I spent a lot of time last season defending Stefan Johansen. His goals, goals created and interceptions stats were incredible. He needed defending because apart from when he was scoring or creating goals, lots of his work was done off the ball. Those who take note of off the ball work, his direct opponents, voted him Player of the Year (those who follow the ball, or action on TV, miss lots).
This season’s been different, none of the markers he put down a year earlier have been met. I don’t have enough information to explain why this is, so I’m not going to absolve the player from responsibility, but what we got from him on his return to Norway on international duty was the talking part of a good game:
“I am dissatisfied with the way I was playing”
“But in recent months I have felt my rhythm is better and that my body is good”
Perhaps more importantly:
“We are going to get those two trophies [league and Scottish Cup]. We have decided to do that.”
You very occasionally hear players talk in those terms – “deciding” to win. I remember writing up that Fraser Forster “decided” to make the England World Cup squad. He made his mind up, put the vagaries of form and fortune out of his head.
The commitment from Fraser in the year-or-so before the 2014 World Cup was enormous. He worked harder than any Celtic player. Enormously harder than some. That’s how you decide something which isn’t actually your decision.
Stefan has a lot of work to do to get back to where he was a year ago. Only he can decide if the time for talking off the park is over.
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Johan Cruyff, aside from any Celts, he was my favourite player. Memorised everyone in 1974, by inventing what we now call the drag-back. I place him second, behind Pele in terms of all time greats. A true great.
Whitedoghunch –
got it, thank you kindly.
Sad to hear about Johan Cruyff. What a player, undoubtedly one of the best ever! God Rest his soul, sad loss for the beautiful game.
Mesmorised the crowd also :)
The poor Swedish defender Jan Olson was pretty mesmerised too!
What’s Swedish for ‘Where the . . ?’
Turkeybhoy on 24th March 2016 10:45 am
What a joke this place has become. No fault of Pauls, I might add, but this site is attracting every halfwit who purports to support Celtic. Not the Res 12 guys, I might add, who have done wonders, but the shower of self righteous trumpets who have jumped onto their cause, with only the intent of demeaning everything Celtic.
*The site was out of control yesterday, usual suspects, aided and abetted by hunterlopers, posting tae themselves. If some don’t want to renew the SBs, go tae the semis, stop supporting the cub then feel free for every one of you there are 10 more that will take your spot.
Today is Holy Thursday or to give it it’s Latin name Maundy Thursday when since 1969, the General Norms for the Liturgical Year and the Calendar, which govern the revised Roman calendar used in the celebration of the Novus Ordo Mass, were released indicated Lent ends.
And here I am 5 days later still revelling on the wonder goal that gave us 3 points. I was really up for this game especially after sevco has thrown away a 2 goal lead the night before, I know we’re not supposed tae worry about them, I don’t but I support 2 teams, Celtic and anyone that beats them which was the Bairns last Friday night and the Doonhammers this Saturday.
Yes I was disappointed at the prospect of dropping 2 points, but we didnae and later on with the wooly bully’s dropping 3, well Holy week just got better.
I’ve been following the leather belts since George Hunter was our goalie. I’ve seen games where we left after winning through a scrappy goal but still happy, don’t recall too many complaints about the performance, more along the lines of that’s the kind of game that wins titles/cups.
Leaving other games gutted after playing teams off the park, especially the huns, and losing the points. Never heard anyone say “aye but we did play fitba the Wullie Maley way”.
Too many on here looking at Celtic through rose coloured glasses. It’s like saying it never rained in the summer when we were growing up, tennis during Wimbledon, putting when the Open was on and fitba every other day, swimming daily in the Clyde, Leven Loch Lomond as well.
Naw we didnae, merr chance of staring oot the widnae at the rain, as Billy Connolly would say, there are 2 seasons in Scotland, rain and July.
Supporting Celtic was like that, “forever and ever we’ll follow the bhoys” and we did through slime and muck tae keep the green flag flying high.
I usually talk about past games that emphasise this. My first hun game for example away tae them, including beeb commentator paterson’s da in the lineup, they got off tae a flyer with former Honest Men player christie putting them in the lead, Whitecrook’s finest Johnny Divers equalised for us shortly after.
We took the lead 3 minutes intae the 2nd half through the Juggler who had only returned the previous year and would leave for the buddies (and come back tae haunt us later on that season) 2 months later.
We looked comfortable with the lead until 2 minutes from time when big Frank, who had just recovered from injury replacing our most successful manager)) Frank Conner, contrived tae dive over a blooter fae Scotland’s record transfer player.
