Surprised? Well, yes. This was a no-contest early-on in Maribor last week. Even though Celtic didn’t come home with the win, the chances, balance of possession and play, were well in their favour. A defeat last night was never out of the question, but it was the nature of the defeat that was most concerning. We were second best in defence, midfield and attack.
Pre-match, Ronny told us he expected Maribor to sit in and counter-attack. They didn’t, forcing Celtic into disarray. We were fortunate to go in level at halftime; I was screaming out for a tactical change from 20 minutes in.
Kris Commons proved his value. From the moment he arrived, we had an out-ball for the first time in the night, but it was not enough.
Celtic tried to qualify for the Champions League without a target man, or a striker able to play the kind of football Ronny Deila requires to play his kind of football. Stokes, Griffiths, Pukki and Balde are not an appropriate Champions League strike force, by some distance.
We have plenty of midfielders who are happy to pass and run but no one with the composure to hold the ball. Brown, Forrest and Tonev were all missing, but none will occupy the holding roles given to Kayal and Mulgrew last night. Or to Wanyama two years ago.
The defensive collapse since last season is unfathomable. Virgil van Dijk was clearly a class above, whether in defence or attack, and Mikal Lustig was also assured – it is perhaps no coincidence that we lost the goal moments after he was replaced, but Efe Ambrose and Emilio Izaguirre have returned from the World Cup in alarmingly poor form.
This is where we are. We knew this at the end of last season, perhaps Neil Lennon did too. Ronny Deila has a significant rebuilding job on his hands.
Will we make a significant moves forward this week? This season? The Europa League isn’t the cash-cow of the premier tournament, and it carries none of the glamour, but it is a competition we need to be ready for. Perhaps more importantly, qualification planning for next season’s Champions League starts now.
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No, not surprised.
cv
Perhaps the players aren’t fit enough.
Or maybe it’s their diet.
Champs league qualification seems to be planned for a week before pre season starts. We need to plan well in advance, with any Jan signings aimed at this, and certainly any signings now aimed at this also. I fear this will not be the case
Posted last post on last thread. Nobody will read it, I don’t care. Can’t even be bothered to copy & paste it to new thread. Off ooot, Bye.
Worst podium ever.
Sick as a parrot this morning, and I cannae even blame the drink! :(
HH
/Bishop B
The fatigue levels of the Maribor players weren’t sufficiently optimised.
Im not surprised in the slightest.
This is what happens when you let eejits destroy Celtic.
PL should be chased….he has cheated the supporters again.
Get them out.
HH
Top of the morning to you all from a fair if fresh Fife.
Very poor show last night with few showing any Celtic class.
I suppose we can see VVD on his way as he must despair at the efforts of those around him when he was bursting a gut.
The manager seems to be out of his league in games such as this but then there is the puzzling fact that in the first leg we seemed a different team?
One positive is the fact that his comments about last night are frank and don’t hide from the truth that we simply aren’t good enough and don’t deserve to be in the CL.
Ronnie may yet turn out to be a good Celtic manager, we shall see.
However I don’t think the caliber of signings we’ve got lined up would have made a difference if we had qualified.
Can you imagine the humpings we have got if we had??
Maybe a blessing in disguise!
Hh
/Bishop B
We have poor quality players and will not survive the EL group stage with this crop.
Currently gash; attendances will seriously plummet. Will that get the CEO’s attention?
WhoknowsCSC
Paul67
Surprised? No not all, only a fool would be after Karagandy and more recently the Legia debacle. Not to mention long standing European qualification failure against the likes of Utrecht Sion et al.
Plus of course a choice of strikers who score on average in 1 game in 7 in Europe, an average skewed in their favour by goals v the likes ofreyjkavik and Bangor City.
So no not surprised at all. But absolutely gutted and sick at the mismanagement of our club.
I take no pleasure in repeating that resting the team on Saturday was a mistake, we were not fit enough and looked like a team of strangers.
I know the ICT game was only 90 minutes but match fitness and team cohesion is built in 90 minute chunks.
67 heaven from the previous thread.
I have no desire to hold the floor nor any more to bayonnette the wounded.
But lets not blame the MSM for our own disasters. Sure they are revelling in it – of course they are.
But as the Radiohead song goes “You do it to yourself, you do, and thats what really hurts….”
