Celtic Diary Tuesday March 1: Spring Is All About Optimism

Spring is here !

The little bunnies will soon be out, flowers will be poking their heads above the ground, cautiously at first , before rising into a full bloom to lighten up our lives.

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, we’ve found something else to moan about.

It apperas that Ronny deila has changed his mind about Dedryck Boyatas challenge, and doesn’t think it was a penalty after all. Fair enough, we’ve all said or done things in the heat of the moment, realised we are wrong and changed our mind. It takes a lot of balls to admit, especially to a media hell bent on further discrediting you in the eyes of your supporters, so well done Ronny.

Personally, I think Boyata got the rough edge of Ronny’s tongue, so to speak, not for the tackle , but for a couple of other reasons.

Firstly, it’s fairly obvious by the managers reaction that players were told not to put themselves in the position of having to make a last ditch tackle, and even if they were, not to do it, but to stay on their feet. That makes sense, as our honourable match officials will send a Celtic player off for not tieing his shoe laces given the opportunity, so its better not to give them any excuse.

Secondly, if Boyata paused before racing after the Hamilton forward, in the belief that he was offside, even momentarily, then he needs to be taken out of the team and told to write out “I must play to the whistle ” ten thousand times.

Surely thats basic at any level of football ? Then he wouldn’t have been forced into the tackle at all, and we wouldn’t be talking about this today.

Deila was short and to the point;

“I have changed my mind because I have seen it 100 times now.

“ We are going to appeal because he gets a touch on the ball and it’s not a red.

“Having said that I stand by what I said about wanting my players to stay on their feet.

What he really meant was he needs him for tomorrow nights game against Dundee because he doesn’t fancy choosing between Ambrose and Mulgrew to partner Erik Sviatchenko, who must be wondering by now what time the next train back to Midltylland is. 

If it wasn’t bizarre enough to see the Daily Record criticising someone for doing an about turn on what they say or think-and there’s no need for me to elaborate on that point-then it got even stranger as Deila got even more detached from reality.

“If anyone supports the players it’s me. I stand behind them and always will.

“But this is about football tactics – it’s nothing against Dedryck. It’s for the whole team. We’ve had too many red cards and I was honest. What’s the problem?

“You can’t fool the supporters. If I say something that isn’t right they will say, ‘He’s doing that to protect things and keep a positive tone’.

I’m fairly sure that the players-at least some of them-would be uncomfortable with Deila standing behind them, as they would no doubt prefer for him to be in front , so they can see what he’s doing. Maybe this fear of disciplinary action is part of the reason that some performances this season have been a little lethargic, lacking in fire and passion….

However, I have to agree with what he says about having too many red cards. But as he has no influence on SFA policy, then thats a matter for the club. Ronny said;

“I don’t know if that prejudice’s the case but I showed that at least I was honest.

“When you see from behind the goal you see he touched the ball.

“Their player was also offside so a couple of things have gone wrong.

“It’s tough for referees making decisions like that but the linesmen should help to

Ronny is fully aware that the SFA/SPFL , if not actively biased against Celtic, are not going to do us any favours. The fixture list every season.with its regular long away trips after important European games shows this, and maybe he could win a few of us over by coming out and saying what he thinks. 

I could help here, with a few basic phrases , in English, to get him started…in fact we all could, simply by using the words “cheating ” and “bastard ” with a few others thrown in to pad the sentence out a bit.

Of course, that won’t happen, so maybe the best course of action is, to papraphrase  a well known Celtic manager, perhaps we should concentrate on playing so well and scoring so many goals that the referees can’t do anything about it.

Spring is a time for optimism, I suppose.

Tom Rogic has denied he is stalling on a new contract, and he’s backed up by the manager who says talks are ongoing.

The manager says that Rogic, along with Forrest , the other contract rebel, must work harder to get back into the team.

And Rogic says’

Which in no way reads like he’s been handed it to read….

This isn’t about whether or not we think either of the players deserves a new contract. This is about other players, either at the club or considering coming to the club, seeing how they are being treated. Its a lack of management skills from both Lawwell and Deila.

But then again, one is a coach and the other is an accountant. We don’t have a manager as such, but we did bring in Carlton Cole to cheer everyone up. So far, he’s taken a few lads to a bar in London and forgotten to pay the bill. So the papers said , anyway.

Meanwhile, Nadir Cifti is about to implode over in Turkey, where so far it appears he is alternating between being sent off and being pulled off,

which is no way to look after your assets.

So far, this season at least, its hard to find a decision made by the club which looks at the players as , well, players, and thats going to lead to problems further down the line.

If it isn’t already.

Spring, of course, is a time for optimism. Like the perpetual same club myth, perhaps if I repeat it often enough, someone will believe me.

One of the more bizarre stories concerning ex Celts appeared overnight on the interweb…

Former Celtic midfielder Evander Sno will appear in court next week on charges of attempted manslaughter and aggravated assault, according to reports in the Netherlands.

The Dutch player, along with two family members, are accused of badly beating up two other people.

The severity of the alleged attack on one of the victims was such that prosecutors are pursuing an attempted murder charge.

Theres very little detail on the incident, but Sno, who speaks English like a public schoolboy, is polite and reserved when you meet him, is clearly on a massive downward spiral. A few years ago he suffered a second heart attack while playing for Nijmegan against Feyenoord. 

At the time, Feyenoord doctor Casper van Eijck said;

 ‘Evander had a cardiac arrest which was followed by a shock from his internal defibrillator.

‘And the shock is what he felt and that terrified him, which I could see in his eyes on the pitch.

‘He was transported to a hospital because the defibrillator caused arrhythmia (abnormal heart beat) so he has to stay there for the night.’

I think the guy needs help.and I hope he gets it.

And now, a caption competition, on account of everyone ignoring yesterdays…

One more word on yesterdays diary. The replies were a delight to read. Interesting, even informative and thought provoking.

See, spring is all about optimism.