Davie Provan's verdict on Tony Mowbray

Davie Provan believes that last night's defeat from St Mirren was Tony Mowbray's Caley Thistle moment.

Mowbray's brief Celtic career is strangely familiar to that of Barnes with neither men able to adapt to the demands of managing the club or capable of surviving a full season.

The axe fell on Mowbray in mid-afternoon with Provan expecting the inevitable after last night's disastrous result against St Mirren.

He told Sky Sports: "The St Mirren result last night was to Tony Mowbray what the Caley Thistle result was to John Barnes ten years ago. In many respects last night was the straw that broke the camel's back. 

"Last night's result was symptomatic of how Celtic have been set up under Tony. He's brought some very decent attacking players to the club from midfield forward, they have been easy on the eye, the arrival of Robbie Keane in particular has been terrific for supporters to go and watch.

"But he has never really addressed the defence and as recently as the last Old Firm game at Ibrox which they lost Celtic found themselves where they had two teenage centre-backs going into that game.

"At a time when a more experienced centre back, Stephen McManus, who was club captain as recently as last season, was down on loan at Middlesbrough.

"In my opinion I don't think that Tony got it right at the back. Many of us have great respect for the way that he wanted to see the game played.

"He arrived with a very specific football ideology but if you can't translate that into results and points then you are not going to last in Glasgow, that's the way that this has panned out.

"There is no surprise that Celtic have taken the action that they have- now it's a matter of where they go from here."

Neil Lennon's appointment as caretaker was the obvious choice for the club to make with steering the team to success in the Scottish Cup the target.

Longer term the board face the difficult task of appointing the next manager for a job that no longer carries the appeal that it once did.

While managing Celtic still has obvious attractions the £1m+-a-year deals available for managing in the Premiership are hard to compete with.

Recent appointments have all come from England but Provan believes that finding a candidate with sufficient stature to make a success of the job won't be easy.

He added: "It's fair to say that the job does not at the moment hold the type of appeal that it had when Martin O'Neill came to Glasgow.

"As recently as this summer both Owen Coyle and Roberto Martinez were approached to come to Celtic Park and neither wanted to take up the challenge.

"It's going to be very difficult for Celtic to identify a top class manager to fill Tony Mowbray's decision.

"I don't think that Neil (Lennon) will be a serious candidate for the job in the long term although I would hope that he could become part of the coaching staff on going.

"Celtic have time on their side but they don't want to leave it too long, you have to remember that they are likely to be playing Champions League qualifiers before the end of July.

"They shouldn't leave it too long. They have to identify somebody in the reasonable short term, let that person know what their budget is so that they can go and identfify players for the summer months.

"That's when Peter Lawwell has to do his job and get the players that the new man will identify to give him a chance to hit the ground running ahead of those Champions League qualifiers."

Cheltenham booster and Barcelona lessons

by Joe McHugh Tony Mowbray is hoping that a day at the races can help build momentum into Celtic's troubled season.

Aiden McGeady led a group of ten Celts to Cheltenham on Wednesday with Mowbray looking to reap the benefits tomorrow against St Johnsone.

Celtic face St Johnstone, St Mirren and Kilmarnock in the space of eight days with the hoops boss looking to build on back-to-back wins away to Falkirk and Kilmarnock.

Mowbray told Channel 67: “The balance of my job is making sure that everything is done properly and disciplined but also letting the players know that we have their welfare at heart.

“We have to make sure that they are in the best frame of mind for football matches as well as physically ready to play.

“There's always a balance there, you can't train them every single day. You can't run them into the ground.

“They have to be happy and content with the preparation for the matches that come along.

“Sometimes on the back of an intense run of games it's not bad to relieve the pressure on them by getting them away from the training ground for a few days- let them go and relax.

“It's even better if they can be together and nine or ten of them were at the races this week, hopefully they've had a relaxing time and now it's back to work and get ready for the weekend.”

While his players battled with the bookies Mowbray's attention was on the Champions League.

Celtic lost out to Arsenal in the qualifying stage but the Parkhead boss can't get enough top level football.

Watching Inter Milan and Barcelona on successive nights is a world away from facing Falkirk and Kilmarnock but Mowbray likes nothing better than watching the best of the best in the hope of picking up something that he can bring to Celtic.

He added: “I wouldn't dream of missing the chance to watch Barcelona, they won the Champions League last season and it's inspirational watching the way that they play.

“We can't try to play like they do but we can try to emulate the philosophy of a club like that.

“As a football club we should strive to entertain like they do, they fill the stadium and their supporters want to come and see the superstar footballers.

“Everything seems to be on an upward spiral for them and that's what all clubs should try to achieve. To put teams on the pitch that the fans love to watch.

“A winning team where they look at their star players and idolise them. It was a great night for watching Barcelona playing open attractive football.

“They are a well organised, well drilled team but the individual talent of certain players can undo teams.”

Mowbray added: “We strive to be the best that we can but sometimes that is very difficult- football teams ebb and flow- you can't maintain the highest standards over 90 minutes.

“Any successful team works hard and is made up of components, we have three or four footballers whose main attribute is to entertain, to beat men and try to score goals. Players who are clever with the ball.

“We also ask them to give everything for the team and that's the balance that we are looking for, team players with that extra talent to create and entertain.”

Mowbray's total disbelief at decisions

Tony Mowbray has admitted to total disbelief over some of the decisions that have gone against Celtic this season.

