Before I start, due to a heavy cold which leapt out at me yesterday when I wasn’t looking, I saw very little of the game.
So its through reading what other say and watching highlights-highlights, aye okay, – that any conclusions are drawn from.
First of all, we need to lose this idea that teams are afraid of coming to Celtic Park.
They love it. Thats why most of the top teams we have faced in recent years have had no real problems in getting a result. And if you can stay in front just past the hour mark, the fans will obligingly disappear so that you can make your way out of the stadium to the airport with minimal fuss as well.
Last night was just one of those nights. Too many players didn’t perform, and no-one stepped up to try to make them. The golden trio of Dembele , Sinclair and Toure combined to offer little , though Toure did help out at the back, it was his mistakes that lead to the goals, just showing that the concentration needed at this level may not be there any more.
Sinclair and Dembele waited for something to happen, and when it didn’t, waited some more.
The Germans knew where the threat would come from, and made sure it didn’t. There was no plan B, and as in Barcelona, no real attempt to find one.
There are two Celtics competing in this seasons champions League, the one who took the fight to Manchester City, and the one which lay down and died against The Germans and the Catalans.
Taking the fight to city led to a defelected goal, an offside goal and a skewed overhead kick, but they all count.
As with last night, it was our own mistakes that let us down…but we’ll learn, of that I’m sure.
The support mut surely now realise where we are at, and what is needed to move up to be able to compete at this level. Any optimism from Leicester looking like they may win their group to give us an easier tie in the last 16 must now have surely evaporated, ( yes, that was me ) and there’s a real dogfight now just to get into the Europa.
We may yet thank our lucky stars in facing a rampant Barcelona at home in the last game…
The next match, away to Borussia in Germany is the first of their remaining two home games, two games that if they win , and there’s no reason why they shouldn’t, as they appear to have progressed from their opening day lesson from Manchester City, and are certainly a much better side than we may have thought based on that game.
With the pressure of, maybe we can do a little experimenting ourselves in the next two games, which will determine whether or not Barcelona will matter.
Three at the back ? Toure, Simunovic, Sviatchenko ?
Two in front, Brown and one from Henderson, Armstrong or biton, if we have to.
One creative, in the hole, forrest ? Rogic, MacGregor-a great link man on his day..
Teirney, Sinclair, Forrest, Roberts Lustig to fight over remaining places to support Dembele and Griffiths.
Dembele looks a little too laid back for my liking, and Griffiths always improves when his place is under threat.
Maybe try it out on whatever they are called on Sunday..
As for everything else, we can only hope that players and management alike have learned from this.
Elsewhere, while we we all deflected by the euphoria of champions League involvement, news broke, and I’m not too sure what the actual story is here, its a bit vague, that the cops up north are a bit dodgy…
which will come as a surprise to all of you…
Anyhoo, a UK high court said;
Fancy that, but I can;t find the full story, from an indepoendent point of view…
Yesterdays picture,
Caption: Global warming 2026 – Govan Emerald CSC await the arrival of the Govan Ferry
Running behind again this morning, so i’ll leave the job of cheering us up to you, with this picture. taken after a plane hit the Empire State building in 1945, presumably whilst chasing a big monkey with a lassie tucked under its arm.