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.
1,215 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 32
- »
DELANEYSDUNKY
Noon-ish the morra wi ALMORE,et al,couple in The Kerrydale Suite post match and a wee saunter doon The Gallowgate to round it off-that float yer boat?
Tim tanium. We ve already been discussing it. We can’t do much more than bring them to a game . But are more than willing to discuss that with them.
Sanna
Tomorrow’s MiB is Kevin Clancy with Gollum ‘keeping an eye’ on things as 4th Official
In terms of Paul’s Lead article…
The solution I believe is simple.
Johansen, Armstrong, and GMS will all be Chapp’in at the bit to play.
Deal them in.
Maybe Matthews too.
Keeps the motivation. Freshens things up.
GENE
3 centuries and counting,but I know what you mean.
Apart from the counting.
They think
2+2=WATP!!!!
the team
Gordon
Izaguirre
Denayer
Van Dijk
Ambrose
Brown
Bitton
Armstrong
Commons
GMS
Griffiths
Although I would like to see Fisher on for Ambrose
Why can,t the sfa hold a hearing into that thug mcgowans appeal,and save our players from his disgusting presence tomorrow
Convicted criminal Dave King approaches the court
http://t.co/Gw51H2a1aZ.
HH
Was going to cancel my Celtic TV (£40 pa) but I like the way the commentators are so Celtic bias. So ill keep it!! 0)
have a great weekend Celts.a victory tomorrow hopefully
Go To work Celtic
HH all :-)
I think all this trash talk about Dundee Utd is unfortunate. They are a decent club, and I’d be disappointed if this hate-fest was to fester.
As Paul points out, 4 in a row allows for this kind of stuff.
Some of the comments on here about Jackie Mac are nonsensical. The problem with football commentators is that so few have played the game, and even fewer have coached. It is a bit like concert goers claiming that Hendrix should have played a song in a different key.
That being said, I think there is some truth in the adage that footballers remember the last thing they heard. What a coach puts (or allows to be put) into a player’s head in the lead up to a game, can very often become reality.
Jackie has taken an understandable, yet risky, approach to his man management. In other circumstances, we may have heard him talk about missed chances, Celtic having so much more in terms of resources, etc.
He didn’t (and really couldn’t) take this line on this occasion, as he was facing us 3 more times. So he went with a focus on unfair use of red cards. And of course, these red cards had babies.
I think there will be more on Saturday. The sight of GMS and Armstrong appearing in the hoops will likely be just too much for the utd players. 3 points and no injuries should be the target.
Finally, I know it should never surprise me, but sometimes it does. I am talking about how poor (and dishonest) the msm are. They reported Paton’s comments without any comment of their own. Now, I understand why they targeted Efe. However, Efe committed 2 innocuous fouls, fouls that would never have raised an eyebrow in any other game. The Utd players’ reaction after the 2nd could had been orchestrated, I believe, in the half time team talk.
However, when you compare these fouls to the ones committed by John Rankin…..you see where I am going here……
So, back to the matter at hand. 3 points and no injuries. Please.
D D
Glancy mmmmmmmmmmmm????
Gordon_J
There a 5 penciled in for every game Craig Gordon, Jason, VvD, Izzy and Broony.
RB is either AM or Efe as ML is now out for the season.
Striker will be either Grif as man-in-posession or JG.
Central midfield is Jo Hansen’s best position – but also KC’s and don’t like him playing wide.
Forrest has impressed recently (apart from pens) and GMS is also a natural wide man.
Can you really leave out a ‘champing at the bit’ SA especially against his old teammates ?
Might take some steam out of the affair if he and GMS start.
Over to you Ronny ….
Taraungabhoy
Sorry didn’t reply…..mention of Skippen and sexy lexy richardson. I remember Lexy being absolutely wrecked with Frank MacDougall at Ferguslie Cricket Club in the off season. Think they were in pre-season training after promotion to the top league under Swalex. Two of them ended up doing the new broony against the side screen.:-)
tim tanium,
I worked with a John Thompson who played sweeper with the Bens around 1981, absolute gentleman who was well liked by everyone. I heard from a couple of lads that he was hard as nails on the park, worked for Murray Pipes so would probably have come from around Paisley/Barrhead area.
AR
Tomorrow’s line-up :
Craig Yashin
Carlos Alberto Ambrose
Jason Wisnaeme
Big Virgil
Lizzy McGuire
Mackay-Stevens
Wee Big Baws Broony
George Nir Connolly
Joe Hanson
Commons the Hunskelper
Wee Sparky
An Tearmann 12.44.
The S.A. Fraudster may not have a brass farthing to his name but he’s got some brass neck.
Gordon_J
meant to include Nir as the 6th ‘pencil in’ due to his recent form, though the one most likely to need a rest.
Kano, Pablo, Paul67 etc
Could set up a wee fund on CQN to replenish their losses but make sure it goes straight into a bank account.
