Tynecastle tomorrow, and Celtic will be looking to keep the free scoring style on track ahead of the last chance saloon game with Shaktor Donetsk next week,<\/p>\n
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Are we about to get the train back on the tracks with the greatest comeback since Lazarus popped back out ?<\/p>\n
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Well, there’s always hope. The fat lady might be on stage and clearing her throat, but she hasn’t burst into song yet.<\/p>\n
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We’ve already got an idea of what to expect on the east coast from alex cochrane, one of the Hearts players\u00a0 who were sent off back in August when the two teams met…<\/p>\n
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\u201cIt\u2019s one of those games where sometimes you have to take bookings against Celtic.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cIf you give them too much respect they can potential walk all over you. From that game we stuck in there from the start to the end and we knew it was going to be tough.<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cOn Saturday we\u2019ve got the crowd behind us, we know what TYnecastle is going to be like and we need to be fully at it and start at 100 miles an hour.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n It seems that Robbie Neilsen , the Hearts coach, has his work cut out to instil total football\u00a0 at Tynecastle.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n mind you, there’s VAR for the first time in the league, which means two referees can now ignore Celtic player’s pleas for protection as the hammers are launched through the air towards them.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n BBC Scotland showed a documentary on what we can expect from the new system, with Ian Fyfe, the deputy head of refereeing being the man trying to explain what it all means.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Curiously, when explaining how it works, not one clip of one “rangers ” player featured in a “controversial ” moment.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n And when referees tried to explain the pressure from fans, only Celtic fans were shown….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Though they did have a “rangers ” fan telling us how bad the referees were….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Quite how having matches refereed in a new way part of the way into the season can be deemed fair is inexplicable, but then we do operate a league where some teams play less home games than away matches. And vice versa, so the sense of amateurishness and feeling that they’re making it up as they go along pervades.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n One referee said he hoped VAR would help him sleep at night, which I suppose is less controversial than being plied with drink at a Bellshill Bar to help get one’s head down.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n He went on to say that he hoped it would help the brotherhood to get more decisions right, an effect that could also be achieved by simply widening the recruitment net to people who have never held an Ibrox season ticket, and encouraging promotion for the few with aptitude that never had one.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n No one mentioned that having full time referees who could work on improving their knowledge and skills would probably have more effect.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n There seems to be a circling of the wagons at the SFA, an attempt to deflect blame from their officials onto a machine, whilst all the while the machine can only be as good as it’s operators.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n We’ll see tomorrow, when Joe Hart is penalised for handball in his penalty area, as his short sleeves will show up on camera as being those of an outfield player. Which they will call teething problems….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Still, it’s just as well for Fashion Sakala that there was no VAR when his side powered past Dundee in the League Cup….<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n The Sakala red card incident. — Lint (@Zeshankenzo) October 20, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n
2 kicks.
Off the ball. https:\/\/t.co\/Z3i5KvvdjX<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/OnTOjGzez8<\/a><\/p>\n