Cup win can make Lennon smile after painful season

[ian1964 10,761]

Celtic's young team need to end a turbulent campaign with final victory over Motherwell this afternoon.

 

Neil Lennon can finish his tumultuous first season as Celtic manager with a moment of triumph and hope.

 

His team play Motherwell this afternoon in the final of the Scottish Cup at Hampden Park and victory would frame the season's story as the success of a young team and coach under unfamiliar pressures. Looking forward, though, the crucial first trophy for Celtic's young squad would open the possibility of more rewarding future seasons.

 

At the end of Celtic's league campaign Lennon said that "this isn't the end, this is just the beginning". This reflects a sense that this Celtic team will improve and mature into the coming seasons better than Rangers. Celtic, needing to regenerate, bought young and gifted last summer. The embedding of the new generation produced some thrilling football at Celtic Park. Emilio Izaguirre, Gary Hooper, Beram Kayal and Joe Ledley, all born between 1986 and 1988, have excelled.

 

But Celtic have not quite had the maturity at decisive moments to win a trophy yet. They lost the CIS Cup final in extra-time to Rangers in March. And, when the title was theirs to lose, they did exactly that by losing 3-2 at Inverness on 4 May to gift Rangers the league. Experience teaches the importance of a team winning its trophy; it instils belief for future battles. A victory and a cup this afternoon may equip Celtic with those qualities necessary to beat Rangers to the title next year.

 

It is impossible, though, to consider the meaning of a trophy entirely within the frame of football. This season has displayed the most toxic excesses of sectarianism in the Scottish game. Lennon has been the locus of a campaign of hate unprecedented in British sport. In January Lennon was sent bullets in the post. In March two bombs, one a hoax, the other not, were posted to him. Earlier this month he was attacked on the touchline at Tynecastle by a Hearts supporter.

 

Lennon is known for his combative nature. At times he is antagonistic, although his squabble with Ally McCoist and his hands-cupped-to-ears gesture at Ibrox were reminders of what makes Glasgow's football so compelling. But his conduct in the face of both threatened and actual physical violence has been impressively calm.

 

Walter Smith said this week that similar threats would have driven him out of the Rangers job. "It would have been the end for me," he said. "I would not have been in the job any longer." Lennon is a marathon away from matching Smith's achievements in Scottish football but victory today would reward faultless nerve under unimaginable circumstances. It may also inspire his young Celtic team to greater successes in brighter times.

 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/scottish/cup-win-can-make-lennon-smile-after-painful-season-2287068.html

[Guest Dutchy]

Mibees aye, mibees naw!

[craig 5,199]

Forster - 22

 

Wilson - 26

Majstorovic - 33

Mulgrew - 24

Izaguirre - 24

 

Brown - 25

Ledley - 23

Kayal - 22

Commons - 27

 

Hooper - 22

Samaras - 25

 

Average age of their starting XI is 25

 

McGregor - 29

 

Whittaker - 26

Bougherra - 28

Weir - 41

Papac - 31

 

Naismith - 24

Davis - 26

Edu - 25

Wylde - 20

 

Jelavic - 25

Lafferty - 23

 

Average age of our starting XI is 27

 

So there is only 2 years of a difference between the two teams yet this is a young team. It is only recently that they have started using this "Celtic is a young team" excuse as if it is some kind of comfort blanket to hold onto.

 

Also, we have the anomaly of Davie Weir in there who, even if you replaced him with someone who is 30 yrs old would reduce our average age by 1 year, resulting in just 1 year of a disparity.

 

I would also contend that we have the right blend of experience and youth - and funnily enough our experienced (older) players are in defence, somewhere you would more than likely prefer an experienced player over a youngster.

 

They can keep their comfort blanket whilst we keep the trophies

[Zappa 0]

I agree with you on all of those points Craig, although what I will say is that our experienced defence leaked 7 more goals than Celtic's defence this season. Loosing 3 goals at Ibrox to both Hibs and Dundee Utd were very bad days. Thankfully we won the league, but if it had gone to goal difference we would have lost despite having scored more goals than them.

[ian1964 10,761]

I agree with you on all of those points Craig, although what I will say is that our experienced defence leaked 7 more goals than Celtic's defence this season. Loosing 3 goals at Ibrox to both Hibs and Dundee Utd were very bad days. Thankfully we won the league, but if it had gone to goal difference we would have lost despite having scored more goals than them.

 

But I would have to say that we don'e normaly lose a lot of goals,certainly not since WS was back in charge,so over all we do have a good defence and IMO a better defence than the BHEASTS,generaly speaking.