The moment Efe Ambrose went off, I knew it was over.
The score was still 1-0 Celtic. Ross County had not yet converted their penalty to make it 1-1, but I knew it was going to be one of those days. Every fear I’ve had about this team, going back months, was going to be realised and I could see it all unfold.
I take no satisfaction from it. On the contrary.
We’ve all seen teams win games with ten men. It happens often. When you have better players, losing one of them doesn’t necessarily provoke high anxiety unless it’s the keeper who’s gone and you’ve no reserve goalie on the bench.
But that depends on what happens next.
If your team is in the lead you can afford to take a striker off. As most teams play with more than one of those you can do it without necessarily making your team notably weaker. If you’re chasing a game it’s harder to justify, but if you’re playing four at the back you can go to a three, which retains your attacking options albeit you sacrifice your full-backs.
If you have four in midfield you can sacrifice one of those, which often means giving away width and trying to play the game through the middle.
There are options. There are always options.
And with the right tactical set-up all things are possible.
We were never going to get the right response, and I knew that.
The need for a Plan B was acute, but we don’t have one of those.
When something goes wrong with Plan A we pay the price.
Today it’s a high price.
Ultimately we got what we deserved.
Weeks ago, when I started asking questions about our manager, a lot of people were of the opinion that myself and others had been too hard on him because we were “still on course for the treble.” We no longer are, and I said at the time we wouldn’t win it because the level of consistency required for that is beyond us.
I don’t think we’ll win the Scottish Cup either.
There’s a certain inevitability about the next “bad day at the office.”
On a mental level, this team is appallingly weak and that weakness goes up throughout the club; to the manager’s office, to the CEO’s, to the boardroom, to the chairman himself.
Until something major changes we’ll remain this way.
Watching Leigh Griffiths today was especially painful, and his penalty miss was awful to witness.
He toiled, as anyone will when he’s being marked 4-1 and the manager has made a decision which lends him absolutely no support. Any one of us could have formulated a tactical plan to achieve that objective knowing how we line up.
The questions will mount up now.
But I’ve got no faith in any answer being provided by the club itself.
I said Ronny had to nail it in this transfer window, and one signing and one on loan – a kid, at that, us developing another team’s player – isn’t good enough and not even close. We’re already hearing the expected nonsense about how hard it is to find players in January … but no harder than it’ll be to bring some in with Europe looming.
The prospect of European qualifiers fills me with dread today.
We’ll still win the title. Probably. For a lot of people that’s going to be enough and as long as they are in the majority and are willing to be “faithful through and through” the board has no incentive to change direction. This club will continue to stagnate.
There’s not much more to say at the moment.
I wanted to be writing a different article this evening, but from the second I saw Craig Thomson pull out the red card I knew it would be like this.
That’s somehow even more depressing than the result itself.
It was all so predictable.
the dream died because we have a shite manager, a board who dont give a fuck about football and that cunt efe ambrose
I’m saying nothing I didnt say two years ago. Deila is a con man, it happens all the time in business, piss poor senior management couldn’t pick a winner in a one horse race. Griffiths scores our goals against hapless opponents, does that change the fact he is garbage? Scot Brown iS a lesbian (sorry to steal that from another tweet I saw today, thought it was bang on) and more importantly a huge liability, if he’s so good bin him, make some money and buy quality.
Surely this must be Ambrose last game for Celtic FFS
We do not have the right to win every game but there were a few passengers today Armstrong.Johanson. Bitton. And Griffiths had an off day so that’s football but never mind we will be in Aberdeen on Wednesday to see our team Hail Hail
The manager is a cunt for playing am rose who is shite, we must have young centre halves at the club who are better than him. The rest of the team are poor and want to get a grip or fuck off out of Celtic park
This playing 1 up front is like our clueless manager a complete joke, hopefully its bit him on the arse for the last time
DEILA OUT !!!! and take your puppeteer Lawwell with you
The manager is dreadful some of the players we have are just the same, to go forward we need to get rid of Mr nice guy RD he’s just another john barnes fuckin hopeless.
When Ambrose is in the team we expect days like these. Another bewildering “tactical” performance from Deila. He talks a good game but on the big occasions he is constantly found out. Abject, gutless and clueless sums up the team today.
