The opening goal at yesterday’s Hibs-Newco game was a mirror of the chance James Forrest scored in the first semi-final a day earlier. Both goals had to be snatched at waist height, presenting a challenge to keep the ball down. With the score at 3-1, Newco’s Connor Goldson had a similar opportunity, if only he had the same hunger as Forrest or Boyle, the result may have been different.
After the game, the despondent Newco vice-captain questioned the hunger his side had shown all season. I have sympathy for the player, he was frustrated and trying to make sense of a decline he is unable to arrest. Is it really hunger, though?
I’ve played in teams a million levels below the Scottish professional game where no amount of hunger could lift my team. No one wants to lose, ever, it does not happen, but it takes a huge amount of symbiosis to transform a losing side. You cannot just want this phenomenon into existence.
I’ve heard countless fans, as well as professional players including some at Celtic, complain about the attitude of others in the team. No one has ever said, “I’m not really up for it today”, it’s always someone else who has the problem.
What Connor Goldson has detected is not a lack of hunger, he was talking about Newco, one trophy in their history, no one is full after the first course. It is more subtle than that.
The club had no money to invigorate the squad in the summer. A third of them are in their mid to late 30s, another third are in the final 18 months of their contracts and have not been presented with an acceptable extension that would settle their futures, while at least half of them were not very good to begin with.
What Goldson attributes as a lack of hunger is a manifestation of poorly addressed structural problems – he would have been far better explaining the problems in this manner. His new manager is now cursed with the responsibility of banging his fist on tables and shouting lots to ‘get them hungry’. It’s bullocks, a remnant of the 70s, as relevant to the game today as the Gullane Dunes are to sports science.
It is a challenge, but football clubs need to lose with some perspective, even accept that losing may be a likely outcome before returning to a successful plan. Screechy demands for fight and hunger are for losers who will never consistently escape that state. It is for others to decide whether we achieved this since losing became likely last season, next month’s #Tooraloo Final will prove informative.
#Tooraloo.
195 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- »
Cmon the Hoops !
yada
Hail! Hail!
One of the things that took me. Y surprise yesterday was the large number of tricolours amongst the Hibs support. Normally when they’re involved in big games you can see a few but I haven’t seen that many since the 1960s. Maybe the Hibs fans of Irish descent are reasserting themselves.
Good afternoon all from Jamaica Street.
Sevco look very bad. I do take confidence from that as will our players and staff. I don’t believe that we don’t look across the city, I think it’s only human to do so and I’ve no doubt that their league run last season was fuelled by what they were witnessing at Celtic Park.
That now flips. We can grow and get stronger as their wheels fall off – we have an excellent opportunity to lift a trophy to see out the year and I believe we’ll cut the gap and set ourselves up for big win on the 2nd January.
It’s looking promising.
I think the reason for the Irish flags by the Hibs support is in answer to the loyalist behaviour of a section of the Hearts fans. por cierto
Liked the link to that English article someone posted yesterday – was in the ‘hover-pitches and casinos’ level of fantasy!
Back then, in the midst of the Murray Masonic illegally-fuelled years, it felt like we would never win the league again – whodathunkit?!?!?!
HH
BGFC
Pingback: Hunger Games and screechy losers | Celtic FC News Now
Haha.
A more erudite way of elaborating on what I have described as a team that has peaked and is on the slide. And they were never very good to begin with. It’s not a coincidence they peaked during abnormal circumstances when literally nothing more could have gone wrong for Celtic.
Did I say haha?
Good article Paul67 and a reminder that success is now a systemic issue (contracts, internal competition, players’ human needs, science instead of stupid sentimentality, etc) and was something that our own club went through last year. Great to see it a thing with der hun this year and more of yesterday will be the likelihood.
As for us, learn these lessons quickly and complete a footballing restructure that gives Ange a chance of a treble and another period of domination with a discernibly European frame to what good should look like.
Will our custodians be holding back a few scheckles in January for fear of going too far ahead of the sinking ship in Govan ???
HH
Don’t know what’s eating Morelos…..
But a lack of hunger ain’t it…
Pity that in a week where we reach a cup final and have a huge game in Europe we have yet another article about a club that have nothing to do with either.
You said yourself, Paul:
“he was talking about Newco, one trophy in their history”
Yet day after day after day it’s all about this club with one trophy. What exactly is the relevance to Celtic?
Anyone from the board reading this stuff would think they have got it spot on with their old firmery!
Pivotal moment in the season,,,the Deck of cards (sic) looks like its close to collapse
Good afternoon yall, Sunday will be interesting as thems are away to Livi then on Wednesday away to Hibs.
