We got a fascinating insight into the complex layers of management through comments before, during and after the game from Gordon Strachan, and post-match from Neil Lennon. Before kick-off, Gordon was asked about Neil’s decision to play three at the back, a formation that was exploited at the weekend (and praised by me last month).
Our former boss, once manager to Neil Lennon, father of Gavin, now a Celtic first team coach, deflected. “I’m not the manager.” Gordon was there as a pundit, but pulled his punch on this occasion and again at halftime. After the second half, when Celtic improved significantly with four at the back, Gordon declined to judge the starting formation harshly, postulating that we will never know what would have happened had Celtic started with four at the back.
Then Neil Lennon explained what Gordon Strachan almost certainly knew before the match. His choice was not to start with three at the back, but he did not have fit personnel to start and play the majority of a game with four in defence, specifically, a wide right forward. Ryan Christie was not allowed to leave his home for two weeks, at this level, that is a long time without training.
A few weeks ago, we discussed that it was absurd that tens of thousands of Celtic fans knew something to be an absolute truth, which Neil Lennon was oblivious to (think central mid). We agreed (I’m sure we did) that this is nonsense. Instead, we had to accept that the manager sees complex layers that we do not. Who knew there were concerns about the match fitness of Ryan Christie, apart from Gordon Strachan, of course?
It will be four at the back whenever fitness permits. The two central defenders will be Kristoffer Ajer (who was immense last night) and Christopher Jullien. Shane Duffy is struggling. At 28, there is plenty of fuel in the tank, so he may find form, but right now he looks like a player on the bus out of Brighton. Some you win.
In football, or in life generally, the direction of travel is often more important that your absolute position. Are things getting better, or are they getting worse? Therein lies whatever consolation there was in defeat to a superior Milan last night. It was still a defeat, but losing to a better team while competing for large periods of the game, is better than being schooled by a team of never-won-anythings.
We did no more to Milan than Motherwell will do to us next month, but that direction of travel offers some consolation ahead of Sunday.
530 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- ...
- 14
- »
LETS ALL DO THE HUDDLE on 23RD OCTOBER 2020 10:30 PM
if frimpong wants to sort out his final ball he should watch the new dvd that is on sale in the celtic shop
its called “James Forrests’ 100 best final balls”
its basically just forrest getting to the bye line and hitting the defender who is on the edge of the 6 yard box, 100 times
————————-
200 + assists in a celtic jersey.
200 + assists in a celtic jersey.
—
he has
but they are on a different dvd
My friends in Celtic,
Also very interesting is the debate about Europa Football.
Imo, it is invaluable given we play in Scotland.
The huns second was admittedly a cracker. Look at the rave reviews it is getting outwith Scotland. The publicity is enormous.
We cannot afford to ignore European football, and gift the huns unchallenged prestige, and status.
If we do it will actually hinder our domestic aspirations in the longer term.
HH to all.
G’night to all Tims, everywhere………
bbc report on the euro qualifier at tynecastle tonight
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/54619077
it was Scotland v Albania Women?
must have been the scotlands mens team then
a bit of a desperate effort for them to qualify for a tourny after a couple of decades
but at least corsie scored – his first goal since he chucked the indoor bowls
LETS ALL DO THE HUDDLE on 23RD OCTOBER 2020 11:37 PM
————————————————————
Tam Cowan working late?
Ave Ave
Tam Cowan working late?
Ave Ave
—
i give Tam Cowan all his best material
😄
In the hall of fame of the football game there’s a name that stands alone….
CELT-O’NEILL…
Firstly, given your reply, wish your Uncle Lou well in his endeavours on Man U TV. ;)
Shay Given was only a boy then, and LM needed a GK, there and then.
He needed a goal keeper so bad that he allowed Given’s contract to lapse and released Pat Bonner. He also signed Carl Muggleton, who was mediocre at best.
Wayne Higgins was all that could be scraped off of the money that the board had just received for our top striker, Gerry Creaney, who was sold to Portsmouth for £600,000?
