Scotland returned to their Glorious Failure nation status last night after completing their final five games of the World Cup qualifiers with three wins and two draws, a decade high-water mark. Glorious Failure being a status well ahead of the recently-discarded Pathetic Failure nation status.
We can now compete with decent sides, like Slovenia, Slovakia and England, and win comfortably away from home against Lithuania, who we were unable to beat at Hampden one year ago yesterday.
Problem is, I have a niggling feeling that this recent success has more to do with Brendan Rodgers than anyone else. In delivering an Invincible season and two Champions League group stage qualifications with overwhelmingly Scottish players, Brendan has effectively said: “Gordon, check out the really good players you have here”.
It is not all Gordon Strachan’s fault that he didn’t pick any Celtic players in the 1-1 home draw with Lithuania, whereas he selected six Celts in the recent 0-3 away win. Scott Brown was temporarily retired from international football then, and Stuart Armstrong and Callum McGregor were struggling to get into the Celtic team. But the omission of Gordon, Tierney, Griffiths and Forrest for large parts of the early campaign, in retrospect, looks unforgivable.
The reason Scotland didn’t qualify for the World Cup has less to do with our genetics, than the fact that we didn’t select our best players for the home game against Lithuania (for example). The fact that Gordon didn’t pick so many Celtic players early in the campaign, as he did later, reflects the corresponding appreciation in Celtic players’ stock over the period. But picking the right players is a big part of the job. We have a relatively small pool of talent and the manager missed a lot of value.
For you and I there is a compensation. We will not have the stress of worrying about having to play Champions League qualifiers with up to a dozen players on World Cup duty. The bulk of the squad will go through a preseason routine designed for Celtic’s needs. The Scottish players will also not have to compete in a play-off round amid Champions League games against Bayern Munich and the final stages of the League Cup.
The rest of the country will have no compensation, only disappointment that they are unable to participate in a Celtic dividend.
Fancy yourself as a collector of Celtic memorabilia? James Forrest’s match-worn National Famine Memorial Day shirt is available for raffle later today. These shirts are go for incredible sums at auction, but this one is open to the wider community.
Oh! And if you know your history, you will know what good you will do by participating. Laters…………
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NEW CQN PODCAST – A CELTIC STATE OF MIND OUT NOW!
A NEW CQN Podcast is out now featuring interviews with Celtic legends Bobby Lennox, John Fallon, Tommy Callaghan and Kenny Dalglish.
This week, ‘A Celtic State of Mind’ pays tribute to The Quality Street Gang.
In the second of a two-part series, Paul John Dykes interviews:
Bobby Lennox, John Fallon, Tommy Callaghan and Kenny Dalglish!
The discussion is all about one of the finest crops of youngsters ever to emerge from Celtic Park…
And we finally reveal just where that nickname came from.
Enjoy the new podcast…
The new Invincibles treble disc DVD is now available from CQN Bookstore HERE. It is quite simply unmissable. What a season that was!
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The Wales Ireland game is on the Welsh channel 4, S4c . Channel 134 on sky.
The Cork and Kerry sandwich on wee Joe was the highlight so far …
Smiley Irish footie thing
Braw.
Bellamy howling at the moon, never a penalty.
Bellamy…………………….used to like him.
Woeful.but still in with a chance
DD @8:40
Well done sir !
TTR
Had we been on the receiving end we would also be howling for it :-)
HH
Corkie: Done. Ádh mór di.
Give Brendan Rodgers and Martin O ‘Neill 11 players of equal ability each and who would win
Sipsini
I am sure it would have been noisier if L was watching in yours tonight. :)
Moussa and Olivier currently being humbled in Luxembourg. France U21’s 2-0 down at HT.
CorkCelt Vote cast
COYBIG
A winner from Jamsie would shut up the boo boys
Corkcelt
Just voted for Niamh. Hoping i came in at no 67.
Zombie nation :)
Corkcelt…
Vote cast..
Why do woman wear lipstick…it never works….
Gorilla glue now that’s sticky….
I remember years ago shouting abuse at Wes Houlihan when he was playing for Shelbourne, nothing personal, just rivalry, he was a stand out back then, still a stand out and canny get a game, but what do we know eh.
Scaniel, Almore & Clinko Many Thanks.
Get a grip of this Ireland
I can’t keep up Thanks Neilbhoy, sorry no 67 but 41 is a Braw number as well, & thanks to No 42 Bognorbhoy.
:))))))
McClean, Ya Beauty.
Goal….
Yessssss Jamesie Bhoy.
James McLean you dancer
Gŵl. Bendigedig.
Great finish son, wonderful play from Hendrick.
Poppy that oot the net …..
Woooooooooooo
Braw.
Huge big braw green smiley thing …
Corkcelt
Need to let us know our placing!!
Number one I hope!!
HH
Blow it up ref
Go for it martin, don’t sit back
Gweriniaeth Iwerddon winning one nil, according to Welsh TV :0)
Ashley Williams is done. Seen it this season with Everton and again tonight.
Hi Bhoys
Cracking finish from Mc Clean but the honesty from Barry Horne who is summing up on sky is so refreshing. As a former welsh captain he must be hurting but still tells it like it is.
KEEP THE FAITH
Excellent!
Serbia & Georgia are still level anything can happen here.
This is what it’s like to be Oirish….
Sitting back a bit too much now, still 22 minutes plus injury time to go. We need to keep an attacking threat here.
Duffy winning everything in the air. Ireland getting deeper. Nothing up top.