"If we win every game, we win the league," Brown told the Celtic View. "I know that sounds simple...".
Scott, son, Sunday's game against Gretna Second XI doesn't sound simple to me. The realism that is slowly spreading through the supporters has not yet reached the players.
It is looking like a miserable season. Rangers aren't great though. If Dundee Utd had got their stonewall penalty I don't think Rangers would have came back from 2 down.
ReplyDeleteRangers are just sufficiently better than the rest of the SPL (excluding Celtic) to keep winning. They can shut up shop against Celtic and beat us on the break. They don't have to do anything else. So I am worried.
I thought the signings of Samaras and Robson were great moves. But why don't we play Robson he's a goal scorer and we need goals. Strachan's credentials are now questioned. What I liked about Dundee Utd was that they played like a passing team. All their midfield passed and moved. We seem to over rely on McGeady. And this becomes predictable.
All we can really hope for is that the season catches up with Rangers. I'm also hoping for injuries to Ferguson and either Weir or Cuellar. But how did we get in this position?
What is making this all the more disappointing is that Rangers are a mediocre side. I wouldn't agree that they are better than us, but they are stronger physically and mentally and have more desire, so we can't complain and point to bad luck. Celtic simply haven't done it. We are being left behind by a team who struggle to beat Partick Thistle and conceded two goals at home to Gretna, but we need to get our own house in order and I'm afraid I just don't see it happening this season. On a paranoid aside, watch out for more decisions along the lines of United's denied penalty whilst the league race is relatively close. This tends to happen in seasons where the Rangers are challenging strongly (2002/3 - world record for penalties and red cards, 2004/5 Andy Davis).
ReplyDeleteI have been loath to join those questioning Strachan's position because the media love to fan the 'Celtic fans can't accept an outsider' flames, but I am dumbfounded at the decision to sign an attacking midfielder in Robson, watch him score on his debut and against Barca, then drop him and bring Sno our of deep freeze. It makes no sense to me whatsoever. Sno has had two years to establish himself and failed miserably. What is the manager's rationale here??
Again I stuck up for our defence recently, but only in so far as that the Rangers defence is just as crap as ours. Strachan has a blind spot here. McManus and Caldwell must be the most mediocre captain and vice captain in our history. Then again the list of contenders is depressingly small. McGeady and Boruc are the only players we would miss if they were sold tomorrow. McGeady has enough on his plate dealing with "barracking" at every away ground in the country and besides is too young. I would love to see Artur given the captaincy if only to witness the meltdown in the press over his "questionable" temperament.
Some drastic action is needed. It is painfully obvious JVOH and McDonald are not the answer, the jury is out on Samaras. Why not give the boy Hutchinson a chance? Anything else smacks of Craig Brown/Frank Hadden stick with the old guard and die a slow and painfully inevitable death.
This could be the worst Celtic side since the Macari era 15 years ago. Under Tommy Burns we had flair but no cigar. Under the much maligned Barnes/Dalglish/Dr Jo era we still had Henrik, Lubo, Viduka, Berkovic, Lambert and Petrov. A few contemptible names in there but you can't deny they had quality. They came up against a Rangers team then that were 10 times the team they are today.
Now we have Nakamura - good for a direct free-kick but not much else - Mark Wilson, Sno and Scott McDonald.
The most galling thing for me is that our demise is coming from a position of financial strength. Rangers winnig the league this season (which looks likely) will be the equivalent of Celtic under the Kellys and Whites winning the league in the middle of Rangers 9 in a row period. I am frustrated and angry that Celtic are failing miserably to capitalise on the strongest financial position relative to Rangers in the club's entire history. Hence this rambling rant.
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ReplyDeleteYesterday's result was good. I would have taken 3-0 before the start since this was a match that we couldn't really win.
ReplyDeleteA draw next Saturday and we're still in the race... and I might start believing that this team has the bottle for the fight.
Tony's right that our best hope is Rangers' weakness. They really aren't much of a team - but probably better than the misfits that wee Gordon has assembled this season.
Gretna missed a great chance at 1-0 when we looked unconvincing. If that had gone in we might well have been looking at another 2 dropped points. The difference can be wafer thin between a win or a draw or a defeat. The encouraging thing for me was Samaras. Surely worth a starting slot at Greyskull.
ReplyDeleteI saw the goals from the reserves 4-1 win over hun reserves on Celtic TV and Hutchinson looked good albeit in a reserve game.