MIBBERY – 5/10 – Ah, the reluctance to book their captain early – so Ratskin gets away with blatant shirt-hauling and the tone’s set for dirty players like Diamante to freewheel and MMA around the park. Not that we were anything but culpable for our own downfall but the glee sensed among the MIBS at how things were unfolding was probably most apparent with the absence of VAR interference. Nothing to see here, Bhoys…
Celtic players in a huddle before kick off with theRangers fans inside Celtic Park for the first time in two years. Celtic v theRangers, ScottishPremiership, Celtic Park, 16 March 2025 Photo Stuart Wallace Shutterstock
OVERALL – 4/10 – So can we all now come to some sort of comprehension – no Calmac, no party? All the doubters who’ve critiqued the skipper’s presence on occasion now got a taste of the void his absence can leave when there’s nobody capable of conducting the orchestra and the rogue elements from Govan get a field day. So we played in fits and starts without consistent tempo or intensity or anyone calling the shots on-field. And the manager decides to sabotage the comeback with the worst sub decision since the Belgrano radar operator shrugged, ‘Nah, looks like a lilo.”
Peter Lawwell, Chairman of Celtic, Dermot Desmond, Non-Executive Director of Celtic, and Michael Nicholson, CEO of Celtic, are seen in attendance prior to the Scottish Premiership match between Celtic and theRangers at Celtic Park on March 16, 2025. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
With the away dugout populated by characters from a Kenneth Grahame book, Wee Barra Bawbag, Dildoddsy, Rapley and Ratty – The Wind In The Williams – the Paradise stage was set for an epic ‘Skelping Sunday. There was also a little enclave of evil tucked away in a corner of the stadium for the first time in a while, all bouncing around their cage with unhealthy excitement like abused circus animals. And I thought we’d be able to roll out the beloved classic, ‘Go home ya…come full time. Not so. The Bhoys malfunctioned, restarted, then collapsed. A lapse against the comedy tribute act has never been cause for too much concern until this season where it’s occurred a few too many times to be ignored.
Celtic v theRangers stats
Not often these players – and management team – let us down in the big games but they did today; and it was evident from the dreadful start, lingered throughout a patchy effort to knit some cohesive passages of play together, and was smacked home like a slap in the gub at the very end. No excuses – they stumbled about Paradise as if it was an opium den, chasing Blue Meanies instead of dragons and fell upon swords of their own making; particularly galling for the samurai among us, I’d presume.
They’ve been lauded all to hell and back for their exploits to date but the polish is still to be applied and the history books published. Half the team need a kick up the backside and the management need to snap out of favouritism and get back down to ruthless business; the business of putting the Zombies back in their box and the silverware securely in the Celtic trophy cabinet.
🔵 Hamza Igamane’s 88th minute strike sealed a 3-2 win for Rangers and their first victory at Celtic Park since 2020 ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/6hzMC4WAfT
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) March 16, 2025
Go Away Now
Sandman
Celtic in the Thirties by Celtic Historian Matt Corr is published in two volumes by Celtic Star Books. Photo: The Celtic Star.
Lost the battle, the war still there.
There aren’t enough sweary words in the dictionary to describe yesterday’s performance. Are you sure Idah was on the park.and not some ghostly doppelganger?
Idah has been rotten since he came here on loan. One tap in rebound to win the cup last year had the majority of our fans demanding the board spent the money on him. Hearts certainly ruled heads in that instance.
Brendan must see that for over 270 minutes of football against Sevco, they have pressed and hurried our players into calamitous mistakes, leading to two gutless defeats and a win on penalties. When will he make the required adjustments and start training with tempo. I’ve never seen so many passes from a Celtic team not find their target in the last two games against Sevco. All because our players don’t get the usual time on the ball they do in other games, they are hurried, get nervous and ping it to space, out of play or even to a blue shirt. It has to be addressed immediately.