Celtic faced a familiar problem yesterday. Hearts packed the midfield, which sat close to their defensive line, making it difficult for Celtic to get through, over or wide. Their best chance in the first half actually came from a Hearts corner kick, one of the few occasions the visitors ventured forward.
Sure, we need to beat Rangers, but dealing with the challenge of teams sitting tight and packing midfield will be key to winning the SPL, and that starts at Perth on Sunday. St Johnstone will not be in confident mood after their 0-3 pasting at home yesterday, so you can expect them to sit three central midfielders in front of the defence.
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Ofski for the Ferry – take care all….
jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/ says:
11 December, 2011 at 15:10
Hen1rik
Who do we complain to? Try the nearest brick wall!!
share
LoL
Safe journey Mr Gallagher, I’m out of here next weekend so will mail you from home and try catch up with you 1st week of Jan. HH
Top 5 cental defenders for me
1 Beckenbauer
2 Baresi
3 Moore
4 Krol
5 Scirea
hh
Niiiiiiice http://youtu.be/fgGLKN9E888
Serge says:
11 December, 2011 at 16:22
Good man
Patrick27 at 14:22 good team that, All 12 of them :>)
V
HH
Top 5 fullbacks
1 Maldini
2 Carlos Alberto
3 Breitner
4 McGrain
5 Roberto Carlos
hh
Eyes Wide Open says:
11 December, 2011 at 16:10
coorslad is Neil Lennon says:
11 December, 2011 at 15:34
Good luck to the lad.
Timing could be just right for him too – O’Neill might take it upon himself to start isolating the ‘egos’ in favour of team players.
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I think O’Neil will like him,he tracks back alot,gives his lot for 90 mins..
Had 4 Swedish members of my family come over for the game yesterday.Unfortunately the flight from was delayed all day then cancelled at 7 oclock on Friday evening.
That left me with 4 spare tickets to a value of £116 and at this time of year and the shrinking home crowds there was no way to re-coup the monies. It is hard enough asking someone to take a free SB for any match nowadays!
Anyway went to CP at 930 am yesterday morn to get refund, to which I was told the tickets were non-refundable.
Was getting no where fast, when I said to them that I could not see that printed on the ticket anywhere, only that I could not resell or pass it on. Still not budging.
I then asked to see the manager/supervisor and of course he was not in.
Stated what was printed on the ticket once more and told him about the story of my Swedish family plight to get over, and he then had a change of mind.
Did you def buy the tickets at this counter? ‘ Yes well about 2 desks away…’
Have you got your card with you? ‘Yes’
What a carry on, so I thought to myself,
Did he bend the rules for me?
Or lie the first time so that I could not get a refund?
mmmmm…….
Voguepunter ….. Just for you me Bhoy!
Victor Wan-ya-ma, Victor Wanyama,
Victor Wanyama
Wanyama, Wanyama oh oh, oh oh!
Victor Wan-ya-ma, Victor Wanyama,
Victor Wanyama
Wanyama, Wanyama oh oh, oh oh!
V
HH
Vmhan –
Is it no this…
Oh oh,
Victor Wan-ya-ma, Victor Waaaaanya-ma,
Victor Wanya-ma
Wanya-ma, Wanya-ma oh oh, oh oh!
Victor Wan-ya-ma, Victor Waaaaaanya-ma,
Victor Wanya-ma
Wanya-ma, Wanya-ma oh oh, oh oh!
;-)
Jobo
Awe Naw, if you’re about, I think Paul sent you my emai. I was going to put me wee brother in touch
gsu
As an alternative to the usual songs debate we have the Victor Wanyama song debate! :0
emai=email
Paul Breitner was quite like Puyol in attitude only more arrogant.
It was he who shouted at his team mates after Germany had gone one down to the Dutch in the 1974 World Cup Final ” We do not lose– We are Germans!”
Connolly was the great enigma– could have been the greatest, was seen as amongst the best but…….
Don’t forget the aptly named Claudio Gentile… who..eh… wasn’t!!!!
Palacio67 says:
11 December, 2011 at 16:33
Sounds like the guy’s done you a favour.
Personally I would have chased you.
If you look closely at a tin of beans it doesn’t say non refundable on it. That doesn’t mean you can take it back to Tesco and get your money back if you change your mind.
Thomthethim
My thoughts exactly regarding team selection and formation.
