Celtic's humiliation reveals the sorry state of Scottish football | Celtic

The giggles from Dortmund to Durness were unmistakable. The strong tribal nature of Scottish football, combined with Celtic's dominance of the scene, means results such as Tuesday's 7-1 win over Borussia Dortmund are widely celebrated. Petty, provincial, but completely understandable.

The problem is that another harrowing night for Celtic provided the latest snapshot of the sorry state of Scottish football. There is no point in getting excited about Celtic's scenario, because the difficult situation they constantly find themselves in against serious opponents tells everything about the level in Scotland.

Also-rans are announced, as are prehistoric tactics, although there is virtually no youth development. Administrators are endorsing work permit applications for substandard foreign imports, which either blocks the development of Scottish talent or serves as a tacit admission that the homegrown players are not good enough in the first place. Governance is lazy and dictated by clubs that long ago lost the impulse to look at the bigger picture.

With Steve Clarke plagued by injuries and a loss of form, Scotland suffers from a terrible lack of adequate resources. Celtic's European turmoil is inextricably linked to that of the national team. The alarm bells should have been ringing on both fronts long ago. Instead, Scottish football, which had ample opportunity to reform, emerged from the pandemic in as poor a state as when it began.

Celtic are leagues ahead of all domestic rivals – even that term feels unfair – on and off the pitch. Liam Scales can resemble Franco Baresi and Callum McGregor Zinedine Zidane against players who would struggle to find a platform in England's League One. Dortmund's defenestration will inevitably be forgotten by the Green and Whites when celebrations get into full swing at Ross County on Sunday, even though the opposite should be the case. Celtic, recognizing the utterly pointless state of the environment they participate in week in and week out, should take the lead in the revolution.

Your situation is the most unfortunate of all. It's not so much that Celtic need a bigger challenge, but that the standard in Scotland needs to improve dramatically. It is strange that the Celtic board is not at the forefront of this agenda. Without them, the club is destined to reach Champions League numbers.

Celtic were the clear favorites to beat Slovan Bratislava on matchday one and delivered. However, it becomes an exercise in futility when they crash so spectacularly when the bar is raised significantly.

To his credit, Brendan Rodgers has refused to describe the move from Scotland's top flight to the elite level as almost impossible. He is smart enough not to mention financial divides. In Scotland they are even more clearly in his favour. Football finance expert Kieran Maguire pointed out on Wednesday that Celtic's squad costs 185 times as much as St Johnstone's. Dortmund's was six times as high as Celtic's.

Fearing that their team's achievements will not be given due recognition, Celtic's supporters are railing against criticism of developments at home. As a well-run, self-sufficient club, Celtic have no reason to apologize to anyone for the advantages they enjoy. But the oft-made suggestion that other leagues – France, England, Germany, Spain, Italy – have dominant forces ignores the fact that the top teams there are among the best in Europe.

Not only are Celtic miles behind, but Dundee United would be embarrassed against Newcastle, Motherwell against Rennes, Kilmarnock against Turin, etc. Hibs faced Aston Villa last season and lost 8-0 on aggregate.

There is understandable excitement over Tony Bloom's involvement with Hearts. Brighton owner Jamestown's analytics business could provide a much-needed boost to the Scottish scene. In the short term, what would be more interesting is how this company values ​​Hearts' players compared to those at similarly sized clubs in Europe. It's almost certain that the spreadsheet would make for sobering reading.

There are relevant subplots. Rodgers followed an identical game plan in Dortmund as he had in the 6-0 canter at St. Johnstone a few days earlier. The theory that Celtic could repeat what happened in Perth against last season's Champions League finalists showed misplaced confidence.

Rodgers has suffered too many European blows as a fluke. The manager needs a pragmatic plan B. Celtic lack a dominant ball-winner in midfield, also because they don't need one in their own team. The gap between the big clubs and the rest is unlikely to be obscured by the new Champions League format; Bayern Munich scored nine goals against Dynamo Zagreb and this week's comprehensive wins for Manchester City and Barcelona tell us as much.

Rangers supporters vehemently refuse to be lumped in with the European problems of their major rivals. Reaching the Europa League final in 2022 and generally strong performances in that environment give them something to brag about. What Rangers would rather ignore is a 2022-23 Champions League season in which they failed to pick up a point and fell to a goal difference of minus-20. In August 2023, PSV Eindhoven swept them aside in a Champions League qualifier.

By all means, laugh at Celtic. However, if you're a Scottish football fan, the joke is ultimately on you. The precarious state of the national sport offers no cause for comedy.