Cundy’s Celtic Contempt Exposed by Man United’s Shambles
United’s Como humiliation raises an awkward question for pundits who repeatedly put Celtic’s right to compete in Europe on trial.
Phillip Cooney 
After Celtic lost by the same scoreline against Benfica, Jason Cundy accused us of having “disgraced UK football”.
Now one of England’s wealthiest clubs has suffered its own European dismantling. Will that produce questions about whether United should bother entering Europe? Or is that particular treatment reserved for clubs whose television income fails to impress the talkSPORT studio?
Celtic supporters know our European failings
Let us establish something immediately. Celtic’s European record deserves criticism.
I have watched enough defensive collapses to have little patience for excuses. Supporters should demand better recruitment, stronger performances and a team capable of competing beyond Scotland.
However, acknowledging our failures does not oblige us to accept every sneering dismissal from an English radio studio.
Celtic can perform badly without Scottish football becoming worthless. That distinction appears beyond some pundits whenever another opportunity for ridicule arrives.
Benfica are hardly European nobodies
Benfica have won the European Cup twice and reached its final seven times. Their standing in continental football is beyond serious dispute.
Losing heavily in Lisbon hurts. Nevertheless, treating that defeat as evidence that Celtic should barely bother participating also shows remarkably little respect for Benfica.
Como, meanwhile, are competing in their first Champions League campaign. They deserve enormous credit for their progress and for dismantling United.
Their European pedigree is plainly different from Benfica’s. That makes United’s defeat an uncomfortable backdrop for anyone presenting Celtic’s loss as proof of uniquely Scottish inadequacy.
Cundy’s Celtic contempt follows a familiar pattern
This argument stretches back years.
In October 2022, Cundy placed Celtic in Europe’s “fourth tier”.
After the 6–0 defeat at Atletico Madrid in November 2023, Jamie O’Hara questioned the point of Celtic entering the Champions League. Indeed, talkSPORT’s own podcast description advertised precisely that argument.
Following the 7–1 defeat in Dortmund in October 2024, Cundy accused Celtic of embarrassing Scottish and British football.
Now, after Benfica, we are supposedly a national disgrace again.
Different opponents. Different seasons. The same sweeping leap from Celtic’s performance to Scottish football’s legitimacy.
Those results warranted serious scrutiny. Yet questioning our right to compete is a different argument altogether.
United are getting criticism—so examine its nature
Accuracy matters, especially when challenging someone else’s analysis.
Manchester United have received fierce criticism. talkSPORT’s immediate coverage described their Como defeat as a humiliation and raised the possibility of Michael Carrick losing his job.
Cundy has also attacked United previously. In January 2025, he questioned whether they could win the Scottish Premiership after their narrow victory over Rangers.
Therefore, claiming he never criticises English clubs would be nonsense.
My objection concerns the broader conclusion. United’s failures prompt discussion of their manager, players and recruitment. Celtic’s failures have repeatedly prompted questions about whether we should enter the competition at all.
Why should a Scottish club’s defeat become a verdict on an entire football culture?
Chris Sutton already identified the elitism
Chris Sutton confronted this attitude in November 2023, arguing with Ian Ladyman on It’s All Kicking Off!
He challenged the focus on Celtic during a week when Manchester United had lost in Copenhagen and Newcastle were struggling in their Champions League group.
Sutton’s verdict cut through the noise:
“Not having the most riches, that’s elitism on your part.”
He also defended Scottish supporters’ attachment to their football. Their loyalty and enjoyment do not require validation from commentators elsewhere.
That remains the heart of this argument. Commercial wealth cannot be the sole measure of a club’s worth.
Put the money beside the mockery
Consider the same financial year for both clubs.
For the year ending June 2025, Manchester United reported revenue of £666.5million. Celtic reported £143.6million.
United’s income was approximately 4.6 times ours.
These are revenue figures, rather than transfer budgets. However, they demonstrate a substantial difference in financial capacity that responsible analysis should recognise.
Money cannot excuse every Celtic mistake. Equally, English clubs’ financial advantages cannot disappear whenever their performances collapse.
Pardew should understand the need for perspective
After Celtic scored seven against Hearts, Alan Pardew’s reported response included a warning that Europe represented a “reset” for Scottish clubs.
Domestic dominance certainly guarantees nothing abroad. Yet Pardew should understand difficult European opposition: his Newcastle side were eliminated by Benfica in 2013, and contemporary coverage recorded his pride in their efforts.
Celtic supporters want improvement and accountability. We also deserve analysis that respects context.
So, Jason: criticise the performance. But explain why Celtic’s place in Europe repeatedly goes on trial when vastly richer clubs can suffer humiliations of their own.
