In the early hours of this morning, we played, and beat, Manchester City. I will not claim the title of Best of Britain; this was a pre-season game and I never get too invested or downhearted in pre-season because the games don’t mean that much.
But when I watched that this morning, after seeing the DC game at the weekend, I saw the future of this team, one potential future anyway.
The high-tempo, aggressive, running and moving style of the team was brilliant. Individual performances – especially that of Maeda, Kuhn and Kyogo – were absolutely exceptional. This manager has this team firing on all cylinders this pre-season, and if we take that energy level and that type of football into the league campaign then the Ibrox fans are swiftly going to learn that all their own concerns are justified.
As usual, it is those above the manager’s head who are failing this club. But the manager and the players are hitting all the right notes. You can see the difference Rodgers has made with some of these guys. Kuhn looked like a different player entirely from the one we watched last season. In the second half we saw a Luis Palma who chased back, helped his midfield and covered for the defence, everything Brendan Rodgers has been demanding.
When it clicked, as it did so often in this game and in the one against DC, it was joyous to behold.
This has not even resembled the pre-season I thought we were going to witness. The team is a yard quicker than I saw it at any point in the last campaign. Whatever Rodgers has been drilling into them in training is working, and it is working superbly well.
He’s an elite manager. He’s far and away the best decision this board has made in the last 18 months, and it is absolutely absurd that he has had to fight certain people at Celtic Park every step of the way in terms of getting what he needs.
Let me give you a personal analogy. I recently completed my desktop work setup.
Last year, I spent a hefty sum of money buying a custom-built PC which did everything I could ever want it to do, including giving me the video and audio production capability to make the podcasts and set up future projects.
Having bought that, I realised that I wouldn’t truly push the machine until I purchased a new monitor, so I bought an ultrawide, which has been tremendously helpful for multi-tasking and other things.
Then I invested in podcasting equipment and finally last week topped the whole thing off with a new sound system.
It’s been expensive … but having spent so much on the PC itself it would have been nuts not to bring every other element up to that standard.
It is madness to bring in an elite level manager and give that man substandard tools to work with.
It is senseless. What’s worse is that it is self-evidently wasteful.
It’s like if I’d stuck with a 60mhz, 1080p 16.9 screen after spending big bucks on graphics technology which is designed to operate far in excess of that.
There’s no point in paying for a system that can run 4K if you have a monitor that doesn’t support it.
It renders the whole thing redundant.
In PC building this is called a bottleneck; it’s a self-limiting mechanism which drags down the potential of the whole system, and that’s what we’re doing here.
Rodgers deserves to work with better than Mikey Johnston.
More importantly, for the money we’re paying Rodgers, it is lunacy not to support him in the proper way. If we genuinely don’t give a toss about anything other than staying one step ahead of the basket case club across town, we could have hired a lesser manager and taken our chances.
We will never get the full impact of a manager like this unless you upgrade the rest of the machine, and I can’t understand why we won’t.
There is no doubt in my mind that if he’s properly resourced – to a level we can easily afford – that he will produce a side that is amongst the most exciting we’ve ever watched in our club’s colours. Right now, he’s being asked to make do with second rate parts at a time when this club has never had such an opportunity to scale up and make giant strides.
When I say that what I saw this morning was a glimpse of the future, I mean it.
But one possible future, one where we be all we can be, where we give this guy the goods to make a proper go of it.
But there is, of course, another future, and it’s one where he struggles against the straightjacket, trying always to do more with less until he’s pig-sick of it and finally decides that the game isn’t worth the candle and he goes where he will get the support he wants and needs and where his talents can blossom in full.
What a chance we have here.
What a chance to build something real.
This guy can do it, he has all the talents, all the competence. If we surround him with faulty parts and cheap tat we’re just pissing that chance against the wall. That would be a mistake for the ages.
Sadly, I think this board is well capable of it.
The new CelticBlog “emergency podcast” on the transfer window and the issues we face is available below.
100% correct James, and especially MJ it’s sad to say but he just can’t do it in the hoops time to cut him loose.
I watched the game last night and we played exceptionally well against a top class side who don’t’ have any bad players in their squad, no matter if they are first choice or not. As you mentioned James, our front free were excellent and Kuhn was outstanding and I can see him having a fantastic season. In the first half we dominated large parts of the game in the midfield area and we broke forward with ingenuity and pace.
I must also praise Kasper Schmeichel, and highlight what I said in another article, he is not filling Joe Harts boots he is expanding them. He had a couple of excellent saves, one of them World class and his distribution at the back was faultless. He is definitely an upgrade on Joe, and we have won a watch managing to get him.
Totally behind the sentiment James, it’s not about trouncing teams in our wee league albeit always nice to put the Klan in their place but we need to impact in the bigger competitions. It has so many positive knock on potentials financially and for attracting better players.
