Aaaah Derek McInnes ….
Before I start on him, I want to just express my frustration at yesterday’s result, and the second half performance in particular.
On the back of two excellent displays, against Ajax and then against Dundee, we’re back at it again, with the last two looking like we’re again a side lacking imagination or the killer instinct.
We dropped two points yesterday; don’t let any of the happy clappers fob you off with that excuse because it was a point gained on Aberdeen.
We ought to have taken full advantage and punished that mouthy sod McInness accordingly.
So, we’re going to have to start killing teams off, or this is going to be one god-awful long season for us all.
But on the bright side … we did, indeed, make up some ground in spite of our own stumble, and that owes everything to the display of a kid I’m very excited about; Ryan Christie, who tore the Aberdeen defence to ribbons, all told, scored one and set up the other.
Of all the signings we made in the last transfer window (and my feelings on it all are pretty well known, and much lamented) it says a lot that this one, the signing of a player we won’t even see in the Hoops until January at the latest, was the most exciting.
It wasn’t the “big spend”; that was Simunovic.
It wasn’t the one that had the media frothing at the mouth; that was nicking Scott Allan from the seething Sevconians … but it was my pick of the bunch.
I love Ryan Christie.
He’s been on the cusp of stardom now for a wee while.
He possesses all the natural talent in the world, and no-one who’s watched him or worked with him is in the remotest doubt that he’s going to go far.
A lot of people say that it’s unfair to put a lot of expectation on the shoulders of a kid, and I would normally agree, but when you’re talking about one with his natural ability then the old adage that when “you’re good enough you’re old enough” rings as true as it ever did.
Aside from Kris Commons, who’s approaching the last hurrah of his career in the Hoops, we’ve not had a player capable of opening up defences and scoring goals like this kid since Nakamura.
Does that sound a little over the top? It’s not.
Had he been at Celtic Park yesterday we wouldn’t have needed him tearing Aberdeen a new one.
He’d have taken Hearts apart with the same ease he did a few weeks ago.
Let me put his performances in perspective for you.
Ryan Christie has started seven leagues games for Inverness this season, out of their nine in total. In those matches they have scored a grand total of nine goals. Christie has scored three of the nine. He has assisted five of the other six.
This kid is, not to put too fine a point on it, on his way to being a star.
As good as it would be to have him in the team at the moment, in hindsight I’m glad he’s still at Cally right now.
He’s getting games, he’s growing in confidence, and he’s building a nice sense of anticipation for coming in January … which now looks like a no-brainer for us.
Regular readers to the site will know how I wish to God our own players and our own coaches would shut up and stop talking about us beating all comers – and boasts about us winning every game look especially hollow when you fail to win the next one – but Derek McInnes is really starting to bug me even more, with his constant sniping at Celtic.
I get that a manager has to play to the gallery a wee bit, and talk up his own team.
But where does it say you’re allowed to look across the country at another club and try to devalue the achievements of people who work there?
His comment about being able to win the league if he had Celtic’s resources is bitchy and snide and the Dons fans should be telling him to can it.
After all, it’s Aberdeen who’re out of Europe entirely, have just crashed out of the League Cup and lost their last game in the SPL.
McInnes wants to put his own house in proper order instead of trying to deflect.
I trust that the events of the last four days have, at the very least, shut him up for a while.
James we still have Deila,and Collins,running things,or should that be ruining things.
We need to be rid of them,or we could finish with very little this year.There’s a fairly good bunch of players at paradise,but the wrong management team,what do you think ?.
Who would you replace them with? We haven’t gotten a quarter way through the season and we are back to this.
Ronny Deila is a decent guy, but he was a cheap option, and Lawwell is to blame, lets wait and see how we do in the Europa League.
What I worry about is even if Ronny does become a success as Celtic manager, it would mean that when he eventually leaves and gets replaced, they will do the same thing again.
New Celtic managers need to be very experienced, and hit the ground running, not cheap option rookies who are given a chance to see what they can do.
One more thing McInnes needs to shut up.
Owen, that’s very harsh. The least you can say about Ronny Deila is that he’s looking for the best “Scottish” young talent, i.e. Christie, Allen, Armstrong and giving some of our own youngsters an opportunity, i.e. Tierney, etc. I don’t know where you’re coming from with your gloomy predictions. We should have won the treble last season, but for an “honest mistake” and apart from the CL exit to Malmo, we’re in every competition available to us so far this season. We’ve lost our two best defenders in some time (Van Dijk, Denayer) and he’s trying to get a new settled back four. If you think there’s anyone better out there right now that can blood our young talent, recruit the best Scottish young players, while compete each season for the treble and European football then I’d love to know that person. Mourinho, Kloppf and Anchelotti need not apply. HH.
Well said John Kane totally agree with everything you just said. Its getting tiresome listening to how bad Ronny is and JC I think we have the right people doing a deent job
Mouthy McInnes he surely is James with the snide comments but I think we all know where his real loyalties are……..and where they have always been!
I tend to agree with Owen (above) about Deila and Collins, something just seems amiss at the moment with the team and the tactics.
Like you I have been very critical of Ambrose in the past but he most certainly has shown a good bit of improvement in the past few weeks…long may it continue IF he is kept in the team.
All those high ball crosses in the Hearts game and zilch to show for them, is Carlton the answer?…If he comes I sure hope he is but who else is out there who can get a game week in week out?…….and would Deila change his tactics to suit such a player?
And so say all of us, bit concerned about JC bit of a romancer with football
Poor management team.we’ve spent lots more money than rest of clubs and we’re still struggling..something far wrong..