It was the same old story for Celtic supporters on Tuesday night as Celtic were handed their annual European humbling from one the bigger sides in their Champions League group.
There was a hint of inevitability about it all once Antoine Griezmann slammed home after just six minutes, but the red card for Daizen Maeda on 23 minutes all but secured Celtic’s grisly fate.
The supporters’ reaction to the result raised some of the same issues that emerge every year when the club once again stumbles in Europe, with the fingers all being pointed in one direction. How can Celtic avoid these European embarrassments that seem to come around in every Champions League campaign and perhaps give the fans something to be hopeful about again when seeing the team line up against Europe’s elite?
Speculate to accumulate
The fans all pointed their fingers in the same direction following this result, and it was same reaction following the defeat in Rotterdam against Feyenoord as well as the defeat at home to Lazio.
The subject of many fans’ wrath – the Celtic board – have been accused of the same failings as far back as our 7-1 loss in Paris against PSG way back in November 2017. Six years on, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
To achieve success in Europe, you have to spend like a European club, something Celtic haven’t done. There was a lot of criticism directed towards the Parkhead side’s summer transfer business, with Luis Palma being the only player signed to have a real impact on the first-team so far. Whilst some of the signings may have success domestically, the gap between Celtic and even teams like Feyenoord is evident, and that is because the money hasn’t been spent to establish the team as a European regular.
It’s looking like a case of “we’ll give it a good try next year” after just four games in the Champions League, an all too familiar story and fans are wondering when real action will be taken to ensure the club takes that next step forward to spark us out of this stagnation.
Transitioning the winning mentality into Europe
One thing that is evident when watching Celtic in Europe is that there is a lack of confidence and self-belief amongst the team, and that has been the case for almost a decade.
Celtic offer too much respect to the opponents, almost seeming happy and grateful just to be there taking part, and when you are only there just to make up the numbers, you’re never really going to stifle any opposition or cause them problems.
When you look at Celtic domestically, it is a completely different story as the team fights tooth and nail to win every single match, with an incredibly strong mentality that has seen the team through many close calls in the league already this season.
Bouncing back to snatch the three points at Fir Park against Motherwell and winning at Ibrox with a threadbare squad are recent examples of that strong mentality, the team just needs to figure out how to transition that winning mentality to the Champions League.
JAMES MCKENZIE // Follow James HERE
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