hackwatching

daily record’s disappointment at Celtic’s qualification for Champions League 2nd phase

The following are two truncated articles relating to Celtic’s final Champions League group fixture against AC Milan in the San Siro. One is taken from Scotland’s best selling tabloid, the Daily Record, and the other from the ENGLISH edition of the Sun newspaper (via their website).

You would not be labelled completely paranoid if you thought the Scottish publication might look a wee bit more favourably on Celtic’s success (yes we have to remind ourselves that it was indeed a success) and even embellish the occasion with a smattering of positive spin. After all we spent some time listening to a Scottish media spin machine espousing the virtue of allowing a small, hard pressed and impoverished Glasgow club postpone their league fixture against high flying Gretna in December, so that they might gird their loins and take up their cudgels at full strength to do battle against the European foe under the banner of the St. Andrews flag. This is in all our interests we are told.

I would ask you also to consider and compare the mild hysteria that followed the best ever 0:0 draw in the history of European football at Ibrox a few weeks back and also the almost as impressive 0-2 victory in the Nou Camp. 180 minutes without scoring a goal and we are led to believe this mob are a European force.

Anyway with all that in mind, can you guess which of these articles was published by the Scottish tabloid and which by the English? (I’ve alternated a paragraph from each throughout for easier comparison)

“KAKA was handed the glittering Ballon D’Or and Pippo Inzaghi broke the all-time Euro goal record. But Celtic grabbed the golden ticket to the last 16 of the Champions League on a glory night in the San Siro .”

“GORDON STRACHAN saw Celtic stagger into the last 16 of the Champions League last night despite defeat in Italy - then admitted his side must cure the travel sickness which follows them around Europe. It might have been the kind of contest that would get the Champions League stopped. It may have been another away defeat, the 15th in 16 attempts to be exact. And it may also have been inflicted upon them by an AC Milan side that spent much of the night doing little more than going through the motions “

“Brazilian superstar Kaka was rightly acclaimed by home fans as the best footballer on the planet. Inzaghi, whose two goals won last season’s Champions League final, then bagged the only goal. But if the Milan aces deserve praise and prizes, there’s no doubt Celtic also merit their place among Europe’s elite “

“Milan, who had already booked their place in the knock-out stages with a game to spare, were able to rest more than half a team and were also able to operate without even the slightest anxiety. There will be time to pause and reflect on the fact they were undone by a patchwork and less than committed Milan side and to ponder on just how much work Strachan still has to do to make this team capable of cutting it against the game’s greatest sides.[Does beating them 2-1 not count as “cutting it”???]”

“One glorious qualification from the group phase by Gordon Strachan’s heroes is commendable. But to repeat the feat in back-to-back seasons is without question one of the club’s greatest achievements of the modern era. The defeat to Kaka and Co didn’t matter as Benfica scored an unlikely win away to Shakhtar Donetsk. For the second successive year, three home wins at Fortress Parkhead have carried Strachan’s stars beyond the group phase. They didn’t get the away point they thought they’d need. They didn’t get a first ever win away from Parkhead .”

“Gordon Strachan and his players could not finish the job themselves and now go on from Group D only because of Benfica’s win in Donetsk. [nothing to do with home wins over the European champions AC Milan, Benfica and Shaktar Donetsk of course, Celtic were the benefactors of a benevolent act of charity] But Scotland’s champions are through to the last 16 for the second successive season regardless and that is one almighty achievement. [shock stunner, positive comment after only the 230 words!]”

“But not one of the Celts — and not a single soul among the 5,000 away fans in the San Siro — seemed to mind. The Champions League theme tune will echo around all corners of Parkhead again in the New Year. And Strachan, the little man whose reputation grows with every passing Euro achievement, will want to drive them even further. The gaffer has already insisted there are “no limits” to where his young side can go in this tourney. They certainly will enter the last 16 without a hint of fear, even if they will be without Scott Brown .”

“The reaction of the travelling army said it all. They nervously counted down the clock behind Artur Boruc after Filippo Inzaghi’s goal had put Milan in front and made their team’s plight too perilous for comfort. There was a lack of interest from the locals who arrived at the San Siro in dribs and drabs until it was, at best, half full. And when they took their seats they found that Carlo Ancelotti had opted to drop an entire defence, a keeper and a striker. Yes, for the Italians at least, it was that kind of night. Low key and all a bit of a fuss about nothing. For Celtic and their followers, however, it seldom gets any bigger .”