Really looking forward to when all the squad is fit.
BSR shared your “Donegal sod” story with me yesterday. Well done you and Fergus. I enjoyed a view of the “sacred shawl” also, though mine’s had a slanted edge rather than the tassled end.
EC67
Palacio, non-refundable is the norm for most tickets. So he probably bent the rules.
Brian McClair Goal 1986 Skol Cup Final
http://youtu.be/qNZjIR25aTQ
I must say that after yesterdays game, i still worry that Scott Brown is a liability, who looks like he could be sent of at any given time. I do like his drive and will to do well and win but at what cost. We need all 11 players on the pitch to win this league. Against the huns i think he should be on the bench.
On the subject of great fullbacks our own Tommy Gemmell scored some fantastic goals from that position. I remeber 1 against Benfica in the European cup at parkhead when we won 3-0 back in 1970. It was a screamer. Oh the memories of the late 60s and early 70s.
Palacio67 says:
11 December, 2011 at 16:33
Fair play to the Ticket Office manager.
Actually quite surprised at the outcome.
Fair play to you too – for being so cheeky! :)
David Peter Deans says:
11 December, 2011 at 16:52
I was in the Jungle that night – I am sure it was at the old R*****s end – great night, great memories
David Peter Deans
Sorry have to disagree, that lot will have 5 in midfield when the come to Paradise & will try to bully our young side knowing the ref will let them so i want Scott Brown in there. HH
I think Scott’s getting cuter at what he does well – getting in people’s faces – I’m also sure he has a Rangers tick list he wants to finish – Lafferty must be at the top – but it’s hard to get a coward and a cheat to react rashly. But if anyone can push Lafferty’s buttons it’s our Scott.
U
ernie lynch says:
11 December, 2011 at 16:50
==================
ernie point taken, but that is the kind of attitude that could see me give the club the v sign and toss back my two season books. This should work both ways, I like a lot of CQNers spend thousands each year following and supporting Celtic and buying merchandise.
I bought these tickets in good faith for foreign supporters who were looking forward to seeing Celtic, but by no fault of their own the flight was cancelled due the freakish weather.
I thought, in the circumstances a refund was not out of the question.
Hail Hail
David Peter Deans,
Remember that screamer well. Was in the middle of the Hayshed, as always. As Gene’s a Bhoy says, it went in to the rangers end. TG did it often.
Eurochamps67 says:
11 December, 2011 at 16:51
Thanks. Nothing much to this fitba’ tactics lask, is there?
Yea, the Sod Pilgimage was a bit of a stoty.
Left Bonner’s pub at 4.am. and the en route stops were not just to irrigate the turf. Well, I suppose you could call it that!
lask = lark- as in “up with the..”
Thanks for the comments guys.
Looks like I was lucky to get a refund .
Shall be more careful in future,
i.e only buy the tickets when I know they are here!
Hail Hail
It’s a tad ironic that a team that cannot get their employers to pay them have Wonga.com emblazoned on their jerseys as the official kit sponsor. Many of these guys may need to approach Wonga to secure loans to tide them over Christmas.
There is nothing about Hearts that I like and in my opinion their fans are scummier than the huns. Any club that takes sponsorship money to advertise a company like Wonga deserves all it gets, I felt sorry for Ian Holloway, but I’m afraid Blackpool got into bed with the devil and like Hearts they have reaped the wind.
If you go onto the Wonga web site they advertise an APR 4214% and then try to defend this by making the following claim:
“In fact we don’t charge anything like the large Representative APR Wonga charges the equivalent of just under 1% interest per day and that rate is applied to the loan amount and transmission fee for the period of the short term loan – usually between one and 31 days. The annual rate of interest is 360%. We know this may be hard to believe, because of the much larger Representative APR we are obliged to display. But that’s because the calculation required by law means that, where a loan is not taken out for a year, the interest rate must be compounded the same number of times the actual loan period would fit into a year. Because an annualised measure is distorting over short periods of time, we always show the total cost of repayment very clearly too”.
Yes 360% per annum is a very fair rate of interest and we should insist that all financial institutions charge this rate as the norm.
I suppose it would be too much to hope that the William’s Family both go to the wall in 2012 to make it a very Happy New Year for civilisation.
Hail! Hail!
