Celtic Diary Tuesday September 13: Deflector Shields On Full

But captain, they’re still talking about the Barcelona game….

Thats because we can.

To get you in the mood for tonights match, before we start, sit back and enjoy highlights of some epic tussles between two of europes most famous and well loved clubs… courtesy of UEFA..

celtic-v-barcelona-highlights

Theres been some great moments over the last few years between the clubs, and tonight promises to give us even more.

Celtic go into the game after a pleasant leg stretching exercise which culminated in a 5-1 thrashing of “rangers ” at the weekend, with moussa Dembele stepping up to score a hat trick in the absence of Leigh Griffiths.

Barcelona go into the game having rested most of their regulars in advance of the vist of Celtic, as they, probably more so than any other side, know the risks of taking the hoops lightly. Messi and Suarez haven’t started together this season thus far, but are expected to line up alongside each other as they are needed against Celtics formidable back four of Lustig, Sviatchenko, Toure and Tierney. Add to that the protection from Scott Brown and Nir biton, and you can se why the Cataln side have called in the big guns to help Neymar Jr, who isnt entirely useless up front himself, but clearly they need to play as a unit to be effective.

A bit like our defence and midfield will have to.

With uncertainty around who will start up front for the hoops, as although Griffiths is unlikely to start, manager Brednan rodgers can still call on the likes of Dembele and Nadir Ciftci, whose uncompromising style will rattle the lightweight Nou Camp defence.

So much so that Barca could opt to drop the back four from the Alaves game…

There is expected to be wholesale changes at the back as well with the likes of Jeremy Mathieu, Lucas Digne, Aleix Vidal and Javier Mascherano all being dropped to make way for the first choice backline of Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Sergi Roberto and Samuel Umtiti respectively.

The Barcelona backline during the weekend certainly looked a bit shaky and the return of the regulars in midweek should mean that the Catalans will be more solid in defence. (Futnsoccer.com) 

Goalkeeper Ter Stegen should also return for Barcelona, so they will be at their strongest. And they’ll have to be. “rangers ” might not be the best team in Scotland, or Glasgow, or even the general Kinning Park/Govan area, in between the two subway stops, but they certainly tried to frustrate Celtic, and gave the hoops players a couple of scary moments when they actually scored, much to the surprise of all watching, including their players.

Barcelona, too , will try to frustrate Celtic, in a different way, of course, by boring them to death with their infuriating tippy tappy shite, but with concentration and effort, Celtic could well pull off a remarkable and memorable result in the Catalan capital, and once more have the whole of Europe talking about the famous hoops, and the new players currently growing into the shirts.

They will also be looking to put things right for themselves, after Alaves beat them 2-1 in the nou Camp, and website Barcelona News held a sort of inquest, though you get the feeling they haven’t done that sort of thing very often, probably because they don;t lose in the Nou Camp very often…

BARÇA 1-2 ALAVES: FIVE THINGS WE LEARNT

So their experiment didn’t work, and we have to hope that it will take a while for the “first ” team to find their feet tonight. Say, around an hour and a half would be just dandy.

Manager Brendan Rodgers isn’t too worried. And he can’t be accused of not taking the game seriously, becuase he is well aware of what we are up against;

“We respect that this is arguably the best team in the world with a front three who are, maybe, one of the best of all time.

“I know Luis used to occupy a back four on his own. Then you add Neymar to that and then possibly the best player ever. It’s a very difficult task. 

Though to be fair, Celtic did cope with the equally deadly Garner, Miller and Waghorn (pen ) at the weekend, and comparisons between the two sets of forward lines have been made in the past. but not by anyone with a fully functioning mind or opposable thumbs.

“Luis is the best striker in the world right now. I don’t think there is any question about that. 

“You have to speak about the man first. He is one of the most beautiful men you can come across. A very humble guy who works tirelessly at his profession. 

“He is a family man who gives everything to football after his family. I had the pleasure of working with him as a human being for two years and he was incredible.

“As a player, the biggest compliment you can give Luis is that he came to a world class team and made them better. Barcelona would not be the same team without him.

“He is an incredible player but I was fortunate to know him as a person as well and he is a really good man. 

Brendan, of course, knows exactly how to render him ineffective…

“Does it help to know him so well? It does and it doesn’t.

“I know his tricks, I know his moves and you can’t play the game for the player when he is on there, that’s the problem.

“But you can give as much insight as you possibly can and then hope you get a bit of luck along the way, stay calm when you have to and really, really enjoy the occasion.

“I give information more to help us. I’m not a coach who stands for an hour glorifying a team and then your players walk out thinking: Christ almighty.

Exactly, lets focus on what we can do.

We know what they can do when they have the ball, so the plan would be to try not to let them have too much of it.

We know we won’t get many chances in front of goal, so its important to make them count.

Alright, maybe it is fair to say we’re not expecting much from this game, and the managers maybe even written off the points already, perhaps to focus more on other games where we might pick up the points to ensure european football after Christmas, which would be phenomenal, no matter which tournament we would be in.

But Brendan is in it to win it, as they say.

 “It’s not a free game for me. We want to get a result.

“We understand the difficulty of getting a result here, especially off the back of the intensity of the Rangers game. But we are not here just to be passengers.

“If you want that easy-oasy life, this is not the place to be.

