Chris Sutton, the former Celtic hero, didn’t mince words in his recent tweet, calling out the lacklustre performances of Manchester United and Arsenal in the Champions League on Tuesday night. Both English giants faced humiliating defeats against Galatasaray and Lens respectively.
The poignant criticism comes against a backdrop of perennial derision directed towards Scottish football, especially in their European outings. Sutton’s tweet reads: “Scottish teams get bashed from down south in European competitions and sometimes deservedly so but just imagine if Celtic, Rangers and Aberdeen had the luxury of spending over 300 million assembling a squad and performing like Manchester United and Arsenal… that’s embarrassing.”
The essence of Sutton’s argument hinges on the glaring financial disparities between football clubs in England and Scotland. The English Premier League is a commercial juggernaut, with its clubs enjoying lucrative TV deals, sponsorships, and other revenue streams that are a far cry from what Scottish clubs can muster.
This financial muscle has enabled clubs like Manchester United and Arsenal to assemble squads with staggering price tags north of £300 million. However, the recent Champions League results have shown that a fat wallet doesn’t always translate to success on the pitch.
The scrutiny under which Scottish football often finds itself, especially from critics down south, is something Sutton has always been vocal about. The English clubs’ recent European debacle adds weight to his argument, highlighting a sort of double standard when it comes to expectations and performance scrutiny between clubs from the two nations.
The narrative often spun is one where Scottish clubs are seen as lesser, despite operating on shoestring budgets in comparison to their English counterparts. The performances of Man Utd and Arsenal, clubs with seemingly endless resources, against supposedly weaker European opponents, have indeed cast a long, embarrassing shadow.
Sutton’s point is not just a defence of Scottish football, but a stark expose of how financial clout does not always equate to success, and perhaps, a call for a fairer playing field and understanding when analysing the performances of clubs with differing financial capabilities.
We doubt it will stop any from the usual suspects sticking the boot into Celtic if they don’t win against Lazio on Wednesday.
