Cynicism for international football, which I have plenty of, did not survive the festival we were treated to yesterday. Switzerland scoring three before eliminating World Champions on penalties is a feat for the ages. That it fell to the game’s most prodigious prodigy, Kylian Mbappe, to miss the decisive penalty and turn France Miserables, could have been scripted by Victor Hugo himself.
Croatia’s miracle ran out of steam in extra time against Spain, Europe’s other footballing giant of recent times. They were no less enthralling than the Swiss. The difficult side of the draw lived up to its reputation.
Football is the game we love because of the drama and excitement good competition generates. League rosters everywhere are full of fixtures with little consequence. Lose and you have a chance to recover. Celtic’s quadruple treble raised the excitement bar in Scottish football. For aspiring teams, every League Cup game was a must-win as it presented a viable chance to win silverware.
Great champions raise the stakes for everyone. When they lose, the sense of achievement the likes of Ross County, who were first to eliminate Celtic from a competition, and Switzerland last night, achieve what was thought barely possible. We need to get back to the top of the pile.
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MAGWAI on 29TH JUNE 2021 4:17 PM
On behalf of the goalie fraternity, well not really at 59, but well said👏👏
“GENE on 29TH JUNE 2021 4:19 PM
Hot smoked
Lived in England now for 50 years and want them to lose today.:”
I can understand that. Like I said, it takes a long,long time ( if ever) to overcome the bias we have against England.
Even with what I have said, will probably still want Germany to win tonight !!
PS I have a solution. I will place a bet on England. That might help me support them :-))
Truth is, whichever tam is playing the better football is the team who will get my support.
England should win – they’ve got a cracking squad – Germany are not playing that well and were almost out until last 5 mins against Hungary
HOT SMOKED @ 4:17 PM,
Why, do you think, did Dermot Desmond pay PL the salary he did?
That is a very good question, my thoughts are this…
Football Club investment is notorious for a variety of reasons…
They are a sink hole for cash, there financial results are predicated on football performance and as a result are unpredictable and volatile.
What PL managed to do, by being risk averse and running the Celtic business in the way he did is bring stability and financial resilience to the PLC.
He squirrelled away a huge amount of cash relatively speaking and kept spending on transfers etc to a minimum.
This meant that Celtic, relatively speaking, had a cash mountain and a stable share price.
A win-win if you are an investor.
Hail Hail
Chairbhoy
BR showed that “i) Celtic could achieve success at a much higher level”.
He certainly gave us one unique experience in the Invincible season but is Trebles were continued and equalled by Neil Lennon.
In Europe Brendan finished 4th in CL Group, then 3rd in a CL group courtesy of 1 win and 5 losses (agg 5:18) and was knocked out of the Europa tie that win earned him.. In his final season , he lost in qualifying to AEK and got 2nd place in a Europa Group (Neil went one better the following year) before losing home and away to Valencia.
There was no higher level success. MON, WGS and NFL all outperformed BR in Europe.
Jhb at 1-57.
Who appointed the manager and who signed the players?
In the final end, last season’s mess is down to Lawwell.
England fans must be demented- for all the talent and flair they have manager picks 5 defenders and to defensive mids against the worst German team for as long as I can remember…….
SFtBs @ 5:01 PM,
From time to time I’ve questioned your memory and understanding of events but this one is a biscuit taker:) Lenny did not win a treble last season, nor in 2010/11 Season, 2011/12 Season, 2012/13 Season or the 2013/14 Season.
There is no comparison, the whose the best manager Lenny or Brendan is no longer a contest is it, let’s be fair, it never was.
The interference from Peter Lawwell was completely counter productive to UCL qualification, his actions in the summer transfer window of 2018 was nothing short of disgraceful.
No Brendan Rodgers succeeded despite PL’s interference not because of his support.
Hail Hail
PL was the CEO of a PLC when he was here
and so his main interest was how to manipulate the business so he and the fellow exec cronies can rake in as much cash as possible to their own bank accounts
everything else is just window dressing for these folk
same as it is with every other PLC
WESTCRAIGS on 29TH JUNE 2021 5:21 PM
In the final end, last season’s mess is down to Lawwell.
——
If you take that point of view, then surely 9iar, quadruple treble, invincible season and twenty-nine trophies in seventeen years, is also “down to him”. If you agree, then weighing in the balance he is the most successful official in the history of our club.
Chairbhoy
“From time to time I’ve questioned your memory and understanding of events but this one is a biscuit taker:) Lenny did not win a treble last season, nor in 2010/11 Season, 2011/12 Season, 2012/13 Season or the 2013/14 Season.
I’ll stick with my memory and the accuracy of the assertion I made.
Lenny completed his treble from season 2020 by winning the Scottish Cup in December 2020, during the course of last season. He had already won the 2019/20 Title and LC during hte previous season.
There is no comparison, the whose the best manager Lenny or Brendan is no longer a contest is it, let’s be fair, it never was.”
Well, there’s a new conclusion on a debate we never had. While we’re questioning memories – can you recall what you asserted in the original post.
Was it That Brendan is a better manager than Lenny, as you now proclaim, and with which view I do not disagree?
Or was it that Brendan could achieve success at a higher level, as I asserted and responded to.
Your original post was at 3.14 to help you answer.
I have shown that MON, WGS and NFL with a Europa final, 2 last 16 CLs and 1 last 16 CL, had achieved at a higher level than Europa last 32, Brendan’s high point with Celtic.
All of these managers also won the titles and trophies that BR did. So they matched his domestic level, not perhaps his consistency, at this lower level but surpassed it at the more demanding European Level.
