Five lessons from beating Sevco to take to Barcelona

The contrast couldn’t be starker than from playing Sevco to facing Barcelona, in 2007 Gordon Strachan’s side did things in reverse when they scraped a 2-1 win over Gretna at Fir Park on the back of a similar scoreline against AC Milan.

After just two months in charge Brendan Rodgers has rediscovered one essential feature of any team- the ability to win, the winning mentality.

Even on Saturday there could have been a wobble. After losing a soft goal to Joe Garner Celtic struggled a little before Scott Sinclair put the hoops 3-1 in front. Under Ronny Deila would that have happened?

Under new management there is a new mentality and approach to the way Celtic do things- lessons have been learned, new ideas embraced.

In the recent friendly in Dublin Barcelona hinted at the damage they can do, they can crush the most organized teams in the world coming at them from various angles.

The joy, and relief of Saturday’s win will have given Celtic a boost but 90 minutes in the Nou Camp isn’t for the faint hearted- for starters the possession stats could easily be reversed.

In Brendan we trust is the new mantra of the hoops support, the Celtic boss will place his trust in his players as a whole new adventure begins mixing it with the very elite of the game between now and early December.d.

BY Guest Writer Paul McCallum

CLICK HERE for the Five lessons from beating Sevco.

 

Scott Brown vs Joey Barton

First and foremost, let’s address the elephant in the room before we delve into more important matters. Much of the build up to the game had been usurped by a certain Joey Barton and his penchant for a Twitter scrap. The pseudo-intelligent social commentator turned footballer (or is should that be the other way round?) had stoked the flames before he’d even kicked a ball in Scottish football. Apparently, Scott Brown wasn’t even in his league. Well, Saturday’s game merely highlighted how delusional, and frankly idiotic, this war of words really was. 

I fully accept that there will always be some kind of needle when such an intense rivalry exists however, I firmly believe in the mantra ‘do your talking on the pitch’. The kind of chest beating machismo that was emanating from Barton’s Twitter feed was, frankly, nauseating and always liable to leave him with egg on his face or, doing a Broadfoot as it’s known in some quarters.

Brown won the contest hands down and Joey took an almighty bashing on social media over the weekend. Hopefully, this will see Joey offer opponents the respect they deserve whether he believes himself to above Scottish football or not. In reality Barton was second to every ball, turning over possession on a multitude of occasions, thus putting his team under even more pressure. Barton was slow of body and slow of mind, the game passing him by in a blur of green and white.

 

Moussa Dembele

Dembele, at just 20 years old, was pitched in to a match many established players have struggled to make a mark on. Having lost Leigh Griffiths to injury, the inclusion of Dembele would test how deep our squad is (particularly in the striker department) and whether we rely too heavily on Griffiths’ goal scoring exploits.

Every single question was answered emphatically as the young striker scored what is known as the prefect hat trick; header, right foot and left foot. He also pitched in with an assist for Scott Sinclair, dissecting the ailing opposition defence with a pass that took out three defenders, leaving Sinclair one on one with Foderingham.

His hat trick was the first in a derby match for 50 years and reinforced Brendan Rogers faith in a young player who clearly has a bright future, but who also has the ability to make a considerable impact on the team immediately.

 

Kieran Tierney

The rise of Kieran Tierney has been nothing short of remarkable. I previously stated that his fast tracking to the Celtic first XI was potentially Ronny Deila’s high water mark in a turbulent period at the club. The youngster has been nothing short of sensational in short period of time he has been in the side, often showing more composure, ability and desire than many more experienced campaigners.

While the media were stoking the Brown/Barton confrontation, there was also a direct comparison to be made between Tierney and Lee Wallace. Now, Wallace is a good player but the hyperbole being spouted in relation to his inclusion, or lack thereof, in the Scottish national team has been quite significant in some quarters.  Considering young talented players such as Tierney and Andy Robertson are now establishing themselves at a very high level, coupled with the fact Wallace has been playing lower league football for the last few years, suggests it’s not quite as clear cut as some would commentators would suggest.

The fact Wallace was picked at left back in some ex players Celtic/Rangers combined teams had the distinct hint of bias. Young Tierney exhibited exactly why we will be fighting off bids that may better those accepted for the likes of Forster and Van Dijk. The boy is a serious player both in defence and attack and is an essential component to the way Brendan Rogers wants us to play.

 

Stuart Armstong

Stuart Armstrong has been something of a forgotten man in recent times. Failing to win over many sections of the support, Armstrong has been the topic of keen debate with some acknowledging the potential he possesses while others just don’t believe he has ‘it’. I for one have always liked Armstrong believing him to be a technically proficient, intelligent football player.

In actual fact, I thought he would be the kind of player who would thrive under Brendan Rogers only to see him ostracised from the first team squad all together. In all honesty, it looked as if we might have seen the last of Armstrong until Saturday’s appearance from the bench; arguably his best in a Celtic shirt. Tom Rogic was having a decent game but the travails of international duty, as well as the fact he was clearly targeted by the opposition midfield, had taken it’s toll and more than a few eyebrows will have bene raised when Armstrong was put on in place of the talented Aussie.

Armstrong was sensational when he came on. Playing in a more favoured central position, he linked play beautifully, tested the goalkeeper on more than one occasion, played freely popping up on the left, the right and through the centre causing the opposition defence all sorts of problems. His goal, coming after a 14 pass move, was taken with aplomb and showed a composure that has been missing since his arrival from Dundee UTD. Hopefully this can help the player kick on and, at the same time, will add even more depth to a squad that is looking, domestically at least, light years ahead of the rest.

 

 

Brendan Rogers

A special mention must got to our esteemed manager. His ability to spot a player allied to his willingness to integrate a tactical flexibility to the team has been thoroughly enjoyable to watch.

We have already played a number of formations ranging from his favoured 4-3-3 to 4-4-2 and even 3-5-2 despite having played relatively few league games. The tactical fluidity is something we have been crying out for and was a feature promised under the old management team. There is a boldness to his in game decisions, both tactically and in terms of substitutions, as he continuously shows a willingness to find solutions to win a match.

The purchase of Toure, Sinclair and Dembele have been hugely successful thus far, and the upturn in form of player like Forrest and Armstrong cannot be understated. There is still a long, long way to go but in Brendan Rogers we appear to have a manger who just gets it. We should enjoy every minute of it while we can.