IIt seems impossible to dissociate the bitterness linked to the victory of the Celtic title from the reality that it is a perfectly valid result. It was perhaps a useful by-product for some of those who were immersed in the all-powerful line that has recently engulfed the Scottish scene.
Celtic was the best team in Scotland in 2019-20. The shortened season is surely a frustration for Neil Lennon and his players, as the foreigners seek to reduce a ninth championship in a row. The sniper doesn’t matter and how the Celts choose to celebrate is entirely up to them. Sure, there are deeper issues to ponder, but a trophy held Monday morning, called Zoom, refuses fans for a moment. They will compensate as best they can.
The lead over the Rangers, 13 points to eight games from the end, would have been under pressure at home and at Odsonne Édouard, Celtic had by far the best player. While clubs are naturally opposed to being relegated at the end of a season before a natural conclusion, the award ceremony when the situation was a done deal should be much less controversial. “Should” be the keyword.
The Celts have reason to regret extenuating circumstances. Nine is Scotland’s magic number, which is the record for successive league titles. The backdrop of this race is that the Rangers have been out of the top for four seasons and the suspension triggered by the football coronavirus.
Fans of Lennon and Celtic have nothing to worry about. When the goal is to be the main party in Scotland, weak opposition is not your problem. The objective was comfortably achieved. Celtic tied two games and lost two, returning a goal difference of 70. Celtic had an average of 2.67 points – and 2.97 goals – per league game.
Celtic deserves special credit for a poignant response to defeat in the Old Firm game on December 29. The Rangers were seated two points behind their older enemies with a game in hand. The dizzying analysis, not of Steven Gerrard, should be noted, suggesting that a title-worthy title battle was imminent, but Celtic came back from their mid-season break later in an inspired form then that the Rangers withered.
Gerrard has managed to separate the Rangers from the rest as the second largest force in the Premier League, but there is no convincing argument that Celtic dominance will soon be relaxed. It would take a seismic change to deny them a perfect 10.
A key Celtic force lies in its marketable assets. Moussa Dembélé and Kieran Tierney have brought the club close to £ 45 million without an emerging insider threat. Edouard has fans in England and abroad, Callum McGregor and Ryan Christie as well. The development of Kristoffer Ajer, Christopher Jullien, Jeremie Frimpong and Mikey Johnston could lead to more success in football and overall.
It remains a difficult balancing act to assemble a team capable of breaking into Europe when Ross County, Hamilton and St Johnstone are the base regime, but the Celts wisely managed their resources.
There is symmetry for Lennon, who chaired the first of nine titles, back at the helm. The 48-year-old man, for a quieter general recognition than during his first Celtic mandate, will be proud to break the record.
He did it from a complicated point of view. There were murmurs of dissatisfaction when Lennon succeeded Brendan Rodgers, who made fundamental changes to Celtic. There were obstacles along the way, a complete Europa League defeat against Copenhagen, mainly, but Lennon returned to the front line with minimal commotion and perhaps improved many elements of the performance of the team.
Historical comparisons are a staple of Old Firm. However, there is no point in judging this Celtic against which he has sung nine titles since 1966. A year later, they were European champions at a time when Scottish clubs could come face to face with the best. Social and economic changes are such that football, gambling and business are unrecognizable from this period. Many countries, including new ones, have left Scotland behind.
Even the nine-row version of Rangers, produced since 1989, is not a valid parallel because they could compete financially with the European giants. If those of the blue half of Glasgow seek to degrade the success of their rivals on the basis of a weakness elsewhere, the financial implosion of Celtic in the early 1990s is a counterpoint.
It would be naive to ignore the modest magnitude of the challenge the Celts face in the country. Only those with vested interests can suggest that the championship monopoly or duopoly that has existed since Aberdeen was king in 1985 is healthy. However, the place of Celtic at the top of the mountain is indisputable. It would be rude to let resentment overshadow your success.