I have no faith in Delia reminds me of Tony Mowbray no plan B and a team of players who give an aura of inferiority. Our players should look & feel invincible regardless of who we play. Time for a change in management
Good piece, first of all congratulations to Ross County they wanted it more on the day. I agree I could not see why we played with one up front. The new defender looks solid but regards to the treble I feel it was media driven and disrespected the rest of Scottish football. I ask this question do you honestly think Celtic’s performance in Europe will improve because a new team from the south side get promoted. TV companies and some old pro’s want it to be business as usual but no it will not help Celtic in Europe. It takes great teams with strength of character to win the treble and we got suckered by the media , we have to learn our lesson well and be stronger for it next time.
Its a new coach we badly badly need the wee boy is out of his depth.
Learn our lesson, we get the same lesson season after season and we never learn. I’m sick of watching lack lustre performances. We need a manager who is tactically aware and a motivator, unfortunately we don’t have that.
Don’t talk p*** nothing to do with media going on about treble it’s our inability + bad management skills that’s STOPPED us WINNING IT!!!
Owned every stat on the match with 10 men and still lost 3-1. At some point, the officials need to be held accountable. It won’t happen, I know. But we can’t be pissed that we don’t have a manager we line when we have to play against eleven men on a pitch, the officials, the League and the Association.
“from the second I saw Craig Thomson pull out the red card I knew it would be like this.”
FROM THE MOMENT I SAW CRAIG THOMPSON APPOINTED AS REF, I KNEW IT WOULD BE LIKE THIS.
craig thompson is a cheat. theres no argument against it.
ibrokes 2009, turned down two stonewall penalties, gave a third at 0-2 then apologised once we’d lost.
ibrokes 2011, gave a penalty and a red card to forster when naismith knocked the ball towards the corner flag, with two celtic defenders already back. if hes not fouled, by the time hes got the ball, the keepers bak in the goal and theres atleast two defenders back.
pittordrie 2014, pawlett knocks the ball away from van dijk, but so far that he wasnt getting to the ball before it went out. red card.
pittodrie 2015, griffiths beats the last defender, one on one inside the six yard box. hauled to the ground. yellow card.
hampden 2016. ross county player takes a heavy touch, keepers gettign there first, efe clips the defender. penalty and red card.
It’s all about the rangers were you playing us today naw it was the mighty ross county lol lol get it up you
aye, we lost to Ross county. Even Craig Thompson couldn’t stop a shit Celtic side comfortably rolling past the tribute act. Fuck you son of a bigot whore
Agreed. There us too many that think the SPL is enough. We need a fresh approach and a new direction top to bottom of club.
Please dont let Delia take us into CL qualifiers he just isnt good enough time our support wised up.
Don’t slag Patrick Roberts just for being young and a loanee – the same was true of Denayer and we’d kill for him to be back.
I agree get rid of deila pure shit
The maneger has to walk away now he has not got it to run Celtic when you are behind you must push on forward thinking players
The moment I saw Efe and Boyata were the central defensive pairing I knew it was over! A disaster waiting to happen and it did.
Totally disagree.ive been raging with Delia for months and been a harsh critic but after watching the big decisions made by Thompson today well ime raging !Ambrose is never a sending off in a million years and to compoud it with Gordon being impeded right in front of this clown and no foul sums it all up.Its not excuses if Ambrose is booked we win this game easy to listen to that muppet michael stewart .say “well the defending was terrible anyway “thats not the fucking point.if zola scores the most amazing overhead kick against a team it doesnt matter if its a foul its a foul !fucks me !
Wit game were u it??? His knee clatters him + he’s last man or maybe a goal scoring opportunitie!!! A don’t like to admit it but Ron was WRONG BIG TIME!!! Griffiths up front alone come on???
We cant blame Ambrose blame the manager who picked him we buy a centre half and put him on bench .then go 3.1 down and bring on Brown was that to keep it down to 3 . The move was lustig or tierney off cifti up front with griff everyone seen it except the manager sorry but he has to go
RD has only himself to blame how many times do we have to suffer all because RD has not got a clue , why pick bomb scare in front of another 5 guys who could not even get into the squad today .
What’s wrong going 3,5, 2
RD can get to @@@@ let’s have Stubbs in place now
We have too many imposters in the team. The manager has no passion. No plan B and no clue.
I know we were playing with ten men but he did not know how to set them up properly after Ambrose was sent off. For me he has to go before we blow the league.