The build-up to Sunday's third derby match of the season has been dominated by news that Celtic have been in talks with the SFA about a number of decisions that have gone against them this season. 

The timing of the story has piled extra pressure on Sunday's referee Dougie McDonald who sent off Aiden McGeady for simulation earlier this season against Hibs.

Celtic are believed to have raised various issues with the SFA including key decisions that went against them in this season's earlier matches against Rangers.

Last night Mowbray told Celtic's own Channel 67 service: "The last time that we went to Ibrox there were some huge decisions that didn't go our way to the extent that the official apologised the next day for getting some big decisions wrong.

"When I look back in the cold light of day and analyse some of the decisions that have gone against us this season, some of the time it's with total disbelief about how they came to those decisions.

"If the reports are right it will only bring clarification.

"I don't think that anyone would ever question the integrity of the officials anywhere in world football but in my own mind there has been a lot of decisions that I've found very difficult to understand.

"When I've looked back on them I've thought 'that can't be right'. There is a big game to come and this is probably not the time to discuss referees.

"What I do know is that we have a big game on Sunday and hopefully the referee has a good game and gets all the major decisions right."

Post match Tony Mowbray interview.

Tony Mowbray's post match interview with ESPN was just as bewildering as the performance that his team  turned in to draw 4-4 at Aberdeen.

The watching Celtic fans were left  dismayed at the final whistle as more SPL points were dropped despite going ahead three times.

The various inconsistencies of referee Iain Brines, or consistent inconsistencies, were almost forgotten in the aftermath with Mowbray's comments adding to the confusion.

The Celtic boss explained that the decision to replace Robbie Keane with Georgios Samaras was to help out at the back against set-pieces and claimed that it could turn out to be a point gained over the weekend.

Whatever the outcome of the Rangers-Hibs match tomorrow Celtic dropped two points today and have now lost 12 points since the turn of the year.

"Quite inexplicably we gave them a lifeline, they grabbed it and it was a frustrating day for us," Mowbray explained.

ESPN: "It was really hard to explain the handball from Braffheid at that point in the game?

Mowbray: "You saw it, I saw it, sometimes it's difficult to explain them situations, it gave them a lifeline, they pushed very hard for an equaliser and ultimately got it.

ESPN: "Was that the disappointing factor today, you kept on letting them back into the game. I know that you have defensive problems but that must give you a real headache?

Mowbray: "It's there, it's evident to see. We knew before the game about our defensive problems. We didn't stand up to what came our way. We scored some great goals and we lost poor goals from set-plays and an inexplicable penalty kick.

ESPN: "As a centre half yourself though of course...

Mowbray: "Yeah, we just ask somebody to go and head the ball, it's not as if Aberdeen are a huge side. They don't have great height in their side, we're looking for somebody to take the lead today, to go and be dominant and that didn't come to fruition.

ESPN: "Easy to look back now I guess but at 4-2 you took Robbie Keane off, you must have thought that the game was won of course, do you regret that now?

Mowbray: "No, no. Only if Robbie could help us with set plays, he's not a giant you know. He's not going to head corners away for us, he doesn't even go back for them. Whereas Samaras does, he's 6 foot 3, that was part of the thinking, we knew that they would try and put a lot of balls into our box late on, as they did, they've got great free-kick delivery and set-play delivery and it was important to get some physique in there. I don't think that had any relevance to the game.

ESPN: "I know that you will fight on in the league Tony as always but it's going to be difficult now isn't it?

Mowbray: "I don't know. It's a point for us whose to say, we don't know what the results are going to be later on or tomorrow, it may be a point gained, we'll wait and see.

ESPN: "What did you say to the guys after that, what was their reaction in the dressing room?

Mowbray: "I'll leave the dressing room to the dressing room and we'll keep it there."

The arguments about the performance, the manager and the result will rage on which will help deflect blame away from another awful refereeing performance.

Iain Brines decided to book two Celtic players for kicking the ball away, one of them after a goal. Does Brines do this in every game?

After scoring Aberdeen's fourth goal Stevie MacLean lifted off his Aberdeen shirt and raced off the pitch into the crowd to celebrate without even being booked.

Brines took some delight three years ago in issuing a second yellow card to Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink away to Inverness Caley Thistle for celebrating with supporters WITH his shirt on.

What was the difference today?

Three weeks ago Morten Rasmussen was booked for celebrating with the supporters after scoring at Hamilton. That referee was following the letter of the law, the law that Brines forgot about today.

Aberdeen's Mark Kerr committed two bookable fouls on Celtic players without being disciplined: in the first half it was a two footed lunge at Aiden McGeady that went unpunished then in the second half he had a swipe at Robbie Keane.

Fouls were given to Celtic on both occasions without any card being shown by Brines who seems keener on booking players for kicking the ball away.
Celtic's u-19s face Dundee United at Tannadice tomorrow for a place in the semi-finals of the SFA Youth Cup, kick-off 2pm

Revealing insight from Tony Mowbray

After yesterday's 4-2 win at Dunfermline Tony Mowbray gave a relaxed and revealing interview to Radio Scotland's Jim Spence.

Most of Mowbray's recent press duties have been defensive and confrontational but Dundonian Spence put some enthusiasm into his questions and got  interesting answers from the Celtic boss.

For the first time Mowbray hinted at some concerns from the decision makers at Celtic but remained focussed and confident that a successful team was beginning to evolve.

