Celtic travel to Switzerland with fan morale in the balance. It's often said football is a fickle world but most clubs would surely be baffled by the schizophrenic nature of the Celtic support. Coming off the high of beating one of the better teams in Scotland 5-1 there was a bitter end to that week, first drawing 0-0 with FC Sion and only a few days later getting beat by a team who had previously not scored a goal this season, St.Johnstone. Suddenly our team became dissected to the nth degree on fan messageboards, supporter's buses, social networking sites and radio phone-ins, they were largely slated. As an example, the reaction to news that Scott Brown was signing a new contract suddenly seemed a heavy blow when only a week earlier most seemed primed for a good season from the captain. Add to this a feeling of bemusement at the lack of activity in the transfer market and it leads to a caustic atmosphere in a week which is pure pressure for the team as it is.
Whichever way fan morale sits right now, Thursday's game is a must win (or in fact a must score draw). This is not because of how the fans would react but simply how beneficial European football would be to Celtic Football Club this year. Financially it'd be a welcome boost to finances which at a base level encourage mediocrity within the team and which strangle any ambition the board may or may not have. On the pitch it would be a good test for players showing glimpses of a higher quality that we've not seen at Celtic Park for years. For Neil Lennon, it provides another platform to improve as a coach, manager, tactician. On top of all this, if it doesn't go our way then the board, the manager and the team will be under fire (and rightly so) going forward until they deliver a big result again, the first oppurtunity most likely the Rangers game at Ibrox .
It's easy to feel defeated already, Celtic's away record Europe is pitiful. Sion fans on their messageboards even commented that the next day in Glasgow, the Celtic fans they came across the previous day so jovial and buoyant were quiet and reserved on Friday, perhaps already seeing the future, thumped in Europe again. However, I saw enough on Thursday night that proved to me FC Sion are there for the taking. Of course it's hard to judge a team on one viewing when they are playing away in Europe, they gave us plenty of space to play football and only broke forward when our midfield and full backs pushed forward. They might be a completely different proposition tomorrow, for starters they won't give us as much respect. This is both a positive and a negative. On the upside, it should open up space for Celtic to penetrate the defence that was so organised and difficult to break down last Thursday. The downside? Well it's simply that our defence is absolutely atrocious on the back foot & under pressure. We fell apart last year in Utrecht in difficult circumstances and Daniel Majstorovic rolled back that clock on Sunday against St.Johnstone when the stands were bursting with frustration. At one point he seemed to be receiving the ball and with no Saints players within 5 or 10 yards would launch it out for a throw in. It will be a difficult opening period Stade Tourbillon in front of fans eager and baying for the blood of a giant club on their doorstep that don't look great shakes playing wise. If we make it to half-time without conceding then I would put money on us making it through.
The news this morning that Biram Kayal, Kelvin Wilson and Gary Hooper travelled with the squad to Switzerland is a massive boost. It shouldn't be forgotten that one of the biggest reasons for poor results this week was was that we were missing our key players in key positions and everyone would feel a sense of relief and hope if even one or two of this trio make it in time for the match. Regardless, FC Sion are there to be beat. I believe we CAN beat them and I think if nothing else, Neil Lennon provides the team with a belief they can win every game. Hopefully away from the boiling pot of emotion that is Celtic Park the team can focus, pull together and give us a result a club of our size would be proud of away in Europe.
Massive game for Celtic - Utrecht last year was a crushing blow to the club, and we need European football to supply the crucial 6-8 million needed to strengthen the team.
ReplyDeleteIf we want players to agree to join us, we need to offer european football too, as the SPL alone is not going to attract any players who have options elsewhere.
Can't disagree with any of that, spot on!
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