To state the obvious, last night was awful on a variety of levels; levels of awful which have been dealt with an analyzed ad nauseum already — correctly or not — in the press and the blogosphere, to say nothing of the tsunami of toxic sludge washing over social media.
But let’s kickoff this post — no pun intended — with the real tragedy of last night’s 3-1 loss to Copenhagen.
It must be truly heartbreaking to the throngs of football geniuses who missed their life’s calling by not currently being in a position of football management at Celtic — or anywhere else, for that matter — outside of the confines of their computer keyboards and their Internet connections. It’s always tragic to miss your calling in life.
As a result, the pain is now shared as we have the collective wailing and gnashing of teeth from self-proclaimed experts that comes with a Celtic misstep. Yeah, we left the Champions League under inauspicious circumstances and now we’re out of the Europa League for pretty much the same reasons.
It sucks. No argument there.
And make no mistake about it: It is painfully ironic that a team as good as Celtic will not be in either tournament thanks to glaring missteps in both, while other substandard teams are about to walk into the woodchipper of far superior continental teams as they advance in both European tournaments.
But that’s how it goes. Sometimes you win, sometimes you don’t. And we didn’t.
Meanwhile, some fans need a quick reassessment of the current situation. Here you go: Celtic currently sits atop the table by 12 points, with a 20-goal advantage in goal differential to the second place team. One trophy won.
You’re welcome.
Clearly, Thursday night’s result was a disappointment. However, it bears recalling what “faithful through and through” really means. If you can’t back the club when it stumbles, don’t show your face for the club when it shines.
We have the rest of the season, the quadruple-treble, and history awating us in the coming months. We need to pick ourelves up, dust off, and move forward, starting with the St. Johnstone game on Sunday.
Hail hail
You’ll never walk alone
Thanks, Bob. YNWA and Hail Hail.
Well said and true hence the reason
I no longer look at social media comments these so called supporters although they have a right to have am opionon like every one else are way off the mark with some of the drivel they write as far as I am concerned I will take that defeat on the chin same as the players and management team sure I am disappointed with the defeat like the rest of us . But i for one will take a 4th treble with enormous pride and joy if the bhoys can deliver
And then 10 in a row long before any
Run in Europe Hail Hail bhoys dust down that result is now behind us let’s get back on track starting on Sunday you will never walk alone
Win lose or draw ☘⚽️
Agree, William — social media, for whatever good it brings, also has a pretty overwhelming dark side. Without the distraction of Europe, I think it is clear sailing to 9, the quadruple-treble and then 10. Hail Hail.
Well said Larry I was watching Celtic with my daughters last night as I have for the last 21 years and yes we seen some so called fans throw scarves (clowns) and some who waited to berate some individuals in the team, absolute cretins and they know who they are if they are reading this?
Well I must admit to being really proud of my daughters as they slaughtered those so called Celtic fans who were grown men btw, and you know what they never answered back because they were shocked at women giving them their characters and I never had to say a thing, we got beat so what 9 and 10 are what really matters and as the old saying goes ” he who laughs last” HH
I am proud of your ghirls, too, Bertie! You raised them right. “He who laughs last” indeed. Hail Hail.
You are right ☘️
Pity too many disagree with you
Need a reality check
HH
Thanks! It should be noted that I understand the anger — I am always angry when Celtic loses — but I’m not slagging the club, the players, or the gaffer. Hope everyone comes back to reality. Hail Hail.
As a Celtic supporter i’ts never a nice feeling to lose, but now we look forward to the next game and support our team and manager for the rest of another historic season. Hail Hail….. Come on the Hoops !
Indeed, Joe. Hail Hail!
Every seasons the same in Europe were wee boys .Don’t buy won’t buy.Things have to change at the top.unlease a few quid ffs or forget Europe.nuff said HH
Looks like it, Anthony. Clearly we could stand to open the purse strings a little. Hail Hail.
Been a fan for over 50 years, seen it all many many times. Nothing as fickle as football fans.