There were no stock answers about taking defeats 'on the chin' but an interesting insight into his thoughts as he attempts to create and build a successful team against a mixed reaction from supporters concerned about falling ten points behind a Rangers side flirting with financial disaster.

Mowbray said: “I'm sure that the people that make the real key decisions at this football club can see what is developing.

“I hope that Celtic supporters and the extended Celtic family can see what we're trying to build here.

“While there is a certain amount of hysteria at times about what is going on I'm very confident about what we are building.

“The signs were there, when we are in possession of the ball and going forward this team can be exciting.

“I have great belief in the group, we were disappointed that we couldn't bring in a one or two players in the window.

“You have to have quality all over the pitch, at this moment we have a young 18-year-old centre half (Josh Thompson), we did try to strengthen in that area during the window but it didn't quite happen for us.

“We will get there. It's a longer term plan, once you build something with solid foundations you will find longevity of success.

“That's what we're trying to do here, the ingredients are coming together, they don't click overnight.

“I understand the hysteria around defeats but I try to build football clubs from a base of strength, you do that by bringing in quality players”

Celtic's attacking options were impressive yesterday but equally the defending was a concern.

Wholesale changes have been made across the back four over the last three games with Darren O'Dea, Lee Naylor, Scott Brown and Edson Braffheid all playing at left-back at some point.

Mowbray acknowledged the problems and difficulties in that area and is determined to get the team playing together as an effective unit.

He added: “There was some good and bad from us today, we have to set our standards as high as we can high.

“At times we were in total control and looked like scoring at will but other times we let our standards slip.

“The signs were there, when we are in possession of the ball and going forward this team can be exciting.

“At the other end of the pitch we have work to do, we had a few changes, we missed Hooiveld today, he brings composure to the back line

“Robbie Keane has genuine class, if you can add can add class to any hard working, talented football team, that little bit of class makes a difference.

“He ignited the team, it might not be any individual thing that he does but just by the cleverness of his movement, his little touches create space for others to do the damage.”
Evening Herald Celtic report

Radio Scotland interview

Turn the tide Tony!

The thoughts below will be entirely pointless and deleted if Celtic fail to beat St Johnstone on Sunday.

Has the tide turned today with Rangers drawing at home to Hearts?

For almost two months things have been going Rangers way with Celtic unable to string together any sort of form or winning run.

A 12 point lead was expected to be facing Celtic tomorrow at St Johnstone as the Rangers juggernaut rolled over the Jambos with Tony Mowbray set for another public trial by the body language experts and amateur psychologists.

Rangers dropped two points today at home to ten man Hearts and it's in Celtic's hands to start turning up the pressure and reducing the daylight at the top of the SPL table.

Twelve months ago Celtic were two goals up on Dundee United on the back of a win at Ibrox that sent them seven points clear of Rangers.

A win against Craig Levein's side would have put Rangers ten points behind going into the Inverness Caley Thistle match.

We all know that Celtic managed to throw away two points, Rangers won at Inverness, the ten point gap became five and the rest of the season is best forgotten.

St Johnstone are a decent team but with the right attitude they should be no match for Celtic tomorrow.

A well prepared, fully motivated Celtic with a team full of players knowing that they are playing for their place or a transfer elsewhere.

Three new signings have already been made this month, Kim Sung Yeung looks useful, Jos Hooiveld looks scary and Thomas Rogne is one for the future, hopefully the not too distant future.

Danish striker Morten Rasmussen is on his way with another defender being chased before the transfer window closes next weekend.

Other than a good day out at Hampden winning the League Cup 2009 was a virtual right off for Celtic.

A commanding win at St Johnstone and some new signings making their mark in the coming weeks can help generate a momentum to turn the tide and the title back towards Paradise.

PS Well done Willo Flood on scoring for Middlesbrough in their 1-1 draw with Swansea

Distractions and side issues don't win points.

What a week it's been for Celtic and stories- or sidelines and distractions!

Tony Mowbray's appearance at today's pre-match press conference was apparently to discuss Sunday's match with St Johnstone but the agenda was far from McDairmid Park.

While it's been a tough week for Celtic in medialand the club has the opportunity to set their own agenda and use the conference to communicate directly with supporters.

Talking about how news is interpreted and reported is a side issue, it's tittle tattle and helps to fill spaces and time during quiet weeks.

For over a month now we've been bombarded with the news that Aiden McGeady is on his way to Birmingham City for £8m which would be 'good business' to some.

I think that it's probably odds against McGeady being a Celtic player next season but there is no prospect of Birmingham City or £8m being involved if he does leave Celtic.

Adding to the menu this week Mark Venus did a McCoist in previewing a Scottish Cup tie which seemed to upset some folk and allowed himself to get dragged off in other directions before the Scott Brown rammy emerged.

All the while at Rangers it appears that not a single offer has yet been made for any of their players. A year on from almost selling Kris Boyd to Birmingham against his wishes to raise cash the club's financial future is looking even more dodgy.

Almost five months on from David Murray's decision to stand down as chairman there is no sign of a buyer, hardly a surprise since Murray has been looking to sell the club for getting on three years- again without a flicker of interest.

Three months on from Walter Smith being corrected for claiming that the bank were running Rangers they seem no closer to finding a solution with only a mysterious Florida based billionaire and property developer Graham Duffy showing an interest with neither having a credible or even a cunning plan of action.

