{"id":5716,"date":"2014-09-26T11:32:02","date_gmt":"2014-09-26T10:32:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5716"},"modified":"2014-09-26T11:32:02","modified_gmt":"2014-09-26T10:32:02","slug":"celtic-diary-friday-september-26-here-we-go-to-two-in-a-row","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=5716","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Friday September 26: Here We Go To Two In A Row!"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Celtic face St. Mirren in Paisley tomorrow lunchtime, thus avoiding the embarassment of any of the players grabbing a pie to keep them going until tea-time.<\/p>\n<p>Its a great opportunity for manager Ronny Deila to equal his best winning run as a Celtic manager, having previously only reached the giddy heights of two successive wins ( against full time teams ) with the wins over St. Johnstone and Dundee Utd.<\/p>\n<p>Like a steam train, Deila has decided to start slowly with the aim of becoming unstoppable when he gathers speed.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cWe want some momentum now. We want to win as many games in a row as possible.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cThe team are capable of winning 10 games in a row, or something like that, but I\u2019m not saying we are definitely going to do it right now.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cWhat I will say is we are definitely going to win the league. The goal is the Treble.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cIn the cups everything can happen but we have to set high demands and high goals for ourselves. We will see in the end how that goes.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cI felt comfortable on Wednesday against Hearts. I felt like that was how I want to see my team play.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cOf course there is still more progress we can make but the structure is better defensively and we know it is going to be hard for other teams to beat us.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cAlso, I like the atmosphere in our dressing room. It\u2019s been like that since I\u2019ve been here. Some of the boys have been here many years and are good boys who want good results.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThe new signings have only been here three weeks \u2013 maybe only two if you take the international break into account \u2013 so we need to breathe a bit and let them settle in.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cThere are good relationships forming between the players. That has been the case with the strikers for a long time, where Stokesy and Kris have a good understanding.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cStefan Johansen and Scott Brown have a good relationship and against Hearts Stokesy and Emilio were starting to get something together.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cBut relationships between two players are one thing. When we get good relationships with sets of three players things will become really good. That takes time and a different style from what they are used to but we\u2019re working on it every day.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>I&#8217;ve read that two or three times now, \u00a0once in astonishment,\u00a0once in disbelief, and finally once in abject terror.<\/p>\n<p>Whilst I can hardly claim to be Deilas greatest supporter, I can claim to be a fairly loyal-if a little fickle at times, but at least blatantly fickle, supporter.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s talking about players forming good relationships now-despite the fact they have played together for years in one case.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s talking about winning ten games in a row. Like its some kind of achievement.<\/p>\n<p>He says the way his team played against Hearts made him comfortable. That scares me. It absolutely petrifies me.<\/p>\n<p>Sure, we beat Hearts, but a better side would have made more of a game of it.<\/p>\n<p>Oh no, he&#8217;s not finished yet&#8230;.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cPsychology is important in football. We hadn\u2019t kept a clean sheet for a while so that was important.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cThe team\u2019s defence was good and the front players worked hard as a unit. The structure of our side was good and that\u2019s why we had a lot of counter-attacks and chances.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cThere is a better balance in the team now but everything takes time.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cYou can see what we are after \u2013 quick reactions in defence, 11 players to work together and be compact, with high pressure.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>\u201cThat will make us fitter and stronger. We will have the ball more. We also have to develop a pattern of play so we can open up defences, like we did in the first half against Hearts.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>He is watching a different game from us. Weren&#8217;t Hearts all over us until we scored ?<\/p>\n<p>Deila says he is confident of winning the league. But then, he says a lot of things.<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com\/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR0eqF75cj0oJV24VztjTq5xs0NphnB9-TsoT_AQkzN1Ijk-MgZ\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p>Someone who perhaps has a greater grip on reality, but not by much, is Ally McCoist, currently helping the second incarnation of Rangers shed as much money as possible in the shortest time available.<\/p>\n<p>He was apparently happy that his side avoided Celtic in the League Cup, on account of the hiding they would have taken, according to some, but more likely due to the prospect of his support disgracing themselves again;<\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u2018We certainly weren\u2019t pining for an Old Firm game although we would have taken whoever the cup draw gave us,\u2019 said McCoist.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u2018It\u2019s going to be a tough game against St Johnstone. But it\u2019s one which can hopefully be put on the back burner a little bit.