Wayne Biggins was ‘all that could be scraped’? You mean apart from the £1/2 million he spent signing Andy Walker? And the £400k he spent on Willie Falconer? Sorry, the ‘it’s all he was given’ is tosh he squandered money on Biggins. Either to wilfully waste funds or because he thought he was good enough. Neither scenario speaks highly of Lou.
There was a cronyism grip inside the club at that time as well, in the board room, and in the dressing room, with, Bonner, McStay, Grant, Nicholas, etc, they hadn’t won a trophy for six year’s, and yet the first thing on their agenda at their first meeting with, LM, was to ask for wage rises!
The hadn’t won a trophy in 6 years. And they wouldn’t have won anything under Macari. Look at what the players say about his time at the club. He was *universally* disliked. Experienced professionals with *no* history of causing trouble (and some with a fair bit of causing trouble) all say they had little respect for him and he was, at best, an absentee manager. After a defeat to the huns, what dod Lou do? A. Shout at the players. B. Go over the mistakes calmly and try and try to rectify things or C. Not go into the dressing room and head back home to Stoke leaving the players non plussed (hint, it was C). As far as players asking for a wage rise – have you ever in the whole of history known an employee *not* to want a wage rise?
As is, I doubt that’s the case, given Lou was rarely available to even speak to the players – he was only at Celtic Park 2 or 3 days a week. When he wasn’t on holiday of course.
Paul Cooney of Scotsport, was interviewing, LM, and asked LM “Why is there so much unrest in the dressing room, since you took the job!”
LM replied “Paul, I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. At this troublesome time for the club, I’ve got a lot of player’s in here, and they are focussed on wage rises! Player’s who haven’t won a trophy for these Celtic fan’s in six year’s….and they want more money!”
Lou Macari’s tales have shown to be less than reliable. He was a poor witness in his case against Celtic for unfair dismissal, which he lost BTW.
LM, if given the tools, would’ve played Sir Walter at his own game, and when required, park the bus and play over the top. Sir Walter didn’t like the way that, LM deployed his Celtic team’s at Ibrox, on one occasion, no Celtic fan’s were at Ibrox in a 1-1 draw, where Sir Walter’s team needed a deflected, scrappy, late equalizer, and in the other game, LM abandoned this, Celtic Way, mindset trap, and tightened things up, and sat deeper, playing on the break,and we won 1-2, LM took no credit and gave the credit of victory, to assistant manager, Frank Connor. That, was a Celtic touch by LM.
Firstly: “Sir Walter”? Really? Secondly the win against the huns – to be clear, he didn’t ‘credit’ Frank Connor. It was Frank Connor’s team out there – he chose the team and the tactics. Lou had nothing to do with it. He didn’t ‘give the credit’, the credit was all Frank’s in the first place.
As an aside – I was absolute thrilled when we got Macari. I felt the same way about his appointment that I did about Martin O’Neil. Sadly that didn’t last and his record speaks for itself – Won 8 lost 7 drew 10. It’s an abysmal record by an abysmal and corrupt manager.
BTW – You haven’t responded to the fact that he was corrupt? Doesn’t it bother you or strike you as wrong that Lou was betting against his own teams?
LM new that Celtic’s team had no battlers, and was going to the WC94 to bring in some tough tackling, Nigerian player’s for midfield, removing Peter Grant, moving Paul McStay back to sweeper, just like, B.Dortmund did with their legendary midfielder, Andreas Moller, and make John Collins(by far our best player at that time) the new Celtic captain. LM was also in talks with English football league striker, Paul Furlough, to use as an option for playing the ball over the top, and getting real about our, six year’s of failed footballing philosophy, which clearly wasn’t working.
We can make up the future all we like, but the truth is, none of that happened and it’s all fantasy. Your reality is no more right than mine, where Lou on discovering his bet against Celtic wasn’t going to win set fire to the stadium leading to his imprisonment at the hands of Rebus. (If you think your imagination is good, come live in my head for a while)>
In reality, his signing policy was garbage. He wasted £1.5m on past it or plain garbage signings. He was an absentee most of the time and asleep at the wheel the rest of it.