Rangers only in-coming transfer of 2009 has ended in tears with Jerome Rothen desperate for an escape after two months into his Ibrox 'career'.

There are serious and troubled times at Rangers, which are likely to escalate over the next week. Club's that are interested in players at Ibrox are likely to make bids on the low side towards the close of the transfer window which the club may be forced to accept.

Rangers' business model appears to require the income from the Champions League to break even over the course of a season, reducing debt through normal trading seems an impossibility.

Failure to sell any players this month will leave the wage bill bloated and cause further discomfort for the bank. On the park, whatever anyone's opinion may be, Rangers are clearly ahead of Celtic.

They have a settled team with a defence that doesn't give goals away cheaply and an ability to draw when they could lose and win when a draw could be expected.

Celtic seem to be the exact opposite. No longer is there any game that looks a banker win.

Away games are fraught with problems, two goals seem to be lost in every away match with home draws against Falkirk, Motherwell and Hearts sitting alongside three home defeats in European competitions.

If there is an area that deserves the attention and criticism from Celtic supporters it's the on-field performances and results. Anything else is a side issue.

The next week, on the field as much as off it, will determine which club is in the best shape for the run-in to the season.

Gossip, distractions and body language never win points. A winning run from Celtic on the park can build a momentum that even the 'strange decisions' as Andreas Hinkel described them will find hard to break.

In the bleakest of circumstances Celtic found eight wins on the bounce to retain the title in season 2007/2008- repeating that run would drive Celtic into a commanding position and send confidence and morale sky high.

Celtic v Daily Record: Thugs and Thieves II?

Celtic weren't slow to put their retaliation in on the Daily Record story claiming that Scott Brown had been told that he was no longer required by Tony Mowbray.

The story contained quotes from the player which gave the story extra strength but Brown has been quick to 'put the record' straight as is often said with these type of stories.

Speaking to the Celtic website the midfielder said: "Obviously I am very disappointed with this article as there is no foundation to it. I have worked with the manager for some time and have a very good relationship with him.

"It’s disappointing to have been out for so long with an injury but I’m looking forward to getting back to full fitness as soon as possible and getting back in to the team for the second half of the season."

There's not much room for misinterpretation with those quotes or any possibility that the original words have been 'lost in translation'.

The Record claimed: 'Tony Mowbray has stunned star man Scott Brown by telling him he has no future at Celtic.'

Celtic famously fell out with the Daily Record in December 2002 following a front page story that is almost as famous as 'Freddy Starr ate my hamster' when the newspaper ran with the 'Thugs and Thieves' headline relating to the behaviour of players on a Christmas night out in Newcastle.

A cold war followed between the two parties but the Record and Celtic need each other with the relations eventually being patched up although the Record's double decker bus in Seville six months later wasn't the most popular.

Football clubs and personalities regularly threaten to take legal action against newspapers, and other than the prolific Martin O'Neill these issues get forgotten over the course of time.

Whether Celtic take legal action remains to be seen.

The Celtic statement added: "The story, which appeared on Wednesday morning, has been dismissed by both Tony Mowbray and Scott Brown as being totally without foundation.

"The club is currently taking legal advice over the issue."

Tensions have clearly been raised with the story going a step further than the usual transfer speculation that football clubs expect at this time of the year.

The final ten days of the transfer window will make interesting reading for everyone. If relations have broken down the Record won't hold back, if a compromise has been reached between the club and newspaper then a series of positive stories are likely to appear over the coming days.

Celtic website denial

Mowbray confirms signing............ tomorrow morning

Tony Mowbray has revealed that a new signing will be revealed tomorrow morning on the club's website.

Speaking to Radio Scotland before and after tonight's 1-0 win at Morton the Celtic manager confirmed that a signing announcement will be made.

Norwegian defender Thomas Rogne has been on an extended visit to Lennoxtown and is believed to be the most likely signing.

The 19-year-old is out of contract with Stabaek but the Norwegian club would be entitled to a fee of around £200,000 having developed the player through their youth academy.

At 6 foot 2 Rogne would add a physical edge to the Celtic defence although Jos Hooived has already been signed with the club also negotiating with Arsenal to take Phillippe Senderos on loan for the remainder of the season.

Aftermatch radio interview

Celtic v Hamburg tonight, not Scotland v Hamburg

Contrary to some opinions being expressed elsewhere tonight's Europa League tie with SV Hamburg is about Celtic, it's not Scottish Football v SV Hamburg, it's actually Celtic v Hamburg.

What happens elsewhere and in the 'bigger picture' is only of interest to the tiny percentage of football followers who have no allegiance to any particular club.

Tonight the vast majority of football supporters in Scotland will be hoping for a Hamburg win, they have no interest in Hamburg but would love to see Celtic lose.

It was the same scenario on Tuesday when supporters up and down the country cheered wildly as a Romanian team that they would struggle to spell made up of players they didn't know beat Rangers 4-1 at Ibrox.

SUPPORTERS

That's life, that's the way supporters are, supporters support their team, nothing else. Supporters have no interest in the co-efficient, they want their team to succeed, to win, to progress.

The downside of any European success is that it allows other teams into Europe when they are clearly not at the races for that level of competition as the results of Aberdeen, Motherwell and Falkirk have demonstrated, there should never be more than three Scottish teams involved in European football if there is any interest in the mythical co-efficient.

