STEVEN GERRARD, MICHAEL NICHOLSON AND EMOTIONAL CONTROL
- BY LIAM CARRIGAN
- 1 hour ago
- 3 min read
Scotland may have committed one of the most audacious acts of theft against Greece since the Elgin Marbles last night, but there’s still only two big stories that dominate the Scottish football landscape this week.
Celtic fans are not getting what they want from our board, whilst Rangers fans seem to be getting exactly what they want from theirs. And yet, despite it all, I believe that ultimately it is the Celtic fans who have benefited most from this, one of the most chaotic weeks in Scottish football for a while.
Rangers Fans Demand Return of Steven Gerrard, Michael Nicholson Must Go, According to Most Celtic Fans
Like most of you, I poured over the minutes of Monday’s meeting between Celtic fan groups and the Celtic board looking for something that I didn’t already know. Ultimately, whilst there are a few snappy soundbites in there to remind us exactly why our current board isn’t fit for purpose, I didn’t really find too much in there that I didn’t already know, or suspect to be the case.
One thing I think needs to be said though, every single Celtic fan representative present at Monday’s meeting deserves the utmost credit for keeping their emotions in check. Seeing the numerous, robotic, rehearsed deflective statements and non-answers coming from Micheal Nicholson and Chris McKay must have been utterly infuriating.
And yet, our representatives kept their emotions in check. The stayed rational and on point, they gave no ground, but didn’t resort to needless anger either, despite the obvious provocation to do so.
Now, compare this to what is happening over at Snake Mountain. Every Celtic fan’s favorite vegan, Russell “Terry Vegetables” Martin is gone. Finally hounded out of a job he had barely started by the entitled and wholly unrealistic expectations of the Rangers fanbase, not to mention their propensity for violence when they don’t get their own way.
Clearly letting emotion overrule their brainpower (such as it is), Rangers fans demand the return of Steven Gerrard to once again lead them back to the Scottish league title they still believe is rightfully theirs, despite only having won it once in their 13-year history.
At time of writing the deal hasn’t been signed and sealed. Apparently, the Rangers board are still mulling over how to meet Gerrard’s demands of “a pile of cash and a global pandemic” before he’ll sign on once again at the stadium John Brown played for.
And speaking of signing on, Michael Nicholson and Chris McKay’s intransigence on Monday, be it a personal choice or one foisted upon them by more senior members of Celtic’s board has only strengthened fans’ resolve to drive on with their push for meaningful change. One suspects that, in the fullness of time, their actions on Monday may have only hastened their own removal from the club.
There is a lesson for us all in this, I think, as we ponder the conflicting narratives of Steven Gerrard, Michael Nicholson and the wider implications of both for this season.
Celtic fans have stood firm, but remained rational. Protests have been heated at times, but never violent or overtly aggressive. Rangers just drove a good man, albeit not a very good football manager our of a job, to replace with someone hired purely on nostalgia and misplaced belief in their own superiority.
Celtic fans know that Rome wasn’t built in a day. We know there is no quick fix for the rot that seems to infest numerous aspects of our club at the moment, from the boardroom to the ageing stadium concourses.
Rangers fans have demanded nothing but quick fixes since their club’s inception in 2012. That’s not how the real world works.
It might be frustrating for Celtic fans at the moment, to see our board stone-walling every attempt at meaningful dialogue towards change.
However, ultimately, we will get there. We might not get 100% of everything we want, but I confidently predict that by the end of this season Celtic will be in a far better place, on and off the park, than we are now. Because are fans are determined, but also pragmatic and realistic.
If Gerrard even lasts until the end of the season, expect more demands, protests and impotent rage from the Union Bears and their cohorts, as they still refuse to accept their true place in Scottish football.