Stevie G is still learning from the gaffer

It was an exercise in consequential learning for a manager who turned up at Celtic Park today having managed only 12 senior matches.

In the home dugout he was up against a chap who has been in charge of over 400 games at that level.

Gerrard’s tactics were rudimentary:

Park the bus and hope for a break.

Unfortunately for him to was Celtic who showed him how to break.

Tough guy Ryan Jack went down like a tray of dishes and Tom Rogic ran away with it.

In the build-up, to this match, the situation in the Celtic camp was ideal to produce a disjointed, dispirited performance from the home side.

Instead, it was total dominance from the Hoops with the crossbar being Sevco’s best defender in the first half.

Mr Allan McGregor will no doubt have to explain his demonstration of the Corinthian spirit to the Compliance Officer.

The kick out against Ajer was a text boom red card.

Unfortunately, Willie Colum doesn’t have eyes in the back of his…

Oh never mind!

The Sevco goalkeeper was their best player today and tells a tale in itself.

In the post-match interview Mr Gerrard said;

“Look, they’re a good team”.

Correct Stevie.

So even with the disruption of the 11th hour Dembélé departure Rodgers was able to galvanise his remaining players to turn up big today.

If Mr McGregor was heroically busy then Craig Gordon in the Celtic goal had little of substance to deal with.

Only the scoreline hints at a close game.

It wasn’t.

Now the international break will allow Mr Gerrard the time to realise that his old boss is still in charge.

23 thoughts on “Stevie G is still learning from the gaffer”

  1. “Now the international break will allow Mr Gerrard the time to realise that his old boss is still in charge.”

    To quote The Who, “Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.”

    Or, to quote the Vedic scriptures – “At the feet of the master.”

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  2. Is it not always the Sevco way to blame others for their demise? Morelos strutting about like a petulant child and McGregor dishing it out but acting the innocent

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  3. Oh dear, the Stevie G revolution hit the buffers big time yesterday.
    Fair play to the Rangers fans who were quick to see through their manager’s claim that the ref cost them the match.
    Gordon had one save to make in 90 minutes, Accies caused more problems last week with none of the resources available to Gerrard.
    Early doors McGregor was wasting as much time as allowed by the ref.
    Evidence that Gerrard didn’t want to risk his reputation by getting a skelping at Celtic Park.
    The Rangers fans have endured one new dawn after another over the last 6 years.
    Patience is thin on the ground and the manager clasping at straws won’t cut it with the fans.
    Talk of losing 4 games to Celtic but still winning the league will come back to haunt Gerrard.
    After the negatives over the last few weeks the team responded with a strong performance that was worth much more than the one nil scoreline.
    Gerrard can kid himself on all he wants, any further widening of the gap won’t be tolerated and his reputation as a player will count fot nothing.

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  4. Collum didn’t need eyes in the back of his head to see McGregor kick out. If you watch the video as he runs upfield he is looking back to see what is going on in the goalmouth.

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  5. Looks like the Sevvy express still has it’s L plates on. They played worse than I thought they would and I can’t work out if it was because of their tactics or are they just piss poor footballers and can’t play as directed. They came, they saw and went home to start again. Well done bhoys. HH

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  6. Laugherty commits 4 fouls and dosent get booked. Brown,eddie and even their right back get booked for first fouls and in all honesty none of the three were worth a booking. Collum is an absolute joke of a referee. Again how the linesman does not see mcgregors kick out is a mystery. As for the football, i said on here the other day that Celtic have the players to go up several gears when required. This proved to be the case. They were immense. Broonie,ollie, tierney,wee jamsie and callum were the standouts in a team performance that was outstanding. I also thought Lustig had his best game for a long time. He never gave laugherty a minute or any space. All in all a superb victory and a marker laid down that lets the msm and the ibrox hordes know that the tide aint turning yet. Welcome to glasgow lah!!

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  7. So Stevie claims the ref cost them the game by not giving a foul in the build up to the goal and in the same breath admits that his goalie should have been sent off for his petulant kick at Ayer.
    Does he not realise that a penalty would have resulted and they would have been down to 10 men for the rest of the match and a probable skelping?
    A real game changer indeed yet he’s bleating about a free kick that wasn’t awarded!
    Of course as kicking out at an opposing player is now permitted in Scottish football, with the Morelos case as precedent, it will be down to the SFA’s fine body of experts to assess the severity of the kick out.
    We must be the only football playing country in the world where kicking an opponent with the ball elsewhere is not punishable by a red card, no matter the severity of the kick.

