Ibrox, a weak mentality and the epitome of a sunk cost fallacy. Celtic, masters of strength, in mentality, and in depth….

One of the biggest aspects of a strong mentality is the ability to admit your faults. For to be able to do that, you then have the ability to learn from your faults, something the Ibrox club is currently incapable of.

If you cannot recognise those faults, you are doomed to repeat them, over, and over again.

In 2012, the Ibrox side had the opportunity to become something new.

Something different to that which had spent and cheated it’s way into the grave.

Instead, they chose to be a mimic.

A simple analogy to describe the Ibrox side is this, they are like a non-alcoholic beer.

Let’s just say that the dead club was an alcoholic beer, and the new club is a non-alcoholic beer.

It tastes the same, it looks the same, but it just isn’t quite right.

Critically, and above all else, it is incapable of giving you the same hit an alcoholic beer can.

Just as the current Ibrox entity is incapable of giving the Ibrox fans the kind of hit the dead club did.

But it’s the never ending hope that they will eventually, somehow, get back to where the old club was, that keeps them all hanging on.

Which in reality, was a period of success built on cheating and other people’s money.

The idea that they could emulate that should be something they run a mile from.

God knows they’ve tried, and look where it’s got them since 2012?

The current Ibrox entity to it’s fanbase is the definition of a sunk cost fallacy.

They know follow following the club they love costs them a lot of time, money, energy and emotion.

For very little in return.

Three trophies in almost 13 years pretty much sums that up.

Giving up would be an easier option, but they persevere, despite what it costs.

The Ibrox club itself is also the definition of a sunk cost fallacy.

It has tried, despite the complete and utter folly of doing so, to emulate the old club.

The end result is huge investment, in the tens of millions, with little or no return.

Well, three trophies, and tens of millions in losses, to be exact.

A sunk cost fallacy is always the result of a weak mentality.

Because people who persist in following a lost cause, at great personal and emotional cost, are weak in mentality.

Too weak to admit to themselves that it is exactly that, a lost cause.

They live on past glories, and hope against hope to one day relive those past glories.

But it rarely, if ever, happens.

Yesterday, in the Record, Scott McDermott was attempting to relive those past glories.

He decided that the Ibrox side and Manchester United were going through very much the same thing at the moment.

I tried hard not laugh when I read the opening paragraphs.

Have a look for yourself:

When it comes to finance one of them is in a different stratosphere to the other. But in football terms? The similarities are really quite striking.

Manchester United and R*****s. It wasn’t so long ago these two were regarded as the biggest clubs in Britain. Top of the tree north and south of the border. The quintessential champions. That was 30 years ago, though. Now, it’s a different story for both of them. Yet you can’t help but feel this pair are like two of the game’s most kindred spirits.

That second paragraph is an exercise in contradiction.

It wasn’t so long ago?

30 years?

Well in my book, that’s quite a while ago.

The quintessential champions?

Alright, here’s the definition of quintessential:

Representing the most perfect or typical example of a quality or class.

Now Manchester United definitely represented that under Alex Ferguson in the 90’s.

But Rangers 1872?

Reference Celtic Park, May 2nd 1999, around the same time Manchester United did their famous treble.

Could the behaviour of the Rangers 1872 players that day be described as class?

Or crass?

If you remember that day, you’ll know exactly what I’m referring to.

As for kindred spirits?

Don’t make me laugh.

To be fair to McDermott, he does his very best to keep up the pretense that these clubs were as big and as successful as each other.

Which in itself, is farcical.

But we’ll go along with it for the shits and giggles anyway.

It’s this particular line that ties in with what I’ve spoken about earlier in this article:

Previously, they were both renowned for being mentality monsters. Now? They’re more like gentle giants.

Under Alex Ferguson, Manchester United were the perfect example of mentality monsters, there’s no disputing that.

As for Rangers 1872?

