It's not exactly a time when folk are feeling too cheery. The first week in January. Jeez, the dark side of the moon is a warmer place.
When the missus asked the state of the finances she was told they are like my knees after a game on the old red blaes pitches at Toryglen. Totally skint. So perhaps it’s understandable some people are a bit grumpy right now. Even when they shouldn’t be. Like Celtic fans. They have hee-haw to moan about but somehow like to nitpick.
It’s a bit like one of the lads on the Record Sport desk moaning about how he eats like a horse yet is still built like a five quid note. Boo hoo. I’m so fat even my fitba boots don’t fit. Our colleague has nothing to groan about and neither do Celtic fans. Sure, the penalty decision at Ibrox the other day was a contentious one. Maybe the other one was as well. But in these VAR days all penalties are contentious. When the action gets slowed down a nipple twist can look like a mugging and these calls end up like that picture doing the rounds on the internet that had folk arguing whether the dress was blue or gold.
Sure, it is bizarre Rangers haven’t conceded a penalty this season, or fallen foul of the video ref like everyone else. Yes, it is intriguing our top referee, Willie Collum, has only done one Rangers game – and none at Ibrox – since he got slaughtered for sending off two Light Blues players at Hibs in August. But if this is a conspiracy against Celtic it might be the worst one in history given the Hoops are out of sight in the league this season.
It’s not just the officials that have some Parkhead punters grumbling this season. At times they have moaned about Kyogo’s form in front of goal. That lasted about 10 minutes. Daizen Maeda copped it for a bit. Again, it looks daft now.
But there are some now suggesting Josip Juranovic should be shipped out pronto and Matt O’Riley is off-key. Steady on folks. Celtic have not just been good in Scotland this season. They have been sensational. The pace set this term is up there with Martin O’Neill’s incredible debut campaign and Brendan Rodgers’ Invincibles.
It has been ridiculously good. Juranovic had a bit of a stinker at Ibrox but it was his first game back after the World Cup, he was lobbed on at left-back and there has been a ton of transfer talk about him without any concrete bids. The Croatian has been a superb signing and while there’s no way Celts could knock back big money for him, punters shouldn’t be offering to give him a lift to the airport.
Similarly, O’Riley has not gone off the boil. There were a couple of stray passes at Ibrox but he has been outstanding this season. This is a kid who has barely put a foot wrong since he walked in the door.
He also slotted in for Callum McGregor for nearly three months and was so effective his side never dropped a point. Stick good money on this lad breaking the £25million record fee landed for Kieran Tierney.
To be fair, it’s not all Celtic fans who have the glasses half empty. But there are some who still have a hint of entitlement about them. It’s the ones who lost their marbles during the 10-in-row season and who expect their team to hump sides by four and five every week – including Rangers.
Football doesn’t work that way. This is a golden period for Celtic and they need to enjoy it. The festive period is over but rival fans look at the Hoops a bit like they are the Wizzard tune and it really is Christmas every day at Parkhead.
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