Tim Williamson is Celtic’s Head of Physiotherapy and Medical Services, but in football he is more famous for an incident in the 1990s, when he was Partick Thistle’s physio. Thistle player Colin McGlashan took a head knock, Tim treated McGlashan and told manager, John Lambie, that the player didn’t know who he was. Lambie shouted back, “Tell him he’s Maradona and get him back on”. [Commonly misquoted as “Tell him he’s Pele”].
The joke works because everyone knows that if an individual is full of confidence, they will do better. The opposite is also true. Tell them they are a Honda Civic and are competing against Ferraris and they’ll win nothing. John Lambie knew this, good school teachers know this and good parents know this. Leadership is hard, but telling people you have faith in them is the easy part.
Dundee, Hibernian, Kairat, Braga and Newco are not Ferraris. We outspend, out-pay and out-sport-science all of them. Dundee were 11th before yesterday. Braga are 8th in Portugal – and have not won a league game since 17 August. By any measure, these clubs are minnows.
Dundee deserved their win and could have scored more. They knew their tasks, fought for their manager and wiped the floor with a team who looked like they had been told they were nothing more than Honda Civics.
It is impossible to win the league with that narrative and crucially, not everyone realises this. We are in a perilous situation and as long as the Campaign of Deflection is waged, it will get worse.
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Moisey17
Lots we agree on there.
We made some great signings 2021-23 and summer of 23 transfer window onwards have been very poor.
Regardless of who was involved re signing Japanese, or other top signings, before it simply hasn’t happened since summer of 23.
There is no logical reason why the major shareholder would support one new manager to the hilt and then shift his ideas for a new guy that he personally championed us bringing back.
I do think the major shareholder has made a massive error and forced a situation upon his 2 executives (that’s all that really matter re the board CN and CMc). He panicked when Ange let him down and brought back someone that didn’t fit where we were at. He saw all the really great stuff in BR but forgot and ignored the bad stuff that we all remember from spring 2019 if we really think. Most of all he. viewed it as a safe pair of hands against rangers who had made a pretty good managerial choice but were skint and gave him very little back up.
My view is sadly we have never really seen BR as he was in 2016/8 but more as someone insecure and seeking to keep his personal brand in tact. He could see what Ange did and knew it would be impossible to replicate it and sadly he was not the man to build on it. His philosophy was different and it became more about him justifying himself than Celtic.
Seeing his failings in transfers in 24 and the potential cost DD would not be for sanctioning readily and ML and now PT suggested options were clearly ignored or dismissed by BR.
We are stuck with him until DD decides. My view is we would have loved someone to come and get him and I hope it is sooner rather than later.
If not the owner needs to acknowledge and we pay up and remove him.
Much of the background chaos from anarchic groups and attention seeking pro bloggers who make a living from Celtic drama is just that.
Sadly none of it helps Celtic.
The 2 execs are not perfect and maybe not as great communicators (I personally don’t really know either) but they have the club at their hearts and really did get given an impossible task to deal with. I don’t think they succeeded but I don’t know who could. Not me for sure.
The rest of the board is a red herring but as a group it could be refreshed and be stronger if changed over the next 12 months to 24 months.
Just my thoughts.
I think you misinterpreted the point Paul. BR’s Ferraris weren’t the opposition but the players who could implement his style of football, i.e. perform like a Ferrari. BR doesn’t appear to like all the non-forward passing as a rule, but his players can’t do what he wants and the Board or Dermot promised him he would get enough Ferraris – so massively frustrating for him. Hence his comments of recent weeks.
Fact is the squad is not very good partly because of underperformance of previously key players – Calmac, CCV, Hatate, Maeda and Tierney then those who can’t really do the job asked of them, notably Yang, Kenny, Scales to an increasingly large extent. He’s okay defending but BR style preferences the transition to attack which neither CCV or Scales seem to contribute much to. He doesn’t have a goal scorer and KI was a desperate move and so far one doesn’t see signs of him scoring a ton. All of this is compounded by the invisibility of the three big BR signings Trusty, Engels and Idah (who left in a bit of a mysterious way).
Forget the Board for the moment, BR and the squad need to find the solution to (a) an underperforming team (b) the low block which is becoming the norm in SPFL for teams who play us.
I t won’t simply be a change of formation as demonstrated against Dundee – two strikers up front everyone was saying but when the two are JK and KI then it’s hard to see that changing the dynamics of anything.
I think time for Sinisalo, if AJ is injured let Colby Donovan in over TR, Saracchi and KT share with whoever performing better starting. Give Engels a good run and move Calmac forward a bit, Nygren and Hatate can share the spoils with whoever is playing better (scoring goals) starting the next week, Tounekti moves to RW and Bali gets left wing, Shi Yamada (start giving him game time) or KI start, Maeda as sub on wing or in centre. Keep this until January at least.
Longer term start planning now to get the Bodo/Glimt manager in when BR contract ends.
Interesting timing the day after the Honda “communications” blunder
I would have thought that Callum’s piece in The Herald would have required club approval beyond Brendan Rodgers.
He is just stating the obvious. In the circumstances, it is hard for anyone else at Celtic to speak out without fanning the flames of Brendan Vs The Board Vs The Collective.
I believe Tounekti plays on the right wing for Tunisia, if true, why is he not playing there with us ? Baffling in the extreme
kingLUBO
Moisey 17 & Burnley 78
Recent posts from both of you make a lot of sense….
I can’t say I agree with everything but I agree with a lot..
ILJASB
Agree with all you say, everything. Well said
kingLUBO
In terms of development, I think most players in the match day squad are at their ceiling apart from Engels, Donovan and Sinisalo. Pretty mature squad.
The signings who are in B or on fringes of 1st team have some runway, which is positive.
I said this at the start of last season but we serious need a succession plan for McGregor. Rodgers made a less than complimentary comment last season when Engels filled in so who is it? i don’t believe that player is at the club.
January won’t be spectacular (Sutton is wrong there and Boyd right for once). Not a good market and Rodgers on last 6 months.
Astute loan deals might give us some fuel after the Dubai trip……..
If nothing else BR’s outrageous comment seems to have built some kind of unity among supporters. The Board, thanks to DD perhaps, is complacent and needs reform but a manager who wants to spend and spend and still can’t get a tune out of a team that is increasingly the one he wanted (not that he’ll admit that) is probably not a good fit for the club any longer.
I like BR but without some humility, acceptance of responsibility (rather than saying it and in the next sentence blaming someone else) and signs of fresh tactical thinking then there is no point in him continuing.
I think there is also a growing consensus that the idiotic protests are doing no one any good.
I may be wrong but I’m sensing that most fans now see beyond the polarising BR v the Board that the clickbaiters stirred up. We need to pull together now or the season is in danger of collapsing.
Brendan is being selfish…me, me, me. The protesting fans are being selfish…us, us, us. And the board are just being the board…we don’t care, we just do our major shareholder’s bidding.
Bhoys Town – nice one.
As is always the case, lovers of Celtic fall into two groups.
Those who love Celtic (genuinely) & get paid
Those who love Celtic, period
We’re all the latter.
Despite their often sizeable remuneration ours is the better bargain.
We’ll all still be here when the first group trot off to wherever.
Our emotional ownership and what we do with it … forms a much bigger part of our club’s fabric and its soul.
Strap yourselves in.
It’s going to get bumpier still.
Mc Lean,Dallas and Dickinson.Ref and VAR.About as subtle as a kick to the goolies.
Stick Rodger’s on gardening leave until the end of the season and appoint a caretaker till then…
Instead, this will play out as it did during the Covid season.
new article posted.