Wayne Biggins signing was deliberately ‘used’ by LM, as at that time, to influence, positive action from the various Celtic fan’s group’s, who were, frustratingly, dilly dallying, over taking a decision to, unite as a supporter base to, overthrow the Kelly’s and White’s dynasty, who were not the answer to the deceitfully contrived ‘Taylor Report’ and it’s, woefully, wild reaction to the Hillsborough disaster that was caused by, bad policing, and stewarding on that fateful day when, 96 innocent souls were taken, not by football terraces, but by overcrowding. LM was trying to ‘force’ fan’s to act, ie bhoycott, before it got any later, but the dillying and, dallying continued, until ‘Celts For Change’ finally showed all the Celtic View reader’s, what can be achieved when the, cliques and cronies are swatted aside. hh
That’s an interesting view of history. It’s also almost all fantasy to the point that I’m incredulous you even think that to be the case. Lou didn’t waste the boards moneys to ‘unite the fans’. And the Wayne Biggins signing only united the Celtic support in WTFry and head scratching at his signing.
Liam Brady’s record (manager before Macari) was *vastly* superior to Lou’s. The win percentages of managers before, then Lou and after:
Brady: 54%
Macari: 32%
Burns: 55%
Celts for Change came about when Brady was Manager, leafletting for ‘sack the board’ was already happening (Macari was signed in Oct. Leaflets were printed at the time calling for him to be given £5m to spend. He spent approx £1.5m)
Peter Grant, Paul McStay, Pat Bonner, Frank McAvennie, Charlie Nicolas amongst others all spoke in defence of Celtic at Lou’s dismissal hearing – The board, the players and ultimately the fans all wanted rid. Which is a shame, because on a human level that’s a terrible thing, but there’s no escaping Lou was a failure. A monumental failure.
And again, I repeat – he was corrupt. He was betting against *his own club*. How is that OK with you? For me, after all this time it sours him with me, and I’ll forever wonder if he was betting against us.
/p
P8DDY on 24TH OCTOBER 2020 12:58 AM
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
All the player’s quoted in you’re post are the one’s who didn’t like being managed, ie the crony ridden clique, who put the tools away, because one of ‘their’ pal’s wasn’t made manager.
All these year’s later and you still don’t ‘get’ what LM was trying to tell fan’s by signing, Biggins?
You were probably in one of the fan’s group’s who dillied and, dallied when LM was looking for fan’s action’s to hasten the departure of the old board, and because you hadn’t viewed it that way doesn’t mean that its not so, even all these year’s on and you’re arrogance is astounding. You probably ran about with, George Delaney, getting brown envelope’s full of, ‘un-gettable’ ticket’s.
Celts for Change came about when, Liam Brady was manager, I know that, everyone does, didn’t stop you’re dillying, and dallying clique from frustrating their effort’s though, did it?
LM was a monumental failure, in term’s of trophies yeah, so what is success? One trophy?
Wim Jansen won 2 trophies and he was sacked by McCann for the same thing, he had a mind of his own, like LM. Neither of these 2 manager’s were prepared to get on their knee’s and bow to McCann, so his fragile ego felt threatened, so he sacked them both.
LM was stiffed, by the clique of cronies who were on their knee’s at court doing McCann’s bidding. Surely now, you see why LM tried to get rid of these loser’s? They stayed and ensured that, LM’s replacement got sacked as well, Tommy Burns. So who was right? LM for trying to get rid of these loser’s, or McCann who kept the loser’s on, leading to the sacking of McCann’s choice to replace LM, being a loser, and getting sacked as well?
Clique’s, and cronyism should be banned from Celtic Park. But only the fan’s can do that, and they don’t have the bottle. So what now? Wait till Neil Lennon is sacked, with a cronied clique is already being assembled in the dugout, Kennedy, the Strachan family. Magic eh?
