Celtic secured the Glasgow cup last night as the Under 17 side defeated an under 17 side from the newest incarnation of an old foe by 1-0.

Aidan Nesbitt scored the winning goal after 67 or 73 minutes, depending on which report you read, which alarmingly makes you wonder of theres going to be anything else which may not be reported correctly,  but the headlines were dominated by those fans of old Rangers who have attached themselves to the new club desperately trying to continue old rivalries. It makes them feel important.

Seats were broken, flares let off and smoke bombs clouded the air as the Ibrox hordes had a night out at a big teams ground.

The press, anxious to apportion blame and have the culprits dealt with , seemed to forget to, er, apportion blame so that the culprits can be dealt with.

The Scottish Sun led the way, with this picture , taken at Hamburg v Celtic.

Which shows some Celtic fans and some flares. Just not the ones from last night. Which might be because there were no flares let off by Celtic fans, or it may be that some were, but there are no photies.

The Sun stuck in a photo just in case. The implication, however is clear.

Lisa Gray, in the Mail, said;

Smoke bombs, flares and ripped out seats once again marred the Glasgow Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers’ youth teams.

So, who did it ?

The trouble occurred just 12 months after similar scenes when the sides met at the neutral venue of Firhill in last season’s final.

Right, so who did it ?

Over 8,000 fans crammed into the main stand at Celtic Park in search of an Old Firm fix in the continued absence of the senior derby.

And why is there an absence?  Its because the Old Firm doesn’t exist any more. Perhaps its worth reminding people of this.

Hard to tell from that who is responsible, although there is a chap who looks suspiciously like Neil Doncaster beneath the flare. He’s on record as saying that Scotland needed the Old Firm. Perhaps he was there for his “fix ” 

But the atmosphere, which was relatively calm to begin with, grew increasingly heated as the opening 45 minutes progressed.

Relatively calm?

 One man, watching the Ibrox hordes descend on Celtic Park with a police escort, was plainly terrified;

Flares and smoke bombs were set off among both sets of supporters and, by half–time, member of the media, who were concerned for their safety, were offered seats in the directors’ box for the second half.

As usual, two sides of the same coin, Wait, what about the seats ? Who broke them ? After all, Gray includes two photos of the damage in her report…..

At times, it was easy to forget this was an Under-17s match as police were forced to intervene in order to maintain calm.

On the pitch, Rangers were first to attack. A long ball from David Brownlie was collected by Ryan Hardie and his low drive was blocked by the alert Sam Wardrop.

Celtic responded through a superb 25–yard strike from Regan Hendry, which cracked off the post.

The ‘home’ side opened the scoring after 73 minutes when Aidan Nesbitt pounced on the loose ball following a goal–mouth scramble and sent a half volley past goalkeeper Robby McCrorie from 16 yards.

The implication is clear. It was both sets of fans. 

The Scotsman, opting not to tell us who penned this report, had their version;

Fan tension clouds win

AFTER the City of Glasgow Cup final which was won 1-0 by Celtic at their home ground against Rangers if was confirmed that damage had been caused to the ground in the area where Ibrox fans had been situated.

Oh, come on. Just say it. They broke the seats. 

After the game tens of seats were damaged as Rangers fans exited the stadium.

Ibrox youth coach Billy Kirkwood said afterwards: “What happens in the stands is nothing to do with us.

Its your support. Its what they do. At the very least Kirkwood could tell them off.

Unfortunately that’s society at the moment. That’s the bigger picture and it’s not just Rangers and Celtic. I wish I had a magic wand to know how to combat it.

Again the implication that we are two sides of the same coin. Go on, tell me again how much you miss them…..

“There’s going to be a time when Rangers are going to play Celtic at first-team level and all I can say to that is, oh dear.”

Fortunately, there isn’t. The AIM, according to a drunk chap we know, says that trading in their shares will shortly be suspended. It might not happen until next month, but on the bright side, its the twenty ninth of this month already. Know anyone with a shit load of shares he might suddenly need to get rid of ?

Quick, speak to your broker….

Well, what did he say ? 

Listen, take no notice. Everything will be fine. Hang on to your shares, We are the people, etc….Too big to go under…but look, mums the word…

However, its worth noting the Ibrox clubs complete nonchalance about the damage caused by their support, and makes you want to get down on your knees and thank Dundee United for preventing them from getting to the Cup Final in May. 

So, we need to turn to the Record, and John Dingwall, for some balanced and honest reportage;

Sectarian hatred, flares and smoke bombs mar

Glasgow Cup Final between Celtic and Rangers’

youth teams

Well, I wasn’t hopeful… 

THE only Old Firm game of the season was played in a cauldron of sectarian hatred last night.

