SENTINELCELTS

It’s a funny ol’ game isn’t it? After all, many teams would be extremely envious of our current position, but yet many Tims aren’t exactly convinced with what they are witnessing twice weekly.
Who’s right and who’s wrong?
The answer is,,,there is no correct answer.

It’s a quirk of football that every team that ever competed in a prolonged league and Cup campaign have not sparkle throughout the entirety. The famed Invicibles of Arsenal drew many games that season, the Lions dropped points, the Treble winning United side were stung into a severe reaction following defeat, and of course this midweek saw the current Champions of both England and Scotland drop points. To err is to be human, but the Tims have been feeling underwhelmed by what they are witnessing, yet still happy at our position.
Thus the head clashes with the heart, one urging concern, the other urging contentment.
Depending on what type of person you are, one of those feelings will likely dominate the other.

The next two games are the biggest yet, season defining actually. One keeps the treble dream alive, the other our European dream,,a week is a long time in football, but it’s weeks like these that we all live for. ‘We all’ must include the team, the people who actually put us in the position of going through in these two competitions whilst dominating/winning the other two competitions.

It’s up to them to provide the answers to the questions we ask, they all carry our hopes and dreams, while carrying their own. You can tell me you are concerned but cannot tell me AJ, Calmac, Arne or Kyogo don’t wish for more silverware or more European glory. After starting out on fire, you cannot tell me they must get constantly better,,I laid out one reason above but as the 2nd greatest Scottish manager once opined, just be there or thereabouts in March and he would cajole them into a successful finishing straight.

We haven’t reached the finishing straights yet, but it would be an incredibly cruel man or woman to believe those responsible for bringing us to the cusp of glory should not be given their personal shot at said glory. Just as players who managed promotion deserve a chance in their new division, our squad do deserve to carry through with what they began, and it’s only when all is said and done that one can fully access the situation and make cold clinical decisions.

I’ve read criticism of almost every Celtic player recently, I’m not saying it’s not without merit, but I will say a collection that’s overachieving on paper cannot be that bad that they all need sold. They are clearly doing something right being essentially 5 wins away from,,,
a, doing better than last year
b, putting us back on the European map
c, producing 20 million plus players
d, to be sitting here in January with an unforgettable season hanging in the balance is a supporters dream because our campaign was often deflated by November, going out of Europe early and having ‘only the league’ to ‘look forward to’.

Recall those years,, Ronnie, Lenny, Tony,,there just wasn’t much excitement going on with exceptions of course,,,kiss five frogs a summer, two in winter, dream of finishing third of four, hoping one frog is a prince then being ecstatic about him (Wanyama/Samaras/Wilson/Hooper to name a few) then deflated when they hit the road. Many past seasons seemed a long slog, big dreams crushed early and small dreams feeling like scant reward. Things have moved on I’m delighted to report, football has changed and so has our beloved club.

For years I despaired about the state of the domestic game, it’s joke approach and walkover nature. Now, Bobby wrote it himself in his article, Dundee are no turnovers, and beat us over 90 minutes (the extra cost them), and that’s Dundee! I used to count the decent teams on one hand, you could fill two hands now. The league has improved, clubs are looking to improve, men are out to make their mark and not be content with a simple average performance for a grand a week, whether managers or players.
The EPL constantly hover and but outwith that a player like Miovski actually had the brains to realize joining Aberdeen would get him a big move, infact several clubs have sold players to Italy now. They also hover over Scottish football now, another reason to excel not just turn up. Thelin will be poached, so it’s not just players that can use Scottish football to enhance their career.

Hat tip to UEFA for this new Swiss model, she’s a cracker. And thanks for the extra experience our players/manager gain. Of course you gotta be in it to enjoy it, so hat tip to the club for keeping our average age pretty low, for breaking the wage structure and signing important players up long term to help build the continuity that makes negotiating qualifiers that bit easier.
The extra experience mentioned helps, players like Engels cannot hurt either.

Although I cannot watch every game live due to the time difference, I find following the club much more exciting these days. I was thinking about this today, and I’m of the opinion the Celtic we are currently witnessing was birthed poolside in Dubai of all places, that infamous pic of Lenny and Big Shane having a nice pint during lockdown, while underachieving with a poor squad.
That sparked the hunt that delivered Ange, he sparked a reset in boardroom thinking, and when one of the EPL Big6 came for him, rather than opt for the fallback ‘Old Firm’ model, the Board embraced a different one that’s lucrative while keeping supporters excited. We no longer wonder how our star player fared, but instead wonder how many good players starred today. Any one of our players could steal the show, has stole the show before, we have a team packed with 8 figure talent, even if they don’t always show it I’d rather have that than the previous team built around one 8 figure player.

I was hesitant to type this but what the hell, you guys will forgive me and regular readers will know I’m a bit of a dreamer.
Why not, they’ve came true so far.

We are also about to witness something we haven’t seen in the modern era, the Sky Sports/Digital/Internet era.
A living breathing example that money isn’t everything, a homecoming that’s made in heaven, proof that Celtic are much bigger than the also rans of the EPL when you place footballing joy above your bank balance.
Last January delivered a genuine Celtic fan come player to drive us on, to deliver the trophies.
Would you honestly bet against KT doing the same this January?

Look, feel free to criticize form, certain players, the system/tactics etc, but I’m going to let this all play out before arriving at conclusions.
That seems only fair.
Can this team win the next two games?
Aye!
Lets back them all the way, and when alls said and done, judge by action not words.

By Mahe
sentinelcelts@gmail.com