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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No excuses the morra.
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They targeted Efe from the off on Wednesday, as soon as they had the ball it was launched down his side. Only problem with that tactic was the big man had a great game and took everything in his stride.
I think SA & GMS will be straining at the bit tomorrow, along with Johanson. JF, AS & KC I think will make way for those 3…
weeron. So what? I don’t recall an orchestrated campaign by Celtic to foul/cheat/influence the referee in order to gain advantage in the way that United did.
You are entitled to hold a different view albeit a somewhat naieve one in my opinion with regard to D,U,’s tactics.
You are not going to change my view on this. I saw what I saw.
weeron
12:47 on 20 March, 2015
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.
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Agreed. No need for this to become like Aberdeen v deadboys
Lets the DU players chunter on
It will keep our players focused
RD doesn’t seem to be a softy …I’m sure he’ll instruct that we GIRFUT
Midfield maestro
hope your brother got a good degree and career out of it. Bobby Reid got his law degree whilst playing for the Saints and he needed when injury wrecked his blossoming career. Was on a par with Hansen at the time. Touted for big things.
Ray Winstone
Maybe DU will cop on and realise that we can mix it if we have to.
All good teams can. None of the Lions were shrinking violets.
DU’s series of games with us, especially after we took their 2 best players, was always going to end up tousy. I don’t see anything too sinister behind it.
Weeron
With you on this. Good club. Just getting sick of the sight of each other. No I’ll feeling towards the Arabs apart from Paton.
PFayr. Agreed. I see both McGowan and Paton have been chuntering on as you put it to anyone who’ll listen.
Let’s hope we shut them up on Saturday.
Top 100.
Great stuff. Read the article and everything.
Árd Macha
As I like a wager I’ve just placed 2 bets on tomorrow’s game, one is for us to win 7-0 the other is for us to win 7-1.
I suspect Stuart Thompson and Gary McKay-Stevens will be brought in to freshen things up a little and present Jackie Mac and Dundee Utd with a whole new set of problems.
Any proceeds from the bets will, of course be donated to Mary’s Meals.
C’mon Celtic!!
Ray Winstone’s Big Disembodied Heid
13:34 on
20 March, 2015
weeron. So what? I don’t recall an orchestrated campaign by Celtic to foul/cheat/influence the referee in order to gain advantage in the way that United did.
You are entitled to hold a different view albeit a somewhat naieve one in my opinion with regard to D,U,’s tactics.
You are not going to change my view on this. I saw what I saw.
———————————————————————–
Not a problem, Winstone.
I will leave you to your unchanging mind.
Murdoch,
Stuart Thompson will be like a new player :)
HH
And I’ll leave you to your unchanging mind ron.
Some at Dundee United are behaving in an unpleasant fashion at the moment. That does not suddenly make the whole Club and all its supporters similar to the Huns.
I have always enjoyed the United brand of football but having lost so many good players of late, it is no surprise that their fluid play has disappeared.Also, of course, playing ANY team so often in a short space of time inevitably leads to problems.
Part of me enjoys the friction because it adds spice to the upcoming game but we must guard against going down the `Nobody likes us but we don`t care` road.
JJ
weeron,
I simply don’t agree with you about McNamara. I feel he has harboured a grudge against us (wrongly, imo) since he stopped playing for us. Celtic were good to him,when he was out injured. The Club stood by him; when he had the opportunity to reciprocate, he cleared off to follow the money.
I really don’t care how he sets out his team. I just don’t want him managing my team.
“Did you see the kick off? United kicked off, Shifty got the ball. Broonie charged in and fouled him.”
Weeron,
The meal Cifci made of that challenge would put the world’s food banks out of business.
Getting concerned for that new club Sevco playing in the Championship.
I mean I haven’t seen a statement for a while.
Maybe someone could check in on them to see if they’re alright.
Árd Macha
Two questions:
Who got the Official Man of the Match award on Wednesday?
Who is the ref on Saturday?
JJ
Tim tanium, agree. I hope the clubs move on from this. The media, no doubt, will continue to stir what they strir.
JJ,
Agreed. Love thy neebor.
No cards tomorrow. You heard it here first :)
Just discovered it was James Forrest……..now I just need the man of the Match info 0:-)
JJ
PS
Geordie,
Are you going for a pre-match pint tomorrow?
