Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAlthough it took Mooy some time to find his feet in the famous green and white shirt, Celtic wasted no time finding theirs to begin the Scottish Premiership season.<\/p>\n
After all, they entered the campaign unbeaten in their last 32 league fixtures.<\/p>\n
The Hoops scored 12, conceded just one and won all four of their opening games to extend the streak to 36 unbeaten league games, but it was the next two games that highlighted how absurdly dominant Celtic had become.<\/p>\n
A trip to Dundee United, who had lost three of their opening four games, was first.<\/p>\n
90 minutes soon passed and so too did nine goals into the back of the Tangerines\u2019 net in an absolute mauling for Postecoglou\u2019s side.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey [Dundee United] were struggling like mad at that stage, but it was Celtic at their best under Ange,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThree, four, five, six-nil up and still looking for more goals.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the goalfest at Tannadice, there would be no time for Celtic to stand back and marvel at their work as the first Old Firm derby was just around the corner.<\/p>\n
It was a Rangers side who, only a few months before, came agonisingly close to winning the Europa League final.<\/p>\n
But that same team was sliced open with surgical precision time and time again by a rampant Celtic outfit.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe just completely battered Rangers,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Celtic put Rangers to the sword in a 4-0 humiliation. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cFour-nil against Rangers is the kind of result we were getting under Brendan Rodgers when Rangers were in a real state.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor Celtic under Ange to beat them four-nil, I think it was his most impressive result so far at the club.\u201d<\/p>\n
With all the momentum of a thundering locomotive behind them, it quickly became time \u2014 three days, to be precise \u2014 for Celtic\u2019s attention to shift once again.<\/p>\n
But this time, it wouldn\u2019t be for a domestic rival.<\/p>\n
It would be for the defending champions of Europe.<\/p>\n
\u2018PERFECT DRAW\u2019 ENDS IN UCL DISASTER \u2026 BUT MAJOR SILVER LINING EMERGES<\/b><\/p>\n
Although Celtic came flying out of the gates on the domestic front, Hoops fans had one eye on the announcement of their Champions League group.<\/p>\n
And on August 25, the Glasgow outfit learned its fate.<\/p>\n
Joining them in Group F was European giants Real Madrid, RB Leipzig and Shakhtar Donetsk, a group Carton described as \u201cthe perfect draw in many ways.\u201d<\/p>\n
But a perfect draw on paper failed to materialise into results.<\/p>\n
Celtic failed to win any of their six Champions League matches, with four losses and two draws \u2014 both one-all results against Shakhtar Donetsk \u2014 all they had to show for their efforts.<\/p>\n
Carton recalls \u201cthe vast majority of fans felt really, really disappointed after some of the games\u201d, but it wasn\u2019t down to the fact Celtic failed to win.<\/p>\n
No, it was down to just how close they took the games despite the notable differences in the quality of players.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Postecoglou got to test his tactical nous against Carlo Ancelotti. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThere was perhaps no greater example of that than the opening game against Madrid at Celtic Park, when Los Blancos <\/i>took the three points in a game where the Hoops never took a backward step before eventually being overrun.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember watching him after the defeat to Real Madrid,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best team in Europe had ten of the 11 players who had beaten Liverpool in the final 100 days earlier start against us. <\/p>\n
\u201cFor the first 50, 55 minutes, Celtic gave as good as they got and were probably the better team. Then they just fell away in the final half-an-hour and lost 3-0.<\/p>\n
\u201cI remember Ange walking around after the game and he looked genuinely gutted at losing a match like that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he would feel the frustration as well because he wants Celtic to not just compete at that level, but to really compete and win games at that level.\u201d<\/p>\n
Although a disappointed Postecoglou was left to pick up the pieces after the failed Champions League campaign, Carton believes the Aussie boss and the Celtic fanbase could see the silver linings from the losses.<\/p>\n
