As the teams were standing on either side of the centre circle yesterday, I saw immediately what one of the problems of watching the game was going to be. That strip clash was abysmal.
At first some of the folk I was watching it with doubted it would be an issue … I have the advantage of being both a FIFA player and a Football Manager super-fan. I’ve seen how such similar looking strips are hard to tell apart in the heat of a match, but that’s knowledge acquired through experience.
I can understand how it might not be readily apparent.
To a layperson anyway.
But my God, how did the officials not see that?
They aren’t laypersons, they are supposed to be professionals.
The TV people must – they absolutely must – have highlighted the issue, from years of their own experience.
So how in God’s name did that fiasco happen?
How could the officials have allowed that to go ahead yesterday with both sides lined up almost the same?
The strip manufacturer who gave us a shirt which is, on the colour side, similar to our first shirt is equally stupid because our second strip – the black – would have been ever less suited to that game.
St Mirren, as the home team, were entitled to wear their home strip … but surely there’s a time when common sense over-rules that type of parochial thinking?
I’ve got to think they would have worn the away strip had the officials asked them to … and they should have.
That was just so stupid and short-sighted yesterday.
It speaks to the chronic unprofessionalism of the league that they didn’t spot that a mile away and rectify it. Sky must have been pulling their hair out, knowing that a lot of neutrals would have switched that off, unable to properly distinguish the two sides.
It speaks volumes about the game here, in a way that clapping against the monarchy never will. We obsess over such petty stuff and whilst moaning about a strip clash seems petty it’s actually a sign of a much larger malaise.
If a national football body can’t get this stuff right, you have to wonder what it does do.
In the name of the small gentleman ! The strip colour caused the defeat ? If the strip was pink with black polkadots ,Celtic FC should have more than enough to take care of St Mirren !Please ,please stop with the psychobabble. Tactical circumstances caused the defeat ! Not the grey strip .What’s next ? Jockstraps too tight ?
Did you not previously blame the defeat on St Mirren’s slow ball boys?
Naw!
Agree. I thought at the time Celtic would pull on their white shorts. It may have played a small part in our lack of speed as we had to make sure who we were passing the ball to.
I agree that, amongst other factors, the strips were possibly also a contributory factor to our lethargic performance. Should Celtic themselves though not have pointed this out to the officials?
Surely, Celtic would have known what kit St Mirren were playing. Black and White. Their home kit. We would have had to submit our kit colours prior to the match. Celtic should have realised the potential for the colour clash them a should have asked for a solution. If none could be found, the hopes or last years green kit should have been used.
Yes someone should have pointed this out on sunday. But Celtic FC are to blame firstly.
My thoughts exactly John,
What is it Ange says ! No excuses ! Were you sleeping that time ?
Have you managed to get a petition going for Celtic to take our own ball boys with us to away games yet?
Bwahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa Funny as fk!
Ever the conspiracy theorist, may I suggest that perhaps it WAS obvious to the SPFL reps and they thought that there might just be the possibility of a Man U grey strip debacle that might result in us dropping points? Given how desperate the hun are to see us falter would it surprise you if that was the truth?
Just a theory…
What kind of Miss Nancy excuse is this, strips don’t play football, both sets of players have eyes but somehow our eyes were deceived. We put out the wrong team, with the wrong changes, put shit all effort in and lost to the better team on the day
Exactly SSMPM, if the game played till midnight-there’d still b no goal from Celtic.
Nightmare day and 2 chances-2 goals from St Mirren with 20% possession!
Do hope Ange & players learn from this 1/7 to win and most of us were focused on the next game…3 points a gimme, or so we thought..!!
It’s a terrible excuse. That’s the point. It’s terrible because it’s a banal detail the club could have taken control of but didn’t. But there is a reason why teams change kits in such situations, at every level of the game. It makes it harder, at full speed to distinguish team mates from opponents. Our performance was filled with unforced errors from players who rarely make them, in situations you wouldn’t expect them. I genuinely think a major factor in that was (ultimately) our (generally excellent) manager’s decision to wear that kit. It’s all the more annoying because it is entirely our fault. And complaining about something you were in control of, could have changed and didn’t is almost a perfect definition of a terrible excuse.
We were just rank rotten yesterday.
I also immediiately thought that the strips were too similar.
