We’re close enough to the English psyche to intimately understand their hopes and fears ahead of a tournament like the World Cup, but the M74 provides enough space for those of us based within a short distance of Celtic Park to have the kind of perspective that’s not possible for most fans immersed in the moment.
For long enough, England, along with Spain and France, were the perennial underachievers of European international football, which was dominated by “skilful” Italians and “efficient” Germans, while even the Dutch and Czechs have managed vastly more major final appearances than England.
France, then Spain, got the monkey off their backs, but England still relive their regular tournament nightmare, although this time it looks likely they will bow out before troubling any of their players in a penalty kick competition.
So cut England open and what bleeds out? After the game last night Danny Murphy on BBC Radio 5Live tried to offer objective resistance to the idea that England lacked passion from a tidal wave of calls, asking “Where is the Terry Butcher with a blood soaked bandage around his head?”, “Where is the crying Gascoigne?”
Fans often confuse sporting defeat with a lack of will to win. This notion was expressed last August when Celtic lost to Shakhter Karagandy, aided and abetted by an ITV commentator who proposed the notion during live broadcast. I’m pretty sure upwards of 95% of us have played the game at some level, but time seems to remove the memories of what it’s like to be losing in a team sport, and importantly, just how difficult it can be to reverse momentum.
Suggesting professional footballers don’t try during some of the most important games of their season is an embarrassing failure to think from another’s perspective.
Listening to the radio last night and again this morning, there was no dispute to the claim that what England needed was a manager who could lose his temper in the dressing room.
Even Murphy didn’t feel comfortable enough to take on the nation on this one, instead assuring listeners that Roy Hodgson was capable of losing his temper. This was mean to be supportive. It was surely viewed as such by many. This morning, Kevin Phillips trotted out the hoary old “lacked passion” line.
Is there any other field of human endeavour where losing control of your emotions is viewed as an attribute? Football managers exist in a highly competitive, technically exacting environment. At the top level they have to communicate subtle instructions to highly skilled professionals who have heard it all before from lippy managers. By the 30th rant they are all immune and it’s highly unlikely that intimidation led to an increase in performance first time out.
Despite this, managers are supposed to demonstrate a primitive human weakness to an audience who can often scarcely tell the difference between a football match and a pantomime.
We have to be different. We have to be cleverer; let the rest satisfy their need for an alpha-male role model – because make no mistake about it – this is what they’re really craving, while Celtic show uncompromising adherence to getting the best people for the job. On a side, note, can you imagine what appointing Roy Keane would have said about our strategy?
Roy Hodgson has done enough in the game to prove he’s a good manager but he’s more Euro-sophisticate than an archetypal alpha-male. Best of luck to him.
The Celtic Graves Society are having a fundraising raffle to generate funds. 50% will go towards their excellent work and 50% will go to the Northern Ireland Childrens’ Hospice, who looked after Wee Oscar recently. For the cost of a £5 raffle ticket, you can win a singed boot from Scott Brown or from Virgil van Dijk.
To buy your ticket go to Paypal and send £5 to donate@celticgraves.com
Don’t worry if you don’t have a Paypal account, you can still work through Paypal with a debit or credit card. Please add the phrase “Boots Raffle” to the Paypal subject line, and they have asked if you could alert them to which site you picked the message up from, so “CQN” will do.
Good luck
Visit the CQN Bookstore to get Tommy Gemmell to sign your personal copy of his book, All the Best.
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cadizzy
“mind you I was a good deal of the way there by half time”
So were Hansen & Miller unfortunately
Just visited the local Greggs for a bite to eat. Unusually for Troon there was a beggar asking for money outside.
I knocked back his request for coins and offered to buy him something to eat
Thanks very much he said while asking for a large Cappuccino ,plenty chocolate & 2 sugars.As a wee treat I threw in a cream cake.
Modern beggars ain’t what they used to be.
Makesomeonehappycsc
Aye, Cadizzy!
I know you would never get drunk without a really good excuse!
I was nearly as upset at the Brazil loss to Italy in ’82 as I was at the Russia v Scotland draw. Just because the Boys from Brazil that year were just so damned good to watch.
England-level defenders right enough!
Bizarrely, a sort of forerunner of Naked Video called “Laugh, I nearly paid my license fee” included in the same cast Rik Mayall and Richard Stilgoe…..as well as Mason Boyne (not his real name)
Cadizzy -not the ole Davidoff again?
It doesn’t taste the same once you’re out of PA16.
Just as an aside, most of the ‘BBC Scotland’ comedy is produced by The Comedy Unit, which is a distinct private enterprise (owned by a French media co.)
There’s a Greggs in Troon!!!!!
setting free the bears supports Res. 12 & Oscar Knox
14:22 on
20 June, 2014
LOL (for the avoidance of doubt, that means laugh out loud not lots of love even though I am quite fond of you)
BMCUW
I am à regular on YouTube.
…scotch n wry, chewin the fat, still game…
My old dad was also a regular viewer. Can still hear him howlin’ with laughter , – when he wasn’t listening to his favourite music turned up to 11!
HH!!
Chewin the fat
Woman buying boxes and boxes of tissues at the supermarket with her teenage son present and nobody in the family with a cold…you all know the rest
A quick perusal of CQN today
Paul67 seeding excuses already if Ronnie is an alpha male ….and if he isn’t.
By the same twisted logic Slovakia were in the 1934 and 1962 World cup final.
