A watching brief by Denis Frize

Date: 26th August 2026

A watching brief by Denis Frize

 

I watched football pundits deliberating the humiliation of Celtic and the poor showing by Rangers spoke for itself.

 

And I thought. No. this is a good night for them.

 

Pundits went on about team tactics, personalities, the height of the grass and the width of the pitch.

 

So why do I say this was a good night for Celtic and Rangers?

 

Well, it’s because they are both now in a competition which they have a genuine chance of winning. It is only a few years back that Rangers got to the final of the Europa League, to give it its official title.

But punditry as to why Scottish teams such as Celtic fail six times to get into the big time fails to even begin to touch the answers

 

The answer is Scottish teams fail to attract top talent in either players or managers. I call the Scottish teams in Europe the NAC contingent, Never After Christmas. In the 1990’s Celtic got to the Europa League final under Martin O’Neil, It says a volume that at 74 years old, the Celtic still have to depend on his services. Last night he seemed on TV to regret the first failure. But that misses  the point entirely, He was playing against a young manager, the Mozart of football, Jose Mourinho.

 

As for Rangers, in the last decade, they have had more managers than there are players in a team.

 

Now you may say that once in a generation Scotland produces a manager of top-rare quality. Busby, Shankly, Stein, Ferguson and I would say George Graham. But no-one else. So why do we not attract foreign talent?

 

The first reason I personally would give is the climate It is an meteorological fact that in Spain any five days will be sun- filled.

In Scotland the same five days will be rain-sodden.

 

The second reason I would give is the total indoctrination given to young players in Spain, as I have said in a previous article. Football articles in the Spanish press concentrate on which angle each player should have. In UK, it’s who is seeing whose wife.

 

The third reason often given is money. Not the cash to buy big names.

 

But I would challenge that.

 

I have worked in places from Singapore to Buenos Aires.

 

But of all places in the world, my favourite has been Seville.

 

It is a city at peace with itself. its attractions range from its historic architecture to the home of Don Quixote to its sensational oxtail soup.

 

But most of all Seville is a city at peace with itself, Despite having two teams, one of which plays in green and white.

 

But everyone in Seville no matter which team they support , is devoted to its success. In the last decade, Seville have won the Europa Cup five times. Their last manager is now the manager of Aston Villa. And he has won the Europa Cup.

 

Meanwhile in Glasgow, the two teams refight the Battle of the Boyne. In 1911 they burned down Hampden. If it had not been for the courage and skill of the Glasgow Polis, they could have done it again only a few weeks ago.

 

Celtic wanted the manager who is now making a success with Newcastle in Europe. But the wife wouldn’t let him. Because Rangers fans tried to burn down the residence of Brendan Rogers.

 

The causes? Well in an earlier edition of this journal, I trace the rise of football and sectarianism in Scotland from segregating schools as rigidly as they were in Mississippi, to Protestant superiority with teams and men’s clubs. Rules vainly forbidding marriage between both sides.

 

So do not wonder why in the European Cup Scotland’s teams are Never After Christmas,

 

‘A house divided against itself will surely fall,’

 

Denis Frize

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Posted in: Fan's Blog, Latest News

Tags: Celtic, Rangers, Scottish footbal