CWOODPIONEER
Well-Known Member
By Michael Stewart
Brendan Rodgers job was to make sure there was xmas football after Celtics Euro debacle last season.
This week above all others we’ll discover if his side are any further forward under their Shiny faced boss.
Brendan Rodgers is well over a year
into his reign, however the jury is still out on Rodgers and his Glitterdome side.
And performances like Tuesday are exactly why that remains the case.
At times they looked like a team of under 12's and they then yet again for the umpteenth time appeared to wilt under the slightest bit of pressure in Europe.
And that is not going to be enough as they enter the biggest week of his Celts career so far.
On a week on Tuesday they will go and face Anderlecht, a side who will be buzzing after their battling display with 10 men against Munich.
Then it’s the small matter of Munich at the Girodome.
Now, if the Tims get their trousers pulled down yet again in Europe and lose to Anderlecht the pressure on Rodgers will be immense.
If they were to beat Anderlecht and then beat the mighty Rangers that pressure, in contrast, would be pretty much off, as that will appease the bigots in his support.
The bookies, meanwhile, reckon they’ll probably overcome Anderlecht and win at Pedro's developing Glasgow side.
In which case Celts fans would be entitled to ask if they have indeed moved forward under Rodgers? After all he has yet to register a champions league victory and is setting his team up as if they are some sort of footballing equivalent of the Harlem globetrotters.
And, I’ll be honest, I’m struggling to see it. I don’t sense any identity to what they are doing.
To Rodgers credit Johnny Hayes looks a hell of a signing. He took his place on the bench again the other night brilliantly.
But at the back, Celtic looked like lemons going over the cliff as soon as PSG showed signs of coming back into the game.
There’s clearly still a fragility there and that’s not historical.(like some other things?)
There are a lot of ugly players in that team.
If there is ever a week where that is going to get exposed it’s the one they’ve got coming up.
And the bad news for Rodgers is I don’t think he has helped himself with some of the things he has said.
The Celtic boss has been caned enough by others for slating other teams and their setups in Scotland.
If it was done to boost his own players’ confidence then fine — say it behind closed doors.(the Celtic way)
Rodgers has a target on his back
But by coming out and stating it so publicly he has painted a huge target on every one of their backs.
And you’d better believe PSG and co will be in the mood to go hunting next time.
If I was a PSG player, all I would be thinking is: ‘I’ll show you’.
Pedro doesn’t need to say a word.
I mean, come on. They have a brand new team compared to the league last season. They’re in transition this year.
And they have improved over the summer with the likes of Wee Alfredo and Ryan Jack.
Can Celtic learn anything from what Paris Saint Germain did to Celtic at Parkhead on Tuesday?
Not unless they have any Qatari friends with the best part of £1 billion lying spare they can’t.
I know there was a lot made of Celtic being poor but for me the big thing was PSG were just going about their business.
Rodgers’ side didn’t play well and looked like rabbits caught in the headlights.
But the way PSG kept the ball, the timing of their movement and their play in the final third was standard stuff.
Some people have compared it to Barcelona at their best, who used to keep the ball for fun.
But this PSG side has a real purpose to them. They want to cut teams open and destroy them, standard stuff really.
And when they don’t have the ball they work every bit as hard as when they do.
Celtic were utterly pathetic in possession and I thought Ntcham in particular was pretty gash, he cost £4.5 million, which is more than the value of Scottish football outside Rangers.
PSG shuffled them into areas they wanted them to be. It was phenomenal stuff.
Rangers can try and look at that, the way they suffocated Celtic and stopped them from coming out.
It was a tactic Aberdeen had some joy with in the Scottish Cup final before they eventually ran out of steam.
But what the Dons did was down to dogged determination. What PSG did was pure class.
And as soon as they picked up on one pass, they were in. They were so quick and efficient.
The thing is you need pace, power and real speed of movement to play like that. Rangers could have it, however after 6 games this season, for me though to comment that they don't would be a little harsh.
Morelos has shown what a difference it makes when you have someone who can put the ball in the net.
And the one new boy who has impressed me the more I have seen of him is Daniel Candeias.
But this week more than any other Caixinha needs all of his new boys to deliver.
If they do there might be enough to suggest the gap between Rangers and Celtic has in fact closed.
