Such has been the hurt felt by supporters wearing the green and grey
hoops at the realisation that Bellendamy never had any intention of
remaining at Celtic (at any price), compounded by the utter humiliation
of no neck choosing Blackburn Rovers, we have witnessed something quite
extraordinary from the East End – the invention of a superstar.
To listen to the Celtic board, mhedia and fans alike, you would think
Sellick had signed Zidane, Shevchenko, Ronaldhino or Beckham. But no,
they have signed Nakamura from lowly Reggina and to listen to these lot
you would think ha was the Second Coming, the answer to all their
prayers on an off field.
Now Nakamura may turn out to be a decent player, but if he was likely
to make the impact that even Bellamy made (let alone a gallactico),
then where was the rush from the Premiership, La liga or even the
better clubs in Serie A who would have an intimate knowledge of his
abilities? And as for the squillions of pounds through merchandise
that Sellick are now about to make – don’t make me laugh.
Anyway, no skin off of our noses. We can be content just leaving the
deluded ones to their fantasies while we get on with the reality of
securing No. 52.
Still prone to a gaff or two.
The topics of the club’s PR and and the amount of injuries we have to
players (often having been signed with some sort of affliction or
other) have for a long time been subject to justifiable criticism from
the support.
Without going into detail, it would be churlish not to recognise that
there has been a vast improvement recently but with still a long way to
go. We are however still prone to the odd gaff or two.
Our club, and the manager in particular have been most vocal in the
condemnation of the use of plastic pitches, and quite rightly so. No
doubt Rangers’ utterings were instrumental in the decision that
Dunfermline must replace theirs with grass. I just hope there were a
lot of red faces around at the time this decision was rubber stamped
and we, at the same time, allowed ourselves to play on a plastic pitch
in the USA during pre-season where players are likely to pick up
injuiries anyway.
And talking of injuries, what about Hemdani limping off at Ipswich
after about twenty minutes. Did my ears deceive me or did I really
hear the Manager say words to the effect that the club new he was
carrying an injury prior to the Linfield game? Now I admire big Eck’s
honesty but either way he does not come out of it looking clever –
Hemdani shouldn’t have played, but having done so some things are best
left unsaid.
It could be farewell to Lovenkrands
If, and I certainly hope it happens for the sake of our club and the
player, PL moves to the Premiership with Middlesboro then he goes with
my best wishes for the future. I will remember the good times, Peter’s
‘purple patch’ when Celtic just didn’t know how to cope with him and he
would invariably find the back of the net, the 2002 Cup Final topping
the lot.
PL hasn’t really kicked a ball for us for a couple of seasons and
despite the wonder overhead kick at Pittawdry man fans think his time
is up. I think the opposition sussed out that if you can mark him with
someone not too short on pace themselves then there wasn’t too much
else he had to offer (Celtic eventually sussed out that sacrificing
Agathe as an attacker to keep Lovenkrands in check was the answer).
The timing of his runs started to deteriorate and once self doubt crept
in he wouldn’t know whether to make a run or hold back. The severe
criticism that followed just put the tin lid on his confidence and the
Peter of old would never return.
I have no doubt you will get off to an impressive start down south and
I just hope you can keep it going this time. So, good luck Pete, and
thanks for the memories.
Hopes for the new season
Briefly, the SPL must be retained and we must make some sort of impact
in Europe.
Celtic have a numerically weaker squad than last season and the quality
does seem to have been reduced but I do not believe they are in as bad
a state as some would have us believe. Also, I do not think we are as
well set up as many think (a couple of decent purchases at Centre Back
and left midfield with the Peter Lovenkrands money may alter my view)
and we still do not have an out and out penalty box striker. I take us
to narrowly win the Championship and my hope is that some of our
homegrown youngsters (Hutton, Adam, McCormack) can make an impact in
doing so. This is so important for the morale of our youth set up and
it could start the ball rolling with our youngters being shown that
there really is something to aim for.
As far as Europe is concerned, still playing in 2006 would be progress.
It would be amazing if this was in the Champions League, pretty darned
good if we fell into the UEFA Cup after finishing 3rd in the CL Group
stages, but less than acceptable if we are not there at all. I am full
of hope rather than expectation.
Whatever happens my fellow bears, I hope it is as enjoyable as this
close season (now remind me, why was that so enjoyable again? Ah,
yes………”The helicopter is changing direction!!…”
jaws73