CHARLIE NICHOLAS hit the nail on the head this morning in his newspaper column. The former Celtic and Arsenal striker has called out the Rangers for their desperate, hysterical behaviour over the past few weeks as speculation mounts – fuelled incidentally by the former Rangers EBT recipient Alex Rae arguing last night on Clyde’s Superscoreboard that any club experiencing an insolvency event brought on by the coronavirus crisis, should not suffer an SPFL points deduction.
Which club could EBT Rae have been thinking about when he made that argument? Almost certainly one of the clubs asking for an EGM and the only clue is that it’s unlikely to be Stranraer!
And did anyone else notice that there was no sign of Inverness Caley Thistle in the Gang of SPFL Rebels(!)? Looks like Scot Gardiner has been reined in his board of directors.
Former SPL Chief Executive Roger Mitchell had this to say about Charlie Nicholas’ remarks this morning, which incidentally is getting heavy ‘attention’ on their forums today. Oh how the truth hurts.
“Charlie spot on. Celtic fans this time will this. Normally they like to abuse charlie coz he doesn’t feed the echo chamber. I was and am a fan of Charlie. He slammed me a few times at the spl. So what. Oh those first years at Celtic. What an adrenaline buzz he was,” Mitchell wrote.
Charlie spot on. Celtic fans this time will 👍👍 this. Normally they like to abuse charlie coz he doesn’t feed the echo chamber. I was and am a fan of Charlie. He slammed me a few times at the spl. So what. Oh those first years at Celtic. What an adrenaline buzz he was. https://t.co/hsiiygFzO7
— RP Mitchell (@RPMComo) April 28, 2020
David Low, Chair of the Celtic Trust also commented on Nicholas’ comments.
Agree with Nicholas for, perhaps, the first time ever. I don’t think anyone respects this club and it’s pandering to the lowest common denominators in society. Clearly motivated by desperation and ill will.
— David Low (@Heavidor) April 28, 2020
“Agree with Nicholas for, perhaps, the first time ever. I don’t think anyone respects this club and it’s pandering to the lowest common denominators in society. Clearly motivated by desperation and ill will,” Low replied to Mitchell.
Archie Dempster made a decent point too, saying this: “It perhaps tells us a lot about Scottish Society – beyond football – that Rangers have wittingly & willingly gone from ‘We are the people’ to ‘We are the victims’. Sectarian based privilege and domination (of institutions, workplaces etc) not quite over – but the old days have gone.”
JP Frimpong added: “Your right Charlie does get it, it’s all about stopping Celtic, which BTW this laughable play off idea is also about. Gers fans will look for this as their last hoorah. We are 13 points clear, if we can do playoffs we can do games.”
So what exactly did Charlie Nicholas have to say? Writing in his usually best ignored column in Daily Express, he provided his interpretation on the controversy surrounding the Rangers and their ongoing fight with the SPFL Board, of which their own Managing Director, Stewart Robertson, is a member of.
“Rangers need to stop whining and moaning like a baby. It is time to move on,” Nicholas wrote. “Ibrox chairman Douglas Park pushing for an independent inquiry into how the SPFL handled the lower-league vote, yet they don’t want to share any information they have on why they are questioning it.
“What exactly do they want? They don’t want Celtic winning the title, that much is clear.
“They want the season declared null and void to camouflage their own failures on the pitch.
“Celtic have done the best thing possible, which is staying out of the arguments because they don’t need to get involved and they also have the most to lose.
“I find it heartbreaking that so many influential figures and clubs have turned so negative at a time when our game is already on its knees.”
And for the younger readers, Mitchell was correct, Charlie Nicholas was sensational in his first spell at Celtic in the early 1980s. The best player we’d seen since Kenny Dalglish left. Watch the highlights from the game below and incidentally check out where the Celtic fans are located.
A few days before this match and struggling for tickets I’d gone over to Ibrox and bought a dozen for the Main Stand – and not in among Celtic fans. The plan was to go to the game with no colours etc but when Paul McStay scored rather than sit on our hands we instinctively celebrated. If you look at the photograph below we were up there in the upper stand about a third of the way along from the left.
Differences of opinions were duly shared and after (more than) holding our own we were turfed out. However that wasn’t the end of it. We missed their goal but got back into the enclosure at the start of the second half and saw Charlie Nicholas score that glorious winner.
INVINCIBLE by Matt Corr
The Celtic Star’s very own Matt Corr – who you may also know as a Tour Guide at Celtic Park – publishes his first Celtic book, titled INVINCIBLE – early next month. This beautiful hardback book will be the definitive story of Celtic’s magical2016-17 season – it truly is wonderful, a real joy to read, and brilliantly written by Matt.
If you have been reading Matt’s regular contributions on The Celtic Star or indeed in the Matchday Programme or in the Celtic View you will know just how talented a Celtic writer he is. The book is published by The Celtic Star and you can pre-order below.
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