The Big Strachan Argument (Multiple Threads Merged)

Like it or not barca are a better team than celtic. they have better players, a better squad, more money week in week out they play against better teams and have more experience in the biggest tournaments in the world i.e. the champions league and the world cup and because of this can sign MUCH MUCH better players with ease.

its easy to say "he shouldn't have played" or "why play this formation" after the result. which was, a forgone conclusion in reality. the bookies made celtic 14/1 to win, not to qualify for the last 8 just to win that match. why do you think that is? because celtic have a * manager? or because barca are BY FAR the better team?

if celtic had won that match, or better yet qualified it would have been the upset of the entire tourament yet people here actaully EXPECT it to happen?

if someones better than you, does that make you *? no it simply means they're better than you.

time to wake up lads. barca are the second richest team IN THE WORLD they're players, the richest footballers in the world. in the top 50 football earners :
2nd Ronaldinho
9th Thierry Henry
32nd Samuel Eto´o
33rd Charles Puyol
47th Deco
48thGianluca Zambrotta
FYI zambrotta is on 66k a week.
ronaldinho 130k a week.
yet people here blame STRACHAN for losing against this team?

 

Great post *, well said mate.

 

Spot on M8, we need to realise that the last 16 is above our weight, never mind last 8!! I don't blame anyone for being beaten by Barcelona. FFS everything about them says class!

 

Agreed *, there was no way in * Celtic were going to get passed Barca. It was a joy to watch the skill on display last night with the players really enjoying themselves, unfortunately it was at the expense of my team who were made to look like a pub team at times. The money thing really angers me though, it is insane that a player can demand such high wages and ridiculous transfer fees. That is the price to pay for a class side and Celtic can't even afford one of them never mind the half dozen necessary to guarantee the last four or even a final place in the CL. Celtic at best can only hope for CUP success in the UEFA with the proviso that no class sides have a bad league and drop down before the KO stage. As for GS getting stick - the guy can't win. Celtic played well in the 2nd half - yes, was this because JVOH went off and Sam then Skippy came on and proved GS got his team wrong? No! Barca took their foot off the gas and Celtic made some in roads but no real danger. If Celtic had scored at anytime I am confident Barca would have stepped up a gear and blasted in another. It reminds me when I watched the mighty Brasil in the 70's, great to watch and enjoy the skill on display. Barca are Europes Brazil total class and brimming with talent.

We were out when the draw was made and we all knew it we just didn't admit it or want to admit it. Even me! I doubt that any of the current EPL clubs would beat Barca.

There is always next year.

 

So, why even turn up then *, 11men v 11men.
There was a can we do it thread and people where slated for saying no, so where is the consistancy.
Everyone beleive while there is a chance but really there isn't a chance.
This is mad, a * no lose situ for the GS bandwagon.

 

Liverpool took them apart last year in the nou camp, was it 0-3. It's practicaly the same team H+J.

 

why turn up? because we EARNED it. because its great for the club. its boosts the name of celtic, it makes the club money and they're is always a chance. a slight chance. ffs what do you actaully WANT? celtic to reject the champions league and only play in the uefa cup so we have a wee bit better chance of winning?

 

But Liverpool have far better players than we do Lubo, Money talks eh.

 

The enigma that is Liverpool's success in Europe. Yes I know and what a strange result that was. I am talking about this years competition.

 

Don't forget Liverpool in Europe are kinda like that annoying ginger lad everybody knows who is pig ugly but somehow pulls all the ladies

Besides they only went through 2-2 on away goals and Eto'o was injured for the 1st leg that Barca lost 2-1.

 

What really * me off about last night was the fact that we were in awe of Barca. I mean for *'s sake, we showed them too much respect. We seemed to be nervous and bottle out of the 50-50 balls. I mean I would have preferred for us to have lost 3-0 but given it a bit of a go, picked up a few bookings for really getting at the likes of Deco and letting him know you're there. Who gives a * if we'd have been clased as 'Bad Boys' after?

In the end we didn't go for it at all, we were in awe of them, we were nervous and bottled it and the players should be really disappointed in themselves.

 

if celtic had won that match, or better yet qualified it would have been the upset of the entire tourament yet people here actaully EXPECT it to happen?

* read these quotes m8, what do you want fans to expect to compete or not?
We should have fought for every ball over 2 legs, thats what i wanted, to give it everything.
We seemed devoid of ideas, utterly clueless, we've beat this team before remember.

 

Yep lubo we beat that team before and over the 2 legs, they raped us, we got lucky.

Still cant beliave we brought a DVD out lol

 

To be fair , not one post that I've read on here has suggested that we should or would have beaten Barcelona so I wouldn't say people expected it to happen..

You watched the same game as us and saw the feeble first half attempt by some players trying to play something that resembled football.

How the * can these guys not pass a football to a team mate who is 10 yards away and has 5 yards of space to take a touch and lay it off to another team mate.. How did they constantly hit the ball 10 yards high or wide of their intended target dozens of times.. How couldn't we pass and move to an extent that has been the hallmark of Celtic teams from the greatest success's to even the barren years under Tommy Burns..
We simply did not compete to any extent..

Teams like Barcelona will be happy to give the opposition posession when they are in their own half.. Last night we couldn't even pass the ball inside our own half..

It was shocking..

The reality check isn't so much about a failure to accept we got beaten by a truely great football team , We nearly all EXPECTED that , we just didn't expect to be watching something that turned out be a non-event as our club went out with such a whimper..

Lubo , you are spot on in another thread when you said the 1-0 score would paper over the cracks and lull people into thinking the players did okay , when anyone who watched that knows it was anything but okay..

 

Its not an enigma, its playin to your strengths when you can't beat a team with quality. Liverpool just heaped pressure on their defence.
Barca's defence are week, if we pressured we may have come out with pride, for me we were an embarrasment.
They were beaten 4-2 off A madrid at the weekend, they have flaws.

 

yes it would. you seriously think that people in england, spain and italy gave celtic a snowballs chance?
people on here expect FAR to much.

obviously fans what the team to compete, but - great teams make good teams look average. to BLAME strach for the loss is a * joke.

 

Calm down Lubo, we all want Celtic to win and yes we can beat anyone over two legs so long as we win the home leg at least. With the expense of losing three goals at home and having to score at least two against a team like Barca with no reply away from home had us reaching for our Rosaries and Holy pictures for Divine intervention. Did we hope we could? Yes! Did we stick some serious money on it? No.

 

* i'm not saying if he did things different last night he'd have won. Caldwell sold the tie at parkhead.
I just wanted us to give it a go get in their faces, not admire them.

 

H+J i'm calm, just a bit embarrased by what i'm seeing from us. Its pish.
We can't take positives from such a 1 sided affair.

 

at parkhead we got beat 3-2 we scored twice yet we never got in they're face? our passing in barca was as good as its ever been, against a team so good. if we had been admiring them we'd have paniced
and passed the ball away all the time. we never.