They made hard work of it - that shot from Archibald hitting the bar in injury time had me cursing: "Here we bastard go again" under my breath - but Celtic finished the season with a trophy at least. A bitty first half where there was little or no real quality in the game, was enlivened in the second half when Bellamy came into his own and showed what a class act he is as a footballer, and by his moaning greeting face, what a first class muppet he is. (This opinion may be revised at a later date if he does decide to sign for Celtic permanently).
The seventh trophy for O'Neill since his time at Celtic, and the fans were tremendous in their send off for him, Robertson and Walford on the day but, albeit the unfortunate circumstances which prompted his decision to step down, like Reidski I've come to the conclusion that O'Neill's team is past its best and as he never looked like undertaking the radical overhaul of the squad necessary to strengthen Celtic, it is for the best that a new manager is coming in. Time will tell whether or not Strachan is the right man for the job.
Early indications are that Douglas will go to Leicester City, and Strachan's looking to sign Niemi as a replacement. If it comes off, that is a good way to be going on with.
2 comments:
Very emotional at the end, I thought. For all my recent criticisms of O'Neill in recent days, he did bring us an enormous level of success, so it was really really sad to see him in charge for the last time. Would I be considered some sort of wuss if I admitted to openly crying when he, Walford and Robertson held the trophy aloft?
By the way, your comments on the game were spot on - Bellamy in the second half was totally brilliant. If only we could keep hold of him.
Would I be considered some sort of wuss if I admitted to openly crying when he, Walford and Robertson held the trophy aloft?
That really depends on how drunk you were at the time when watching that scene ;-)
There is no denying that O'Neill is a thoroughly decent bloke (despite the two L's in his surname ;-) I always knew he was one of the goods guys but it was only doubly confirmed today/yesterday when watching him leading out the team before the game and, as is the norm now at these events, the teams were accompanied by ball boys and girls (or whatever). Big occasion, his last game at the club, the season could have ended on a totally sour note if they lost which would have only have added to the nerves before the start of the game, and yet he had the time and good humour to speak to and put at ease the girl he was accompanying onto the pitch. I just thought when watching that: 'What an absolute star that man is.'
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