There’s a question that a lot of Celtic fans keep asking themselves, and it takes on a peculiar resonance after last night’s Europa League performance, where the Ibrox club turned over French club Nice away from home. The question is this: how do they consistently manage European results while floundering back on their domestic business?
The answer is complicated—something we’ve explored here before and will no doubt revisit again. But the truth is, it couldn’t matter less, because as I keep reminding people, we are the dominant force in Scotland and that’s where they are judged.
Besides, all this so-called success of theirs applies only to one competition. It only applies to the Europa League. Whenever they step up to the bigger stage of the Champions League, they’re slapped all over the map. Let’s not forget, they’re in the Europa League this season because Dynamo Kiev—a very poor side—knocked them out of Europe’s top competition.
Some fans will take solace in another European win. Some will be willing to give Clement more time to get his ideas across and his team in place.
But watching it last night, I wasn’t struck by the quality of one side over the other. Instead, it felt like watching a team consistently and repeatedly give up ground, paying the price with one of the worst defensive performances I’ve seen in a long time.
Sure, the other night Cameron Carter-Vickers made a poor decision that cost us a goal against Brugges. But what we saw last night was on another level of awful. It was consistently dreadful defending from the entire team and especially during that atrocity of a first half.
Under normal circumstances, such a result and performance from them might have disappointed me. But I’m not disappointed. In fact, I’m almost—content isn’t the word, but—satisfied that it keeps the crisis ticking over for just a bit longer.
Let’s be honest: no Ibrox boss is judged on European results anymore.
The only thing that would matter is getting to a final and winning it. That’s not going to happen, as their upcoming games against Spurs and Manchester United will likely demonstrate. They ride their luck in the Europa League, benefiting from playing poor sides or those in bad form. That competition is full of such teams. But they’ll never get that lucky.
The important thing is this: last night’s result keeps Clement safe for another game, and the safer he is going into the League Cup final, the happier I’ll be. Because that’s the match where his fate will truly be decided. For all his “constructive talks” with their new CEO, it’s entirely possible that he will be sacked shortly after the Hampden final. He’s not even really bought himself time here. But, and I’ll make this prediction right now, he’s bought some for his bosses.
Their supporters are predictable. They make plenty of noise about what they’ll say and do at AGMs, but it doesn’t take much to placate them. Any excuse, any faint glimmer of hope, and they’ll grab onto it with both hands, giving the manager and board an easy ride. A result like last night’s provides just that.
It gives Clement a platform to claim everything is coming together, that his plan is working, and that if they just stay the course, success will follow. Enough of their fans will buy into it to avoid the full-scale AGM meltdown. It’s all very predictable.
Equally predictable is the media response, which will almost certainly hail a new hero in Igmane and some of them will claim that hope has been restored. They’ll suggest there’s light at the end of the tunnel and that Clement just needs more time to implement his ideas.
“Bring on Spurs and Manchester United,” one idiot at The Scotsman is already trumpeting.
We’ll see how badly that particular clarion call ages.
Still, he and others will cling to that narrative until the inevitable Hampden mauling. Then you wait to see the tune change. And as it does some of them will ask the same question I did at the top of the piece; how can the same team, and the same manager, repeat this pattern over and over again, getting it so right in Europe and so wrong right here at home?
Not that the answer will matter a damn when Clement is packing his pencils.
It’s not hard to foresee. We’ve all seen it before, over and over again. That club is addicted to Hopeium, and last night they got one hell of a dose of it, but like any hard drug the hit will feel good but it will quickly wear off and then the bitterness will roar to the surface again.
But for a day or two their more delusional fans will crow about how we’d better watch out now that they’re “finally getting their act together.” I’ll be smiling at that and as I am I’ll be watching the clock, counting down to the League Cup final, just as Brendan Rodgers and our players likely are.
The Nice team has to be the worse side ever seen I that competition….
That was a good result for them last night, no doubt about it. I suppose it will help with the coefficient, that’s the way I look at it, I suppose it’s the goodghuy in me really. I always try and think the best in people lol. They seem to play good in Europe, and garbage in Scotland, still trying to work out why that is , and I’m still none the wiser. I’ve put it down to them setting up differently in Europe, as they do in Scotland, only thing I can think of really. Still a tad dissapointed with our result, but in the grand scheme of things, 8 points is ok at this stage.
Ah’ve said before, any win, or point in Europe’s a bonus. Tho come on, that team last night were worse than awful, they were completely amateurish. Of course we’ll get the usual over-praise and hysterics. That is until the next team, who ARE actually handy show up and the reality arrives with it. Bearin in mind, that Nice team also had half their 1st team out through injury and suspension. Another detail the media dae their best tae keep in the background. My particular favourite is today tho, how a lot of them are blamin the spl. Sayin the ibrox club struggle here because spl teams ‘ don’t attack like Nice did and park the bus against them’ ! Well ! Naw ! WE (Celtic) never ‘park the bus’ in the spl and WE dae attack them and gub them constantly. Theory smashed. Case closed. And btw, just tae say, hope our support don’t start braggin before this league cups won. Bear in mind. The best motivation, or determination ye can hand tae an opponent in football, is tae tell them they’ve ‘nae chance’. If we show up, nothin tae fear. Leave the hype tae that lot.
Just watched clemmont in an interview, sayin he’s proud of their performance against a ‘very good’ Nice side. Words fail me.
I’d say luck plays a big part in their Euro success. The bizarre no pen last night, even McCoist was amazed at the poor refereeing. I thought barron caught the player.
I didn’t watch all the game but McCoist did make one point when asked about rangers form in Europe, he said the opposition do less sitting in than domestically, fair enough, however he went on to say, but in this case it’s the poor quality of the opponent.
It’s all forgotten if they drop points St Johnstone and they will be up for it.
They may do better in Europe/Europa as the tempo is slower and players less physical than in Scotland, plus most of them seem to play out from the back and leave a lot of spaces to exploit.
It’s not just because teams attack them as Celtic always do that and Aberdeen did it at Pittodrie. They didn’t capitalise in either case.
Back to the Celts though…I’d be interested to see the stats on Hatate’s passing.
Positive passes would be around 60-65% imo plucking that from the ether of course.
He gave the ball away in very dangerous positions against the Belgians at least 3 times the other night there.
The Celts are not solid in midfield when the opposition press, maybe in Euro competitions we need Bernardo more than Engels.
As for the belgian waffler I believe he will be away before they head to Manchester. I wonder how the locals will feel about the Klan’s visit.
The penalty (that ended up ‘never was’)…
Hugh Dallas…
He hasn’t gone away you know !
FCS Bucharest came to Ibrox with the owner of the club stating that the Europa League wasn’t a priority and said he was going to rest 6 players. I thought he must be bluffing. No, he was true to his word and they duly got cuffed 4-0.
Nice had a couple of players suspended and around 5 injured, 3 of them regular defenders. Their captain was doubtful before the game, they played him and he lasted around 20 mins before going off, they duly got cuffed 4-1.
Credit to Sevco they took advantage of their good luck, the Scottish coefficient is improving, Clement keeps his job for a wee bit longer and everything in the garden is Rosy. Maybe, only maybe a few good results in the SPFL would see the arrogance and Media praise in overdrive, and then within 4 days they play Spurs and Celtic. Oh how the fall back down to earth is going to be so dramatic and enjoyable.
Article is spot on James…well articulated as per!