I never really understood what was so special about Roy Keane as a player until he came to Celtic, where he opened my eyes for 11 games (his first two performances, against Clyde and Kilmarnock, were awful).
He’s right up there in terms of great footballers I’ve seen play for Celtic, but he’s difficult to feel affection for. Today’s comments are a case in point:
“When [Celtic] qualified [for the Champions League]the celebrations were way over the top.
“I thought they’d won the competition. People were hugging each other, the manager, the coaches, the players.”
And the fans, Roy, Celtic fans were celebrating every bit as much as anyone you watched on television. No one thought we’d won the competition, but we are all aware of the transformational impact group qualification has on our football club. That’s worth celebrating. Fans all did, even if some former players found it difficult.
Brendan Rodgers qualified for the group stage with what was largely the same squad which disintegrated in Europe last season. He became the first Celtic manager to reach this level in his first season.
This challenge, coming a few weeks into your time as manager, is viewed as hugely difficult objective by the club. New managers seldom takeover successful gigs, with an upward trajectory and a list of targets ready to sign up.
The significant achievement in Europe this season, which has largely gone below the radar, is beating last season’s Champions League group stage participants, Astana, 2-1 at Celtic Park, with 11 starters who were all at the club before Brendan took over (one Rodgers signing started the away leg).
By any measure, Astana should have considered their chances that night and concluded, “We were better than them last season, and they’ve not added a player to the team”. (Two of Brendan’s signing came on as second half subs).
Going into this season we turned-over around 10% of what one of Roy’s other former clubs, or Barcelona received. If we had around £450m extra to spend, every season, there would be less celebration at reaching the group stage, as it would no longer be transformational. Maybe we’d be like football fans in Manchester, and only fill half our stadium against a Bundesliga team.
Or maybe we’ve not lost the joy in supporting our team. Neither have the manager, coaches and players.
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67Heaven,
Youi should have attended the game Saturday dude.
It was Amazing.
The Bhoys are back in Town.
Barton went through Kiernan like a dose of the salts after our 2nd goal on saturday, proper tore strips off hi
After which Senderos made a point of going over to Kiernan as if to say “never mind him, keep the chin up”
I thought hmmm, all not well on the sinking Hun ship at the time
Unfortunately while I was busy watching them fight amongst themselves I missed big mikael skipping past with a burst beach ball on his head
HT,
Nope , but read back from page 10 and now get the drift. Not surprised tbh however he is working undercover….for us :0)
12
Orbital.CSC
2-0 beer Sheva, magnificent free kick
HBS 2-0 up away to Inter after 69 mins !!
Hapoel have this inter team beat . And deservedly so . They have the right attitude and are having a go .
Wee Jim Spence really doesn’t give a toss does he ?
https://twitter.com/JimSpenceSport/status/776501531680108544
2 nothing to Hapoel …..fantastic
Barton put out a cryptic tweet about being a ‘football man’ when thems were over in Belfast. I got the sense all was not well. He wasn’t in the big photograph.
Wailing and Gnashing
or just another Celtic Horsing of The New Rangers.
Get use to it.
Nás na Rí: Go raibh maith agat. Weather forecast for Sunday is rain and that usually frees up some tickets. Here’s hoping anyway.
Beer Sheva up 2-0 in San Siro.
Delighted for Hapoel.
RESPECT.
Inter 0-2 Hapoel so far.
A team we took 5 off at home.
We are a decent team.
SFFS
The most annoying thing for me about the proposed new arrangements for the CL is four Italian teams going straight through. This year Roma finished third and failed to negotiate the play offs. They then went into pot 2 (pot bloody two) of the EL. Yet with the new arrangements they and Inter, who finished 13 points behind in 4th place will both go into the CL. What a farce.
Petec
Yip, for all he is what you say, always had a soft spot for him, after all it’s really no his fault :-)
HH
Brendan is so Classy.
Not in a Class sense.
We have something SPECIAL about to transpire, IMO.
Big John Ogu running amok. Damn.
So, after all, Hapoel aren ‘t as bad as our meeja tried to make out …. hahahahahahaha
TET
Sweet Harmony
Patience.cSc
Who is the clown doing the co commentary , seems to think HBS were the better team overall against us. You get beat 5-2 in the first leg you deserve to be out irrespective of the second leg result
Keane has an overinflated sense of his self as a football guru.
Was a truly excellent footballer and leader though.
He does make some very valid points about our terrible performance against Barca and Europe away in general.
We have played to often with a defeatist approach.
There seems to be a resignation that we are not good in the European away games and often self defeat is a result.
Brendan has made some good progress in making us a proactive side rather than reactive but in Israel and Spain we returned to the latter and the expected defeats from this approach happened.
He has been a great coach since signing but in the above two games he got it badly wrong.
As he learns more about the character of players in our squad i expect he will rectify this issue
In both game it was not necessarily the tactics that were wrong but the mindset of players picked to implement the game plan.
Just read Joey Barfon had a meltdown and is now excluded from the game at the weekend. I have 2 questions….
1. WTF happened, anyone in the know??
2. Do you reckon he signed up here and got promised all the bollocks under the sun ie we will sign loads of superstars, we will build a team around you, champions this season and champions league next year with loads and loads of bonuses to follow. Do you reckon he now knows it was all bollocks and he is now trying to work his ticket?
Or is he just a dick?
Inter performance almost as embarrassing as their strip…
Ronny D.
Yer a Celtic Legend.
A Winner.
Yer FRUITS will take a long Time to Blossom.
Thank You.
Celtic.
THETIMREAPER on 15TH SEPTEMBER 2016 9:35 PM
Barton put out a cryptic tweet about being a ‘football man’ when thems were over in Belfast. I got the sense all was not well. He wasn’t in the big photograph.
>>>>>>>>
If he wasn’t with them in Belfast, then THAT’s what this is all about….
67HEAVEN .. CHALLENGING THE LIE ..I AM WEE OSCAR…… IPOX BELONGS TO THE CREDITORS on 15TH SEPTEMBER 2016 9:45 PM
He was there, just not in big photo.
THE EXILED TIM on 15th September 2016 9:16 pm
he (Joey Barton) will see a book in this and he will milk it for all it’s worth.
======================================
‘A Clockwork Orange’ by Joseph Anthony Barton
’50 Shades Of Orange’?
‘War and Gie’s Peace’?
‘Joey Barton and The Deathy Hallows’
‘The Unbearable Bitterness of Huns’?
‘It’?
‘World War Z’?
‘Catholic In The Rye’?
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CsaxD3vXEAAk-iu?format=jpg&name=large
Hahahahahahaha
THETIMREAPER
That’s even better….!!!!!!!
‘I Am Legned’ by Joseph Anthony Barton?
Young Kieran tried his Heart out for Celtic but he didn’t have that, I don’t know what to say, a word Composure…. the Barca dudes were RELENTLESS.
Kieran will run Scott very close for the POTY.
EveryBODY has to learn Sometime
Is Barton maybe to costly for them . Is that maybe the real story
So Barcelona take 7 off us, who took 5 off Hapoel, who have taken 2 of Inter which begs the question, ……….
what happened next?
Couldn’t resist it.
Laszy youtubing.
Sandman
The Krankie will be the next for the chop, watch this space……
Magic btw :-)
HH