Posted on Thursday, 3rd November 2011 by Squire
I think it is quite safe to say that the moment for us to collectively hit the panic button on this season has just gone screaming past us. With Lawell at the wheel and unfortunately the co-driver of this speeding disaster is Neil Lennon. A while back I suggested that perhaps we have seen all that the ginger Guardiola has to offer. At the time the opinion was maybe not extremely popular. Now though, I am seeing it has become quite the vogue attitude to have.
I do blame NL for a large portion of the rubble we are in right now. I also still blame the board for the meager support they have offered. The problem I really see facing the club at the moment though, is the fact that it has finally come to this bleak position.
The club has been allowed to run this course, unwaveringly from those at the top, and has filtered all the way down to the players on the field, and this is where the wheels spun off. The simple fact of the matter is that there is not one person in the entire organization that is currently above the finger of guilt.
The illustrious board, the celebrated manager, the famous players all of them are equal in the shame of not only failing to do their jobs, but failing to even care enough to make a legitimate effort to right the ship.
What was on display for us on Saturday past, was a woeful attempt at playing with purpose, passion, and the sense of urgency necessary to recover the twelve point deficit currently enjoyed by the Rangers. Yes I called them by name. They deserve to have it. They are in the grip of financial ruin, may face a ten point deduction from entering administration, and could hand us our asses at the center circle any day of the week. Watching the Bhoys pretending to be into the game in the first half was actually laughable.
I think that when I saw the starting XI, I felt quite encouraged by it. It certainly had the ring of some potential in reading down the names. What happened between paper and grass is a mystery to me.
It’s quite sad for me to say that maybe the play of the game was big Fraser Forster’s diving header just outside the box in the early goings. He finally showed a bit of spirit and a sense of command with the play. I think that maybe for the first time this year I have nothing negative to say about anything behind mid field.
The problem I have is that midfield forward was an embarrassment. The inability to move the ball forward against Hibs was as comedic in effort as it was in result. There were a lot of good sharp passes amongst the lads, but they just went back in circles unable to actually press the attack as, if I’m not mistaken, is the point of the whole thing.
Maybe the only real gem on the field on that day was wee James Forrest. While he wound up goal-less like the rest he had some legitimate chances that could have changed the day’s outlook. The 64 minute cracker that grazed the crossbar could have afforded us all another week of worry as to the teams form, the condition of the league, and our place in it.
I no longer worry about our place in the league. Saturdays result was the only game in the SPL to not have a goal scored. That to me says a lot when the likes of Inverness put in two in a losing effort against current league second place Motherwell. I can only imagine that there is equal parts laughter and shock amongst other teams as to our current plight.
I guess maybe the problem at hand is that the club does just enough. The times that they have really gone out and shown the pride, they have been closely followed with complete breakdown. Look back at the last five games in just the league alone and it’s W, L, D, W, and D. Add Europa into this and the picture dims a tad.
When games have called for points we are somehow meant to feel good about getting one. Well, Saturday showed us all we can expect from this lot. Three points were mandatory to keep pace, and they could barely bother their collective asses to have a go at winning.
The fight is gone, the leadership has flown, and what we are left with is this group of unmanageable flotsam. I have no doubt that the team does get the message, but I fear that like Lenny’s subs, it comes on ten minutes too late.
We face Rennes at Parkhead in the Europa league on Thursday, and I expect that the Bhoys will have a shot in the home leg. However I would not be surprised to hear raves about walking away from it with a lone point.
We are seemingly expected to just be happy with mediocrity, and forget that there are alternatives. We are simply doing just enough to get by. But now the house is falling down and just enough can’t cut it. This team in current form cannot win the league. Perhaps the theory is now to place all focus on the Scottish League Cup, as the one piece of hardware that we can lift at the end of the season. It is really the only competition that the team has been consistent in, and has managed to play some decent football.
The league is near certainty in result barring our final position in it. Europa is leaving us standing at the curb, and the questions will remain until a new avenue is explored. Be that new management or some new talent, I have no idea, but change is coming. We in the meantime can expect more of the same average football with a standout performance from someone somewhere in the club week to week.
The Thunder is gone, but thunder is fleeting. We need new life in the grounds and someone that can give the players the motivation to get out and play like you mean it, or just get out. Lennon has had his chance, and maybe he was or wasn’t the best choice, but here we are.
SjH
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Posted in Squire | Comments (2)
Celtic News 24/7
November 3rd, 2011 at 9:57 am
I think the next two fixtures will see us draw twice, meaning Rangers will be 14 in front. I can’t see Lennon appearing at another press conference and saying the same old stuff.
I reckon he will go. I hope he does and saves some dignity. If not, Celtic will continue to stumble and stagger, and he will eventually be sacked. That I don’t want to see. He will feel much better and will be able to get on with his life once he makes the decision. It is inevitable, he cannot save himself with this group of players. They cannot win 3 games on the trot never mind 26!
[Reply]
November 4th, 2011 at 10:31 am
Wishing I still lived in Kilmarnock for the only reason that in half an hour I would have been
In paradise to enjoy the game last night instead of finding a coffee shop with a faster
Connection to watch someone else watch the
Game and put it on the net (thankyou whoever you were) Ontario Canada
What about Hoopers face after scoring
That said it all
C’mon the Hoops
[Reply]