The Banter Years

The Banter Years

Napoleon is often credit with saying, ‘Never interrupt your enemy when he is in the process of making a mistake.’ It’s tempting to think Peter Lawwell has this phrase in mind as he quietly watches Rangers make a fool of themselves over their claims to have a dossier containing damning evidence against senior SPFL figures. Few of us doubt the SPFL made a mess of the vote on restructuring the leagues to meet the reality of the Covid 19 pandemic but weeks after the Ibrox club claimed to have such evidence we await it being produced. Their latest pronouncement has downgraded their damning evidence to ‘a lack of fair play.’ They look increasingly like a poker player who has a weak hand and tried to bluff his way through the game. Now people are demanding that the cards be laid on the table and they are still prevaricating.

Scottish football is famous for its factionalism, suspicion and conspiracy theories and you have to wonder why Rangers would make such claims at a time our game is facing an existential threat. More cynical voices have suggested it’s all part of that old psychological plan to foster a siege mentality. The outcome of this is that supporters feel their club is somehow being treated unfairly and will back the club financially via season tickets without questioning why their marquee signing manager has failed miserably despite spending millions on new players or what the club is doing to stop haemorrhaging money as it tries to stop Celtic’s relentless trophy collecting juggernaut.

The more sceptical among us often think of that old Roman phrase at such times, ‘cui bono?’ (who benefits from this?)  

What are Rangers causing such a fuss about and in what way will they gain from it? Are we really expected to believe they are now moral guardians of Scottish football fighting for the little guy? This from a club that in a former life cheated on an industrial scale by paying players millions via a tax avoiding, EBT scheme without informing the SFA as the rules demand? A club whose owner, Sir David Murray,  called in a debt for under £50,000 from Airdrie FC which forced a founder member of the Scottish League to go into liquidation and make their players redundant? A club which has yet to express any regret about operating a virtual apartheid system for over 70 years of its history? The moral voice of Scottish football- really? You could easily be forgiven for thinking that such an outfit in whatever guise they appear in looks out for number one first and foremost.

The reality that Celtic will complete their second ‘nine in a row’ series of title wins must weigh heavily on their minds. The Parkhead club are in decent financial condition despite taking an obvious hit from the ongoing Covid 19 lockdown and its consequences for sport. They will undoubtedly miss the revenue from 4 or 5 home games should the season be called and were also in the cup semi-final but generally the club is well run and in robust health. The team began 2020 in sparkling form and of 13 domestic matches played since January, won 12 and drew 1. Compare that form to a Rangers side which had something of a collapse in early 2020 where they also played 13 games but won just 7, drew 2 and lost 4. During that sequence they lost twice to bottom club Hearts and also at home to Hamilton. Most people who know football recognises that on that form far from turning around a 13 point deficit in the remaining SPFL games, Rangers were more likely to see the Hoops stretch their lead.

So is all this fuss about trying to somehow discredit Celtic’s inevitable title win? They know that when football resumes Celtic will be favourites to make it ten in a row and thus create a new Scottish record. That is too much for some to stomach and we have already heard much bleating about some of Celtic’s title wins being somehow ‘tainted’ as Rangers were not in the league when they were won. This palpable nonsense is the sort of desperate chain of thought  you’d expect from a jealous child in the playground. All of Celtic’s titles were won fair and square against the teams who deserved to be in the top flight and if Rangers followers want to talk about ‘tainted titles’ they need look no further than the EBT years. It is ironic that since they joined the top flight in 2016 boasting they were ‘coming for you’ and ‘going for 55’ Celtic has won every single trophy competed for and were on track to win another treble this season. They have also handed out some royal spanking to the Govan club along the way.

If Rangers produce their dossier next week and it turns out to be a damp squib then they will look very foolish indeed. You don’t shout about corruption and then refuse to hand over your evidence. The so called ‘banter years’ will continue as supporters of other Scottish clubs continue that great Scottish tradition of laughing at and winding up the opposition at every opportunity. Rangers have given opposition fans much ammunition over the past 7 or 8 years both on and off the field. Not only the calamity of administration and liquidation in 2012 which reverberates in Scottish football to this very day and in many ways poisoned the game here. There was also being turfed out of Europe by a team from Luxembourg to losing at places like Annan and Stirling. From the ball stuck in a hedge, to the ‘winter of discount tent’, Pedro in the bushes and cheering a cup draw against Celtic before being battered 4-0 in the actual match. The latest farce involved a poorly made fake invoice showing Dundee FC receiving funds from a former Celtic director. This led to some hysterical reactions online while others sat back and laughed. Then there are the endless, tedious statements. One wag commented if there was a statement league they’d be forty points ahead.

There is of course a serious side to all of this. The SPFL board need to be more careful and more professional in their handling of important issues. Scottish football is in a perilous state at the moment with income streams drying up and uncertainty over TV deals and Sponsorship. Sponsors want to be seen to be involved with positive organisations not squabbling factions pulling in different directions. Our prominent clubs need to set an example and demonstrate some leadership not act like spoilt children.

Celtic have played a blinder in all of this. Had they got involved in a war of words with Rangers it would have played into the hands of the more unhinged conspiracy theorists among the Ibrox club’s support. By staying silent they have followed Napoleon’s maxim of never interrupting your opponent when he is making a mistake. The week ahead is an important one if Rangers don’t produce a ‘smoking gun’ next week then they are going to look very foolish indeed but then that’s nothing new in these strange times.