Initially, that mistake must sit with CFC as the away team?
But, ultimately is it not the referee’s decision to have one strip changed if there is a clash?
The referee must have missed that too… 🙁
Surely our home strip doesn’t clash enough with theirs that we needed to change it? I know both have a fair amount of white but we’re hooped with green and they’re striped with black also we would then have had white shorts
It does. The main clash for Celtic is always white. If you’re watching us in our home kit, and you squint your eyes, you’ll see a team playing in white. More so than Hibs even, we’ve always had to wear a changed kit for St Mirren (Love Street, ‘86 etc.). The club has approved three kits for the season, all of which clash with that opponent. Not good enough.
Not true only started on 1983 when said green strip was introduced, before we either changed to green sock or st.mirren to red depending on the home team.Even hibs wasnt a change till mid to late 80s fact! Tho hibs are did use a bukta purple top in October 1977 but that was rare at the time in a game at Celtic park which we won 3-1 one my first games in fact
It was Celtic to blame for the kit clash. We should have wo en the Hoops.
The hoops clash with St Mirren. It’s the white. It’s the dominant colour of our kit and theirs, to the naked eye. But the black vertical stripes of our other Caine kit also clash. The third kit is useless. Given that the white is so dominant in our kit, there is no opponent we’d have to change for it would work against. It’s just there to squeeze money out of those in our fanbase who’d literally buy anything the club churned out.
*…our other CHANGE kit.
I agree on the clash. At full speed it was near impossible to tell the sides apart. But, I’d lay the blame squarely at Celtic and the manager’s door. Generally, any change kit that isn’t entirely different from the home kit in colour, tone and style is nothing but a way of wringing cash out of the most credulous parts of the support base. It’s a scandal that we have three kits which clash with a league opponent. Someone at the club should be answering for that right now. The manager should have insisted on an alternative, like the all green kit from last season. There is precedent. Under Rodgers, there was a similar clash and he played in a change kit from the previous season. I think it was the pink one. The clash disadvantaged Celtic. It was in Celtic’s control and – unless there’s something I’m missing – they did nothing about it. That particular kit is a contemptible scam: there is no domestic opponent we’d need to change kit for it wouldn’t clash with at full speed. It’s useless and the team should never play in it. But there will be contractual loopholes with manufacturers and sponsors that each kit needs at least one outing. The dominant colour of the Celtic home kit, at full speed and to the naked eye is white. We should therefore never have a white or dark grey or any kind of white-ish kit. I think that was a big factor yesterday. The clash disadvantages the team with the faster, more intricate style. It’s not for the opponent to look that gift horse in the mouth. It’s actually not for the dominant club to stop them shooting themselves in the foot. It’s their job to ensure neither club is breaking the rules. Neither was. Celtic’s fault.
Sorry, should have been:
It’s actually not for the OFFICIALS to stop…
Agree with all your points, Damian. I genuinely think the awful kit clash made a huge difference yesterday, and we were the disadvantaged team. Here’s why the “it was the same for both teams” merchants are wrong… Celtic had (apparently) 80% possession yesterday. So 4x more than St Mirren. So 4x more occasions where “who the fuck am I passing to?” was our team’s question, not theirs. Add that to the pace & precision of Angeball, and it’s completely obvious that the kit clash worked against us, very disproportionately.
Absolutely. For all that, there were clearly other factors in the result. Not least, St Mirren’s excellent organisation and aggression in attack. They deserve the plaudits and that should be the main story. But, the team with the most possession is likely to make the most mistakes, even at the best of times. Ange’s style revolves around calculated mistakes as well (e.g. play the ball into the dangerous area immediately; be ready to press when we lose it). All of that is harder when you’re pondering over every move. But, Celtic is to blame for that, not anyone else. I hope they’ll never make that mistake again. And that useless change kit can remain a niche collectors item for anyone gullible enough to buy it.
The peepl r trying anything to prevent us getn a result,HEYHOONWEGOMONTHEHOOPS
Alex Ferguson once did the right thing, strip in the bin never to be worn again, take note of prob the greatest manager in our game,
Said it straight off as a kid remember we never changed with st.mirren only went to green socks that even happened with hibs tho they got a purple change in 77 one my first games actually 3-1to Celtic