's the best they can come up with. That's 300 minutes and not one goal to show for it against a not too impressive Celtic squad. Celtic will be happy they came away with the Cup, ensuring they have something to show for a rather bleak season so far. However, I don't think they have much to fear from an Ibrox club who seem to have forgotten the basic rule of the game......if you don't score goals, you can't win games. On this form, European teams need have no worries about meeting either of the Old Firm in either of the two competitions in which they will play next season. Which one is in which, will depend largely on who stumbles and fumbles their way across the finishing line first come May.
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I didn't know that winning the league is a consolation up in Scotland...
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Apologies to all Celtic fans and especially those who pointed out that they are still in for two trophies as one is already locked away in the trophy cabinet, how stupid do I feel?
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Bit of a bizarre headline. Consolation Cup? Even though Chick admits we will probably win the league. So why would we need a consolation? Surely it's more likely to be a "one half of a double" cup?
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Oh dear Chick!
"Its sticky toffee pudding surface stopped talented players like Aiden McGeady running with the ball, although admittedly he did seem to get the hang of it by the time his pace left Kirk Broadfoot in reverse gear in the game's final throw of the dice."
Talented players would cope with such a pitch, do you think young Brazilians on the streets of Rio de Janeiro complain about their harsh surroundings, or ask for grass 'like a bowling green' to be laid in the poverty stricken streets?
Gie's peace man, McGeady,if any sort of talent,(answers on a postcard please as to what exactly this 'much seated on the turf' player has actually done in the game), would of course be playing in a much more coveted league than the SPL, yes, that of the Championship or second division down south.
Oh, I agree he has an amazing burst of pace, but has it all come down to how fast you can run as a measure of your talent in a game that requires so much more to entertain the fans? Explain to me please, just exactly what he has achieved and I will bow to your superior opinion, but I'm afraid I'm not alone in seeing through the mediocrity of players such as these in this modern day game we call football.
Where is his guile, his craft, his vision? He couldn't lace Willo Flood's boots, let alone someone with real vision who has represented his club in the form of a true class act like Lubomir Moravcik. I'm afraid it's non existent , and one swivel and turn of an Aberdeen player at Pittodrie does not a talented player make.
Or indeed is the measure how good an engine you have, re. your comments about Scott Brown still having the energy to celebrate winning a cup? I mean for goodness sake Chick....after winning a cup have you ever seen any player unable to enjoy themselves?
Brown is fast becoming the most overrated player we have ever seen on these shores.
So, how about some real in depth journalism Chick, how about reporting on how the state of our game has deteriorated so much that the journalistic fraternity has started scraping the bottom of the lowliest barrel in the form of Scottish 'Premier'? League football to credit a player who is no more than slightly above average in the Scottish game with comments which make him sound worthy of a place in a national squad down Rio way?
Hmmm what's that smell? Yes Charles...it's coffee, Brazilian if I'm not mistaken,and when you awake from your enchanted dream, try edging your nostrils closer to the mug in which it is provided and inhaling it's aroma for a recommended week or so.
And finally, on the subject of Aberdeen winning the Scottish Cup, what exactly have you been inhaling of late, we know Jimmy Calderwood has an abundance of tan about his boat race, but it would appear you are spouting more nonsense which I would describe as something a little darker brown than even Jimmy's coupon.
However, if you are proved correct on this, and Aberdeen do indeed win the Scottish Cup, then with reference to my previous coffee remarks, I will "exclusively" eat raw, a Brazilian coffee bean for each goal scored in the final!
(Worth noting that your tip "Scott Brown - surely player of the year in waiting" and the "talented" McGeady will both be absent from that occassion, no?)
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Very strange article this....and it bodes the question what would your headline have been if Rangers had won? probably "Super Rangers take first step to fantastic treble" or something.
The fact is that the league cup in every country that has one, is and always has been, ever since it was introduced in every country - been the 3rd most prestigious trophy.... so seeing as this cup was first played in 1946-47 - and has always been only the 3rd most important domestic competetion - it is a bit odd that you have decided to have a pop at it now / Celtic now for winning it....
