My friends in Celtic, a year ago I signed off on 2010 by saying, “I have never spoken to less confident Celtic fans ahead of a game against Rangers than I have this week”. Celtic had won only five of their previous 10 league games, seven of which were at home, but with a squad ravaged by injury, they found a formation which over several games dominated Rangers.
After three defeats and an Ibrox draw against 10-man Celtic, Walter Smith eventually got it right and beat Celtic at Hampden. The league challenge floundered in a scrappy defeat at Inverness, the home team fought for everything and found some vulnerabilities in Celtic but the season ended on a high with the first trophy of the Neil Lennon era as the Scottish Cup was won at rain-soaked Hampden against Motherwell.
Neil Lennon, Paddy McCourt and Niall McGinn all had to deal with more serious events than football in the first half of the year. Bombs and bullets were sent to Celtic’s three Irish stars, prosecutions are pending. These events put Scotland on the international news circuit in a very unwelcome light. First Minister, Alex Salmond, promised to take action but instead of tackling a century-old anti-Catholic, anti-Irish tradition, his government passed a law which criminalised all sorts of non-sectarian, non-racist activity.
Despite this initiative taking on flagship status for the Scottish Government, Salmond has steadfastly refused to re-gather and publish information on sectarian attacks in recent years. Policy has been made without reference to facts.
The new season brought great promise. Neil Lennon had a year under his belt and was no longer up against Rangers’ most successful manager, instead he would face rookie Ally McCoist, but a humbling by Sion, ultimately neutralised by Uefa, and poor early season league form saw the manager consider his position.
A home defeat to St Johnstone and an utter collapse at Ibrox set the tone, but it was Kilmarnock’s three goal lead which caused Neil Lennon most concern. The story of the second half comeback at Rugby Park is likely to take on legendary status in years to come, but as with much in life, it contained prosaic events. Celtic came out of the dressing room like a condemned team and failed to register a genuine attempt on the Kilmarnock goal for 25 minutes. Anthony Stokes struck a free kick which would have been stopped by most defensive walls but the Kilmarnock version was made of butter and Celtic had a platform to stage a comeback. Killie’s reserve keeper, Jaakkola, failed to reach Anthony’s shot a few minutes later and Celtic were level six minutes after they realised they had a game of football to play.
In their next game Celtic failed to score at home to then-bottom Hibernian, allowing Rangers to open up a 15 point gap over their rivals, who by then were in third place, although with two games in hand over Rangers. Celtic then went to Motherwell and promptly fell behind, our season hung by a thread, but it was that guy Stokes who again had the stomach for the fight. Anthony equalised within minutes and Gary Hooper scored a late winner.
Celtic have not dropped a point since, while Ally McCoist and his boss, Craig Whyte, now look like the rookies they are. They have lost three of their last six games, completing a collapse at Celtic Park on Wednesday night.
A year ago I reflected on the 46 players who played for Celtic during 2010 and suggested we would be better starting with a blank sheet of paper. The league challenge ended in failure but 2011 didn’t. This year ends with a coherent team strategy which could deliver the first sustainable and successful Celtic team in 40 years. We have a young squad, on wages the club can afford, with a scouting and management team that have delivered a clutch of players destined to achieve an enormous amount in the game.
Despite the energy and excitement around Celtic Park, attendances are down. Football is not as fashionable as it was three or four years ago. For much of the season, we play in a cold, wet, environment against well-organised but defensive teams; it’s a hard sell. We all know fans who have drifted from the stands, large areas of the stadium are now scarcely populated unless Rangers are visiting, which will impact income and subsequent expenditure.
Still, the shambles of 2010 has gone, Celtic look like a club with purpose and the tools to move forward with confidence. A two point lead at this stage of the season is largely symbolic but it’s a deserved honour that your team deserves.
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Finding myself supporting a team wearing a blue, white and orange this evening.
To make it worse they have a chap on a white charger who races onto the pitch every time the score !
The bronco’s have had over a decade of massive underperformance in hte NFL despite being in a very weak Division.
They have had even more of a rollercoaster season than Celtic and yet might even still make 4th seed tonight if they beat Kansas at the Mile high Stadium.
They might also crash out if they lose and Oakland win vs San Diego…..it’s potentially like a mini ‘helicopter black sunday’
nwf
4 with a game only?
Sounds like a quiz…
Toshney
George
ex-Wigan winger
Hooiveldt????
@burnley78
henrik?? larsson?
are you at it ?? any true tim ??????????
After our 2 league wins last season against rangers (2-0 & 3-0) they were followed up immediately with 1-1 against Hamilton and 0-2 against Motherwell. If the players learned from last season the will not underestimate Dunfermline.
Start quick and strong and get early goal.
