Celtic’s humiliation exposes the miserable state of Scottish football Celtic

The laughter from Dortmund to Durness was unmistakable. The tribal nature of Scottish football combined with Celtic’s dominance of the same scene means that results such as the 7-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday are widely celebrated. Petty and narrow-minded but completely understandable.

The problem is that another horrific night for Celtic provided the latest picture of the miserable state of Scottish football. There is no point in enjoying the scenario that Celtic are facing because the predicament they constantly find themselves in facing serious competition says everything about the form in Scotland.

The Ran are also advertised, and similarly prehistoric tactics, with almost no youth development. Officials approve substandard work permit applications for foreign imports, which either prevents the progression of Scottish talent or serves as a tacit admission that local players are not of good enough standard in the first place. Governance is lazy, dictated by clubs that long ago lost the drive to look at the broader picture.

With injuries and a loss of form to Steve Clarke, Scotland are feeling the pinch of a severe lack of adequate resources. Celtic’s European turmoil is closely linked to the national team’s turmoil. Alarm bells should have been ringing on both fronts long ago. Instead, having had ample opportunity to reform, Scottish football emerged from the pandemic in a similarly ominous state to how it entered it.

Celtic are outshining all their local rivals – even that term seems unfair – on and off the pitch. Liam Scales could look like Franco Baresi and Callum McGregor to Zinedine Zidane against players who will struggle to find a platform in the Premier League. Those in green and white will inevitably have forgotten about the window-throwing incident at the hands of Dortmund by the time the celebrations are in full swing at Ross County on Sunday when the opposite will be the case. Celtic, aware of the completely useless environment in which they are involved week after week, must lead the charge for revolution.

Their situation is the most miserable of all. It’s not that Celtic need a tougher challenge, it’s that the standard in Scotland has to improve dramatically. Strangely, the Celtic board are not at the forefront of that agenda. Without that, the club is expected to achieve Champions League numbers.

Celtic were favorites to beat Slovan Bratislava in the first round and were handed the win. However, it becomes a pointless exercise, if it crashes spectacularly when the bar is purposefully raised.

To his credit, Brendan Rodgers has dismissed the suggestion that the jump from the Scottish top flight to elite level is virtually impossible. He’s smart enough not to mention the financial gaps. In Scotland they apply even more clearly to his advantage. Football financial expert Kieran Maguire indicated on Wednesday that the cost of the Celtic team is 185 times the cost of the St. Johnstone team. Dortmund was six times as many as Celtic.

Celtic fans, out of fear that their team’s achievements will not be properly recognised, take issue with criticism of what happens at their home ground. As a well-run, self-sufficient club, Celtic have no reason to apologize to anyone for the advantages they enjoy. However, the frequently made point that the other leagues – France, England, Germany, Spain and Italy – have dominant powers ignores the fact that the leading teams there are among the best in Europe.

Not only are Celtic miles away, but Dundee United will be embarrassed by Newcastle, Motherwell by Rennes, Kilmarnock by Torino, etc. Hibs faced Aston Villa last season and lost 8-0 on aggregate.

There is excitement, understandably, about Tony Bloom’s involvement with Hearts. Brighton owner Jamestown’s analytics company could provide a much-needed boost to the Scottish scene. What is more interesting in the short term is how that company rates Hearts players compared to those who play for similar clubs in Europe. The spreadsheet will almost certainly provide a realistic reading.

There are related subplots. Rodgers adopted a similar game plan in Dortmund to the one used in the 6-0 trot at St Johnstone days earlier. There was misplaced confidence regarding the theory that Celtic could repeat it against last season’s Champions League runners-up, which is what happened in Perth.

Rodgers has suffered a lot of European shocks due to fluke. The manager needs to have a realistic plan B. Celtic lack a dominant, ball-winning midfielder, partly because they do not need a home-grown player. The gap between the top clubs and the rest is unlikely to be masked by the new Champions League format; Bayern Munich scored nine goals against Dinamo Zagreb, and the comprehensive wins achieved by Manchester City and Barcelona this week tell us as much.

Rangers supporters strongly object to being dragged into the European problems plaguing their great rivals. Reaching the Europa League final in 2022 and generally strong performances in that environment gives them a reason to brag. What Rangers would rather ignore is the 2022-23 Champions League campaign when they failed to pick up a point and fell to a goal difference of less than 20. In August 2023, PSV Eindhoven knocked them out in the Champions League qualifiers.

Laugh at Celtic by all means. Ultimately, if you’re a Scottish football fan, the joke’s on you. The parlous state of the national sport provides no reason for comedy.