Surely any cup competition is 2nd to winning the league - therefore will you be writing an article "Man United* (*or said winner) win Consolation Cup" after the English FA Cup final????
I doubt it...
oh well never mind.. .i know you won't respond...
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I think the Celtic fans out there are being a bit hard on our Chick. If you read and analyse the article he is actually very positive towards Celtic with a lot of his comments. Agreed that he has not exactly slaughtered Rangers or Walter Smith but we have to remember, that it is his job to extract information from these guys in the future, so their has to be a balance struck.
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Why do all Scots constantly try to run down their sport and their top teams? Of course it is difficult for Rangers and Celtic to compete with many other European teams who have huge TV riches thrust upon them. Despite this fact, Rangers, Celtic, Hearts and Aberdeen have turned in some decent Euro shows in the last 5 seasons.
The SPL is exciting - 2 teams can realistically win it (only 1 in England), the relegation position could go to any one of 4-5 teams and the race for European spots is still very much on.
The Scottish Cup is not a foregone conclusion, with Aberdeen and arguably St Mirren capable of beating Rangers on their day. As for the Co-Operative Cup, ok it is third in the priorities (fourth if your team was in Europe), but all teams would love to win it and for Celtic and Rangers the demand is always to win all trophies.
Put some energy into supporting your chosen team and leave all the Englishmen who have often never even seen a SPL match to run down the Scottish game.
From an Englishman who enjoys watching SPL matches on the box every weekend.
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Bit harsh on McGeady and Brown there, Luggy, although I agree with you to a certain extent. But McGeady is 22 and Brown is 23. What has McGeady achieved? He's got 23 international caps. Just two days ago he converted the penalty that he won with a good run to secure the first trophy of the season for his side. Of course he doesn't yet have the guile, craft or vision Lubo had when he was at Celtic (aged 33-plus), but Lubo was still at FC Nitra (no disrespect, Slovak chums) until he was 25.
Can we not appreciate the good young players we've got playing in our league instead of expecting everything from them instantly?
And I'm not sure if Man City fans would agree that your exalted young Brazilians are really so untouchable.
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McGeady has won 3 championships (possibly a 4th on it's way), 2 Scottish Cups, 2 League cups, played in the last 16 of the champions league twice, played for his country 23 times, been young player of the year & player of the year and he's only 22. Not sure what more you expect from him while playing for Celtic - winning the champions league?
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"the three-legged race, won - under suspicious circumstances - by a lad from the Isle of Man"
LOL! Thanks for thr image Chick. Now I've got to scrape tuna sandwich off my pyooter screen.
Just to pick up up on your last point: "sack race".....
SDM isn't a sacking chairman. If Rangers don't win the SPL this season, Smith won't be sacked. He'll be "moved upstairs" (Advocaat-like) to some non-entity 'Director of Football', Kafka-esque position, before disappearing off to the golf-course after a year or so.
Personally, I don't think Rangers will win the title. I rate our cahnces at about 45%. But whatever happens come May, Smith needs to step down - as he has clearly lost the plot when it comes to team selection and tactics.
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somehow i dont believe "the Consolation Cup" would be in the headline if its was St Mirren or even your beloved Rangers Chick, we've all heard you this season on Radio Scotland, i know its tough that its near approaching 4 seasons without a title party at Mr Murray's house but you have to show a wee bit of professionalism now and again, after all, it is us licence fee payers that fund this column, and even though we dont really care who you support a wee bit of neutrality (particulary on the BBC) is always welcome
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Chick, have you copyrighted your 'the square root of zilch' line as I would dearly like to use it myself, again.......and again......and again!
Good point #19 the standard of Scottish football has been mostly poor for too many years now, but the standard of Scottish football journalism is pathetic!
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#29.
Can't agree with Luggy about Scott Brown being the most overrated player ever seen on these shores - that accolade surely belongs to Barry Ferguson.
It was a poor excuse for a cup final. Surely when you have a derby in a cup final, it has to be worth going all out to win. As it stands, Celtic probably don't have to be anything more than average to take the title, as Rangers don't seem to have it in them.
Still, hope we turn over the 'tic at the weekend.
