After finishing last season rudderless Celtic’s decision-making has again been questioned after their latest appointmentIt is never a particularly good look when Scottish football observers turn up noses at coaches from overseas. The Scots may claim to have founded the beautiful game but a pioneering status within it expired long ago. An unwillingness to broaden horizons and routinely petty, parochial attitudes have done the national sport no favours for decades.Nonetheless, and even before the specific credentials of Ange Postecoglou to manage Celtic are considered, it is worth remembering that foreign managers do not have a particularly successful record north of Hadrian’s Wall. For every Dick Advocaat – who enjoyed vast resources at Rangers – there are umpteen Roberto Landis. Paul...
Phil Foden should be central for City and England, neutrals should root for Brighton and Celtic seek a long-term planPhil Foden must start. Whether it is Manchester City’s most important matches, or for England at a European Championship, he must start. City’s win over Borussia Mönchengladbach was confirmation of this, and while his midfield mates Kevin De Bruyne and Ilkay Gündogan took the headlines for their goals, Foden put in an imperious performance at the tip of City’s midfield, providing a sumptuous no-look assist to take his goal contributions this season to 20 (from 36 appearances). There are others that could play this position for both City and England, but on current form it would be a huge shame not...
The club should apologise for a Dubai trip that has disfigured a season already notable for toil on the pitch and mess off itCeltic: The Implosion. The imagination of a scriptwriting genius would have been necessary to piece together a chain of events which are now far enough removed from fiction as to fatally undermine what was billed as a history-making season. Grand plans relating to a 10th title in a row are long gone; instead, Celtic’s collective decision-making has reduced the club to a laughing stock. Their supporters, normally so fiercely defensive of reputation, have been united in horror at the unravelling of a setup which appeared untouchable 12 months ago. It really didn’t take much to topple this...
If Celtic stumble against St Johnstone on Sunday the board will be forced to act to try to halt the tailspinWhat the recent scenes at Celtic Park might have been like had supporters been allowed into the stadium, we have been left to ponder. As an unruly element wasted valuable police resources, mid-pandemic, with protests after last Sunday’s defeat by Ross County, it was easy to think Celtic’s players had got off lightly.Tens of thousands have not been allowed to howl disapproval during defeat to Rangers, embarrassment at the hands of Sparta Prague or a League Cup exit to a club with one-20th of Celtic’s wage bill. Related: David Martindale's journey from prison to leading Livingston Continue reading...
Talk of 10 titles in a row belies falling standards in Scotland. Is a home defeat to Ferencvaros really such a surprise any more?If Celtic take delivery of the Scottish Premiership trophy for a 10th time in succession come May, you can guarantee a bloody nose at the hands of Ferencvaros will not feature as a reference point. Nor will previous European embarrassments at the hands of Cluj, AEK Athens, Malmö and Maribor amid dominance at home.It remains an astonishing reality that winning by umpteen lengths in what is, at most, a two-horse race matters significantly more to some than making inroads in a more illustrious competition. The remainder of Scottish football has no reason to feel smug about Celtic’s...