It’s not very often you talk about Celtic and Australian journalism in an article.
The arrival of Ange Postecoglou changed all that.
But that wasn’t the only thing that the arrival of Postecoglou changed.
Football at Celtic Park has changed and it is yet to be seen if it is for the better. There have been glimpses of it in the 6-0 routings of St Mirren and Dundee, but since then we have not seen that style return that captured the Hoops fans imagination.
There was an excellent debate between two prominent Australian journalists where they recognised the pattern of Postecoglou’s journey at Celtic because they have already seen the same story on three of the Celtic managers journeys through Australia to Japan.
And the rewards the initial short term pain will bring.
Ray Gatt and Simon Hill have all followed Ange’s career from managing Brisbane Roar, Melbourne Victory, the Socceroos, to Yokohama F Marinos. And they have all been to the same party.
They admit the party starts slowly what they do recognise is that once the champagne football starts flowing, the same celebrations begin. But patience is required.
Simon started the conversation with this tweet:
Interesting reading Celtic fans comments on Ange after their latest loss. Almost déjà vu from his first year with the ‘Roos. Tough it out Hoops – the initial bit is confronting, but as we all know here, the rewards will come… pic.twitter.com/gl3FtpYGx5
— simonhill1894 (@simonhill1894) September 30, 2021
Which clearly is advocating patience to the Celtic fans but as you can see from the amount of comments, it did spark a healthy debate.
Well tbf, U****d could quite easily have sacked Solskjaer – but they’ve tried to be patient. They gave Fergie five years before he won a trophy back in the day too…
— simonhill1894 (@simonhill1894) September 30, 2021
Yep. Look I’m conscious of not just cheering for him because he’s “one of ours” – but I genuinely think he’ll succeed. We’ve been through the initial Ange teething problems here, so we know how it goes with him. Get what you’re saying tho…can they hold their nerve?
— simonhill1894 (@simonhill1894) September 30, 2021
I hope they do hold their nerve Simon, but sadly history, and this doesn’t just apply to Celtic, suggests they won’t!
— Ray Gatt (@Gatty54) October 1, 2021
Very fascinating debate between the tow respected journalists but there is a caveat to this.
This is Celtic. The fans demand success and with that demand comes a pressure that is unique to this part of the footballing world.
It is a pressure Ange looks like he can handle, but can the fans and the Celtic board?