Mowbray's Men Fail to Exorcise Demons of '84

Last updated : 02 October 2009 By Clydebuilt
It was 25 years in the making, but as we look back to last night's game it was a match that was over in 25 minutes. Yes both sides had chances to win the game thereafter, however two defensive errors are what decided the match.

There was an air of massive relief as Scott McDonald cancelled out Jelavic's opener after a defensive error set him through one on one with the dodgy Vienna Keeper. The Viennese defence could be forgiven for a lapse in concentration - they were playing away from home in a powder keg atmosphere spurned on by the expectations of their excellent supporters.

However I have no such empathy with the plight of Captain Stephen McManus. Boss Tony Mowbray warned of the danger of playing passes into the midfield but these orders fell on deaf ears as the Captains wilful neglect in possession cost us dear.

I have watched the replay of the events leading up to that game at least ten times since last night and despite the many different angles that are available I still cannot figure out how was the target for that particular pass. Worse than that however was the indecision in the player's head directly after the ball left his foot. Rather than sprint to get back into position McManus dithered for enough time to take himself out of the game.

There were many positives last night, with the performances of Danny Fox and Landry N'Guemo looking more like the style of play we are used to when the Hoops play at home in Europe. A notable mention also goes to Shaun Maloney, who despite developing a dose of scottmcdonalditis by getting caught offside in positions that he really should be in, had a great game on the ball and was a constant thorn in the Viennese side.

Tony Mowbray has remained upbeat in the face of all the negative press the game has engendered, stating that the negative vibes are not worth wasting his time with.

"You have to handle the aftermath of a 1-1 draw with Rapid Vienna being a disaster.

The feedback is that there is still negativity and I can't get sidetracked by any negativity.

"It is not a problem for me, it is a problem for a lot of people who work in and around your business.

"We haven't lost a league game yet and so we aren't doing too badly.

"In this job, there are a thousand people who will tell you are not picking the right team, or you are not getting them to do this, you are not getting them to do that.

"People say, 'I can't believe he did this - why did he do that?'

"You can't have a thousand people picking the team and managing the team.

"There is only one man who does it, if you get your shot at it, so you must do it your way.

"If you do it everybody else's way and you keep chopping and changing, you will have regrets somewhere down the line.

"So when you get a shot at management and being in the position of picking the team, you do it your way, not everyone else's way.

"When you get beaten, it's easy to say, 'He got it wrong', but there is a reason behind why you do it and there are reasons why I pick a certain team.

"If it doesn't work, I don't throw the balls up and see how they come down.

"So all the criticism and advice you get, I'm not interested in."

Wise words Mr Mowbray

Yours in Celtic

Clydebuilt