Reo Hatate missed three games through injury early this season. During that period, we scored only one goal, went out the League Cup and dropped our only points of the season before Saturday. Reo returned as a second half substitute at home to Dundee, with only a penalty goal separating the teams, but within seven minutes of Reo’s appearance Kyogo and Matt O’Riley goals put the game to bed.
Reo is out again, and Celtic are blunt; again. It is no coincidence we have only dropped points when sans-Reo. He is the key to unlocking packed defences when minds and limbs are tired (which contrasts to the more open game we saw against Atletico).
Four full games without him, scoring only one goal, is quite a statistic for a team that rattles goals in for fun at other times. We have three league games before the November international break: St Mirren at home, Ross County away, then Aberdeen at home, with the return trip to Madrid scheduled in between.
With the likelihood of a win slowly slipping away, Brendan Rodgers turned to David Turnbull, James Forrest and Mikey Johnston, memories of 20-21 came flooding back. Mikey’s last appearance for Celtic came 21 months ago, also against Hibernian. The changes didn’t affect the result, but in the circumstances, Mikey did all right. He was certainly one of our better performers during his time on the field.
Until Wednesday, Brendan can ponder why a player tweaks a hamstring 35 seconds into a game.
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AN TEARMANN
Good on ye mhate
God bless Stevie and Helen 💚
god bless all those we lost.
all much missed for sure.
A great read
CQN is truly a great site HH
https://x.com/CarlJungleBhoy/status/1718910573566468545?s=20F
Verdict- free kick huns,from where the huns got their 2nd penalty
brings everything into perspective and back to reality.
Fess19
A wee bit of reading on The Blantyre Mining Disaster inspired by BadaBings post on Wrexham memorial early today
https://archive.ph/l2jfw
http://www.scottishmining.co.uk/55.html
HH
Top tips…………. prevent using foul language by not watching cheating at IBrokes
Bournesouprecipe
So funny. Great advice.
That foul / non foul was worse than any of the other decisions.
Watching nearly every game n the Rugby WC,the VAR coverage was superb.Football has some catching up to do.England,Sky’s greatest league in the world, version of it,nowhere near the Rugby standard.Scotlands,a joke.
The push in the back leading up to their second penalty,Just how blatant a foul was that ?.
A bit nervous about Wednesday,wet,windy,let’s hopeNot any better for them in Dundee,maybe worse.Fingers crossed.
TURKEYBHOY on 30TH OCTOBER 2023 11:12 PM
Watching nearly every game n the Rugby WC,the VAR coverage was superb.Football has some catching up to do.England,Sky’s greatest league in the world, version of it,nowhere near the Rugby standard.Scotlands,a joke.
The push in the back leading up to their second penalty,Just how blatant a foul was that ?.
—————
Just seen the video clip prof that foul and it makes you wonder just how much they can actually get away with without any scrutiny or options to overturn the decisions. Seems they have it all sorted out and don’t have to answer to anyone.
The fix is in and Celtic need to say something now or risk being cheated forever more.
Do the current board have the balls? I doubt they do.
Good morning cqn, as I write this I have tear’s in my eyes.
Thanks AT what a post, Stevie sounds like an all round good Human Being taken too early.
D :)
“The board should speak out against the cheating”
The time to do that has long gone, they are happy to be part of the corrupt state that Scottish football operates in.
As I have said a few times on here Nicholson stated at the last AGM that the board were watching VAR closely and would keep their powder dry..etc etc…. Not a word and one won’t come. Cowards the lot of them.
AT
Thanks for that post, mowing and powerful.
Rest In Peace Stevie.
Mowing = moving.
I’m a dumpling
AT
Thank you for posting that.
Very affectionate and likeable post about Stevie, AT.
HH
“Listen, we have enough – what I would say – development players. I think it is clear. And I love that, it is what I have done all my life is work with those players. But you certainly need ones who can come in, so it is genuine quality we hope we can bring in across the coming windows.”
Shots fired. And not before time.
HH
AT
That was a beautiful post last night.
Rest in peace Stevie
BIG WAVY
What a few of us have said since the poor summer transfer window.
Good to hear Brendan agrees.
ST TAMS on 31ST OCTOBER 2023 9:39 AM
Thank the lord for Micky Beale.
