Brendan Rodgers talks to the media after the match. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
THE NOTAPRODDYGAL – 2/10 – “We started the second-half well…” We lost two goals in the first ten minutes of it, for heaven’s sake. “I’m working night and day to get the best out of my squad.” No you’re not. You’re probably hoping now that Wolves can their hapless no-wins boss because you’ve got a nice empty gaff in the Midlands you’d prefer to escape to. I know I am.
Auston Trusty. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
That after match presser almost – but not quite – trumped the pre-match reasoning for selecting big sleepy puppy Murray over SIX MILLION spend Trusty, ex-EPL and U.S.A international: “Dane’s right-footed so we didn’t want two left-footers in there. Y’know, for the sake of balance.”
♥️ Hearts extended their lead at the top of the table to eight points with a 3-1 win over Celtic and are yet to lose a league game this season ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/YzDYIDXyRu
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) October 26, 2025
That might have the Brendanistas cry-shanking over mystical tactical insight, but I’ll tell you what it really is – a phish-talking grifter thinking the logic of a 12-year-old picking his FIFA team would mug-off a support with access to the internet; I’ll rest my case with the Champions League starting eleven for the heroic awaday 0-0 battle against top Italian swashbucklers, Atalanta. Central defence pairing – Scales and… Wait for it… Wait for it… Trusty.
🗣️ “There’s 29 games still to play”
🗣️ “My motivation has never been higher”
🗣️ “Not a position that this club is used to being in”Hearts from Brendan Rodgers after Celtic’s defeat at Tynecastle ⤵️ pic.twitter.com/Pom9vuMn6G
— Sky Sports Scotland (@ScotlandSky) October 26, 2025
Off you pop, Brendan.
MIBBERY – 2/10 – Laughing all the way to the ludge tonight, without even breaking sweat. Shameful, Celtic.
OVERALL – 3.5/10 – So Thursday wasn’t a defining moment in the season, after all. It wasn’t the turning point we’d hoped. With dread, it now looms like a highlight of a tortuous campaign. After the start we feared, the Bhoys looked like they’d remembered they were Champions and decided to slap Edinburgh’s wee diet mongrels around their own kennels. Shaky as we were, going forward we looked dangerous and full of intent, led by a skipper with a snarl.
Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
So what happened at half-time? Did somebody lace the Pina Coladas with bromide? We completely lost the urge, lost any momentum, and ambled around like bewildered inmates from One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest on a day outing, poor Calmac playing McMurphy to his team-mates’ ineptitude.
Big screen at Tynecastle. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
Hearts, though without finesse, still deserved their victory – hungrier, more dynamic, expressing a competitive edge we failed to match sufficiently, us just relying on sporadic patches of quality to get anything. Ghod knows what happens now – we’re running out of time to find consistency and players in-form enough and good enough to re-assert domination.
Celtic fan protest.. Hearts v Celtic, 26 October 2025. Photo Vagelis Georgariou (The Celtic Star)
If you want a real sign of how bad it’s become, note that the comedy club across the city are now within two wins of us. That’s absurd as a duck-billed Platypus sneaking up on a Bengal Tiger, and there’s a good chance the jungle cat isn’t going to wake up in time. Get your act together, Celtic.
Go Away Now
Sandman
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Celtic in the Eighties and Willie Fernie – Putting on the Style both by David Potter. Photo The Celtic Star
Danny McGrain signing copies of Celtic in the Eighties by David Potter. Photo: Celtic Star Books
Always great insight and writing. The John Kenny description deserves an extra mention!
Have to say I agree with, pretty much, all of that.
But I’ll go further. As I’ve said many times, I don’t care for Rodgers, didn’t like him the first time, still don’t now, but I am close to accusing him of deliberate sabotage, on Sunday. Bearing in mind the venue, Ralston and Trusty HAD to play, yesterday and Rodgers should have known that, maybe he did? His substitutions are dubious, at the best of times, but bringing on Balikwisha was, for me, the final act of treachery.
He has an assortment of wingers who play on their ‘weak’ side, so never get ‘to the line’, he obviously can’t get the best from Engels and Nygren, he NEVER drops his favourites and I wonder, looking at some of his signings, if he could ever recognise a good player.
Time for a change, starting with an uninspiring manager.
Agree with all that, but for me the bottle crashed around 35 minute mark. By this point we had fought hard and having got the equaliser , took control. Then inexplicably we totally bottled it, not from Hearts pressure or Rogers changes to personal or tactics, just got a nose bleed after fighting our way to the top, and went to pieces. Powder puff team though, and too many passengers, not to mention self sabotage from Murray.