When Martin O’Neill stepped into Celtic Park in the summer of 2000, I don’t think even he could have predicted the incredible footballing revolution that was to follow.
One quote from that initial media blitz has stuck with me almost a quarter of century later.
O’Neill said, when asked about his expectations for the season ahead, “Rangers are the benchmark”.
It was a benchmark which didn’t stand for long, as a matter of weeks later we smashed six goals past this “benchmark” and the world class team they’d assembled with money they never had.
The rest, as they say, is history.
On Our Own Domestically
I mentioned in a previous article that Celtic no longer have any genuine rivals in Scotland. We might lose a game here and there, but ultimately, even the best teams in the world do so on occasion. Over a season such results do little to impact a team’s general dominance.
So, it should be obvious to all now that Rangers (or whatever we call that carcass of a club that currently resides at the stadium John Brown played for) are no longer the benchmark for Celtic.
So where do we go from here? What standard should Celtic set for themselves for the next few years?
As brave as our showing against Bayern Munich was the fact remains, we are now out of the UEFA Champions League for this season.
The consensus among sensible sports journalists, i.e. those outside Scotland, is that Celtic performed admirably but that in doing so we punched well above our proverbial weight.
Too Big For Scotland, Too Wee for Europe?
I’ve heard a few supporters comment in recent days that, it’s almost a shame that we can’t drop down into the Europa League anymore. This Celtic team, many of them think, would have a good go at winning it. The Champions League however, with some teams backed by entire nation states, remains a bridge too far, at least under the current structure.
So, Celtic appear to be in something of a no man’s land. Too big for our domestic league, big enough to qualify for the Champions League most of the time, but not realistically strong enough yet to go to the later stages of the competition.
However, I don’t see it staying that way for long. Let me elaborate as to why I think so.
Change is Coming, It’s Inevitable
As exciting as the changes to this season’s Champions League group stage have been, it is clearly just a holding position for UEFA.
Fan pressure halted the rise of a European Super League a couple of years ago, but the idea hasn’t gone away. The originators of that initial, aborted plan are already pitching new ideas, with more clubs included, and the prospect of multiple tiers, allowing relegation and promotion.
Celtic haven’t commented publicly, but regardless of what some of us may think of our club’s board, they are far too astute not to be privy to the current clandestine negotiations taking place among Europe’s elite clubs.
Ultimately TV money will dictate where things go next.
Fans Deserve Better
There seems to finally be something of an awakening south of the border, that English football fans are being overcharged and underappreciated by their clubs and the TV companies.
The last time there was such vocal discontent with English football’s governance was in the early nineties. This led to the formation of the Premier League, and a few short months later, the inaugural UEFA Champions League.
Something has to give in the current climate. After all, it&s not just Celtic who are feeling left behind in the current set up. All across Europe, historically huge clubs from outwith the “big 5 leagues” feel alienated.
We might not be on the same level as Bayern Munich (yet). But we can and should compare ourselves to the likes of Ajax, Benfica, Club Brugge, Red Star Belgrade, Panathinaikos, I think you get the picture. Celtic are now part of that tranche of second tier elite European teams.
We share massive fanbases, and the potential for far more. However, we lack the domestic TV money that the likes of England, Spain and Germany continue to command.
Could a European Super League 2nd Division be in our near future?
Maybe.
The New Benchmark
Personally, I would much rather have us face off against teams with passionate, engaged fanbases like all those clubs mentioned above every midweek, than continue to play the rigged game with historically smaller clubs like Man City and Chelsea.
These, along with many other clubs in the “big 5” leagues have been elevated above their previous mediocrity purely to stand as playthings for their billionaire owners, or in the case of clubs like PSG and Newcastle, as sports-washing vehicles for nations with even more penalties to their names than Rangers.
Someday soon all those rich men with endless suitcases of ill-gotten cash will get bored, and then where will these clubs go? Without constant cash injections, their current levels simply aren’t sustainable.
Celtic’s board certainly aren’t perfect. Indeed I will probably write dozens of articles in the weeks and months ahead outlining exactly where and why I disagree with them.
But the board certainly aren’t stupid. Celtic have a solid foundation. So, when this TV money-driven house of cards inevitably collapses, taking several supposedly bigger clubs with it, Celtic will be just fine.
Then maybe, just maybe, the genuinely big clubs will rule European football once again.
As for Celtic’s benchmark, well I think it has to be to continue to grow each season. We made the top 24 this season. Let’s try to at least go one better next time!