A wee footnote here, 2 people died and 60 were injured when a barrier gave way at an exit on the Copland Road side of the ground at the end of the game, something similar would happen about 10 year later, and magistrates called for an investigation into the incident!!!!!!
On making our way tae the Vale of Leven CSC bus I overheard more than a few fans say “it was a moral victory for us”, this wee 13 year old didnae think so and was gutted.
Letts move on tae the same venue 10 year later practically to the day, we had gubbed the deid team in their midden twice already and were now back for the league game. We were really up for this, how many was the mantra.
W took the lead early through Kenny but they soon surprisingly went into a 2-1 lead before skip-tae-ma-lou levelled for us and then we took command. Big Tid was having a great game for us and they were taking turns at humphin him.
However, they had a breakaway when the scorer of the equaliser on January 2 chased a through ball before lifting it over our goalie. Awe FFS could be heard all around me as our goalie lies there prone, gutted by the looks of it. Oh wait a minute, the mitb is chalking it off for a foul tae us. Never seen any appeals fae our players and from my viewpoint almost in line with it in their coo shed didnae see anything wrong with it. 22 years later, home for a funeral, I questioned him about it and he said their centre had clipped him.
Anyways, as I said Tid’s having a stormer and in one of his raids down the left flank “he used tae be a hun but he’s alright now”, does him and is for the Joe the Toff.
Then right on time as they are belting out their hymns of hate, as make no mistake this IS a moral victory for them, our heads are down at the prospect of dropping a point when from a perfectly flighted ball intae the heart of the land of the giants defence our wee talisman out jumps them all tae heider the ball past the Girvan scheidthouse.
Awe ya effin beauty as bedlam ensues amongst the chosen people. All the way out tae the only exit at that ground and on down in the Lomond CSC bus it’s “we got Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Jimmy Johnstone on the wing”.
Nae greetin about last minute winners, nae complaining about NOT “playing football the Glasgow Celtic way”, it was all about the victory, as was Saturday last.
Tontine
A real CQN post
Hat doffed
Turkeybhoy 2.19
I have some sympathy with you. There is one poster who I noted had spent almost 12 continuous hours on this blog yesterday bleating about the same thing via countless posts…..all very depressing. No wonder many posters are looking in at other sites now. Fan-a tic, whose posts are always interesting and worth reading, suggests we can always scroll on . Well yes we can but its a heck of a lot scrolling believe me.
Last minute goals
Bobby Lennox against the mighty Ton – on the way to the 9
Tontine Tim,
I don’t think the younger generation really experience the same joy we do, when Celtic win. I may well be talking bollocks but I grew up watching a Celtic that never seemed to win anything. Now, EVERYTHING is a bonus.
WE SHALL NOT BE MOVED.
Thanks, by the way, for your inimitable contribution.
JRS,
Remember that well. I was standing beside my Dad in the Jungle that day and I had happened to praise Morton for something. I won’t say what my Dad said to me but it was far from complimentary. Both of our nerves were shredded, right enough.
jinkyredstar on 24th March 2016 5:24 pm
Last minute goals
Bobby Lennox against the mighty Ton – on the way to the 9
*fae a TG cross tae. we had applauded Morton on tae the park at the start as they had taken a valuable point aff the huns midweek.
They were doon at kilmasonic and leaving before our game ended and it was still 1-1 were singing and dancing. That’s both set of fans BTW.
Big Jock ran down the touchline that day tae get tae his celebrating players.
Yes, Johan Cruijff was a great player. I had the privilege of watching him on Dutch TV from 68, when I was told by a Geordie that he would become one of the greats, until 71, when he was at his best. Mind you, the Ajax team had some other great players, like Neeskens, Keiser and Suurbier.
We were so good at that time that, when Ajax got to their first final, they were thrashed by AC Milan, who said that the only team who they were afraid of was us, whom they beat by a goal given away at Celtic Park by Big Billy. We had done the hard bit in the San Siro.
Some sanctimonious bs on here today….bleating, grumbling, and moaning fro people who profess to be above reproach.
Do me a favour and get off your perch of superiority.
Listen to yourselves.
Bleat moan…this one said that, the other one said this…its terrible. this blog is a laughing stock….and so on, etc.
Talk about Holy Willies.
Give us a break from the pontification.
You all have plenty to say….but dont seem to want anybody to challenge your outdated views.
Come into the 21st Century.
Its no 1950 anymore.
HH
Winning Cap
I got a message this morning after posting for 1st time in about a week.
It read “Moonbeamswd you negative wally, you have posted one to many times. Please f*** off!”
