Mowbray a victim of ill-advised planning

The superior man, when resting in safety, does not forget that danger may come. When in a state of security he does not forget the possibility of ruin. When all is orderly, he does not forget that disorder may come. Thus his person is not endangered, and his States and all their clans are preserved.

Confucius

Well, we finally concede a goal and play a competitive game, with our Champions League hopes already severely undermined.

To some, this would appear to be an appropriate time to warn of the fate of other managers who lost their first game for Celtic – how some fans will never forgive Tony Mowbray.

If we read the Scottish tabloids – and those of us who try to avoid that embarrassing illness of the media world are ill-placed to comment on their responses – we might castigate Marc-Antoine Fortuné for a night of spurned chances.

But Celtic fans are already showing that, despite the worst wishes of our critics, we are capable of reacting proportionately to disappointment.

For Marc-Antoine, Wednesday night will surely not figure highly in his list of career highlights. He showed us what we were led to expect – he is willing, athletic and appears to have a finishing capability to match his scoring record. This, we were fully warned of before he signed the deal but we can reasonably expect that a few more matches will improve his effectiveness.

Landry N'Guémo continued to demonstrate that he could serve as a potent weapon in midfield, if he is careful with his distribution but then Massimo Donati, arguably the best technician left at the club, somehow managed to pass the ball to Dinamo players, scorning the vindication of a rare first-team selection. Those of us who have defended Donati are now starting to avoid people in corridors, recalling past “just wait and see” conversations.

But if we are going to single out individuals, let them be Shaun Maloney and Aiden McGeady. Quite frankly, it is time for these two laddies to act like men, to produce the goods for 90 minutes consistently. Instead, for too much of their careers, they have been playing like kids in front of their grandmothers, expecting words of praise and consolation, regardless of their ineptitudes.

“Some nice touches” and “effective for a while” are not phrases with which to heap praise on Celtic players. These two need to talk to someone like Bertie Auld and ask for private tuition in how to combine football with expediency in order to be effective. Hell, they could start by having a word with Peter Grant – by common consent not the most naturally talented Celt ever but one whose standing our two starlets look unlikely to challenge in their careers.

But in the case of Tony Mowbray, it would take a hard heart not to sympathise with him in his disappointment. True, he made a baffling decision in bringing on Danny Fox late in the game but a least he attempted to be proactive with his substitutions, quite rightly demonstrating to Fortuné and Scott McDonald that they will only play if they are doing so well. And it was refreshing to see him attempt to influence the game rather than waiting for something better to happen with a failing formula.

However, it would be wrong to fail to (again) point the finger at the real culprits – those who arranged a ridiculous pre-season schedule that was viable only in the case of winning the league title that they neglected to pursue professionally. Anyone with a modicum of sense would know that if there's one thing to avoid, it is playing a Champions League qualifier before even a domestic league game.

That can only be done by investing properly to win the SPL. Sending a team off to Australia in the aftermath of that gross negligence was utter folly – but then it had been pre-booked at the height of their naivety.

The outstanding image from last night was not of any player but of Messrs Reid, Desmond and Lawwell, sitting shiftily side-by-side in their directors' box that might equally have been a high court dock.

They may have sharp lawyers but the public are still likely to consider them guilty.






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Keep politics - and poppies - out of football

In these times when supporters are urged to keep politics and football separate, it is unfortunate that an SPL dictat will see all players forced to wear a poppy during matches this weekend.

More disappointing is the foolish and insensitive actions of Celtic’s representatives at SPL level, apparently waving through this decision with as much resistance as is met by teenaged neds encroaching on the pitch on Champions League nights.

Predictably, and understandably, Irish supporters have expressed their concern. The Association of Irish Celtic Supporters' Clubs was quoted as saying in their statement:

“While respectful of the symbolism of the poppy in Britain and keeping in mind those Celtic players, employees and supporters who either lost their lives or those of family members and friends in war, we are disappointed at this decision (apparently taken without consultation with supporters' groups) in light of the fact that the poppy is seen as a more divisive symbol in Ireland where many Celtic supporters are based and from where many others claim their heritage.

“Many supporters in general and members of the AICSC in particular will have wholly negative views of the British army's operations in Ireland and, indeed, have also lost their lives or those of family members and friends as a result. We feel that they too should be remembered at this time and regret the potentially divisive nature of this weekend's planned initiative.”

