When Craig Gordon pitched up at Celtic in 2014, two years after his last appearance as a footballer and five years since serious injury first blighted his career, I’m sure the keeper’s closest friends didn’t believe he would play 200 games in less than four years – let’s remember, he couldn’t get a gig at Newco under Ally McCoist.
Now is he a regular international and a treble winner with more league medals than exist in the locker rooms of every player in the league outside of Celtic. It would have been more appropriate to celebrate his 100th Celtic clean sheet on his 200th appearance with a win last night, but there was little the keeper could do about that.
This is a great story. Well done, Craig, and congratulations also to Stevie Woods for his insight and development work.
It would be wrong to characterise all of our six home league draws this season as performances against packed defences, Newco and Hibs both drew while pressing the game, but visiting teams have an effective strategy to pursue at Celtic Park: defend deeply and you are in with a chance.
Doing what Dundee, St Johnstone (twice) and Kilmarnock have done at Celtic Park this season is not easy, if it was we would have done it in Paris, but it provides us with a timely reminder of how much work is required to finish off the season with a Scottish Cup.
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???????
Got to be an attitude problem Paul
Its happend too often, we have all the talent on the park to win these games comfotabley
Hail! Hail!
I look forward to a comfotabley victory next match!
:))
Teams are very happy to have 4 or 5 at the back against 1 striker at CP…
The League are boxing themselves into a corner over the Sevco game at CP, they don’t want 1st game after split, last game is Flag Day, there is a midweek card scheduled, so there could be a huns game on a Wed night?
A re-post, so there!
THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 5TH APRIL 2018 11:10 AM
Inclined to agree with Auldheid.
The team has been disjointed for most of the season. I put that down to the ridiculous amount of long term injuries to our creative players.
They are now back to fitness ,but are obviously short of match sharpness and there is only one way to get that.
This results in regular changes in selection, which obviously interrupts continuity and sometimes balance.
There is also the need at this stage of the season to look ahead and to see who is in the plan and who is not.
For our part, we are often guilty of spending our “emotional currency” before we have earned it.
By this I mean that we go into games like last night, counting the three points in the bag.
This extends to thinking that the league will be won on X date, when we beat Y.
We have already celebrated 7 i-a -r and cheerfully announcing ten.
We take far too much for granted.
As the poet and philosopher, Kenneth Rodgers (no relation) once said,
“There’ll be time enough for countin’, when the dealin’s done.
Keep doing the same things, keep getting the same results.
Noticed a few posts saying Musonda should have came on. He played against Kilmarnock and St Johnstone. same outcomes.
No point trying to fix the wrong problem.
Is Bobby Madden to referee his favourite club’s semifinal?
POGMATHONYAHUN AKA LAIRD OF THE SMILES on 5TH APRIL 2018 11:43 AM
Very funny! ??????
Though it will be lost most.
KTF
I would also like to look forward to a comfortable victory in the next match but we have a history of toiling on that artificial pitch to some extent. As my old maw used to say “Expect the worst and you’ll never be disappointed”
I’d like to see KT back as we are missing his runs down that left side.
What’s the odds on McCann’s team going to Ayebrokes on Saturday and shipping 5 or 6 goals?
very good post about CG, p67; an amazing outcome for a footballer who was on the ropes – what a find
I think we should try to get a player sent off in each match we play. Seems to be a winning formula…
Well played Craig Gordon, a fine keeper and a great example to younger players in the dressing room, good to see him back last night..
VFR
Can you point out what in my previous post was ” way overboard”.
The 26 shots on target is not really accurate is it, look at those in the first half in particular – 8 at least went flying over the bar or by the posts with, little to no danger for the keeper. Our shooting was terrible and stats can be dressed up as a positive if you wish to do so, but last night was – not for the first time, another disjointed performance by a team that really should be wipung the floor with much inferior opposition, far more regularly than we are doing.
People need to accept that the performances this past 6 months- at home and in Europe- would have gotten RD and NL dogs abuse. To say otherwise is to hide from what you are seeing in front of your eyes.
WEE REMINDER…
MAHETHEDMAN will be offering a quiz for our delectation tomorrow evening around 8pm.
I don’t think I can add anything constructive to the football opinions being passed on last night, but what I can say is – by God, I don’t remember being that cold at the football for a very, very long time. Still thawing out.
I personally believe that we should not attempt to win the Scottish Cup to serve as a reminder of how truly awful everything Celtic have done this season has been…
Winning trebles is just papering over the cracks you know!
the number of empty seats at last nights game must be a worry and will only get worse if we continue to play as we did .
Like those who have posted and who actually attend last night’s game, I sat through a very cold evening watching a game that we should have won given the many missed chances. What really concerned me was that so many elements of our play that require to have serious attention paid to them are still there. Consistently , the same players are making the same errors or are failing to live up to expectations. True injuries and lack of replacements for areas of the team that we have all known required attention since last summer have not helped. Why was that situation allowed to remain? Finally, it is a serious problem when we never seem to have a plan B.
