Hailed as some kind of market masterstroke at the end of August, Jesper Karlsson, the subject of a £9million transfer just over two years ago, has now left the building — with no sign of any great torrent of tears over his departure.
He shouldn’t feel bad about having his loan deal at Aberdeen from Bologna cut short. The Swede is not the first — and definitely won’t be the last — expensive talent to turn up in Scottish football and find it’s not for the faint-hearted.
There are many bigger names than the bold Jesper who can attest to that. Juninho, Joey Barton, Thomas Gravesen, Nuno Capucho, Freddie Ljungberg. The list goes on. And it’s not just well-known stars with their best days behind them who have found it tough going.
For every Henrik Larsson and Kyogo Furuhashi at Celtic, there have been plenty more Mo Banguras, Derk Boerrigters, Patryk Klimalas and Albian Ajetis.
Across at Rangers, millions have been thrown at the team in recent years with very little silverware coming through the door in return for the millions of pounds that have gone out of it.
Billy Dodds, who spent last season on the Ibrox coaching team with interim manager Barry Ferguson, summed up a big part of the problem in a remarkable interview during the summer. He just saw a dressing room there with too many weak personalities, not enough grit to win ugly.
Jesper Karlsson arrived at Aberdeen with a big reputation but failed to make much of a mark
Swedish cap Karlsson is put under pressure by Raith’s Ewan Wilson in Scottish Cup clash
Joey Barton believed he could run the show in Scotland but Scott Brown had other ideas
This term, it’s the managers at the Old Firm, in particular, who have been found wanting. It remains quite incredible that both of the big two managed to pick characters in Russell Martin and Wilfried Nancy who just didn’t seem to get it. Didn’t seem to understand that plans and systems and philosophies at those clubs mean nothing unless you are winning. Every. Single. Week.
You see, for all its problems, one thing you have to admire about Scottish football is that it’s honest. It’s unvarnished. Work rate is everything and winning duels is its bread and butter. That’s what makes you a hero at the clubs here – leaving your heart out on the pitch and being seen to do so.
Crunching tackles get cheers louder than actual goals. Technique and quality are bonuses rather than the bread and butter. Games are generally blood and thunder in wet and Baltic conditions. Harrying and harassing the opposition is non-negotiable. Physique matters. Work rate rules.
And even though it might not always thrill the purists, the punters lap it up. The games can sometimes be a different sport from stuff you watch in the bigger leagues on TV, but they’re exciting. They’re pretty affordable. This season, they’ve been more competitive than ever.
The atmosphere inside most grounds is still great. There’s none of the half-and-half scarves or tourists on smartphones here. It remains authentic. And that’s its biggest selling point — along with the fact that, over the last five months, it’s been a bigger madhouse than ever.
Brazilian star Juninho arrived at Celtic with a big reputation but found the going tough up north
Freddie Ljungberg is muscled out by Ian Little of Berwick Rangers during a Scottish Cup clash
In discussing Karlsson’s departure to move to Dutch outfit Utrecht, Aberdeen caretaker boss Peter Leven said: ‘Scotland is a tough league. People don’t realise how tough it is as players don’t give you time on the ball. It’s probably more technical in Holland, so that league makes you feel better.’
Scottish football hits different, all right. And for all the focus on xG and metrics, being able to get some measure of that mental fortitude Dodds talked about is something clubs here really need to find a way to factor into their recruitment system.
The Dons are going back to signing blokes who’ve been here and worn the T-shirt. In truth, it doesn’t sound a bad philosophy.
It’s a different kind of league. And for all its faults, that’s why it keeps pulling in more fans per capita than any other competition in Europe. You get nothing for nothing here, big reputation or not.