HOT SMOKED on 29TH JUNE 2021 4:15
—–
Agree with all you say.
——
I say, we are in general, a small-minded, grevience-motivated and in places a bigoted nation. If you add totally misplaced arrogance, e.g the “wha’s like us”, the tartan version of the “WATP” tripe, it makes for a strange concoction.
JHBkkklan in full flow
back to Sentinel for some decent patter
This England team like the huns want a foul for fekn everything :O(
Hot Smoked
Almores Cafe, how could you forget?
@ STB
“I have shown that MON, WGS and NFL with a Europa final, 2 last 16 CLs and 1 last 16 CL, had achieved at a higher level than Europa last 32, Brendan’s high point with Celtic.
That only works if you.”
It is completely without context of course. BR had a group with City, Barca, PSG and Bayern. I doubt any Celtic team would have made it out of those groups. So context is important.
ffs
Hype will continue till at least Saturday.
Germany were decidedly average
Line up. The euro 2020 trophy is just about yo be given out…including doctored signing 😜😜
Singing
Deserved win for England – Germany had no real belief.
Commentators….I have no problem with some taking a patriotic stance – however it’s when the sycophantic tripe creeps in that it is a turn-off at times.
Nicola Sturgeon cites ‘anti-Catholic abuse’ as difference between Rangers and Scotland fan gatherings
By Stewart Paterson @PatersonHT
Nicola Sturgeon denied taking a different approach to Scotland fans last week travelling to London to Rangers fans when they celebrated their league win.
She said that there were different reasons for much of the criticism of Rangers fans in George Square citing “anti-catholic abuse”.
The First Minister was asked if she regretted taking a “softly softly” approach to the Tartan Army.
READ MORE:Nicola Sturgeon still ‘hopeful’ of lifting lockdown next month
She raised the behaviour of some Rangers fans when they gathered in George Square in May when it ended in violence and police being attacked as they tried to disperse the crowd.
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She said the government discouraged people from travelling and re-iterated the rules on gathering before the Scotland matches in the Euros.
Sturgeon said: “We haven’t taken softly, softly approach. We can’t physically stop every person from travelling.”
She said she thought there was likely a link between Scotland fans gathering to watch the match and among those travelling to London and a arise in the virus.
She said: “We asked people not to travel and not to gather in groups when it was Rangers winning the league.
“Much of the criticism was about the damage and the anti-catholic abuse that was being hurled around. Let’s not forget that.”
JHB on 29TH JUNE 2021 7:01 PM
Deserved win for England – Germany had no real belief.
Commentators….I have no problem with some taking a patriotic stance – however it’s when the sycophantic tripe creeps in that it is a turn-off at times.
—————
I dont mind england winning the euros (ironic in context of brexit).
the pluss side will be it hastens independence.
-))))
heard it all now
england won because wee prince george is their lucky mascot.
pass the sick bag.
Would anyone have paid the reputed compensation of £9m, we got for BR, for MON, WGS and NL?
If you listen to MON’s latest chat he’s following the Lenny party line that it was all the fans fault.
They all brought us great memories and they’re no longer here, their achievements will be noted in history but as the say in golf (chapeau to 31003, Fairhill at al 🏌🏾) there’s no pictures on a scorecard
SS
I turned it over as soon as the game ended – wasn’t the best of matches but I’m sure given another hour of their drivel it would be the win of the century.
SFtBs @ 6:02 PM,
Well, I know our minds work differently but…
… Trebles were continued and equalled by Neil Lennon.
Is clearly not correct for two good reasons, trebles were not continued when we failed to win a single trophy last season.
Lenny did not equal BR’s record on Trophies or trebles… It is an illogical statement
Add to that BR’s 100% record and invincible season and it sounds like you’re talking through your hat.
All of which comes from the fact that you cherry pick one point from my post and misrepresent it… In other words your standard M. O.
What I said was ~ as you clearly state…
BR showed that “i) Celtic could achieve success at a much higher level”.
It was clearly in the context of the Peter Lawwell era as it was then, it was never comparing one manager with another*. It was used as an example to counter the argument of the time that we could not invest in the squad as it was too risky and the expectation management by the PLC.
Brendan Rodgers proved that was nonsense and that by having a good manager, backroom staff and investing in the team, you could improve your performances, results, on field success and financial success.
Brendan Rodgers took over from Ronny Delia and raised the bar. Neil Lennon took over from BR and lowered the bar and then some.
Twisting the argument and taking points out of context is futile.
*Stein Reigns Supreme
Hail Hail
Gene,
Germany are never average.
Credit where credits due.
Cumon the next team to play Engurland.
HH.
Greenpinata
We’ll have to disagree – they were poor against France and fortunate against Hungary.
England has a great chance of getting to the final – they’re on the easier half of the draw
40,000 at Wembley – how many at hamdump?
Good luck to PC (legs have gone) Lustig
Biggest mystery of the Euros, why is there been games at that midden Hampden?
Just reading an old ‘cough’ good guy Jackie Burns ( councillor) done , again for harrassment.
Brill …not
Bada
Easily the worst stadium in the competition
I would guess 10-12k at hampden
Anyway downton abbey calling
GENE on 29TH JUNE 2021 7:53 PM
Bada
Easily the worst stadium in the competition
_________________________________
It’s the worst stadium in Glasgow – possibly in Scotland.
HOT SMOKED on 29TH JUNE 2021 4:15 PM
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You’re going saft in the heid, spent to long in England. If it’s not within the realms of friendly banter, wee brother syndrome, then explain some folk are just plain rude and disrespectful. The English have their fair share of that alright. Tell yer English chums to climb down off their high horse then give em a proverbial boot in the baws.