Last week we were feeling the love in the room. This week we are feeling like a scorned lover and we have discovered that the object of your affections doesn’t care about you as much as you care about them.
Over a beer yesterday I came to the conclusion that the last two seasons have been the worst for a generation. They match any of the 90’s. They could be worse because we were mismanaged and skint during that spell now we are just mismanaged.
FC Utrecth sound like the sickening noise that we all made when we realised that we have reached Ground Zero. Though, our emotional attachment means it’s quite difficult to detached yourself, just, for once, have an out of body experience.
Float above and see a club who in the last two seasons have went through more players than X-Factor auditions, appointed a hapless manger which in turn has lead us into appointing an inexperienced one who has lost the clubs three best players before a ball was kicked.
The club is rightly being viewed as a joke with a never ending punchline. Add to that our main rivals have a manager in charge who seems cause our club to become bumbling buffons when faced with his super human cardigans.
When he leaves in the summer and they are wailing into their King Billy tea towels I will be celebrating. Hopefully during a title winning party.
You see, we are now at expectation levels pre Martin O’Neill. The League Cup has gained importance. We are dreaming of winning the league and maybe one day having a team good enough to get in the Europa League. It’s like returning to a pair of old slippers for us of a certain age.
That is why days like yesterday are acceptable. When I saw the team it was relative mis-mash. A defence that saw two debutants, a striker making his SPL debut and a midfield that was shorn of it’s more impressive performers so far this season. In hope more than promise we started the game.
Emillio Izaguirre was one making his debut. He reminds me of the alleged illegitimate son in Meet The Fockers and my take on his debut is hindered by my original view on Cha Du Ri. I thought he was impressive. But now I fear anytime I see his name on the team sheet.
Emillio looks like he has a bit of pace and is physical enough to handle the Scottish game. Jury is out on whether he can defend. He didn’t need to yesterday.
Fraser Forster punched Glenn Loovens in the face. I get that urge every single week but never the chance to fulfil the urge.
The performance was expected when the team lines were made public. Celtic fired loads of balls over the top towards Airdrie thinking the park was a mile long, we couldn’t pass a parcel never mind a ball and none of the strikers thought about hanging around in the box long enough to trouble the goal.
We grimly hung on in there and got our rewards. Character our manager might call it. Stubborn as mules was my take. Motherwell disappointed the Radio Hootsmon pundits by not troubling us. Long may they continued to be disappointed.
My lower expectations means I expect to have many happy Mondays. 3 wins and 3 clean sheets domestically. The shoots of recovery are there but so are the shoots of forthcoming inconstancy.
So we should be, welcome to stokes. If we would have bought the best in this spl starting with fletcher we would be so better off. Mon the Hoops. GOODWILLIE?? WALLACE??
@Marko
Strachan shopping in the SPL got us into this mess. I have no worries about who we have signed just we can’t change the team as often as we have tried too.
Just a little pessimistic I feel, given we are sitting at 1st place at the top of the table without having conceded a league goal!
Perhaps not the stuff dreams are made of, but considering the influx of new players who haven’t had a lot of time to get used to each other as yet, I think Neil Lennon has done OK so far.
I know it’s a little early, but the left back position looks to have been sorted after years of neglect, Emilio Izagurre looking a terrific player against Motherwell on Sunday.
We also needed a proven goalscorer and Neil looks to have that sorted too in the shape of Anthony Stokes.
Things are looking up and WILL get better!
Bring the best young scottish boys to parkhead. one wize old man done it one day and look were we went. they say that it will never happen again, winning a european cup with boys that stayed within a 20 mile radius of parkhead. It won’t happen again unless attitudes change. we need to bring these guys into our teams we can’t afford not to james forrest as an example. if we bought some foriner then he would be over looked. thank god we never. we need to give our boys a right good go at it. mon the hoops.
I can see now why the rest of the UK views us as a laughing stock. Here in Glesca we are in love with ourselves. We can do no wrong, we are the lean green fighting machine. In reality, we would struggle in the third flight down in the EPL. And yes.. I am allowed to badmouth the team I have supported man and boy for nearly 60 years.
Celtic, sort yourselves out, stop the rot, and for the love of jaysus, make us proud once again!
@Jonjo
Here, here, I think. Problem is decent measurement of decency won’t be available until until next season. We can’t mark our height on a wall until then.
@Carntyne
We are not out of August yet and the League Cup has become a must win. We seem to fail anytime we step up against opposition that can run a bit fast towards our goal.
I’m worried as some SPL teams have that ‘quality’.
I’m not going OTT anymore. We are too far down a hole to climb out it quickly.
Stoke will make a lot of commenter’s on this blog very happy. Wee blue pills won’t be required for them this evening.
sounds like hugh keevins in disguise all doom and gloom the seasons early yet
@gabe smith
Yes, it’s early in the season….already feels like it’s been going for an age. I’m not nasally enough to be Keevins.
How about all the in fighting stops and get yer asses to parkhead and use yer mouth for somthing usefull. back the team ye never know it just might make it all good. keep the faith bhoys.
Talk about the glass being half empty, I prefer to look at whats happening this season as us starting to claw our way back from the last 2 seasons.
Yes europe was a huge dissapointment but the only thing that matters this season is the league and i for one am optimistic that Lenny and his team will deliver so lets try and put the last 2 years behind us and unite behind the bhoys!!!!!
Hail Hail!
@beaniebhoy
Sounds like you have lowered your expectations as well.
