At the start of the Gordon Strachan era the remnants of an exhausted Martin O’Neill side took to the field in Slovakia against Artmedia Bratislava.
On that fateful night, the Celtic side that had given us so much glory in seasons past, fell to a 5-0 loss under the new Celtic boss to minnows Artmedia.
The team that night was:
Marshall, Telfer, Varga, Balde, Camara, Zurawski (Maloney 60), Lennon, Petrov, Thompson (Aliadiere 66), Hartson, Sutton (McGeady 17).
Subs Not Used: Boruc, McManus, Wallace, Beattie.
A result we all tried to forget, it was a low point in Celtic’s history in Europe until, well until now.
While the team back then fought to a 4-0 Celtic Park win, it was not enough and Celtic bowed out of the competition.
The result that transpired on the soil of Gibraltar is not only embarrassing, it was down right humiliating and could very well be the worst European result in our history over and above the Bratislava debacle.
The team tonight isn’t one that has gave us much to shout about over the past two years and while some of them talk a good game, it’s clear that they need to go.
It may have only be a 1-0 defeat that I’m pretty certain will be turned over in the second leg but it doesn’t make this game any more palatable to Celtic fans.
Rodgers looked on in horror as the players who he probably seen lighting it up in training fail to show up when it mattered – He will now be able to empathise with former boss Ronny Deila.
The only positive the boss can take from tonight is that he’s learned very quickly who he can’t trust to perform. It may be only a few weeks into pre-season but if you can’t beat a team with only five full timers in their ranks on your most tired of days then what have you got left to give Celtic?
As I say, I’m positive changes will be made and this result will be overturned a week on Wednesday but we have to endure the painful inquests and do some soul searching in the interim.
Lets hope we’ve seen the last of Efe Ambrose in a Celtic jersey, if there is know one from the youth system that can step up in an injury crisis that isn’t any better than Efe then we may as well close down Lennoxtown.
Artmedia doesn’t seem that bad now but what we did learn from bad starts is that it can only get better. Sttrachan went onto manage his side in the last 16 of the Champions League twice and won 3 in a row. Not too bad.
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This result hasn’t shocked me. The first ten minutes of the game told me this was going to happen. The only surprise, is that they didn’t get a second, and a third.
At parkhead, I expect a 2-1 or a 3-2.
If we don’t get ahead in the first 30 minutes, or God forbid, go behind, it could go on to be one of the worst nights parkhead has ever seen. The fans will get anxious, the players will get nervous, and they will grow in confidence.
I didn’t see who was on the bench, but surely there must have been someone who could have replaced efe?
A manager earning £2m a year should have seen wary in the match that efe was struggling with his own feet, and changed it. Shove bitton into the mascheranonrole, and get Scott Allan or Armstrong in the middle. Scott brown seemed to be playing on the right. Wtf?
A manager earnings £2m a yet should have realised trying to play pretty football on that pitch would never work. He showed have been hitting long balls up to dembele and Griffiths. If he’s playing 3 up front, he should have had ciftci with them. High balls into the box, instead of pretty football, being kicked out for goal kicks and throw ins.
We deserved to lose. We deserved to lose by more!