Back when LM was trying, without saying it, to get fan’s to put their ego’s to one side, and bite a bullet for one, maybe three game’s to save Celtic’s life. It was so ridiculous that, even the then, Sunday Mail sport’s editor, Gerry McNee, had to hire a hearse and get it to drive past the front door of Kerrydale Street, and get it photographed and put on the front page of, Sunday Mail, because he was hearing from the ‘rebel’s’ who hoped to save Celtic from dying, to spark fan’s boycott’s because people like you, were still dillying, and dallying, as Celtic FC was on life support, yet people like you, couldn’t park their ego’s for ONE single game, to effect regime change.
Nice chatting. hh
GREENPINATA on 23RD OCTOBER 2020 10:52 PM
I’m living in England and a work colleague loves his football but knows very little outside English football and the occassional European games.
Even he said to me “Did you see that Rangers goal? They’re really good under Stephen Gerrard, aren’t they?”
Couldn’t be arsed to get into it and correct him but you’re right, getting prestige in Europe is massive.
People who say they only care about 10IAR and that Europe doesn’t matter don’t realise how connected the two can be.
A run in Europe could determine who we attract and maybe more importantly, keep…not even mentioning the financial impact.
PL does not hire managers in showers, DD tells him to hire managers in showers, por cierto.
I am fully aware that good runs in Europe are important for several reasons buy for me…ALL that matters this season is Celtic getting the MAGIC 10 in a Row.
I want to see Celtic get the 10 in a row before I die.
Hopefully Tam Rogic can supply the ammo tomorrow at Aberdeen and our strikers can benefit and gain a lot of confidence if they score a few ?
Whilst Roofe goal was superb ( Cough), no one has said ” Whits the Goalie daeing “…when the Standard Liege Goalie was miles off his line at the goal ?
IF Roofe had scored that goal against The Celts…Our Goalie Barkas would be getting pelters from many…likewise ANY Hun Goalie if he lost a goal like that, especially against Celtic.
HH.
Buy ???…..BUT !
HH
Macari moaning about players wanting a pay rise…….and he left because of……
I did something I haven’t done for many years on Thursday, watched the huns play. Saw it from the last 20 minutes of the first half onwards. Hard as it is to watch them while they’re winning, I wanted to try to view them objectively to see what we’re up against. I have to admit, while they weren’t playing world beaters, they were pretty comfortable. I don’t know most of them but if you’re an outsider looking in, you’d summarise them as being a strong athletic outfit who move the ball well. The second goal was some goal, irrespective of where the keeper was, which was probably in line with the penalty spot.
I’ll revert to my norm now and only watch them when they’re getting beat, with a few minutes on the clock.
Lou who£?
Love means playing without recompense.
Idealist now. Nah.
Play me some Music Ruud Bho.y
Fascinating Rhythm. Ye got me on the Groove.
I sincerely hope South of Tunis and ‘GG have made it. Obviously Wonderful men. Celtic Supporters tae.
Good morning CQN from a stormy and wind swept Garngad
Feckin wind is strong, the big man up above is angry……
Bring on the sheep manana.
There is some amount of shite going about on tinternet and social media about fall outs at our famous club.
Lenny has my backing but tomorrow is a big day for him.
His decisions/team selection/formations have been baffling since the season started and yes we have been getting by domestically (other than the zombie barstewards) but the performances have been pish.
1 or 2 shots on goal for Celtic Football Club is absolutely no good at all.
Me and my mates were discussing this the other day, last year we were peppering the opposition goal with 20 -28 shots with maybe 12 or 13 on target and scoring 3,4,5, goals. Counter that with some games have 1 or 2 shots at goal this year.
Anyway we will beat the sheep manana.
COYBIG
D :)
Big Jimmy – How is yer wee pal Rocky doing?
D :)
I too watched the Sevco game on Thursday out of the corner of my eye. When Standard Liege were pressing for the equaliser in stoppage time, the whole team was pressing and the goalie was out as a sweeper. So maybe he was out of position. However, scoring from your own half (having previously dribbled past a couple of players) even into an open goal isn’t the easiest thing to do. So, for me, an outstanding goal without qualification.
PS good morning, friends ;-)
Frenetic start to the AFL grand final in Oz, no scoring yet, great to see fans at the game.
HH
Big Jimmy,
Hope Rocky is well ( And you too of course )
Animals are family and sooo precious.
