On the road this week so today’s blog is by author Stephen O’Donnell:
Pick the bones out of that! I didn’t see Legia against St. Patrick’s Athletic in the previous qualifying round, but by all accounts they were fairly unimpressive, even in winning 5 – 0 in Dublin. I was even tempted to have a wee bet on Celtic to win by more than one goal on Wednesday night, and by the time my hastily arranged subscription to Premier Sports had come through things were looking good after Callum McGregor’s early strike.
Sadly, it didn’t last. It’s a measure of how poorly Celtic played on the night that they were lucky to escape from Warsaw with a 4 – 1 defeat because, let’s face it, but for Fraser Forster and some wayward penalty taking, it could have been worse.
As expected, it didn’t take long for the Celtic Newsnow stream to start filling up with tales of anguish and pontification from the mainstream media. From AEK Athens to Maribor, the list of European failures at certain other clubs (including one that is now defunct) is long and distinguished, but nothing gets the SMSM in full gloating mode like a painful Celtic defeat on the Continent.
On Wednesday we were reminded about Artmedia Bratislava, Utrecht, Karagandy etc., I even heard Neuchatel Xamax being mentioned at one point. The key of course is that there is no context and analysis provided when these previous losses are dragged up, Celtic supporters simply have to suffer such painful reminders.
This lack of constructive analysis is a pity because there are comparisons and parallels that can be usefully drawn with previous chastening experiences in Europe. It seems that new Celtic managers are particularly vulnerable to them; Tony Mowbray initially enjoyed a successful preseason, including winning the Wembley Cup, but his first competitive game was a 1 – 0 home defeat to Dynamo Moscow. Neil Lennon had Utrecht and Braga, and of course Gordon Strachan had Artmedia.
It’s what happened in Bratislava that I think has most relevance to Wednesday night – a new manager in post, replacing a club legend, trying to introduce a more cerebral approach, a squad clearly divided amongst those who are still pining for the previous incumbent and those who want to move on and embrace the new manager’s methods… the parallels in fact are numerous and really quite striking. Hopefully this is a sign that Ronny, like WGS before him, will turn this early setback around and grow into the role of Celtic manager.
One of the most important aspects of managerial success is the chemistry between the boss and his players. This lack of a connection in the dressing-room and on the training field is the reason John Collins failed at Hibs; it’s why Mowbray didn’t last out a season at Celtic. If the chemistry isn’t right then the team will lack focus, motivation and game intelligence at crucial times in the season, and these traits were all conspicuous by their absence in both Warsaw and Bratislava.
But chemistry takes time, it didn’t come immediately to either Lennon or Strachan, and Ronny Deila still has the opportunity to get his progressive ideas across and win the respect and admiration of his squad. If that happens then, like Lenny and WGS before him, he will go on to lead Celtic to domestic and European success.
In the meantime, there is the second leg still to come. If the parallels with Artmedia and Karagandy are to be heard in the media again then Legia could yet be in for a tough night next week. The tie is most certainly not over and it will slowly be dawning on the players who let themselves down on Wednesday that there is only one way to make up for what happened.
Pride and defiance have to come to the fore again, and the situation is still retrievable. All the ingredients are there for a potentially famous night at Murrayfield next Wednesday.
Follow Stephen O’Donnell on twitter @stephenodauthor
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Long time lurker very occasional poster just wanted to say I have been told to bet intrinsic in the gold cup 3.50 Goodwood from a normally reliant source , I would not normally post tips but I have had so many good tips from other posters & I would be delighted if I could repay you in some small way , so here’s hoping it wins now back to lurking HH
Thanks FU
My father-in-law worked part time for a bookie in Dumbarton called Tom Craig as did my sister in law……his office was up a close in the High Street.
Twists’n’Turns.
I see Ereyna is down to run tomorrow. Have you had any information from the stable?
Thanks,
Yogi
Won’t dwell on the other night.
Anyone have the team sheets for today’s game??
HH
does anyone know where i can buy a pommel horse.
I thought the referee was fair enough the other night. Okay, possibly Commons might have had a penalty. Really though, we were just totally stuffed.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edl-4z7Wx5k
Love him or loathe him…he is so spot on here…
new article posted.
Macjay – apologies, had to go out.
I don’t think I stated opinions as facts, or even said anything contentious, but if I did, that wasn’t my intention. Just to be clear, I believe that the evidence is overwhelming that any lobby group trying to keep America onside with Israel is pushing at an open door and pointlessly expending energy.
The reason I believe that (and I’d suggest that most serious political commentators observers do too) is because I see that America utterly depends on its alliance with Israel to ensure that the middle east looks the way America needs it to. The relationship with the US provides America with a solid ally in an unstable region in which the US has massive vested interests, whether these are economic, financial, military or industrial strategic objectives.
Firstly, I would dispute the existence of a US “Jewish” lobby at all. I’d suggest that such a label is open to criticism of anti-semitism, and pro-Israeli interests are happy to take that opportunity to close down debate. There is, though, undoubtedly a vocal pro- Israel lobby that continually works to keep US public opinion behind US foreign policy, and undermine those that oppose it. However, it’s a fact that membership of and contributors to this lobby includes Zionist “Christians” or gentile capitalists.
If you look at the financial investment the US has made in its relationship with Israel, the figures pretty much destroy the argument that the pro-Israel lobby exerts power via finance or threat of non-finance. The reality is that between the mid 70s and 2005, the US provided Israel with $3bn in grant aid. That’s a $3bn present from America to Israel that required frequent budgetary sign off from Congress. That’s not to say that there weren’t any strings attached to the money – the deal was that Israel had to spend around three quarters of the grants on US produce…
Nowadays, the US mainly just gives Israel massive amounts of hugely expensive weaponry to test in a live environment on America’s behalf. This also benefits various US arms manufacturers, and by extension, the US economy, banks and shareholders, but also protects the likes of Dick Cheney’s Halliburton and their significant interests.It also ensures that Israel is the strongest, most expensively and well equipped military force in the area. An area where almost all the other countries are or have been hostile to America.
I’d argue that the significant driver for US policy in the middle east is the strategic significance of that area to the US. Stability there helps provide economic stability across the globe. Even if America is able to meet her own energy needs these days, the US understands that America’s own prosperity, or at least the prosperity of those that count, is dependent on a stable global economy and political balance.
In case any of this sounds like a defence of America, it’s not. I see America and Israel policy as morally repugnant and reprehensible. I’d go as far as to say that the evidence shows that Israel’s MO is to use terrorism to repress a civilian population, and that these are tactics the US is well familiar with. It’s just the way it is.
Sorry for the ramble. The only other thing I’d point out is that Israel is what America formally defines as a “Major Non Nato Ally”. Various presidents have added their own entries to this list of nations. The only other significant MNNA that America has in that region is/was Egypt. To get some context for American political attitudes to Israel, you just need to look at America’s initial reaction to the Egyptian revolution.
The Egptian president, Morsi, was an unelected dictator who behaved appallingly, but supported America. When the population of Egypt began to rise and voice its desire for those things America likes to pretend it holds most dear – democracy, freedom of speech, yadda yadda, America had no idea how to react. What do you do when people use democracy to and freedom of speech to elect a government you really, really don’t like, such as the Moslem Brotherhood. You could hear the sighs of relief when the new and democratically elected president was subsequently deposed in a military coup, but hey, you can’t make an omelette…