Pogmathonyahun
Brings back memories of Abbot and Costello’s
Who’s on 1st sketch :)
Bournesouprecipe
If yer lurking B, the book arrived safe and sound today, thank you, you’re a Celtic Toff and no mistake guv’nor.
HH
We demand better
We deserve better
and if Brendan cant deliver …..well I’ll drive him to the airport myself )))))
(editors note,please refer to attempted smiley faces at end of statement before starting a deluge of self righteous statements about hunnish sense of entitlement etc)
WHAT IS THE STARS
Surely we must await the outcome of the Body Language Experts Report before starting the car:)))
My friends in Celtic,
In the cold light of day. I’m still cold. Brrrrrrrrrrrr
Even the Antarctic expedition survival gear only kept the cold out for so long. And yet in 441 we had a hardy ( mad ) supporter who seemed perfectly sober wearing only a Tee Shirt. In fact he only put his scarf and jacket on after the final whistle. I did however think , one of us must be out of our tree, and it isn’t me.
Unwittingly he was captured in a photograph of the game. Which was quite good before I was accused of hallucinating.
And yes Paul 67 . We did mention in the boozer after the game that the only positive we could take was the ease Craig Gordon eased himself back into no 1.
I don’t know what the actual attendance was , but I was pleasantly surprised when entering the ground. It seemed the quietest I can remember for a league game walking along the Gallowgate and up to the ground.
HH. The journey continues.
PS : It seems this will be the last year of automatic paper ST renewals. From next season it will be by E Mail only; unless specifically asked for.
What happened to the Bobby Madden season ticket money?
I don’t think that anyone in a Celtic shirt played particularly badly last night. It was just that no one was particularly outstanding. Our build up play was ok, but our finishing was terrible. A bit of shooting practise needed in training?
The only players who concerned me were Mik and Jack, they never looked compatible all game. Thought big Craig and Dedryk were our two better performers
Still mystified we never saw Patrick Roberts in 2nd half.
Bring on the Accies!
HH
DELANEYS DUNKY
I wonder if BR thought the game was a bit dirty last night and kept Paddy safe and warm for the Cup games coming up??
The players on the park should have been able to get the result though.
Not sure SA or TR are up to full match speed though???
I only saw the second half and from about 75 mins it had draw written large all over it:((
Aye bring on the Accies..
Terry Evans 1938-2018
That’s The Way Love Turned Out For Me
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHxBuLIsGQQ
Greenpinata
The 22.03 train home to Dalmuir was very quiet last night. Seems that most left early for the 21.33 train. It was cold and the football a bit poor, but I cannot understand anyone making the effort to attend a match, choosing to leave on 70-75 minute mark. With 20 minutes to go, I was sure we woul still score a couple of goals. Baffling.
I honestly do not know when the idea filtered thru that we could just turn up to win . It worries me that so many on here are at the very least mercurial in their support of celtic. Every single game has to be contested by BOTH teams and hopefully the best team wins. That is what is meant by SPORT. By all means talk about tactics etc but get in touch with reality if u think that any fans opinion is helpful to A professional managers plans.we have no divine right to win ANY match and perhaps a touch of watching Wayne Biggins coming on with an arse the size of dumbo then singing we’ll support you evermore would tober up these “fans” and let them see the true value of being a celtic supporter.
SP
I honestly don’t know what Brendan was thinking last night. Olly made a couple of good defence splitting passes that LE and OE fluffed. Griff was poor at reading the line and drifting offside. Till the subs, Moussa had limited service. Tom and Stuart were as poor last night, as they were good on Saturday. We got off to a good start with SA but faded after 20 mins and Dundee were the better team for long spells in the match. Caulker controlled his defence line well. Canny remember their goalie making many saves.
Hun’s total delusion.
Greg Bruce
@GregBrucex
The same Bobby Madden that was bus convener on an EK CSC?
SHOCKING.
When Ronny’s Celtic team scored 8 against Hamilton and 7 against Motherwell, he got no credit. It was all due to the opposition being so poor, it was said.
Soukous
That is a nice version of that song. Hadn’t heard it before. Thanks.
I think James Carr did the original…. do you listen to his stuff? Tremendous talent, but sort of fell through the cracks because of mental health issues that impacted his career.
Madhun will cheat like feck. We all know it. Unfortunately we are vulnerable because we aren’t scoring goals and a couple of our defenders are accidents waiting to happen.
DELANEYS DUNKY
If I was Moussa I would be banging my head against the wall, the service to him has been dreadful since he came back and then there’s those in the support that say the Bhoy is not interested???
I’ve been non plussed with a lot of our performances thois year, you have to facto in the injuries to key players practically the whole season long and loss of form but more than that, it’s a pretty young team and inconsistency has to be reckoned with.
From a supporters point of view I don’t remember a time where we didn’t bum our players and team up perhaps a bit more than their talents deserved.
Now if Stuart Armstrong could pass a bar maybe he’d be a player:)))
HH Bruv
*Baw