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A reasonabe article considering Mr Young`s loyalties to the south side of Glasgow
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Rangers are still in the hunt for two trophies, can Celtic say the same?
Yes, got the CIS in the trophy cabinet and the SPL trophy just needs to be polished and re-engraved with same team name and 2008/2009. = 2 trophies. :)
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Chick if you've just put the commentators kiss of Death on Aberdeen and the Scottish cup I'll hunt you down, I will you know ;)
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totally agree with comment no.32. we run our game down far too often and never give it enough credit. fair enough, it wasnt a classic cup final, but the league cup final down south wasnt exactly a blockbuster either was it?!
we hav precious little money in our game currently and for this reason we should be grateful for the excitement that we do offer.
in every division in scotland the league title is still up for grabs and, with the exception of stranraer in division 2, no side is definitely going down, the same cannot be said for the english leagues!
we need to face up to the fact we are a country with a population the size of london who has always punched above their weight in footballing terms and that we are facing a downturn along with every other aspect of life due to the current economic climate.
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Why do I get the feeling that if it was Rangers that one we wouldn't be reading that both teams didn't seem too bothered?? Yeh right Chic!! When Rangers beat Celtic in Smiths first old firmer back 2 years ago the journalists were creaming...They seemed to forget at the time that the championship was done and dusted!! You didn't write like this last week.Unashamedly biased!!
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Chick,
I agree with your comments on the relevance or otherwise of the Cup in the context of the season as whole.
Interesting that you imply the Rangers fans will be demanding Walter Smith is sacked if Rangers win nothing.
Just a few weeks ago you were amongst those attempting to discredit a section of Rangers fans who have been concerned for some time that the club is not run especially well. Could I please ask you, next time you interview Walter Smith, to put to him questions such as why he bought Edu (For £2.5m!)and preferred Chistian Dailly when the chips were down?
Maybe also if he feels in retrospect that the money spent on Lafferty Miller and especially Velicka was well spent?
Chick I undertstand relationships are important but it really is time Walter had some of the tricky questions all the fans are asking put to him.
Isn't it? We do deserve better - and we are not arrogant to think so as you said on Radio Scotland a few weeks back.
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What will be tne "consolation" for Rangers if they DON'T win the league and, with it, automatic qualification for the Champions League? The guaranteed ten million, or so, goes out the window - and, this season, they haven't had the lucky windfall of a Boumsong, a Cuellar or a Hutton to offload for big bucks and balance the books.
The massive Ibrox clearout which was threatened at the start of the year, and temporarily put on hold in the hope that the league would be won by the current ageing squad, will become a reality. Then what?
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Isn't it funny that every time I read your blog and the comments after, you can always tell who the Celtic supporters are. Give it a rest boys. Who really cares what team Chick supports. Change the record. Its getting as boring as Hearts fan talking about the time St.Mirren gave you the league. Get over it. Keep it up Chico
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Agreed Celtic are superior but only just, and when you consider how bad this Rangers team is it does not say very much for Celtic at all. Despite their obvious deficiences Rangers are still in the hunt for two trophies, can Celtic say the same?
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eh, we won the CIS and are looking good for the league so, yes
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Oh dear Chick. I guess Celtic are gonna lose then! I hope you predict they will in your next blog!
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"Some crazy, wacky feeling deep within me tells me Aberdeen are going to win the Scottish Cup - and would someone please scrape the omelette off this column if Dunfermline beat them at Pittodrie -"
haha, Chico, you've jinxed the Dons!
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Aye - the "feeling" about Aberdeen was certainly "crazy" and "wacky". And now there's a guy called Bri£? who's going to "hunt you down" ( Comment 40 ).
There are also vague rumours about a "Don Corleone". If you find a sheep's head in your bed tonight, be worried.
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Oh well...
Seems like its time to wipe that egg off your blog chic.
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Chick, I'm coming for ya!
I hold you fully responsible for tonights lose. Nothing to do with Jimmy's baffling tactics nor the defensive mentality but all down to your blog!! Dont let JC see this though or it will be his excuse in the papers tomorrow ;)
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I don't agree with the majority of the comments on the blog about the potential of the two teams. Although both teams are poor when compared to teams of yesteryear Rangers have invested much more in their team in recent seasons and I think you are going to see a big Celtic decline between the end of this season and the next. Cracks are already appearing in Celtic's SPL form and their squad looks really weak to me.
