It may be Au Revoir Dembele, but we still have our French Connection

So, our Bhoys have signed off for 2017. (more about that disappointing 0-0 draw later…)And what a year it’s been!

2017 has been memorable for so many reasons, just to name a few!

The 50th Anniversary of our Club’s most famous trophy win. Lisbon 1967. Commemorated with a fantastic night’s entertainment at The Hydro, Celtic ’67 was a joyous celebration of the Lisbon Lions victory and continuing legacy at Celtic. Add to that the special tributes on the 67th minute of every match, which have been much photographed and posted on many other clubs’ websites.

The continuing improvement and acknowledgment of our beloved Kieran Tierney. His fantastic cup goal against Kilmarnock, his reaction to it, and all on the night he was Celtic Captain. Add to that, his new deal at Celtic and his honour at being selected to captain the Scotland team against The Netherlands. He’s a star!

The Invincible Season. Unbeaten in the league. Stylish football, winning the treble – and what a way to win it, TOM ROGIC!! The record-breaking 69 game run. Can’t get better than that. And therein lies just a wee problem.

The recent dip in form, either collectively as a team, or for some individual players, seems to have been magnified and perhaps it’s because the tenure of Brendan Rodgers got off to such an amazing start?

I’ve said before, ‘Don’t be a Boo Bhoy’ – and I certainly heard a few at the end of the 0-0 draw against The Rangers, or whatever reincarnation you prefer.

There WERE quite a few disappointing performances on the day, we wasted too many passes, we definitely wasted some excellent goal-scoring opportunities and we let them back into the match in that 2nd half.

However, despite all of those flaws, we did not get beat and we end the year with a great lead over both Aberdeen and that 3rd place team. Let’s see if this winter break really is what the team needs.

I am not glossing over the terrible defeats against PSG in the Champions League – clearly against that calibre of opposition we are out of OUR league – but we are still in the Europa League and it will be interesting to see how we fare against the other teams there. This time last year we didn’t have that ‘consolation’!

Back to the Glasgow Derby – a lot of folk seem to reckon Moussa Dembele has played his last game in the hoops. If this is the case, I wish he’d gone out on a high – perhaps replicating his fantastic hat-trick against the same team last season? Even if only to add a few more million to his price!

However, if we do bid Au Revoir to Moussa, we still have our French Connection in two fine young men called Olivier Ntcham and Odsonne Edouard (another hat-tick hero). Both players look to have bags of talent, youth on their side and can become as popular as the (possibly) departing Dembele.

2017 overall was one of the best to be a Celtic fans. Invincible treble will not be replicated in our lifetime.

Happy New Year to Us! Stay safe.