Strachan: The Case For The Defence

Gordon Strachan has been manager for more than 6 months now and he has been credited with reintroducing the "footballing way" to Celtic again. Revisionists have been quick to make Martin O'Neill the villian of the dark side of WGS's total football strategy.

Where MON built a team on the back of defensive negativities, so it goes, Strachan has made Celtic a free-flowing, football-first entity which has turned Celtic from scrappers into Scotland's equivalent of Barcelona.

So what does the evidence suggest? Not alot. Over the past handful of games, since beating Rangers, we've failed to play any of this alleged silky football and haven't kept a clean sheet against any of Scotland's diddy teams.

Worse still, of these diddy teams, Celtic had to come from behind against the Sheep and Hibs to claim the points and pathetic performances against Livingston, Inverness, and Dunfermline have totally shattered the myth of Strachan's footballing savvy.

MON's Celtic played better football than the evidence shows. What of the mighty victory over Rangers, who are nothing better than mid-table cannon fodder? Even then, they had their eye on progressing in Europe and their own managerial crisis to deal with - which has since been resolved.

Meanwhile Celtic are staggering into 2006 with a team which lacks a defence. How can we fear going to play against a team which has done as much to self-implode as Hearts yet they still manage to be on our tails?

I'll tell you why. It's because Strachan hasn't a clue how to build a defence. He got lucky with signing Boruc as goalie in a position that MON was never able to successfully fix, while letting Broto, who could have filled it, go in a gamble he lost.

Strachan's defensive record is woeful even by Rangers standards (if you consider the Greek dumplin who got sent off for a THIRD time in less than FOUR months last week).

McNamara - Strachan let him leave for nothing. Our most versatile defender and a player he said would be a first pick goes to Wolves.

Telfer - the wrong side of 34 who has no pace.

Camara - as bizarre a signing as you can get who amazingly started to come good. A Burnley reject who is woeful at crossing and can't defend but was learning. Then he's suddenly dropped without reason.

Agathe - Celtic's speedy right back under MON who had precision ability in the tackle but is an outcast under Strachan.

Balde - a dumplin of late.

Varga - Strachan turned a solid, albeit slow, performer into a donkey overnight. MON's ability to coach a player is a talent Strachan doesn't possess.

Du Wei - signed to fill out the reserves. Talked of as being an intelligent player but no evidence of this.

Virgo - another baffling signing by Strachan. One can't help but wonder if there is still the mirth of laughter in Brighton at this one.

McManus - our first choice central defender with most potential who can do the Bosman walk in a few hours.

It's stark. It's obvious. The guy has no clue in the defence. We are shocking at the back and vulnerable everywhere else because of this. We have no strategy in the make up of the backline in anything more than short term cover. But for Boruc we'd be slaughtered at the back, and this can't be allowed to fester when we are exposed to a resurgent Rangers.

Strachan has failed us. Let's hope Roy Keane can save us.

Roy Keane Comes Home

Roy Keane is a world class player who is a born winner. He is the player who turned Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson from a group of journey-men into the World's Best Side.

The World's Best Side. Understand what that means. The one player who made that possible is Keane. Nobody else. Just Roy Keane. Manchester United have realized their mistake and are staggering from crisis to crisis on a level only Rangers F.C. can relate to.

Keane could have waited another week and signed for Real Madrid, but when Celtic come in for you there can only be one winner. This is yet another example of the stunning transfer policy that Celtic have. Celtic pulled in the like of Bellamy and Nakamura in the last year.

Celtic truly are a team going places.

So just where do we go from here? Do we want to do a Rangers and plan to get into the knockout stages of the Champions League? Celtic have known some heights in recent years getting to the UEFA Cup Final. That is equivalent to getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League.

Rangers fans take note. That's the difference between being an also-ran and playing in a European cup Final.

Roy Keane is the foremost player to play in Scotland. He is a world renounded player who everybody knows. He has helped restablish the Irishness in Celtic F.C. which was removed from the club when Martin O'Neill left.

What will likely happen is that Nakamura, who has flattered to deceive, will be dropped and Keane will take his place in a midfield made up of Neil Lennon, Stillian Petrov, Keane, and Aiden McGeady.

The next Old Firm game will be very interesting!

Of Managers And Sheep

Rangers F.C. stand on the pinnacle of making Scottish history as the first team from this nation to reach the Champions League knock out stages.

Even at our peak of rubbing shoulders with the top teams in Europe, Celtic came within 3 minutes of the same feat. There's no doubting Martin O'Neill's managerial genius but Big Eck is about to go one better that the brilliant man from the Six Counties.

Yet, at Ibrox on Saturday, we saw the shameful scenes as half a stadium of so-called supporters were booing their team and McLeash from the park at full-time. It would have been a full stadium if those already running from the park had hung about, but their tea was getting cauld.

Then today we have some of Murray's press poodles lapping up his latest hyperbole about some big investor about to sink 10m pounds into the first team. Just what on earth is going on at Ibrox that Rangers F.C. would seek to sack their manager and be ready to put a war-chest in the hands of the incumbent for his disposal?

How about Rangers F.C. give the money to their current manager who has operated with dignity and honour while his Chairman, club, supporters, and players have all let him down?

Is it any wonder Rangers are in the gutter?

This could only be made worse by if the club fails to make it through. Surely even Rangers are not that incompetent and will allow their manager to bow out with his head held high.

Meanwhile, just what is going on at Pittodrie?

Here we have a ground which is well known for being a place of terror for Celtic. A few years ago, some ned sheep fans were exposed for assaulting Celtic players with missiles, and then we have a totally nonsensical situation of a blow up sheep floating down gently onto the pitch, and the coppers lose it and pull every one from the Celtic enclosure.

Utterly mad, when you consider the thug who assaulted Celtic Legend Neil Lennon with a coin and there was no attempt to restrain the felon.

But should Celtic players really expect the polis up there to do anything to restrain an out of control fan base?