SffS
Drambow
LOL…..old age and tiny keyboard / screen, and not wearing reading specs……
Estadio Nacional says at 20:19,
You been drinking oot there in the dessert? You never included our no1 talisman Victor Wanyama :>)
Hoopy New Year EN.
Vinny
@bunley
spell check
s.i.c.k.e.n e d
Well that’s a good start to the new year, working tomorrow and the cars fect (it’s a technical term meaning won’t start) :>(
V
Tooting Tim
I assume you mean Olivier Kapo as the ex-Wigan winger?
You have 2 of the 4.
@78
i hope your a tim
otherwise my noo years feacked
first revoloutinshnsky dont talk to strangers??
and anybody fae inverlcyde
oops inverclyde
Burnley78
Where you there that night , I was there??
Estadio Nacional says:
1 January, 2012 at 20:19
I agree wholeheartedly, ingredients wise the majority of it is made up of Sainsburys stuff, with a few Icelands in there which we have to accept with our own fairly tight wage budget.
What I dont think we have is the system to back it up.
We are reliant 100% on form; of the individuals turning up and having a good game. If individually they dont have a good game we are lucky to come away with a win.
If we had a good enough and robust system, this in theory should be enough to see a win through even when the individuals involved dont have great games.
If a player has his back to the majority of play and is under pressure, he ultimately has to play the ball back to the keeper if lucky, guess where a team mate is or clear the decks.
Pauls article a few weeks back regarding Lennons ‘Im not big on tactics’ did more than alarm me. If he did say it (and it makes a lot of sense and answers a lot of the questions I had) and he wasnt taken out of context then him and me will never disagree on a subject more.
There was a comment Mjallby made which has reassured me slightly, when talking about Lustig he said he gave us the option of playing 3 at the back occasionally – so I dont think the tactical thing is as blatant as the remark indicated.
Zero training pass and move drills (where team mates know the space fellow team mates will be moving into all over the pitch to make themselves available for a SHORT pass, throw ins – with and without, corners – attacking and defending; none of them are rehearsed in training to the level I would do more than hope for.
I would more than 110% love Lennon to recruit an experienced Dutch or Spanish type coach – someone deliberately to challenge everything that to a man, our management team all agree on. Someone to offer a different opinion and someone who will ultimately educate and teach Lennon and the bhoys with a brand of football they never experienced as players.
As you said pal, individually the potential is there – if they can be moulded into a system then individually and as a team they would begin to improve game on game.
I just dont think the coach idea will ever happen
As an after thought
my dad says glavin invented the squirrler
long before j rankin called it the squiggler
now if you dont know yer squilller from your
squiggler then your a hun
ronnieglavinskelpshunscsc
the game is on espn which i dont have,any site i can go to to watch the match?
Burnley78
MON – Totally agree.
As for the NFL Go Ravens,
Burnley78 says:
1 January, 2012 at 20:43
Happy new year good to see you posting again
Drambowiecelt says:
1 January, 2012 at 21:01
first revoloutinshnsky dont talk to strangers??
and anybody fae inverlcyde
Im glad you realise your level and dont talk to your superiors…..lol
all the best PADDY BHOY.
Oh, oh…..
Happy New Year to one and all.
Speedy’s is on Sherlock Homes……….
It’s a sign.
@greenlion
only the best will do lol
EN-Sami should start every game with the form he has been showing IMO HH.
Happy new year troops
lang may yer lumb reek
seamus burnscs
kentbeth
When you say’ were you there ‘ do you mean ‘black sunday’ as in at Fir park ? If so then yes and much worse 24 hours later as some will testify on here !!! The energy was long gone before fir Park….it left when the talismanic swede moved to catalonia months earlier.
I have also watched the Bronco’s collapse in December a few times with better rosters than this season….
falkirkbhoy
I saw the Ravens with their only superbowl in Tampa 11 years ago…. dear old Art Model’s mortgaged franchise whipped the New York Giants by a cricket score….A really great experience to see the offensivless Ravens with a QB who couldnt throw win from a wildcard.
Eyes wide open
They had the same sort of chat on the guardian podcast about ‘arry Rednapp
He has said more than once, he doesn’t care much for tactics, however in other interviews he talks about different players and different ways of playing them.
I think its just a way of talking down what the team is doing and playing, no point in giving info away to anyone with half a brain!
nothing without fans
Yes I did mean Kapo (or the blues bottle maybe?).
Had a feeling you’d tell me the score without ID’ing the correct answers…
It’s the kids plus 2 I reckon…
Gerard Butler
Henrik Larsson
@burnley
oooooof sorry im new here
and thought you were an infiltrator on the wind up
your history puts mine to shame
will buy you a pint if your ever in inverlyde
humblepiecsc
Greenlion2
Yes, managed to squeeze in a few hours now that the chores are done !!!
