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:
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ohits
6/7
thunder road
2 correct
this isnt going to last long,
HH
Weet Weet Weet
Reminds me of a chat I had on holiday in America about 20 years ago. Got talking to this guy on the beach. He came from Pittsburg Pa, and he seemed impressed when I told him I knew a bit about it, steel town went bust in the late 70s etc.
‘So where do you come from’ he asked.
‘Glasgow’ I said.
‘Sorry never heard of that town’ he replied.
Me…. ‘well it’s quite a well known industrial city of almost 1 million people, the biggest in Scotland’
Him..’ oh I see, I know Scotland’s in Ireland, so your Irish!, nice one, I’m half Irish on my mother’s side, put it there buddy’.
This dude was a company director with some firm.
JC2 lol
Thunder nope
Thanks VP!
Had my first pint and will have one on the flight. On the road to redemption!
5 Jordan
21-5-79
The Lee Makel answer was a poor attempt at a joke!
Thunder Road
Thats the one, you and ohits can share the prize, dont know if there’ll be room enough in there for you both at the same time though
HH
Coney
Easter Rd tomorrow? :)
Thunder Road
Im a bit slow this morning lol
HH
twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine
The one I missed is it Luis Suarez .
ohits
Im not that slow haha
HH
Being an auld git who was taken to his first game in 1962(!!) I chose 7 of the Lisbon Lions in my best ever Celtic X1.
Here goes:
Simpson
McGrain McNeil Connelly Gemmell
Johnstone Murdoch Auld
Larsson Dalglish Lennox.
HH!!
Celtic v Dundee Utd – Groundhog Day.
Maybe they are destined to play us forever until they start behaving themselves…
Yeah, and any of you who get a wee thrill from prison escape movies should try a spell inside.
And you who get a thrill out of War movies, should try being in a real combat situation.
And so on. . Ad nauseam.
Best 11 for me
An in form Boruc
McGrain McNeil Stanton Lynch
Maestro TB Lubo
Dalglish Henke Lennox
HH
Yanks abroad.
Overheard two of them in conversation a number of years ago on Troon esplanade, as they gazed across to Ailsa Craig.
Yank 1: (pointing) Is that Ireland?
Yank 2: (scratching his head) Yeah, must be.
Me: (sottovoce) Ffs!
HH!!
Hamiltontim
06:53 on
21 March, 2015
Best UK TV series: Any of the Blackadder programmes.
Alphabet
C = Big blue wobbly thing :))))))))))))))))))))
Another cracking shout from etims. Apologies if already covered.
****
Bye Bye Sky-A Call For Unity
March 21, 2015 · by Ralph Malph · in Latest
Charlie Saiz ponders the possibility of a cross border statement of intent to Sky TV
I and a growing number of disillusioned fans of Scottish Football have now reached tipping point regarding the ever widening gulf between SKY’s valuation of the Scottish and English game.
Whilst we all agree that of course the Game down South is of a better quality (having more money allows fro greater scope for increased quality)most of us also agree not as big a margin as the current money deals would suggest.
Our deal is worth around £15m for 86 Games. That works out around £175k a game.
By comparison under the new Premiership deal, each game will fetch around £10.2m per game(up from 6.2m in the previous deal).
In effect 2 premiership games are worth £5m more than our entire deal.Which even the most ardent Premiership fan will say is a complete farce.
Further to this each of the 3 relegated sides in the English top flight will receive a further £86m(over 3 years) for their abject failure.
On top of that they also get their flat rate of £55m for taking part.
Celtic by comparison (Scotland biggest earner) made just under £2.5m for winning the PremierLeague last Season whilst Hearts who finished bottom made approx £780k last season.
Cardiff fans will be giggling at that one no doubt.
Enough is enough folks for if Scottish Football is ever to make it’s way back to any form of successful standing within the European Game then fans are going to have to start taking some direct positive action here.
We all hold the answer to this problem
SKY Sports are not going to take a blind bit of notice of fans whining and moaning about these things on line and in pubs.
What it needs is direct action.
The only language these Worporate Cankers understand is the language of money.
They have no real interest in our clubs.
In fact , they aren’t even interested in the other Leagues in England.
All they are concerned about is the Premiership and all the hype that goes with it.
Your subscriptions are funding this beast that is devouring all before it.