It's always refreshing to see a manager speak up on the subject and within 24 hours of Rangers defeat from Unirea Tony Mowbray wasn't taking on any extra responsibility for the sake of Scottish football.

Managing Celtic is a big enough challenge for Mowbray, being expected to produce results for the Scottish game is asking far too much of the former West Brom and Hibs manager.

RESPONSIBILITY

Tonight Mowbray's only objective is a Celtic win, he said: "Do I feel a responsibility for the Scottish game? No.

"I have a responsibility to our supporters to try to give them a performance that they are happy with and hopefully try to get us some points.

"If it helps the mood around Scottish football then great, but basically we will be out to get some points to try to progress in a European competition."

A win tonight would be a great boost for a Celtic side that is clearly lacking in confidence and belief.

DISILLUSIONED

The season has yet to really catch fire with the new signings currently out injured and a deja-vu feeling to much of the games with supporters disillusioned and questioning the value that they are getting from their ticket money.

Without wishing to tempt fate the next couple of SPL fixtures aren't the most daunting, if Celtic can get back involved in the Europa League and put together a few SPL wins at the same time as Marc-Antoine Fortune returns from injury then things should start to look up.

Clearly the squad is some distance short of that required to be comfortable and competitive in the Champions League but some signs of recovery would be welcome.

The team has been on the slide for a while, there has been occasional highlights like the 2008 title win at Tannadice and last season's Co-Operative Cup win, but overall the graph has been downwards.

Confidence is essential in football but it only comes through winning matches, a win tonight would give the players some respite and the supporters hope that the club is at last moving forward towards recapturing some of the excitement and anticipation that has followed Celtic over the last decade.

Too many mistakes from referee Thomson

by Joe McHugh Firstly, without doubt Celtic have major defensive problems to iron out. The players, supporters and Tony Mowbray know that, it is what Mowbray is paid to do and judged on.

The defending at Ibrox wasn't a great surprise, a solid reliable central defensive partnership is the basis for any teams success.

Mowbray will no doubt be pouring over dvd's of recent games, possible replacements and 30 years experience in the game to improve his side's defending.

What will the SFA, Hugh Dallas and Craig Thomson be doing to improve the sub-standard display of the referee at Sunday's game?

MISTAKEN
If they think that a glib apology of sorts within 24 hours of the match finishing will satisfy 'customers' who invest millions into the game every season they are badly mistaken.

If the 12th minute penalty incident was Thomson's only mistake it would be easier to accept, everyone makes mistakes, from bloggers to referees and all sorts of professions inbetween, mistakes are part of our everyday life.

The tone of the apology, or admission, to be more accurate, leaves a lot to be desired. Thomson himself has said nothing, his admission has come through Dallas without any sort of explanation, the statement didn't even refer to Celtic but the visiting team.

STATEMENT IN FULL FROM DALLAS
"Taking charge of an Old Firm game is both high profile and challenging. Referees are well aware that their performance will be judged on calling the major decisions correctly.

"Craig and I have had our post match de-brief. Whilst I would compliment Craig for his overall handling of yesterday's encounter, he is disappointed at his error of judgement when he decided against awarding a penalty to the visiting team in the 12th minute.

"Our referees are fitter than they have ever been and our referees are better prepared for matches than they have ever been. We are working each and every day with our top officials to make sure that they are in a position to get the big calls right. However, mistakes are part and parcel of football. I think that it says a lot for the character and professionalism of Craig that he has been more than willing to hold his hands up on this one."

What exactly was his problem with the incident, pictured above? Thomson had a clear view of it and as he demonstrated throughout the rest of the match he wasn't shy at throwing around yellow cards for simulation.

His explanation through Dallas provides no insight, from the picture above he should have had a clear view of the challenge.

If Weir didn't foul Maloney then surely the Celtic midfielder should have been booked?

A decision had to be made but the referee refused. He showed by his willingness to book Maloney and Mark Wilson later in the game that he would book players that he believed had attempted to cheat him into awarding a penalty.

Did he have a doubt over Maloney 'diving'?

Did he look to his linesman for assistance?

Did he see nothing at all?

Was that the only incident that he reviewed afterwards?

Thomson went on to make a lot of questionable decisions throughout the game. Again in isolation there was no big deal on the other incidents but put into a 90 minute performance when the ball is in play for around an hour it is a worrying level of bad judgements.

Some decisions that could have been given differently.

14min) Maloney booked for simulation, could it have been a penalty and yellow card for Weir and a Celtic penalty?

52min) Could Weir have been booked for a foul on Scott McDonald where he ran his studs down McDonald's calf?

62min) Kyle Lafferty puts his boot into Zheng Zhi, could that have been a booking on it's own or for persistent fouling from Lafferty?

66min) Mark Wilson booked for simulation? Horrendous 'acting' from the full-back, not in the Eduardo class, or maybe his heels were clipped?

RETROSPECTIVELY
There were other incidents that could be looked at closely and we know that Thomson does like to review all aspects of his performances, as recently as May of this year he requested that the SFA look into a challenge by Glenn Loovens on Maurice Edu retrospectively.

Surely the SFA should be very concerned if Thomson feels that the 12th minute incident was his only mistake of the day.

Just like all those innocent MP's that mistakenly claimed expenses for mortgages that had long been paid off or for the adult movies enjoyed by their partner everyone makes mistakes, it's human nature.

