I think we can all agree that if DVDs were still a thing, then not many of us would be queuing up for this season’s highlights limited edition disc, even if we do romp home to yet another league title.
It’s hardly been swashbuckling stuff on the park since the return of Brendan Rodgers. In fact, most of the drama has taken place off the pitch this season, and I think some of that drama has had a huge part to play in the inconsistencies we have witnessed on the field in what could still be a double-winning campaign.
Before I continue, let’s bear in mind that Celtic currently sit three points clear at the top of the table and still have a Scottish Cup final in the diary for 25th May. This is not a brag, but important context for this article.
If we were on our way to losing the league, this would look like I was making all the excuses for poor form. But we aren’t, so this is to celebrate the fact that, despite all that’s been thrown at us this season, we have still managed to dig in the heels and grind out some huge results.
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Departures & New Hoops
I must also point out this is not a premature celebration as I am fully aware that it’s not over until it’s over, but merely a gentle wee nod to the adversities the team, manager and club has had to endure and overcome.
Let’s forget for a minute (if you can) that we lost Ange, Jota, Mooy and Starfelt almost in one fell swoop, that was a previous regime and out of Brendan Rodgers' hands. It didn’t help with the preparation for this season, granted, but for me, the bad luck began the minute someone leaked our new home shirt on Twitter. I’ve never seen a backlash like that for a piece of clothing since Lady Gaga turned up at the MTV award wearing a dress made of raw meat.
I was in the 'not for me' camp when it came to the shirt. Still am. I’m not going to get back into the debate about it, but the fact it split the support so much shows that Adidas made an absolute hoop of it. Or maybe the problem was they didn’t make enough of a hoop of it?
The injury pile-up
The summer transfer window was like one of The Play That Goes Wrong shows when it came to our centre-back situation. We lost our Starfelt replacement (Nawrocki), so brought in another centre-half (Lagerbielke) to replace him. He was then dropped for our sixth-choice (Scales), who also kept out our emergency signing from Liverpool (Phillips). Despite all that, we still managed to win games and stay top of the league.
The summer window slammed shut on Brendan’s knuckles before he had the chance to drag through the quality that he needed. But it was fine, because we all knew the January transfer window was going to be a busy one for us. Right?
And at least we still had Hatate. Nope! You can’t help but feel sorry for that boy, especially when you witnessed the emotion pouring from him when limping off the pitch at Celtic Park only a few minutes into the Atletico Madrid game. You could feel the sadness fall over that stadium like rainfall. A huge blow and, let’s be fair, he was sorely missed.
Hatate's last three performances have proved just how much he was missed. That’s no slight to the men who have battled for his shirt in his absence. Bernardo has played some decent football and scored a couple of important goals; however, his lack of forward and clinical passing has been a real frustration for some. Young Odin Holm looks like a wee bit of shiny coal, but I think after another season of pressure he could soon become that diamond we all hoped he would be.
The Abada Dilemma
We were put out of the League Cup by Kilmarnock early on to put an end to any hopes of another treble. Yet another knock to the confidence of the team, yet we kept grinding out some good results in the league whilst putting on some very good performance home and away in the Champions League.
Some were saying Brendan couldn’t cut it in Europe and were getting in a tizz about Celtic never making progress in Europe. But the reality of it was, Brendan ended up with one more point than the treble-winning team of last season managed under Ange Postecoglou. So, even with a weakened squad and a poor transfer window, the gaffer was still managing to eke out better results in Europe.
Now, let’s look at the off-field drama... Starting with the very sensitive subject of Liel Abada and the Celtic fans' support of Palestine. What a player he was for us, first and foremost. And what an absolute mess of a situation he found himself in through absolutely no fault of his own. We showed support for Palestine, and rightly so in my eyes. But none of us will know how this affected his mental health, family life and ultimately, his drive to be successful with our club. All politics aside, there was no doubt that we were losing and have lost a real key player.
This was another situation that was out of the gaffers’ hands. Yet he dealt with it in the best way possible in order for the players and fans to be able to focus on the football, again.
Rodgers still fighting our corner
The January transfer window opened and shut with pretty much no movement other than Kühn and Idah. Both were seen as very underwhelming additions, but both have now come up trumps in many games in this last push for the title. Kühn's form and Idah’s goals could prove vital come the end of the season. And these lads were specifically hand-picked by, none other than, our gaffer. I doubted these signings, but again Brendan proved me wrong.
I could also bring the whole VAR debacle into this as well, but I’ve already written a thousand words and I can’t be bothered writing another ten thousand more on the refereeing performances this season. We all know it’s not fit for purpose. And that’s coming from all club’s fans, not just our fantastic support.
Carter-Vickers' injuries, Johnston's concussions, banning the Green Brigade and a whole lot more. I could go on, but I think I’ve made my point here. No matter what has been thrown at our team, manager, and club this season, we have kept fighting.
People keep trying to knock us down, but we keep getting up and throwing the punches when it really matters. We do it round after round, season after season, yet the same old 'journos' and pundits keep making out we’ve lost our fight. Granted, there are still a few tough rounds to go, and we are both going to take some bruises. But if the season so far is anything to go by, I have total faith in the players and coaching team. Because, despite how much of a doing we have taken this time around, they always seem to find a way to land that knock-out blow.
It’s been a battle, but that final bell is going to sound sweeter than any other this past few decades if we come out on top. And I, for one, will not be throwing in the towel any time soon as long as we have Brendan Rodgers in our corner.
Jerry Taylor // @JerryTaylorAyr