Talk of 10 titles in a row belies falling standards in Scotland. Is a home defeat to Ferencvaros really such a surprise any more?If Celtic take delivery of the Scottish Premiership trophy for a 10th time in succession come May, you can guarantee a bloody nose at the hands of Ferencvaros will not feature as a reference point. Nor will previous European embarrassments at the hands of Cluj, AEK Athens, Malmö and Maribor amid dominance at home.It remains an astonishing reality that winning by umpteen lengths in what is, at most, a two-horse race matters significantly more to some than making inroads in a more illustrious competition. The remainder of Scottish football has no reason to feel smug about Celtic’s...
Old Firm are the only serious rivals to each other in a Premiership where third place to the rest represents glorious successIf we are to assume a suitable element of normality will have returned by May, any Celtic celebration of a 10th Premiership title in succession will be quite the sight. Less is more has never applied to the Old Firm, especially where the making of history is concerned. Celtic will begin their season on Sunday as the legitimate favourites to become the first Scottish club to deliver 10 in a row.Inside Scottish football’s parochial cauldron, that achievement is a key theme to the point where it is already all-consuming. Can Steven Gerrard – who hasn’t won a trophy in...
The SPFL wanted clubs to end the season but Dundee’s missing vote has resulted in the game’s governing body being questionedScottish football does not have a monopoly on toxicity. At times like these it just feels that way. In a period when serious discussions should be taking place about the recalibration of football post-pandemic open warfare has broken out. People with involvement spanning decades admit they have not encountered anything quite like the past few days.When the chairman of the Scottish Professional Football League rounded on “damaging misinformation” in the media he had a cheek. The SPFL’s reputation has been damaged, all right to the point of laughing stock by a voting farce which barely feels believable. Related: Confusion surrounds...
Farke faces defensive dilemma for Liverpool, Forest need their best XI, Chelsea’s women eye treble and a six-pointer in AustriaLeeds are falling apart. Maybe. But here’s the thing: anyone who beats them ends up falling apart too. None of the eight teams who have got the better of Marcelo Bielsa’s men in Championship this season have won their next match – seven of them have lost it. Nottingham Forest were the latest to find that beating Bielsa’s side takes a heavy toll, as on the back of last weekend’s 2-0 win at the City Ground, they flopped to a home defeat by Charlton. But they are still only two points off the automatic promotion places and could foil West Brom’s...
Scotland’s big two merrily portray themselves as global powerhouses so let’s leave the superlatives over reaching last 32Incongruous though it feels to state Celtic and Rangers can be happy, mutual cohabitors anywhere, the Europa League has supplied the perfect backdrop as a domestic title race – for now – rumbles on. The Old Firm’s progression to the last 32 of Europe’s second-tier domestic competition has left supporters and supposedly neutral onlookers grasping for superlatives. We’ll be subject to a few more days of this yet.Steven Gerrard can be forgiven giddy analysis, given it arrived in the immediate aftermath of Rangers’ 1-1 draw against Young Boys. It is, Gerrard insists, a “magnificent achievement” for his team to reach the knockout phase...