Being stretched preseason is often a good thing

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St Mirren, who Celtic play in our opening Premiership fixture two weeks on Sunday, do not have the luxury of preseason friendlies against top European opponents, but they will have four competitive League Cup games under their belt as well as three friendlies before they arrive at Celtic Park.

Celtic have one fewer game, but the considerable benefit that tomorrow, we will be tested against Newcastle United, St Mirren have to hope that Annan Athletic are suitable preparation.

Preseason is not about the results, or even the performance.  Indeed, Ange Postecoglou’s memorable first season was prefaced by a 2-6 home drubbing by West Ham.  The objective is to elevate player fitness and work on tactics.  It is a time for risks without consequence, and gives us a chance for an early look at the new arrivals.  I would take another drubbing tomorrow if it better prepared us for the challenges next month.

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565 Comments

  1. !!Bada Bing!! on

    Let’s get a Lawwell appointed puppet in for next season….let’s get the top tier closed again, and play Qualifiers for the Europa Conference League, canny wait

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  3. still think we have ATLEAST another 1st team striker and 1st team winger to come in

     

     

    plus another centre half, centre mid and world class breakfast

     

     

    if not and dare we all hope for a world class lunch…

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  5. Bada

     

    I had a closed season sabbatical

     

     

    Test series has been excellent – India has had the chance of a 3 – 0 lead – but England has battled well.

  6. bournesouprecipe on

    THELURKINTIM on 19TH JULY 2025 6:35 PM

     

     

    BSR…chefs kiss…who telt you ;-))

     

     

    ………………..

     

     

    Bon mot 👍🍀🇮🇪

  7. i counted 6 long goalkeeper punts

     

     

    1x goal

     

    2 x celtic player controlled it

     

    3 x Newcastle controlled it

     

     

    mixes it up a bit

     

     

    kenny control remind me of hooper.

     

     

    idah did better than last game and did have another 3 chances to score

     

     

    it will come

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  9. tell you what is a fallacy. 5th placed English team are direct entrants to the chamions league phase. and we aint .

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  11. !!Bada Bing!! on

    DUSHANBE BHILLY BHOY on 19th July 2025 6:25 pm

     

    Aff outwith

     

     

    Brilliant, a wee private joke there😀

  12. So much for friendlies not mattering. Fair brightened up our day. 😁 Howay the lads. Let’s get some extra quality in.

  13. newcastle keeper still rocking back and forth asking eddie who

     

     

    why were they shouting at me

     

     

    For 20 mins they sang

     

     

    F$ck the pope

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  15. SAINT STIVS on 19TH JULY 2025 7:22 PM

     

    shin being touted as faster than daizen .

     

     

    By Brendan, no less. Quoting stats

  16. Shin Yamada’s speed stuff

     

     

    ——————-

     

    His top speed this year ranks second in the J1 League at 35.4 km/h. Incredibly, that edges Daizen Maeda’s title-winning burst from 2021 with Yokohama F. Marinos, clocked at 35.0.

     

     

    While Maeda has since gone quicker, hitting 35.6 in last season’s Champions League, Yamada’s numbers show he’s operating at a similar level of raw pace. That’s no small feat.

  17. After the first 15 -20 minutes,when the passing out from the back,different to the way before,was a bit ropey,it came good.Similar to the USA last season.Strikers available coming back to halfway,first touch sideways to runners bursting forward.Kenny had about 80% success with it.Idah as well.Quicker more direct than the 6 or 8 passes across the back.Newcastle did not cope with it..Been working on it.Very good.

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  19. timmy7_noted on

    B57 , considerng you like to call anyone who disagrees with you bitter your response at 5 46 was exactly that. Also very childish.

     

    I hope you enjoyed another excellent performance., or are you too bitter?

  20. Oh dear! Ireland’s Government has opened [back doors] to the you know who’z!

     

    https://x.com/wereontheditch/status/1905670806249554391#m

     

    Irish Government, Scottish Government, UK Government, US Government, all EU Governments apart from Poland and Hungary have thrown their citizens under the bus, for the you know who’z.

     

     

    If the new “Corbyn Party” is confronted by the you know who’z it’ll be interesting to see if JC folds like a cheap deck chair, like he did as Labour leader and said zero as his close comrades and hundreds of thousands of innocent Labour party members were all thrown under the bus. Then what good is that type of leader to anyone?

     

     

    If you are allowed onto Msm Then you have to perform like this…

     

    https://invidious.privacyredirect.com/watch?v=T1ID3bNgrrM

     

    ….or even better like this….

     

    https://invidious.privacyredirect.com/watch?v=J7p7CAyxHgg

     

     

    Only the Workers Party have shown that they won’t be fcked around by the you know who’z, or the scum media, or allow [back doors] on the sly like the above scumbags have done, not the “Corbyn Party” so far….don’t ever apologise for things you did not say.

     

     

    If the above link for “we’re on the ditch” is applied to Scotland as well as Ireland, then Parkhead could be closed down if fans aren’t careful, I mean you don’t have an executive who’ll tell these scum to do one, or BETTER STILL, ban all Celtic fans who vote for these sleekitly dangerous scumbags.

     

     

    tic toc….

  21. I really hope the new Japanese striker is the finished article. It’s the most important position where we are lacking right now. Idah and Kenny do not convert enough of their chances. Fine for SPL where they will get a handful every game, but in Europe they will be lucky to get one, and it has to count.

     

     

    The squad looks really fresh and hungry. Similar to this time last year, so hopefully we can have an even better season this time round.

  22. !!Bada Bing!! on

    Brentford in for Maeda as Wissa replacement if they can’t extend Wissa’s contract

  23. So hundreds of racist thugs attack asylum seeker refuge in Essex and police and less than a handful of arrests.

     

     

    96 old folk are arrested for peacefully protesting about genocide being perpetrated by Israel on a grand scale. Easy targets for Starmer and his police enforcers lol.

     

     

    I seriously hope whatever emerges as ‘Real’ labour in the shape of a protest party ensures liars and self servers such as dominate the labour rump in Westminster never get re elected.

     

     

    Time for a party which reflects what real people are thinking. Not what the heavily influenced old and new media want to magnify.

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  25. Timmy 7

     

     

    You take it all a wee bit too seriously.

     

     

    I was just having a laugh.

     

     

    Sorry if it offended you.

     

     

    Much of the chat has been about BR span of control etc. For someone to suggest we are fitter vs Ange because of Brendan is just funny.

     

     

    My son worked in that department and respected that it was a step up back then vs before but attributed most of that to Jack Naylor and not really BR.

     

     

    Of course his fan bhoys seem to feel the need to credit him with everything good. That makes me laugh. Maybe he is responsible for improved cleanliness in the loos also.