So I am learning. The funny thing is this: I only follow one other club, FC St Pauli. While my German is not exactly fluent (it is getting better), on social media there is never as much vitriol aimed toward the manager/players after a St Pauli loss as there is when Celtic loses. It’s mystifying. Hail Hail.
This is definitely the point Robin. There’s nothing new here. Agree with what Larry posted. Only thing I would point out is people are allowed to express themselves as long as they don’t harm others. Ditch your scarf if you want to. Rant on social media if you feel like it. Not my thing but I’m ok with people showing they care; even if it seems a bit shortsighted. HH
Thank you Larry for an article full of wisdom and compassion, which are qualities which I fear are missing amongst many in our support.
I was astonished at the miserable faces, comments, boos and early exits from the stadium yesterday evening. It does nothing to help the team. Yet we are quick to criticise others.
I am situated in the main stand and stand at every home game with a sizeable minority to applaud the team and thank them for their efforts after every game, despite the result. Your article hit the nail on the head perfectly.
I had a much longer comment to make, but I was asked to submit a proper email address (which I thought I had done). So hopefully this gets through.
Thank you! Your comment went through, and you’re welcome to expand on it, if you like. Hail Hail.
The only thing I will add at this point Larry is the overreaction of one particular police officer to the celebration of the Copenhagen players after the game. There was nothing wrong with the Copenhagen players going to their support to celebrate their win and Celtic fans were not upset by this. Apparently, this one officer tried to grab a player who then pushed the officer away. The player has subsequently been charged by the police. Surely this could have been dealt with better. In our divided little country, this is utterly embarrassing.
The Copenhagen fans behaved themselves in Glasgow and during the match itself, just as we expected they would. This incident was a complete overreaction and I would hope that the police now withdraw such a ridiculous charge. In Copenhagen the police were kind enough to thank the Celtic support for their behaviour. The police at Celtic Park normally have great relations with the fans and this may have been an extra officer brought in from elsewhere for the occasion. However, some wisdom is needed here and it certainly does not reflect well if our police react so officiously to a perfectly reasonable situation.
On the night we were beaten and mistakes were made by human beings with feelings.
Your article and replies to comments perfectly encapsulate the evening and the unreasonable reactions of many so-called Celtic supporters. It is encouraging to see when so many Celtic sites can be blinkered.
I look forward to more of your articles.
Correction: our police NOT “out” police – last line in 2nd paragraph.
Fixed. Hail Hail!
No team deserves the right to turn up and expect to win, and everyone can make mistakes, but for professionals to do that is incompetent to say the least. It’s not just the players that should blamed here it goes deeper than that. However what’s done is done hopefully onward to our next quest. HH
I would agree. However, the professionals who take the pitch are not perfect, and they’re going to have a bad day. When more than one of them do, as we saw yesterday, it compounds the problem. After the final whistle, though, finger-pointing is irrelevant. But you are right: Onward to 9 and 10! Hail Hail.
Quite correct Larry, I spoke with a fan last night after he booed our team at full time and told him, never boo the Hoops!
Our support is better than that and we have a lot to look forward to!
Yes football fans are fickle but they have their expectations and we as Celtic fans are disappointed to see the same results occur so often in European games. Self inflicted wounds, lack of class / quality, strange tactics, reluctance of the board to invest properly, and then being beaten by teams we should be able to overcome who have less resources than ourselves. We are on a roundabout.
Viel Glueck beim deutsch lernen, Uebung macht den Meister.
Danke, Zebedee! Hail hail.
We’ve had it all our own way for so long that fans’ expectations become greater and the way we’ve been playing recently a win at home didn’t seem like asking for the moon. Que Sera Sera and all that but if folk really aren’t faithful through and through then they shouldn’t step over the threshold of Paradise again, they aren’t wanted. HH
Yes, we should have won that game, especially at home. I expect fans to be faithful through and through, or why bother? Hail Hail!
This was a big misstep for us sadly. Blind faith is not a good quality in any walk of life.
Enjoying catching up with your back catalogue Larry.