Celtic 69 and out – a time for pride, recognition, reflection and reality

So, the inevitable happened. Celtic lost a domestic game in Scotland after 69 unsuccessful attempts by Scottish opposition.

In every defeat, there is disappointment (and none of us would have chosen to have that British-record run come to an end in the manner that it did) but there is also immense pride in having witnessed a Celtic squad excel to such heights of superiority over our domestic rivals.

For that, the players and coaching staff will go down in history as one of the all-time great teams in British football.

And, if Brendan Rodgers is the supreme architect of this achievement, special credit should also go to Scott Brown as his engineer-in-chief.

Brendan has made Celtic a 21^st-century club in its approach to the game, confounding many (including this silly blogger) who were sceptical about his ability to take a place in the top tier of managers.

Broony has, in the Brendan Rodgers era, cemented his place as a Celtic great – both as a midfielder and a captain.

He has had his detractors but can now be mentioned in the same breath as Billy McNeill, Danny McGrain and Roy Aitken as captains; and Bobby Murdoch, Bertie Auld and Paul McStay as midfielders.

But all the players and coaches deserve to be lauded for their contributions to this latest chapter of the History Bhoys. No one can ever detract from their being part of a remarkable feat.

But, if there is one good thing about the loss, it is the removal of the Albatross that can be record-chasing (or defending).

When, under Neil Lennon, we were pursuing and breaking the clean-sheet record, it seemed to me to come at the expense of player development. Everything seemed to be about not losing a goal and team selections appeared to be cautious despite a comfortable position in the league, with promising youth players being benched or loaned out. (This cynic suspected that the board was especially keen to inflate the transfer value of Fraser Forster. He still does.)

But in recent months – arguably since the start of the season – the unbeaten record seemed to weigh Celtic down, rather than imbuing the team with assuredness. That’s largely speculative, of course.

But one thing that can be said with some confidence is that the season to date has shown few indications of the admittedly radical progress that was seen last season.

We still have comfortably the best team in Scotland but, if anything, we have regressed since Tom Rogic rallied through the rain to score that Scottish Cup Final winner against a backdrop of lightning and ecstasy.

Looking back to this blog’s reviewing of the squad, there are comments that look well-observed and hopelessly ill-judged.

On the plus side, I was sceptical about the contribution that Johnny Hayes would make or even if he would sign. I expected another dominant season from Scott Sinclair and thought that we were a Paddy-Roberts-signing away from a devastating wide-right position.

I highlighted Celtic’s need for depth in defence, as cover for Gordon, Šimunović and Boyata, while noting Lustig’s increasing frailty.

On the other hand, I was predicting that Gordon could make the keeper’s position his own into his 40s and full of praise for the burgeoning pairing in the centre of defence.

As a mere blogger, rather than a “bona-fide journalist”, I can say that I was half-right about Johnny Hayes, right about Lustig, right about needing defensive cover and shown to be as wrong as you can be about our goalkeeper and first-choice central defenders.

I will not turn this into a diatribe about individual players save to say that Scott Sinclair – in the absence of competition for his place – has disappointed, Craig Gordon has often looked like a rabbit in the headlights in big games (I thought he looked nervous in the Scottish Cup Final and terrified in the Scotland-England international) and shown feebleness for much of this season.

Boyata has regressed to precisely the player we saw under Ronny Deila, unable to concentrate on scratching his arse and chewing gum at the same time, while Šimunović has the ability to appear unflustered, however many cataclysmic mistakes he makes in a game.

They have become the perfect combination of bewilderment and wryness. Boyata exhibits that “what just happened there” sense of decency that at least looks as if he understands that something has happened in his sleep. Šimunović reacts to every cock-up with that wry smile that almost seems to relish saying: “This is just the paradox of me.”

With Lustig, it’s simpler. Crudely put his heart’s in the right place but his legs won’t follow.

But what do all four of these defensive players – and Scott Sinclair – have in common?

There is no meaningful and sustained competition for their places in the team.

Anthony Ralston looked ready to make a strong challenge for the right-back position before being affected by injuries. Dorus De Vries remains “damaged goods” in the eyes of many fans. Erik Sviatchenko got injured but was, nevertheless, being seen as unlikely to feature in a team that likes to play the ball through all positions.

Kristofer Ajer is probably not quite ready and it could be very unwise to put such a young player into a malfunctioning defence, with all the attendant risks to his confidence and reputation.

Scott Sinclair looks to be demonstrating the confidence issues that, indirectly, brought him to us in the first place.

Personally, I do not get the impression that he is complacent but rather that the reason that such a high-quality player landed in our lap may have been that he struggles to cope with expectation.

But casting amateur speculation aside, there is a picture of a squad that showed exceptional progress, barely-strengthened in the summer in problematic positions and now being exposed in those same areas.

Admittedly, this offers no explanation for the “Stuart Armstrong situation” and James Forrest has continued to perform well, even after the Patrick Roberts injury that looks likely to have ended his involvement with Celtic.

So, perhaps now is the time to ask the $64,000-question: Is Brendan Rodgers being fully supported by Peter Lawwell and the board?

Further, were Brendan’s comments a few weeks ago about “in the time we’re here” and “you don’t get long at the big clubs” (paraphrasing) in any way related to dissatisfaction with the support he has been given, having brought great success and even greater revenue?

We have interesting times ahead in the next transfer window.

On form, do we have a better starting-eleven now than we did in May? I would say not.

The level that our team has achieved may seem to represent a comfortable plateau to our directors, high above local rivals, but the manner in which our defence has been exposed in recent months suggests that complacency at boardroom level may lead to further disappointment.

We were hammered in the Champions League and have now failed to win a home game in the group stages in two campaigns, taking just one point from twelve.

So, where are we going?

Yes, we are in a strong position in the league and might yet scrape a second treble.

But some of us who have become accustomed to corporate Celtic might reasonably choose now to raise the issues.

Regardless of any nonsense Peter Lawwell tried to pull by saying that “the Plan” had allowed the club to secure Brendan Rodgers, it is self-evident that Brendan’s appointment is the antithesis of the “cheap-manager-willing-to-relinquish-player-recruitment” plan.

Brendan Rodgers has a laudable and impressive record of developing talent. But is charging defenceless into European competition really part of his club-building plan for Celtic?

Time – just a few weeks of it – will tell.

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