With two more convincing wins under our belts since the diary last appeared, there is probably a temptation for us to forget just how bad things were a few months ago, and start to take things for granted again.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Jablonec were dismissed farily easily, but they still had their moments later in the game, but then again, maybe they were a better side than we allowed them to be.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The game against Hearts was also won long before the end, not once, at 2-0, but twice when Celts went 3-1 ahead. The ingrained mentality of professional footballers is to ease of..also called managing the game… when comfortably ahead, sensible to an extent as it avoids injuries, bookings and even catastrophic failures such as the Partizan Belgrade fiasco of days gone by.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ange Postecoglou wants his players to keep going, to win games by larger margins, though time will tell if he gets that message through to his charges.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
After all, they’re still getting used to such novelties as supervised training and not beng allowed to go to the pub for a session after a session at Lennoxtown.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
As one completely made up source told us ;<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
“It’s different now. It’s like the gaffer takes it seriously<\/em>”<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The improvement in some of the players, such as Ralston, Christie and the reborn Calum MacGregor has been astonishing. In a matter of weeks they’ve not only rediscovered their own enthusiasm and ability, but have passed it on to others as well.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The new additions have slotted in better than could have been reasonably expected, Abede and Fuhruhashi have become heroes, and although Starfelt has yet to make the same impact, surely any criticisms have been based on the success of the other two rather than his own failings ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which brings me to the support.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Rather than enjoy what is being played out in front of them, some are still finding a reason to have a moan. Yes, we could do with a bit more strength in depth where the defence is concerned, and probably another striker, but just becuase something must be done, finding something and doing it is not the answer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Postecoglou has hinted that it’s he and he alone who makes the decisions regarding players, and if those the fans are clamouring for us to sign aren;t signed, then it’s down to him.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n He’d rather wait for the right guy than just sign someone who might be alright.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n the case of thomas Henry is interesting, as it’s seen some Celtic fans turn into experts on previously unknown strikers, as he is just what we need and Celtic should pay the money.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Usually, the case for the prosecution cites statistics and other types of data, which are usually promoted by agents, but ange seems more old school, and is concerned more with what a player will do rather than what he has done.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n That makes a lot of sense, and if backed up by a proper scouting network and the right kind of background research, then it is better to wait.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Celtic have squandered more than a few quid on duds, and it’s unfair to call them duds because for a player to shine he needs to be in the right environment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n What Billy McNeill called Celtic minded is exactly what I’m referring to, and if they weren’t Celtic minded he had to be sure that would soon become it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Looking at Kyogi Fuhruhashi, and listening to ange when he said he had been watching him mature for a while in Japan, there could have been little doubt that the manager knew what he was getting would be exactly what he was looking for.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Whereas the media, both mainstream and social, hadn’t got a clue.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Based on that acquisition alone, we should accept that Postecoglou knows not only what he wants, but who he wants, and he certainly knows enough not to tell anyone in the media anything that would give them even the slightest of clues.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So far, he’s turned things around to a degree we wouldn’t have dared hope for even six weeks ago. And there’s more to come, so let’s just enjoy it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Instead of highlighting the negatives let’s try to look at the positives.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Same with Dominic McKay, and before you criticise the board, remember it was this board that found, tempted and hired Postecoglou.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n They have backed him with the signings he has wanted, and apart from a terrified press doing their usual angle, there is no evidence to suggest they have blocked him on anything, even subconsciously by refusing to pay what other clubs want.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n This idea of just paying what clubs want for their assets is nonsense….if Morelos expressed a desire to join Celtic would you pay what the Iborx club \/company value him at ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Or would you pay what you think he’s worth ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n The media seem to have latched onto a story that Ionas Hagi will raise \u00a39m for them….would anyone pay that for a bloke who isn;t even a first team regular ?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Celtic will pay what they think a player is worth at the time of asking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Some will go on to greater things, it happens, others will fail. Those that fail are forgotten, as there is little demand for articles that praise that kind of judgement.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n With the fare on offer on the field, and the prospect of more to come, let’s just sit back and enjoy the ride while it lasts.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Next up are AZ 67 Alkmaar, who haven;t done a great deal since Ipswich beat them in the UEFA cup final many years ago. come to think of it, neither have Ipswich.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n One of the more enjoyable aspects of coming up against sides like Alkmaar is the way commentators pronounce them. Ah Zee seems to be a common enough abbreviation, which is actually their name, Alkmaar Zaanstreek, so to call them Alkmaar Zaanstreek 67 Alkmaar is just silly.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And its pronounced ah zet.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n They’ve sold a few of their players, and some of the ones still there aren;t happy. That may be the case, but it sounds more like reporters have looked at their squad list, googled a few stories and concluded they are falling apart at the seams, largely so they can have a go at Celtic should the hoops fail to progress.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Which, as we know, won’t be the case. they’ll be a decent side, most Dutch teams are.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, we are also a decent side, and as long as we keep doing what we have been doing , keeping the ball for as long as we can and fighting tooth and nail to get it back, it won;t matter how good they are.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Our forward line is more than capable of scoring against anyone, and it’s goals that win games, so as long as we keep scoring more than the opposition, we’ll be fine.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n after a break of over a year, fans are getting back into the ground, and there’s a damn good product on offer.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So please, look at what we have got, and not what we haven’t got.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n And go out there and enjoy yourselves…as I’m certain the manager says to the players before the games.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Football is entertainment, after all, so allow yourself to be entertained.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" With two more convincing wins under our belts since the diary last appeared, there is probably a temptation for us to forget just how bad…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":17115,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/TheBestLoveQuotes.net-358.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-4s2","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17114"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=17114"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17114\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":17116,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17114\/revisions\/17116"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/17115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=17114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=17114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=17114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}