Comments, reviews and articles on life as viewed from an island off the West Coast of Scotland.
The Green Hoops Of Recovery
Published on August 2, 2005 By AlexMatheson In Football
Well done, Celtic. And way to go Gordon Strachan!!!

Okay, so the Bhoys haven't managed the turn around that would have stunned the football world and seen them make it into the next round of the Champions League but they have done themselves and their manager proud.

WGS has done his job just as well as MON and in the space of a week has shaken things up and brought the team back to life. A clean sheet and four goals, some very fluid play and a work rate from all the players that would put Egyptian pyramid builders to shame. It is a shame the result wasn't better but the green shoots of recovery are there.

Once again, John Hartson was immense and netted his fourth goal in two games. It was Alan Thomson, however, who got the ball rolling (erm, sorry) with a well executed penalty even if the Artmedia keeper was already diving the wrong way. That set things up rather nicely at the end of the first half with the score 2 - 0 to the Hoops. We got what we needed about 10 minutes into the second half with a goal from the unlikely source of defender Stephen McManus who headed home a low drive by Shaun Maloney - a deflection by an Artmedia defender helped the ball into the net but you take them anyway you can get them in these games. And it was Saturday's hero Craig Beattie who grabbed the fourth, a stunning header from a superb cross ball delivered by the much maligned Mo Camara. Sadly, this fourth goal arrived too late in the day (in the 82nd minute) and time ran out before the Bhoys could grab a fifth and force extra time. If they had found that elusive fifth then I have no doubt they'd have won with an extra 30 minutes to play...

All that said, there is still work to do. Celtic have done extremely well tonight and WGS is right to be proud of his team. Now the challenge lies in keeping the momentum going. With another couple of good results in the SPL and the return of some key players - missing tonight and perhaps now worrying about how they'll get back into the first eleven - I see the potential for a treble (the league and both Scottish cups for the uninitiated). If our new oriental addition - Shunsuke Nakamura (hope I've got that right) - is as good as his word, and can bring some creative flair to the midfield, well who knows?

And again, to all those who have called for Gordon Strachan's head, the team deserves better supporters than you. The media always take a pop in these circumstances and who really cares what they say - it's a case of anything to sell the Daily Rag, or up the ratings. But to hear so called supporters spray the manager (and players) with such vitriol is sorry news indeed. There will always be ups and downs in football and you have to take the highs with the lows. I ain't happy to see us out of Europe but life must go on. Let Gordon Strachan do his job because I think he could take us just as far as MON, maybe even further!

Good on you, Gordon!!!

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