It’s been six weeks since Celtic have had something to play for: 1 May, a five goal win over Dundee. Since then we wound down the remaining Premiership games before cranking up a fortnight ago at our new second home in Paisley, but it all comes into focus on Wednesday at Celtic Park, when we are expected to humble apparent Champions League whipping boys from Iceland.
People at Celtic have complained for years about having to play such important games in the middle of July, but I’ve never bought that argument. If we have to face Legia-type opposition later this month, we can’t have an early enough test. The challenge is known, it’s the responsibility of the club to be ready.
Stjarnan are likely to be the least resourced team we will face this summer, but if we get a comfortable win on Wednesday, these two games, as well as the friendlies against Eibar and Rennes, should provide ample opportunity to physically and tactically ready for the real test.
A few weeks back we discussed the game of brinksmanship involving Greece and it’s analogy in Scottish football, “Those sitting at the Syriza side of the table know they may be marching their citizens off the edge of a cliff”.
8 days ago Tsipras won his referendum mandate but quickly accepted that you can’t play poker if you don’t have any cards, never mind aces. I wondered if he hoped to ‘lose’ the referendum. I wonder if others hoped the SFA would find ‘against’ them a few months back. As we mentioned, it was “one of the classic failures of leadership – telling people what they want to hear in order to gain power, without any way of delivering on the promises made”.
If the Greeks had said ‘Yes’ Tsipras could have capitulated, blaming the will of the people. If the SFA said ‘not Fit and Proper’, others could have declined to invest, blaming Peter Lawwell and his ‘cronies’ at Hampden. I’m sure you could write the script yourself.
Populism’s easy, until you are given control, then it’s harder than granite. We’ll see the same lesson played out in Scottish football in the months to come. You need five aces in your hand to play poker with a billionaire, even then, don’t make assumptions.
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Hamiltontim/ BMCW
they’ll be sending nine year old up chimneys next if that carry on isn’t stopped, discusting.
Proudbhoy
Apologies, flipping across my works laptop ( doing some work from home) and iPad.
Young McGregor, on a positive has a great knack of finding himself in the right position inside the box, and has a very decent shot
Now from a team perspective when in it, his work rate is shockingly poor, and decision making the same, from what I witnessed.
And for the money he allegedly earns, we cannot afford that type of player and costs on the sidelines, I do not see him as a1st team regular, hence would rather see his costs removed before someone like Anthony Stokes, who regularly last season, did work hard with Izzy down the left..
I never witnessed McGregor working on the right ( and I know he’s left footed) with either full back, far too often leaving them exposed.
A football matter for me, and looking at total picture of team and costs of such
Thanks for the response
Hail Hail
new article posted.
Macjay 10:58 Chelsea.
ah yes,thanks for confirming to me why i noted Chelsea as a young bhoy,for a song! As a team they were kack, one title in 1955 and a cup in 1970,they were not even good enough to win their own league during what is considered halcyon days.They were even talked up then,as they had a couple of fancydans-osgood of the sideys(common in the early 70s)cook was inconsistently good,ron choppa harris was more famed for his swinjin missed tackles a la George Best.They were a team of overated softcentred london boys imo
I admit to visiting Stamford bridge when i stayed in London,it was enjoyable taking in the odd 2nd division match along with 10,000 others.times have change since Roman the oligarch invested wealth taken from the russian people into the bestest mostest hyped league in the world,alas to me the are still famous for that song
:-)
HH
Thompson Twin (2 days ago).
Belated – but then I’m always late on here – compliments on your simple, factual statement of financial reality. I see that you’ve been criticised, but then there are always those who object to the fact that 2+2=4.