Time for the real Celtic to stand up

Time for the real Celtic to stand up.  Was it 45 minutes of madness against Cluj in August?  Did the manager and captain get everything wrong?  Or, were we outplayed by a better organised unit?

Walking away from Celtic Park that night the disappointment to lose out on Champions League qualification in such circumstances was overwhelming, a fear which first manifest on hearing Callum McGregor would play left back, meaning we would be without our midfield metronome.

Boli Bolingoli had endured a harsh opening few weeks to his Celtic career, none of us were sure he was going to be the answer.  Christopher Jullien made a modest start to the season but was outjumped late in the game at Motherwell a few days before, leading to the loss of a meaningless goal.  Celtic were 1-5 ahead at that point but Chris looked tired.  Would a similar incident prove crucial in Europe?

You could see the rational for Neil leaving both on the bench when selecting a team for Cluj, even if you did not agree.

This is not a ‘do over’.  We cannot put right what went wrong, the Champions League, with all its glitz, glory and money is gone for a season at least.  Instead, we can answer some questions that only we care about.  Did we simply have a bad day at the office, or are Cluj better than us?  Tune in tonight.