The AICSC statement was measured and appropriate, not least in recognising that players and fans fought in those wars, a practice that was supported by no less than Willie Maley.

However, with respect to the club’s thousands of Irish supporters, Peter Lawwell and John Reid might have focussed on other interests of even more direct relevance to their responsibilities. That is to Celtic players themselves.

It is quite conceivable that Celtic could have four Irish nationals, a German, an Italian and a Japanese player featuring in this weekend’s match against Motherwell.

Even given the disdain with which the sensitivities of the Irish are routinely dismissed in Scotland, did Celtic officials consider the dilemmas posed to players like Massimo Donati, Andreas Hinkel or Shunsuke Nakamura to be forced to wear a symbol in remembrance only of those who were engaged in war against their ancestors and countrymen?

How, one wonders, would it be received if Nakamura was to instead prefer to wear a chrysanthemum or any player wear a white poppy as a symbol of peace?

It is every nation’s right to remember those who died in its armed forces, whether in defence of the nation or in blindly pursuing the political aims of its government. For that reason, audible or visual protests are not appropriate on these occasions.

However, questions must be asked of the Celtic hierarchy – not to mention those of other clubs. Did anyone ask Andrius Velicka or any of the other Lithuanian players in Scotland how they feel about the poppy, given that their country fought against the Russians during WWI?

What about Andis Shala, a Kosovar German playing for Dundee Utd?

Does anyone care about the feelings of the many Irish internationals at Dundee Utd and elsewhere, instructed to honour men who became Black & Tans or who were serving when Lloyd George threatened “an immediate and terrible war” in 1921, not to mention those who took part in the summary executions of the 1916 rebels?

Only those with Britain’s famed insularity could fail to recognise that wearing a poppy – while quite acceptable for those who choose to do so – has oppressive political connotations for those whose national loyalties and familial interest in the wars lie elsewhere.

That Celtic – and every other club – should fail to defend the interests of their own employees in such a matter is a disgrace.

The Scottish Poppy Appeal does a great deal of fine work for men and women who are deserving of the support of their nation.

That does not mean that anyone should be required to wear a symbol that, above all, celebrates victory in this the most obsessed of nations with its wartime past “glories”.

One need only witness the abuse directed at those who choose not to wear a poppy – or to wear a white poppy symbolising a commitment to peace – to understand that this is an intrinsically political statement

Is it really so much worse to sing The Boys of the Old Brigade (a song your writer would deprecate in any Celtic context)?

Given that our chairman, according to George Galloway, was once known to make it his business to educate new old Labour recruits in the Irish Republican songbook before going on to be an enthusiastic protagonist in Britain’s illegal wars, it is perhaps unsurprising that Celtic officials display a split personality disorder on this issue – even to the extent of neglecting the interests of their own employees.

The Celtic supporters, who better understand the identity of the club are likely to be less negligent, even if this is one occasion for silent dissent.





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We did what? The story of Celtic's season

Key decisions that shaped a season

It has, in case anyone has failed to notice, been a challenging few weeks for Celtic supporters. Our season has gone belly-up faster than Kevin Thomson with soft-tissue damage. The once beautiful Bentley of our dreams lies ruined, scarred by a scorned lover’s anti-freeze, facing the indignity of being in the wake of a chuntering blue Skoda Favorit.

There is only one reasoned response in such circumstances. Bellow hernia-inducing boos urging foul prejudice against diminutive red-heads. After the storm, the fight in the pub and the note from the wife revealing she has started a new life in Bognor Regis, it becomes the turn of the unbearable chatterers to whine: “Where did it all go wrong?”

Well, are you sitting comfortably? Good, then I’ll begin to chatter.

We failed to replace Neil Lennon

Or rather, to revamp a midfield that often looked vulnerable last season, we adopted a new system and recruited two new players to form the axis of our team. Regardless of what might be read elsewhere, neither Massimo Donati nor Scott Brown are bad midfielders – both have outstanding qualities.

But once upon a time the received wisdom was that it took any player a full season to settle in at Celtic. In the most important area of the field, we relied on two players who would both experience major cultural changes: Donati in a new country and league; Brown experiencing life with a new level of expectation and responsibility.