Brendan Rodgers job was to make sure there was xmas football after Celtics Euro debacle last season.
This week above all others we’ll discover if his side are any further forward under their Shiny faced boss.
Brendan Rodgers is well over a year
into his reign, however the jury is still out on Rodgers and his Glitterdome side.
And performances like Tuesday are exactly why that remains the case.
At times they looked like a team of under 12's and they then yet again for the umpteenth time appeared to wilt under the slightest bit of pressure in Europe.
And that is not going to be enough as they enter the biggest week of his Celts career so far.
On a week on Tuesday they will go and face Anderlecht, a side who will be buzzing after their battling display with 10 men against Munich.
Then it’s the small matter of Munich at the Girodome.
Now, if the Tims get their trousers pulled down yet again in Europe and lose to Anderlecht the pressure on Rodgers will be immense.
If they were to beat Anderlecht and then beat the mighty Rangers that pressure, in contrast, would be pretty much off, as that will appease the bigots in his support.
The bookies, meanwhile, reckon they’ll probably overcome Anderlecht and win at Pedro's developing Glasgow side.
In which case Celts fans would be entitled to ask if they have indeed moved forward under Rodgers? After all he has yet to register a champions league victory and is setting his team up as if they are some sort of footballing equivalent of the Harlem globetrotters.
And, I’ll be honest, I’m struggling to see it. I don’t sense any identity to what they are doing.
To Rodgers credit Johnny Hayes looks a hell of a signing. He took his place on the bench again the other night brilliantly.
But at the back, Celtic looked like lemons going over the cliff as soon as PSG showed signs of coming back into the game.
There’s clearly still a fragility there and that’s not historical.(like some other things?)
There are a lot of ugly players in that team.
If there is ever a week where that is going to get exposed it’s the one they’ve got coming up.
And the bad news for Rodgers is I don’t think he has helped himself with some of the things he has said.
The Celtic boss has been caned enough by others for slating other teams and their setups in Scotland.
If it was done to boost his own players’ confidence then fine — say it behind closed doors.(the Celtic way)
Rodgers has a target on his back
But by coming out and stating it so publicly he has painted a huge target on every one of their backs.
And you’d better believe PSG and co will be in the mood to go hunting next time.
If I was a PSG player, all I would be thinking is: ‘I’ll show you’.
Pedro doesn’t need to say a word.
I mean, come on. They have a brand new team compared to the league last season. They’re in transition this year.
And they have improved over the summer with the likes of Wee Alfredo and Ryan Jack.
Can Celtic learn anything from what Paris Saint Germain did to Celtic at Parkhead on Tuesday?
Not unless they have any Qatari friends with the best part of £1 billion lying spare they can’t.
I know there was a lot made of Celtic being poor but for me the big thing was PSG were just going about their business.
Rodgers’ side didn’t play well and looked like rabbits caught in the headlights.
But the way PSG kept the ball, the timing of their movement and their play in the final third was standard stuff.
Some people have compared it to Barcelona at their best, who used to keep the ball for fun.
But this PSG side has a real purpose to them. They want to cut teams open and destroy them, standard stuff really.
And when they don’t have the ball they work every bit as hard as when they do.
Celtic were utterly pathetic in possession and I thought Ntcham in particular was pretty gash, he cost £4.5 million, which is more than the value of Scottish football outside Rangers.
PSG shuffled them into areas they wanted them to be. It was phenomenal stuff.
Rangers can try and look at that, the way they suffocated Celtic and stopped them from coming out.
It was a tactic Aberdeen had some joy with in the Scottish Cup final before they eventually ran out of steam.
But what the Dons did was down to dogged determination. What PSG did was pure class.
And as soon as they picked up on one pass, they were in. They were so quick and efficient.
The thing is you need pace, power and real speed of movement to play like that. Rangers could have it, however after 6 games this season, for me though to comment that they don't would be a little harsh.
Morelos has shown what a difference it makes when you have someone who can put the ball in the net.
And the one new boy who has impressed me the more I have seen of him is Daniel Candeias.
But this week more than any other Caixinha needs all of his new boys to deliver.
If they do there might be enough to suggest the gap between Rangers and Celtic has in fact closed.