Two halves, etc….and yet when there was a chance to end this hatred, the authorities decided to prop up a bankrupt ( both morally and financially, but especially financially. Actually, especially morally as well )  institution and allow them, with the help of a compliant press, to pretend that nothing had happened. In fact, they are positively looking forward to this “showpiece”  of the Scottish game returning. 

The match involving Rangers and Celtic youth teams prompted an outpouring of bile to shame Scotland – and violence was only contained by a strong police presence.

The Glasgow Cup final at Celtic Park should have been a showcase of young talent on both
sides, but thugs spoiled the occasion and police feared it would turn into a full-scale riot.

As the match kicked off, a group of Rangers casuals with scarves over their faces and a number of Celtic fans tried to break through segregated areas after goading each other with sectarian songs.

None of these so-called supporters paid any attention to the game, preferring to stand with their backs to the action to spew their venom at their rivals.

Aawww, they’ve missed each other. Seriously, what did they expect ? One lot have been told they are the same club, and have been actively encouraged to believe that the world is against them, and they have been wronged in some way. 

The other lot appear to be equally anxious that the toxic brands -and by this I mean both Rangers and the Old Firm tag-is allowed to carry on as normal. 

More worryingly, no one is doing anything about it. When its perfectly obvious where the problem lies.

A smoke bomb was set off by Celtic fans while Rangers fans threw flares and firecrackers.

Presumably so Second Rangers fans couldn’t see what they were throwing at. But in fairness to the Record, they are calling out the perpetrators here.

Sections of the crowd on both sides spent the first 25 minutes taunting each other and chanting vile messages.

Before the half-hour mark, the media were escorted to safety along with neutrals sandwiched between the opposing fans.

Neutrals ? Really ? Are these the sort of people that watch cock fighting ? What is wrong with them ?

Police and stewards also faced a torrent of hate from sections of the 8000-strong crowd.

Witnesses described the atmosphere as “shocking and disgusting”.

One fan said: “Things turned brutal almost from the off.

“If this is an example of what happens at an Old Firm match involving under-17s, God help
us when the clubs meet for real.”

Notice the anticipation  here, also evident in the Scotsman, of a proper “Old Firm ” game. Wow ! Can’t wait…

The Record’s Gordon Parks added: “I’ve covered games for over a decade and have never been so revolted. It’s a kids’ game and should have been the highlight of their footballing careers but the headlines again will be the behaviour of the fans.” 

And quotes from idiots , like Parks, desperate to encourage that particular brand that has, by association,  tarred Celtic for the last hundred years or so.

Before the match had even begun, it was clear the police expected trouble and were desperate to keep the rival fans apart.

Visiting Rangers supporters were “kettled” along London Road to prevent any pre-match clashes.

Police action also ensured the trouble was quelled before the final whistle – but Celtic were left counting the cost last night after dozens of seats were ripped up inside the stadium during the game.

Thugs let off flares and ripped up seats, rival supporters taunted each other during the match and smoke bombs were thrown on the pitch. Seven fans were arrested.

And here is the important bit. Celtic should not be counting the cost at all. Its clear which club is responsible for the damage, which set of “supporters ” . and , if we want to put a stop to it happening again, then the following course of action should be taken;

first, and foremost, a bill should be sent to the Ibrox club. A copy should be posted online, and sent to the press. 

I’ll help.

The bill should look like this;

Increased Stewarding and security                                                                                                                                          £25,000

(n.b. hired at short notice after Police took the decsion to escort the Rangers support to the ground ; )

Removal and cleansing of excess litter, urine and faecal matter from outer stadium area;                                     £150,000

(n.b  includes hire of specialist personnel and equipment, but not insurance and extra health care; )

Insurance and extra health care, as detailed above                                                                                                        £100,000

Removal and cleansing of excess litter, urine and faecal matter from inner stadium area                             £300,000

( n.b includes hire of specialist personnel and equipment, but not insurance and extra health care )

Insurance and extra health care , as detailed above                                                                                                        £100,000

Costs of counselling for those involved in above operations                                                                                          £25,000

Costs of counselling for the families of those involved in above operations, ( and any associated trauma )      £50,000

(n.b. this figure is subject to change depending on the size of the families concerned. )

Cleaning and removing broken or damaged seats                                                                                                        £175,000

Accidental injury claims for those involved in above operation                                                                         £2,000,000

Disinfecting , cleansing and delousing seats not broken or visibly damaged                                                          £75,000

Administration,  legal consultation fees.                                                                                                    £750,000.