HH
Big Wavy
Thank goodness. Spend decent money on 2 or 3 players.
Those preening themselves about their views on the summer transfer window being validated by BR,really crack me up.Always bluster and whinge from them,but no solutions,such as,name me an experienced,expensive player who will come to us to sit on the bench ?.We did bring in CHs,who were the main area needing shored up,We brought in Palma as some kind of replacement for Jota.You all remember that ” Project”.On ” Projects”,I am sure O Riley,meets your standards.We did not get a new keeper or LB,they will come when available,and amenable.
Lagerbielke,now a Swedish full international.He was called a “Project”.A back up for Kyogo,what about Miovski ?Would the panel take him ?Would he even come knowing bar injuries,he would be a bench warmer.
TURKEYBHOY
Fans are not paid to scout and recruit. That’s what Lawwells son is paid to do.
And he’s not very good at it .
football manager wants to develop young players while also wanting to get quality into the team ,,,, shocker.
intrepted as a shot across the bows of the owners
but i am not paid to scout, that is his bhoy job and he is rubbish at it
72 nillion in the bank rubbish at it,
oh well.
Turkeybhoy
Let those that want to rage at something get on with it. Some folk need stuff to be angry with and blame. I tend to moan a fair bit about referees. Probably too much really.
Folk that can’t come up with solutions but can tell you all the problems are usually have deeper issues to deal with.
Folk waiting 4 months and salivating after Celtic drops 2 points about a coach saying something that might somehow justify their views. That just feels a wee bit sad to me.
St Stivs
Comedy hold on here sometimes.
A psychiatrist would have a field day.
To be fair quite a few made our feelings known in the summer when the window closed.
new article posted.
I try not to fall for lighthouse thinking where, when we win, we have people thinking about making Euro finals (obviously not a CL one) and, when we lose, punters proclaim the league is being lost. Mind you the odds on us winning a Euro final will be much longer than those of us losing a league (it happened once in the past 12 years)
So, when Brendan says he needs more quality in the squad, I find it no more surprising than his statements of 2 weeks back when he said he has more understanding, this time around at Celtic, of the circumstances of Scottish football and transfer approaches. I think I can reconcile both statements- the ones suggesting he is more at peace with Celtic’s food-chain position and the one suggesting he is dissatisfied and wants improvements in quality. It is neither a sign that all is cosy and lovey-dovey or one that there is outright war between football and the suits.
Brendan has a point in both views. He is more understanding of the difficulties of getting players with other options to come to Scotland but he also feels that doesn’t mean we can get no quality at all. He is right that he cannot develop them all, especially if they get insufficient game time. There is little prospect of Kwon and McCarthy getting any significant game time with Celtic first team- there ARE failed projects within our doors and they will have been told that but both are still here. I can’t see McCarthy going elsewhere until his contract is paid up and Kwon may be too shamed to give up so soon on his dreams. Whatever the reason is, they remain on our books and will not contribute.
Players who are not playing and have no prospects of playing can stink a place out or you can get players like Scott Bain, who is a good influence around the club and is happy enough to be our current No.2 (he was supposed to be no.3 but Siegrist has shown insufficient enthusiasm to play) even though the support doesn’t rate him.
We field only 2 teams, an SPFL and a fifth tier team. The latter is no use to anyone but 17 and 18 year olds early in their career. We rely, therefore on a hit-and-miss loan policy to help bridge the development path to the first team. It worked with Calmac, Kris Ajer and Ryan Christie and it proved beneficial for Mikey Johnston, but he may fall just short of our levels. I believe Matthew Anderson is doing ok at Admira Wacker and Ben McPherson at Queens Park but there are few indications that Bosun Lawal & Adam Montgomery at Fleetwood or Tobi Oluwayemi at Admira Wacker are doing enough to justify coming back to us. And that’s ok- more will fail on the loan out journey than be judged still to be up and coming prospects.
Maybe the relaxation of the rules on dual ownership will help us get a genuine bridge team between Celtic B and Celtic A. If we had got a healthy stake in Fleetwood or Wigan under Shaun Maloney, maybe we could have sent McCarthy and Kwon down with a half dozen promising youngsters to a healthier sink or swim environment.