EIGHT HUNDRED of them will make their way to Celtic Park this afternoon, their numbers down by around 7000 from their last visit – when Celtic wrapped up the league title, Mikael Lustig borrowed a policeman’s hat and for some strange reason the players took their foot off the gas with half an hour to go after scoring our fifth goal of the afternoon.
It finished 5-0, that game, so what’s changed since then?
Well Brendan Rodgers played Gordon, Lustig, Boyata, Ajer, Tierney, Brown, Ntcham, Forrest, Rogic, McGregor and Edouard that day. Just for laughs he could do the same again today, although it is likely that Leigh Griffiths will start with Edouard coming on from the bench.
Scott Sinclair could be selected ahead of Tom Rogic, who is struggling to make it with a knee and hamstring concern.
Back in that 5-0 game on 29 April Sinclair replaced Rogic and Griffiths replaced Edouard. The other substitution was Jack Hendry on for Lustig.
The unused Celtic subs were Simunovic, Roberts, Bain and Kouassi.
So Celtic are pretty much unchanged and the zombies arrive looking to turn around a 5-0 thumping, the goals coming from Edouard (14′ minutes, 41′ minutes), Forrest (45′ minutes), Rogic (47′ minutes), McGregor (53′ minutes).
So Celtic were averaging a goal against them every ten minutes by the time McGregor had scored, then somehow lost interest. What an opportunity missed that was. A 9-0 would have been talked about forever!
If you strip away all the dramas of the summer, Boyata is still here and playing well, Dembele wasn’t fit to play that day anyway, Paddy was an unused sub, we are just as strong.
Let’s look at The After Life FC
They have added a new management team and have certainly shored up their defence, so we probably won’t get the easy goals we got in the last few games against them – remember we hammered them 4-0 at Hampden too.
They have played two away games and drawn them both by conceding at the death each time. Those late goals means that they are one point BEHIND Celtic today rather than three in front.
They have signed Lafferty from Hearts because he scored more goals against Celtic last season than they managed as a (new) club in the entire season. There is a logic to that and our central defenders will have to be up for the physical challenges, legal or not, that will go unpunished.
They have signed MacGregor who is a decent enough keeper – an improvement on ‘Whit’s the Goalie daein Tom?’ – thanks for that Moussa by the way.
Midfield, nothing special, just better organised.
They will sit deep and try to hit us on the counter. If we get an early goal it could become gloriously messy again.
Every Celtic supporter in this new environment due to their smaller allocation, must do our bit and roar from start to finish.
COME ON YOU BOYS IN GREEN…prediction Celtic 3 Rangers 1.
Have your say after the match over on The Celtic Noise….
