Celtic Shake San Francisco

I left Scotland 10 years ago. It’s always difficult to be away when the Rangers games hit even though I can access the best sports betting sites.

I’m particularly pensive when it comes to playing “them”. I don’t think anyone was expecting Sunday’s result. Rag…. and doll.

Being an ex-pat, these games are especially significant to me; a special opportunity to hear the Celtic support at their best and, from a distance, wins or lose, revel in everything that is Celtic.

The games over here are early, 8 hrs behind most of your selves. I’ve slept through a few, following a few shandies the night before. After a loss, I’m as disappointed as Aberdeen having thoroughly collapsed after the departure of Ferguson.

Well, they had Eoin Jess..at one point.

Buildings in San Francisco have to be “up to code”, ie. they are retrofitted so that if another earthquake occurs they will endure. A Celtic win seeks to challenge those boundaries. If someone slams their car door outside the whole apartment building, literally, shakes. That is the safest response to an earthquake. Roll with the punches rather than be static. If Celtic win, or score, what would barely be audible back home is amplified to the point of someone shouting in your ear like a mad man.

Back to football.

It doesn’t matter what state “they” are in. EVERY Rangers game is a big game. The “Can’t win the big games” crowd were silenced on Sunday (if they were ever vocal in the first place). It’s a ridiculous notion I’ve never subscribed to and is generally the opinion of fairweather fans. Sunday was significant.

Following our previous encounter, where we were mercilessly bullied, something of a paradigm shift occurred. McCoist relies on outdated tactics and a team populated by unskilled “hammer throwers”. This system is easily rattled by opposition that press high up the pitch and that attempt to play football.

Scottish football is rarely that adventurous and Walter Smith instilled somewhat of an “Immortals” mentality that has prevented teams from doing the logical; comprehensively breaking them down with some kind of intelligent attacking formation.

Enter Neill Francis Lennon. The oldest cliché in football is that attack is the best form of defence. Following a rather even opening exchange, Lennon deployed the classic Martin O’Neill 3-5-2. The result was devastating. Quite simply, Lennon saw where the play was going and outthought McCoist (ironically something that the more rigid O’Neill was unable to do in certain games). Rangers were absolutely dominated from beginning to end.

We’re entering interesting times as Celtic fans. The most significant period since 67 (Seville/stopping 9IAR in my time). I truly believe this was our last game against them.

In years to come, to your children and grandchildren, you’ll recall the 6-2, where Henrik gloriously chipped Klos. However, if you have the time, take a moment to recall the 3-0 at Parkhead; the final nail in an otherwise spectacularly punctured coffin.