It seems we have certain players who are constantly one step away from injury. Lustig, Matthews and Forrest. Efe and Izzy have both been poor for some time, Johansson and Kayal are probably not the best midfield partnership, MacGregor can’t do it all on his own. Berget should play through the middle, boerigter should be shown the door. Gordon made some good saves but he had a habit of putting the ball back into the centre of the 6 yard box, hopefully that’s not something he’ll continue to do. I won’t be surprised if Virgil is away by Monday. But onwards and upwards, faithful through an through.
Hail Hail
The whole scounting system must be revamped.
We have wasted millions on duds that JP has recommended.Miribor have a lot less money to spend than us,but have far better players.
RD must be given time to buy his own players to fit the way he wants to play,how can he be blamed for the dross he inherited.
Paul67,
I disagree that this was an ‘unfathomable collapse’.
Some of the players are not good enough (‘their standard is not sufficiently optimised’). Others didn’t play well enough. Others were selected on reputation, not form. And Ronny has made a rod for his own back in choosing Mulgrew as captain.
At least we have won a watch with Craig Gordon. Creditable pass marks to McGregor and maybe Lustig.
As to the others…somebody said ‘He who does not learn from history, is doomed to repeat it’. See Ambrose for an illustration of this; Izaguirre as well.
big Nan isnt it amazing how the celtic support have been conditioned.
despite making millions in profit over the last 3 years the thing we think about immediately after a defeat in the CL is we need to sell our best player.
Its amazing how our thought process has been shaped over the years.
Moneyball eh! Tsk.
The Europa League isn’t the cash-cow of the premier tournament, and it carries none of the glamour, but it is a competition we need to be ready for.
——————————————————————————————————————
The EL is joke competition and we should field our ICT duds in these fixtures and play our SPFL matches on Saturdays as arranged with what is our strongest (???) eleven. The fans can play their part by boycotting the EL. Sub-15k crowds for these matches are currently othe nly way to get the board to sit up, take notice and then act.
according to matches posted by bada bing mini will now miss 4 homes matches before christmas and more if we progress, value for money, I think not
you all know who I blame….
Maybe Ronny hasn’t a clue
Paul67,
Its not a surprise ; weakest team in 3 seasons.
You only miss the elephant in the room ; our Director of Football Mr Lawwell.
Where is the forensic analysis of the parts he has played in this shambles. If it was the SFA or Sevco the magnifying glass would have been used to pinpoin the issues.
Lawwell will continue the downsizing until Celtic is a League of Ireland club
Two poor teams last night but one was better organised.
The money we have spent on duds has been amazing for a club like ours…whoever makes these decisions should no longer be making them. We have more financial clout and resources than Legia or Maribor but haven’t delivered.
I am in the investor lounges and there were many faces last night I haven’t seen before…many angry and drunk and abusing the team from ten minutes in.
The only saving grace is that we won’t have to watch us get pumped 3 games in the CL because that’s what would have happened, the EL is also above our level but may help us compete. However we could see a few doings dished out in this competition if last night was anything to go by.
Last night only Gordon, Virgil and Michael were decent, the rest were 2/10 if that.
I would like the board and PL to tell us what strategy we have and how we are pursuing leaving this league.
I will be going to the rest of the home games this season but will review this and see if there has been improvement next year, if not I will reconsider my ST.
Heading to Belfast to see my son playing the next few days…at least it will be keeping me interested in football.
Kikinthenakas
It would take an extraordinary manager to come into a team full of average players and somehow make them work..Ronnie has not impressed but I believe he will improve if given the chance.Like many have said the celtic board and the downsizing are the only culprits here.
If they continue to expect us to support the team they had better start producing players who will give us some kind of entertainment.not good enough and may I also add that the likes of AMBROSE ,IZZY,GRIFFITHS,PUKKI and possibly STOKES should be punted ASAP….if there are no replacements play the youth team players.
If they sell VVD the board can get to..
Its funny because i though Kayal was having a decent game last night yet everybody i talk to thinks otherwise…no doubt i would still have brough commons on however i would have ditched that norwegian dud who plays on the left…what a poor poor player he is….although he still probably offers more that dirk [neil lennons 3 million pound signing]…yes the team is infested with really sub standard players on 15-20k a week….might as well bin most of them and bring in at least one quality player even if it does break lawells wage structure
This is what I thought last night, sitting pondering after getting the wee Mhan off to bed.
This morning?
No different.
HH jamesgang
jamesgang
00:21 on 27 August, 2014
My 9 year old son summed it up in the car afterwards.
‘We’re not good enough for the champions league. We were a couple of years ago when we had Wanyama, hooper and Forster, but we’re not now…..’
