Well, you have to give former drug lord David Martindale points for talking a good game anyway. He certainly has found a way to get the media to focus on every wrong aspect of it.
His description of one of his players as “Scottish football’s Ngolo Kante” would be hilarious if it were not so intended to be taken seriously.
But it’s another of his comments that is worthy of note.
“Well, you’ve got a £55 million budget against a £1.3 million budget,” he said. “We have to come up with different ways to try and win a game.”
Except this as just as dishonest as anything he told detectives when he was arrested in 2006.
They never made any effort to “win” the game yesterday and nobody should be pretending that he did. What we went up against was the antithesis of football. It was anti-football almost down to the dictionary definition of it.
If his side were so worthy of credit, if he were a manager worthy of note, if their strategy was based on anything other than getting the odd result against a team like ours, they would not be sitting tenth out of twelve in the league. If Martindale has come up with some new method of winning, why isn’t his team winning more often, or against teams with similar budgets?
My mate Matthew Marr said to me earlier that Livingston fans won’t care that they played appalling defensive football, that all they care about are results.
Well, great.
Let them celebrate a draw at Celtic Park as if it were the pinnacle of accomplishment. Maybe it will make up for the six losses against lesser teams and the two draws from this campaign so far, which has them on three wins out of twelve.
Maybe a zero effort draw represents success in their eyes, and f it does then they have no complaints and they ought to stick with this guy, even if he avoids relegation because Dundee and Ross County are redefining what the words “worst in the league” mean on a daily basis.
Maybe results like this are the high point of their season, and that’s fair enough except Dundee Utd were promoted two years ago and Hearts were promoted just last year and one of those teams is third and the other is fourth. Martindale hasn’t got near that.
Last season, they were sixth, with twelve wins out of thirty-eight games. As woeful as we were managed ten more wins, in a year characterised as a total disaster which saw a manager sacked and a CEO resign.
They clearly have a different definition of success; I can understand that. But I thought the definition of winning a game was three points. That’s pretty much universal. So what Martindale is talking about, and what he’s getting credit for, I do not know.
Fair enough mate..but we are Celtic…we should have used more guile to break them down..you need to be cleverer than we were…use more tricks..more sly moves ..more training ground freekicks and corners…you need to baffle a team who parks the bus…
So; “lesser” teams can beat Martindale’s lot, but we can’t.
Why ?
Lesser teams beat them jim because livi don’t park the bus against them, they actually have to try to win those games, but that’s no excuse for us, we should be beating teams like that especially at Celtic park, resting our best striker was a mistake we had a chance to go top at home and blew it.
Fair comment Brian………I’m just so disappointed at such a missed opportunity.
I’m gonna have to stop listening to Packy and BBC sportsound. He’s frustrating as hell to listen to and seems to side with our opponents constantly – praising Livis hard earned and deserved draw was the last straw for me.
Don’t want to be in too much of a downer about our play but its not easy. We should have won in spite of the lack of created chances. So my focus today is on this question – is there anyone at our club who can take a penalty?
Livi is smarter than us: they got what they wanted – a point – whilst we dropped 2 precious points, and at home.
To win the league we have to learn from this – to be able to break down teams who simply frustrate and play for a draw.
That’s what champions do…
We just weren’t good enough on the day and the guy concerned talks a load of pash, but to go on and on about him and his non achievements says more about a person than just plain anoyance about not winning the game.
From all of the articles, interviews, blogs and punditry I’ve listened to and read since 5pm on Saturday, this is the only one I’ve read so far that has actually addressed this issue. I say issue because it most certainly is one. If I were one of the 20 or so Livingston fans who travelled through to watch their team serve up that dross I would be asking for my money back. Football is supposed to be entertainment for the fans who pay their money, and Martindale has managed to kill any notion of that ever happening at that club. If I were the Livingston board I’d have him in tomorrow and hand him his jotters on the spot. Also if I was one of his unfortunate players whom he obviously doesn’t think are anywhere near good enough to actually go out and win a game, I would be asking for a transfer. How on earth are these boys supposed to become better players by following Martindales instructions? If I were a player or a fan of that club I would t care if I were relegated as long as we have it a right good go and actually tried to win every single game. Under Martindale that’s never going to happen, and that only serves to rob the fans of their money, and the players of their will to win. The guy should be ashamed of himself, he’s a total embarrassment to football and I hope he gets sacked post haste.
James, do you realise you are sounding like Lennon more and more – pure deflection. Our problems and solutions lie within and not outwith our club.
I sincerely hope Livingston go down this season, as James says they did not try to win which is the whole point of partaking in any sport.
They will most certainly not be missed by me apart from their deplorable brand of football and a pitch that has no place in the SPL , they also have a manager with a dubious past and fancies himself as some sort of philosopher.
Should be deducted points for not playing the game the way it should be last time I saw a defence. Like that was during the war