I do not think the huns will come away with all points at these 2 venues.
As someone says concentrate on us.
D :)
They are top of the league, so talking about them does have some relevance as they’re the ones we have to catch, por cierto.
An Dun 12:16
“We can grow and get stronger as their wheels fall off ”
—————-
If their wheels are falling off it’s much more likely we will hobble on with flat tyres!
Why not grow and get stronger regardless of what is happening anywhere else? Just be the absolute best YOU can be. We have been miles off that for a long time.
Can anyone remember last year a discussion on coffee consumption? The general thesis seem to be that Liverpool did it whilst Gerard was there & has brought the practices to the comedy club. it suggested year 1 would be good, year 2 fantastic & year 3 disaster, I can’t find the article anywhere, it may be on James Forrest?
Por Cierto 12:36
There are 25 games to go. We can do absolutely nothing about 22 of their games. Just go and take care of our own business.
There’s a rerun of the game on sky422, second half just starting
From the start of last season we couldn’t put them under pressure and their confidence just grew and grew.
Things are different this season. Let’s see how they handle pressure.
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 22ND NOVEMBER 2021 12:42 PM
Por Cierto 12:36
“There are 25 games to go. We can do absolutely nothing about 22 of their games. Just go and take care of our own business.”
I didn’t say we could! por cierto.
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL
agree far too much comments on thems issue’s , gies a beak and concentrate on our team going forward.
BIG GEORGES FAN CLUB – HAIL, HAIL, WEE OSCAR on 22ND NOVEMBER 2021 12:20 PM
Liked the link to that English article someone posted yesterday – was in the ‘hover-pitches and casinos’ level of fantasy!
Back then, in the midst of the Murray Masonic illegally-fuelled years, it felt like we would never win the league again – whodathunkit?!?!?!
HH
BGFC
…………………..
Yes, I enjoyed reading the English article too. So much so that I’ve copied it for use at a later time in case he forgets what he wrote.🤣 Someone also mentioned the “Gallacher article” which I’m sure was a reference to the late, but not so great, Ken Gallacher who wrote an article about Wee Dick Advocaat’s war chest which would ensure the Huns’ domestic domination for decades to come and also propel them to European glory. They’re good for a laugh now and again.
Due to Celtic v Hibs in the Premier Sports Cup final on December 19…
Hibs v Aberdeen and St Mirren v Celtic in the Scottish Premiership have both been moved to Wednesday, December 22 at 7.45pm.
Why do they insist on cramming all these games into December, no care for the fans or the players.
When you have a fake, fantasy, almost club pr narrative by the Scottish msm, it’s important sites like CQN and others give a more balanced narrative.
Sevco are in a mess, it becomes public (which if it were us the msm who be falling over themselves to make public and repeat daily) then the mess gets worse. Some in media bending over backwards to keep a positive slant.
I agree with the article and think it’s relevant.
Looking forward to Thursday,excited even. Just love our style of play 🍀
Good article Paul- A couple of laugh out loud moments there.
GTTF – Lighten up pal, it’s ok to talk about the opposition as well as us. There’s many teams that make up this league and they can all impact our season in one way or another. Goldson’s team are deservedly sitting with a healthy lead over us and days like yesterday should help us a great deal. While it would be good to assume we can do it all on our own by winning all our games, that is not going to happen.
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 22ND NOVEMBER 2021 12:39 PM
An Dun 12:16
“We can grow and get stronger as their wheels fall off ”
—————-
If their wheels are falling off it’s much more likely we will hobble on with flat tyres!
Why not grow and get stronger regardless of what is happening anywhere else? Just be the absolute best YOU can be. We have been miles off that for a long time.
Anyone who does not look at the Hun results,or rejoice in their gubbings,well,I don’t know,I have never met one before.Its a football thing for Gods sake.You think Man City fans are not worried or looking at what Chelsea,Liverpool,are doing.Absolute nonsense to think that.
Bada,
I think it’s the 2 week break in January that’s causing this.Saints game suits us.They could have gone further ahead maybe.
Thursday night will tell us a lot about the Hun morale.
If we can sneak a point,will keep us in the hunt,and boost ours.
Paul67
By the time the orange smoke cleared they were three nil down, they can’t understand why they’re just, no very good.
Gerrard got out of Dodge having thrown his ‘no transfer spend’ toys out of the pram. They got their ‘big name’ but he was at least a day late and laughingly a mere spectator, unable to wave his magic wand.
Sevco at Hampden
Played 12.
Won 2
Drew 1
Lost 9
The good guys can’t afford dropped points, the CL money is the prize, the next sequence of SP hell is always the hardest Aberdeen Hearts Dundee Utd.