HH.
DBHOY – cmon the blue Hoops! Nasty KO on Vlausten :0
Quad
No ones holding back out there! Tough ol’ game AFL.
Hoping for Geelong win in Ablett’s last game, Richmond look clinical so far in their goal kicking, really good contest
HH
DBHOY – if only real football players were half as hard, eh? Agree, no snowdrops, no quarter given.
You downunder too? HH
Quad
In sunny Perth.
Geelong on the up, great game so far.
HH
I see the herald now have Senior Rangers Writer titles for their gossip columnists.
Huns
Adi- a bit pointless giving them titles……
Adi
As opposed to just “Rangers Writer”…😉😉
Can anyone on here confirm that they were actually in the said Shower at the time? Asking for a friend 🤔🤔
Well,for my sins,I watched the Midlands derby last night.Having lived in Nottingham for 9 years,my mates are all Forest diehards.I still have a wee soft spot for them.I watched mainly to see Mc Kenna .First time I saw him,he was excellent,a few weeks ago.Last night again,very good.Interestingly,he is now playing on the left side of a back 3.You know that position,we are struggling to fill,and doing it very well.
Was thinking that a back 3 of Ajer,Jullien,Mc Kenna,might have been a good call for us.All players in their rightful positions.Would not have gone down well on here right enough,but we will never know.
The other boy we COULD have got,Ivan Toney,has now scored 8 goals in 5 games for Brentford.Watched him the other night,and again,he got MOTM.Commentators raving about him.
Lastly,on Barkas.Some saying he COULD become a good keeper for us.Really?He already was.Known as “The Wall”.50% clean sheets.33 caps for Greece.If you have not before,have a look at him on You Tube.
Roofes goal the other night was something special.
What I did not know was that Standard had a raft of players out,some injured,some Covid.All key players.
Say what you like,but at the moment they are carrying all the luck.We on the other hand,well,
Biton,Jullien,Elhamed,Christie,Edouarde.All out with Covid
Ajeti,Griff,Rogic all recovering from injury,needing game time for fitness.
Forrest ,out with injury.
Its not rocket science.
Apostrophe overload last night…
Turkeybhoy…agree with you re McKenna. Has played well first couple of games for Forrest. On his debut he looked very calm and composed on left side of defence. Strong tackler, decent in the air and no slouch either. But hey ho!..he was an Aberdeen player and therefore a carthorse…
DBHOY on 24TH OCTOBER 2020 10:02 AM
Quad
No ones holding back out there! Tough ol’ game AFL.
Hoping for Geelong win in Ablett’s last game, Richmond look clinical so far in their goal kicking, really good contest
HH
xxxxx xxxxx
HH ozzie bhoys
The West Coast Eagles first two AFL premiership wins were both against Geelong and Gary Abblet snr played in both. One off them was his birthday. The Vic’s called Abblet senior “god”. lol lol only the Vics would worship a god who never won a final. lol. The iconic picture off woosha and ablett facing off against each other with woosha.s face covered in clarret was unhappy birthday for him. My lasting memorie off G Abblet senior is the bloke found in bed coked off his head with a dead hooker. hard men indeed. but when it comes to Footy, the only good thing to come out off vitoria is the road to Perth. :O)
have a soft spot for Richmond, shared a house with a mad Tiger who had to wait A loong time to see his team play the way they have the last few years. He was known to punt a draw. lol, might be on the cards lol.
Its middle of the night so if you wake in the morning and ozzie rules is offensive on this blog, just pretend its a madBitch post and scroll past
lol
peace
just watched the greek goalie on you tube , looks a different keeper, confident and commanding are we sure we have got the same guy.
LOL BADGERHC – only a Westy would condemn a VIC player for drug-related scandals. Benny C ring any bells?
Between yourselves and Essendon, youz could outdo Columbian cartels for a fondness for the stuff ;))
Totally love Perth’s livability; great city!
Drove from there to Vic 2 years back: Unforgettable trip cross the Nullarbor, in the right direction ;)
Mon the Hoops. HH