And it serves as evidence for why next year\u2019s Champions League campaign, should they qualify, will be even better.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt showed to me that Ange\u2019s style can work at the top level,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn five out of the six matches, we were in those matches at halftime. I think we scored in the vast majority of games and could have scored far more.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Celtic’s European adventure ended at the first hurdle. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cThere\u2019s always a massive debate about whether Ange will change his game style when he comes up against these teams. It\u2019s clearly not going to happen, but equally it\u2019s not a case of two ways to play in terms of going all out and then having 11 men behind the ball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carton also pointed out the value in Celtic\u2019s squad gaining crucial Champions League experience given only a handful of them had ever played in the group stages before.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the team will be much more used to the level and hopefully Ange will be as well,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think Ange was the issue, I think the team just wasn\u2019t quite ready. But I think we\u2019ll see an improvement next year.\u201d <\/p>\n
\u2018STICKY PATCH\u2019 SURVIVED AS QUEST FOR ALL-TIME FEAT REMAINS ON<\/b><\/p>\n
Despite the mind-boggling win rate, Carton conceded the team had somewhat of a \u201csticky patch\u201d by Celtic\u2019s lofty standards.<\/p>\n
In the eight games between the St Mirren loss and the beginning of the World Cup break, Celtic kept just one clean sheet.<\/p>\n
The Hoops also had to come from behind against Hearts to secure a crucial three points at Tynecastle.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s the victories over St Johnstone and Dundee United Carton points to as evidence of why Postecoglou\u2019s side are just so good.<\/p>\n
Celtic held a one-nil lead over St Johnstone through an own-goal before the hosts thought they\u2019d secured a draw through a 93rd-minute equaliser.<\/p>\n
However, the Hoops would have the last laugh when Giorgos Giakoumakis, who left for Atlanta United in January, scored the winner two minutes later.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Giorgos Giakoumakis may have moved on, but he saved Celtic’s bacon against St Johnstone. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAgainst the Tangerines, Celtic led 2-1 but conceded in the 87th minute, a complete contrast from the nine-nil destruction earlier in the season.<\/p>\n
But once again, Postecoglou\u2019s mentality of never stopping proved key as Celtic scored twice to secure a 4-2 victory and leave Dundee United shell-shocked.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s almost as if the team was coasting at one stage, then the minute they know the result is in a bit of doubt, they\u2019d turn it on and go and score,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf that\u2019s your sticky patch and you\u2019re still finding a way to win games, you\u2019re not doing too bad at all.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think people talk about the free-flowing football under Ange and the big results in terms of scorelines, but I think it sometimes it\u2019s finding a way to win, even when things aren\u2019t going your way, that is what Ange\u2019s teams are all about.\u201d<\/p>\n
After the World Cup break, it\u2019s been very much business as usual for Celtic.<\/p>\n
They\u2019ve won every league game aside from a 2-2 draw against Rangers at Ibrox, who have a new manager at the helm in the form of Michael Beale.<\/p>\n
Celtic have also cruised in the two cup competitions and will face Hearts in the quarterfinals of the Scottish Cup while a salivating date with Rangers in the Scottish League Cup on Monday awaits.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Rangers boss Michael Beale will be out to spoil Postecoglou’s treble ambitions. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nWith a nine-point lead in the league, Postecoglou\u2019s side remain well in contention for the treble, something Carton believes is \u201calmost expected\u201d nowadays but knows it \u201conly takes one off-day\u201d for those aspirations to come crashing down.<\/p>\n
Should Postecoglou pull off the feat, Carton isn\u2019t quite sure it would be as special as the Hoops\u2019 16\/17 treble season given Brendan Rodgers\u2019 side didn\u2019t lose a single game in the three competitions that season.<\/p>\n
But, given Rangers\u2019 resurgence since then, a treble this season \u201cwould be right up there.\u201d<\/p>\n
And if that transpires, Premier League clubs will be falling over themselves in their efforts to prise the 57-year-old away from Glasgow.<\/p>\n
WHY ANGE COULD CHASE PL DREAM \u2026 AND WHY HE\u2019LL STAY PUT IN GLASGOW<\/b><\/p>\n
It\u2019s almost become like clockwork: a Premier League manager loses their job and within minutes the high-flying Celtic or Rangers manager is linked with the vacancy.<\/p>\n
In fact, it was only November 2021 when an Old Firm boss last moved down south as Steven Gerrard moved from Rangers to Aston Villa.<\/p>\n
Brendan Rodgers was the last Celtic manager to make the same passage, albeit the Northern Irishman left the Hoops in the lurch having moved to Leicester City in February 2019.<\/p>\n