Looks like the rangers will get the services of Shankland if they get Tavs and Goldson off the books probably taking a hit to their assessed value to motivate a move. Shankland will score goals but he has a bit of a negative on the team in terms of fluidity imo maybe a little like David Turnbull in his time at Celtic.
Shankland will seriously impact Hearts win ratio… Got to look for positives, HH.
Enjoyed the podcast James. Great to see Kuhn lifting his level v Man City
Ah don’t put much intae these pre-season tournaments. Realistically, we just want tae give a decent account for ourselves, we don’t want tae be embarrassed and if we win that’s a plus. Tho incredibly, right there is the problem. We have this boards mentality, who ah suspect, will only take these wins as confirmation that there’s no need tae sign players and as a further excuse not tae strengthen properly. They need very little encouragement as it is.
LOL! Just said exactly the same to my wee brother! Heated Driveway Productions will be licking his lips!
totally agree james…i was delighted with our performance…obviously, if man city had their big guns out, would probably have been a different result…
i fear the board won’t step up however….
PS. mickey johnston is awful – why is he still hanging around….allowed to hang around…
DD has to take responsibility for continuously allowing PL off the lead.
The recruitment policy throughout the Celtic staff including scouts, coaches, etc are YES MEN.
Cow down to PL, say yes, smile & its a job for life.
I say to PL – This money is the fans money, not yours or anyone else’s.
Have a go at politics if you think you are tough enough. There, you will get a chance to play with the general public s money & act the big cheese.
My assessment is that you are not skilled enough to survive in such an environment.
You, Sir, are in the WRONG PLACE.
Please realise this & leave.
Dazzling football from the Celts and Man City. Joe’s replacement has fast reactions.
Maximo Perrone impressed. He is 21 years and was rated in the best 25 in the world
for his age contempories. Celtic bean counters might be putting a value on each team and coming to conclutions that displease Celtic Fans.
The American Fans in attendance, would have loved being there. Happy days Celts!
I woke up this morning almost disappointed we had won because of the potential fall out of the victory over one of the best teams in Europe.
As I’m sure a lot of people will now be thinking the board will be even more reluctant to spend the money required to bring players in.
The only hope is BR stating that there is work going on behind the scenes although part of me thinks he’s not just fooling us but himself.
What utter rot. You think losing to City in a friendly would force the Celtic board to panic into buying players to keep the Celtic fans happy?
We have a TOP level manager who is seeing it first hand. If he says we’ll have the players he needs by the end of August (and he did say that) then I am inclined to go with that rather than piss my pants because we haven’t bought anyone yet. Especially when the transfer window doesn’t close for another 5 weeks.
The change in attitude on here over the space of a few short weeks in unbelievable. I am astonished at how this is all being framed.
I don’t think losing to them would have made any impact at all on there outlook as we are playing Manchester City & that’s to be expected. Even if we got thumped 7-0 I think they would just put it down to City being one of the best teams in world football, but beating them however is lets be honest more than any of us were expecting even with it being a friendly & I could see the penny pinchers absolutely using it as an excuse to reign back some of the spending. We can compete with the best teams with the squad we have why do we need to spend £15-20m.
I also don’t disagree that BR is a top top manager but that doesn’t mean the we have top people in control of the money that he wants to spend. Honestly I hope to fuck I am entirely wrong & we get proper signings in & are the force we should be domestically & can hold our own in Europe too. I just don’t feel like that will be the case. I’ll devour humble pie on the 31st August if we do make moves.
I see your comments on here regularly & I commend you’re positive attitude to how this summer has been progressing. I think for me I’ve just been left underwhelmed & unenthused by the fact we’ve only had concrete links with the 2 players who left us at the end of the season.
The window has been open longer than it still has to go.
Valuable time on the training ground and pre season games missed in embedding new recruits.
It’s even necessary to allow the new recruits adequate time to sort out their domestic arrangements.
Expecting them to drop right into the squad 3 weeks after the Season has started puts unnecessary additional pressure on them while they are trying to find their feet.
My pet theory for the tardiness in recruitment and signing may seem petty, but it’s indicative of just how little trust we have in the Board and Chairman: the Bean Counter at the head of the house just doesn’t want to have to start paying new recruits a salary, which will be substantial, from day 1 too early in the window.
I agree wholeheartedly with your comments about the board letting the manager and the fans down.
However I think you are letting yourself down with your regular demeaning comments about Mikey Johnston.
It’s coming across as personal and very petty.
Give it a rest.
Direct quote from Brendan Rodgers:
“I had a long meeting with Michael and Chris today, we know the targets we want to bring in. While the club is getting on with that, myself and the coaches were really focused on the improvements of this team, physically, tactically and technically. Yeah, at some point before the end of August I’d expect us to have the players we want in.”
