Magpies Stuff Celts, No Need to Worry
By: JT | July 27th, 2007
That look from King Artur says it all. A frustrating first-half performance against Newcastle saw Celtic down 3-0 at the break, and an improved display during the second half left the final score at 4-1.
Scott Brown has become the heartbeat of the squad already, although it doesn’t really look like his incredible enthusiasm is rubbing off on too many of his teammates at the moment. The man is all over the place, and his partnership in the center of the park with Massimo Donati is getting there.
Another positive from this run of poor yet completely meaningless results is that the second halves have been massive improvements from the first on each occasion.
The Bhoys are still looking a little slow at the back. They really need to find a suitable partner for McManus, even if that means splashing some cash. Youngster Paul Caddis looked good at right-back. We’re missing Nakamura on the right, but the strikers created more chances yesterday than they did in the two games in the US combined.
You have got to love the fact that Wee Gordon Strachan was so upbeat about the play of the squad, if not the result. There are those that will call his comments delusional, but not me. None of us knows what he’s been trying to accomplish tactically. If ever there is a time to test stuff out, its now. I have no doubt he’d rip into the team publicly if he needed to, but he’s pleased with what he’s seeing. It worked last season, so there really is no reason to think that it can’t again.
If the Celts had won 4-1, I’d be pleased, but I wouldn’t be buying my tickets to Moscow for the CL Final quite yet. Similarly, going off the deep end over a friendly defeat would be just as crazy.
Its all about perspective. The Celts host Parma on Sunday in their preseason finale. The good stuff is right around the corner.
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JT,
What you’ve said about Strachan’s thoughts is spot on. Here are the revelant portions of his quote:
“There are one or two little failings at the moment which can easily be put right. They are just functional things which we will keep to ourselves.”
I’m previously noted that despite a horrible pre-season last year, the Bhoys turned out pretty good; so, I’m not one to put much stock in these non-competition matches.
However, the match coming up with Parma is important. It’s the only pre-season match at Paradise, and the last one before the start of the SPL. If the Bhoys don’t come out firing in the first half, then I’ll start to worry about Kilmarnock, and thank goodness the league season didn’t begin with Hearts.
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I agree, the Parma match requires a good performance. It’ll be in front of the home crowd who may be a little restless, and they’ll demand a good show to build some confidence heading into the opener.
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Gary,
Thanks for posting the link to that article.
If the situation is acurately described, then I’d agree that those minority of the Celtic fans certainly behaved like scum.
However, I’d also reserve the “scum” description for the True-Faith writer if his description is exaggerated.
I do want to point out one thing that he wrote that certainly rings true:
Its not the vulgar displays of their Roman Catholicism - huge crucifixes prominently displayed by some who I’d guess haven’t found their way into a Church for many a year - that’s a matter for them, though it cheapens an ancient religion in a way none of their detractors could ever do. Not so much Catholic kitsch but bling.
As a proud, practicing Catholic, I, too, find it vulgar when people wear crucifixes or rosaries without any sentiment toward them. They are not “gang signs” and shouldn’t be used that way.
Rosaries are meant to be prayed; crucifixes are meant to remind us of Christ’s sacrifice for us.
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I had heard that there were some arrests, but didn’t really know what the extent of the problems were. Unfortunately, that’s part and parcel of traveling fans, and its not representative of Celtic fans as a whole. I would think there’d be wider press coverage if the situation were so out of hand that it would cause a club to think about refusing to invite another club back.
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