Postage and Packing                                                                                                                                                         £1

That comes to £3, 050,001

Send it to them, and if they refuse to pay, take them to court. They can’t afford to defend it, we can push them over the edge.

Oh, and ad 20% on that for VAT. Not that they will know what that is.

Thats enough about them.

Sooner they are gone the better.

Elsewhere, youngster Denny Johnstone is looking at a possible move to Dundee Utd instead of renewing his contract at Celtic Park in the summer. Johnstone has had his head turned by the opportunities given to youngsters at Tannadice, and if he is to leave, then it makes much more sense for him to stay in Scotland.

Kris Commons still hasn’t had his new deal, and its starting to worry him…he has twelve months left on his current one, and despite promises from the club, nothing is on the table yet…

” I think that’s the worst situation you can be in, from a club point of view, and as a player.” he said

“If you go into the last 12 months and you get a serious injury, you might not get a club ever again.

“It’s not a nice position, and it seems to have happened to some of our best players, Sami, Joe, and Hoops was getting into the latter stages of his contract, too,

“The club ends up losing really top players for minimum money.”

Just in case the club missed what he was saying, he continued;

It’s the last position I want to be in, going into the final 12 months or six months without any contact from the club about the future.

“I am hoping over the summer something will get arranged before I do enter the last 12 months of my current contract.

“But I don’t think it is my place to go in there begging for a contract.

“If they want to keep me, they have my number.”

Oh, dear. Somethings not right here. Commons sounds a little miffed, and thats not like him. Maybe the club are reluctant to pay top wages to a thirty year old. After all, the current policy certainly doesn’t reward loyalty, and with Georgios Samaras reportedly being offered a wage cut, then Commons may be right to worry.

Still, we have a professional contracts manager at Celtic, and he’ll know what to do.

One more thing.

Archie Knox, who used to be a coach, has been promoting the Scottish FA grassroots Awards. Instead of talking about them, however, he was allowed to harp on about Ally McCoist and the troubles he has;

Well done Anthony Haggerty , of the Record. Instead of highlighting those who put in hours of work unnoticed, lets talk about a club that did its level best to destroy the game in Scotland.

ARCHIE KNOX says he has every sympathy for Ally McCoist and insists the Rangers boss is doing a “phenomenal” job.

Two people, interviewer and interviewee who really should have checked the meaning of “phenomenal ” before going to print

Knox, Walter Smith’s assistant in the trophy-laden 1990s, coached Ibrox stars such as Paul Gascoigne and Brian Laudrup.

But the ex-Motherwell and Aberdeen No.2 reckons he wouldn’t have been able to work under the same financial constraints as McCoist is enduring.

Does he mean paying tax on players wages ?

Knox said: “Ally and his staff have done a phenomenal job. In my day at this stage of the season you would be well down the road looking at new signing targets for next season.

“Ally can’t get started with any of that and we are at the end of the season so it is really unfair.

He can’t get started because they have no money. I need to get the weeks shopping done, but my wages aren’t in the bank yet.  Its so unfair.

“It is unfair to the supporters as well – who are they going to be watching next season? I really don’t know how Ally manages it.

Well, it won’t be Rangers. They died a couple of years ago.

“It must be difficult to bear for him having been part of a terrific team, a terrific club, the whole lot – having had good success and then having to start his managerial career from where he had to start it.

“I saw him after the Stranraer game and he was in good humour as he always is. But it is a no-win situation for Ally.

Like his Cup matches.

“He has to get out of the Championship next season and everybody will be asking when he is going to win the Premiership.

Everybody ? Surely not those blessed with a sense of reality ?

“Until Rangers are back in a position where they’re going to be able to compete, Celtic are going to win the league.

So, give them all the help they need, or those pesky taigs  will win everything.

“I don’t envy Ally his job at all and it is the same for Neil Lennon at Celtic.

“Neither he nor Ally get any credit for winning the league, none whatsoever

Lennon has , surprisingly , had a wee bit of credit for a superb league campaign. McCoist won’t get any credit because so far its cost them £70m to get the new club where they are. And therefore doesn’t deserve any.

Knox was at a grassroots heroes match for the SFA and McDonald’s Grassroots Awards. Nominate at mcdonalds.co.uk/awards .

Was he ? You wouldn’t have thought so. Could this sort of report be the reason that any backers are unhappy with the return they get from Scottish football ?

Seriously, two lines at the bottom of a piece praising a man who presides over one part of the latest chapter in the greatest sporting scandal in history ?

Vidar Riseth, young and fresh faced, was pictured in  yesterdays diary.

Heres another smiling and happy chappy.

Who is he ?