Signed Big roasted bird.
Wit’s that awe aboot? :)
MWD
Oh..it should only be good fans on CQN eh.
Fecking bs and nonsense.
Sick of this pathetic narrative.
If you all want to agree about everything like nodding dogs…go right ahead.
But dont expect anybody else to assume your sainted personalities.
Feckin hell….All we need is a Minister on the blog….then we can really be ridiculed and talked down to.
Bleat, Moan, Bleat.
Tontine
Morton had a wee knack of damaging dear Hun – didn’t they draw 3-3 one midweek when we won the Glasgow cup by hunners – I was a bit young but I’m sure I recall that
Tontine @1712
I was just away to say the very same :)
Cracking read.
HH
Some real sensitive souls on CQN.
Offended by differing opinions and attitudes.
How dare anybody question anything eh.
I believe the slogan was: Celtic Quick News, Not Lazy Journalism.
Wonder what happened to that eh.
Now we reach the point, where people are offended by anything they dont agree with.
Im sure there will be North Korea Quick News out there somewhere, if you are so offended by a few posters with contrary views, maybe you should look in the mirror….to see if you really are God, or not.
Fawning deference is not a quality i identify with.
HH
HH
Good evening folks. Sad news about Johann Cruyff. May he rest in peace. I remember him being regularly featured as a player on ‘On The Ball’ on ITV and ‘Football Focus’ on the BBC. Definitely an outstanding player of his generation
TGM…hasn’t the Rev I M Jolly been on today? And he was bleating and moaning too…:-)
WEEBOBBYCOLLINS
Its like a nursery school in here at times.
The greetin is constant.
Stamping their wee feet.
Throwing their toys about, and screaming….Its no fair.
Their wee bubbles get burst, and they get angry.
And you cannot tell them anything….because they know it all.
Need put to their beds early:)
Wi nae dinner:)
HH
Tontine Tim at 17:12
Very well written. I felt I was at those games…
Off to Mass to pray that I haven’t broke the blog…. ;-)
Jobo – ye did
Say an extra three weather forecasts :-)
Tonight’s Scotland team ..
McGregor, Hutton, Martin, Berra, Robertson, Mulgrew, Snodgrass, Fletcher (C), McLean, McCormack, Anya
SUBS | Bain, Greer, Bannan, Caddis, McDonald, Phillips, Watt
On the back of moans about the lack of Sevco players selected for the national team, I hear that his Magic Hattedness Warbs has suggested an international line up embracing the skills and attributes on show in and around the Blue Room …
——————— Widdowsson ———————
— Temple — Boaz — Jachin — Boyne —
—————- Master ——— Mason ————
——- Tyler ——– Abiff ———- Sash ——-
———————— Lambeg ————————
Keeper thought to be poor and may need help, but is protected by the central defensive pillars. Craft is expected from midfield architect Hiram Abiff while Tyler will create openings. And of course they have been banging on about the big target up front for years.
I believe this is on the level so no 3rd degree please !
Off to Dublin in the green. .
Armed police at Dublin airport
But are they looking for jihadis or weegies ??
I’ve not had chance to read back… Wtf a tenner to watch a Scotland friendly on the telly!
I’ve been told the Wales v Ireland game is on BBC 1 wales, it says on the screen otherwise but my mate reckons they’ve not updated the format.
Virgin 864.
No doubt bada will know :)
Captain joy lingfield 315 tomorrow
Pat smullen rides, trainer fancies it. 12 / 1 available
Excellent post, Tontine Tim, I enjoyed it.
My favourite CQN posts are first hand accounts of great Celtic moments. 10 men won the League, stopping 10 in a row, Love Street etc. Unfortunately I never witnessed any of these events, you can read and watch youtube clips but hearing little cameo accounts from Bhoys who were there is pure magic.
!!Bada Bing!! on 24th March 2016 1:29 pm
Adam Johnson 6 years
==========================
The age of his new burd?
A very happy birthday and best wishes to our mhate and right good Tim Roy Croppie,also happy birthday to his beautiful ghirl Lucy.hh
Sorry ‘ONE ‘ of his beautiful ghirls.
Oops, Northern Ireland. :)
You ever been for an interview and those who are asking the questions ask “what are you going to do to benefit this company (club) over the next 5 years ?
I’d love the Celtic board to have the courage to indemnify their answers to shareholders and supporters if somebody dared ask the question above, of them, vis-à-vis their Celtic PLC responsibilities to grow the brand.
Sandman
That’s a bit tasteless
It’s not a crime to make jokes of
Corkie
You making Dublin this weekend?