He said that after the Man City game.
I urge everyone, including you James, to back down with the negativity surrounding this transfer window. We have another 5 weeks or so to get our dealings done.
I am not deluded, I am not naive. I merely have trust in Brendan and I am not going to say anything until we know what we are dealing with in September.
Two different results for different Manchester Footy Clubs…
And Two different results for two VERY DIFFERENT Glasgow Footy Clubs…
But I suppose one can excuse The Glasgow situation…
As one club is 136 years old and the other is as of today 11 years and 361 days old…
NEVER EVER let The Sevco Huns forget that little truth in life !
Hi James. Your analogy re building a home studio is correct. A machine is only limited by it’s weakest parts.
We appear to be flying at the moment and it looks like we will get off to a great start in the league while our main rival is in turmoil.
Your recent articles about the penny-pinching at Celtic have been on the money but older fans such as myself remember we had the same complaints back in the 1970s.
Celtic could have and should have won more than one European Cup. We could have done it easily but instead we let players like Davie Hay and Lou Macari go because they wanted an extra fiver a week. It boggles the mind why the club did not nurture and incentivise the Quality Street Gang.
It appears to me that we are showing the same lack of ambition and once this season starts and we start picking up injuries then we are risking things domestically. However looking at the state of play across the river I believe we will be successful this again season.
Some of the comments on here are uninformed rubbish- BR is in for the long haul- he calls the shots by telling DD to keep PL at a safe distance- BR is recently building a new home so he wants to create something. PL has NOTHING to do with buying players, the budget, the team etc. and he has I’D targets- the problem is no matter how much Celtic want to pay- and THEY DO WANT TO PAY- no one of note wants to come- see overpaid serial losers at the Krumbledome whom they can’t get rid of for proof – chillax- we have enough o pump everyone else this season, because we know we’re not buying for Europe because we never get anywhere- it’s a vicious circle.
Absolute guff. Players don’t want to come here? Except, you mean, for all the ones who do?
BR is punching for better quality than what he has, sure he’ll take the £3.5m ones because sometimes that’s all he can get, but he IS aiming for £10-£15m players, that I DO KNOW. I guess I do know more…oh, and try using 10 words instead of 25- it makes your articles less turgid- you’re coming across as a Phil Mac fanboy….
So says Pedro Lawwell.
That makes sense…..just totally proved PL has no more power or authority with the team…night night granny
Good to see there’s some positivity around BR’s influence and authority at the club- too many impatient wee EA sports sofa managers on here think they could do a better job, couldn’t run a bath- in BR we trust
@ pedro. So you must be ‘informed’ where most of us are’nt then !! How dae you know what Rodgers TELLS Desmond ? Ah suspect naebody TELLS Desmond whit tae dae. And if you think lawwell has nothin tae dae with signins, that’s about as naive as it gets. So if we’re no buyin for Europe ‘ because we’ll no get anywhere’ (which is imo the boards mindset) well who decides that ? Sort of contradicts yer ‘we want to pay, but it’s the players who dont want tae come here’ claim does it no !? Make yer mind up ! And if Europe is so pointless a campaign, why did our biggest rivals, these ‘serial losers’, still manage tae show an example by reachin a Europa final only a few years back ? Yer comment disnae make much sense mate. Waken up ffs.
I would start tearing this reply up, but as someone smarter than both of us says, ‘it’s difficult to win an argument with a smart person, but it’s IMPOSSIBLE to win one with a stupid person’, so I guess I’ll save myself the time as I’m working, as evidently you have plenty on yours. Thanks for playing…
@ pedro. Nae worries. Tho yer right about one thing, ah shouldn’t have bothered, ye made a perfect cunt of yer comment yerself. Didnae need me tae highlight the issue.
I forgot. We are not there yet. Will BR get the two quality strikers he wants to make three?. Could be an ambit claim. He might get one.
Of course, the big danger of playing so well in preseason, is that it gives Lawwell and co the opportunity to argue that we don’t really need to spend money, as the manager can do a great job with what he’s got.
That should be an extremely cynical view, but it may be quite acurate.
The one thing that gives me hope for this window is BR’s attitude. He still seems positive and relaxed about while acknowledging that we need players. He’s said nothing (publicly at least) to suggest he’s unhappy, maybe just maybe, it’ll be ok. I don’t think the board will show the ambition we’d like but I’ll settle for a couple of steps in the right direction.
Well said. Period.
True James, but as I wrote in a previous comment until the ‘elephant in the room’ leaves progress will be winning the treble this season: instead of the double. That seems to be the ONLY progress this board wants. They don’t give a stuff about European progress and only they know why. They should be made to explain it. However I won’t hold my breath for that to happen. HH