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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Celtic 0- 5 Paris St Germain: Proud of my team in the soft power era. Yes, seriously!

Losing is never acceptable. When is a Celtic 5-0 home loss to Paris St Germain a matter for Pride?

They came, we all saw, we lost. But, in defeat, we remain “unconquered”.

What rambling nonsense is this?

Well, firstly, this blogger never accepts defeat, never mind emphatic losses, at Celtic Park of all places.

A year ago, we lost 7-0 in Barcelona, arguably a comparable scoreline, given that we were away from home then but, tonight, we were at the often-feared Celtic Park.

And yet, the performances were starkly contrasting. In the Camp Nou, our fledgling team seemed out of its depth, lacking confidence and, essentially, courage. But it was clear that we were on the beginning of a journey. We just didn’t know where we were going or how fast.

Tonight, we suffered a historic defeat. In no way could that scoreline be considered good enough. But it should not be seen as humiliating or embarrassing.

Make no mistake – the day we accept defeats as part of our story, we will be on the road to mediocrity. And that is somewhere no Celtic fan would be content to be.

On the other hand, tonight I saw the most expensive football team ever assembled playing brilliant, sometimes breathtakingly-good football, a team teeming with talent in every position, which often looked like their players were wearing magnetic boots while dealing with a light, ferrous ball.

PSG played a game that few of us will ever see in football. When the great Barcelona team played something comparable to that style, the football world Kowtowed in appreciation.

But, as media figures will emphasise, Celtic suffered the club’s worst home defeat in 100 years.

And yet, what I saw tonight was a team that played with the heart and courage that was so missing from the Camp Nou 12 months ago.

And a special mention for Anthony Ralston, who played like a lion.

I saw a team with real quality, going for it and maintaining a level of professionalism that the sports pages are unlikely to reflect tomorrow.

For those who may wonder what the headline refers to, “soft power” is considered the new, big thing in politics and international diplomacy. Crudely summarised, it is the understanding that internationally-prestigious events or media coverage have a major impact in raising the international standing of nations and other entities.

The oil-wealthy Qatari government that funds Paris St Germain may or may not see establishing footballing credibility in advance of the World Cup as being crucial to their international standing.

Should we expect similar support from the Scottish government for Celtic or prefer to field our green-and-white hoops for the traditions of our club, our supporters and our history?

I saw a still-improving team, led by coaches who understand our tradition, fighting for the club, with skill and courage, never accepting second-best.

Mistakes were made but I was – and am – proud of our players.

How about you?

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Celtic qualify after Astana Champions League nailbiter. What have we learned from this?

First, the good news. We should congratulate Brendan Rodgers, the players and coaching staff for a fine achievement in qualifying for the group stages of the Champions League.

The improvement over the past twelve months has been remarkable and, as we have seen against Kilmarnock twice this season, our young players are developing well.

Tough Night in Astana: But the mighty did not fall

One of the rare joys of watching football is to see young players coming through and blossoming into first-team footballers. It was what Jock Stein once described as his greatest pleasure as a manager and should be at the heart of any club’s aspirations.

It is also good business, as Manchester United illustrated with their “Class of 92”, including Giggs, Butt, Beckham, the Neville brothers and Scholes. We don’t appear to have that level of talent from the development squad, with the exception of Kieran Tierney, but it shows that even the richest clubs benefit from developing their own players.

The young signings we have made are also bringing great hope. We all know about Moussa Dembele but Olivier Ntcham is already showing signs that he may be the story of this season. Eboue Kouassi is still promising and I believe that he will also come good, but over a longer period of a year or more. The same applies to Kundai Benyu.

These two players have talent and seem eager to play but they lack the top-level experience of Ntcham.

It’s important to focus on these positives and to remember just how far we have already come before looking at negatives and the next steps that must be taken to keep making progress.

The two legs with Astana, in particular, illustrated that perfectly.

And, when I look back at what I wrote at the end of last season, it wasn’t too far off the mark. Notable exceptions were the prediction that Johnny Hayes wouldn’t sign and the expectation that Nir Bitton had played his last game for Celtic.

