Welcome back to the mayhem & madness Gio
New Ibrox boss will find Old Firm panto still going strong
Gio van Bronckhorst will have missed the unhinged chaos of life in Old Firm la la land these last two decades.
But if he gets hold of a transcript of Celtic’s AGM last Wednesday it will all come flooding back in a flash.
I know you’re not supposed to call them the Old Firm but Cel t ic’s int er im chief executive Michael Nicholson has confirmed the club paid to renew their trademark rights to the name, so we’re on solid legal ground here.
Embarrassing is the only word that can be attached to the proceedings.
There are none so blind as those who wi l l not see – that much was proved in relation to the reasons why Celtic didn’t win 10-in-a-row last season.
It was N ico la Sturgeon’s fault, apparently. That and dodgy referees who are out to get Celtic. The old, wel ltrodden path down the road to self delusion.
It’s just as well manager Ange Postecoglou said in advance of the shareholders’ gathering that the volatile env ironment of Greek football had prepared him for life in Glasgow.
He won’t, under those circumstances, have been traumatised by the paranoia he watched and listened to from the top table. The ‘punishment’ Celtic got under Cov id-19 protocols for Boli Bolingoli ’s trip abroad didn’t , as chairman Ian Bankier claimed, d i s t u rb the team’s momentum a nd c ont r i but e towards the league being lost.
Celtic won seven league games in a row af ter Bolingoli’s return until they lost to Rangers at home.
An inability to beat Rangers in a two- horse race is a huge drawback, which van Bronckhorst will know only too well.
Celtic failed at every turn against Gers while ending up 25 points adrift of their rivals.
Signing Bol ingoli and other bad players like Vasilis Barkas and Albian Ajeti for wasted millions sabotaged Celtic’s season.
Failure to see that manager Neil Lennon had lost his way, and his composure, early in the season, and doing nothing about it until it was too late, did for Celtic’s season.
By the time Lennon was removed in February the car park at Celtic’s ground had witnessed scenes of violence as fury got the better of fans who think public order offences are allowable when their team goes off the rai ls. “What can you do when players don’t give 100 per cent,” Bankier said to the shareholders.
No one cou ld have disagreed with his observation because at one point Celtic’s players were being bussed to and from the ground so that they could park their cars a safe distance away to avoid the risk of personal attack.
Van Bronckhorst has returned to Ibrox at a time when the threat of implosion isn’t confined to Celtic.
Some Hibs fans apparently want Jack Ross removed from the manager’s office.
Not exact ly a vote of confidence in the manager on the day of the Premier Sports Cup semi- f inal against Rangers at Hampden.
The Rangers fans were in a delicate place after being taken for mugs by Steven Gerrard, who wanted them to believe he only found out about Aston Villa’s interest in him a day before he was unveiled as their manager.
But now they’ve got a more experienced, and successful, manager in his place and all around Gio the panto season has started early. Oh yes it has!
Now that van Bronckhorst is casting an analytical and critical eye over his players I would expect a sudden upturn in performance from the likes of Alfredo Morelos today.
One thing Gerrard did get right was the Colombian’s need to get his finger out.
I’m told he struts around Rangers’ training centre as if he owns the place but the arrival of a new gaffer tends to kick players out of their comfort zone.
Expect swift weight loss and a feast of goals to follow in response to speculation over who van Bronckhorst wants in his team.
Meanwhile Postecoglou will ignore politicians, refs, tennis ball throwers and other distractions while doing his work the way he knows best.
He will stand, or fall, by what his team do in a world that is not out to get them.
A new gaffer’s arrival kicks players out of their comfort zone