Cast your mind back to earlier this month. February ended with a 100% domestic record, qualification for the League Cup Final and two merit awards for performances against Inter Milan. We then walloped nearest challengers Aberdeen 4-0. A small matter of a game against St Johnstone lay ahead before the Scottish and League Cup double-header against Dundee United. Which we lost. At home.
If a team drops even a few percentage points below its optimum the actual drop in results achieved can be enormous. Celtic have answered all the big questions over the last seven weeks, despite the reversal in Milan; there will inevitably be a drop in adrenaline when normality returns, which is tomorrow, again against United.
We have a month to prepare for the Scottish Cup semi-final but another St Johnstone-type episode would cut the gap at the top to zero points, with Celtic having one game in hand.
I’m a great believer than a manager cannot and should not ask his players to climb the mountain every time. If he does, he loses that special intensity he’ll need for the truly big occasions. The players, from captain to novice, must carry the burden.
Niggles between players happen in every game. On most occasions it will be a couple of months before you face the same opponent again, so whatever happened last time will have been replaced in the mind’s gallery of items the player feels sore about.
Since Scottish football became the Celtic-Dundee United show that’s changed. A player who elbowed you last game will be running at you next time out. This is the stuff red cards are made of.
There is a chance that we’ve beaten United into submission and that they’ll turn up in body, not mind, tomorrow, but if Jackie McNamara manages to convince them they are victims of wanton Celtic player’s face-on-United player’s elbow action, you can expect more reds.
Keep your cool, Celtic. Nothing more than wanton hair ruffling.
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PODIUM
shoots
and misses well done Slan_Abhaile- great strike!
SLAM DUNK
Offside.
tim tanium
A few on here would like to kick me, but too fast a runner!
Damn, I was eclipsed.
Topical Podium.
Paul,
Normally I’d expect a drop in intensity. I dobt think that’ll happen tomorrow.
Do your talking on the park Celtic.
Hail Hail.
Calum Murray bottled it (or worse) with this on Wed
https://twitter.com/oisin71/status/578709776667901952
Why is “dobt” even in my phones dictionary??
:))
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
12:05 on 20 March, 2015
PEDROCARAVANACHIO67
with classic blindsider while the ref had his back turned!
~~~~~~~~~~++~~~~~~~~~~
Quickly followed by PAUL67 doing the same to me!
There will be more red cards tomorrow, we will have MUCH more pace than them.
When wee Jamsies goal hit the back of the net last Sunday The life drained out them (IMHO)
Stay calm and finish running them into the ground on Sat.
£3000 was stolen from St Marys primary school last Monday morning. Why the hell was that money not banked on the previous Friday??? The lowlife that broke in could have burned the school down. Emdae know any thing abt this contact the police A S A P.
Are The Cheats Solvent?
lct
Murrays a whimp Even the boougie man slapped him about TWICE!!!!
jude2005 is neil lennon \o/
But he didn’t feel threatened :-))
My main concern about these thugs is that one of them will injure one or more of our faster more skilful ball players.
With their cheating, thuggery and skullduggery they are reminding me more and more of Athletico Madrid or Racing Club.
Do you think Ronny will keep same team apart from Johanson for stokes
jude2005
something smells about that. Hope those responsible are caught. Maybe we should ask the Kano Foundation to pay for a wee trip to paradise for the kids.
JUDE
Why would a school have that amount of money lying around-in cash-and what a strange coincidence that thieves chose that time to break in.
And make a beeline for it.
Hmmmmm…..
Happy Birthday Lionsroar67,a quality tim,have a great day mhate.
HH
ohits or tim tanium,
Did the John Thompson that you talk about play for Benburb?
AR
Ray Winstone’s Big Disembodied Heid,
Injury has been my fear too. We’ve managed to come through some pretty awful tackling without anything too bad … so far. Tomorrow is a bit of a worry with bad feelings going into the game.
midfield maestro/ tim tanium
The Rab who used to play with Davie and Stevie at Arthurlie and stays round the corner is Rab Fraser. Your Auntie has her uses.
Europa League Quarter Final draw
Sevilla v Zenit St Petersburg
Dnipro v Bruges
Dynamo Kiev v Fiorentina
Wolfsburg v Napoli
As Ronny says he wants teams to fear us because they know what’s coming. It’s really up to DU to change how they play given their failing. If there is anything to their curve-ball then we have a game of chess on the park and then it gets interesting. They still have some good players, too many of our players, however, are up for winning the individual battles.
HH
As most of our squad have a break after tomorrow until we play St Mirren 2 weeks tonight, I suspect we will again play our strongest line up – whatever that is these days.
Also competition for places is strong so those who play will have to put in 100%.
Tomorrows team ? – answers on a postcard please …
Thats what I think too Bhoys.. Heads must roll!!! It stinks to the hilt!!!
antipodean red
I don’t know. He definitely played with Arthurlie and latterly as in nearing his forties with Johnstone Burgh this was back in early 1990s.
Who’s the mib 2 morro??
Wiz that that Armaggedon thingy that happened earlier?
Lionsroar
Breithla shona duit.
Think Armstrong will replace Stokes and Johansen will replace Forrest.
G Mac will come on for Commons and Forrest will replace Armstrong with 20 mins to go.
Guidetti will replace Griffiths with twenty five to go after scoring his hat-trick.:-)
Jude
Think it is Clancy.
reilly1926
Uncle a guid memory for surnames is a good attribute.
embramike,
Don’t see too many changes tomorrow. If Matthews is fit he will come in at right back. Johansen will come in to the central role leaving Forrest, Commons, Armstrong and GMS to fight for the two wider places.
The partial eclipse lasted a few minutes here in north staffs, whereas over at ipox they have been in total darkness for 3 years and counting.