Eighties nostalgia is still all the rage with ITV set to bring back Bullseye and Bergerac getting brought back from the dead.
It might be quite good fun seeing Bully dragging out the speedboat some poor saps from Stockport could have won or the crystal decanter set collected by the couple from Doncaster. We’re not sure if we’re going to get 80-year-old John Nettles nicking folk in the Channel Islands, but either way, folk lap up these trips down memory lane.
It’s the same with football – particularly in Scotland. We would give an arm and a leg to hop back 40 years to a time when our teams fought against the best on the continent on a level playing field. People forget the eighties were fairly grim at the time, mind you. Everything was brown and you were always a cheeky comment away from getting your backside slapped red raw by your maw, whether you were in the house or in front of a full aisle at Farmfoods.
Regardless of the collective amnesia, we’re not going back and that means we’re all going to have to adapt to life in 2024. And that means accepting that while our mums can’t issue capital punishment any more, the big teams in European football are more than capable of bashing botties in broad daylight. Celtic – and Rangers – are sitting uncomfortably this week after getting the school bully treatment.
And as far as the Hoops are concerned, the worrying thing is fans are getting immune to it. They have hides made of leather these days. That’s why Brendan Rodgers’s talking about the travelling punters the other day and admitting they deserve better than the Borussia Dortmund dull one was admirable. But the response from those same supporters out in Germany also allowed him to also state on Friday that he’s not for changing Celtic’s approach against these power houses.
Rodgers is not for turning and while most pundits and scribes throw arms in the air in despair, the rank and file on the ground don’t seem to mind so much. Celtic fans made the most of their trip to Germany and the result seemed to be just an unfortunate bump along the way. They stayed behind to salute their team after the final whistle and even the players looked awkward acknowledging the impressive backing in the wake of a seven goal battering.
That suggests there is a sense of realism in the stands right now. And Rodgers argues there’s that same reality check in the dugout as well, even if the way his men went out the other night looked more optimistic than a non playing partner on Bullseye attempting a 101 checkout with a blind fold on. The Celtic boss reckons there’s no point in parking the bus as his side would only end up losing three or four anyway – much like teams in Scotland do when they try to hold out against his side.
Better to stick to the guns, hope the big boys are not firing, or even just go down all guns blazing. Fair play. It’s just not a gameplan we are used to in this country. We’ve had 40 years of a national team trying to bite and scratch its way to results. We’ve seen Walter Smith take a rag tag Rangers squad through the the trenches to a European Final. We’ve had Neil Lennon’s Hoops have about two percent possession on the way to stunning Barcelona.
This nation’s DNA tells us we can’t afford to go toe-to-toe with this super clubs so we have to find another way.
That’s why Rodgers shouldn’t scoff at us lot too much when a lot of folk wonder why he wasn’t willing to tweaks things a touch. The Celtic boss is doing the Sinatra My Way routine and with his 750th game as a manager coming up this lunchtime, it’s maybe best to leave him to it and take the occasional rough with the smooth.
Some of the grumpier punters might continue to grumble and they are already fed up of the ‘lessons to learn’ patter in Europe, given it keeps happening on an annual basis. Yet, there is evidence Rodgers and his teams can learn from these continental clatterings. They certainly don’t let them affect them on Scottish soil in the immediate aftermath and do tend to show signs of improvement in Europe when they chance comes around again.
Back in 2016, after Barcelona stuck seven past Dories de Vries, Celtic went out and drew 3-3 with Manchester City and whipped the floor domestically. The following year, they followed the 5-0 home scudding to PSG by winning in Anderlecht. The 7-1 mauling in Paris was a step back, but next time out they went down 1-0 to Anderlecht in Glasgow, but it was a controlled, disciplined display when they knew the goal difference between the sides was crucial in claiming third spot.
Rodgers and his side will learn and adapt, even though another Euro horsing will never be far away. He’s sticking to his guns in public but you suspect that’s just a bit of spin to help keep confidence up on the home front. Behind closed doors, you can bet he will be working on a different plan for Atalanta.
Rodgers gambled on Dortmund’s flaky start to the season giving his men a chance to unsettle them early. Instead, the Germans found their mojo and Celtic became one of the many sacrificial lambs regularly served up to the malevolent gods of the global game. The swashbuckling style can shake up the real opponents – like Club Brugge, Young Boys and Dinamo Zagreb.
Unlike TV viewers getting their 80s fix, Rodgers won’t be looking back.