Celtic Diary Thursday September 17: Season Taking Shape ?

Todays theme is shape.

Defined by the dictionary as…oh, hang on, someone has nicked mine.

I’m lost for words.

Celtic overcame a stuffy St Mirren with a stuffy performance in Paisley last night. I have to confess it was the first game I’ve managed to watch in a while, so it’s difficult to say if there has been any progress on the pitch.

Shane Duffy certainly makes a difference from set pieces, although he looks to be a little short on fitness.  Either that or he is hyperventilating with excitement at wearing the hoops.  Even at this early stage though, this is a man that should be persuaded to stay at Celtic, I’ve a feeling he has much more to offer than a solid presence at the back, and an even more solid one up front front.

A sort of cross between Billy McNeill and Roy Aitken ? Maybe I’m going over the top there, but if and when the season reaches the business end, he’ll be someone who carves his name into history.

He scored the equaliser after the Paisley men opened the scoring early on, and there was a sense , probably for the first time since the halcyon days of Shunsuke Nakamura , that when Celts get a set piece, there is actually a chance something might happen.

His header from a corner settled the side a little, and when James Forrest had a wee sit down to find the ball skiting off his head into the top corner , Celts were in front, and never looked like losing.

Did anyone else hear Scott Brown yell “fucking hell ” as the ball hit the net ?

There was yet another great performance in the opposition goal as the forwards continued to struggle with the idea of putting the ball where the keeper isn’t standing, including a dreadful penalty kick from Oddsone Edouard, which made all the pre match complaning from Saints manager jim Goodwin somewhat redundant, but the most interesting thing to my mind was happening in the Celtic goal.

Our Greek custodian doesn’t like to lift his arms much, in the way some keepers do to make their presence felt. He has more of a last defender look about him, and contrary to popular belief is very, very confident in his ability to do that. that confidence is evident in the other players, who use him as a sort of pivot to change the direction of play.

Not that the team has any sort of shape to it, although that could simply be down to watching on television, which always distorts a game and things like shape and formation.

A few weeks ago on our podcast it was noted that we always have a moan this time of year, probably due to European underachievement, about how the season ahead looks, and for the last decade the results and titles have proved us wrong.

It’s worth remembering for all the talk of a challenge, and all the panic when it looked like “rangers ” would go eleven points clear after Celtic had two games postponed, and yet here we are in a position to go to the top of the table this Saturday, and should it transpire that “rangers ” drop points at Easter Road on Sunday, Celtic will be clear, with a game in hand….

But there are still one or two tiny niggles…if I can use that word without upsetting anyone…and it’s still difficult to pin them down to anything specific, and it might just be our own nerves, our own unease at not being allowed to go to the games to see for ourselves, or even the constant exposure to less reasoned  opinion on social media and various forums…including this one.

Not being able to go to the games is affecting us, but perhaps in a subliminal way.

Neil Lennon thinks it is affecting the players as well….

“It’s difficult because there are no supporters. I think it’s really difficult for them, especially at a big club like ours, but they are adapting to the environment as well as anyone. 

“You get a head of steam up in a game and normally you get the atmosphere crackling. It gives the players a lift and there is none of that at the minute.

“So there is a bit of adaptation, no question subconsciously that is a big miss for them.”  

On BBC Alba last night, they showed the Jock Stein documentary, and they used this quote to illustrate how the great man felt about supporters….

As ever, he knew what he was talking about, and maybe we should all remember that this is an unusual season, and these are unusual games in unusual settings.

Meanwhile, Knob of the Week made a return last Thursday because, and not for the first time, I got my days all mixed up.

However, some knobs shine too brightly to ignore, and so yet again on a Thursday we’ve found someone who takes knobberry to new heights….

“rangers ” are in Europa League action tonight where they face Lincoln Red Imps, who recorded a win over Brendan Rodgers’s Celtic that sort of set the tone for most away European games under the Antrim Ego, and there is every chance that the Gibraltans will repeat the feat tonight.

Their manager, William Amarel,  is in no doubt about the task ahead of him, although someone should have out him right..

“We know we’re playing against the best team in Scotland, against the best manager in Scotland. 

“They are ranked first in the league with a record of no goals conceded. We know who we’re facing. For Gibraltar, it’s a massive game.

“But it’s just one leg so we have a very good chance. We need to show a lot of courage and be motivated.

“This is why football is special – moments like this when a big team plays a small team.

“The small team can do it with courage and passion. These things do happen when small teams beat the big one. The coverage the team gets through the media.”

But hang on, is he a knob, or is he playing very , very good mind games….small teams against big teams…is he reminding us that “rangers ” are less than a decade old and it is they who have a chance of pulling off a shock ?

After all, they are getting somewhat ridiculous press coverage, including this nonsense from the Sun

RANGERS are staying on a luxury £120m superyacht in Gibraltar ahead of their clash with Lincoln Red Imps.

The Light Blues are taking it easy in their luxurious surroundings after arriving in the British overseas territory yesterday.  

And SunSport has taken a look at what the five-star accommodation on board the Sunborn looks like inside.

Located in Gibraltar’s promenade, the superyacht boasts a hotel and casino on board, as well as 189 rooms across seven floors. 

Rooms come with a variety of amenities including balconies, white marble bathrooms in their executive suites and even living areas in their apartments and penthouse cabins.

You can book a single night’s stay on Sunborn’s website for as little as £181, depending on your room and board options. 

There is even a doctor on board, and he’ll be needed to asses the damage done to Alfredo Morelos, seen here in training with a plaster on his wound , the one picked up after a Dundee United player attacked him and left him bleeding in a heap.