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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Agree
Imagine Qatar will be a hoot
: > )
beatbhoy
00:10 on
22 June, 2014
Jc2
There’s a great atmosphere at most of the matches too, which is helping to make this World Cup such a great spectacle
Praecepta
Early yet, still plenty of time Bhud (not bhird) :-)
sparklegirl,
That confrontational stuff is not my scene.
I only come on here to have a bit of fun and catch up wae the craic with all the good folk.
Last week was sinister in the extreme.No chance I was having that.
You have no need to apologise to me mo chara.
Celtic is oor team.
The Provos rule supreme!
My friends in Celtic,
The energy levels in this WC is very apparent.
We may lack certain skills of the multi million pound player, but fitness we can address and improve.
Hopefully JC has this in his remit.
HH.
A player that plays in Hungary we can afford that, sign him up
Shocking freekicks this WC, bring back Naka and ZZ
Dallas,
As I suspected.Top defence lawyer my erchie.
Elevated to the top by the Craft.
A bigot of the highest order.
Delaney’s I didn’t know he was the original Bill boy’s grandson. DNA eh!!!!!!
I never knew anything about Fullerton or the Glencoe Massacre until third year at school. My English teacher, who introduced Scottish Literature to us, gave us a poem about Fullerton to read. It was very good. They called the catholics who stayed in the now demolished Norman Street, Konks.
Ironically, the new road connecting Shawfield to the Gallowgate was built over what was Norman Street and you get a terrific view of Celtic Park from it.
Tricloured Ribbon, he’s not a millionaire through his legal work alone, if you know what I mean.
tremendous energy levels from Nigeria tonight,Emenike has done a power of work
Dallas
The Campbell name sends shivers down my spine. Glencoe revisited. Mark Scott martyr RIP
Then again it is possible to source Scottish whiskey in Scotland up to 60% volume alcohol, explains why it is sold in such small measures.
One x 60% whiskey @ 25mls would probably work out about 2 x 33mls @ avg 40% alcohol volume.
So ye could say that it’s a false economy in the long run when ya think about it.
HH.
Gordy and dd,
Do ye know yer pal got the heave in the Radnor?
Dzeko close to equalising. Good save, chance missed though.
Is Ringo a sir? Bit of a kick in the teeth if not.
Paul has been pretty poor but Hey Jude is excellent
TCR I had heard it was on the cards but never knew it had happened,
a few were going I think
TCR
Clarence no more :(
Nice lassie for a wrong wan.
Same guy, post in injury time!
16 roads,
A mathematician and future director of Bells Distillery….
Bosnia out. Nigeria need a point v Messi in next game to qualify.
Bosnia are decent and yet zero points
A work colleague is a Tim from Bridgeton and knows of Campbell.
He calls Campbell the same name as the Bazza character in Only an Excuse calls big Amo. He also said Campbell was a wido who hid when the going got tough
Gordy,
The whole lot cleared from top to bottom I think.
Rumours galore as usual, so draw yer own conclusions from that.
Didn’t recognise one of them last month.
What 5 o’clock the next game, don’t think I have enough booze to keep me awake until then.
Great day of WC football, 3 brilliant games.
DD @00.49,
Ye better no tell Gordy that…hahaha
Well done Efe!
Best performance by a Celt so far in the WC.
The end of a great days football, 3 very good games today rounded off nicely by a team in green & white beating a team wearing white and blue.
Efe had a solid if unspectacular game but did his job well. Well done big man.
Dallas
He is a hopeless brass monkey who relies on the LLoyds green syrup to survive. He must dream about Mark Scott RIP.
dallas, dallas,
Oh I am with ye pal reagarding the Cowdenbeath bigot.
Regarding even
His actions have ruined two lives, his and that of his innocent victim whose family never got to see their son and brother prosper.
Good night and may your God go with you (copyright Dave Allen)
.
dallas,
You take care pal.Gob bless mo chara.
God no Gob..sorry big man up above..flagging here already.
beatbhoy
00:14 on
22 June, 2014
Thanks for that.
Like others ,I felt that the England side were very talented as were the Leeds team which Celtic defeated the same year.
TCR
I loved your Bisley song, as did the sons and daughters of the Rock. :))
Cheers Efe and team.
Half time bet on Nigeria got me out of jail after heavily punting Argies on the handicap !
HH
time for my cot troops.take care
DD one day we can share a beer in the H&B,look forward to it