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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Martin O’Neill master tactician.
Hypocritical CSC
WITS
Aye right!
Still a happy Tim!
Philbhoy
I only sing when I’m winning !!!
Hi Bhoys
There’s some height in this Irish team :-))
KEEP THE FAITH
Away tae ma beed!
Happy for Ireland and happy for Niamh!
God bless CORKCELT!
WITS
Love it!
Well done Martin, classic example of how to go away and get a result when it matters..
Duffy has developed into a lion of a centre half.
Great result for the country.
CORKCELT
Excuse spelling!
Philbhoy: you putting the whisky away already?
Light weight. Night’s just starting:-)
Slovakia out now? So if Scotland had won they still wouldn’t have qualified? Confused.
BTW Ireland game was brutal!
WGS says Irish genes did it…….
That is my wife !!!!
https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/live-experience/cps/624/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2017/10/9/adc9f68d-7656-4c75-b372-8487eac2256e.jpg
Hoopy hoops ..
Braw
ALMORE
Aye, a remember the day when I could drink!
Not now!
:-(
Night bhoys and ghirls!
EMUSANORPHAN on 9TH OCTOBER 2017 9:52 PM
Slovakia out now? So if Scotland had won they still wouldn’t have qualified?
You mean Scotland failed to fail to qualify?
This is a repost of my earlier offering.
The response I got was absolutely brilliant. It wouldn’t happen anywhere but on a Celtic Site, she may not win in the end but for me tonight was as big a win as I could have hoped for and I haven’t even got to the Football yet. Niamh should be here shortly I know she wants to say Thanks herself.
Anybody just coming on or if you haven’t voted yet, every vote will be treasured.
Bhoys an unusual one from me.
I could post a big ream on this & might later in week but for the moment I’ll keep it short.
I’m looking for a minute of your time and your vote for my daughter.
My daughter is a Make Up Artist who has just chucked her 9 to 5 and started her own studio.
She is one of 18 nominees for Make Up Artist of the Year obviously if she wins it would be a huge boost for her fledgling business.
However to get to the final stage where her work is assessed she has to finish in top 3 or 4 of a Public Vote.
Being a newbie against the established salons the odds are against her but when did that ever deter a Celt.
If any of ye have the time or inclination to help, just click on link, it will ask you your name & e=mail address, all the categories are then listed in Alphabetical order, scroll down to Make Up Artists and click the names of the 18 contestants then appears. my ghirl is Make Up by Niamh.
Click on her name & submit.
You will get a message from the Company probably in your Junk Mail, you need to open that & click on link to verify & make your vote count.
Any vote would be really appreciated. Can’t wait to show my daughter a few replies if I get any.
Anyway the link is & I hope this works
https://www.weddingsonlineawards.com/vote
Italians show how to do national anthems.
Three opera singers on pitch and a full brass section.
They performed both the Italian and Albania anthems brilliantly.
Corkie.
That’s another vote for Ms
CLENDALYSTONSILS EMUSANORPHAN
if Pedro had done the maths Scotland would have qualified with points and zones to spare.
No. Scotland would have qualified had they won last night.
Slovakia won on a total of 2 points less than Scotland would have had if they had won.
Therefore they came 9th of the 9 second placed teams & got knocked out.
If Scotland had won Ireland would have been 9th and it’s they who would have gone out.
EMUSANORPHAN on 9TH OCTOBER 2017 9:52 PM
Slovakia out now? So if Scotland had won they still wouldn’t have qualified? Confused.
…………………
Scotland would have qualified if they had won (20pts) Slovakia could only get 18pts as they began yesterday 2 PST behind Scotland. Scotland’s draw gave them 28 pt. ROI got 19pts.
Congratulations to The Republic. I nearly burst a blood vessel when James McClean scored. I’m sure they could hear me at the bottom of the street. Thank God I have something to look forward to during the World Cup. Still sorry for our Celtic players who missed out with Scotland. Broony in particular.
I was not emotionally involved in that game though I did want Ireland to win but you Irish bhoys must have bitten your nails down to the knuckles…defending so, so deep it was almost suicidal. However, you had guys putting their bodies in front of everything thrown into the box. I’m amazed you survived. Happy for you all and Martin and Darren Randolph (met him at Fir Park, lovely guy)…Jeff Hendrick, what determination he showed to win that ball and get it across the goal and of course James McClean, what a finish!…
Corkie.
Should have read Ms Corkcelt.
Hail Hail
Emus
Had Scotland won yesterday we would have had more points than Slovakia got, and in the play off position. We failed. Well done Ireland who succeeded in similar circumstances.
Thanks Jimmy, you are a gent.
Roy Keane all smiles and happy! Seem to remember him saying that Celtic players and fans overreacted to CL qualification!
Well done Steve Guppy, Martin O’Neill et al.
In the battle of the Celts tonight the Goidelic speakers narrowly defeated their Brythonic speaking cousins. Thus proving that Irish genetics are obviously better than Welsh, ain’t that right Gordon? ;-)
Actually little interest in International football. Hope Ireland can make the finals to give me a modicum of interest in watching.
Eire Abu
Corky,
Voted , good luck to her!
Vote in Corkcelt. Great evening to be Irish!
Watched the games on S4C – was great not having a clue what they commentator and pundit were saying but still getting the crowd noise.
They way the view figures for sky are going won’t be long before they leave the coverage to BT!
Scotland’s draw gave them 18 points not 28. Doh!
Corkcelt
My vote for Niamh has been verified! Congratulations on the Republic getting through to the play offs. I jumped the gun a bit earlier in my enthusiasm. I hope they make it to Russia 2018 and give a lot of us Bhoys something to cheer. I also hope Niamh wins. Good luck Niamh!
CORKCELT
Another vote has just been secured.
Corkcelt, there’s another vote for your lass, and good luck to her, I wish her every success. Hope Ireland’s win tonight is an omen for her.
As to the World Cup, Iceland will be my No 1 !
Prestonpan, Banjo Celt, TOSB & Billy Bhoy, Thank you all so much.
Moussa and Oli’s mob won 3-2 in the end.
Thanks FieldofDreams.
Corkcelt,
Vote in.
Now, he might have scored the winner but, FFS, he is one of the worst players ever, just ever!
Scores then gives away FKs in dangerous areas, could have been sent off, headless chickens are avoiding him…
And, some people wanted this idiot for Celtic, Oh But etc… FFS