The Easter Road survival act was a chore to watch

Let’s be real: if you watched the Hibernian game on Wednesday, you probably aged about five years. Celtic managed to pull a rabbit out of the hat with that late 2-1 victory at Easter Road, but nobody is going to frame this performance on their mantlepiece. It was less of a tactical masterclass and more of a drunk guy trying to find his keys in a dark alley at 3 AM.

Brendan Rodgers has this side grinding out points like they’re trying to solve a complex math problem with a broken crayon. Sure, grabbing the win near the final whistle is a sign of resilience, but relying on late drama every single week is a house of cards waiting for a stiff breeze. You can smell the anxiety coming off the supporters, and frankly, I don’t blame them.

The consensus from the digital trenches

If you head over to the forums or check the replies on social media, the fanbase is currently split down the middle like a cheap suit. You’ve got the eternal optimists who think winning is the only metric that matters, regardless of how painful the process is. Then you have the skeptics, who look at the lack of fluidity and see a team sleepwalking toward a total collapse.

One common sentiment floating around the subreddits is that the current squad lacks the bite needed to put these games to bed earlier. People aren't necessarily calling for heads to roll yet, but there is a palpable sense that the style of play has become predictable. If you’re playing at this level and struggling to break down a low block until the 86th minute, you deserve to get roasted by the local pundits.

I saw one user put it perfectly last night: "We're treating every match like a cup final because we've forgotten how to just play football." It is a harsh take, sure, but look at the stats. The possession numbers are there, yet the clinical finish? Nowhere to be found until the very last gasp.

The contrarian view and my two cents

Of course, there is always that one guy in the thread who claims this is "tactical maturity." They argue that winning while playing poorly is the hallmark of champions. Look, I get the sentiment — sometimes you just have to get over the line — but let’s stop pretending this is some grand plan. When your build-up play resembles a slow-motion car crash, you aren't playing like champions. You’re playing like a team that is terrified of losing.

My analysis? The skeptics have the stronger argument here. You can hide poor form behind a few lucky results for a month or two, but eventually, you hit a wall. When you face teams that actually press with intent, the gaps in the midfield look like the Grand Canyon. Rodgers is leaning heavily on the individual brilliance of a few players to bail him out whenever the system stalls.

The reliance on these last-second heroics isn't a sustainable strategy for a title run. It’s gambling, plain and simple. Imagine walking into a casino, putting your entire bankroll on twelve, and then calling yourself a master of financial management when it somehow hits. That is exactly what this team looks like right now.

We need to talk about the lack of urgency in the final third. Too many passes are going backward when there is space to attack, almost as if the players are scared to be the ones to take a risk. It creates this stifling atmosphere where the stadium feels like a library until a goal happens. Even the manager seems to be clutching at straws in his post-match comments, leaning on empty platitudes about character while ignoring the massive technical flaws we see every weekend.

At the end of the day, three points are three points. That is the cold, hard logic of the league table. But if you’re a fan who pays for the season ticket and the away travel, you want to see a bit of flair. You want to see the opposition feeling the heat before the clock hits 90 minutes. Right now, this Celtic side feels like a long-running sitcom that lost its best writer three seasons ago. We are all just waiting for the cancellation notice at this point.