The Philosophy Wars
Deep breath. Here goes.
Celtic stand potentially one game away from a seventh league title in succession and yet that statistic is being accompanied by a controversial rider.
Celtic can, on the basis of their most recent match, against Hamilton Accies on Sunday, be quite boring to watch at times.
Last season provided an exceptionally joyful dance towards invincibility, a championship win free of defeats and full of beguiling vitality.
This season? If the laboured win over ten man Hamilton Accies is any gauge then Celtic suffer from one obvious failing.
They are trying to paint a Picasso when all that a lot of fans want to see is someone throwing emulsion at the opposition's wall.
There was a beautiful simplicity about Leigh Griffiths' winning goal at New Douglas Park. Scott Sinclair beat a defender, threw in a cross to the near post and Griffiths did what a striker is supposed to do by heading it beyond a despairing goalkeeper.
It was the way football used to be played before the goalkeeper at the other end was instructed to initiate any move with a pass to his central defender that started a a ten minute shuffling of the ball in his own half of the field before anything remotely interesting happened.
I know it's impossible to argue with a title win because champions are absolute.
And I know criticising anything to do with Brendan is seen as the equivalent of spitting in church, but Celtic's performance against ten men at Hamilton was turgid.
A wealth of riches, a poverty of performance against a team of journeymen reduced in number for more than half the game.
Those who will rise up in opposition to all of the above will nevertheless reserve the right to take away the emotion they first thought of if Celtic lose to Rangers in the Scottish Cup, semi-final tie at Hampden on Sunday.
The National Stadium will be a career defining setting for Rangers' interim manager, Graeme Murty.
If he beats Celtic and bursts a treble then the debate over his suitability for the job on a permanent basis will gain fresh legs.
If he loses the match then the argument ends and the search for an alternative choice begins. Anyone who disagrees with that assessment has no grip on reality.
Murty has a chance against Celtic for a variety of reasons.
Dedryck Boyata will be playing in Celtic's defence, and that is always a handy card to have up your sleeve.
Rangers will also play with an abandon that comes from knowing several jobs could depend on the outcome of the match.
Celtic will bring geometry to the table along with the need to score the perfect goal, even in the midst of crowd-fuelled mayhem.
If geometry beats gung-ho then Rodgers gets back to being the recipient of idolatry.
If he loses to Rangers for the first time since becoming Celtic manager then certain aspects of his work will be called into question by elements of a support who yearn for the kind of football that gets them up off their seats instead of sitting on their hands.
We can all enjoy seeing how the story ends on a one-off basis, but the same privilege will not be extended to the paying public where the outcome of the championship is concerned.
Unless I am sadly mistaken, the SPFL and Police Scotland will now conspire to draw up a post-split fixture list which will have one intention in mind.
And that will be to see to it that Celtic will not face Rangers in a match that can determine whether the title is officially Celtic's for the keeping.
That kind of drama may be all very well for people who live in Manchester, but certainly not for those who live 200-odd miles north of that city.
Drama is an essential component of the world of entertainment, is it not?
The SPFL, however, are actively refusing to allow drama to enter into the closing act of Scottish football's most prestigious production, the Premiership title.
Would it be unthinkable to conduct an experiment whereby you let Scotland's two biggest clubs play a game that could determine the outcome of the championship?
If supporters should let themselves down then you can always go back to square one with impunity.
You had your chance of drama and you blew it through your own misdeeds. Tough luck.
But none of this, like the repeal of the law which bans booze from our grounds, is likely to happen any time soon, unlike the test of football philosophy that will be held in public this weekend.
Motherwell and Aberdeen will go for each other at Hampden on Saturday with the determination of men who know that no guts will bring no glory in the other Scottish Cup semi-final.
The meeting of Glasgow's finest the following day should adhere to the ancient rules of mortal combat.
But if Celtic bring out the easel and the brushes and try paint pretty pictures while the opposition go about their business like Conor McGregor in a huff then somebody will, in the event of a win for Rangers, stand up and say, "What is this?"
Who's next on the line? Can't wait to discuss the philosophy wars