Celtic Surrender Squad Has No Place In Paradise!…
I’ve tried to be as positive as I could in the face of the mediocrity which has been served up to the Celtic support in recent months, now, the gloves are off. This squad are, in my opinion, the worst I’ve witnessed in over a decade. There are many examples of this, but the main gripe is the gutlessness they display week in, week out.
We’ve been let off the hook too many times recently, and that’s the reason we are still top of the league, at least until the whistle blows at St Johnstone against theRangers. I don’t expect that, after receiving a massive fillip from the cacophony of boos around Celtic Park after THAT display, they will blow it. With the chance to go two points clear in the north, expect them to take it.
Depending on other teams to bail us out of a cess-pit of our own making is beyond embarrassing, it’s criminal! With an estimated £70 million accruing interest in the Parkhead vaults we should be out of sight and excitedly debating our chances against Real Madrid, Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Inter Milan in next season’s Champions league.
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Instead, we are left seething as Kilmarnock’s David Watson, a young Celtic supporter, predictably/inevitably gave us another bloody nose at the death and a dagger to the heart. Yes, Celtic bottled it-again, leaving us to ponder the possibility of being runners-up in what should be a one-horse race, thereby missing out on the ECL riches and the butt of intolerable jibes from the Ibrox legions!
Ok, given that there’s £20-30 million set aside for the reconstruction projects at Barrowfield and Lennoxtown, we’re still head and shoulders above every other club in Scotland in terms of finance. Is this being projected onto the field of play? Absolutely not. From what was a relatively good team last season to the cowardly apathy we are witnessing, this is an implosion of epic proportions.
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Brendan Rodgers has been at pains to out the lack of support he has received from this Scrooge-esque board, and the lack of quality he is forced to coach and field. Yes, we lost several top performers from last term, however, with the funds available to us some of their replacements have been so substandard that I’d be surprised to see them getting a game for Derek McInnes’ side, a team of battlers and men who show the necessary desire to get over the line.
McInnes has proved to have Rodgers’ number, and the results against us this season are testament to this. No, they didn’t ‘escape’ with a point, they damned-well earned it, and if not for Joe Hart, they would have cleaned up all three points.
Bernabei, despite having a decent game last week, is not worthy of a left-back spot. Welsh is afraid to play the ball forward, O’Riley has hardly kicked a decent ball since the ink dried on his new contract – and that is a mystery for such a star!
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Palma can’t beat an egg far less a defender, Bernardo flatters to deceive despite his obvious talents, the tireless Maeda is currently anonymous, (system?), Kuhn, all he brings to the team are groans, Oh-Oh dear! The Korean is clumsy and lacks genuine quality. Abada has downed tools and will surely walk because the Celtic fans are actively protesting a genocide perpetrated by his countrymen. I’m not getting in to that here.
Too many listless, passion-bereft underperformers who are not worthy of their place in the squad, never mind the team. Too many players who cannot pass a ball ten yards or find another hooped shirt within a short distance.
Frustratingly, there is a lacklustre desire to deliver into the box to the energetic and frustrated Kyogo, (great goal!) or the willing Idah, men who must be wondering what the hell they are doing there! All in all, there is a distinct lack of energy and drive, especially in the second ’45. They look scared, puzzled and defeated, even when they are ahead of the game. That is a worry.
When we see Calmac skying an easy ball rather than controlling and passing, as he often did to his credit, that’s a symptom of the lack of confidence which has pervaded this squad for weeks. The skipper is affected by the paucity of talent around him! We score, and we know we will concede late. Confidence.
Sack the board? Hardly. They hold the power as well as well as the purse strings. Whilst Desmond plays golf at the crucial hour, Lawwell and his cronies plays God with our ticket money, and the result of this ineptitude and callous disregard for the paying customer is laid bare for all to see, on the pitch!
Keep the faith? If theRangers go clear at the top of the league in Perth, I fear the worst, because as I said earlier, I don’t believe this squad has it in them to show the guts and desire it takes to win a title. Time will tell, but keeping the faith is fine when you have a bunch of highly-paid ‘performers’ ready and willing to give you reason to. I pray I am wrong!
“Celtic jerseys are not for second best. They don’t shrink to fit inferior players!” Jock Stein.
Eddie Murray
dont buy anything more ,they wont spend money why should you
Cheers Eddie for your in-depth analysis of the current failings of our team (starting 11 / squad / management and holders of the purse strings). I agree with everything that you’ve said and I too am at a loss as to how we’ve managed to allow a treble-winning side slide so badly to the abyss of mediocrity. Yet again, when we should have been sailing off into the distance in a show of financial strength, we end up where we are at present – going backwards. Mr Desmond and those in the warm seats and comfy suits really don’t seem to get it and we’re sliding backwards at an alarming rate and they are too blinkered to see the harm that their lack of support for the manager and the side has done to us. Perhaps their bonuses are preferred to a continued winning side? We can only hope and pray that Mr Rodgers can pull a few rabbits out of his Irish tammy and get us back on track – and be pretty smartish about it too!
Rodgers said it himself, he needs more quality… he’s basically told us he’s out his depth, he’s not good enough to work with the best squad in the country…
Meanwhile Naismith, McInnes, Sevvys manager & a handful of others can do a better job with far less resources & players of lesser quality
…give one of these managers brendans job, resources & players, and they’ll thrive!
Brendan Rodger’s is the problem!