Within the next fortnight, the players who have signed will learn so much about the manager and their team-mates and the club and what the expectations are. The next game is at home to Dundee, and I reckon it’s going to be played in a proper party atmosphere. Between now and then everyone at Parkhead can relax. At Ibrox, the inquest has just started.
What a week this has been for our rivals. A massive defeat, a hammering, in Eindhoven and now this. Theirs is going to be a hard fortnight. Theirs is going to be a rough spell where their fans will stew and fume and spew their bile out on the forums and on the phone-ins. None of it will help the cohesion of their team. None of it will be to their benefit.
They are an utter shamble. He’s lost two of his first four league games. He has been hammered in the Champions League. He has failed to convince; his signings have failed to convince and the pressure on him is enormous. Their fans will watch their team before we watch ours next weekend; it might be the last time we’re saying that for a while, away at St Johnstone. That has already become a must-win game. Anything less he might not survive it.
We will almost certainly build on that result yesterday. By the time the Dundee game comes around we’re going to have some injured players back and some people integrated into the team who right now are total strangers to the rest of the side. You can see us getting stronger and stronger and stronger from here. And that must be terrifying.
The one thing The Mooch and his team could not afford to do is what they have done; they’ve given us a solid lead after our first visit to Ibrox. Our win there will have shattered confidence in that dressing room and no matter how much they think they are going to “bounce back” from the result, they are now one bad day away from a total meltdown.
And that day will come, because everyone now is talking about the “playing style” and how simplistic it is. That playing style we’ve been talking about on here for weeks now, and calling out for effectively being public park football. It’s been obvious. It’s been crystal clear. I have no idea how people in the media have not picked up on it sooner … the Sparta Prague manager said it and the Daily Record treated his comments as if they were an unacceptable provocation.
But they were the simple truth, and that’s what most of the Ibrox fans are now convinced of, and so I do genuinely believe that time is running out for The Mooch already. The only question left is what damage will he do before they finally show him the door?
Their club is a constant mess, it’s in a constant state of flux. The inevitable sacking is going to plunge them back into another rebuild and another shambolic appointment; nothing is surer. For a club that still believes that Steven Gerrard was a success story, there is little doubt that they will make as big a dog’s dinner out of the next hire as they have every time so far.
That our side is going to grow in strength is obvious. Once we start putting teams away with the ease we remember from years gone by, the pressure on the Ibrox boss will mount until the ice finally breaks beneath his feet. I can wait for it. The longer he is there the more damage he will do. Celtic, on the other hand, I cannot wait to watch.
There is so much to be optimistic about if we can hit our stride. This result has re-set the dial for us, and everybody in the support is bouncing again. The manager looked like the happiest man in the world yesterday, like someone who had dropped a bag of bricks. In a manner of speaking he has. Right on top of The Mooch. Roll on 16 September.
Spot on James. They are an utter shambles. There is no identifiable style or system of play. In pre season prep games, Matondo was nowhere to be seen. Now he is back in the fold and starting at the expense of one of MBs Summer signings. Signings designed (allegedly) to allow them to build through the thirds and play a fluid style. A few poor results later and he has them playing route one. Perhaps he has spotted that the FBs no longer have the engines needed to get up and down the park so he has to go back to previously binned wingers to get some width. Did he not notice this shortcoming last season. The man is a joke. Long may he reign over ibrox.
Irony is they battered our new C’B’s with long balls the first half to no avail. Once Scales got 10-15 mins under his belt he looked much better. We scored our goal with a long ball after testing their established CD. Love it.
The Olympiakos game told me everything I needed to know about the new players, bottle, formations, tactics and lack of any real guile.
Stated on this forum more than once that they may not even have replaced the players who have left with EQUAL quality, I think that is evident. Picking up players that their club’s seemed eager to move out should tell you something. Beale’s plan was to get his own team in and stamp his mark on the team. I am sure he sold that well to the board, it’s now result time and 4 pts between a weakened Celtic team in 4 games.
Sutton and Boydichenko ripped Beale a new Ahole on Sunday, it was comedy genius.
Before we feel sorry for Beale remember he has a bigh severance packet to look forward to for Xmas.
Getting under £6m for outgoing players must have blown the majority of their budget, deja-vu again maybe. 🙂
I’ll be gutted if Beale is sacked!
He’s an effin’ arsehole and I want him to stay!!!!
HAIL HAIL
… The Celtic blog is excellent!!!
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Not one bit bothered about the scum.
Spent all summer turd polishing and that shine couldn’t be achieved, as last week proved, and left with a bigger pile of shite than the mouth has upon his face now.