If an MP can't monitor their mortgage payments then they aren't fit for office, if Thomson can't make a clear cut penalty decision without Rangers being two goals up he shouldn't be refereeing.

PROMOTED
The level of mistakes made by Thomson should be a big concern to the SFA who have perhaps promoted the guy way above his level.

Mistakes of the magnitude that were witnessed on Sunday should be kept well away from the prying eyes of Sky Sports and a worldwide audience, it's little wonder that Uefa and Fifa don't give a second thought to Scottish officials when it comes to Champions League and major international appointments.

There is nothing that can be done to alter the result from Sunday but a long term demotion of Thomson by the SFA would leave other referees in no doubt that failure to call big decisions in big matches won't be rewarded.

So what if Celtic had got three first half penalties at Ibrox in front of the Copland Road stand?

APOLOGY
As recently as December 2006 referee Kenny Clark came out with another apology after failing to 'see' a penalty at the same part of the ground after Stevie Smith fouled Neil Lennon.

Getting firm with officials who opt out of key decisions should be the priority of the SFA rather than applauding half hearted third party admissions that a mistake has been made.

These decisions don't even themselves up over the course of a season, I'd think that there is a very good chance that Celtic will be awarded a penalty in one of their next matches, it might even be a marginal decision.

After the apology from Clark three years ago Celtic were given a penalty against Falkirk in their next match, their first penalty of the season and predicted by John Hughes before the game.

Anyone that thinks that a penalty awarded when you are four goals up at home to Falkirk compares with being denied a penalty when one goal up away to Rangers has no idea about the game.

Celtic supporters will look to Mowbray to eradicate the problems in their defence, the SFA should be looking closely at officials who for whatever reason don't make key decisions.

Thomson's errors will put every single referee under greater scrutiny than ever, the referee appointed for the January 2 Celtic-Rangers match will be in a lose-lose situation.

Going through every match, decision by decision, isn't practical and will destroy the concept of refereeing but equally decision making like Thomson's on Saturday brings refereeing into disrepute.

Unless the SFA take serious action now the problem will continue to resurface and the outside world will wonder what is going on when they look in on the Scottish game.

A third rate, third hand admission does no-one any favours.

Paddy McCourt moves up a level

The mystery of Paddy McCourt was opened up to a wider audience last night as the former Derry City man scored his first top-team goal for Celtic.

Fittingly it was his signature goal, drifting clear of chasing defenders then finishing the run with a simple flick of his foot to loft the ball out of reach of the despairing goalkeeper.

BBC highlights from Falkirk

That type of goal was a regular feature in Celtic TV's goal of the month as McCourt lit up reserve fixtures with his special gift.

A search around YouTube will bring to life a number of memorable solo efforts.

Fleeting first team appearances have helped add to the 'legend' of McCourt as he hugs the ball finding time in the game whilst others around him run faster and faster.

IDENTICAL

Gordon Strachan and Tony Mowbray have made almost identical comments about McCourt, the ability is not in question but there have been plenty of comments questioning his fitness, discipline and ability to become a 'team-man'.

After his goal at Falkirk Tony Mowbray said: "We know what Pat can do, at Wembley against Spurs he did something very similar but missed the target. Tonight he scored and he's more than capable of doing things like that, we see it every day in training.

"If football was only about your dribbling ability Pat would play every week, only probably McGeady can dribble like McCourt.

"There's more to the game than just dribbling and doing wonderful things. Pat has got plenty of things that he needs to add to his game to be a regular in the side."

NAKAMURA

It's probably too far fetched to compare McCourt with the departed Shunsuke Nakamura but the departed Japanese star hardly had the complete game.

The qualities that Mowbray would like to add to McCourt's game are similar to those demanded of Nakamura who enjoyed great success without having a turn of pace or being particularly industrious.

What Nakamura did have was time. Time on the ball, time to pass, time to hold onto the ball and vision to see passes beyond the capabilities of most.

There's no doubt that Nakamura was a luxury player. At Celtic, for four years, a team was fitted around him to give him scope to exercise his talents and influence games knowing full well that tracking back and work rate would never be part of Naka's game.

With transfer funds getting tighter and tighter Mowbray has to get the maximum from his squad, if McCourt can have anything like the influence on Celtic that Nakamura had then everyone will be happy.

PREMIERSHIP

McCourt isn't a stranger to Mowbray, with West Brom promoted to the Premiership he attempted to take McCourt from Derry to the Hawthorns.

If the then West Brom boss felt that McCourt could play in the Premiership then he can surely accommodate him in a Celtic side likely to dominate most of their domestic matches.

Mowbray added: "I tried to buy him for West Brom, Celtic jumped in at the last minute and prised him away from us.

"He has to work on the other side of the game when we don't have possession. He has to work hard on his fitness levels, concentration, discipline but when he has the ball you wait for him to do something brilliant."

AGATHE

Tracking back has never really been McCourt's thing but an element of that has been added to his game. Didier Agathe adapted his game similarly to such an extent that he was re-invented as a right back rather than a right winger.

Without the burst of pace that is normally expected of wingers McCourt has been tried in a more central role on a few occasions by Mowbray as he attempts to match the teams requirements to the special skills of the 25-year-old.

At Celtic no allowances are given, the demands are constant with no margin for error. A fixture list that includes Rapid Vienna and Rangers over the next ten days won't cut any slack.

