The importance of leadership

And breathe…

Well, that was tense.

It is worth remembering that Ange Postecoglou was parachuted into an utter shambles last summer. Thanks to the ineptitude of the Grey Brigade in the boardroom, he had no time and no team.

However, in a few short months, he has fashioned a group that has resilience in abundance.

He can also get his recruitment spot on where and when it matters.

Kyogo Furuhashi was definitely his acquisition.

He had seen the incisive little frontman for several seasons in the J League for  Vissel Kobe.

Both his goals were worthy of winning any final.

I’m sure the lads on the Huddle Breakdown will educate me this week on how the wee man did something statistically significant to the xG!

For the avoidance of doubt, I love their content and the trio of them have a chemistry that makes them a winning front three.

You can find them @huddlebreakdown

Fair play to the men from Easter Road for opening the scoring and making it a game right to the final whistle.

From my nervous vantage point in Dún na nGall, there didn’t seem to be a great deal in it.

Of course, it is always a great event when it is a klan free final.

Hampden was truly green and white.

After the chaos of the Eddie Howe boxset, the Celtic board seriously lucked out with Postecoglou.

His own personal story suggests that he is perfectly placed to get what the Parkhead club is all about.

The club that employed him also has an immigrant backstory.

I suspect there will be no Number Ten party games tonight for the Celtic squad.

It is a job well done, silverware back where it belongs and then St Mirren on Wednesday.

When he hit the Parkhead DZ last summer, the Australian rolled and came up firing.

He arrived without a backroom team and simply got on with it.

Celtic has a battle-tested leader, and his men believe in him.

That in itself is worthy of celebration for those of us of the Hoops persuasion.

18 thoughts on “The importance of leadership”

  1. Im more concerned about the form of Starfelt than whether Mikey Johnson will remain a Celtic player to be brutally ho est.
    He’s a bombscare in the box and panic passes when put under any form of pressure.
    Time Welsh got the nod again.

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  2. John @ 11:00
    You state that MJ’s decision making will come with experience? He has been with Celtic since he was 9 years old. That’s 13 years, in which he has scored a grand total of 7 senior goals. We have punted far better players who produce more than MJ. He can’t shoot or cross, constantly loses possession, does not chase back to support his full back, is selfish, has no upper body strength, is easily brushed off the ball and has zero end product.

    He was subbed as a substitute last week, and Ange is playing him as he has no one else. At 22 years old, we have given him long enough. England, Germany, Spain and the U.S. have full international players at 17 years old. Jota produced instantly. How long do you think we should wait for MJ to even do a fraction of what Jota does? Let’s face it – he is just not good enough. End of story.

    Reply
    • “Ange is playing him as he has no one else”.

      That’s the crux of the matter, he’s the best of our current depleted options with the likes of Montgomery and Moffat being nowhere near ready for regular first team action, if ever.

      When everyone is fit and with reinforcements he’s likely to have no more than cameo appearances as a late sub unless he can turn his undoubted potential into productivity (goals and assists).

      Reply
  3. OK it was ‘only’ the LC, but it is a very encouraging sign.

    If Ange can deliver the league title as well – and maybe the SC too? – then we could face another unexpected outcome in the summer.

    The risk then could be that our pathetic Board – somehow – manages to ‘lose ‘Ange, and possibly Kyogo too!

    🙁

    Reply
  4. Anyone note that it was a stonewall penalty for Hibs at the end. “Both hands on the back and pushed to the ground is a penalty all day long.”

    Wind back to the first half. Both hands from McGinn on the back of Taylor, a push to the ground, studs down the Achilles for good measure. “There’s nothing in that for me.”

    This is the same Stephen Craigan who talks about “we” and “us” when he commentates on Sevco matches. The same one who said on Wednesday night when Ross County scored, “It’s completely against the run of play, but who cares!”

