Celtic, Have Plenty In Reserve. Celtic 3 Hibs 1

The week of gloating at oor friends in blue money troubles ended wie a 4-2 defeat at Ayburdeen and last week starting wie 'Gloomy Monday' and these words, blown, race, wide, open and title being arranged into something troublesome.

It was a long week when all you had to ponder was 'The Gamble', that we have seem to have taken, which is to stay, just a bawhair in front of R*ngers. 'The Gamble' is now looking akin to asking a race horse to run the final furlong wie three legs.

Wie the week dragging, a decision was made to attend the reserve game against Hearts. You see, the chance to run the rule over oor new signings, Milan Musan and Niall McGinn, would, I thought gie me some sort of comfort until a fraught Saturday. Going to the reserve games might, in the future, seem like a decent option as John Park is spending so much time watching young kids that he might end up on 'The List'.

Wie us signing Musan, McGinn and Michael Lang in this window, added to being linked wie Ched Evans and Morten Nielsen plus last season signing, Koki Mizuno and Ben Hutchinson and, finally, oor supposed tie up for any Barca cast offs, then risking yer marriage or relationship going to watch reserve games in public parks, while being the actions of a demented fool, might just let you see the future in the making.

It may also be more entertaining and it will be cheaper.

Anyway, the game was called off due to bad weather, which is rare, in Scotland, in January, and I had a meeting to attend that informed us that Call Centres are not fit for purpose, much like Celtic's left back options.

So, there was no chance that I could ponder whether Milan Musan could fill that left back slot but it did gie me mair time to ponder the Stephen McManus question.  It was a bad week for Mick. Slaughtered on the bastions of the bampots, that is the phone-in and in the written press, Mick was becoming this seasons Gary Caldwell. There in lies the problem.

Mick and Caldervarro have been partners in crime for 3 seasons. While the progress in Caldervarro has been noticeable, Mick has seemed to have stalled and still looks like the same player he was when he broke into the team. That player was going to be sold to St Mirren (I think) if 1) Bratislava and Motherwell hudnae happened and 2) if Adam Virgo hudane got injured. Only a cleansheet and a faultless performance, against Hibs, would save him from another week of being battered wie the threat of Glenn Loovens and the mythical Darren O'Dea.  

The myth of the mythical Darren O'Dea flounders and wilts, as his moment under the floodlights in the San Siro fades. Oor manager could decide that his mythical powers are worthy of Burnley and gamble on the rebuilt knees of John Kennedy. In not playing, Darren, has become better than evidence suggests.  

Saturday was a tale of two games. One of the games I wish I didnae have to bother about. It's an unpleasureable feeling, one akin to being sick, that I need to be bothered what R*ngers are doing.

Some Celtic fans take great pleasure in watching R*ngers and it's almost as if they want R*ngers to fail more than they want us to be successful. I'm not one of those. I would rather R*ngers were that much of a nonenity, a wish that may be granted, that they would never darken my thoughts in regards to my fitba' happiness.  

While in times before the Internet you still wished them death, by a plague that eats their insides, the Cyberworld has took the rubber necking, of gloating at yer rivals woes, up a few notches wie sites being busier and bouyant when defeats or tales of suffering are announced that involve yer rivals.

The Saturday morning stats sweep, before a bookie called Paddy got my donation to his Malaga mansion, showed that Aberdeen were the form team in Scotland and what was not lost that R*ngers and Hibs were next for the title: "Form Kings Of Scotland". Wie this in mind, as I set off, I just hoped we would still have a one game advantage by 5pm that evening.

The pubs on Tollcross road were packed wie "Car Crash Chasers". Proof of this, is the speed they empty when the R*ngers game finishes. They are not interested in a pre-match pint and banter. They need their fix of woe. They left wie a spring in their step and an air of gloat after a 0-0, boring, turgid draw, when both teams reverted to type.

The walk to the ground was taken up wie thoughts of getting a two game advantage back and dodging groups of "youths", a term used in the most liberial sense, on Burgher Street who had turned it into Buckfast, Magners and Mad Dog Alley. This dodge was then followed by a bit of light entertainment, for me anyway, at the sight of a vendor on Springfield Road still trying to punt Henrick Larsson flags. I could picture a garage, in a house in Springburn, full to bursting wie other such merchindise. Marko Viduka scarfs, Lubo keyrings and Jorge Cadete wigs.

The teams came out wie the stadium, again, showing the effects of the current climate both on and off the park. The players must be used to the green empty seats greeting them as they run oot the tunnel. If no-one can get excited aboot a game against Hibs, who we, as a rule, do have entertaining games against, then maybe it's all lost.