McCourt is now at the stage where it's now or never for his Celtic career, if he continues to make an impact over the next fortnight some exciting times lie ahead, in front of audiences much larger than the diehards that followed last seasons reserve team adventures.

STATS STATS STATS STATS STATS STATS STATS

Without getting as stat obsessed as the BBC's Paul Mitchell, the Celtic team that beat Falkirk last night contained five former Dundee United players.

I've got better things to do with my time than trawl through Rothman Yearbooks or anything else but I'd be amazed if Celtic have ever fielded a team containing so many players brought from the same club.

Celtic team at Falkirk: Zaluska; Caddis, Caldwell, McManus, Wilson; Flood, Crosas, Robson, McCourt; McDonald, Killen.

Rapid red herring

Falkirk 0-4 Celtic match report

Tony Mowbray's striking options

Tony Mowbray's team line-up for tonight's game with Hapoel will be eagerly anticipated with the striking decisions of most interest.

Since losing Marc-Antoine Fortune to injury there has been a disjointed look about Celtic's play following the free flowing football of the opening games of the season sandwiched around the impressive win away to Dynamo Moscow.

The Scott McDonald-Georgios Samaras 'partnership' looks uncomfortable to be kind, with Chris Killen, despite his goalscoring pre-season form, still down the pecking order and almost out the door during the transfer window.

McDonald has the best scoring record, over the piece as well as in big games, but would probably admit himself that being the sole striker isn't playing to his strengths.

OPTION

Into the mix comes the Aiden McGeady or Shaun Maloney option. McGeady playing off Maloney caused Rangers plenty of grief in the Co-Operative Cup Final in March but for reasons best known to others was never tried again.

Playing either McGeady or Maloney alongside McDonald will be much more appealing to Mowbray after the performance of Niall McGinn against Dundee United.

The former Derry City winger was transformed from being a mystery to an option over the 81 minutes that he played against Dundee United. With his turn of pace McGinn could be a very useful European option out wide allowing McGeady and/or Maloney to link up behind McDonald.

Getting the balance right is all important with Fortune being out of action for at least a month as Mowbray puts his side together.

SPINE

There are questions being asked all over the team with the spine still far from decided, Stephen McManus is available again for central defence with the midfield looking very weak against Dundee United when Scott Brown was pushed forward.

Hopefully tonight's game will be as illuminating as the Moscow performance and not an Arsenal like damp squib, with two home games coming up in the Europa League an away win for starters would make qualification less daunting.

Today's Evening Herald

Mowbray demands more 'we can play miles better'

Smiles were back on the faces of the Celtic support after the 3-1 win over Aberdeen today but new manager Tony Mowbray is demanding more from his team.

A 3-0 half-time lead on the opening day of the season would have most bosses in a happy mood but perhaps highlighting his determination to be a winner Mowbray cast a critical eye over his team's finishing rather than praise the quality of their play.

A double from Aiden McGeady and a typical Scott McDonald strike secured the points for Celtic on the opening day but not the complete approval of their manager.

Mowbray said: "There was some good and some bad in our performance. I was frustrated at half-time that we didn't have a greater advantage, a truer reflection might have been one or two more goals.

"We had some great opportunities, got into great goalscoring areas but we didn't take our chances. I didn't have a blast at the strikers at half-time but I tried to gee them up a bit.

HAUNT

"At Cardiff in pre-season we failed to put our chances away, those days could come back to haunt you if you keep missing chances or getting into great areas and not scoring. I'm not 100% happy but obviously delighted to get a win away from home.

"We played miles better in both games against Moscow Dynamo. The shape of the team and the way that we moved the ball about was better in those games.

"There's lots for us to work on. I told the players that we'll have to be miles better on Tuesday against Arsenal, we'll be asked a lot more questions in that game."

Goalscorers McGeady and McDonald, who played against each other in midweek when Australia beat Ireland 3-0 in Limerick, were in agreement with their managers judgement of the game.

McGeady said: "The manager was disappointed that we never scored more goals in the first half, the boys felt the same.

CHANCES

"We did have a lot of chances, we put a few away but it could have been five or six. You want to win every game by as many goals as you can.

"A few of us were disappointed with the way that the second half went, if Aberdeen had got a goal it could have got quite nervy for us."

McDonald added: "It's good as a striker to get a goal but I would have liked a couple more, I could have scored one right at the start of the game.

"We probably should have got five or six in the first half. That's something that we'll have to get about our game very quickly and be lethal, especially on Tuesday night.

ARSENAL

"If we get one chance against Arsenal we have to take it. We believe that we can do the business against Arsenal, we've got them at home first and Celtic Park is a fortress for us."

It could have been much worse for Aberdeen manager Mark McGhee who has watched his side lose all three games since he took over at the club.

McGhee said: "I'm not going to get too upset with this, Celtic are a good team, they played well in the first half when their movement was too much for us. We lost the game to a good team."

Celtic finished the match with ten men but Mowbray has no worries over an injury to Shaun Maloney. The former Aston Villa midfielder looked to have picked up a bad knee injury but Mowbray revealed that it was just a spot of cramp.

AUDIO INTERVIEW WITH MALKY MACKAY

Celtic turning on the style

By Joe McHugh

The emotions of being a Celtic fan were highlighted brilliantly at Wembley yesterday as Tony Mowbray's side gave the sort of performance that we've been waiting months/years to see.

