SENTINELCELTS

Morning,all.

When we entered the transfer window just over two weeks ago, we looked to be in a very strong position for once. We could possibly do with a third striker-but we had Johnny Kenny coming back after his successful loan spells at Shamrock Rovers, and it would surely be unfair to deprive him of a further run in Europe with them just to ignore him. We could probably do with another winger, as Palma was slated for a move and Yang has yet to convince. In addition, even Maeda  can’t be in two positions at once, and he is our auxiliary striker as well as our left-sided wide player. 

We had five players in midfield, all capable of being a first choice, but I will argue that leaves us one short-and you all know which position I’m talking about!

At the back, we could muddle through with Valle and Taylor fighting it out for left back. The other positions were unlikely to be updated at all. 

How times change! It looks like Valle is on his way, and Taylor is no nearer to signing a new deal. It might be a slur on his professionalism to suggest that he isn’t putting himself as much in harm’s way as before, that he is no longer making the tackles he did, but he is only human. Who would want to risk their future by attempting a last-ditch tackle that could cause an injury and jeopardise their next contract? 

At centre-back, Trusty looks to have lost whatever he had, while Scales might not command the confidence he once did. Especially given his Ibrox nightmare,the ground where he had made his name-and the position his own-only sixteen months previously. As for CCV, he is always an injury away from missing a month or so, and he looks to be struggling for form too. As an aside, we have also lost Welsh from our CL squad, with Nawrocki touted for a move too. 

Meanwhile, Kühn has been out for a bit, Maeda is still absent, and Jamesie is no nearer a return. Add to which, our midfield has forgotten how to provide for the strikers-watch the four of them, if you include Taylor, pass it about in an arc thirty yards from goal if you don’t believe me. Watch them allow the opposition the chance to regroup when we win the ball from a corner. Fuxake, watch them disappear like snaw aff a dyke when we lose possession at a corner!

All this while we are watching a team struggling for form! All this when we have our next two matches in non-league competition, matches which will have a big bearing on the rest of our season. 

The third round of The Scottish Cup tends to give us a game against one of the minnows of the competition. Who can forget Buckie Thistle’s big day recently as an example, our visitors even asking to wear their home shirts which are identical to our own. This time, we are drawn against Kilmarnock, a side who might not be having their best season, but one which takes a great delight in giving us a going over. They knocked us out of The League Cup last season, possibly denying us a treble. We have to be careful that we don’t allow this to happen again, for they are well capable of performances which belie their current league position. 

Possibly even more important is the Young Boys game in midweek. I’m glad that others have begun to highlight the potential pitfalls of this match, again despite the lowly status of the opposition. It’s true that they have yet to get a point on the board in six matches with a 3-22 goal difference. And that they are much nearer relegation than title contenders domestically. But I started to have misgivings about this game a little earlier than most. 

After our outstanding performance and result against Leipzig, we had played three of our four most difficult opponents and racked up seven points. I reckoned from there that another four would see us in the top sixteen easily enough, but the top eight would probably require seventeen points which I thought was beyond us. I watched us draw against Bruges when we should have won-and my optimism faded a little. I saw us draw again against Zagreb when they were there for the taking-and my pessimism really started to rear its ugly head! 

I’ve seen us struggle too often in too many games since then, and to be honest I’m becoming less optimistic with every passing transfer rumour. With Welsh gone, Jamesie out, and Valle almost certain to depart, we are already three players down from our 25 man squad. Should we lose Palma, that’s another. Maeda isn’t certain to be back, and I’ve already pointed out some problems with current form.  

If we lose one of Taylor, Scales or Trusty to injury, we lose cover for TWO positions. Lose Palma while Maeda is injured, and our entire left side is absent. Lose Idah or Kyogo, we have no cover up front. Lose a midfielder and we have none there either. Is this really the strong squad we always thought we had? Suddenly, is Wednesday night a real concern? Or tomorrow?

Hell knows, I’m usually on the more optimistic side of the fence when it comes to supporting Celtic. Or in life in general. But give me two victories in our next two games and let me breathe a whole lot easier, please. I don’t ask for much, I’m not after a Mercedes Benz or a colour tv. I just want my old optimism back. We can deal with the squad issues afterwards. 

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Above article by BMCUWP