Hopes, Fears and Loathing For The New Season

It's usually at this of the year that hope, fear, panic, realisation, dreams and a big doze of realism, usually delivered by the underwhelming pre-season games, flood our waking thoughts and sometimes our sleeping ones.

A time when the written media, spoken media and the crap media make predictions for the up coming season. These predictions are usually based on their hopes and desires for their favourite team, but they always have one eye on the big move from sports lackey to chief lackey and a wee spot on setanta talking bolloxs.

As Craig Burley, Jock Broon and Mark Hately have proved being biased with a chip on your shoulder doesn't does your profile no harm.

In this sense they are no different from fans. All fans make these predictions as well, usually filling a greedy bookies already bulging pockets with daft bets like Spurs to win the Epl etc, and cyberspace is the perfect foil for the supporters to air whether the team should play a 4-4-2, what the starting 11 should be, how high or low the team should be aiming and, the best one i have read so far what away team will bring the loudest fans.

Again, our pre-season has, rightly or wrongly, had us questioning our signings,our managers tactics, players worth and the worth of taking these pre-season games. The hoops, in the media, have already been bullied by Walters expensively assembled thugs in boots and some of the fans have bought into this view big style.

Me? Here's my hopes, fears and loathing for the season 07/08.

Hopes

Football without fans is nothing....something that could bite the hoops on the bahookie if the poor season book take up is anything to go by. Fans, while seeing winning leagues and trophies as the be all and end all, us, the Celtic fans need to be entertained. This year is, i hope, going to be the cavaliers v the roundheads. The beauty v the beast, not the stodgy v the stodgier.

After the hope produced by GS's team 1 all was lost by the failure of team two to produce entertaining football, something that the players and management have agreed with. Our signings have further reduced the age of the squad and with that a younger squad should bring an energy not seen last season.

Our signings in the summer, while we have doubts over some, the big money lads, have been added to an area that most needed an injection of energy. Brown on the evidence so far is going to be a star. His energy on and off the park, including his handling of the press today regarding Murray's wage claim, means he is going to be adored by the hoops.

The lovers of the fine art of midfield play are going to love the skill, the vision and technique of Donati. Both these players add what we want to see. Add Aiden and Naka to that mix and we surely should entertain?

Fears

I don't buy the we will be bullied tag but i fear it. Certain games last season we looked lightweight and this pre-season in a few dodgy 1st half's. We don't seem to hassle or tackle at times and we seem quite content to file back behind the ball and try to steal. Newcastle scored 4 goals after no-one tackled in wide areas.

Will we be able to stand up, mix it, grind out results and more importantly keep cool and play our game when the leagues hammer throwers are hammering away?

For all that we have added i fear that we might find out our strikers were the problem all along. GS doesn't know his best pairing and at this time he has more options to choose from than this time last season.

Our main undroppable is now struggling to regain his early hoops form and i question the ability of his back up Chris Killen. Magic hasn't been seen since Christmas, Kenny has been misfiring since October and again like Killen Skippy could be of questionable quality. Add to that, our manager doesn't seem to fancy Rioirdon, who is regarded as the best finisher at the club.

The strikers highlight other problem we could encounter. We are top heavy in certain areas and weak in others. The weak areas, haven't yet, been sorted and the areas where we are top heavy the manager has some many options that, never mind knowing his best strike pairing he doesn't know his best 11.

Add all this into a mixer and it could mean we are shaping up to be masters of our own downfall if our manager doesn't get his mindset right or has the ability to solve these problems.

Loathing

Already i know i'm going to hate the new r*ngers team. Walter has based his recruiting round Fc Kanus of Gorgie template towards the tail end of last season. Big, mean, dirty and not a lot of ability but will grind away. Mind you the r*ngers team haven't been worth loathing for a couple of seasons so it's about time that changed.

The setanta panel will again be loathsome due to the presence of Craig Burley and his anti-Celtic chip on his shoulder will sure to ensure a few rants from this blogger.

Oh and the usual suspects of Hearts and Motherwell.

Also..i'm sure some sections of the Celtic support will annoy the living daylights out of me.

Forza