Postecoglou has not been safe from the tenuous links, with his name popping up in the conversation for vacancies at Brighton, Everton, Leeds and Wolverhampton Wanderers throughout the season.<\/p>\n
Although Carton and the vast majority of the Celtic fanbase are aware that such rumours have become \u201cpretty predictable at this stage\u201d, it is undeniably a \u201cgood thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf he wasn\u2019t doing a good job with Celtic then he wouldn\u2019t be getting linked to these jobs,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I\u2019m more than happy with it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Postecoglou has been linked with a number of Premier League jobs this season. (Photo by Ian MacNicol\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nAny such talk of a departure brings up two questions, the first of which is when Postecoglou could go.<\/p>\n
Openings emerge in the middle of the campaign more than they do during the off-season, yet Carton remains convinced Postecoglou would keep his legacy intact in the way he departs unlike a certain former Celtic boss.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen Brendan Rodgers left midway through the season, it really left a bitter taste in the mouth of Celtic fans and he isn\u2019t really remembered as fondly because of that,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d hate for that to happen with Ange. I think Ange would be aware of that and I think he wants to leave a good legacy whenever he leaves the club, and he tends to do that.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the time comes, Carton believes Postecoglou would bid farewell at the end of a season, allowing Celtic plenty of time to scout for his successor.<\/p>\n
Even though there\u2019s only a handful of months left before this season is done and dusted, Carton holds out hope the Australian boss will stick around for a little while longer.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe I\u2019m just naive, but I don\u2019t really feel like I\u2019m too worried and I\u2019m not worried about him leaving this summer,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he really wants to achieve something with Celtic in Europe and everything he\u2019s doing has been geared towards that.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think he\u2019ll take us next season as well. After that, who knows. That might depend on how well he does next season or what job comes up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The other big question dominating a potential Postecoglou exit would be the location of his next team.<\/p>\n
Gerrard and Rodgers departed to mid-table teams and had significantly varied degrees of success.<\/p>\n<\/amp-img>Brendan Rodgers has won an FA Cup with Leicester since leaving Celtic. (Photo by Alex Pantling\/Getty Images)<\/span>Source: Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThe former was sacked less than a year into the role while Rodgers has led the Foxes to two fifth-placed finishes and an FA Cup in 2021.<\/p>\n
Yet Carton firmly believes Postecoglou is in line for bigger and better, boldly declaring the Aussie could succeed one of the greatest managers of all time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to think that when Ange leaves Celtic, it\u2019s to one of the bigger clubs in England,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe that\u2019s unrealistic. I think he\u2019d probably have to do something special with Celtic in Europe, potentially take us to the last 16 or even the quarterfinals of the Champions League, or a final or win the Europa League, that would get the bigger clubs down south to notice.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think if he was to do that, and how highly he is rated by so many in the City Football Group for example, it might sound daft but I really wouldn\u2019t write off him succeeding [Pep] Guardiola down the line if he does something special with us in Europe.<\/p>\n
\u201cI genuinely think he\u2019s that good of a manager.<\/p>\n
Carton added that he truly believes \u201cAnge is on par with people like [Erik] Ten Hag and [Mikel] Arteta\u201d purely based on \u201cthe way he comes across and the way his teams play.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI could see him managing virtually any of the big teams,\u201d Carton said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think any of these jobs would phase Ange. I honestly think he\u2019s going right to the very top of the game and I think Celtic are blessed to have him at the moment, I think he\u2019s just been amazing.\u201d<\/p>\n
But it also means more time for the Hoops boss to build a bulletproof case as to why he could \u2014 or, as Celtic fans might say, will \u2014 be a success in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
Win the treble, with victories against a resurgent Rangers side along the way, and the managerial whispers will turn to shouting at the top of the lungs.<\/p>\n
Until then, Celtic fans will continue to enjoy the Postecoglou rollercoaster with the seatbelt firmly fastened.
