GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - NOVEMBER 05: A general view of Celtic fans during a UEFA Champions League 2024/25 League Phase MD4 match between Celtic and RB Leipzig at Celtic Park, on November 05, 2024, in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Craig Foy/SNS Group via Getty Images)
It’s hard to k own what’s the worst part of simultaneously being a Celtic fan and middle aged.
Sunday’s loss in the derby created in me a strange dilemma: I can’t decide what is the worst part of in your 40s. Or ‘old’ if you’re young enough to think that.
It could be a lack of general fitness. But that was a teenage issue too, as well as a general lack of sporting prowess.
So maybe it’s simply an irritation when losing to lower level teams. No-one likes when Celtic get beat. Well, not Hoops fans anyway. And it’s only natural that those below should seek relief this way, even if they otherwise struggle.
My formative years were spent watching not simply watching Celtic losing, but also being miles behind Rangers. And not just them; back then, the Bhoys would often finish as low as fifth in the title race.
Sunday’s loss is an example of the strange nature of supporting a football team.
It’s not possible to win all of the time. If it was, then what’s the point? Sport requires some uncertainty and jeopardy.
If Celtic had won on Sunday. it would have been six victories at home in succession versus an Ibrox side. And that’s never been done before, against either version of the Light Blues.
So, there’s different ways to respond.
Fury would be one: how dare those Celtic players underperform that way? It’s not an unreasonable view; most were poor for large portions of the game.
Or you could be happy to lose. (!) After all, that creates future uncertainty, which makes football interesting. Except this is surely not a popular opinion.
So a middle ground is better. It’s perfectly possible to be simultaneously annoyed at defeat and equally recognise that such outcomes are inevitable.
Frankly, I’m more concerned with tomorrow and beyond.
What matters is that Celtic finish off any notion of a title race and also complete a Treble. Then summer gives the chance to properly fix issues clearly evident when we play our rivals, and at times others too.
We are due to face them once more this season. It’ll be a meaningless league game, because they couldn’t negotiate a home cup game versus lower league opposition. So, the only thing it will settle is which team won most head to head games, and as James said earlier, how important is that if you’re also comfortable champions?
And then after we’ve (hopefully) secured the title, the two games which most matter are those cup games versus St Johnstone and then Hearts or Aberdeen. And if we complete another Treble, that’s what will be remembered.
But that being said, we HAVE to be better next season against them, at a time that it matters more. And the same will be true of Europe too.
Middle age brings many things, but only so much reasonableness. It always HAS to be better tomorrow, whatever day of the week that happens to be.
Matthew Marr is a Celtic fan, Celtic historian and run his very own Celtic Walking Tours. He posts on Twitter at Hail Hail History.
You can follow him and all his work here.
Why should we accept a defeat on move on? It’s completely unacceptable! We are forever being told they are miles behind us yet we can’t deliver a knockout blow to them, Why are folk constantly harking back to the 90s? That version of Rangers is dead. The version that crawled out the grave hasn’t got a penny to its name and is currently being managed by a guy whose last gig was writing for the DR FFS. BR should be mortified, his casual dismissal of Ferguson on Friday was out of order, he is forever harking on about showing respect to every opponent yet he did the complete opposite on Friday. That mentality is bound to have rubbed off on the players. He needs to up his game big time against them.
Put this one behind you? Really? Do we put it behind us beside the new year game. And please don’t mention the summer window when we know the objective will be to make a profit again. Sorry Matthew but that piece reads like Celtic asked you to write it!!
I’ll put it behind me Matthew when Brendan finally stops becoming utterly pig headed v Sevco…
By this I mean –
Brick for Fuckin Brick – Boot for Fuckin Boot – Bottle for Fuckin Bottle…
Blade for Fuckin Blade !!!
Only way to deal with these bastards my friend !
Fair play Matthew, we can put it behind us because there’s fuck all we can do about it now. It’s gone but not forgotten, we have conceded 9 goals in 3 games against them, lost twice in a row to them so a period of rage is appropriate but it won’t overshadow what has been a good season, a great season if we complete the treble. There is problems that can’t be ignored but we might now get the chance to win the league at Ibrox…
A curious take from someone who promotes walking history tours… If we don’t learn the lessons from history then history will repeat itself. Brendan seems pretty slow in the uptake when it comes to how Sevco will play against us. They are a couple of players away from consistently being able to beat the other 10 teams in the league – then it’s down to heads to heads.
A couple of players away from being a decent team? Whats the worry about that?
Why the fear?
Let’s focus on getting a treble over the line but putting this behind us is far more difficult. We have a cowardly board who need to go.
On the park the team that played on Sunday had too many cowardly players in it. A manager who either won’t change tactics or a team that don’t understand what they are being asked to do or, are incapable of carrying out instructions with a bench too weak to change the situation. The manner of the defeat to a bunch of bigots and thugs was once again frightening.
Matthew it’s not that easy to move on from especially as everything was ticking along nicely, then Brendan gets his arse served to him on a plate by a rank amateur and his equally amateur backroom staff , I don’t like sevco having the bragging rights especially turning us over on our own turf and especially by that bigoted knuckledragger Ferguson.
It stings like hell, especially when Brendan doesn’t seem to know how to change tactics in a game against them .
I know the feeling, I actually remember us dominating Them and remember John Grieg literally being sacked on radio after they lost at home, they were shite and never going to win a league during those years but théy were never an irrelevance to me.
We managed a good few wins against them during the 90s when we were Even Worse and I witnessed them at CP, Hampden AND Ibrox, ive actuallynever saw us lose at Ibrox apart from Raith Rovers.
Point being, I remember how it felt getting those results and tbh it was good rubbing their noses in it knowing they were fuming.and they’re no further forward or closer to us rhan we were then. We’re lifting more silverware than their assembled money laundered n cheating ebt, team ever done and ok they’ve won a cupla times…
Fair play to them…
Wjats wrong with that?
I forgot 1 Welcome The Chase and not worried about it n Them in the slightest. Being it fckin on