I read James’ recent article on our form with some interest … I wanted to take issue with some of what’s in there.
First, okay, we haven’t been as good as last year, but did anyone really expect us to be?
I hear people say no, including our own fans, but that doesn’t stop them using last season’s exceptional form to criticise us.
It seems to be getting lost that last season was the aberration. Not the standard.
We have to accept that most seasons will result in lost and drawn games, and with injuries and suspensions affecting the flow of the team, along with certain players loss of form. Add to them the sheer number of games, and there are bound to be more than a few slips along the way.
This is football.
I have banged this drum before but any draw seems to be met with the outpouring of disgust.
We are not losing these games; Celtic suffering any kind of domestic defeat has become very rare instead.
Now we , as a support, seem to have this issue that you cannot look at the positives for us, we have to be seen to watching the negative at all times. Without meaning to repeat myself I feel this is a huge issue and stems from what I previously called “the back of the bus syndrome.”
But things are not as bad as some people, James included, have made out … not when you place this season’s form in context.
So what I have done is have a look at the previous 6 titles we have won in this current run to show where this season’s team compares; while not being perfect by any means, it at least shows that this season is not as bad as is being made out. By anyone.
Last 6 finishes:
1             Celtic        38          30          3             5             84          21          +63        93
1             Celtic        38          24          7             7             92          35          +57        79
1             Celtic        38          31          6             1             102        25          +77        99
1             Celtic        38          29          5             4             84          17          +67        92
1             Celtic        38          26          8             4             93          31          +62        86
1             Celtic        38          34          4             0             106        25          +81        106
Current standings
| 1 | Celtic | 32 | 21 | 9 | 2 | 62 | 20 | 42 | 72 |
If you consider we lose one of the last 6 we would end on 87.
Now, if you look at the history of our current march to 10, you see that we are around the average – yes we have drawn a little more than normal, however we must expect that with amount of injuries we have had, and the chopping and changing of the squad.
That simply cannot be ignored.
But I think the draws are balanced out with the losses; there have only been two.
Now, in any season, these stats would be more than fine. Yes other teams might have taken advantage if they were better, but we have to stop worrying about them. Look at us. The ifs and buts don’t win things – we do – and every time we have had to we have.
What must also be taken into account is that we are looking at another treble.
Bad teams do not win those.
If someone had offered you that outcome at the start of the season and said you would need to factor in a few draws you’d have grabbed it.
Our form could be better … but it’s still good enough to get the job done, and perhaps put us in the history books too.
Does the squad need change?
Of course it does. What team doesn’t in the course of every single season?
But this constant negative outlook and under appreciation of what are ultimately excellent achievements is too much.
I would also ask our fans to consider that a lot of our current squad have not had a real rest since Brendan came in.
This is even more on the cards going forward due to the World Cup and our staggering eight games of Champions League qualifiers.
This is why, I believe, guys like Musonda and Comperr are being held back just now, why risk them?
If something happens and then we lose one or the other to fatigue or international football we may be in real trouble because the transfer market wont really kick in until after the World Cup. The close season is getting shorter all the time, and so is our window to do good business.
All of this “whats going on with Comperr and Musonda” is what our enemies want.
It unsettles us and gives the press an excuse not to discuss the more important issues that should be discussed in Scottish football.
We are at the start of something at Celtic; don’t forget that. Our being on the verge of seven in a row has made a lot of us think of this as being right in the middle of a cycle; it’s not so. Brendan Rodgers is about to complete his second year of what is at least a five year plan; we’re still at the start. He can build us to a standard that no one else in Scotland will ever achieve, trust him, by all means question, we are not other clubs in this manner, but lets not be overly critical when things are still looking on the up and up.
David Campbell is a Celtic fan and blogger from Glasgow who wants a little sunshine back in our hearts.
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