Celtic fans just can’t help rubbernecking as the Ibrox clown car crashes headlong into a wall on the first weekend of the season
Eric Knott 
(Photo by Craig Williamson/SNS Group via Getty Images)
Holy hell, you’ve got to ask yourself, can it get any better than it did already this weekend over Ibrox way?
Have we reached peak batshit craziness on weekend one, and will it cool down after that?
Or will we get plenty more of the same?
Thus confirming that the Banter Years will continue indefinitely.
I know my readership will have noted that I haven’t been doing much Ibrox bashing of late.
That’s because our own club is giving me plenty to talk about.
But its refreshing today to be able to reflect on what was an hilarious weekend from our supposed main rivals.
All I can say is keep it coming.
Now, as we said on last night’s podcast, there’s no reason, despite the fact there is plenty to talk about when it comes to our own club, that we can’t get some comic relief from Ibrox.
And boy, did they give that to us in spades on Saturday.
If Motherwell had just been a smidgin more clinical against the Ibrox side, they could easily have beaten them 3 or even 4-1.
The away side were subjected to an onslaught in the second half, which unfortunately in the final third, seemed to continuously end with Panathinaikos levels of finishing.
In the end, it took Motherwell’s left back Emmanuel Longelo, after being on the flat on his arse on the Fir Park turf, to get up and slam an unstoppable shot into Super Jack Butland’s bottom right hand corner.
Not long after that, Tom Sparrow had a gilt edged chance to secure the win for ‘Well, but he fluffed his lines and made it easy for Super Jack.
On another day, it could have been a tanking.
As soon as the final whistle blew, the recriminations started to flowing in over on Follow Follow.
Martin wouldn’t make it till Christmas, they said.
Well, if they hadn’t taken to the new Ibrox manager before Saturday, they sure as hell won’t be taking to him after his insane post match interview.
Russell Martin really did go off on one.
But as I said on last night’s podcast, nothing he actually said was wrong.
The problem is, he said it too early.
The concession of this season’s title to Celtic, if that comes about, would have been the right time to come out with a rant like that.
But as is the way with all things Ibrox, it was too much, too soon.
Just as Max Aarons stated that against Panathinaikos they showed the mentality of “Champions”, the manager showed us who he has it in for after game three of the season.
And then Russell Martin decided to try and back track on it all in yesterday’s pre-match conference, stating that his comments came from a place of “love”.
When you thought it couldn’t get any more batshit over there, it just goes up another level.
Tonight, they face Viktoria Plzen in their second Champions League qualifier.
Something tells me that the Czech side might be a little more clinical going forward than Motherwell were on Saturday.
If they invite the kind of pressure onto themselves that they did at Fir Park, they could be in for a rough night.
And if there’s another clown car crash in the offing at Ibrox tonight, then you can be sure us Celtic fans will be rubber necking again.
I mean, we just can’t help it.
Can you blame us though?
No, I didn’t think so.
Aren’t the Banter Years just the best?
Eric as much as I love a bit of laughing at the Ibrox club’s expense we’re in no position to be throwing stones at the moment as we’re a car crash in the making if we don’t get two wingers in before the window closes we’re deep in dog poo ourselves. This board simply has to go but how? We’ve got no way of ousting them unless the supporters storm Celtic Park and throw them out manually, obviously I’m not advocating that but it seems to me a possibility if things keep going from bad to worse. We should be light years ahead of the TRIFC but because of this boards penchant for hoarding money we’re now playing at being a football club and acting like the business side is more important, these clowns are holding us back because we could be so, so much more than they’re allowing us to be. Success domestically is all good and well and our bread and butter but the CL is where the real money is so why then is our club being so obtuse about us getting there, every year it’s the same story wait to see if we get there before spending money. One day another of the other clubs is going to get it’s act together and win the league all because of a board who can’t be arsed and because they think we’ve got enough domestically to sweep up. If that day beckons these people have no clue what a shitshow they’re in for they’re playing with fire and when you do that you need to prepare to get burnt, I wish DD would sell up and get the fu*k out of Dodge because he obviously doesn’t care any more about Celtic.
Arguably, DD never cared about Celtic at any point, Torky58. He gets his half million sovs in dividends each year. Tis a mere investment. Be careful what you wish for though. There’s a lot worse than DD out there. What DD should be doing, is backing BR 100%…and booting that perfidious clown Lawwell out of Parkhead.
Hail Hail.
The reason Celtic don’t have to deal with charlatans like Murray, King, Whyte, The Yanks and last but not least, The great founder of the embryo club is because of Dermot Desmond.
Now I agree that the board should have an annual transfer budget, whether they value previous players successfully or not.
However I think it’s pretty clever what their doing, whilst it is a risk, if we do qualify for the group stage of the CL then we can attract the superior players we deserve, due to them getting to play between say 8 – 12 games in the elite competition and not just the hard sell of the SPFL.
HH
Ye I agree with everything you said but don’t you think it’s been the same saga over @over nothing changes at all at parkhead a day will come it’s got to happen
@Dando
Delusional nonsense.
Dando
Brendan has already said that not being in the champs league is not the reason for players not coming to Celtic. Its on the board obviously
Martin
says:
4th August 2025 at 11:58 pm
St stivs,
Would love to join you at the next Greenock Celtic event.
My ma and family from there.
I was raised mostly in Germany so have not been.
————–
where are you based Martin ?
and where is Germany were you raised, I worked there loads of times.
The Greenock Celtic club is a great experience when they host an event, amazing hosts, great dinners, brilliant Celtic speakers.
If you are ver coming to Scotland, make the trip co-incide with an event.
Let me know if you are ever coming here. Happy to tour Greenock if it is of interest to you.
Well,Erik.
As much as I like a laugh at the huns expense I think we are in grave danger of being the ones who get the final custard pie in the kisser if they continue to wend their merry way to Champions League riches and us failing to get over a hurdle most of us would have given our eye teeth for prior to Monday’s draw.
I didn’t watch their game last night but a 3-0 scoreline is a pretty good place to be going into the 2nd leg next Wednesday.
I’ve been thinking about this for the past couple of weeks, the nightmare scenario,with them qualifying and us oot on oor solid gold arses due to the unnecessary gambling going on in the Celtic boardroom.
Could THAT be the final straw for our somnambulistic fanbase to finally wake up and chase these money grabbing bastards out of G40 for ever ?
Laughing at the thing you say doesn’t exist 😀 ps why are the fans of “the club where Jim torbett worked ” so mad about Rangers stories 🤔 As a lad and his family said to me on holiday 2 weeks ago ” The disgusting lot in Glasgows East end have no shame they still follow that team despite what has come out in March ” I said they have no shame OFFENDED BY EVERYTHING ASHAMED OF NOTHING