Jos shows the qualities needed to turn Celtic round.
When John Clark is setting out the kit and the kit was stored in a Acme Box marked ‘Ill-Prepared’ and delivered by Wile E. Coyote then we, really, shouldn’t be surprised at the outcome. The whole Braga episode is summed up by the farce that is Aiden McGeady.
“He was complaining of a recurring back injury” moaned Lennon about or non-appearing made of glass winger not letting on that the injury was brought on by constant nagging by his agent and our CEO.
The Diary was accused, by some, of being snide and pessimistic in my worries about the tie against Braga. It gives me no pleasure that my fear of the unknown turned out to be the already known. The Diary wishes he could still drink that concoction of Special Brew, vinegar and bleach, which blots out days and reality.
The headlines that greeted the sides return from Braga were entirely predictable. The false hope was built by those with poisoned pens and agenda powered laptops . “Braga hand Neil Lennon’s Celtic a crushing Champions League defeat“, “Celtic, a team that travels in Europe with all the conviction of a fraudster with a fake ID” and off, course the usual “Celtic’s new boys failed to impress“.
People need to ask themselves why these “new boys” ended up at Celtic, and more strikingly, in Scotland. Maybe it’s because on the bigger platform and in the grand scheme of all things top class football they are distinctly average and non-descript.
“Some people may think this tie is over, but we don’t” Lennon, sort of whispered at the end of the game, like a man who had spent two days drinking a concoction of Special Brew, vinegar and bleach.
The Diary believes Lennon. Braga are exactly the same as us. A decent Europa League level side with all the insecurities that comes with being in the peat bog of middle Europe.
They are quite capable of Celtic-esq collapses and they are quite capable, like we will be, of quality results. An early goal and the insecurities and limitations will rush through their minds like hyperactive endorphins faced with a base jump.
“It’s impossible not to ignore many elements of Celtic’s display in Portugal which will have set alarm bells ringing in the minds of many supporters” claimed one newspaper while The Diary feels that if that type of performance came as a surprise then that constant beeping you can hear is your smoke alarm going off. I would call the fire brigade.
Lennon is building a team. “How we gave those last two goals away was a joke” claimed Glenn Loovens while “poorest Parkhead No1 since 2000” blamed “something happened with the Jabulani ball” and not his positioning. These are protestations of players who are looking at the dressing room door scared of who is going to walk through it.
Jos Hooiveld has grasped this. “I’m not in the position within the group yet where I can go into the dressing room and grab people by the throat” threatened the Dutchman.
If he maybe starts this he will be in for the long haul. Throttling the duds maybe cheaper option in the long run.
Final plug for the competition to win £150 worth of credit to spend on classic Celtic gear at Classic Football Shirts.
You have until midnight Tuesday.