The players seemed to hang around in The Huddle for longer than usual. There seemed to be a few more voices saying their bit. It must have worked as in the opening 12mins I saw more attacks than I witnessed in my Inbox after I gave that Prince of Nigeria my bank details for him to wire 100 trillion billion Dollars to it.

From the 2nd corner of the game, Jan Vennegoor Of Hessellink out jumped Rob Jones and forced the Hibs goalie- the Pole before the Pole in the current Dundee Utd goal, who we have signed- into a save and the rebound was rifled home by Scott McDonald. The delight of an early goal something that under oor manager we have not seen to often. In the excitment I lost my keys and my mobile decided it fancied a spell on The North Stand stairwell. The pressure had lifted after 2mins.

Before we scored the 2nd goal, in 12mins, we could have been 3 or 4 up. Another corner caused havoc and Caldervarro fired a heider goalwards, a game of pinball ensued and Mick McManus, in what is called "Punters Luck", a bet in which, the punter backs a player to score the first goal and he goes and scores the 2nd, slammed the ball into the net, giving him a record of 3 in 3 against Hibs at home.

His celebration afterwards was off a man who listens to the phone-ins and reads the papers. Still, he was cupable at the goal that made my prediction, after the 2nd goal that: "This is a 5 or 6 joab" seem as far off as R*ngers getting a loan to bail them oot until their season ticket money rolls in.

Oor habit of defending zonal and holding a high line has now cost us 6 goals in the last 2 games. The highline tactic resembles a game of Brutish Bulldug wie the defenders trying to block the attackers from getting into the 18 yard box.

Rob Jones broke the line and managed to get in front of Mick to heid the ball passed The Holy Goalie, who should have maybe came for the ball but he looked as bemused and confused at this tactic as the rest of us.

This goal didnae change the flow of the game and we did play some decent stuff in the first period but as HT approached the thought that we would rue the missed chances, and the fear of Derek Riordon, was begining to occupy my thoughts and not whether I should go and get a steak pie.

The second period plunged into the medicore that we know and love. The hope that we would replicate the first period attacking flair was replaced by slack passes and nervousness. We can be thankfull that Hibs didnae have a gameplan and that their manager is not as capable of average tactical tweaks, like Craig Levein, that reduce us to state that resembles a town after an earthquake.

We put the game to bed just when it looked like we would drag it to a nervous conclusion. Nakamura played a superb sandwedged chip to Scott Brown, who out fought the Hibs defender and squared a superb ball to Scott McDonald who did his best to balloon the ba' over the bar but it did end up in the net. Nearly knocked by shoulder oot, I punched the air so hard as the ba' went in.

Game over. A game that promised so much spluttered to an end. My notion that the reserves might gie us some excitment saw me looking over at the bench every 2 mins to see if oor manager would bring on Paddy McCourt. Just so he could either 1) show us some flashes of skill or 2) gie us all a laugh. Paddy is a cult hero amongst the Celtic support and I wonder if that cultness would wane if he ever did get a game and we find oot he is pish. Maybe he is better sitting on the bench and staring for the reserves. It seems yer star rises when you don't play.

The manager brought on a few subs wie little time for them to work up a sweat. A caller on 606 last night was moaning aboot, European Cup Winner, Rafa Benitez and his habit of bring on subs wie 12mins left. It conjured up the vision, for me, of oor manager wie a ginger and grey goatee beard and him dropping Robbie Keane for Cillian Sheridan.

After the 3rd goal went in the ground emptied. Joab done in the eyes of those that only come for victories and 3 points. They will miss one day that Paddy McCourt's super 7 and a half mins.

Leaving the ground the moans are still audibe over the slight praise. So, oor defence has mair holes than Blackburn, Lancashire but Aiden McGeady producing wing play better than Paul McCartney EVER produced wie his Band On The Run is what I pay for. Defenders are ugly big buggers but are an evil that is needed and I widnae mind a few decent ones but.....gie me 4-2, 5-4, 7-6 victories anyday of the week. Also, the FACT that I can say to my kid that I once saw Lee Naylor have a decent game is another plus point fae a freezing afternoon.

When leaving the stadium, two wee neds in front of me were singing "Go On Home", in a 14 year olds, drunken gusto while staggering freely. I had a chuckle to myself, I remember the days when the whole stairwell would have joined in wie them now......the look of disgust from fellow stair dwellers and the wide berth that they were given says a lot aboot how the support has changed.

Ootside, I bought NTV and The Alternative View, and was cheered to see the cracking picture of the Green Brigade display at Ipox. Also, The Alternative View had an interview wie Tom Grant, former Celtic Park Facilities Manager, who told us all that The Petite Merde was a wee chunt and would have sold his granny for money.

Not a bad Saturday.

Forza

**thanks to The Green Brigade for the pic**