Celtic v. Dundee United Preview

By: Matt | September 11th, 2009

I could not find a Dundee United blogger to pick their brain about the Arabs on, so it seems your stuck with me, something some new readers don’t seem to like. Maybe Gerry will accuse me of getting our opponent wrong, saying something like “TYPICAL LAZY JOURNALISM!11!1one!! WE PLAY DUNDEE FC, NOT UNITED!” Don’t worry Gerry, I’m doing this to save you from showing yourself up again. Anyways, Saturday finally brings the return of club football. Was it just me, or was this international week particularly long and dull? Sure it was nice to see the US and Irish National teams get some good results, but even though I’m not a huge Scotland fan, it was tough to see their World Cup dream crushed like that. However, with England actually, you know, qualifying for an international tournament your typical football television programs on Sky Sports and Fox Soccer Channel WERE INSUFFERABLE! I don’t want to get too far off topic, but have these pundits not learned anything about England in an international competition? They’ll look very promising, until the quarter finals and then bottle it! Sorry, that’s way too much England talk for this blog. Getting back on track, the SPL Manager of the Month’s squad will be taking on the SPL Player of the Month’s team on Saturday. Tony Mowbray was awarded the Manager of the Month for August, while Dundee United forward Danny Cadamarteri got the top honors for the month of August in the SPL.

Both teams have played well in their first three games, with Celtic winning all three of their games while Dundee United have gotten two wins and a draw in their three matches. The Arabs have beaten Falkirk in the opening weekend 2-1, a 2-0 victory over expected third place rivals Hearts (who have hilariously been shit so far), and then a surprising 0-0 draw against St. Mirren in their last game. Cadamateri has been the best player for the Arabs so far, netting three goals in three games, so he will be someone that Celtic have to focus on. United might have to rely on Cadamateri more, as Mihael Kovacevic is likely to miss out with a virus and Jon Daly, Francisco Sandaza and Kevin Smith are injured. However, Andy Webster has shaken off a groin problem and Dundee United captain Lee Wilkie returns to the bench after injury.

Despite some controversy on their transfer season tactics, there has been a relatively good feeling around Celtic, due in large part to the coaching of Tony Mowbray. Mowbray’s attacking style has been both successful and a joy to watch for Celtic fans so far. However, Tony Mowbray’s job now truly begins as the Celtic squad gets a little thinner due to injuries and *ahem* “suspensions”. Aiden McGeady will serve his suspension for running into the outstretched foot of a Hibernian defender. Marc Antoine Fortune has had a good start for Celtic in his first three games, scoring two goals and performing his job of holding the ball up for the other attacking options well. However, Celtic and Tony Mowbray will be without Fortune for at least six weeks with knee problems. Everyone’s favorite new Chinese signing, Zheng Zhi, is not likely to feature Saturday as he lacks match fitness. Scott Brown should be available though, after midweek injury fears were quelled after his shift for the Scottish National team. Brown’s Scotland teammate, Stephen McManus, also featured in the Scot’s World Cup Qualifiers and is available to Tony Mowbray for this weekend after a long rehab from off-season knee surgery.

Celtic might have to grind this one out, like they did against Hibs in their last game. Scott Brown might be called to lead the offensive attacks, which is a very scary thought to many Celtic supporters. I am not sure what the striker pairing will be, especially since when Scott McDonald and Georgios Samaras share a field, they turn from goal scorers to whinny, pouting babies together. Perhaps we could see a 4-5-1, with Brown playing up behind whoever the lone striker is (A role I think McDonald plays better than Samaras), Shaun Maloney on one wing and, why the hell not, Paddy McCourt on the other. The reserve team Maradona should be able to bring some of that flare from the reserves to the first team, right? I guess we shall see. Until then, KEEP THE FAITH!