Parkheadcumsalford. I don’t know whether McNamara is harbouring a grudge against us but he certainly seems to have a chip on his shoulder about something re Celtic at the moment.
No idea why.
JJ,
1. Bitton (I think)
2. Kevin Clancy
HH
Geordie
Thanks but it was JF. I looked on the CelticFC site.
JJ
Parkheadcumsalford….
I think it is easy to presume such things.
I am one of these happy clappers who has sympathy for the suits that run our club – for example, when so many were upset that Sammi left, I think I could see that the club was doing the right thing.
In Jackie’s case, I think he waited a long time, and with his contract at an end, he did what most folk would have done, so I bear him no grudges on that.
I think (just my opinion) that much of the negativity towards Jackie comes from the fact that ex-rangers players manage their teams against sevco, and talk about sevco, as if they were fans in the stands.
Jackie, on the other hand, is doing his job for the fans and club that pay his wages.
To be honest I should be fairer on Paton. He must be hurting. His team cannae even beat Cowdenbeath at the moment.
“Are you going for a pre-match pint tomorrow?”
JJ,
Most definitely.
Buttttt, no sure if it’ll be in our usual club or in the kds.
We arrive kinda late-ish for the kds, usually back of 1, and as there’ll be a kid with us I don’t wanna be wandering around for near 2 hours
HH
Just read that we havnt dropped a point this season when we have taken the lead,pretty cool stat if correct ,so lets score first …..
Weeron,……i get what youre saying about mcnamara…..but jeezo he cant half moan,the whole trembling lip bit rips ma knitting…..
We just need to play at the same tempo as we did on Wednesday.
Not many team would live with that. I hope the game is incident free and both teams finish with 11 men on the park and we have won 5-0.
jungle jim hot smoked
I wouldent say we are going down the nobody likes us we don’t care road, I would say it’s more or less letting our anger out on the blog, its pointless writing to newspapers or using phone ins, we all know how they work, better to keep it among our selfs than do what United are doing, and that is making an arse of them selfs.
The SMSM has the big stick out stirring it and Celtic re not biting it, it’s the deflect game it means some thing bad is coming out about the rotten arse mob, they are so predictable in many ways, I don’t do predictions but Celtic – 2 the morra :))
tony d 67
Fair point and I hope you are right.
Cheerio for now,
JJ
jungle jim hot smoked
Chow.
murdochbhoy
09:25 on
20 March, 2015
I enjoyed your post the other day about Roberto Rivellino – elastico fantastico immensely, it brought some great memories of the colourful 1970 world cup.
*me tae, best WC IMHO ever, some great teams there including england. My da and his pals, none left now, all good Tims tae, would meet in the Glenroy doon Balloch tae discuss the latest game.
They were all in awe of Brazil, my da labelled Riva “Omar Sharif”.
I recently read “Why Soccer Matters” by Pele and he clearly states that he was finished with international fitba after the 1966 WC as he rated it the durtiest ever, biggest criminals were not the Argies but their mother country Portugal who literally kicked him out of the game. Hungary were also pretty thuggish which is a shame as they were past masters of the game.
BGX….
Fair point. I think he has overdone it. And it has backfired big time.
murdochbhoy
13:54 on
20 March, 2015
As I like a wager I’ve just placed 2 bets on tomorrow’s game, one is for us to win 7-0 the other is for us to win 7-1.
I suspect Stuart Thompson and Gary McKay-Stevens will be brought in to freshen things up a little and present Jackie Mac and Dundee Utd with a whole new set of problems.
Any proceeds from the bets will, of course be donated to Mary’s Meals.
C’mon Celtic!!
__________________________________
I dont like to blow about winning bets on the footy, but i won over 3000 Leva last night on Dyn/Kiev scoring 5 goals.
I was put onto it early yesterday morning by a friend who is a big DK supporter.
So reading your post i’m going to do the same tomorrow. I have 2 bets normally on the Tic on matchdays and if i’m lucky enough to have picked the right score or the 1st goalscorer i will also donate the winnings to Mary’s Meals.
Thanks for posting your post Murdoch just to remind me of these things.
HHX2.
árd macha @14:00,
Getting concerned for that new club Sevco playing in the Championship….
We’ve had three years of Paul Murray telling the Sevco Board what they should be doing and how they should be doing it.
Now nothing.
Maybe big Charlie should have made him Chairman, would have given the poor mans head peace.
Hail Hail