SENTINELCELTS

Morning,all.

Writing the articles for this site over the past seventy weeks or so has been a Labour of Love,in the most part,for Mahe and myself. And also too,I think,for our welcome contributors. Sometimes though,it’s just a labour. Hard labour,the sort of thing you can do without. That might be because I watched the game this morning just prior to writing the review. By which time of course,I’d read all your comments on it plus one or two match reports.

So imagine my surprise during those first fortyfive minutes,thoroughly enjoying it! Okay,it wasn’t exactly a goalfest,but there were some really encouraging performances and also some frankly excellent teamwork on display.

Room 101 for the second half though,I reckon. I’ll deal with it first,to get it out of the way. Neil,I know I’ve said that I reckon you’re schooling in public,getting a completely settled team to play a certain way for a certain big match just round the corner. One which could really drive a stake through their black hearts and confine them to oblivion.

Again…

But surely when some of those players are blowing through their arses,you should be utilising your talent-packed subs bench a bit quicker and more fully than you are currently doing? To leave ten of the eleven on till there is less than five minutes remaining,and then to bring on your only possible striking back-up when he is a fella desperately in need of game time and your star striker is desperately in need of a rest? Fuxake.

You’re seeing your bedrock centre half getting kicked rotten-and granted,he can well look after himself-but you leave him on,only to see him take another sore one late on. When you’re two up? Fuxake.

Can’t fault you on the Jamesie substitution. He was playing very well,but he needs a rest and the timing and the replacement were correct. The other one was way too late and the third non-existent.

As for the big powerhouse wrestler they had up front,we should have been melting him in turns. Can play fitba fuck-all and still made our defenders look second best far too often.

So back to the first half,with occasional mentions of the rare wee bright spot in the second. Started brightly,let them back in it for a very short time,bossed it from there. How we were only two up,I don’t know. Eddy was looking sharp,James was looking eager,CalMac and Ryan were everywhere and Ollie was everywhere they weren’t. Jeremie was like a wee boy playing wi his idols and wanting to impress-which he did,as ever. Broonie looked like he’d put on the wrong boots for a wee while,but he soon got back to his old self. So that was our forward ambitions right there,just play it play it play it and they will come. The goals,that is. Halfway through,we got the first one. Loose ball in our half,CalMac releases Eddy wide left who takes it on. CalMac bursts a lung trying to keep up with him to get on the end of the pass,flicks it past the keeper and on to the post before tapping in the rebound.

Simple rope-a-dope stuff,St Mirren having too many bodies forward for once and not helped by their last defender forgetting one of the most basic tenets of the offside law-that you cannot be offside in your own half. Tut,tut. Didn’t stop them complaining though-and that might have had a bearing on the two that Eddy scored in the second half,both of which I thought he had “played the line” to perfection.

But this is not “Shoot” magazine,and it is not “You Are The Ref”. I should add that I nearly always got that right. But that was before they started buggering about with the rules. Back then,you could read a ten years old copy in the local dentist and still get the answers right. Now? They change the rules so often,it would be out of date before it was printed.

Of course,it’s a lot easier up here in Scotland. Rule No 1-kick the Tims as often as you like,I’m not too bothered. Six fouls that lot committed yesterday. According to the eyes of Willie Collum. And as you know,he has eyes everywhere.

The second was another assist from Eddy,this time playing in Jamesie bursting left from a central position. He took it past the keeper at pace and made the finish look easy. It wasn’t. It was a tremendous piece of skill all round and a sublime pass in the first place.

Generally,our midfield five-six if you include Jeremie-were making themselves available to their team-mates whenever required,which was a very pleasing aspect. CalMac in particular would help out Boli at the back,or be available for a short pass from the twin towers. Looking to break it forward,or to take the break from a loose ball. Ryan and Jeremie were doing the same on the right,while Jamesie and Ollie seemed to enjoy just popping up everywhere. Broonie DID pop up everywhere,usually when St Mirren had the ball. With a thuggish snarl,and a clear hawyou geezit message. We should have been more than two clear against the Paisley side at half time,but the performance-especially bearing in mind our relentless schedule for nigh on six months now-was impressive. And it continued like that in the second half too. For about ten minutes and then it really just got ugly.

The two from Eddy aside,Jamesie had a couple of efforts which deserved better,Jeremie obviously backs himself to score in every game and I’m beginning to think Ollie does too. He must have had a third of our shots on goal,so there’s a wee hint for oh,someday soon. But we got drawn in to a non football sport after that and while the game was won already,the three points were in the bag,it was an unsatisfactory conclusion to the afternoon.

Overall,I’m delighted with the result. That’s eleven wins on the trot as we go for twelve successive domestic trophies on the trot. We can make it twelve in a row on Sunday which will put us well on the way to twelve in a row,if you see what I mean,and heading for nine in a row.

Jings,crivvens,help ma boab,I think my brain exploded there! I’m usually good wi numbers anaw. You’ll get no prizes for guessing that tomorrow’s article is a preview of the Sunday league game,not to be compared to the second half yesterday which looked like a Sunday League game. Monday will be a review of the day before,jointly by me and THE EXILED TIM and anyone else who wants to throw in their tuppenceworth. We always like to know if you’ve been watching the same game as us-!-so usual rules,send it and we will publish. Don’t worry about whether it looks too presentable or anything like that. It’s not a beauty contest,and you certainly urny gonnae win a tenner either!

*

Above article by BMCUWP. As you know,blah blah,but this time it’s serious. How are we gonna fill three weeks of this place without the fitba? So articles on ANY subject close to your heart,this is the time to send them. And if you’re worried that they might look a bit out of place on a Celtic site,panic not. There’s nae fitba,so there’s nae rules. Open forum for three weeks,folks. Fire in. Mail it to Mahe at sentinelcelts@gmail.com

*

PS-there might be a quiz tomorrow night at 8pm if any of you are barred from the local pub. Keep yeez out of trouble,all heart we are…