SENTINELCELTS

Morning,all.

Tomorrow sees us host Aberdeen,who finally got a win in their last match after nine successive defeats. That it was against Motherwell,another side in freefall who fired their manager Stevie Hamill after crashing in the cup to Raith Rovers,is hardly enough to suggest that their fortunes may be on the turn,but we should be wary of them regardless. It seldom pays to treat the opposition too lightly,a recurring fact in football.

Despite the fact that we are in the middle of February,a week or so before payday and suffering the usual Baltic weather conditions,the game is a sell-out,quite a remarkable achievement in these straitened times. This should not be sniffed at,for Celtic Park can be a somewhat inhospitable place as we have discussed on here only this week. We don’t all have access to the heated seats,you know!

Getting the formalities out of the way,it is Collum and Newlands for us at Celtic Park,with Dickinson and Dallas for the huns at Livingston. Maybe one of these days we can stop checking who the referee etc are,for after all the whole point of being a match official is to run the game in a professional,firm and unobtrusive manner-is it not?

LMAO,try expecting that in Scotland. Such an approach would never be tolerated!

Anyway,we can cross that bridge when we come to it. There are three points up for grabs,same as every other match. Except,this one comes with just that little bit of added complication. Namely,that of our opponents next week. The last thing we want is for our any of our players to pick up any kind of injury which might threaten Ange’s well-laid plans for the Cup Final. But yet,we must take each game one at a time. 

I’m not suggesting for one second that we should be concentrating tomorrow on anything except the three points. That rarely ends well,you might as well put your boots on the wrong feet if you are not 100% committed to the fray. And there is little point in thinking that we can ease off if we get,say,a three goal lead-as I expect that at least a few of our opponents will be at their hammer-throwing best for the full 90+ minutes. Even if it’s only in an attempt to keep warm!

No,AP will remind them of his favourite three word mantra. We don’t stop. But having said that,is there a case for resting one or two of our stars? No-one in our side is irreplaceable,and we have options in every position. That,after all,has always been one of our strengths,the way we can mix and match our personnel,bring on our five subs in our usual sixteen man game plan. But there are still a few players in the side whom we would struggle to cover if they were injured-mainly because of injuries to their replacements already,or because they themselves are virtually ever-present,playing every week. 

No names,you will know them yourself without me having to tell you. 

Yet one of those names will definitely not be playing as he too is currently injured. Our talismanic striker,Kyogo,picked up an early injury last week and is already struggling to make it for next week. He certainly won’t feature tomorrow,and to be honest,unless he is 100% fit,I wouldn’t start him next week either. You,on the other hand,may disagree. Kyoto’s untimely mishap offered our new Korean striker Oh!!! more minutes on the pitch than Ange had envisaged,and he made good use of them. He looked sharp,swift,strong and scared of nothing! He struck me as the type who will run through brick walls to get what he wants-which is to get on the end of a pass or cross and belt it one. Yes,he looked the part to these eyes,and took his goal very well. 

He might not give defenders the fear in the way that Kyogo does,but that is because they haven’t been paying attention. He’s every bit as tenacious,and has the impatience of youth too. And Oh Bhoy is he fast! So there is one of my starting eleven,but who will partner him up front? Well,if Ange sticks to his usual plan of bringing on a central striker as a sub,there is no start for Maeda. And while he may be a Duracell Bunny,a wee rest and cameo role in the last twenty minutes will probably do him the power of good. Time then for Abada and Haksabanovic to play from the start? Hmmm,for me it is.

Our middle three could maybe do with a shake up,yet AP tried that last week,resting Reo in favour of a start for DT. The latter hardly seized his moment,while Reo was damn near faultless when he came on. Mooy seemed to struggle in the first half,but everyone can have a bad game and he should get the first hour. CalMac was left with a bit to do as a result,but his game improved when Reo and Matt arrived on the scene to take some weight off his shoulders. Difficult one,but it’s CalMac,Reo and Mooy for me. 

Now we come to the really awkward part of the pitch. The one where I think we will struggle if any of them are injured. I hate even mentioning the possibility,but we have to face the facts here. But which if any of them do we rest up? Can we afford,in fact,to do so? Should we simply play our trusted five,and just go for it? That,I think,is the most likely prospect,but Ange will be watching them closely for even the slightest twinge during the match. He’s no fool,and we know that. It’s a matter of risk management,and he will have weighed it all up beforehand. 

Come 5pm tomorrow,I want the three points on the board. So do we all. I want an unscathed and healthy squad,fit and fired up for next week. I want the match to be refereed in a professional,firm and unobtrusive manner too,but I’ll settle for the first two. After all,miracles take time.

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Above article by BMCUWP