There is a good buzz about it all just now, to quote the maestro…..
The really good thing is that we seem to have a focus on our own job and we are not so distracted by the sideshow on the other side of the city at the minute…..whatever happens there should be a bonus.
I would love to be in the blue room tomorrow as they pass the loving cup around ( another brown brogued tradition) …….
The complete lack of certainty over there, and the slow death they are enduring with the agony prolonged is good, and will be better the sooner we get some clear water between us.
It could be an incredible season for all kind of reasons…..with complacency at all levels from Support to Custodians our biggest enemy.
Keep the faith and the Focus is my motto for this year !
Hope all well with you.
Eyes Wide Open
“If we had a good enough and robust system, this in theory should be enough to see a win through even when the individuals involved dont have great games.”
“regarding Lennons ‘Im not big on tactics’ did more than alarm me. If he did say it (and it makes a lot of sense and answers a lot of the questions I had) and he wasnt taken out of context then him and me will never disagree on a subject more.”
“so I dont think the tactical thing is as blatant as the remark indicated.”
Neil’s remark was never blatant. I think you have over-interpreted it and that, coupled with your first statement above, which over-emphasises the influence of tactics (and theory), leads you into a needless conflict.
I believe Neil Lennon was merely stating that bread and butter work at training was far more important than tactical adjustments during the 90 minutes. That bread and butter work will include a tactical element in the training but it will also be working at drilling technique and fitness. He is also saying systems don’t win games, players do. You could put a tactical genius in charge of Albion Rovers and let me manage Celtic. Celtic would still win.
I managed to see the Ravens the same year, take apart tonights hosts the Bengals, think it was 40 – 0 or something. It was called the PSINet stadium back then.
Ravens
Cant wait for my lottery win to go see a superbowl!
The Battered Bunnet says:
1 January, 2012 at 11:04
One can but hope.
Kilmarnock and Dunfermline, I would not miss.
2012 could be an interesting year what with a number of clubs facing real hardship (as opposed to ‘we cannae sign players’ hardship) and the hopeful foot on the head that James Forrest, Matthews and Skoosh give to our drowning (in debt) SPL when they appear for team GB in July.
To paraphrase them bespectacled Hibees:
When we go we will send back: a letter from the EPL.
Take a look down the railtrack from Paradise to Old Trafford.
Orcs no more. Minis no more.
SPL no more. TV deals no more.
Orcs no more. The minis no more.
SPL no more. The TEEEVEEEE deeeaaals noooo moooore.
falkirkbhoy says:
1 January, 2012 at 21:17
I agree – no one wants a repeat of John Barnes ‘listen around the watching world, im going to tell you everything about why my system is unbeatable’
With Barnes ill fated system – you could see a system pan out. MON’s teams whatever the formation were the same, you knew the purpose. Old Arry is the same, he actually has about 4 different systems he employs – one of the reasons I think hes so good.
I dont see it with Celtic at the moment.
I see 11 men told we are playing 4-4-2 – this is your position now go out and win the game.
Im not asking for Barcelona type football – however if we had someone in there who has grown up with that pass and move type football out on the training ground every day – he would open the minds of more than a few.
I think those types have a better appreciation of space – how to create it, exploit it as well as close it down and restrict it.
Its those types who have rendered the 4-4-2 and 3-5-2 rigid type formations as redundant on the continent and with most international teams (interesting Engerland was the only country to use it at the last world cup)
I really do think with the potential and the players we have – with a couple more additions, numerous exits coupled with the promotion of some of our kids to supplement the higher number of exits will open up a whole new world for us, entertain more, put bums on seats again and bring us greater success at home and abroad
Drambowiecelt
No problem.
I’s not your fault that I spell our legend’s name wrong twice in one post !!!
Haven’t been to Inverclyde in many years but sad to see your MP (one of the best) pass away last year.
Seven Fishes Four Steaks above is right we nullified great derdy wins last season by not winning our next match.
Hopefully we will put this right tomorrow.
Tooting Tim
You are right that Kapo and Hooiveld are wrong.
For the 2 you’re missing, one played the second half in the home game against Rennes, and the other was in the stand for the game on the 28th tweeting: ‘Yaaaaaaaas!!!!!!top of the league!!we just can’t get enough!!!what an amazing feeling being back home at PARADISE with the fans #hailhail.’
Burnley78
may be a bit older than you thought you where taking the piss about BURNLEY v CELTIC ANGLO SCOTTISH CUP 1978
Not very nice day ??
@78
my dad held him in high regards
him and harry mullholland r.i.p
happy new year to you and your loved ones
“the frogman” 2011