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Ange Postecoglou was appointed Celtic manager in 2021, the Australian football community implored Hoops fans to buckle up for the emotional rollercoaster to come. There would be bumps, yes, but boy, would it deliver some thrills. Watch Celtic vs Rangers in the Scottish League Cup Final LIVE on Monday at 2am AEDT with beIN […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":15084,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1417,1416,5440,5953,5952,5945,5972,2797,3747,5975,1192,5971,5950,5956,5947,5966,5954,5949,5979,85,4399,1429,3886,4447,5951,5959,5948,149,5976,1425,5290,5986,3677,5502,5293,5174,5955,5957,2218,5962,3503,5958,5973,5985,5984,5980,1427,5977,5982,5987,5960,5964,5946,5970,5978,2208,3143,5967,5969,3510,3678,5968,2457,2902,5787,813,5963,5983,5965,4517,5961,5981,2780,5974,1856],"class_list":{"0":"post-15083","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-home","8":"tag-aaron-mooy","9":"tag-alex-conrad","10":"tag-august","11":"tag-australian-boss","12":"tag-australian-football-community","13":"tag-bit-part-role","14":"tag-bitter-taste","15":"tag-brendan-rodgers","16":"tag-brisbane-roar","17":"tag-carton-recalls","18":"tag-champions-league","19":"tag-chinese-side","20":"tag-city-football-group","21":"tag-cup-competitions","22":"tag-domestic-front","23":"tag-domestic-rival","24":"tag-domestic-season","25":"tag-dundee-united-carton","26":"tag-dundee-united-football-club","27":"tag-england","28":"tag-europa-league","29":"tag-europe","30":"tag-european-adventure","31":"tag-european-giants","32":"tag-face-proving","33":"tag-famous-green","34":"tag-final-half-an-hour","35":"tag-football-news","36":"tag-german-centre-back","37":"tag-getty-images-inc","38":"tag-glasgow-city","39":"tag-group-stages","40":"tag-ian-macnicol","41":"tag-insane-seven-goal-comeback","42":"tag-javi-gracia","43":"tag-league-campaign","44":"tag-league-fixtures","45":"tag-league-title-triumph","46":"tag-leeds-united-football-club","47":"tag-madrid","48":"tag-michael-beale","49":"tag-mid-table-teams","50":"tag-midfield-machine","51":"tag-mind-boggling-win-rate","52":"tag-moritz-jenz","53":"tag-nine-nil-destruction","54":"tag-northern-europe","55":"tag-notable-differences","56":"tag-old-firm","57":"tag-one-all-results","58":"tag-one-nil-lead","59":"tag-people-talk","60":"tag-permanent-deals","61":"tag-premier-league-rumours","62":"tag-province-of-madrid","63":"tag-queens-park-rangers-football-club","64":"tag-real-madrid-c-f","65":"tag-real-state","66":"tag-rousing-speech","67":"tag-scottish-cup","68":"tag-scottish-premier-league","69":"tag-season-analysis","70":"tag-southern-europe","71":"tag-spain","72":"tag-steve","73":"tag-steven-gerrard","74":"tag-sticky-patch","75":"tag-summer-transfer-window","76":"tag-tactical-nous","77":"tag-teams-play","78":"tag-temporary-basis","79":"tag-time-finding","80":"tag-two-year-deal","81":"tag-unbeaten-league-games","82":"tag-united-kingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15083","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15083"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15083\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15084"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15083"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15083"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15083"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}