Walter Smith's tactics against Celtic have to be questioned though. He completely changes his natural system and core team selection every time and it is becoming very predictable for Gordon Strachan and very boring for the fans. I accept that the Old Firm game throws up a completely different level of opposition for each side when compared to the other teams faced in the SPL so there is a kind of method behind the madness. The problem is its not entertaining in the slightest and even worse its not producing the results.
I will always be a Rangers supporter but the quality of what is being served up in the SPL at the moment is really challenging my ability to remain interested in Scottish Football.
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I believe it was the Celtic fans who first referred to the League Cup as the Consolation Cup when Rangers won it several years ago.
It was a poor final played by two poor teams on a poor pitch and was not any sort of advert for Scottish football.
As far as the importance of the League Cup goes, both teams and both sets of fans desparately wanted to win this trophy and for anybody to play it down afterwards is just ridiculous.
Celtic might not have won it playing good football but they won it.
It is now up to Rangers to do something about it.
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The comments posted after these blogs never cease to amuse me.
When are you guys gonna learn the difference between a blog and an article.
This part of the BBC website is all about Chick Young's OPINION of things. All about how HE feels. It's not SUPPOSED to be an article. It doesn't have to be factual.
Right...now I've got that off my chest...Well done for tipping Aberdeen to win the Scottish Cup Chick! Dreadfull, bitter wee side whose fans are still living off the fact that Alex Ferguson once made them successful.
Fergie left OVER 20 YEARS AGO lads. Get used to it!!!
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It seems a shame to me that Old Firm fans might see the League Cup as merely a consolation prize if they don't win the SPL.
It's frustrating and wrong that Celtic and Rangers feel as though they have a God-given right to enjoy all the spoils that the game has to offer. Where is the joy in following a team that you expect to win everything all time?
For those of us who follow teams outside the Old Firm, any silverware, ever, is a huge boost, no matter what it is. You really learn to appreciate the value of winning and it makes it all the more special when the magic moment happens.
It was hugely disappointing to go and watch Motherwell lose so heavily to Rangers in the CIS cup final a few years back, as I was aware that it would probably be a long time before I got the chance to watch a cup final with my team in it again. Rangers fans still had the league, cup and Europe to look forward to, even if they lost out in all of them.
So stop moaning when the Old Firm win something. At least you get to celebrate having something to look at in the trophy cabinet.
How's about a comment on the race for 3rd and 4th place Chick. Lots of nice material in there if the same old Celtic/Rangers title bid/double/Europe topic is getting a bit boring. Motherwell have been on a fine run of form, Hibs improving, Aberdeen doing well (I'll be round later to wipe the egg off your face)etc... Much more exciting than the same old, same old.
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I thought is was a fairly good article for Chic!
I think what has been missed from the discussion here is the fact that although the Celtic squad is a wee bit sparse, with the seemingly inevitible qualification for the Champions Leauge and the finacial prudence shown by Celtic, they will be in a position to invest substantially (for Scottish football) in new players; will Rangers be in the same position? Not a chance! They will need to sell to balance the books in the summer; the money now required for the Spanish "wonderkid" (has anyone seen him for more than 10 minutes at a time) is too rich for the 'Gers so he'll soon be singing "Una Paloma Blanca" as he heads home. Boyd will be punted (probably for less than Big Eck offered in January) but I don't see anyone shelling out for wee "Square Ba'" Ferguson. The only other saleable assets are Edu (unproven), Mendes and Thompson (they'll be lucky to get their money back on either of them).
The consequences are bad for Rangers and their fans. The way it is going, second place could be in the balance next year if Hearts and Dundee United keep progressing. As for the "Loyal Cardigan", I still see Wattie there next year becuase I can't see anyone else accepting this poisoned chalice with nae dosh to spend. As for "We Deserve Better" - it may be a case of "We Deserve A Slap If We Are Stupid Enough To Renew Our Season Tickets For Ibrox"!
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