Messrs Postecoglou, Hart and Furuhashi welcome to Celtic Park’s “Greatest Show on Earth”

All sorts of people who really should know an awful lot better say that whatever (the)Rangers do, does not concern them.

Players of Malmo celebrates in the locker room after the Champions League qualifying match against theRangers. Photo: Ludvig Thunman

This, frankly, is rubbish. The triumph of Malmo last night was a cause for a certain amount of gloating (that is possibly a little deplorable and psychologists would call it “insecure”) and happiness, simply because it heralds the return of the humble (the)Rangers supporter, vulnerable, sad and even perhaps to be pitied and even loved, as distinct from the arrogant, triumphalist and really objectionable characters that were going around a few months ago with banners that, erroneously, said 55. The absence of such behaviour is very much to be welcomed. There has been a general brightness about the house, the streets and the place of work today!

One often wonders, however, if it really was Malmo who beat (the)Rangers? Was it not perhaps Celtic with their superb performance on Sunday against Dundee? History is littered with examples of how Rangers can be relied upon to collapse simply because Celtic are playing well on different days and against different opponents. The epic occasion was of course the League Championship of 1968 when Celtic won and won…and Rangers buckled and cracked.

Celtic must therefore now win and continue to win. New players have arrived, more are on their way, I understand, and the team is lifting off. The next couple of games however are crucial to our chances of winning the League – and neither of them is in the League! The days of the lamentable inferiority-complex European nights at Celtic Park must stop immediately – no more pub League defending please, and accept every chance that comes your way – and then on Sunday we have Hearts at home in the Scottish League Cup.

This game will tell us just whether the tide has been turned or not. It as a “must-win” (Don’t you just hate that phrase? At Celtic Park, every game is a “must-win”!) and don’t anyone please ever use the word “just” before the words “League Cup”!

I understand that the Scottish League Cup final has been scheduled this year for Sunday 19 December. Whether or not one agrees that this is the best time for a national Cup final, it does nevertheless allow us to dream of a green and white Christmas, just like the ones we used to know! It would be a great way to show the world that the horrors of 2020 and 2021 have gone, would it not?

But let us not get too far ahead of ourselves. One step at a time, and I am looking forward to a full Celtic Park tomorrow night for what is undeniably “the greatest show on earth”, and will soon find out the truth of all that!

David Potter

You really won’t want to miss this glorious wee clip…

About Author

I am Celtic author and historian and write for The Celtic Star. I live in Kirkcaldy and have followed Celtic all my life, having seen them first at Dundee in March 1958. I am a retired teacher and my other interests are cricket, drama and the poetry of Robert Burns. David Potter passed away on 29 July 2023 after a short illness. He was posthumously awarded a Special Recognition award by Celtic FC at the club's Player of the Year awards in May 2024. David's widow Rosemary accepted the award to huge applause from the Celtic Supporters in the Hydro.

1 Comment

  1. Time for a wee lie soon David.First it was us who beat Malmö because we beat Dundee.Really? Then it was one of us kidding on he was a Rangers fan. As soon as he mentioned “ Ange” the game was a bogey . How could you be taken in by this? We deserve better.