I don’t Subscribe to SKY myself I never have (out of principal) but I can assure anyone reading this that if I did it would have been cancelled many.many years ago.
I along with a growing band of others who support the Scottish game are asking for fans of all clubs across Scotland to cancel Sky sports and put an end to this farce now once and for all.
Divided it won’t make a blind bit of difference but together we can all make a real statement of intent and perhaps wake SKY up to the very real idea that fans actually do matter and without your cash the bubble they have created can go bang if enough come on board.
I would also invite fans of Clubs in the lower leagues down south to perhaps show some solidarity and who knows they might even gain something from it themselves.
Come join us and say Bye Bye To SKY.
Cancel today
Tell them why,
Enough is Enough.
It’s time to claim our game back
A fair deal for all or no deal at all.
While we’re all talking about McNamara’s whingeing over the last few weeks, and quite a few have come to his defence, I think that in contrast to him McInnes was fairly dignified in defeat when we beat them 4-0 recently. And Im not particularly a fan of his
HH
Gordon
McGrain Reiper Elliot McKinley
Naka Lubo Maestro Lemon
Henrik McAvennie
Hail Hail
that’stoughSOMANYHEROESCSC
timgreen,
I like.
Bye bye to Sky.
Árd Macha
My best X1
Simpson ( Boruc – yes – but he blew it.I also thought Broto looked to be a goalie)
Mcgrain McNeil Connelly Gemmell
Johnstone Murdoch Nakamura.
Larsson Dalglish Lennox
Away tae bed…..have a guid day Celts
but…..afore ah go….dont be surprised
if Jackie MacNamara lands wan oan
Timdoms chin….the worrier – CSC
….thats it,bye.
South of Tunis
Totally agree re Broto, Ive always maintained we’d have won in Seville with him in goal. MON didnt like him for some reason
HH
South of Tunis
We almost picked the same team.
I say Auld, you say Nakamura.
How’s the weather way down South?
Overcast here, 18 degrees.
Big four day market on just now: 600+ stalls,including a few from Sicily.
Saluti n HH!!
21may67….If McInnes had reacted the way mcnamara has he would have been slaughtered on here…Mcnamara ….cant stand him…
Perfect day. Fitba at 3. Magic! :)
Was the Ghost Martin Peters
Remember him ghosting in to score a goal against Scotland, impeccable timing.
Hail Hail
In the pub recently we did a best 11 with no Lisbon lions allowed.
Still some great elevens.
21stMay
MON. Did like Broto ….couldn’t afford him ..we were paying a fortune for Hedman and Douglas ….our money men weren’t prepared to sanction further expenditure
Info came from a close friends niece who was working as a marketing manager at CP at the time
Chairbhoy
John White was The Ghost
marrakesh express
09:42 on 21 March, 2015
Best XI seen.
Gordon
Mcgrain
McNeill
Connelly
Gemmell
Johnstone
Murdoch
Moravcik
Lennox
Dalglish
Larsson
=====================
IMO you have nailed it!
Sub’s: Yogi, Buzzbomb, Reiper, Sutton and Roy
HH
Oops… sub goalie Fraser or Ronnie
HH
I think Broto was cup-tied and unable to play in the UEFA cup.
MO’N was annoyed at the length of time it was taking for Broto to make up his mind about signing a new contract. He was signed as cover, but wanted parity with Douglas and Hedmann, if I remember correctly, in terms of wages.
MO’N wouldn’t have cut off his nose to spite his face.
DD
Are you going for a pre match swally , would like to meet a few of the Bhoys .
HH
tallybhoy .
Weather has been dire Astonishingly wet but things are improving .It was sunny high teens Thursday / Friday but with a cold wind from the Ukraine..Today it’ s grey , cloudy and windy.
Spring tomorrow !.
Auguri .
BGX
Absolutely agree, and I left Tam McAdam out of my favourite 11 in deference to you btw haha
Chairbhoy
It was John Whyte, Spurs and Scotland ,killed by lightning on the golf course I think. Pretty sure he earned the nickname before that though
HH
Timgreen
A few of us chatting about this very thing in pub last night but still great idea in cold light of day,
It would be even better if it was a concerted organised, publicised event and tens of thousands did it at same time. Its vital to future position of our club.