More Scotland r us bumph.
More Scotland izny us bumph
Pub Grub
Chapel Grub
This caught my attention
“In an independent Scotland “Rangers will be back to their rightful place and where they belong”…..hmmmm..for 140 years that’s what they were anyway. Don’t see how independence drives that issue. In my opinion one of the main reasons we still have the Hun vanguard around is that Celtic and the SFA want them and want back big time. Their bonuses will be bigger. Besides Dermot says.
In retrospect I was correct in Jan 2009 about Celtic’s vision and in Jan 2014 about Lenny quitting.
oh yeah and England are now officially in the same category as Scotland…shite! (Seeds indeed!). Just as the over hyped huns in the SPL brought in ferners to hump Celtic destroying Scottish youth development the EPL did the same for England. Who cares?
I’m still rooting for the Germans or Dutch..anyone but the diving deities.
Cadizzy
Stoneybridge, Callum Gilhooly, and the guy with Welsh accent – brillaint
angelgabriel
Wiz it sleekit?
What’s Troon coming to?
I’m putting my house on the market and moving to Prestwick!
HH!!
The Young Ones
One word finale
.
CLIFF
Amazulucsc
Dontbrattbakkinanger
14:28 on
20 June, 2014
“Cadizzy -not the ole Davidoff again?
It doesn’t taste the same once you’re out of PA16.”
that’s ’cause it’s really watered down Toilet Duck
spikeysauldman
14:33 on
20 June, 2014
spikeysauldman, weren’t they from Absolutely? Stoneybridge was, I’m absolutely sure
angelgabriel
I remember standing in a huge queue at Queen St Station waiting to board a train for Edinburgh.
We were playing Hibs and a win would give us the League.
It was a freezing April day and this beggar appeared asking us for change for something to eat.
He got nothing.
A few moments late another beggar appeared and asked for money for drink.
He got a fortune from us.
Honesty the best policy?
Definitely.
Oh, and we won 3-0.
God it even snowed during the game.
Marghet McGill
diving ?
The Germans are masters – from Klinsmann to Muller
and watch out for Robben – hes just getting warmed up
Cadizzy – your right !
you’re right too
Cadizzy
If everyone in Foreign is nonplussed about the result and just getting on with their everyday activities – the Morris dancing, the Johnny Foreigner beating and the Kate n Wills lovin’ – could somebody please tell poor wee Adrian Chiles, as he appears to be working himself into a bit of a lather in connection with this World Cup malarkey.
Cadizzy- yes, you go on Davidoff to wean you off Toilet Duck.
‘Harm Reduction’ they call it.
“Set phasers tae malky!”
Ken?!
HH!!
Apols if posted before………….
@hsnewsbreak: Scottish Government gives £175K seized from criminals to Celtic charity: Cash seized from criminals is to be … http://t.co/B8NAwFYvDL
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
MOONBEAMS WET DREAMS
Apologies,mate.
Not like me to miss the facetiousness of a post.
But I excelled,I thought,with my sanctimonious reply.
Enuff of the big words,cot time.
JC
If you tell wee AC that everyone was nonplussed about the results, he’d think you meant that they were all as negative as he was….thereby defeating the purpose and leaving him lathered to the hilt/nines/gills….whatever one gets lathered to
dbbia
Davidoff is the methadone of PA16…..as is methadone
cadizzy
14:27 on 20 June, 2014
Bizarrely, a sort of forerunner of Naked Video called “Laugh, I nearly paid my license fee” included in the same cast Rik Mayall and Richard Stilgoe…..as well as Mason Boyne (not his real name)
Kick up the Eighties
I’m sure I heard that Bobby Robson at Ipswich ‘motivated’ his players by punching a few of them on the jaw after an unsatisfactory performance.
Former Ipswich players of that era speak adoringly of him I believe.
John Collins tried to improve and motivate his players by showing an example and his players thought that he was showing them up because he was fitter and better. He still followed a more civilized approach by asking for an apology from the Hibs players who went behind his back rather than asking them all for a skwerr go.
Time will tell if we are better with carrot not stick.
Mr Johnny Clash – is A. Chiles not half Croatian?
They’ll go through if they beat Mexico.
He can look out his red and white checkerboard cravat.
JohnnyClash
In Foreign , the Johnny Foreigner beating is referred to as the Johnny foreigner beating so as to avoid the obvious confusion and collective self harm that would otherwise ensue…..another variant of harm reduction but without the alluring scent
DBBIA,
He is indeed. He’s a Croatian/Pug crossbreed.
Bawsman
12:58 on
20 June, 2014
Turkeybhoy
12:49 on
20 June, 2014
============================
A racist who bites his opponents?
Do I need to know more?
Probably.
Tallybhoy
Sleekit would have asked for a Steak Bake.
Can I Have Raspberry On That Champions League Ice Cream
14:58 on
20 June, 2014
what spikeysauldman said earlier…….twice 0;)
WeefratheTim
14:57 on
20 June, 2014
Apols if posted before………….
@hsnewsbreak: Scottish Government gives £175K seized from criminals to Celtic charity: Cash seized from criminals is to be … http://t.co/B8NAwFYvDL
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
=========================
Any reaction from FF thus far?!
HH
Close shave but binning wig more and backing Mohican.
I think I’ll make tracks for Foreigner this weekend.
I want to kno what love is.
Is the Jock with the Uruguay fans Rioskorrie?
HH