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  5. Went on to the Glasgow Herald website to read a little more about the Cup final and Kyogo but was side tracked by their football headline story about “Hearts supersub” opening up about a new contract. Fascinating stuff. Now where was I…

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  6. Again I am dismayed at the performance of Mikey Johnston, selfish to the core, terrible decisions and not for the first time sat on his selfish arse when it was time for someone else to come off, Koyogo was dead on his feet and Johnston sat down. The guys in my section 405 at Parkhead all feel the same.

    You’d Owen Moffat comes on and performs head and shoulders above.

    I felt sorry for Johnston when I saw NL tell him to fuck off when he was subbed early in a game last year but now feel the same.

    Apart from him it was a great all round performance and a good win against the odds.

    Reply
    • Give young mickey a break ffs his decision making might be questionable at times but that will come with experience. There is definitely a player in him let him develop get behind the team mate

      Reply
      • How many seasons? How many games? How many lost chances? He’s not a 10th of the player James Forrest was at his age nor Cal Mac. Talent used in football to better your team is talent used wisely. Moffat made more tackles back in a cameo than he’s made all season

        Reply
      • I am not sure it can “come with experience” because of his style. When he is beating two or three defenders he has his head down and focused on their feet, “dancing” around them into the available space with no idea where is teammates are and to some extent the goalposts, therefore his final ball is often wasted giving the wrong impression he is selfish.
        Recently in a match, I noticed he was trying to correct this but it killed that individual spark as he just passed the ball straight back to the nearest Celtic player.
        If you notice Rojic is able to combine both the “dancing” and the awareness so it will be interesting to see if Johnston can learn this skill.
        At least, he isn’t as bad as Ranger’s, Ted McMinn ( Tin Man)of whom Souness, the manager at the time, said, ” How can I tell Ted McMinn what to do when he doesn’t know what he is going to do himself?”
        So there is always hope!

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      • John,
        Just to make it clear MJ has no vision,and no matter how long Celtic play him it will never come.You either have vision of don’t,sorry Celtic should ditched him a few years ago

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    • Bandito, for goodness sake we’ve just won the cup and all you can do is be way over the top critical of a young Celtic player who’s been beset by injuries. Have you not learned the lesson of Tony Ralston, some of the over critical division of the Celtic support would have had him out the door six months ago. Jack Hendry was another player chased out the club far too soon.
      As a Celtic supporter since 1950 I can tell you that some of the Lisbon Lions would have been shown the door by a section of the present day so called supporters if they had been around in the early 60’s. Then Jock Stein came back to the club and coached them to glory.
      Big Ange picks the team and if he thinks a player is good enough to play for the Bhoys then that will do for me. I’m a Celtic supporter 1st and a constructive critic 2nd.

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      • Johnston is on his 3rd manager, 4th attempt if you include Kennedy.

        No our support would not have had AR out the door, I don’t know where you sit mate but everyone in my section loves a player with heart, AR has always given 100% To compare MJ with him is silly.

        He is being played because there’s no one else to play and he’s not good enough and personally don’t see anything to lead me to believe he will, maybe except a loan spell.

        Guaranteed he will not even warm the bench if we sign 5-6 players in January

        Reply
  7. On the subject of parties. We’ve been told not to have them yet, on live TV, Rob McLean asked Juranovic if the players would be having one tonight. I despair of the type of questions these eejits ask.

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    • To put things in context, something the Scottish media won’t go near, the facts speak for themselves.
      Their Ibrox club has won 1 single league title in 10 years.
      It’s been 13 years since they have lifted the Scottish Cup and 12 years since a League Cup trophy win.
      St Johnston’s record over that same period puts the huns record to shame with a hardcore of a couple of thousand fans and a miniscule budget compared to the Govan mob.
      Winning the SPFL this season with direct entry into the group stage of next seasons Champions League has never been more important.
      There are already additions on the way to Parkhead in the next window. Will that be the case at Ibrox or will one or two of their top performers be punted to keep the show on the road?
      Perhaps Stevie G will turn out to be the saviour they so craved when he comes calling for players he knows so well?

      Reply

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