European Football and How to Close the Gap.

For the second time in Rodgers’ Celtic career, the gaffer was forced to stand helplessly in a Champions League technical area, watching his side concede seven goals.

It was a chastening experience, one that left a stinging pain in the pit of every Celtic fan’s stomach, an ache that intensified every time Craig Gordon was asked to retrieve the ball from his net. Celtic have a terrific manager, a talented, diverse playing squad, freedom in domestic football to rotate and plan, yet still look a million miles away from competing with Europe’s elite sides.

With a week filled with reflection it has become clear that the most dispiriting aspect of the result in Paris wasn’t the humiliation nor the endless stream of ‘my-Nan’, South of the border, wankery that comes with such a loss. No, the most galling aspect is that there is a real chance that such a result will arrest some of the momentum that Rodgers has generated. The looming feeling that a number of players will be forced to consider whether or not they can achieve their career goals at Celtic Park. Moussa Dembele is a player that is destined to move when big offers come in, nothing has changed in that respect, it is Kieran Tierney I worry about. The talented left-back was pulled apart with an almost surgical precision by Kylian Mbappé. Twisted left and right with such ferocity that he may need to pay a visit to a chiropractor. He loves the club dearly, that’s obvious to all, yet after his trip to the French capital you worry if domestic trophies and a love for the club will outweigh the feeling that he won’t ever maximise his immense potential without playing with and against the calibre of players PSG have at their disposal.

Naturally, there has been little sympathy for Celtic within Scotland. Fans of rival clubs, sick to death of seeing Celtic sweep aside all who oppose them with consummate ease, have enjoyed seeing Scott Brown and his comrades get a dose of their own medicine. There have even been some who suggest that Celtic fans have no right to baulk at the spending power of PSG – not when Celtic’s own resources dwarf those in the Scottish Premiership.
The problem with comparing the differentials in spending power between PSG and Celtic, and Celtic and the likes of Hamilton, is in the opposing nature of how such fortunes have been amassed. Celtic, from destitute waifs just two decades ago, have morphed into the nation’s one true behemoth. Dermot Desmond, of course, has been a steadying figure in the background, yet the club’s standing is largely down to the calculated, astute manner in which it has been run. Choosing to eschew corner-cutting, in favour of the, sometimes frustrating, path marked “Sensible”. PSG on the other hand have been bequeathed their funds, petro-dollars inherited from a limitlessly wealthy Qatari conglomerate.

As enjoyable as it is to see the wonderful football played by one of the most expensively assemble squads in history, the image is not real. In fact, it is about as naturally authentic as the velociraptors who run amok on Isla Sorna.

The negatives, if we allow them, can stack up until all that is good about this current Celtic side is obscured from vision.

So, what can be done to diminish the gap?

The easiest answer would be to look at recruitment. The opaque nature of today’s transfer dealings makes deciphering just how much clubs spend in transfer windows difficult to pin down. Since Rodgers arrival at Celtic Park, the club have spent an approximate £13million, but with just over £1.5million of that being used to bolster the defence – Costa Rican Gamboa the only major signing to trigger a transfer fee. The failure to sign a centre-back has been an issue that has caused some friction for a couple of transfer windows now, an issue exacerbated by the continued injury woes suffered by Šimunović and Sviatchenko.

There are a number of folk who suggest that there isn’t a defender available, within Celtic’s financial reach, capable of halting the seemingly irresistible forces displayed in the Champions League. However, if Celtic had a player as good or better than Šimunović who could form a consistent, unbroken partnership with Boyata then we would see a lot of our woes dissipate. It’s a theory that Rodgers seems to subscribe to, all but confirming that January will see a more aggressive transfer strategy.

You could also suggest that Rodgers, and his evangelical attitude to the game, need to alter. That by adopting a more robust, stifling style, one seen regularly deployed, to some real success, by the likes of Strachan and Lennon, would see Celtic fair better against the bigger clubs. While a fair enough attitude, it has a couple of faults to it. One being the fact that such a back-to-the-wall style requires more a kiss from Lady Luck, the other is that by aping such tactics would at best be a short-term fix, and that isn’t really what Rodgers is about. Rodgers has made it clear that his ultimate aim is to enhance the club, leaving a lasting legacy in the process.

The sad reality is that for Celtic to improve their fortunes in Europe, what’s required is a change in the way European football is run. In recent years the hierarchal class ceiling, one that has always existed to some extent, has been fortified, made bulletproof by the explosion of unevenly distributed TV money and Uefa’s baffling new seeding system. And while such factors will ultimately lead to the sport cannibalising itself in the upper echelons, that provides little solace to Celtic fans in the here and now.

What will hopefully soothe Celtic fans is the fact that the club are, albeit methodically, heading in the right direction. With the drastic upturn in fortunes experienced since Rodgers’ arrival, it is easy to forget that we are still in the embryonic stage of a lengthy journey. Having not seen Champions League football since 2012, the anticipated finish of third and the Europa League football that provides is a laudable achievement.

Time, patience and a slew of transfer windows that see more investment without stepping into reckless territory, seems to be the cure for what ails us. That, and maybe for once not getting a Champions League group littered with elite clubs.

Nights like last week are always going to be difficult to stomach, we just have to hope that with Rodgers’ hand at the wheel, and with more autonomy in player recruitment, it is not something that will have to be endure too often.