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Confidence and talent

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

Such was Newco’s run of form going into the winter break, they had not dropped points since the last time they met Aberdeen, in October.  Celtic drew two league games in the intervening period, stretching the gap at the top of the table from two to six points.  We needed a break and on Tuesday the evergreen Scott Brown delivered again.

After crucial wins at Easter Road and Tynecastle last month, Newco’s façade cracked.  They remain in the driving seat, Celtic have little margin for error, but we are in the familiar position of asking who will recover best after the winter break.  Newco’s form in this respect is not good.  They cracked two years ago, when Celtic put pressure on them (and won last year under no pressure).  Aberdeen’s equaliser turned the screw sufficiently to draw their first domestic red card in what amounts to 21.8% of their history.  They must be a very clean team.  Or a very fortunate one.  European referees awarded four red cards in that period in a fraction of the games played.

Dropping points to Aberdeen, who remain sixth in the table, is more a sign of mental fragility than sporting deficit.  Between the two Aberdeen games, Newco won away at higher-placed Motherwell, Hibs and Hearts, scoring nine and conceding only once in the process.  That is championship winning form.  Even a poor Aberdeen, though, bring Newco out in a sweat rash.  The prospect of Celtic Park under the lights with an exclusive home crowd looms.

You know the script, when you are winning, every game in winnable, when you are not winning, every game is a minefield.  The next two weeks are as much about confidence as talent.  In that respect, the steady influx of new signings at Lennoxtown is invaluable.  All a consequence of the value achieved from a squad that won nothing last season, but we will explore that issue later.

A word on Scott Brown.  His legs had gone, that’s not in dispute, but a generation of Celtic managers loved him for how he got the team over the line.  His drive and devilment is still there.

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  1. Saint Stivs on

    CELTIC40ME on 20TH JANUARY 2022 9:02 PM

     

    TOM MCLAUGHLIN on 20TH JANUARY 2022 9:00 PM

     

     

     

     

    Handsome Bhoy

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Double swoon

     

     

     

    ——————-

     

     

    Its one of those urbane miffs that handsome people win more honours.

     

     

    well apart from

     

     

    quad trebles

     

    2 x 9

     

    most scottish cups

     

    old big ears herself

     

    coronations and empires and one offs,

     

     

    Unbroken beautiful people since McCallum and the Maley brothers.

  4. petec on

    bournesouprecipe on 20th January 2022 10:03 pm

     

     

    TURKEYBHOY

     

     

    A lot of white noise about Jota

     

     

    ))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))(((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((((

     

     

     

     

     

    He Only wants players that want to be HERE.

     

     

    I have nae doubt Cameron & Jota will be Celtic players next Season.

  8. An Tearmann on

    ParkheadcumSalford

     

    Read your query and my first instinct was same as yours with timing,bout 3rd article was that one.The 2 done well at Celtic.

     

    Interesting reading Strachan everyone’s replaceable view.As he won 3 while the post seville downsizing occurred.Always a good listen even now.

     

    :-)

     

    HH

  9. Turkeybhoy on

    BSR,

     

     

    A wee bit more than white noise.Benfica getting a hard time from the Portugese media,which is being read,and taken up by Benfica fans.

     

    At the end of the day,Jota holds the cards.If he wants to stay with us,its out of everyone else’s hands.You can’t blame the SMSM for reporting what is going on in Portugal,although they probably have their own agenda.

  11. Turkeybhoy on

    Petec,

     

     

    Wish I was as confident.Players performing the way both are,WILL attract attention from other clubs.We still have half a season to go,and if both keep up the levels they have shown,I have no doubt,they both will have many suitors.We should enjoy both while we have them.If, we can get them permanent,it will be a fantastic bit of business for Ange,to add to the rest.Waiting is frustrating.

  13. bournesouprecipe on

    TURKEYBHOY

     

     

    Jota attracts the attention of the Portuguese who don’t think much of the SPL or Jota’s season, if they even know it exists, they only got quoted because of mass social coverage and the white noise it generates, the player was allowed back for treatment in his home country , and it seems a good job done by Celtic.

     

     

    Nobody will know till the season unfolds our Celtic deal is one year on loan i.e till June with the all important

     

    option to buy? I really don’t think Benfica care if he beats Alloa single handedly and generally runs amok in Scotland. This situation is identical to Jack Henry ( in reverse ) – the big gazumped bid didn’t happen and Celtic got what they agreed.

     

     

    Let’s wait and see what happens and credit Celtic for getting a player from an infinitely better league, which the player might want to return.

     

     

    IMO CSC

  14. Tobago Street on

    For a couple of months now on this blog there’s been sporadic talk of some team getting a right pasting…maybe Alloa but I don’t think so; Hearts, Dundee United…

     

     

    T

  18. GuyFawkesaforeverhero on

    Saint Stivs on 20th January 2022 10:09PM

     

     

    In and around the normal insults and put-downs which form any civilised conversation with huns, chanced upon in my close, down my street, at the bus-stop, outside NISA, inside the Lusset or thereabouts, I have a new favourite.

     

     

    As well as 9IAR against both Ibrox iterations, our current squad established a 7-1 last month to enjoy in parallel with Hampden in the Sun.

     

     

    Gerrard completed 10 competitions in his time in Scotland before skedaddling. Who knew? Victory in the written history fell to Celtic 7, St Johnstone 2, Sevco 1.

     

     

    Seven past Niven. Seven past Steven. Same old Celtic, always winning.

  19. Sionnaigh on

    Monday night’s performance was encouraging. Tuesday nights performance by Sevco gives us a real chance of winning the league.

     

    Having played the game at a decent level I can assure you of one thing now running through the minds of every opponent Sevco has to play against.

