Where are we in the Football Cycle?

That's part of the problem. The huns aren't the champions-in-waiting that they think they are - their defenders weren't that great and their strikers were worse - yet still we couldn't make any progress, there were no waves of attack and there were no meaningful shots on goal.
So true Neil which has only increased the hurt as they produced nothing to be fearful of yet couldn't handle it.
Still in shock.
 
Am past anger that left an hour after the game some folk dwell on it longer but it's 3 points dropped and we move on ,this has to be the wake up call both the manager and the team and they better get it sorted and quickly

Yesterday was a huge fk up lenny knew he had 4 players out isolating and would need to use the best of his squad to put a team on the park worthy of competing and had 2 weeks to get his tactics right ,,,,,,,,, he did neither ,,,,,,,,the same as he did after the cup final

It's his job to lose and so far he's doing not a bad job of it ,,,time will tell

my own thoughts ,,,,, Results this week will define if lenny still has a job
 
If you have a look back in history (some of us can remember it) but the 1997/98 season was like this season......but we had to stop the 10. Rangers went into the season on the back of 9 wins and spent big in the summer (Amoruso 5m, Negri 3.7m, Porrini 4m plus others - Gatuso) this was to add to their very talented squad (which included: Albertz, Laudrup, McCoist, Ferguson, Goram etc)... and after our start.....things looked exceptionally bleak. However, with twists and turns we broke them. And the era of Rangers domination was over... this is how it panned out: Hopefully history doesn't repeat.
stopping the 10.PNG
 

Are we now in the Despair part of the football cycle? From watching podcasts, reading on here etc it would seem like we are. The trick is now quickly can we pull out of this, so that it doesn't turn into a depression? One thing that does go in our favour is the 2x champions league places. If we can grab it....
 
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Are we now in the Despair part of the football cycle? From watch podcasts, reading on here etc it would seem like we are. The trick is now quickly can we pull out of this, so that it doesn't turn into a depression. One thing that doesn go in our favour is the 2x champions league places. If we can grab it....
I am still not totally convinced that there are 2 CL places up for grabs just yet at the end of the season. I have a horrible feeling that we may have to depend on the scum to make that possible and the thought of that sickens me even more
 
Are we now in the Despair part of the football cycle? From watch podcasts, reading on here etc it would seem like we are. The trick is now quickly can we pull out of this, so that it doesn't turn into a depression. One thing that doesn go in our favour is the 2x champions league places. If we can grab it....
I missed your original post - it was a cracker but back at the start of the season I implied football will suffer a global reset because of the pandemic ( who would ever have imagined Barca staring at liquidation ) and everyone will have to cut their cloth accordingly ( unless the SFA turn a blind eye to soft loans and unaudited accounts ) and yet here we are screaming for mass sackings with hollywood replacements while the h*ns quietly get a pre contract for the Dons Scott Wright (a cracking player ) and another highly rated prospect from League one. If we reset ourselves ,sell Eddie, Frimpong, Ollie and Christie if possible and buy quality SPL players like Gallagher and Campbell 'Well - O'Donnell Killie - Ferguson Aberdeen - Porteous and Boyle Hibs - Hladcy St Mirren and if we could Karlsson from Sparta Prague etc to ensure the second CL place is in the bag AND bring our wage bill down then I think we would be in better economic shape and ready to fight for the SPL title next season
 
I think it's obvious to all that we have a major rebuilding job; and the consequences of failure, in my opinion, will mean a prolonged period of self inflicted pain. The good news ( kinda ) is Scottish football is mince, We really only have to be better than the new team from Govan and we're top dogs again. Well, in this neck of the woods at least. That begs another question though. Is that really good enough? Is that the sum total of our ambition? I certainly hope not.
 
Sorry cg but we are going nowhere all the while NL is in charge. We may well bring in money for want away players, but we certainly won't attract replacements, and with Lenny track record of not giving a youngster a fair opportunity then they will want out as well.
Can never remember a manager ever been given the free reign to run a club downwards.
 
I missed your original post - it was a cracker but back at the start of the season I implied football will suffer a global reset because of the pandemic ( who would ever have imagined Barca staring at liquidation ) and everyone will have to cut their cloth accordingly ( unless the SFA turn a blind eye to soft loans and unaudited accounts ) and yet here we are screaming for mass sackings with hollywood replacements while the h*ns quietly get a pre contract for the Dons Scott Wright (a cracking player ) and another highly rated prospect from League one. If we reset ourselves ,sell Eddie, Frimpong, Ollie and Christie if possible and buy quality SPL players like Gallagher and Campbell 'Well - O'Donnell Killie - Ferguson Aberdeen - Porteous and Boyle Hibs - Hladcy St Mirren and if we could Karlsson from Sparta Prague etc to ensure the second CL place is in the bag AND bring our wage bill down then I think we would be in better economic shape and ready to fight for the SPL title next season
I think we could quibble about one to two of your choice of recruits CG, but you're spot on with your overall assessment of the situation football finds itself in. Smashin' post.
 
