Jamie O’Hara made a clown of himself last week.
In other news, water is wet. O’Hara’s tendency to take outlandish stances on all things football is well-established, but he overstepped the mark last week.
His exchange with Paul John Dykes, of the Celtic State of Mind podcast, on Sky Sports generated such an adverse reaction that the outlet deleted the clip from their social media.
This was after Dykes called out O’Hara (and Sky in general) for setting up a ridiculous debate which showed a staggering lack of self-awareness about the broadcaster’s lack of funding for Scottish football.
O’Hara took the stance that Stockport County would win the Scottish Premiership, bringing the conversation into silly territory. A member of Stockport’s fan coverage has now rebuffed this claim.
Jamie O’Hara’s Celtic claims slated by Stockport County fan
O’Hara’s nonsense usually falls on deaf ears when it comes to Scottish fans.
But the fact that Sky were willing to facilitate in such a brazen fashion is the reason why it’s getting so much backlash on this occasion. This isn’t just about O’Hara.
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Russ Johnson of The Scarf Bergara Wore podcast was a guest on STV’s Scottish Football Show this week to respond to O’Hara’s claims.
He was firstly asked by tongue-in-cheek host Ewen Cameron whether his team would actually win the Scottish Premiership.
His unsurprising response was: “We wouldn’t win the Scottish Premiership, no.
“I just think it’s ridiculous, we’re not going to win the Scottish Premier League. There’s no way we’re going to win it.
“It’s a completely different game anyway. If you had to push me, I could probably tell you where I think we’d finish, but I just think it’s a nonsense debate in the first place.
“I think we’d probably finish middle of the bottom end of the table. We’re probably going to be ahead of the likes of St Mirren and Livingston, and beyond that.
“But to even compare us… to put us in the same bracket as Celtic and Rangers is just nigh on ridiculous, it really is. It’s just stupid.
“It’s just people who are desperate to keep themselves relevant and looking to be clickbaity. I’m surprised Sky have gone down this route, if I’m honest, as I’ve always seen them as the authority, if you like.
“It’s just becoming a parody of itself. It’s becoming ridiculous.”
The irony of Sky Sports facilitating Jamie O’Hara’s claims
Despite being the national broadcaster, Sky Sports have routinely failed to show their contracted number of Scottish Premiership games every season.
This has led to an agreement which allows competitor Premier Sports to show a fixed number of games every season, despite Sky’s deal initially being exclusive.
Scottish football’s TV revenue is dwarfed by the Belgian Pro League, let alone the neighbouring Premier League which is so cherished by Sky.
And as they pose as supporters for the Scottish game, their platforming of O’Hara is an example of actions speaking louder than words.
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