9 years old!
First half down the right in front of us – Efe playing right of 3 centre halves or right back? Doesn’t matter what it says on the whiteboard – if the guy’s free and hanging out on the right wing COVER OVER FFS!
Second half. Ok bring commons on. But for kayal?
Long before the end we were playing high balls up to kris commons. Big striker arrives tomorrow? Several weeks and £15m too late Peter.
Breaks my heart to see lustig break down again. Wow we need him.
Stokesie. Lots of effort. Bit out of his depth I’m afraid.
Plus side?
McGregor. A kid who goes about the pitch doing lots of things very well.
Great free goalie
Finally. The crowd. Leaving aside the politics boy do we miss the singing cohesion of the green brigade.
HH jamesgang
No doubt the clappers on this site will welcome back their sevco pals to CP.
I mean, that was the plan from the off, wasn’t it Peter.
Downsize to the level of sevco and the bigots will lap it up eh.
DD waxing lyrical about bigots and cheats, PL deliberately sabotaging any chance of a decent team on the park, and with the brass neck to lie without flinching.
There is only so much supporters will take, we are being taken for fools.
Major downsizing on players, but not on PLC salaries and bonuses eh.
The gravy train needs to be stopped in its tracks.
As far as im concerned….there is hunnish influence on the Celtic board.
I refuse to believe any chief executive could be as inept, that’s why it must be a deliberate attempt to play the bigot card.
The PLC reckon the clappers will welcome their sevco pals to CP, however, I think there truly is a battle for the soul of Celtic.
Im not buying their bigot pound strategy, I hope im not alone.
We need to protest, or they will keep playing the bigot card.
Sack this board, before they totally destroy Celtic.
HH
Kevj
Respect for your earlier apology.
HH jamesgang
VVD was our best player by a mile last night,does anyone seriously think he will stay if there is a possibility that he could be offered a chance to move on.He would be mad not to,with the dross he is ask to play along side,with a few exceptions.
Coolmore Mafia
———————-
Of course they will sell him. Start penning your “get tae” letter now.
Hellish traffic last night.
Left the house at 6 and just made our seats for YNWA.
Missed CQN corner. Little did I know that that would have been the highlight of the night!
Aff oot.
Take care Timdom. And stop eating each other like we were doing last night.
HH jamesgang
We were shocking last night, however to blame our new manager is a nonsense. The man took on a depleted squad who just went through the motions for most of last season.
Neil knew this and he also knew that the board would not loosen the strings, so he left. I for one will always be grateful for what Neil Francis Lennon done for us.
However if he did indeed sign a gagging clause then he is not the man I believed in.
Lets see what Ronny can do if he gets the players he wants and its a massive if when your boss is PL.
As a former happy clapper i will be delighted when PL leaves, he has done what needed to be done by steadying the ship.
The good ship Celtic now requires a new skipper, one who can keep us on the straight and narrow but adventurous enough to explore new ideas and implement them. One who will take the chance on buying better players and also look at new ways of financing the outlay. One with true vision and talent to replace the old and comfortable set in his ways millionaire that we have made PL.
I do not support boards, I do not support supporters groups, I do not have favourite players or managers. We have all seen them come and go.
I only support Glasgow Celtic and always will.
Jamesgang
FYI, goat is on order for the first EL game. Apparently London Karagandy supporters club and a local secret organization are first in the queue.
Is hoofball Ronny’s vision? Worst performance I’ve seen in my life. He has turned decent professionals into garbage. He should really be sacked now, but that would set a bad example for future managerial targets.
I guess we’ll have to wait until Ronny gets us knocked out of next years CL qualifiers before we have a reasonable excuse to give him the boot.
PL- what is your strategy?? If you are just a mouthpiece for DD, why the hell are you on close to a million a year? I’ll do it for nothing.
Having watched the highlights last night, we were bad but not as bad as I’d thought at the time. Both teams had chances and Maribor took one of theirs. It’s a game that could have gone the other way.
When I saw the lineup tho I wasn’t impressed. Stokes – no goals in his last 17 European games – leading the line?!! Unbelievable. Berget hasn’t convinced me yet and he was rank last night. McGregor was the only spark.
Virgil was immense, Lustig did fine. The full backs were poor. Overall tho we gave Maribor the initiative by sitting back and not trying to play. Asking for trouble, in other words.
Hopefully we’ll get some fresh talent in and we can get rid of the dross. Onwards and upwards.
insipid