[QUOTE=āThe Selfish Giant, post: 1084477, member: 80ā]Ewan Murray in the Guardian
This was to prove an Old Firm oddity. That is, an end-result which both teams ā secretly of course ā would probably have accepted before a ball was kicked.
This fixture was never about who would book a place in the League Cup final in mid-March. The resumption of hostilities between Celtic and Rangers after almost three years made the game notable, not only in Glasgow but on a global scale.
Thankfully, such interest surrounds the overall Old Firm spectacle rather than the basic level of football on show. And basic is being kind. This was a dire match which could only really be deemed satisfactory by Celtic on the isolated basis of victory. Bragging rights are not particularly valid when dealing with feeble opponents.
Rangers, dysfunctional off the field and horribly lacking in viable strategy on it, lag miles behind Celtic, as was apparent during a first period which Ronny Deilaās team completely dominated. After the interval, Celtic did little more than go through the motions themselves. If Deila was content with a 2-0 success, fair enough, but the Norwegian could have boosted his status in the eyes of the Celtic support by presiding over a team which went for Rangersā throat. āIt canāt be better,ā said the Norwegian of his emotion. āWe did a very good job. There was an unbelievable atmosphere and the players were unbelievably focused. They performed very well. I am proud of the boys.ā
This seemed clear overstatement from a manager who might not fully understand his working environment. After such a quick start Celtic failed to really press home their advantage in terms of talent, fitness and attitude. In Deilaās defence, they did not really have to with Craig Gordon, the Celtic goalkeeper, not forced into a single save during the semi-final. For a supposedly competitive derby match, that is an quite incredible scenario.
The revitalised Leigh Griffiths claimed the opening goal, the striker meeting Stefan Johansenās fine cross to head home at close range. The second belonged to Kris Commons, who latched on to a loose ball 22 yards out and shot high past Steve Simonsen.
Advertisement
The Rangers goalkeeper, who got a hand to the effort, might be disappointed. Commons later delivered positive news to the Celtic support with the admission that the bizarre impasse between himself and the club over a new contract is now close to being resolved.
The overall sense at 31 minutes was that a rout would ensue. It did not, owing partly to a ludicrous refereeing decision ā Griffiths was clean through on goal when play was hauled back for an earlier foul ā a smart Simonsen save from Johansen and a glaring miss from Virgil van Dijk.
Celticās approach was also open to debate. āWe did what we had to do. We did our job,ā said their captain, Scott Brown. The second half proved a non-event, with Simonsen not tested at all.
āThat is for you to decide,ā replied the Rangers caretaker manager Kenny McDowell when asked to quantify Celticās footballing superiority over his club. āI thought we competed well. We set up to keep things tight early in the game so losing a goal early-on put a spanner in the works. It unsettled a few people.ā
There was mitigation for the standard of football on offer. The dreadful state of the Hampden playing surface. Deila was quick to acknowledge as much and rightly so. For a national stadium, it continually disappoints.
āWe are a passing team and it was impossible to pass the ball on that pitch,ā Deila said. āThat is not how a semi-final should be. It is not good enough, in my opinion. If you are going to develop Scottish football you need pitches you can play football on.ā
Deila had withdrawn the lively Griffiths, replacing him with the on-loan Manchester City forward John Guidetti. That represented an act of mercy towards Rangers; following a prolific scoring run, Guidetti has gone off the boil. The clamour for Celtic to make the Swedeās contract a permanent one has, understandably, died down.
The response of the Rangers support to what unfolded was loud defiance. They did not leave the ground, and nor was there audible criticism of their team. In many ways that is admirable but the occasional choice of verse was not.
The Billy Boys, Famine Song and No Pope of Rome were bellowed out by the blue-and-white masses in what proved a disappointing throwback to the times when Rangers attracted attention for all the wrong reasons. Those embattled and embittered fans do not care about that as, history tells us, the same is the case with Scotlandās policing and football authorities. Offensive songs are treated by officialdom as a footnote, with varying degrees of unacceptable conduct from both halves of the Old Firm followings reacted to by the immediate pointing of fingers towards the other side.
By full-time, Celticās supporters were treated to fist-pumping by Deila and a lap of honour. Even that seemed contrived ā the culmination an occasion which merely endorsed the disparity between two teams while offering little insight as to how strong Celtic actually are. Thankfully for anybody who enjoys genuine sporting contests, Dundee United should provide a sterner test in the final.[/QUOTE]
Mostly a decent piece but Murray set out his stall on Deila from the start, fairly stupidly arguing that someone from Norway couldnāt manage Celtic, and has stuck to his guns since. Heās all too happy to bring up Deilaās failings on the rare occasions that it suits him, and completely ignores his successes. Even today, with a comfortable Celtic win itās still time for a dig
āthe Norwegian could have boosted his status in the eyes of the Celtic support by presiding over a team which went for Rangersā throat. āIt canāt be better,ā said the Norwegian of his emotion. āWe did a very good job. There was an unbelievable atmosphere and the players were unbelievably focused. They performed very well. I am proud of the boys.ā
This seemed clear overstatement from a manager who might not fully understand his working environment.ā
Think thatās largely bullshit. Iād like Celtic to have been more aggressive but no manager would have been - 2-0 and coasting and a cup semi final, you just play it out. Thatās not a lack of understanding of his environment, thatās just pragmatism.
