Soccer Football - Scottish League Cup - Final - Rangers v Celtic - Hampden Park, Glasgow, Scotland, Britain - February 26, 2023 Rangers manager Michael Beale speaks to his players after the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith
When the league title is won by your city rivals with four matches left to play most supporters would keep a low profile, take the disappointment and hope that things can be turned around next season.
Except for viewers in Scotland.
Inspired by Kenny Miller’s calculator and an army of media messengers the SPFL table has been taken apart with the only relevant part the one that is favourable to the man in charge of failure at Ibrox.
Beale inherited a nine point deficit. He had three SPFL matches against Celtic to come with two of them at Ibrox, when Celtic clinched the title at Tynecastle they were 13 points ahead. The lead had been increased.
Had Beale won at home to Celtic in January and beaten Aberdeen away in April he could have pushed the SPFL title into the closing matches. He didn’t, he failed.
He had two cup competitions to win and failed in both of them. Giovanni van Bronckhorst handed him a semi-final place in the Viaplay Cup, Beale failed again, selecting John Lundstram and Glen Kamara ahead of Nico Raskin and Todd Cantwell.
The post mortem that is going on at Ibrox excuses Beale from his failings, it seems to have gone un-noticed that five legends left the club last week with just an injury prone former Everton starlet taking his place.
Jonjo Kenny was the last former Everton starlet to try his luck in Glasgow- not many Celtic fans are trying to state a case for his inclusion on the Balon D’or shortlist.
The damage was done in the league pre Beale. Any honest Celtic fan would see that we were the better team in all the old firms since he’s arrived. And an even more honest fan would say that Clancy robbed Rangers at CP. that Morelos goal should have stood.
— Brodie (@brodiewhit1) May 29, 2023
Beale managed 23 of 38 games. He blew the season. Couldn’t beat who he needed to and the team he needed to didn’t get beat until after the league was signed sealed and in the post ?
— Cadsy (@thecaddies7) May 29, 2023
…and yet Celtic stand on the cusp of yet another treble.
— Johnny_Scotland © ??????? (@Johnny_Sctland) May 29, 2023
— Mr Klaatu (@McKlaatu) May 29, 2023
Really? When Beale came in he had 21 league games to play 3 Derbys (2 at Ibrox) the league was won when he had 4 left.
Ange beat him in the Cups! pic.twitter.com/73kG7ZyCco— denny doc (@DDoc67) May 30, 2023
This is a man ( Pep Beale )who took over a team that had got to a European fonal and that we were told was fantastic, so he has not done that well.
— jamsie cotter (@johnmack12345) May 29, 2023
You’re not seriously claiming Rangers were the better team in the league Cup final, surely? ?
While I think that free kick was a bit soft, it was a clear two handed push. 9 times out of 10 the defending side would get a free kick for that incident.— Cosmic Funker (@CosmicFunker) May 30, 2023
Huns know fuck all about football; never have, never will.
It’s not in their trrrrrrrradition.
It’s the old Gordon ‘ nothing to see here Guv’ ‘ Smith school of mathematics ,isn’t it ? Years ago Celtic were 13 points clear from the Rangers ,but the numbers guru had his outfit 1point ahead if results had been ‘different !’ Rob McLean sitting in the studio with Smith opposite was grinning and nodding in agreement with his idol like the old Admiral bulldog …. Ohh yeshhh. !
The stats that matter are the one’s that win competitions, after the event has no bearing on what could have been.
The authors of these type of stories must sit giggling at the garbage they think up.
Give us some meat on the bone stuff not this drivel.