Thanks Frank. In this new climate I think we will have to balance what we want with what we can get/afford
It won't be achieved with Lenny.
Can't set up a team, motivate them, lack of coaching, could go on and on but is just to frustrating to keep commenting on.
Money will be available but how can we trust the 2 goons to spend it wisely after last summers effort?
Hiding behind the cost of this pandemic is just a cop out as it is total mismanagement imo that has us in the total unacceptable situation we are currently in
 
Kinda get whit yer meanin CR,but is 9 in a row the glass ceiling? it's been done twice,legitimately,and once by the deid club,so ultimately, 10 in a row, is history, nirvana, shangri la, bechers brook,is it achievable,that's the question,the weight of expectation, the pressure,the scrutiny,every move,every game, every performance, subject to forensic analysis, from fans, the 'meedja' hundits,etc,the pressure must be incredible, jist sayin......... 🍺 🥴
Edit, if we fail to get 10 in a row,will that tarnish what we've achieved in the last nine seasons?
God bless u mickey bhoy HH YNWA
 
Interesting point, OP. I'll admit to having become very negative these days but I can't help seeing the last 50 years as an ever-decreasing, inward spiral. The "circle" starts so wide that you don't maybe notice the decline at first. One year you're in a European Cup final, a few years later the semi-final, but it's still a comfortably wide diameter. As the spiral moves inwards, the turns get quicker, tighter. There are no more good young players, European glory is a treasured memory, rather than a realistic expectation. In some years, the start of the MON, Strachan and Rodgers "eras" (if you count a few years as an era), the spiral is reversed a little but it's never long before it starts back on that inexorable journey towards the vanishing point. Eventually, you're so close to the centre that the turns are faster and sharper than in your worst fears. The only question remains, how close are you to the very end, the point where the last turn disappears into itself?
 
Interesting point, OP. I'll admit to having become very negative these days but I can't help seeing the last 50 years as an ever-decreasing, inward spiral. The "circle" starts so wide that you don't maybe notice the decline at first. One year you're in a European Cup final, a few years later the semi-final, but it's still a comfortably wide diameter. As the spiral moves inwards, the turns get quicker, tighter. There are no more good young players, European glory is a treasured memory, rather than a realistic expectation. In some years, the start of the MON, Strachan and Rodgers "eras" (if you count a few years as an era), the spiral is reversed a little but it's never long before it starts back on that inexorable journey towards the vanishing point. Eventually, you're so close to the centre that the turns are faster and sharper than in your worst fears. The only question remains, how close are you to the very end, the point where the last turn disappears into itself?
We've won 15 championships in the last 20 years, did 9 in a row again last season and just won a quad treble.
Anyone reading your post would think we'd just been relegated!
 
We've won 15 championships in the last 20 years, did 9 in a row again last season and just won a quad treble.
Anyone reading your post would think we'd just been relegated!
I’m like anyone gutted by this season, gutted by the performances/quality, disillusioned by the men in charge of our club
But fuck me I wake up every day and thank the lord I’m not a currant bun
This season is a taste of what they manky bastards have had for long enough
If you’d said to me after the maestro missed that penalty v raith that day
30 years from now .....
I’d have got you sectioned
 
I know I'm gonna sound like some kind of boring fart here, but the day will never dawn when I'm not conscious of my great fortune to be a Celtic supporter. Times have changed though, if wealth is power then it follows that a clubs spending ability is the barometer by which expectations are judged.

Whether we like it or not, we can't match that spending power. It's really not difficult to pinpoint the reason for our decline. Our inability to qualify for the CL has drastically curbed our hopes and expectations. It has to be said though, even qualifying for the group stages only gives us an advantage domestically. In terms of wealth we would still be well behind the games elite.

That beautiful big cup will only ever have the name of one Scottish team beside its list of winners.
 
There is a lot of talk about about Football cycles.... and I'm a big believer in it too. Good and bad times don't last forever. A winning team is not a easy thing to assemble or to keep going year after year. If the cycle is true.... where are we on it? I personally think we are in the Denial / Return to Normal phase.

I don't think we'll get 10 in a row.... why because we have replaced too many of our winning invincables. Other than Brown, Calmac and Eduoard we have a brand new team..... and we're playing like it too. Is Lennon the cause.... maybe but the new paradigm was Rodger's trebble trebble (yes Lennon got us over the line). Is Lennon's job the poisoned chalice after Rodgers, maybe?

So who is to blame, the board? Well they've put up the money and we have lots of good invidual players.... but Lennon can't seem to gel them.

When will the fear and capitualtion periods commence and finish?..... we need to get back to the Enthusiasm period asap.... becuase lets face it every fan is bored out of their nut with the football we're playing.


View attachment 11675
Very poor visual approach to cycles.
 
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