The only reason I think James Forrest will be benched tmoro, is I believe Ronny is looking after him, injury wise. Won’t want him playing 3 games within 7 days.
For that, wee Jamsie will be rested.
Armstrong in for Stokes…Johansen back in the attacking 3 also. And I guess Commons will join those 2.
GMS will come on at some point.
There should be only one tactic tomorrow.
Smile and walk away, whatever the provocation. Let the referee deal (or not deal) with it as he sees fit, and just get on with playing our own game.
We can beat the DU players up with quality football. Let them resort to trying everything other than football in order to try to beat us, and give them a right proper doing by putting the ball in the net again, again and again ad nauseum.
Make a solid statement to both DU and Aberdeen with a resounding 5-0 or 6-0 win…
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED.
antipodean red
Sounds like one in the same. Hard as nails doesn’t do him justice. I’m still wincing nearly 20 odd years after his last tackle on me. But a true gentleman. Surprisingly slight of build but solid as rock.
Nope that wouldn’t be right MacDougall didn’t play under swalex. So must have been a couple of years after.
Feeling better.
Beat myself up on Wednesday when old man me made the mistake of getting a tv graphic re the Champions League draw wrong.I thought Rube had got Monaco..Come Friday – the draw- Rube – Monaco.
Goodbye paranoia re being a befuddled old git – Hello – being able to tell the future.
south of tunis
Very good :-)))
NostradamusCSC
Jackie knows his team are poor , and his job must be on a shoogly peg so he talks shite , and some of his players are worse
****Last Man Standing 4 update*****
Very close now to having the magical 67 entrants but still loads of minutes left to enter!
Today is the last day to register your interest to take part. So thanks to 2 kind CQNers and to tempt you latecomers to join us, we are delighted to announce:
(1) that any monies raised through LMS4 for Wee Shay Bhoy (not the prize money) will be matched and donated to Shay by a kind CQNer.
(2) Another CQNer has donated £50 to Shay on the basis that it is used as a buy back for 5 CQNers in the competition. So we are introducing a Joker (quite appropriate really for this blog :-) ) in round 4 and/or round 5, where up to 5 CQNers (cumulatively) that get knocked out in these rounds will be able to claim this joker and qualify for the next round. If more than 5 are disqualified in these rounds, then lots will be drawn to see who are the true jokers :-)
So to get this chance of an extra life you just need to reach round 4. Easy I hear you say :-)
So get yourself registered by sending us an email to cqnlastmanstanding@gmail.com .
Thanks again for the wonderful support
Jobo and CRC
EmbraMike
5 penciled in for every game.
And you didn’t include Johansen within the 5
Think ul find our player of the year in waiting, is first name Ronny pencils in every week
Oneofthe70…
I wouldn’t have phrased it quite like that but you’re right!
HH
tim tanium
12:57 on 20 March, 2015
Summer of 76, Swalex asked my brother, a free scoring centre forward, to sign for St Mirren. Turned him down, wanted to go to uni. Never understood why he turned it down, or asked him for that matter. Mug.
I remain convinced that, because their team isn’t good enough to beat us by legitimate means, there has been an orchestrated campaign by D.U to stop us in any way they can, including over the top challenges, blatant cheating and trying to get our players sent off ( Donnelly admitted as much on Wednesday when he stated that Efe had been targetted for attention including their players surrounding the referee demanding a red card).
I repeat, this is reminiscent of Atletico and Racing Club, and whilst I do not wish to see us descend to their level, neither should we allow them to kick lumps out of us without remonstrating in the strongest possible terms, short of actually giving tit for tat.
BMCUW
Sounds like a perfect day oot tae me! :)
See you tomorrow bud.
Ray Winstone’s Big Disembodied Heid, as I said before, we need to just rise above it and laugh at them. They’ll get themselves into such a lather that they’ll likely end the match with nine men. Including the referee.
Ruggyman
Agreed, think I need a bigger pencil :-)
Weather is set fair tomorrow. The pitch is looking in much better nick.
Let’s pass and move this shower into the ground.
Zig and Zag will be straining at the leash to play. Let them.
SJ will have been tied up in a cupboard in Lennoxtown all week forcing him to rest. He’ll be desperate to play too.
Treat tomorrow as a completely fresh, standalone fixture as if the previous 3 games didn’t happen.
3-0.
HH
BigChipsUK- Doin’ the new Broonie.
Aye. Here’s hoping. And here’s hoping we come out of it with no serious injuries.
Ray Winstone’s Big Disembodied Heid…..
Nothing abnormal about them targeting Efe, Ray.
Did you see the kick off? United kicked off, Shifty got the ball. Broonie charged in and fouled him.
Coincidence? Hardly.
It is a devious old game, that’s all.
in the paper today
http://www.scotsman.com/news/scotland/top-stories/rangers-administration-full-list-of-creditors-1-2325870