This weekend went perfectly for the board, and supporters alike. However, things turning out positively for us should not mean that glaring deficiencies can be overlooked.
What happens at Ibrox should have no bearing on decisions made at Celtic Park. Not unless the limit of our ambition is to just stay ahead of a poor Rangers side on the domestic front. That said, Rangers dropping points nearly always has a positive material impact on Celtic’s league position and cup prospects, simply because they are the closest challenger to the Hoops at present, despite what Tony Bloom has in mind for Hearts. In that sense, the draw at Motherwell on Saturday suited both the board and Celtic fans as it gave us a chance to take a two point lead over them in the league table at such an early stage. That was positive result number 1.
A day later, positive result number 2 took place when Celtic just about took the points against St Mirren. Victory secured that early lead over our closest rivals and was the desired outcome for all with Celtic at heart. The board can look at the weekend as a continuation of Celtic’s dominance, while supporters who want to see more ambitious transfer activity can point to the manner of the victory, while still enjoying the win. Indeed, another club dropping points and Celtic beating St Mirren at home shouldn’t mean that all is rosey in the garden. The Bhoys started the match with Yang out wide, a player who was on the fringes last season and offered very little on Sunday. Idah played the role of Celtic’s first choice striker and he was caught on his heels at times when the ball flew across the box, as well as passing up a couple of golden opportunities. Additionally, Kieran Tierney had to be replaced after an hour as he is not yet up to speed – we know fitness could be an issue for him. That it took until 87 minutes for Celtic to find a winner merely highlighted that the squad needs more. It requires wingers, a top striker of the Hooper, Griffiths, Dembele, Edouard, Kyogo mould; and more depth in other positions such as defence.
So, pressure was on with fans having an eye on the Champions League qualifier. The draw, which took place on Monday morning, appears to have been very kind to Celtic. Slovan Bratislava, who we thumped 5-1 last season, or Khazakstan based outfit Kairat Almaty will be the team that stands between Celtic and a place in the Champions League group stage. Nothing is guaranteed in football, but the bookies will have us as strong favourites. It could all have been much tougher and then the microscope would really be on the board, who now will feel confident of progressing without having to invest in the team.
All in all, the shared interests of the support and board have been well served by the weekend’s results and kind Champions League draw. However, we should still take stock of where we are and what is needed if our ambition is to progress in Europe, from which continued domestic domination will almost certainly follow. Let’s not take our eye off the ball just because Rangers drew at Fir Park, or because the draw was kind to us in Europe.
The board are yet again presiding over a period of a huge managed decline. The fact that brendan hasn’t been offered a new deal just highlights that the old problems between him and liewell haven’t gone away. Liewell is a cancer on our club that needs cut out. We will never progress with him at the helm and will always have managers who feel like their ambitions and the boards are two completely different things.
I should add that other members of the board need to move on as its clearly stale.