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  8. As previously noted, I’m not known for my optimistic outlook. I know form means nothing in these games and we’re only ever an ‘honest mistake’ away from defeat however I was confident of a win today, maybe not the goal fests of past two seasons but a win nonetheless. All the pre-match hype and shenanigans and they swallowed it all, hook, line and sinker. Out-thought and outplayed long afore kick off. 1-0 or not, still perhaps the sweetest win over Scotland’s newest club, oldest shame!

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  9. Well done Celtic a comprehensive 1-0 victory as you are ever likely to witness.
    If we scored another four goals the score would still have flattered them. So much for them coming I’m afraid it’s back in the box where they belong.

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  10. Gerrard did OK for a guy with just 12 games. Better than a lot of far more experienced managers have done at Celtic Park. Rangers are a work in progress and one thinks they can only get better.
    Long gone are the shambolic hun skelpings of the last few years.

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  11. Fair play to Boyata; he’s been immense since coming back to the fold. Persuade him to sign a new contract then all Celtic have to do is get a replacement in the January window and he can leave if he wants. He deserves it. Mr Congerton needs to get his finger out and earn his crust.

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  12. I thought Celtic were excellent today. Fans did their bit also. Even recent under performers looked just about solid(Lustig and Boyata). Unlucky not to have scored more, hitting the woodwork 4 times, and as predicted Collum has been shown as not up to the standard required to be called a referee. Brooony booked for first tackle(no contact). Big oaf and Morelos constant fouling with hardly a word said, some strange decisions that went against us but oddly Stevie G bemoans they should have had foul when their player slips and Tom Rogic wheels away with the ball leading to the goal. I think Stevie has a lot to learn, for a start not very humble in defeat, reminded me of Souness when his superstars lost. Hope Celtic kick on from here now. Keep up the tempo with a bigger and better squad spells one thing. 8inarowchampions

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  13. Ntcham was excellent today and honestly, All the disgusting money swirling around in England, I cannot for the life of me explain as to why a top 4 side has not bid £40m for Kieran Tierney. I know he does not want to leave but the Bhoy is the best LB Celtic have EVER had.

    I hope as Phil says, The compliance officer sends for McGregor for the kick-out. Even my girlfriend said that Celtic players get booked for next to nothing and Rangers players get away with murder……welcome to our world babe..

    HH

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  14. Up against the board.
    Up against the media
    Up against some dubious reffing
    Up against some bad luck and a determined crossbar
    Up against criticism from our own in the lead up and I include myself a bit in that.
    Up against a downbeat feeling
    Up against violent and aggressive ibrox team

    Yet Brendan and the Bhoys came out winners, should have been 5.

    He put on Johnston and Christie. Yes to get em blooded more n more. But to also say to board, get your finger out your arses!!

    Ntcham is £20m player easy. If he is sold, then we are gubbed. We need couple players in that position for future.

    We lost McGinn.
    My feeling is, we will struggle to replace Olivier.
    Watch the game again guys, the hammer throwers, shiver into him and they struggled to get ball off him. Without him and brown we are poor.

    I want Boyata signed up for two years…..WAIT. not cos a a like him. Just sign him up, give him a nice big pay (and declare it too lol). Then get him punted for £10m-15m in January.

    I love you Celtic. I always will.
    I’m off for a play with a deck of cards
    Mind the gap

    HH

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    • You forgot to include the Police in your list of things we were up against. By closing off the London road access they caused a serious and terrifying crush on Janefield Street. It was only down to luck and the general good behaviour of the fans that nobody was seriously injured or killed. As it was 4 were injured and treated at the scene and one other was hospitalised. The match commander needs a massive kick up his erchie.

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  15. But it was the referee’s fault that we lost claimed Stevie G.
    It was probably also the referee’s fault that his team hardly had a shot at goal!

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  16. Celtic were on it from the first whistle. Gerrard post match made the laughable claim that the ref cost his team the game by not giving a foul in the build up to the goal. Wow just wow.
    But for the goalie, the post and the bar the demolition in May would have been repeated.
    Punt the ball long to Morelos and Lafferty and hope for the best appeared to be the apprentice’s tactics.
    How the main stand linesman failed to spot McGregor’s assault on Ajer is beyond belief.
    Straight red and penalty to Celtic all day long.
    Whats the odds the Compliance Officer deems the kick out to be within the laws of the game?
    Gordon had next to nothing to do and Celtic raised their game as they have done whenever the question has been asked of them domestically.
    7th place in the SPFL tonight for the Ibrox club, 4 point gap to the Champions and 7 to a flying Hearts.
    Gerrard set up to play for a point much as Hamilton did on their recent visit.
    Morelos and Lafferty had more contact with Celtic players than they had with the ball.
    If that’s the best Gerrard has to offer then the fight for second place will be a tough one.
    Well done Celtic,the score doesn’t reflect the total dominance we had from start to finish.

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