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DAVID POTTER'S CELTIC VIEW – AN EASTER RISING?
By David Potter
We'll take that one! Gretna 0 Celtic 3 was far from vintage Celtic, and “sparkling” and “dazzling” did not really come into it, but it was workmanlike and three points.
The goals from Scott McDonald, Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink and Georgios Samaras were well taken and it was nice to see that all our three strikers took a goal, and scored them well. Does this mean that we are turning the corner? Are we now on form again?
Easter is a good time for risings (as both Gethsemane and Dublin could tell us). Is this to be a Celtic rising to grasp what we are entitled to, namely the SPL Championship?
As I understand it, we have nine fixtures to come. Three against Rangers, three against Motherwell and one each against Dundee United, Hibs and Falkirk seems to be the likely programme. There really is no leeway, however. We really will have to win them all. Celtic teams have done this sort of thing in the past. The question now is - is this a Celtic team worthy of the name? Can they deliver to the supporters what they want and deserve?
Sunday's game itself was surreal and almost weird. More than half of Almondvale Stadium was empty, the crowd was less than 4,000 and it is not often that Celtic play before a crowd as small as that. The opposition was nominally Gretna, but they were further from home than Celtic were. The atmosphere was akin to some of those reserve games that we see on Celtic TV. Next week at Ibrox will be somewhat different, one feels.
The goals, as we said, were good and there were some fine pieces of football as well, but there was an awful lot of mediocrity. Not to worry about that, though. We are still in the SPL race, and as the Romans said “dum spiro, spero” – “while I breathe, I hope”. It was as well to get this game out of the way. The stern tests lie ahead.
But Scott Brown will miss three of them after his booking against Gretna! What on earth is this talented young man thinking of? When will he give himself a shake, and realise his over-aggressive approach is doing himself and the Club no favours? There is no point in claiming persecution by zealous referees. The fact is that Scott has earned himself another three games holiday, just when we need him. Or do we?
Setanta TV was interesting. Because of the nature of the game, we heard exactly what Gordon Strachan thought of Scott McDonald! We also saw Scott was less than happy when he was taken off. Attaboy, Scott! Be angry! Show your Manager what you think of him, by scoring a few on Saturday. Be aggressive, be competitive, be determined. Be an Australian, Scott!
On a lighter note, did you see the Celtic fan apparently offering money to a Gretna player? I hope that was for a joke!
So Ibrox on Saturday. A Celtic win opens the SPL up (we would be even with Rangers on points). A draw means we are clinging on (but a draw would suit Rangers more than us). However, a defeat means that we start playing golf or even start cutting the grass and weeding the garden until August.
Finally, a word about gallant Gretna who have now played Celtic for the last time for some considerable time, one feels. But surely there is a place for them somewhere in Scottish football? They mustn't be allowed to disappear altogether!
David Potter
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