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u2018We\u2019ll certainly be doing that because we\u2019ve got some tough league games to concentrate on before we concentrate our thoughts on the League Cup again.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u2018We said if we could get a home tie we would take it and we\u2019ve got that against a side which, on its day, is capable of giving anybody a game.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u2018St Johnstone are a really solid, hard-working team, who ended up winning the Scottish Cup quite comfortably last season.<\/em><\/p>\n<p class=\"mol-para-with-font\" style=\"color: #000000;\"><em>\u2018As much as we\u2019re pleased with the draw, we\u2019re certainly not underestimating the task ahead of us.\u2019<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/i\/pix\/2014\/09\/25\/1411665811273_wps_32_Rangers_FC_via_Press_Asso.jpg\" alt=\"McCoist (left) is enjoying the cup run but his priority is  getting Rangers promoted to the Scottish Premiership\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A shortage of pies at their last game against Falkirk reduced the great man to eating a couple of his fingers, while his assistant Kenny MacDowell desperately tried to suppress an outbreak of intestinal gas.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p>Barry Ferguson, who played with the original Rangers, now defunct, has his own views on the subject of a clash between Celtic and Second Rangers;<\/p>\n<p><em><span style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">Personally, it can\u2019t come quickly enough because it\u2019s been badly missed and that has been the feeling of many\u00a0<\/span><a style=\"color: #ed002d;\" href=\"http:\/\/www.dailyrecord.co.uk\/all-about\/celtic-fc\" target=\"_blank\">Celtic<\/a><span style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0fans in the past two years. But I\u2019m not so sure they\u2019re as eager for a crack at Rangers now.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Perpetuating the same club myth, Ferguson is one of many who claim the now historical fixture was the highlight of the season. A theory rejected by the police, ambulance workers, hospital staff and anyone else who had to witness the carnage away from the ground , especially if the Ibrox club lost.<\/p>\n<p>He&#8217;s right though, we&#8217;re not eager for a crack at the new club. Thats because its followed virtually solely now by the more rabid section of their support, most of the decent ones have realised its a different club, and now simply a vehicle for stripping as much cash as possible from the memory of the old one.<\/p>\n<p>Ferguson works for a national newspaper, the Record, and in keeping with recent Record scoops such as &#8221; The Vow &#8221; , when English politicians promised not to take the piss out of Scots if there was a &#8220;no&#8221; vote in the independence referendum, before promptly taking the piss out of Scots, Ferguson continued to spout his nonsense, which clearly received no editorial checks for accuracy;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>But there is no doubt the gap is closing. In fact I believe the squads are pretty evenly matched in terms of quality. But regardless of that I don\u2019t think you can ever say one is 10 years ahead of the other.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>The thing about the Old Firm is that superiority goes in cycles. That\u2019s always been the case and it probably always will be.<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><em>They simply don\u2019t get so far ahead that the other one can\u2019t quickly catch up.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0They do when one of them has ceased to exist. As the paper itself reported;<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/?attachment_id=5717\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-5717\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-5717\" src=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/rip-rangers.jpg\" alt=\"rip rangers\" width=\"199\" height=\"253\" srcset=\"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/rip-rangers.jpg 199w, https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/rip-rangers-117x150.jpg 117w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0If the Record \u00a0was a tv show, it would be cancelled before the second series, so frequent are the continuity errors.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0All of a sudden the MSM want another &#8220;old firm &#8221; game, which in their minds mean the circle is complete, and everything has returned to normal.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0Thankfully, the venture capitalists still have to have their final say.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0Wim Jansen, who gave us the day we stopped the ten, was pictured yesterday in the Diary getting married.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0He does look a wee bit different from his days at Celtic doesn&#8217;t he. Especially in that dress.<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\u00a0Can anyone see a familiar face in this picture ?<\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/2.bp.blogspot.com\/-nA891zgTpIM\/TrTlkY-WtOI\/AAAAAAAAC1Y\/z6pg7L43kpM\/s320\/Scan10350.JPG\" alt=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\n<p style=\"color: #2c2c2c;\">\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Celtic face St. Mirren in Paisley tomorrow lunchtime, thus avoiding the embarassment of any of the players grabbing a pie to keep them going until&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5718,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","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\/2014\/09\/please-shut-up.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-1uc","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5716"}],"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=5716"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5716\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5719,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5716\/revisions\/5719"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5718"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5716"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5716"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5716"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}