As Ibrox collapses, Celtic needs Aberdeen's current challenge to be the real deal. We'll find out next Saturday what it really amounts to

Yesterday at 12:08 PM

Once upon a time, Stewart Regan claimed that Scottish football needed a strong R*****s, in fact, in his view, any kind of Ibrox entity at all would do.

Right now, Scottish football has a very weak Ibrox entity, and no matter what way you look at it, it seems to be coming apart at the seams.

As the club continues to haemorrhage people from it’s hierarchy, it is now led by a lone real Raynjurz man.

Seán Mac Giollagáin has been tasked with being the man who turns around their fortunes, and restores them to their rightful place at the top of Scottish football.

Indeed.

But here’s the reality, right now, nobody cares about the Ibrox side, other than their media lackies, of course.

Some of whom are even starting to question the club, and the current state it’s in.

While clinging dearly to past glories, Scott McDermott wrote both a damning, and revealing article in this morning’s Record.

In it, he revered probably one of the most odious and bigoted individuals in Scottish football, Jimmy Bell.

In a sycophantic love in, he had this to say:

The smell of history, prestige and success filled their nostrils as soon as they walked through the door. Whether they were from Aberdeen or Argentina, they were indoctrinated. This little area was a part of the Rangers fabric.

Now? Unless anything has been pinned up recently, it consists of four plain, white walls. It hasn't just been rid of its artefacts. Its very essence has been emptied. That whiff of nostalgia has been replaced by a stench of neglect. This place is Jimmy Bell's old kit-room at Auchenhowie. What used to be a Rangers treasure trove is now like any other kit-room.

To be honest, the article nauseated me, it was a sickly trip down memory lane.

It was aimed at those who cling desperately to the mirage of the past glories that club used to trample all over the rest of Scottish football.

It was a homage to Stewart Regan’s ill-fated belief that Scottish football needed a strong R*****s, and failing that, any kind of R*****s at all.

The Ibrox clubs, new and old, have never been strong.

Even when the old club it was at it’s most dominant, it was facilitated by other people’s money, and a limitless overdraft from Bank of Scotland.

As a club, Rangers 1872 portrayed the image of the ultimate coward, the schoolyard bully.

Hell bent on making everybody’s life a misery, a bully is the epitome of a weakling, thriving on the pain of others to satisfy their own inferiority complex.

Both clubs playing out of Ibrox have always suffered from an inferiority complex when it comes to Celtic.

That fateful day in Lisbon in 1967, when we lifted the European Cup, was the beginning of that.

It was followed by our total dominance, another European Cup final appearance, and 9 in a row.

They became all consumed with emulating both feats.

And it literally consumed them.

They were willing to go to any length to reach those goals.

If that meant cheating, spending other people’s money, and being a vile, bigoted, supremacist club, it didn’t matter.

And it killed them in the end.

What we see today is what, in essence, the Ibrox club really is.

Just a regular club, having to work within the same constraints all clubs have to work within, as laid out by UEFA.

I can’t even say they’re a pale shadow of their predecessor.

Because their predecessor was like one of those bodybuilders who cuts corners to reach their ultimate goal of the perfect physique.

They’re not willing to put in the hard graft to gain that physique, so they instead inject steroids into their body to fast-track them to the physique they so desperately want.

In the long run, it’s unsustainable, and the muscle that is enhanced by the steroids eventually dies.

Similar to what happened to the old club.

So, no, Scottish football has never needed a strong R*****s.

Because it was never strong to begin with.

But what I would welcome is a strong Aberdeen, everybody would welcome an Aberdeen like the club we saw in the 80’s under Alex Ferguson.

They were a breath of fresh air and they broke the Celtic/Ibrox hegemony.

It’s funny when I think about it…

Because I know if Aberdeen won a title, even at our expense, it would not make me feel bitter.

Don’t get me wrong, I always want Celtic to win, no matter what.

But if I was to concede a title, clearly, I would much prefer to concede it to a club like a Aberdeen.

Jimmy Thelin has played 13 competitive games since taking over at Aberdeen, and he has won all of those 13 games.

That is no mean feat.

Clearly he has instilled a winning mentality into his new side.

They will come to Celtic Park high in confidence next Saturday, and I have no doubt they will give us a much sterner test than the Ibrox side gave us in September.

I voiced this opinion in an article earlier this week.

I’m delighted I’m going to be in attendance for this game, as it’s the game of the season so far.

I firmly believe we’re going to see a quality game of football.

Scottish football needs a strong Aberdeen.

Celtic needs their current challenge to be the real deal.

Not only does it need a strong Aberdeen, it needs a strong Hearts, and a strong Hibs.

It has never needed a strong Ibrox side, and nobody cares whether it has one or not.

Next Saturday, we will get to see just what Jimmy Thelin has brought to the table at Aberdeen.

Will it be a turning point in Scottish football?

A new dawn, so to speak?

As the Ibrox side fades into insignificance, will Aberdeen grasp their chance to become a Scottish footballing powerhouse once again?

We’ve waited 40 years for it.

Maybe it’s about time?

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