That may have come against Astana.

Astana are a decent team and I suspect that they will qualify for the Champions League next season and cause some scares.

We deserved to qualify but they exposed some frailties, with dynamic attacking play that we are unused to, in Scotland.

Going back to my piece about possible ins and outs, I may have to correct myself about Craig Gordon. He is a good shot-stopping goalkeeper but, despite his experience, I am increasingly concerned about the nerves he appears to display in high-pressure matches.

I thought so during the Scottish Cup Final, again during the Scotland-England international at Hampden and also against Astana.

Admittedly, goalkeepers usually need a central-defensive pairing in which they have confidence and Gordon did not have that. No blame should be attached to Kristofer Ajer but, though played out of position, Bitton again looked like the last man you would want beside you when your back is to the wall.

Nevertheless, Gordon was beaten at his near post – almost a crime for any top goalkeeper – and inexplicably parried a ball downwards in his penalty area to an Astana player, when he could have caught it.

That was self-evidently due to nervousness but will he be similarly shaky in, say, Madrid or Munich?

We also saw the other side of Mikael Lustig. Lustig is much-loved for the joy he clearly takes in playing and winning for Celtic.

But the Astana match showed again that he does not do well in frantic, top-tier games, such as in Barcelona last season. Frankly, Lustig’s legs look to have gone, after a number of serious injuries over the years.

It’s great news that Anthony Ralston has shown that he can play in the first team but, do we want to depend on him, at 18, against the cream of Europe?  Probably not, though that is also not a criticism of him.

We have a weakness at right-back that some top teams will undoubtedly test.

The centre of defence is not such a cause for concern as it appeared against Astana because Dedryck Boyata will, hopefully, be back in a few weeks. The expected arrival of Rivaldo Coetzee will bring someone who, according to reports and his history to date, should bring real quality and Jozo Šimunović is a Champions League defender.

Presuming the Coetzee deal is confirmed, he can be expected to pair with Jozo in Champions League games, due to his international experience. But Brendan would be unlikely to have any fears about placing Ajer next to Jozo for domestic matches.

So, while Erik Sviatchenko is rumoured to be on the way out, we don’t really have the defensive crisis that the Astana performance may have suggested.

Up front is a different story. Brendan quite rightly pointed out that he had had to play Champions League qualifiers without strikers, having stated previously that he didn’t sign another because it was impractical to bring in an expensive forward who would sit on the bench.

He has, as ever, a point. Preferring one forward and with goals in other areas of the team, it is difficult to keep three quality players who are vying for one spot happy. And it can be very costly.

And yet surely we need someone now, given the injuries to Moussa and Leigh Griffiths over the early weeks of the season. Wingers and attacking midfielders may know where the goal is but the runs that strikers practice, the tricks they learn and the instincts they develop over years are something else again.

Bad defenders leave a team humiliated. Bad strikers merely mean lost opportunities. So, with the price differential, it’s only natural to focus on defence. But we still need at least one more. If he is a top-class old pro who is content to play about 15 games a season, great.

If he is younger and hungrier, then we can presume that the way is being paved for Moussa to leave.

We should, though, remember that this is all, in a sense, good news.

Brendan, the coaches and players are doing an outstanding job in climbing the upward curve. And, again going back to an earlier piece, we should be looking to finish third in our Champions League group and ecstatically happy if we finish second.

The Champions League is not only awash with richer clubs but also becoming something of a clique in which strong clubs from lower leagues have gained considerable experience that we still lack.

Where we are now, fourth would be a disappointment, third an outstanding success and second outrageously dizzying, leading to new and unrealistic expectations.

An experienced civic politician once told me that there was “no comfortable plateau” on which cities could exist. They were either going up or going down.

The same could be said of football clubs.

Celtic are not where most of us believe we should be, in European terms. The corporate nature of football has ensured that TV money has made the field of play ridiculously uneven.

But enjoy the draw on Friday. We are going up.

• What now for Celtic and Brendan Rodgers? Pt 1 Legitimate goals for the season ahead

• What now for Celtic and Brendan Rodgers? Pt 2 How to make the best in Scotland better

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