Vmhan
We need more of this again, Goals like this that can turn a game. HH
http://youtu.be/JPMY2-wtpck
Genes Bhoy and ParkheadcumSalford.
I was only a wee bhoy that night and my Dad almost lost me when that goal went in. 80,000 crowd that night in Paradise. Great days. Another big one for me was the 69 cup final 4-0 against the huns. Just before halftime George Connolly stripped John Greig went round the keeper and tapped in to the empty net for 3-0. All the Huns spilt on to the pitch probably trying to get the game stopped. What aday that was.
David Peter Deans says:
11 December, 2011 at 17:24
We were still celebrating the 2nd goal – turned round and saw big george roll it into the net – at first didn’t even know we had restarted
Player ratings:
Average: Mulgrew, Stokes
Charlie’s outstretched leg to stop a certain goal in the 2nd half sums up the comittment and application he always brings. Got the ‘assist’ for the goal into the bargain. However, just because it says ‘get the ball into the box’ in his job decription doesn’t mean he should always do it – some very poor crosses and set-pieces. Stokes didn’t quite get the breaks, but battled hard.
Good: Loovens, Forrest, Samaras, Hooper
Glenn did a good job 1st half, but then another hammy? Is Lenny protecting an asset? Forrest couldn’t get hold of the ball for most of the game, and it was only towards the end that his quick injection of pace started to put pressure on the solid Hearts defence, drawing poor challenges. Sammi got the flick-ons 9 times out of 10, and put in some intelligent passes whilst dealing with the usual crap from some idiots in the crowd early on. His ‘gamesmanship’ at the end, if we can call it that, showed a cool head and a man desperate to win – if ever there was a player who responds to the crowd, for good or ill, it’s oor Sammi. Hooper lacked a bit of sharpness in the box, but his chances were limited, and he worked hard to win and retain possession.
Very good: Forster, Majstorovic, Kayal
Forster put in some well-aimed balls for Sammi to flick on, but still is dodgy when he has to kick the ball without taking a touch. His penalty save was superb and should do wonders for his confidence – this is still a very young goalkeeper we’re talking about. Dan was solid and commanding at the back. Kayal did his usual excellent job at winning possession, but his couple of tame efforts at goal may have prompted Lenny to bring on Ki, our long range specialist.
Superb: Wanyama
What a debut goal. It’s curious how great performances act as a prelude to something special, and Victor has been putting in game after game of great performances recently. His best position? For me, I’d have to say CB, and I think Lenny believes this as well – his reluctance to give him the role may be due to the Kenyan’s lack of experience, but the guy looks a born CB.
Man of the match: Cha du Ri
An outstanding performance, particularly 2nd half. He used his pace to win fouls (pity about the resulting free kicks), put in some very good crosses, defended, played well off Forrest, and still had time to pop over to S K and clean some bird’s kitchen for her. More displays like this, please.
Subs:
Brown – Took him a while to catch up with the pace of the game, but improved in the latter stages.
Ki – Still looks a tad out of sorts. One excellent delivery from a set-piece – will never lose that aspect to his game – showed he may have capitalised had he been on from the start when Celtic were reduced to shooting from distance.
thomthetim
While it is true that we can sometimes succeed with both Hooper and Stokes up front, Neil Lennon needs to learn, that in other games, it means we are in effect playing with ten men. Stokes did well on his own against Rennes home and away, and was still on the pitch when Hooper came on to score a fantastic winner at Parkhead, but by then he had replaced Forrest I think, and was himself playing wide midfield. As of yesterday we have scored exactly thirty six goals in eighteen matches, or two a game. That average will not win us the title. Good tactics might though.
Paul 67
Agree with you on the hertz tactics set out to frustrate, but some our support need to get a grip, at times in the 1st half I thought we were at the 85min mark such was the derision that rained down on players for a stray pass or a back pass. Thank God for the Green Brigade in the 2nd half, they really rallied the support behind the team and helped drown out some of our serial moaners
Any of you Bhoys watching Stoke vs Spurs??
I’m all for playing to your strengths but dearie me, Stoke are horrible.
They also pull, tug, & block (essentially every trick in the book) when defending set-pieces.
Spurs should’ve had 4 pens in the 2nd half alone here.
Another thing, we all know how bad our referees are (biased or incompetent) but this guy Chris Foy is truly diabolical, as are his assistants!
UF