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Assessing achievements in rear view mirror

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

Optimism among the Celtic support is tangible right now. For much of last year the league title remained in the balance, but today, despite being promised a more taxing season, we’re miles ahead. You can get odds of over 40-1 on second favourites to win the title; the definition of No Contest.

As I noted yesterday, the transformation goes deeper than the heroics of Scott Sinclair and Moussa Dembele, neither of whom were material in the level of performance shown against Barcelona.

Achievements are often subject to reassessment at a later date and Celtic’s progress or otherwise over the last two years fall into this category.

A year ago, with a faltering Craig, Emilio, Efe, Dedryk, Stuart, Gary, James and others, we looked miles away from being a Champions League team. It turns out, we have a squad full of Champions League players.

Youth development hit the jackpot with Kieran Tierney, while John Park’s swansong signings, Erik Sviatchenko and Moussa Dembele, saw a return to form for our recently departed chief scout.

Money isn’t everything. Since 2004 it’s been clear on CQN that many Celtic fans have no interest in the game’s finances, all they are interested in is seeing an improving team on the park, but for the rest of us, the financial consequence of simply getting to the group stage this season is enormous. It makes accession to the same level next season so much more achievable.

None of that matters right now as we have the first cup final of the season coming up on Sunday. The litany of underachievement in this tournament stretches back to Jock Stein, who qualified for ever League Cup final during his 13 years in charge of Celtic, but after winning the first five, contrived to lose seven of the next eight.

I’ve seen a lot worse teams than Aberdeen knock us out of the League Cup, I hope nothing is taken for granted in the dressing room.

I’ve no idea what happened at the Newco AGM this morning but you’ll remember we discussed here the wisdom of launching a hostile takeover bid while a company is being driven into the sea by boycotts? More precisely, Newco was driven into the arms of the lender of last resort – Sports Direct. Sports Direct provided the cash that kept the lights on and picked up various rights and properties in compensation.

Offering a lender a shop at a rental of £1 per year for a decade seems harsh, but if the alternative is administration, there isn’t really an alternative. We didn’t know what the quid-pro-quo was for Ashley at the time, but we knew there had to be one.

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  1. Saint Stivs says SACK THE BOARD on

    Griff is a great striker.40 goals last season.

     

     

    Would he score the variety of quality finishes ofmoussa.

     

     

    Hmmmmm

  2. THE EXILED TIM on

    As it’s friday, our shopping day, we need to travel 20 mins to town, did our usual shop, spending more on the animals than ourselfs but we do that every week so, I digress, stopped in a village on the way home to put the lotto on, which we never win but…..anyways, noticed a sign in the bar, we have to buy our lotto tickets in a bar, the sign was for local vino, 3.97 for five Lts, a tad steep I thought, but yer man is a good bloke so I went for it, it won’t keep as there are no preservatives in it, but there is no way I could keep it, it’s superb for being so young, it doesn’t have the Joven-Young taste to it, it actually tastes like it a few years old, I may well be going back for a few more Lts.

  4. thetimreaper on

    SAINT STIVS SAYS SACK THE BOARD on 25TH NOVEMBER 2016 11:01 PM

     

    Griff is a great striker.40 goals last season.

     

     

     

    Would he score the variety of quality finishes ofmoussa.

     

     

     

    Hmmmmm

     

     

    ———

     

    Aye, and then some i believe.

  7. THE EXILED TIM on

    TTR

     

    I am with you on the Griff.

     

    Moussa will be a world class striker in time, Griff would be given the chance in a world class team, but as he is scottish and playing in scotland he is nothing.

     

    Henke was the perfect example, he was a world class striker, did the biz for us and Sweden time and time again, yet he was never a player till he left us, he did the3 biz against thems who thot he was pish when he played for us, but as we are scottish.

     

    HH

     

    ……………………………..

  20. mike in toronto on

    Timreaper

     

     

    Agreed. Some of those little chip passes they hit were sublime. On that one, the timing on messi’s run and his ability to catch it on the bounce were astounding. A thing of beauty

  30. beatbhoy on

    Thetimreaper

     

     

    Thanks for the extract earlier from the award-winning Johnjamessite.

     

     

    Not a weasel word in sight.

     

     

    At least we know what he thinks of the abomination that is the SPFL website, openly trumpeting the club they call Rangers as being Scotland’s most successful club.

     

     

    Pity our own club, via the SLO, wouldn’t publish their thoughts on said webshite when inviting ‘same club’ related questions last week.

