Style and Substance

With not only the current players at his disposal, but also the type of players he purchased in the Summer, there was certainly a feeling amongst many observers that Neil Lennon was building a squad full of very technically able footballs.

While there has been the odd game or run of a couple of matches where the players have not expressed themselves upon the game, I would say that it has been generally accepted that Celtic at times though appearing fragile defensively or other times lacking a cutting edge up front; they have definitely aimed to pass the ball and play forward thinking football.

A return to fitness of a couple of key players, the addition of a couple of new faces in the Winter transfer window, alongside a general gelling of the squad, has given the team an added strength and has seemed to have sorted out the any deficiencies preventing Celtic from allowing their brand of attractive football becoming consistently successful.

Without drawing too much on sentiment, it appears as if Celtic looked early season to be moving in a similar direction as the club did in Tommy Burns’s reign, certainly in terms of the style and expectation of how the game should be played. Burns was also the first Celtic manager to really utilise the foreign transfer market. Players like Di Canio, Cadete, Van Hooijdonk, and Andy Thom brought a swagger and technical ability that allowed the team to play with flair and an attacking mentality which observers thoroughly enjoyed. Despite much early season criticism (possibly understandable given Celtic’s shambolic squad performance last season under much weaker management than this season certainly looks to be offering us), it looks like a worldwide scouting network has come up trumps and in terms of building a squad and giving the fans value for money, I don’t imagine many Celtic fans will be complaining at the moment.


Neil’s ability to focus his performances and those around him as a player definitely looks to have stood him in good stead and he has brought a visible sense of directness totally opposed to his predecessor that gives a great foil for the swashbuckling forward play. The mentality Lennon seems to have instilled in his players have allowed him to add a real purpose to the aesthetic attacking style the likes of Izaguirre, Hooper, Stokes, and now Commons have shown so far. Beram Kayal really epitomises the teamwork, determination, and fight that the team Lennon himself excelled in under Martin O’Neill, hopefully marrying both approaches to provide Celtic with long term success.

The main difference that Lennon has brought to the club in comparison with his mentor O’Neil is a sense of squad, rather than a sense of team amongst the eleven on the park, with whom the manager clearly puts all his trust in. Lennon seems to have rotated pretty well, the usual unhappy squad play rumours seem to be quiet, certain players play in certain games, and to a man, he seems to have the players up for the fight.

Obviously there is a lot still to prove, and indeed improve on, but the signs are definitely there that this squad, which is terrifically youthful, can grow and be the building block to challenge a seemingly ever consistent Rangers team. However, it is against Rangers, and Hearts, and indeed other big fixtures that this team have the most demonstrate that they can handle the high pressure, physically demanding, important fixtures, as early season memories of Braga, Utrecht, and Rangers are still not forgotten.

Cut and Paste and Twist

Being someone who doesn’t read daily papers and indeed tries to avoid the tabloids at all costs, I tend to pick up on scandal and outrage at headlines or articles through word of mouth or more often that not, the internet. While hearing it through a third party allows you to take a step back and get less involved in the emotion of it all, you do get a sense of the media tide turning from time to time.

I had mentioned to someone at the weekend that Celtic seem so strong and in the past month picked up such momentum that you will start to hear less and less indignation from the Parkhead faithful.

I certainly felt the tide turning as reports of Scott Brown given the rite of reply against El Hadji Diouf’s claims of onfield oral assault, then even widespread coverage of Neil Lennon’s comments and not in a mocking ‘the paranoid Celtic Manager’ of Diouf, Naismith, Peter Houston, and Sunday’s referee.

Another look at today’s back pages in the newsagents proved the same. Celtic are so good that they can’t find anything bad to write, or are Rangers so far on the slide with poor form, injuries, cheating players, and questionable signings and transfer policy, that they are far easier pickings from now on in.

Those who feel most sections of the media exist with an anti-Celtic sentiment may well suggest that the Celtic juggernaut is gathering so much pace, leaving very little to chance in each of the past 5 or so matches that there is almost nothing that can be thrown across the back-pages against Celtic. A bit like the late Mr Stein’s assertion that if you are good enough the referee doesn’t matter, if you are good enough perhaps the level of media bias does not matter either. Celtic tearing Aberdeen apart seemingly on loop, and terrific performances against title challengers Rangers and Hearts, are not providing enough ammunition regardless how much the tabloid press would like to stick it to Celtic

The more reasonable amongst us may well chalk this down to the majority of the tabloid media being, well, tabloid. And in having a slant against the current strongest team makes no sense, as an editorial direction of negative stories would not provide a great volume of compelling headlines. But picking on a team not on their best of form, who look like they could be out-ranked consistently could provide enough headline, stories, spin-off stories, interviews and quotes to stir things up and keep them going for more than a while.

With Diouf’s every step being watched, growing injury and suspension worries, and points to be lost and competitions to be exited with such a congested fixture list; seeing Celtic march on in the background could well leave Rangers as the media’s succulent lambs to the slaughter.