SENTINELCELTS

Morning,all.

Universal agreement here and on much of Timternet that this has been a season beyond all expectation. The last time we had a season that could be so described,well,it was a mirror image of the one we are constantly enduring. We were fortunate enough to witness then a team brimming with self confidence,with players desperate to get game time to impress the manager and the fans. A collection of players suberbly drilled and at peak fitness levels,with similar quality champing at the bit to get on,and all capable of fitting seamlessly into the system.

Contrast that with this season,which has been a shambles from the very get-go. Who is leaving,who is joining? Who is being held to their contract and not being allowed a transfer despite well established policy on the matter-not generally the wisest idea btw. When does the transfer window close anyway?

I have to hold my hands up here in this regard as I was relatively impressed by the club maintaining the squad,maybe not so much with Mo,but pleased with the addition of Ajeti,Duffy and Barkas. Knew little about two of them,but their pedigree read well. Turns out I may be a better judge of horseflesh when it comes to pedigree-even if their Chum is usually where my selections end up!

I’m honestly at a loss on this,I have no idea where performances like we have seen thus far this season come from,not from a team of highly paid professional INTERNATIONAL footballers who are quite honestly playing like the equivalent of one of my horsey selections running after someone had cut a leg off. I know this is supposed to be a match review,and yes I know we had players missing. Perfectly aware of the problems at the club. Blinkin’ flip,we are ALL aware of the problems at the club by now! But everyone on the pitch on Saturday was either a regular starter-most of them-or a squad player. There are no excuses for a performance as dire as that.

ONE shot on target against Livingston-at home! Two corners,while they managed nine! In fact,they had twice as many attempts at goal as us. This is us,2021 against Livingston. How the mighty have fallen,eh?

Invincibles to Indefensibles,and all in four short years.

Make that two,in fact…

Our articles have not been slow to point the finger for where we think lies the blame for the current shitshow,and you,our contributors,have not been slow either to show that you are aware of the problems. I’m going to gloss over the structural issues for the moment as they can wait for another day,but let’s simply deal with Saturday.

The recent form of Frimpers should mean that he doesn’t get a start. Sorry,son-I saw you make your debut,thought you were a class act and you will be,but a wee kickaround wi players your own age will do you a power of good. The recent-over the last three years!-appearances of the lesser-spotted Michael Johnston suggest that he is nowhere near a first team spot,and that is unlikely to change until someone figures out why such an allegedly gifted player performs worse than the mascots every time. I said yesterday in a comment that Tom Rogic is not a Neil Lennon “Face fits” player-but to play him as the lone striker is frankly ripping the piss!

That is the kind of stupidity that we have become used to from NL,unfortunately. It’s like he started to pick the side from goalie to forward line,got to the striker and wondered who was left. God,how Rogic suffered. God,how we suffered.

Lennon probably fell asleep after a few beers or summat. Gross dereliction of duty by him to send out the most ill-equipped (and reluctant) striker since Maggie Thatcher donned a miner’s helmet for a photoshoot. You guys really should check the number of appearances made by Rogic and CalMac first time round v since,and also Rogic’s appearances since NL’s return. And judging by their performances since that return,I suggest NL told them both that they would never make it at the club as long as he was in charge. And on that point I am quite serious. Would you play for a manager with an attitude like that?

That is not a football manager for the 21st Century,it’s not even a football manager for the last two decades of the last one. But it IS Neil Lennon.

Neil’s boy wonder Bitton was playing as usual. Considering the number of times Livingston put the ball into our box-how many times did he win one? Or in any game EVER? Fuxake,he made Duffy look good. Laxalt was Laxalt,I wish everyone tried as hard as him and I would love to see him in a decent side. He deserves one,but he won’t get it at Celtic Park. Ralston actually rivalled Soro for our MOTM,and I was pleasantly surprised. Though when I say rivalled,I mean a distant second.

The rest might as well have used their VST like the rest of us. The only thing I could think of at half time was that we needed a bigger bench-because there was barely a player worthy of a second half and we could have subbed the lot.

In fact,we could have got a sub to torpedo the lot! But the torpedoes were already delivered. Delivered by our summer policy which held players against their will. Delivered longterm by questionable at best recruitment. By appointing a yes-man,and one with major faults,as a manager. I could go on,but I’ll leave you with this.

He put Tom Rogic up front,and expected him to be supplied the ammo by Frimpong and Johnston. And he still hasn’t been fired.

Above article by BMCUWP. To avoid rants like this in future,send us one of your own and we will publish it as Article of the Day. Mail MAHE on

sentinelcelts@gmail.com