“Make no mistake, we will do everything we can against a real crack team to try to get a result.

“We’ve said to the players, we enjoy it, but it’s a football game.

“You are here, it’s great and take it in, but we have earned the right to be in the Champions League.

“We’re not tourists, we are here to do well.” 

And Barcelona are well aware of that. Rememeber Messi and Neymars reaction when they  heard the draw ?

Should I mention the fiasco unravelling in the wake of Saturdays game ? Does that lot from south of the river deserve to be on the same page as the legends we are about to face at the level we, as a club, are at just now.

Yeah. And I’ll tell you for why. It’s yet another move by the eternal triangle of SFA/SPFL. Level 5, and “rangers ” to keep everyone talking about Celtic, when one of the three is guilty of misgorvernance, the other of fraudulent cash grabbing by claiming that “rangers ” are Rangers, and the other is being paid to protect the image of “rangers “, a job that compares less favourably than building up Joe Stalin as a human rights activist, and Margaret Thatcher as a human being.

It suits the SFA/SPFL to have everyone fighting amongst themselves, as it means no one is pointing the finger at their inactivity following the wrecking spree in thetoilets, or the vile songs about child abuse or anti catholic/Irish  chants and hymns that form a part of their set list every time they appear on stage.

If they win, we hear about how great they are, if they lose, we hear about how bad we are.

The current statement, customarily released by “rangers ” after a heavy or important defeat, complains that their support were , well, read it for yourself.. because i find it kind of hard to take in, even given previous levels of bullshit that have eminated from the boardroom of Scotlands newest club;

 “The club’s directors are fully aware of the disgust felt by Rangers supporters who were subjected to a sickening and shameful display of outright sectarian hatred towards them.

“We also share the fans’ anger and will be contacting Club 1872 as a matter of urgency.” 

Club 1872 is a supporters group, and not a package holiday firm catering for all ages. You’re thinking of Cub 18-30, which is more or less  a group formed to cater for those who want to enjoy the seedier side of life, but i can understand your confusion.

“Club 1872 has reviewed pictorial and video evidence of the disgusting behaviour of sections of the Celtic support during the Old Firm game on Saturday.

“In light of this, we have today written to the Rangers board requesting that they ban Celtic supporters from Ibrox until Celtic can prove that they have taken substantive action against the Green Brigade and other overtly sectarian elements within their support.” 

Celtic replied with;

“Celtic will not become involved in a tit for tat spat regarding all events at Celtic Park on Saturday.

“We will deal with all issues arising in a proper and professional manner in line with our well established policies.

“Saturday was a fantastic event for the club and our fans worldwide.

“We thank the overwhelming majority of our supporters for the positive backing they gave to the team and for making this such a great occasion.”

On behalf of the Celtic support, whilst not condoning the use of effigies or anything else that drags us down to their level, if i may, i’d like to offer to the deeply offended sensitive souls at Ibrox, a carefully worded response, which I think sums up how we all feel, though I may be wrong, and if I am , I’d like to apologise.

I’d like to apologise if I’ve offended anyone, but don’t hold your breath, because it really is highly unlikely i will.

Joey Barton, who had preached about how he would “boss ” Scottish football , lost the midfield battle the moment he shooks hands with Scott Brown during the pre match meet and greet-the post match bleat and greet is contained in the statement above. But perhaps this photograph explains the bowing of the head by Barton to his superior. The owner of the pic maintains that this is the “rangers ” anchorman in the colours of his favourite team twenty five years ago, and the lad was just paying homage to a great Celtic captain, like we would if we met him.

When the original club died, we lost a chance to rid ourselves of all that comes with it. Even the most decent fans over there must now becoming aware of what they have hitched their carts to, and surely it cannot be long before the only real source of revenue they have dries up permanently.

We hear all sorts about their perilous financial state, and sometimes we are too willing to believe some of the more damning stories about their journey to the edge of oblivion, but with no retail money, and the report that they had to pay back a significant sum to a Hong Kong financier, which in turn led to a loan against future season book sales, which if true, means that the end is high.

This time, lets not hide what has happened, and let them deal with it for themselves, without anyone putting an arm around them and saying that everything is alright, everything will be back to normal soon. Its apparent that that tactic hasn’t worked, and maybe this time the truth, as brutal as it can be, needs to be laid out to them.

However, to any four year old, the truth needs to be handled with care. Otherwise it can traumatise them, and lead to all sorts of behavioural issues later on.

But, fuck ’em.

We’ve a big game tonight, and a big performance is needed.

And you know what else is needed ?

Celtic to wear the hoops. And for the players to know they are, and to perform as, Celtic players.

As I’ve been away over the last week or so, the diary has become a little sporadic and patchy , and i’d also like to apologise to anyone who has sent in articles and not yet seen them published.

They will appear this week, as my life has now returned to the drudgery and boredom that dominated before I left these shores for the chaos of the wild south east of Ireland. Which everyone should do at least once in their lifetime, if only to show what the world would be like if everyone got on with everyone else.

Except for that bastard who was doing thirty on a perfectly straight single lane carriageway at twenty past eleven the other night when I was coming back down to Arthurstown from Dublin.

Anyhoo, a caption competiton is in order, one feels, to go with the mood of anticipation that we have this morning…