The focus remains upon ourselves, with overcoming far bigger challenges ahead than anything the scum have to offer.
We still have to find a way of getting our 16 best players available for the CL matches.
Currently we remain at only 1 in calmac, so a solution to an existing problem still exists.
Taylor and Ralston could still do a job if required, but the other 5 needed to make up a squad, won’t be needed for the CL matches.
Will this then require a change in formation at the back?
Struggling to see how it can’t be, with fairly limited options available to ourselves still.
Will possibly have players missing out on CL, that would walk into a scum team, such is the gulf in class nowadays, and only stands to become far bigger.
Many of us were very suspect about how the transfer window was handled, but now upon reflection there was a degree of next seasons CL put in place already, that hopefully bears fruit for ourselves also.
Still top of the league, whilst only in 1st gear and a 4 point lead over the scum, and still classed as not the best of starts performance wise?
No surprise the scum are up in arms already, and the revolt starting a bit sooner than we expected, and lovely to see and hear.
What a difference a win makes, eh?
I remember Connor Goldson making a very revealing remark after his first Glasgow derby (which he lost), to the effect that he didn’t think Celtic were all that great, but the way some of his team mates went on about them you’d think they were Barcelona… that’s what two back to back trebles under Brendan Rodgers had done to their morale: they were scared witless of us after two absolute maulings. And that is what they will be fearing again. Any lingering belief that Ian Beale was the next Guardiola, capable of slapping down Timmy by fashioning a winning dynasty from tupenny ha’penny signings and Bosmans, is well and truly torpedoed now. They are looking at being back at the bottom of the same pit as they were in 2018. An inescapable pit, like the one in ‘The Dark Knight Rises’……
They,ve been in that pit since they were born 2012! It really is the pits.
We should start a campaign to retain Beale I fink he’s doing a fantastic job. Anyone heard from Barbie Doll Cantdowell yet?
I’ll be honest I’m normally a Glass Half Full Happy Clapper when it comes to Celtic but I had written yesterday off and prepared for a loss, and a loss aided and abetted by officials as well…
Oh how very very wrong I was on both fronts of the result and the officials costing Celtic (we still note the penalties that weren’t given) –
And so bloody glad that I was wrong…
Oh Today – Drinking in the sun is such fun !
Not sure whether to laugh or cry? They believe the ref did not make a mistake, really! Why did he change his mind?
Beal is on borrowed time. Fans and players after the last two results have lost faith. Its all about when the board have the guts to pull the plug. Damage limitations spring to mind.
Maybe they will sell us all their allocation to ipox next time and give 900 to their own fans
Good article again James. I would like to highlight the deathly silence with regards to the clear penalty we should have been given when Butland flattened Kyogo but it isn’t mentioned in the media as it doesn’t suit their narrative.
There is no chance of Beale lasting till Christmas,Ladbrokes wouldn’t give you a bet on it. He hasn’t bought one player who has improved their team. On Sunday they continually launched long balls from the edge of their penalty box up to the Celtic penalty box. They are murder to watch,no pace no flair no clue. Hope he,s around longer than I have predicted.
It should terrify everyone in the league.
The Huns have dropped so many bricks since yesterday Brendan could build a house with them.
I heard one of the peepul on the radio earlier call for the mooch to be sacked and bring in graham potter.. they really have to check the water source round that place.. even if it wasn’t fanciful pish any decent manager would need 2 years and a treasure chest to plug the holes in that ship
Clear as day, the media must be waiting the horde and boards thumbs up.
What’s an Ibrox fan James .. a Sevco supporter? Why don’t you just say it as it is ?
James, is there any way I can persuade you to stop suggesting that they should sack their manager. He’s doing a grand job as far as I can see!
I meant I told they how terrified of Brendan they were on the ” Snyde” cue the perma rage after my call was great ha ha nutters 99 percent are ” der hun” can’t help themselves utter poison tho also
That’s why the poison are so desperate and raging they know what’s coming I predict we now go on a 10 to 15 game winning run!! As I said in late June when I called that joke ” Snyde” no spelling mistake ha ha They are also terrified of Brendan and no wonder! We
romp the this league as per by 15 to 20 points at least no doubts about that. Also I love how when we beat the orcs at the cespit the rhetoric from their ex players and supposed decent hoardes is ” two teams are poor” ha ha everytime!! Good we take the points then show you football at Paradise for their usual hammering!! Of which there have been plenty!! And Brendan going make sure that continues he is after all the ” hunskelper” Supreme! Nobody does it better as the song says!