{"id":5571,"date":"2014-08-24T11:00:53","date_gmt":"2014-08-24T10:00:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5571"},"modified":"2014-08-24T11:00:53","modified_gmt":"2014-08-24T10:00:53","slug":"celtic-diary-sunday-august-24-the-mourning-after","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5571","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Sunday August 24: The Mourning After…"},"content":{"rendered":"

“Go out and prove you are worthy of the jersey ”<\/p>\n

Probably not the exact words Deila used just before kick off yesterday in Inverness, but they would have been along those lines. Nobody really took him up on it, and the game would have shown the new manager what most of us had suspected all along.<\/p>\n

The squad isn’t as strong as it should be, and this season either we have got worse, or the other sides are getting better.<\/p>\n

The truth is probably somewhere in between, but its worth noting that Inverness didn’t look like a team who are lucky to be at the top of the league, they were organised, strong and were a much better passing side than in previous years, and it would have taken a full strength side to beat them. They raised their game, we lowered ours, and were unlucky to lose.<\/p>\n

The result doesn’t matter. The conclusions drawn by the management will be quite far reaching , however.<\/p>\n

Thats not to say that there will be a fire sale at Celtic, but when enquiries are made about certain players and their availability, the club will listen for a wee bit longer before putting the phone down.<\/p>\n

It looks like the end of the road for Teemu Pukki. It looks like the end of the road for Amido Balde, Leigh Griffiths and Dylan McGeouch may not feature again either. The remaining Twardzik still has a way to go before he is ready to be Izzys understudy, and Lukasz Zaluska will be ringing Anders Lindegaard to see if theres any truth in the rumours he’s coming north.<\/p>\n

Efe Ambrose looked more comfortable on the right, but theres already a lot of competition for that berth, and the introduction of Jason Deneyaar makes his place in the centre less than certain, and Kris Commons looked like he was trying too hard, and his shoulders slumped a couple of inches every time something didn’t quite comke off for him.<\/p>\n

Overall, the passing was dreadful, the composure non -existant, and creativity was just something that happens to other teams.<\/p>\n

The defeat, which came about when Eoghan O’Connell found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time and the ball hit him and ended up in the net, means Inverness are now four points ahead of Celtic, and the league table has a strange look about it..<\/p>\n

PREMIERSHIP TABLE<\/h4>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
POS<\/th>\nTEAM<\/th>\nPLD<\/th>\nGD<\/th>\nPTS<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n
1<\/td>\n<\/td>\nInverness CT<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n5<\/td>\n10<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
2<\/td>\n\"Up\"<\/td>\nHamilton Accies<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n2<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
3<\/td>\n\"Up\"<\/td>\nDundee United<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n9<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
4<\/td>\n\"Up\"<\/td>\nKilmarnock<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
5<\/td>\n\"Down\"<\/td>\nCeltic<\/a><\/td>\n3<\/td>\n7<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
6<\/td>\n\"Up\"<\/td>\nDundee<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n1<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
7<\/td>\n\"Up\"<\/td>\nSt Johnstone<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n-2<\/td>\n6<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
8<\/td>\n\"Down\"<\/td>\nPartick Thistle<\/a><\/td>\n3<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n4<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
9<\/td>\n\"Down\"<\/td>\nAberdeen<\/a><\/td>\n3<\/td>\n-2<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
10<\/td>\n\"Down\"<\/td>\nMotherwell<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n-4<\/td>\n3<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
11<\/td>\n<\/td>\nSt Mirren<\/a><\/td>\n3<\/td>\n-4<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
12<\/td>\n<\/td>\nRoss County<\/a><\/td>\n4<\/td>\n-7<\/td>\n0<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

 <\/p>\n

Well, if we wanted competition, we’ve got it. Its great for the game, and it means we need to raise our game as well. Nothing is guaranteed in football, and we need to get focussed very, very quickly.<\/p>\n

Ronny Deila spoke after the game, and he made a lot of sense;<\/p>\n

\u201cYou could say that the gamble backfired but we will see on Tuesday whether we regret it or not.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Asked if a win will make it a worthwhile sacrifice, he said: \u201cOf course \u2013 but I still didn\u2019t want to lose this match.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIn the first half we had the biggest chances. But we weren\u2019t effective enough and in the second half it was quite even.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was 1-1 in chances and they scored. Inverness played well and we have to congratulate them.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI learned a lot though \u2013 every match you get new answers.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it was too many new players at the same time and we didn\u2019t get the performance that we wanted. Now we have to focus on Tuesday night.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0He’s showing a determination not to take any chances whatsoever before Tuesday second leg against Maribor. Had he played his first picks yesterday, and someone had picked up a knock, he would have been slaughtered for it.<\/p>\n

However, he isn’t going to put all the players left out straight back into the team, which in itself is a nice wee bit of mind games ahead of the Maribor clash..<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course some of them are going to be involved. We don\u2019t have so many players we can switch the whole team.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s important to watch this game back and see where people stand.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Efe Ambrose , who had a good game yesterday, was a little more honest;<\/p>\n

\u201cThe manager should be angry. We never gave it our all. The last 20 minutes was not us, because we lost hope, conceding that goal.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think it was too big a risk, changing everybody. Anyone who comes on for Celtic has to be ready to play.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cNow we will be at Celtic Park against Maribor with all the fans. I don\u2019t think they can stop us.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0The absence of Virgil van Dijk has got them all excited down on Tyneside;<\/p>\n

Celtic suffered their first defeat of the season yesterday as they went down 1-0 at Inverness, and it\u2019s interesting and\u00a0been pointed out to us by one of our readers \u2013 that Newcastle target Virgil van Dijk wasn\u2019t in the squad.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

And when you think that\u00a0<\/span>Neil Warnock\u00a0 told Robbie Savage and Darren Fletcher<\/a>on BT Sport yesterday, that Alan Pardew had told him that\u00a0Newcastle\u2019s tenth signing would be announced today \u2013 that\u2019s kind of interesting.\u00a0<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

There was news a couple of days ago that van Dijk had been affected by his being linked with a number of Premier League clubs this summer \u2013 including Newcastle and Southampton \u2013 and he could well have been rested because of that, and he would be ready for Wednesday night\u2019s important game against the Slovenian side.<\/em><\/p>\n

But of course if his signing for Newcastle is imminent, as Warnock said yesterday, he would not have played yesterday.<\/em><\/p>\n

This could be a case of putting two and two together and getting five of course \u2013 but at the very least it\u2019s interesting.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0And when you are a Newcastle United fan, you are always on the lookout for something that’s interesting, to make life worthwhile.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Similar, of course, to fans of Second Rangers, who are always desperate for good news, or “moonbeams ” , as they used to be known when they were kept in the dark and fed on bullshit by their old club and its pets in the media. Some things, it seems, never change.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Matthew Lindsay, who astonishingly earns a living writing about football, is a self confessed Inverness fan, and you would have thought he would have been delighted with his sides win yesterday. After all, theres nothing wrong with a little bias when you support a team…<\/p>\n

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