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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First game today for a wee while. Sat 3pm kick offs are a rare thing these days. Looking fwd to a decent game. Blood and thunder …….or thud and blunder even….as long as it’s meaty. I will take 9 v 9 and 4 to 3 for the hoops. (0 0 and I won’t be back for a while:-)
Best 11 I’ve seen
Boruc
McGrain
Elliot
Reiper
Lynch
Maestro
Lambert
Petrov
Larsson
Cadete
Lennox
pfayr….
The only mistake from MONs early days was not signing Antti Neimi from Hearts.
HH
Saturday 3pm kick off.
The way it should be.
Best 11 with my own mince pies
Gordon
McGrain Rieper McNeil. Gemmell
McStay Burns
Jinky. Dalgleish Lennox
Larsson
Good morning all,
The Kano foundation are bringing kids over from Belfast for todays game,
If you are going to the game today go over and say hello, or even go over to see the kids,
I guarantee it will be a happy experience, there will be lots of smiles, and lots of laughter,
Go and experience what we are,
Happy Celticing
utd should have 3 missing today that will play.. its shockking…mcgowan..paton and goalue. …si now it seems you canelbiw,as wwll as kick, celric players in the head and get away with it!
Mara…
Can I have some of what you’ve had please?
:-)
HH
Ohits
Crystal Palace Jamaica St at 12.30. A few bhoys will be in there. Hope we catch up.
Tallybhoy
Do you happen to be the Italian – Scottish guy from Kings Park (with a tash) who shows up in Brazen now and again?
Jobo/CRC
will anyone be at CQN corner to collect LMS4 money? if so, I’ll be there about 2.30.
DD
Will be there , will post when I get to the bar .
HH
….PFayr supports WeeOscar
10:34 on 21 March, 2015
____________________
Yer right….Celtic’s directors dragged their erses so that…MO’N couldny get Broto in time to beat the Euro deadline…as that would have cost money….in the days of yon ego-tripper Brian Quinn who, sabotaged the handing-over-of-gifts between reps of Celtic fans and Villa Real fans…on the pitch at CP…during the time of his public joust with MO’N when Quinn’s cheap dig at MO’N with his…”…our esteemed manager” stuff…turned the fans exchange of gifts on the pitch into a crescendo of boos from the crowd…just like when Fergus was booed…both the Celtic directors were ‘deservedly’ booed….imho
Ohits
Nice one. :)
My XI: Simpson
McGrain Gemmell
McNeil Connelly
Murdoch Auld
Johnstone McBride Lennox
John Whyte was the ghost, before my time, thx.
PFayr Beatbhoy
Thanks for info re Broto, always wondered what happened there. I personally think Douglas cost us in Seville and in the League that season. Bit harsh I know putting blame on an individual but a good goalie in that team and we could have swept the board
HH
Looking at my XI, I think they were all on the books at the same time.
Boruc
McGrain Balde Dolph Boyd
Naka McStay Wanyama Samaras
McClair Larsson
younggenerationcsc
Hello again all you young rebels.
Well i see some of you young ghuys posting your best ever players
and it makes me so happy that i lived through the Jimmy Johnstone
era but it also makes me sad that you guys could not see him in the
flesh he was a phenomenon he could do anything with a ball, even
my auld da who supported through the Tully, Mcgrory, Fernie years
said to me your so lucky to see that wee mhan in your lifetime, so
now i’m an auld codger who’s played the great game at a decent
level, i loved Dalgleish ( actually played with him when he was a kid )
Henke, all the lions and every other great Celt over the last 60 odd
years but honestly i’ve said it before and i’ll never stop saying it Jinky
was the best ever and i mean in the world.
H.H Mick
Leftclicktic
‘Give the likes of Baldrick the vote and we’ll be back to cavorting druids, death by stoning and eating dung for dinner’
marrakesh express
No that’s not me.
I hail (hail) from Greenock (full of Italians btw), and do not have a ‘tache.
Spend most of the year in Italy. Been to two hootenannies in Glesga.
KTF n HH!!
twentyfirstofmaynineteenseventynine
10:51 on 21 March, 2015
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Agreed.
Folk will rightly credit Douglas for his magnificent saves at Anfield for example on the run to Seville but,…being one who hates to see Celtic lose Cup Finals…I’d rather that we didny get to Seville(with hindsight) coz…us losing in Seville and, then losing the League Title in the next game….was like falling from heaven into hell and…it probably gave the huns the ‘best’ 4 days of their lives coz…all they know is…how to hate….that aside…Seville then, Rugby Park were ‘worse’ than black sunday for me.
HH
Weet weet weet
Hilarious. Reminded me of my sister at a pub quiz once
“What’s Hitler’s first name?”
“Heil”
Dippysis CSC
My best XI
Foster
McGrain McNeill Connolly Burns
Johnstone McStay Murdoch Moravcik
Dalglish Larsson
We might lose a few at the back but we would score a barrow load
HT
A cunning plan that’s so cunning you could stick a tail on it and call it a weasel
John White.
My old man was a big fan of John White.Memory of my old man bigging him up and recommending a close watch when he played for Falkirk at Celtic Park.He scored and Celtic lost 3 -4..I958 / 59 ?.
Weetweetweet 0826, spilt my cornflakes!
Add this one, genuine answer, it’s on youtube somewhere
Dave Lee Travis Sunday Breakfast show, sometime in the 1980’s
Q: What instrument does the leader of an orchestra play?
A: The baton!
Is there a best 11 that the Huns hated for no good reason other than bigotry?
I’ve got Boruc,Lennon and McGeady so far….
HT
I don’t see a problem with a return to the good old days of “death by stoning.” I was deeply disappointed in yesterday’s solar eclipse.There I was, ready to appease the anger of a malevolent god by burning a few people and I couldn’t even view his rage because of cloud cover.
Lennon Mjallby
Anton, Mick McC, Niall McG & Paddy McC.
Lennon n Mc… Mjallby
Wee Jinky because who he was and he terrorised them.
H.H Mick
KevJungle
Trip back from Kilmarnock having just got back from the Seville was devastating, and I was in motherwell end on black Sunday. Rugby Park was worse in its own way, though we kind of knew the huns would get everything going for them to ensure the title. Motherwell game was different as we all thought we’d do the business and it would be out of their hands. Bad experiences in both years and two titles we should definitely have won
HH
Boruc
McGrain Reiper Elliot Boyd
Dalglish Lubo Maestro Lennon
Henrik Sutton
Left Back a we have struggled over the years. Striking department, could have McAvennie or McCLair but plumped for Sutton as he was immense with Henrik.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
DD
Of course!!! Niall and Paddy definitely!
Lennon n Mc….Mjallby
Judas
Lennon Mcjallby
John Doyle and Paul Wilson spring to mind
HH
Mick
I think they would have had some basic common human decency regards Jinky.
Then again they are animals!
Morning All.
So who are we playing today?