Trebles are for closers, same old badly run Celtic, always closing in on the next treble.
Sevco are in that much of a mess that they have a 4 point lead at the top of the league, that’s despite our excellent recent form.
Next month marks a 2 year period since Celtic last won a derby match, 2 years although on here its spun as a blip of a season, yet this season we trail by 4 points to a mess, something not adding up.
I would suggest we are not as good as is perceived by a large section of our support and although steadily improving, 3 weeks ago we couldn’t muster a shot on target at home to Livingston.
Way to early for the bravado and this paper thin squad of ours needs addressing, let’s wait and see how much our director’s want this title before bragging.
The arrogant noise seemed to rise after a excellent football performance against Dundee, the same team who lost 5nil at home to Ross County a week earlier.
Leave the hubris to Sevco at least until we have a nice lead.
Of course it is legitimate to discuss the strengths, weaknesses & overall performance of your most dangerous rival. Those complaining about this are playing the old “I’m a better Tim than you game” – “I don’t talk about *Rangers”
This is Celtic Quick News – all news, whether sport, or, politics related, affects Celtic. Last season our ‘starting-blocks’ were tampered with politically – to be playing catch-up because you are not performing well is one thing – to be banned from performing is something completely different.
Of course this interference was not the only contributing factor as we gift-wrapped our 10iar title and delivered it to Ibrox – but it was an important one.
SID on 22ND NOVEMBER 2021 1:51 PM
Doing the msm job for them.
Without honest mistakes this season against us and for them then we are top.
Sevco are in a mess hence the honest mistakes.
yest they forget
GERS’ NEW £280m IBROX
RANGERS will become the first club in Britain to build a stadium boasting a retractable roof and hovering pitch.
By ANDY MCINNES
00:00, Mon, Jan 7, 2008
The new Ibrox – which will cost £280million – will be based on Japan’s Sapporo Dome, Holland’s Amsterdam ArenA and Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium and is part of a £750m village development earmarked for Govan.
When complete in 2012, it will generate millions of pounds every season for the club to buy top players and be more competitive with Premiership clubs in the transfer market.
Supporters will virtually be able to “raise the roof” of the new project, as it will open and close depending on the weather and functions being held inside the auditorium.
The blueprint allows for football and other sports to be played around the clock and with the pitch capable of being rotated in and out of the ground itself, rock concerts and other major events can be hosted without any damage to the grass.
Giant heaters and air conditioning units will ensure spectators will be in a constant comfort zone and matches will never again be cancelled because of under-foot conditions.
Talks are at an advanced stage and funding is in place for the six-star stadium, which would become the second-biggest club ground in the UK after Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
A capacity of around 70,000 is planned – 20,000 higher than the current full house, 10,000 more than at Celtic Park and 17,000 above the limit at Hampden.
Last night an Ibrox insider revealed the project could start within 18 months with a two-year build programme anticipated.
He said: “This is a very exciting and ambitious scheme which will totally revitalise the area.
Not only will it benefit the team, and the club in general, but the whole south side of the city will be transformed.’’
Database failure=GAME OVER
Percona|Sponsored
“if only he had the same hunger as Forrest or Boyle, the result may have been different” That one made me laugh out loud Paul67.
That was Gold son !
After watching a rerun of the game, it was only after we scored that Johnstone played some football. Their fans must have been bored stiff for 70 minutes.
If you are bored and want a laugh for 30 minutes, sky422 is showing the hun game at 10pm. Game over in time to watch newsnight at 10:30😂😂😂😂😂😂
Much like their previous collapses, I think they thought that they’d cracked it when they won the league last season. Next time round, turn up, win everything in sight and sing songs about the pope at the party afterwards. We are the people, back at the top, champions league money, easy peasy. Tom English’s article seems like the rankings of a madman now, but back none of that lot would have even stopped to think how ludicrous it was, even coming from a neutral.
Celtic are serial winners, it’s in the fabric of our club, you don’t go from winning 4 trebles in a row to downbeat losers in a season.
The house of cards that King was on about seems to have been built at Ibrox, not Celtic Park. Games, results, performances like yesterday are signpost moments. I may be wrong, GVB might have it in him to turn things around in time to stop us overtaking them and winning the league that’s of material, existential importance to them, but I doubt it. When you’ve got a vice-captain digging his team mates up for lack of hunger while the new manager is taking advantage of the free sandwiches in hospitality, it doesn’t suggest they’ve got the right man. Maybe he won’t be as laid back as he looks, though, and he’ll be able to make an instant impact.
I still think we’re going to win the league