     

    Sevco will be now assessed as mentally and physically weak, in pro fitba Scottish terms, “shitebags”.

     

    I can smell the blood of Der Hun.

  21. GuyFawkesaforeverhero on

    What would it be like to be sat here in this cold flat reading The Winds of Winter while listening to a 10 track recording of new songs from The Sundays? I’d be able to forget about the cold. George Martin, David Gavurin, Harriet Wheeler, living their lives on their own terms.

     

     

    In the meantime, future hall of famer Sarah Jarosz sings a song written before she was born,

     

     

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bg1TYrfc_k4&ab_channel=LivefromHere

  24. ah mean what? on

    Jamie Jenkins (@statsjamie) Tweeted:

     

    🚨🚨 Keir Starmer – ‘The 438 deaths recorded yesterday are a solemn reminder that this pandemic is not over’

     

    FACT CHECK

     

    ➡️ 438 deaths announced

     

    BUT

     

    ➡️ Includes backlog & not all deaths due to Covid

     

    ➡️ ONS data on deaths due to Covid closer to 100 daily

     

    Starmer misleading ❌ https://t.co/ffCo3s3bpF https://twitter.com/statsjamie/status/1483801997723766785?s=20

     

    __________________________________

     

    Labour & SNP, and100% media (apart from GB news) want lockdowns masks etc to last forever as these 2 parties and their scum media liars want us public all to disappear! Literally.

     

    The Tories are scum, but, when the scum is more trustworthy than the rest where do we go?

     

    150,000 Labour members have left their party because mainly the 100% lying smear campaign against Jeremy Corbyn, and subsequent witch hunts against Jeremy Corbyn supporters, and yesterday Lab business sec said “I’m glad they’ve left as they don’t share our values!” That was a vieled smear of 150k people.

     

    £150k+per week walks out the door and the business sec is glad?

     

    I think that a Labour govt would be lobbied by the you know who’s to inflict a lot of pain onto Celtic supporters because of our support for the oppressed I’m sure you know what I mean.

  30. The hand of God on

    Must say it’s been a very good transfer window so far,maybe when Kev J stops reading the Telegraph he may give the board a little bit of credit or will he throw them under a bus again ?

  32. The hand of God on

    The next three league games for Celtic are massive…if we can win all three I would really fancy us to win the championship.

  35. The hand of God on

    Sionnaigh,a copy of Bobby Gillespie’s Tenement Kid is winging its way to me…looking forward to reading it.

  38. Chairbhoy on

    Good morning – Finr Day To Be A Tim…

     

     

    SFtBs @ 2:52 PM,

     

     

    Well I think we’ll have to cut to the chase.

     

     

    Either there is sectarianism in Scotland or their isn’t. And if there is, there’s two sides to it. And if there isn’t then no one can be accused of sectarianism.

     

     

    To bring historical Scottish and English conflicts into this and songs about those conflicts shows either you don’t understand sectarianism, as I’ve been arguing or you are wilfully misrepresenting the position.

     

     

    Scotland is a Country in the North of the Island of Great Britain, England is a Country in the South of Great Britain. For many years in the past they fought against each other as England did with France.

     

     

    You wouldn’t portray the historic England, France conflicts as sectarian so why would you portray the Scotland, England conflicts as sectarian?

     

     

    It’s a nonsense. When a country fights another country it is not a sectarian conflict.

     

     

    I posted what sectarianism was the other day….

     

     

    While sectarianism is often labelled as ‘religious’ and/ or ‘political’, the reality of a sectarian situation is usually much more complex. In its most basic form sectarianism has been defined as, ‘the existence, within a locality, of two or more divided and actively competing communal identities, resulting in a strong sense of dualism which unremittingly transcends commonality, and is both culturally and physically manifest.’

     

     

    So let’s take it one step at a time…

     

     

    Sectarianism is NOT a condition of history (although often caused by historical events), it is something that is manifest in the present. The HERE & NOW.

     

     

    … the existence, within a locality,

     

     

    In this case the locality is the West of Scotland

     

     

    … divided and actively competing communal identities,

     

     

    The communal identities are the Unionist and Republicans.

     

     

    The Unionists are one side of the sectarian divide and account for a small proportion of the West of Scotland population.

     

     

    The Republicans are the other side of the sectarian divide and are an even smaller proportion of the West of Scotland population.

     

     

    Many Unionists identify as Protestant

     

     

    Many Republicans identify as Catholic

     

     

    This is however not mutually exclusive.

     

     

    These communities manifest their sectarian identities in many ways.

     

     

    One example from each community:

     

     

    Unionist “Orange Walks”

     

     

    Republicans “singing rebel song”

     

     

    So sectarianism needs at least two sides

     

     

    We’ve got that

     

     

    Sectarianism is within a locality

     

     

    We’ve got that

     

     

    Sectarianism has to be in the present

     

     

    It has thankfully abated to a great extent but their are still those who persist to identify themselves as Unionist and those who identify themselves as Republicans.

     

     

    As long as these communities exist and manifest  physically and culturally, sectarianism exists in Scotland.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  41. David66 on

    Good morning all from a chilly, dark but dry Garngad

     

     

    Welcome Matty bhoy.

     

     

    I wish the “I told you so” brigade would feck off.

     

     

    Twisting facts to suit their perverted needs whilst people are dying of covid plus related illnesses.

     

     

    Feck it swimming beckons then the coal face.

     

     

    Laters yall

     

     

    D :)

  42. Por Cierto on

    When Ange said that the signings were over and there was no one else in sight, I thought and asked on here, that perhaps he was trying to put others off the scent and to stop the gazumping that had occurred. Well, Matt O’Riley has just answered that question :)) Hail Hail Matt! Ange has played a blinder here!! por cierto

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