Without kicking off a Mowbray-Strachan debate yesterday's 5-0 hammering of Egyptian side Al Ahly was basically achieved by the same players that couldn't score against Hibs or Hearts to hand cash-strapped Rangers the SPL title.

The despair of last season as we staggered from game to game without any confidence or pattern and regularly without goals was blown away as a team containing Lee Naylor and Massimo Donati demonstrated that they are certainly capable of better than they have shown over the last two seasons.

Only Marc-Antoine Fortune and Landry N'Guemo had been added to last season's side while Shunsuke Nakamura, Paul Hartley and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink have moved on.

The actual players didn't seem so important yesterday, the most impressive feature was the movement, energy and confidence of players who had been running on empty last season and appeared demoralised at times.

Aiden McGeady and Shaun Maloney were the key players in the revamp.

Notionally given wide roles both players had licence to move inside, looking for the ball and creating chances as well as causing problems for defenders whilst opening up spaces for full-backs to explore.

Strachan's wide men were exactly that, wide players, fed the ball on the flank then expected to be creative with two markers in close pursuit.

That system did bring some success and had it's merits but there was always the feeling that we weren't getting the best out of Nakamura and McGeady while others also suffered in a team over reliant on two players.

With McGeady and Maloney happy to cut inside to link up with strikers Scott McDonald and Fortune there was openings for N'Guemo and Donati to exploit with full-backs Naylor and Andreas Hinkel both happy to exploit the space created.

Despite all the attacking options it was impossible to look beyond the contribution of Artur Boruc who although hardly in perfect shape demonstrated that natural instinct to pull off saves that ordinary 'keepers don't get near.

Holding back the optimism won't be easy, at least until the next match, but there was enough on show at Wembley to suggest that we might have a team making progress again and there's a good case for arguing that since the Champions League ties with AC Milan in 2007 the team hadn't been developing.

A win over Spurs to claim the Wembley Cup would be great, and hopefully an invite back for next season's event, but the only games that matter are those against Moscow Dynamo over the next ten days.

Ousting the Russians from the Champions League will be a major achievement and give the squad a much needed confidence boost for the season ahead.

The glasses are all half-full at the moment with hope and promise in the air, if these strange emotions continue then going to watch Celtic could suddenly become enjoyable again!

Nine-in-a-row starts today

By Joe McHugh

Neil Lennon takes his first steps into management today when Celtic's reserve side faces Albion Rovers in the annual Jock Stein Friendship Cup.

2009 Reserve League Champions at Ibrox video

The greatest manager that the game has ever known, who turned a team into European Cup winners in just over two years, will be celebrated when the two Scottish teams that he played for meet up at Cliftonhill.

For Lennon it's the next inevitable step in the management business after being the most decorated Celtic player of his generation.

Gordon Strachan brought Lennon back to Celtic in March 2008, less than a year after his playing career ended, as Celtic dramatically clinched the title on the final day of the specially extended season against Dundee United.

Being a No. 2 or No.3 can be either a cushy number or thankless task depending on results but it's important for an aspiring manager to establish himself independently rather than being forever associated as part of the furniture trailing around two steps behind 'the boss'.

SPECULATION

There was some speculation, probably well founded, that Lennon may not fit in with the new management team of Tony Mowbray, Mark Venus and Peter Grant with Stockport County interested in seeing if Lennon was ready to start off as a manager in his own right.

Retaining Lennon provides Mowbray with an insight into the current Celtic dressing room and the lowdown on SPL opponents which could be priceless in the early months of the season.

Lennon, like any former Celt involved in management, would love one day to become manager of the club but knows that that incredible honour is given to few and is never decided on sentiment with various factors, circumstances and timing deciding who gets the call to lead Celtic.

After more than a season as first team coach Lennon steps out as a manager today at Albion Rovers with the difficult task of managing the reserves in a very uncertain climate.

Even before the crash of Setanta there were threats against the Reserve League with short sighted clubs squealing about the costs of fielding a team for 22 games a season!

INVESTMENT

With all the supposed investment in youth football going on throughout the game it shouldn't be too much of a burden for clubs to arrange three games a month to field first team fringe players and the best of their emerging talents.

Celtic have made the Reserve League their own over the last eight seasons whilst also being the dominant force in first team football. Those facts are not accidental.

Providing a platform for frustrated or injured first team players to return to top team action and another stepping stone forward for youth prospects is the main priority of the reserve side. And winning.

Predicting the make up of the reserve team is virtually impossible with 40 plus players likely to be used over the season.

UJPEST

The better players are likely to be sent out on loan with Ujpest Dozsa a likely destination while we'll soon find out if Tony Mowbray is as keen as Gordon Strachan to loan players out in the SPL where Cillian Sheridan, Paul McGowan, Scott Cuthbert and Paul Caddis spent the second part of last season.

Jason Marr and Danny Lafferty stepped comfortably into reserve team football last season where they formed the backbone of the title winning side alongside Paddy McCourt and Mark Millar.

Marr and Lafferty should continue with the reserves whilst it may be time for Millar and McCourt to move out on loan at the end of August if they aren't in and around the first team, Niall McGinn and Koki Mizuno could also be in that position.

Lennon's task is to keep these players motivated knowing that in all honesty playing for the reserves isn't what is required at this stage of their career.

Anything beyond two season's of reserve team football is of little use to players or coaches, the journey forward begins today at Albion Rovers as the new season gets underway.