Held by a Sand Dancer

We conceded a goal so as usual the knives are out for the defence but for me the game was lost up front, where MacDonald in particular was a non-event. Hopefully he’ll find his shooting boots soon. Maybe a wee spell on the bench would bring him back down to earth as he seems to be believing his own press; he had an amazing season last time out and deserves special mention, but when you hear John Hartson say that MacDonald could go on to be as good a player for Celtic as Henrik Larsson then it’s time for a reality check. The header he missed with a couple of minutes remaining was really weak and to paraphrase the bard he peeyoor shat it. If that had fallen to Hesselink then defender, goalkeeper ball and all would have been in the net. Conversely the chance Vennegoor had right in front of goal an in form MacDonald would score with his eyes closed. Personally, I don’t like to see him constantly moaning at team mates whenever the ball isn’t delivered exactly to his liking. You don’t ever see Thierry Henry shouting at Puyol whenever he launches a get oan the end of that wan at him. I would have like to have seen Samaras come on for MacDonald a lot earlier, surprised Strachan didn’t do his usual striker swap around the hour mark. Asking the guy to come on with a couple of minutes to go looked more like time wasting than chasing the result.

Hesselink was poor as well and distinctly lacking in composure. Again, fingers crossed this is still post pre-season rustiness but the first Old Firm game is looming large and form will have to be found tout-suite. Granted, they were well marshalled by Gary Kenneth who always has a good game against us - although he looks knackered right from the first whistle with his unfortunate skelped arse complexion. Lee Wilkie on the other hand is a carthorse who MacDonald should be running away from with his slippers on.

For the second week, McGeady came up against a decent right back in Kovacevic, though it does remain to be seen whether the backs are doing well or Aiden is having a poor run. Naka was back and was as usual easy on the eye; even though he is a luxury away from home, his touch and movement still sets him apart from anything else in the SPL. Scott Brown has to be given praise for his consistency. Every game he plays is consistently disappointing and there is only so long he can keep escaping criticism. Brown has been the second midfielder on the team sheet after McGeady, which I don’t think should be the case. We have a glut of midfielders this season. For me Barry Robson and Paul Hartley are the guys who’ve earned the right to be our central midfield and that partnership was the main reason Celtic are Champions. Moreover the wide areas should be where spaces are up for grabs. Nakamura, although capable of true genius can be posted missing for the majority of games. McGeady had an amazing season previously but I think in certain games he could have a greater impact coming off the bench. I’m not suggesting any kind of rotation system, which never works (look at Liverpool’s league form for evidence of that) but sometimes the team could do with fresh impetous.

Defensively we were pretty solid, with the 2 United strikers Feeney and O’Donovan not getting a sniff. The same couldn’t be said when they made way for Sandanza and Conway. Sandanza especially looks a real good player and our defenders couldn’t get near him. It was in this last 20 minutes that McManus and Caldwell looked uncomfortable and were ultimately beaten. Conway pulled a master-stroke before he entered the fray; he coated himself in Kraut-Away, a special cream that made him invisible to Germans. He was on the park a total of 12 minutes and was in behind Hinkel at least 6 times, one of which lead to the equaliser. The former German international (FGI - I’m fed up typing that) with the great pedigree, as we keep hearing, has been utter bollox since the day he arrived. I can count on one hand the decent games he has had for us and that’s games where he receives pass marks rather than being outstanding. The combination of Hinkel and Naka, 2 great ball players, down that right hand side looked a great prospect, but it’s yet to bear fruit. It’s only his alleged pedigree, coupled with the huge wage that is keeping him in the team. It’s got so bad that teams are targeting him as a weak link, which is ridiculous for an FGI. Paul Caddis makes an impact every time he plays and deserves to be given a chance to show whether he can do a better job than Andy Winkle.

For the second game running the major talking point was a referee and a penalty decision. The Caldwell handballs were no way penalties - Bougherra had a similar one towards the end of the Rangers game which hasn’t been mentioned. The Caldwell tackle on O’Donovan was a stonewaller. Embarrassing. In fact I genuinely would rather Richmond had given it. That’s not with the value of hindsight. I would have rathered they equalised then and given us more of a chance to get another or lose another, at least it would have been a level playing field. I also object to it being compared to what Dundee United endured on their last visit to Ibrox which was just cheating. Possibly the official that day had left something in the car which he needed to attend to and his mind was elsewhere. Plus if it was given, Strachan would have made changes earlier.

The standard of refereeing in this country has been talked to death and it is farcical. As usual there are calls for video evidence. My solution would be, taking from the tennis (although I’ve been been boring people with this suggestion long before those gets) the manager has 3 opportunities to challenge a decision, which is done on a time out basis stopping the clock. I know this isn’t ideal and football being a cynical game managers would use it to break up play etc. Maybe these need to be used up before 80 minutes, I don’t know.

Whoever has the unenviable task of bringing in new guidelines could do a lot worse than look at the way rugby is policed; where the players have utmost respect for the referee and very rarely question, or have cause to question, a decision. I think a lot of that is to do with the way the rugby referees treat the players. In rugby there isn’t the ‘C’mere you! Stand there! Turn your back tay a book ye!’ Hugh Dallas style of refereeing, there’s far too much mutual respect. Mind you, those guys spend the majority of the game grabbing each others scrotum and with their heads in between another guys legs, so maybe not the best example. The main problem we have is that this poor refereeing standard, while not unique to Scotland, is definitely more acute. Therefore the powers that be; Platini and Beckenbauer aren’t too concerned.

There doesn’t seem to be a weekend goes by without the referee being the centre of attention and unfortunately the last 2 have been involving Celtic. Right or not, the next time there is a decision to be made in a Celtic game, these past mistakes will weigh on the referee’s mind. It’s only human nature. I just hope that karma doesn’t catch up with us in the Old Firm game.

On a positive note, I agree with Paul Hartley that it was a point gained as United (even though they were dire against Accies) will be the undoing of a lot of teams this season.