At what point do we need to start worrying here? At what point is the concern over the conduct of those within Ibrox a genuine, and obvious, cause for alarm at every level inside Celtic Park? As I will write later, there is already a mounting sense of dread about the fixtures that we’re hurtling towards, three of them in a short space of time.
One of those games is at Hampden, where 25,000 of their fans will be raging furiously at every bad break of the ball.
One is at Ibrox, in front of nothing but their supporters. Our club has taken the extremely wise decision not to accept tickets for that game because the safety of our fans cannot be guaranteed.
And of course, the first game is at Celtic Park.
But we know now that even this game isn’t exactly a “safe space.”
One of their coaches attacked our women’s manager last week. This week has barely begun and it has started with three of their players sent off in a single game against our youth team.
The loss of control of all involved in the Ibrox operation has leaped from the stands to the coaches and now out onto the pitch.
Their whole season is going to come down to the cup semi-final. In their shoes you might not even need to be possessed of a barbaric temperament to see the Celtic Park game as an opportunity to leave carnage in your wake, to try and put as many of our players out of the Hampden match as possible.
Their league hopes have been virtually erased. They know that.
People like Lundstram and Goldson can talk all they want about still being in it.
We’re simply not going to lose enough games in the nine which are left. So they know what’s what here. It’s out of their hands, and that means it’s a forlorn hope. They have exactly one thing left to fight for.
And they are a club which is more than ever lost in its own warped worldview. They have a manager who, in spite of a good record, is under the most intense pressure and even those who wish him well seem pathologically determined to add to it.
He can feel the walls tightening around him. What would you do in his shoes, even if you weren’t the kind of person who enjoyed the smell of blood? Anything. Everything. And at Celtic Park they might just opt to do exactly that.
When a coach cannot contain his rage at a last minute goal in a ladies’ game, and when their players fume and descend into lunacy at an under 21 match, is there any reason to think that they won’t react the same way, or worse, in a match on which season ticket sales and thus the immediate future of the whole club might rest?
What we are witnessing is a club in the throes of a genuine crisis behind the walls, something unseen but clearly ugly, and which could boil over at any time. Twice in the last week, it has boiled over and both of them in matches against us.
TI fear for our footballers in all three of the games to come, but oddly at Celtic Park most of all because it is the first of them and what happens in that one will set the tone, and perhaps the options, for the others.
It is a troubling thought as we go into this big week.
All orchestrated to send a message of fear
Head butt, three sending offs and we are being told not to mess with cantwell. We know Lundstrum is a thug.
The message is bullying. Look at us we are all hard men.
Their thuggery now on the pitch.
We can effectively end their season in he semi-final and wouldnae put it past ‘win at all costs F.C.’ tae single out 1 or 2 of our players on Saturday, before it gets tae that game. Dependin on who the officials are, there could be a lack of protection as well. If it does happen, its up tae our club leaders tae demand retrospective action. Tho ah wouldnae haud my breath wi that. Anyway, just get stuck intae them right back, don’t allow that mob tae try and boss us.
Gers must teach their U21s how to be gentlemen, or their plans will unravel. The strategy is to find more than a few Gems amongst this age group over the next few years. There is a reason for this.
Could it be that paying a few players around 30,000 pounds a week and too many in the 20,000 Quid plus per week, is no longer tenable for Gers?
I looked at Ross County wages Bill, on the internet. It bears no comparison to Gers and Celtic. It was small. A few players should have second jobs. Possibly they have. Their players were good sportsmen. They put in a top effort against Celtic. For their support sake, I hope they survive relegation. Apparently, it’s hard to attract footballers to move to Dingwall. Ross County have terrific players. “talent plus determination per pay, margin” is large.
Titter ye not James, ‘sorry I didn’t see Kent throw a punch’, Bobby Madden, no longer refs for them. It is possible we are really poor on the day. I’m sure they could, I say could, win a game and if it’s to be then better at the midden when all is lost. Their fans’ behaviour now that’s another matter.
@ Kevan. You shouldn’t keep blaming our board for their actions Kevan, well you can but it misrepresents them. There’s plenty going on behind the scenes and the fact that the press prints it as Celtic trying to manipulate the SFA speaks for itself. The board doesn’t make the decisions or give out the sanctions, they don’t have the power to, but they do make the representations. We’re big bhoys and we’ll look after ourselves. We can but don’t need to get stuck right in, that would be to change our winning game and exactly what they want. They haven’t the energy for bossing us. No anxiety required, the earth is round, not flat, and the evidence shows the back butting out of character coach, now that’s a laugh, got caught and their B team players got sent off and guess what – we won that game too. It was good to see the bottle throwing thug get 12 months imprisonment for his assault at the midden.
Ange will have his plan but we can’t control the uncontrollable, their fans hatred, you simply can’t educate pork. The game at the midden will require additional security to be on the safe side. Our fans if required will have our back at home and at Hampden. HH
I don’t fear any of their lily livered players, they have proved often enough that they don’t have the bottle for these occasions. So what’s to be concerned about, they are more likely to injure themselves in their weak attempts at roughing us up, tougher teams than them in the SPL have tried it, our bhoys are tough enough and don’t get easily bullied.
Besides that they are not even fast enough to catch our players 🙂
I’m just so glad that Bernabei scored our late second goal yesterday, otherwise they would be arriving at Celtic Park next week on a high after reducing the goal difference by one. What a fkn boost that would have been for them. 🙂
Lundstram would have been creaming himself 🙂
I don’t think we should concern ourselves whether this lot implodes this weekend, semi-final day or the day we are confirmed Champions again. All we can do is what we do best and that’s WIN. If they start kicking our players then the SFA will have to act, likewise if their walking dead start taking things into their own hands then the police will have to act. I’m pretty certain Ange will keep the boys focused on the task in hand, the rest will look after itself.
It sounds like the Scouser has been on the Glen’s Vodka ! Oops ,I nearly forgot ,that’s another sponsored product that is taboo down Govan way .
I recall Alan Rough being ‘taken out’ in a Reserve game because he was on his way back from injury.