- Published
To Celtic fans it might seem like sacrilege to doubt Martin O'Neill's capacity to get them through whatever it is they're going through right now - a slump or something deeper - but keeping the faith is surely becoming testing.
uncertain
keeping → publish → faith
After their shellacking at Ibrox on Sunday, Celtic's response against Ferencvaros was another heavy defeat and three more goals conceded.
asserted
response → concede → Ferencvaros
More absent-minded stuff in the midfield, more loose defending, more negativity and lack of accuracy on the ball, no great grasp of the basics of pass and move, not enough intensity, not enough work-rate, not enough of anything that you need to give yourself a chance.
asserted
you → move → chance
At times, as it meandered along at 3-1 to Ferencvaros, Celtic tried to stage some kind of gallop but their attempts were from distance, hopeful efforts rather than anything built on the back of coherence and pressing and speed.
asserted
attempts → meander → coherence
Celtic at their best - in the finest days under Ange Postecoglou - were all about aggression and ingenuity, about dynamism and risk-taking, about pace and belief and pulling defenders into places where they did not want to be.
asserted
they → pull → places
O'Neill mirrors performance of his team
Things can turn quickly in Scottish football.
asserted
Things → mirror → football
The second act of this season's Old Firm show on Sunday is still a hard one to call, partly because it's at Celtic Park and also because there surely has to be some kind of response from O'Neill's team to their pitiful fate at Ibrox last weekend.
asserted
it → call → Ibrox
Five goals given up against LASK, a desperate experience at Ibrox - and now this.
In moments on Thursday, some of their football was reminiscent of darker days - the failures of Cluj and Copenhagen in 2019 and 2020, when Bayo and Bolingoli were in the building; Sparta Prague in 2020, when Klimala and Ajeti, Duffy and Laxalt were in the team.
asserted
Klimala → give → team
In the aftermath, O'Neill spoke about frustration, failure and psychological damage, how low moments like these hit you hard and test your resolve.
asserted
moments → speak → resolve
He promised to "get ourselves together" for Rangers on Sunday but his tone was flat and a touch tired.
asserted
tone → promise → Sunday
He outlined some of the ways in which Celtic were deficient on the night but didn't talk with the spirit of a man who had answers.
asserted
who → outline → answers
In many ways his post-match comments mirrored his team's performance - leaden, stale, disheartening.
asserted
comments → mirror → performance
O'Neill has fixed many problems over the years, not just in his first trophy-laden spell but in his return to chaos last season.
asserted
O'Neill → fix → chaos
He restored order and confidence, two things that have been lost.
asserted
that → restore → order
The force of his personality gave Celtic fight.
asserted
force → give → fight
They were not always pretty to watch but they were ferociously hard to beat.
asserted
they → watch → ?
Nobody managed it on the title run-in.
asserted
Nobody → manage → in
That kind of never-say-die only seems like yesterday, but in other ways it feels like an awfully long time ago.
asserted
it → say → ways
They had a decent start against Ferencvaros, then conceded a soft goal.
asserted
They → have → goal
They hauled themselves back into it with a little glimpse of quality, but then fell back into destructive ways.
asserted
They → haul → ways
The goal they conceded just before the break was the type of goal that poor sides give away.
asserted
sides → concede → that
Celtic had 62.5% possession in the opening half but trailed 2-1.
asserted
Celtic → have → half
Camilo Duran, playing through the middle ahead of Kasper Hogh, had eight touches of the ball.
asserted
Duran → play → ball
Duran was in his favoured position but offered little.
asserted
Duran → offer → little
A player who showed such zest and love of his new life in Glasgow only a few short weeks ago is looking a shadow of himself.
asserted
who → show → himself
Hogh, with goals against Manchester City (two), Atletico Madrid, Inter Milan, Sporting, Porto, Jagiellonia and Olympiacos (three) for Bodo Glimt, has morphed into an awkward looking centre-forward with a poor first touch and no chances to feed on.
asserted
Hogh → morph → touch
He has now scored in just one of his eight games as a Celtic player.
asserted
He → score → player
O'Neill has so far failed to get the best out of a player the club paid £11m for.
asserted
club → fail → m
Callum McGregor, the great totem, is looking a little lost.
asserted
McGregor → look → ?
O'Neill has all the nous in the world to arrest this, but he needs to do it quickly.
asserted
he → have → it
It has to be said, he doesn't look or sound all that convincing.
asserted
he → have → ?
The way things are going for Celtic you could almost have guaranteed a goal for Daniel Arzani, their former player who came and went in a blur of nothingness.
uncertain
who → go → nothingness
To add salt, it was a magnificent strike after a counter-attack that exposed Celtic in the most embarrassing way.
asserted
that → add → way
Arzani appeared in acres of space on the left, Colby Donovan having over-committed to attack and now busting a gut in a forlorn attempt to recover.
asserted
Donovan → appear → attempt
Arzani had patience and precision.
asserted
Arzani → have → patience
He whipped his shot into the top corner.
asserted
He → whip → corner
O'Neill needs some amount of solutions in the coming days.
asserted
O'Neill → need → days
He might find them, but his team is lacking ideas, conviction, composure, physical and psychological heft, creativity, ruthlessness and stomach for a fight.
uncertain
team → find → fight
The manager, himself, looks like he's lacking in any inspiration.
asserted
he → look → inspiration
He's bounced back from challenging situations in his football past and you almost become attuned to him doing so again, but there is a lot to fix here.
asserted
him → bounce → past
…and 4 more, not listed.
The Aporia
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