Those challenges are difficult enough at the best of times – when you can’t be sure of turning to your midfield partner because he is having a tough time too, it makes it all the more difficult.

We failed to replace Neil Lennon

“I realise that technically speaking that's only one flaw, but it was such a biggie I thought it was worth mentioning twice." Kryten

With the exit of Lennon, we didn’t just lose a player, we lost a captain. And what a can of worms that would open up.

The problem was that there was no single viable candidate, partly as a result of the massive overhaul in playing personnel that Gordon Strachan was forced to undertake. The mature, experienced leaders like Paul Hartley and Steven Pressley were just in the door. The higher-profile internationals like Artur Boruc, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Thomas Gravesen, and Shunsuke Nakamura were also either fairly new to the club, in playing positions that people rarely favour as captain, ready to be loaned out, or less than fluent in English.

Captains are often easy to spot – they’re the ones who always seem to have their tonsils displayed in photos. But in the circumstances, given the squad profile, Stephen McManus was the correct choice.

McManus was the longest-serving player at the club and a solid performer but also a young man expected to occasionally cajole and sometimes harangue older players who had achieved more in the game than he had. Not easy.

And there was another issue – Strachan knew full well that once a captain was picked, he effectively had to be an automatic choice on the team sheet. Any other player can be changed – the captain of Celtic is only ever “dropped” prompting speculation on his future. Picking his captain had profound implications in terms of influence and team selection.

The sale of Kenny Miller

Kenny Miller, as anyone could see, didn’t score enough goals for a striker. On the plus side, he was keen as mustard, fitter than a butcher’s dog, and more effective in making goals for other players than taking them for himself – true altruism in green and white.

In isolation, selling Kenny Miller wasn’t hugely significant but it did leave the team looking short of attacking options. Who would be thrown on to hare behind defences and cause havoc by his sheer energy? Who would bring a different dynamic to a team that was still happy to make Deek Yeah-but-no-but-yeah-but Riordan a rich man? Nobody. But, against his will, Miller would be punted, regardless of the fact that Celtic were trading in an option for around £3m.

Failing to account for second season syndrome

The unique phenomena that are believed to be attached to clubs like Celtic include the bizarre tendency of players who have one good season to be completely pants the next.

See Shunsuke Nakamura and Lee Naylor. Nakamura, of course, was injured for much of the season. But when he started to complain that it hurt him to kick the ball hard, there was a serious warning sign there. Suddenly, Nakamura looked like the lightweight with fancy touches he had been dubbed: okay in a confident team that was flying – little or no use in a chasing side with the heeby-jeebies.

Naylor, on the other hand was last season’s sensational find and this season’s left-sided equine. His ferocious runs, and terrifying early crosses were replaced by a player who looked to be waiting for a boy in a sombrero to wave a carrot at him before hoofing the odd ball on payment of a sugar-lump.

The intransigence of Gordon Strachan

Let’s get one thing clear – this blog is on Gordon Strachan’s side. He achieved great things in two seasons, dealt admirably with the issue of following a “hero” and has demonstrated that he is a clever man who thinks about the game.

The problem with thinkers, though, is that sometimes they fear that which they cannot understand. Remember when Davie Hay used to take off Celtic’s best player Paul McStay to let Roy Aitken charge through the midfield on his “surges”? It seemed ridiculous and could be rationalised only by blaming Alan McInally for ruining the Maestro’s passing with an inability to remain onside – but, time after time, it worked.

Strachan brought a few players in, notably Barry Robson, Georgios Samaras and Ben Hutchinson. But only Samaras was given much of a chance to make an impact. Robson doesn’t have the full technical refinement of Nakamura, but he is just the sort of player needed when a team is crying out for someone to be effective. Hutchinson – we don’t know. One for the future? Then why dismiss Miller and Maciej Zurawski unless you have faith in the replacements?

In recent months, Strachan has rarely made any significant tactical decisions that turned games around. He has retained the system he thought best and has been painfully slow to make confident, attacking substitutions.

The trouble is when managers cannot be swayed from the notion that their team is playing the best way possible and that it is only a matter of time before it comes right, it usually ends in tears.

Which brings us back to where we started. And so to bed...