     

     

    The compliance of silence.

     

     

    If we win on Sunday, we’ll only be 11 league cups behind a 4 year old team, as we’ll no doubt be reminded.

  32. thetimreaper on

    BEATBHOY on 26TH NOVEMBER 2016 12:13 AM

     

     

    John james is a high quality blogger, no doubt about it.

     

     

    The same club myth was for two reasons in my opinion. Firstly it was opined by the Hun establishment that the 140 years could not be allowed to come to an end. Think of the shame and embarrassment. Secondly, for commercial reasons, mainly the TV contract. The old firm element was critical. The question is what part did we play in the creation of the myth? I think we, as in the PLC were complicit. We allowed this new creation. What if it emerges in years to come that we were involved in their very creation? I wonder who would be more angry, them or us?

  34. Gerryfaethebrig on

    Craig Gordon number 1

     

     

    Leigh Griffiths number 9

     

     

    Moussa could be a star

     

     

    PlayyourbestplayersCSC

  35. beatbhoy on

    Thetimreaper

     

     

    Charles of Normandy’s need to sell season tickets and shares also a big factor in the continuation pish.

  36. Melbourne Mick on

    Hello again all you young rebels.

     

     

    TIMREAPER/MIKE IN TORONTO

     

     

    Wonderful goal right enough and if you look closely at the video

     

    Tom Rogic admired it as well, judging by him standing watching

     

    Messi make the run, don’t think Lenny or Lambert would have let

     

    him so easily, just my opinion.

     

    H.H Mick

  38. petec on

    GreeninbingleyinOslo on 25th November 2016 6:59 pm

     

     

    I know this is a long shot…

     

     

    Can anybody advise on a bar in Amsterdam that would be showing the game on Sunday?

     

     

    My good buddy George has been fighting cancer for 18 months. He got the word 10 days ago that nothing more could be done, and he was given weeks left.

     

     

    So I booked flights for tomorrow, from Oslo over to Newcastle where he lives, so that we could raise a glass of something – 12-year-old Jura, milk, whatever – and say cheerio.

     

     

    I was distracted when I booked them (OK, drunk) and I didn’t notice that the return leg of the flight involves a 25-hour stopover in Amsterdam. 08.15 Sunday to 06.55 Monday morning.

     

     

    A day in Amsterdam, in other words.

     

     

    My pal died yesterday morning, 3am. Cruel. I thought me and him would get a few hours, and that he might get one last Christmas with his wife, daughters, grandchildren and big family.

     

     

    I threw the tickets in the bin. Then I fished them out again when I had spoken to his wife.

     

     

    She said to stop being a ******g idiot, get my erse to Newcastle and have a drink with her in their local and then take Sunday going round Amsterdam and toasting him in all the bars we used to love. There are a lot of them.

     

     

    So that’s what I’m going to do.

     

     

    So any steers on bars showing the game would be appreciated. But bearing in mind the reception we’ve got there over the years I am not hopeful.

     

     

    HH

     

    …………………………………………………………….

     

     

    God Bless you all.

     

     

    Football is really irrelevant but it is so important, it is a game we all Love and enjoy when we have spare time.

     

     

    George obviously has a Wonderful Wife. You done the right thing listening to her.

     

     

    I took Monday off to hopefully, Celebrate, Celtic winning their 100th Trophy. I will miss the game because EK will be playing Wishaw at the same time roughly. The wee guys team is on a losing streak and it would be so easy for him to call off and say he is not well or whatever.

     

     

    1 year makes so much of a difference. 09:00 kickoffs then 14:00 kickoffs.

     

     

    I wanted Brendan to get into that CL more than anyone can imagine. :))

     

     

    KTF m8ty.

  40. petec on

    Always Fighting to Win and Fighting as hard as possible and in the Fairest of ways.

     

     

    That is Celtic in a Nutshell.

     

     

    Don’t Ever Forget, I know Absolutely Nothing.

     

     

    Means Nothing?

     

     

    Most Definitely it Means Something.

     

     

    Forget about Rubbing the Dedicated Rangers supporters noses in it, you are just CONTINUIng a hatred.

     

     

    Kitalba is right.

     

     

    The Administrators must be removed, they are well paid and Bigoted as well. A potent mix.

     

     

    I am obviously on Record as saying that we are in the End Days. Noone knows the Time, and we could be 800 years away.

     

     

    Forgiveness.CSC

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