Their domination of the 1990’s was very much built on an inferiority complex, and the weak mentality of a man who was more like Walter Mitty, than the big successful business man he portrayed himself to be.

David Murray desperately wanted to win the European Cup.

He couldn’t bear the fact that Celtic had old big ears in their trophy cabinet, and his club did not.

So desperate was he to win it, he spent millions and millions of cash that was not his own, in pursuit of the Holy Grail.

Other people’s money.

Bank of Scotland’s to be precise, and of course, plenty of help from his good friend, Gavin Masterton.

Never be fooled into believing they came close to winning the first ever Champions League in 1993.

They didn’t.

And so desperate was Murray to see the back of Celtic, in March 1994, he and Masterton colluded to try and close Celtic.

But they failed miserably in their attempt, as Fergus McCann swooped in to save the club with an eleventh hour rescue package.

That was the beginning of the end of Rangers 1872’s domination.

As for their weak mentality, that came to the fore on the 9th of May 1998.

Their bid for 10 in a row was stopped by a Celtic side with a fraction of the resources they had, and a playing squad that was cobbled together in the aftermath of the losses of Paolo di Canio, Jorge Cadete, and Pierre van Hooijdonk.

When Celtic paid £750,000 for a Swedish striker named Henrik Larsson and a nominal fee for Hibernian’s Darren Jackson, most fans thought it was a poor attempt to replace the strikers the club had let go in the summer of ’97.

Nobody held out much hope for stopping the 10.

Rangers 1872 were spending millions to ensure they landed their 10th title, thus eclipsing Celtic’s achievement of 9 in a row under Jock Stein.

Murray was desperate

Players like Lorenzo Amoruso from Fiorentina, Marco Negri and Gennaro Gattuso from Perugia, and Sergio Porrini from Juventus were recruited.

But alas, they fell short in the end.

Henrik Larsson and a little known striker from Norway, purchased in December 1997, scored the goals to seal a 2-0 victory over a decent St. Johnstone side, thus securing Celtic’s first title since 1988.

Harald Brattbakk gained legendary status for scoring the second goal that day.

He only played 44 times for the club, with a modest return of 12 goals.

But he will always be remembered for his goal on that fateful May afternoon.

As for the other guy who scored that day.

There’s not much I need to say there, is there?

You all know the story.

And the Rangers 1872 side who bottled 10 in a row, despite the millions they spent to try and secure it?

Scott McDermott would have you believe they were the “mentality monsters” of the 90’s, on a par with Alex Ferguson’s legendary Manchester United side.

That in itself is an insult to Alex Ferguson and all he achieved at Manchester United.

The fact that they cheated their way, on an industrial scale, to oblivion in the early part of this century is something the likes of Scott McDermott would rather sweep under the rug.

Nothing to discuss here, move on.

McDermott is right about one thing though.

This current entity has an extremely weak mentality.

A mentality formed by an inferiority complex which stems from a dominant Celtic, and the ever present spectre of the dead club.

They so desperately want be something which ultimately succumbed to Celtic.

Therein lies the irony in all of this.

What’s even more ironic is the fact that they are succeeding in being exactly what they wish to be.

Another Ibrox entity which succumbs to Celtic.

A Celtic that is so strong in mentality, shows such strength in depth, both on and off the pitch, that barring a major catastrophe, Ibrox will remain forever more in our shadow.

Thus ensuring that they remain a sunk cost fallacy for all of those involved with them.

The fans, the board, and yes, even the players.

Hell, how could you not have a weak mentality when that’s what you have to face?

I might feel sorry for them, but I can never do that.

All it takes is a game at Ibrox, with the sectarian songbook in full flow, to make me realise why I will never, ever feel sorry for them.

The first club dug it’s own grave.

The second one is doing a damn good job at emulating that feat.

Time for a good strong alcoholic beer, I think.

To accompany watching Celtic pull 16 points clear at the top of the table.

Cheers.

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