The day before yesterday, there was a palpable sense of panic online when the news broke that Cameron Carter-Vickers had not travelled to Bergamo with the rest of the Celtic squad. Rodgers made the decision to leave him behind, as the player wasn’t fully fit.
It was a decision this blog fully supported and endorsed, predicting that it wouldn’t have a huge impact on the outcome of the game.
There’s a section of our fanbase that gets freaked out whenever we lose any key player, as they fail to see the depth and quality we have across the squad. Time and again, our strength in depth has been proven, and it will continue to be shown throughout this campaign.
I’ll admit, I was a late convert to the Church of Liam Scales.
Everyone knows this. I genuinely believed he would be on his way out in the summer—not necessarily out of the club, but at least out of the starting eleven.
I thought, at best, Scales would find himself on the bench. But time and time again, he has proved us wrong. With every good performance, especially in the big games, Scales shows us what he’s capable of. He’s still young, still raw, but he’s got plenty of time to improve.
As pleased as I was for Scales, I was even happier for Auston Trusty. Trusty, who hasn’t been at Celtic Park for long, was already the target of one of the most ridiculous character assassination pieces I’ve seen this season. This was from the same tired hack who regularly writes for the Sunday Mail—a figure we refer to as the “ancient embarrassment.”
The point of the article was absurd: this clown wasn’t impressed by Trusty’s start and questioned whether Rodgers had made a mistake in signing him and letting Lagerbielke go to the Netherlands. At one point in that piece he asked if we had the inferior player. As usual, anything to craft a negative headline about us, anything to twist the knife.
He was so certain that Trusty and Scales weren’t up to the job that the weekend past he even floated some absurd hypothetical scenario where we’d one day go abroad to a European game and lose by a double-digit scoreline. I don’t think there’s much more that needs to be said about that.
But once again, he’s been made to look like an utter fool by a Celtic player he clearly knew nothing about, yet still felt entitled to criticise. Trusty silenced more than just this clown last night. There were plenty of our own supporters who were ready to write him off as well, and frankly, they’re as tiresome as the media hacks.
Last night, Rodgers got his tactics spot on, and the midfield played its part in helping out the defence. When the midfield performs like that, it makes everything easier for the backline.
Trusty was colossal, looking every bit the player you’d pay £6 million for, and it felt like a bargain. Let’s not forget, he’s a left-footed defender still playing out of position, so there will be ups and downs, as there are with any player.
But last night was unquestionably a big one for both Trusty and Scales.
Every player had something to prove in that match, but the defence most of all. They’ve been under immense pressure, and they’ve taken the brunt of the criticism from ignorant pundits and uninformed fans, both inside and outside of the media. Those who were getting ready to write them off were left looking like fools last night.
The joke was firmly on them.
Dont get me wrong, there are some, who albeit reluctantly
have given us credit and thats fair enough and credit tae them as well for doin it. Tho a lot of very upset ‘peepul’ out there, who were sittin by their keyboards, waitin for their wee bit of pathetic solace when Atalanta gave us another doin. Didnae happen. So now they’re all over social media, clingin ontae anythin from tryin tae downgrade Atalanta, tae Palestinion flags. The envy’s absolutely rippin out them. We’re in a good place. They have NOTHIN ! Whit a sad, frustrated bunch they are.
Last night Mr Trusty became a Celtic player,
Won me and plenty others over with his
performance…. Welcome to Celtic
HH
Absolutely brilliant performance last night, and not just from the defence. I believed we’d get thumped again. Sometimes it’s just wonderful to be wrong!
Firstly, great point for us last night. Unfortunately I could only catch the last 25 mins, but I was impressed with our overall resilience even in the closing stages.
Having not seen any match highlights, I’ll rely on others for player performance appraisals.
Delighted for big Trusty, and I sincerely hope this is the launchpad for his Celtic career. I have stated that I would rather judge the big guy when he was played in his more natural position, but as a professional, you have to grab your opportunities regardless, and as you say , we can’t always rely on CCV, with his injury record.
This is why we have a squad, and although players are human and some can take longer to settle than others, it is hugely important that they are not consigned to the scrap heap after 1-2 dodgy performances.
Trusty has been written off by many, and now Engels is receiving some criticism. The fickle and impatient nature of some fans can be tiresome, but should never be taken as the majority opinion.
Bernardo continues to impress me and I am hoping McCowan may be given a starting slot this Sunday.
Our manager does deserve the requisite credit for this result and is entitled to “verbally” stick two fingers up at the SpongeBobs in our media, that masquerade as sports journalists. Although they’ll always claim they were correct …who cares what they think?
It’s always a fantastic feeling, the day after a very positive CL result, as it gives everyone in our club sphere, such a lift. It also brings with it, the requisite feelgood factor and helps to blow away some of the Dortmund doldrums.
I, for one, will never get carried away, and like a lot of fellow fans, prefer to focus on one game at a time. The forthcoming home CL games will take care of themselves, and will be equally difficult and demanding.
However that is why we are playing at the top table and have a genuine excitement for the season ahead .
Onto Fir Park and hopefully three more points ! HH
I criticised Trusty but never wrote him off, just because you’re new doesn’t exempt you from criticism especially when we’ve got big games. He was immense last night and I won’t worry about him anymore. There’s plenty more to come from Engels too but I’d be tempted to leave him out at the weekend just to give him a rest and safe in the knowledge that neither Bernardo or McCowan will let us down. I was worried about Zappacosta before the game yesterday and doubly worried when AJ got booked but somehow he got him under control and kept him quiet 2nd half. Brilliant performance all round.
What a fuckin pure fab time to be a Celtic supporter !!!
Yep. I was one of the people who questioned the purchase of trusty.
I can now say in public I WAS WRONG.
I can say though that Alex Valle, is not good enough to replace Taylor.
Too many mistakes , how hard can it be to pass the ball to a player wearing the same colours as he does.
BTW, if he proves me wrong then I will admit it on here too