An Opposite Derby Dust

Just over six months ago, I was a bit opaque in describing a portion of my analysis of the first derby of the season, the 3-0 victory at Celtic Park on September 1, 2024. As part of a far broader conversation about the game, in which I was generally very positive on Celtic and negative on Philippe Clement’s tactics for his team, I dared to utter the words “they won the midfield battle.”

Obviously, the entire conversation, as well a the preview episode leading into the game provided the broader context, but the specific comments began around 29:40 mark. The lead-in was Alan’s comments about “derby dust,” or how narratives about players and the managers are usually blanketed without nuance and driven by outcomes.