“Brown blazed wastefully across the face of goal on 56 minutes after a long ball from McManus. The midfield terrier must sit out the first leg after a rash booking for a foul on Clarence Seedorf. But that and Inzaghi’s 70th-minute winner were the only dark clouds on the night for Celts. Cafu surged to the bye-line and cut the ball back for a trademark tap-in inside the six-yard box. It was tough on Celtic after they had summoned up every ounce of desire, determination and drive. Aiden McGeady almost levelled inside a couple of minutes as Kalac clutched his free kick under the bar after he’d been floored by Massimo Ambrosini. “

“Every now and then, when they could be bothered, Milan would work their way into a dangerous position but these were fleeting, almost half-hearted attacks. It was only when captain Stephen McManus and little menace Scott Brown [Interesting use of adjective there. Presumably this is in contrast to the silky Barry, Charlie Adam and Lee McCulloch] and demanded their attention that they finally began to focus on the job in hand. Incredibly, Celtic cut Milan open with a single punt from McManus that dropped deep inside Milan’s half. Brown was clean through but his sliced shot travelled so wide that it came close to going out for a throw-in.” [Obviously if Davie Weir had made the same pass this would be described as a majestic piece of play worthy of Beckenbauer]

“After another display of his individual brilliance, the samba star probably felt he deserved a goal. Kaka had grabbed the prize and Inzaghi earned the praise. But the glory all belonged to Celtic.“

“Suddenly Celtic were behind and reduced to praying for Benfica to stay strong. To their great delight, those prayers were answered and Celtic could celebrate.”

Yes, Celtic were reduced to begging for help from other teams. So to speak.

Now perhaps the Sun article over-egged it to some extent. I am certainly no cheerleader for that particular Murdoch publication. However what I find particularly interesting is that you have to go to an English source, free of the parochial Scottish environment, to get a positive emphasis on Celtic’s achievement. I think the comparison is interesting and demonstrates just how influential the media can be in shaping fans’ perceptions.

Equally the Daily Record article is, quite frankly, a disgrace. It reads essentially like the comments of a begrudging Rangers supporter. This is exactly the kind of patter I would expect to hear (and did) from my “cream bun” colleagues at work. Almost without exception the media choose to put a negative spin on items relating to Celtic.

Take the comments Daniel Cousin allegedly made recently. I watched the footage from the pre-Lyon press conference on Sky where a journalist raised the matter with Barry Ferguson. The question was accompanied by gentle laughter coarsing through the press pack in the same way you might chuckle at a friend being gently teased among friends in the pub. Barry himself smiled wryly and replied that Cousin had denied these comments and that was the end of the matter as far as the Rangers players were concerned. No further comments on the matter were reported in the media. Case closed. Forget that this is the same sort of concern that was emanating from Murray Park under PLG (Monster Munch?)

Compare with the reaction to Artur Boruc’s alleged disparaging remarks about team mates last year. Strachan was hounded by the press who were practically offering him 10p to call Artur’s taxi to the airport. This story also dragged on for a week or more accompanied by a lot of kite flying about where Artur was off to and how this would adversely effect Celtic.

To use the English angle again - I recall watching our CL home tie against Lyon at Celtic Park in 2003. When Liam Miller scored the first goal Archie McPherson mentioned something about the irony of the player scoring with his head as he wasn’t very good in the air. It wasn’t until I watched a re-run later in the evening with one of the English commentators covering the game, I realised that Celtic had actually completed over 20 passes in the build up to the goal!

Not only was this commented on in glowing terms but back in the studio the pundits (including ex-hun Ray Wilkins) were congratulating Celtic on a passage of play worthy of Real Madrid et al. STV’s motley crew of Archie, Andy Walker, Charlie Nick and Gerry McNee did not see fit to comment in a similar vein. In actual fact, due to parochial blindness they probably couldn’t actually comprehend the quality of Celtic’s play for fixating on Lyon’s “superior” technical ability or Neil Lennon being niggly.

Talking of Lyon, have you stopped laughing yet?

Keith Jackson and the Rectumsport staff staff
on hearing the result of Shakhtar v Benfica.

More paranoid ranting available at www.celticparanoia.blogspot.com

 

TONY BANANAS & HACKWATCHER