@Marko
Get a winning team on the park and people will return.
stop being so negative, wasnt the best performance yesterday, however we won and they are the kind of results that make you the champions at the end of the year. Not playing well but still winning, another clean sheet. Fair enough it was a horrible result against utrecht, but when the team gels together we will have a very good and young team, so stop being negative, it gets us nowhere and back the tims! come on!
@ The Bhoy
Now, I did say at the end that we have made a good start domestically. I also can’t find anywhere where I said I wouldn’t back the team…..I’m just expecting a longer road than some.
i think we could do the treble this year have faith yes i was dissapointed when we got nock out of europe but we move on and support the team we love so stick by them and they will do well
god no wonder we’re so pathetic if this is the expectancy and level of our support lets remember those so called great players that left were more of a liability than a cheque from nick leeson and theres more dead wood lying about since and including O’Neill than an amazon rainforest.
Lennon has to start from scratch build a new team and get as the man says bring the thunder backthis will take a long time and just needs a few pplto believe in him.
Well I do believe in him if no-one else does
HAIL HAIL THE REVOLUTION HAS BEGUN LET PARADISE ROAR AGAIN!!!!!!!
@ Colin
So, you agree that the club is in a mess and that Lennon has a big task on his hands? I’m just being realistic by saying we have fallen so far – see jpd post – that we will go into more games with the hope of victory rather than the promise.
Don’t think that is a pathetic view.
We are shopping in the only market we can for a variety of reasons. No one of proven quality will touch the shambles that is the SPL. We have signed players that no EPL/top of the Championship team are willing to take a risk on or just simply are not interested in. Celtic and Rangers are effectively feeder clubs for the likes of Stoke and Fulham. This is this, get used to it, it ain’t gonna change for decades never mind years. Next year will be an absolute nightmare for both Old Firm teams regardless of who are Scottish Champions. It is a safe bet that no Scottish team will be in Europe by 1st September 2011 and both will be playing in front of 30-35,000. Football in Scotland will be back to the 80s (almost). If Stokes is coming in why was Murphy signed? Why did Fortune play rather than Murphy in Holland when MAF did not even have a return to Glasgow(Don’t get me wrong I am glad to see the back of him)? Simply, poor management. We now have two guys who were a dismal failure at Sunderland challenging for a place in the first team. Obviously, Robbie sees his future elsewhere, any elsewhere. What can you do? Stop going and forget about Celtic or continue giving them your support win, lose or draw. The choice is an easy one to make. Hail!Hail!
@jpd
I never thought about the Stokes / Murphy Sunderland thing. Unsure if should think about it as some feel that I maybe heading for suicide watch. The big question is has Scotland really EVER left the 80’s?
Calm down!
@Damo
Point me to the reason you wish me or others to calm down? It does rain occasionally and questioning your team is normal for people with emotional attachment to something.
After Utrecht its time to circle the wagons…we know Neil is gonne give it the full monty, hes got the attitde we have craved. Experienced managers? Tony Mobray, Wee Gordon….Lennys as good as it gets. Cost me £500 takn me an wee lad to match on Sun from Irelande…worth every penney…magic….keep the faith
Bid P
The fruitless chasing of some “big names” may have raised expectations but once this window shuts we’ll know who’ve we’ve got and hopefully what to expect.
I know we need a squad but I’d really like Lenny to decide his favoured 11 and start playing a settled team. There’s been a hell of a lot of rotation (especially in the spine of the team) and it must be tough to build an understanding with players in these circumstances.
As for Stokes – not the big name some may want but we have to realise the SPL is what it is. I reckon Stokes could be our Boyd. Proven in the SPL with the likes of Falkirk n Hibs. If it goes through, he should put away plenty of chances.
@cheifinkorea
Have you read the bumfest over Keane today. People have OD on Refreshers and lemonade.
The League Cup should be scrapped!
There – I said it!
😉
Bonne journée à tout le monde !
@sixtaeseven
What then would we have a chance of winning?
Agree with carntyne, very pesimistic. Cheer up big lad!
Don’t win it that often anyway…
Completely worthless cup that throws up even more games against the teams we are already sick of seeing.
Oh wait, there’s the Coop money to play for…
😉
Stokes at 4:30 and ICT in the Must Win Cup. Think of the prize money.
What happened to the 2009 Coop money?
Spent it on Dandruff shampoo for Sammy.
@lordofthewing wouldn’t say i’ve lowered my expectations, just what i’m expecting in the immediate future given the situation we find ourselfs in, like you i remeber the 90’s were winning the scottish cup was greeted like a champions league win and the achievements of the o’neil era and even the acheivements of strachans team were nothing more than a pipe dream but yet we stuck with our team somehow knowing that out time would come again which it did. So as we start of on a new season adventure we should priorotise and for a team who have barely registered a title challenge for 2 years then first prioroty must be to build a team capable of winning the title back and with the addition of a proven spl marksmen in stokes i think we have that and hopefully this time next year this team has gelled well won the league and we have added that extra bit of quality to take us on in europe.
Hail Hail
@beaniebhoy
Great post. Sums up where we are. I had great expectations also been a bit of dreamer.
@lordofthewing
Cheers mate just hope i’m right and we’re back here in may celebrating a glorious league win and maybe even a treble
You’ll get all the over-reactional here through the season before we get to that point! @beaniebhoy
Bring it on, love the debate the banter the difference of opinion as long as we all have the best interests of celtic at the heart of it then i look forward to it