It’s really refreshing to hear the positivity towards the manager from senior players at the club. He has the squad pulling in his direction like no one has since Martin O’Neill. This hasn’t come about by chance. When a player asked Brendan if he could arrive late one day this week to see his child start school, training was changed for the entire first team squad.
With term starting across several days at the start of this week, training at Lennoxtown started at 11:30 Monday and Tuesday (we’d a game on Wednesday, in case you forgot). The fathers all got to see their kids start, or return to, school, while the others fell into line.
This kind of family support is credit in the bank for Brendan (a lot more than some entire clubs have). Players want to him.
I watched highlights of the Hapoel game and caught things I’d missed on the night. Leigh Griffiths’ delayed run for his first goal being the most striking. As Scott Sinclair pushed the ball right to James Forrest, Leigh stopped his forward run, waiting at the left edge of the box.
This created space. With that space, he built-up sufficient momentum to out-jump a defender and power a header into the net. It was a stunningly intelligent thing to do.
I had a word with a Celtic coach a while back on how intelligent you need to be to be a modern footballer. It turns out footballers need to be smarter than you probably think. There are outstanding talents in football, and we’ve had more than a few at Celtic, who are just not clever enough to understand how and when to use an abstract entity like space.
Today’s great teams deploy very complicated tactical systems in defence and in possession. It doesn’t matter how good you are with the ball at your feet, if you can’t keep up with the tactical demands of the game, you’ll bounce around clubs never quite fulfilling your early promise.
Some big decisions for Brendan about the line-up tomorrow. McDiarmid has often been a tricky place to go, so resting players could result in points being dropped. We’re three days away from the >£20m game in Israel, which I’d be reluctant to take risks with, despite the three goal advantage.
It’s probably a good opportunity for us to have a look at Dorus de Vries but I’d be reluctant to tamper too much. Only the two big Glasgow clubs haven’t dropped points yet, and I’d like us to be the last man standing in that race. A win for us in Perth and a draw at Pittodrie tomorrow would do nicely.
Sorry to see Scott Brown retire from international duty but it’s unquestionably the right decision. It’s also an acknowledgement that he needs to manage his fitness and recovery cycles carefully.
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QF
I hope it’s his bell all day,mate. Tell him he’s got a local stereotype to live down(!)
And enjoy every minute.
COWIEBHOY
Hope so bud,
I get the problem with my desktop in work, the both left and right side of the screen have an ad and it looks the scrolling out.
I just reload the game and it goes away, Hope that helps.
KLV
Ellbhoy
You respectfully ask to be removed from site.
Just don’t look in or sign in. It’s simple.
Heyzeus.
MWD
The Huddle
Im pointing out what the bigot troll has been saying.
Somebody has to say something ffs…..or shall we just ignore it?
From here on in…we all know what he is….he should be blanked.
HH
BOGNORBHOY
Also happened about a month ago. I’ll mail Ralph and get back to you.
ellyboy.
That was cringeworthy.
(*Solo violin plays sorrowful lament)
The biggest threat to Celtic today is Craig Thomson.
He let the Sevco player ( who was on a yellow ) last week away with 2 tackles worse then that he sent Joe Ledley off for at Tynecastle.
Instead of being asked to step down for a week and reflect on his “honest mistakes” —John Fleming rewards him with the Celtic game. John Fleming / Insert alt name is another story.
Thomson will do his Level 5 best today.
COWIEBHOY
Been having the same problem for two days
Refreshing the page removes it for a while
And it jist hud tae be orange dint it ;)
HH
Post-Euro game denouement.
I’m hoping the Brendan effect will mean the players enthusiasm is still high and this will carry them today.
Cheers M
Two hundred kids groomed to wave flags so that a cowardly minority group of protesters could break the laws of UEFA, it’s obviously a non starter going to parliament or other obvious places where on these things you can use your democratic right to protest, reason for that are? No one would turn up,…..like many fans throught the stadium the GB answered This call?……seriously? You groomed two hundred kids to wave flags so that your politics group could get recognition plain and simple as that, normaly the next move by these cowards is a sugar coated food drive to prove that they are good guys and Wee all forgive them, well not me, I do my charities personnel and private, and they don’t come with a price.
These fine upstanding righteous group of no name protesters willing to anti up with money for the ( hopefully ) fine we will probably get? Not a chance, half of these righteous freedome fighting malcontents, haven’t paid they’r student loans ffs.
“Some have argued that football and politics don’t mix? Some? Beginning to look like a level 5 sound bite now, that some is 99% of the fans that follow CFC we don’t want you or need you, but you want and need us, not to support the club but to suit your agenda.
….the response you’ve had since we’d. Night has been overwhelming ?…..I’m seriously doubting that, another level 5 sound bite, since the day this MOB BULLIED there way into that section at Celtic Park, Yes BULLIED, I said at the time that they should have been outed, and that this was a train wreck ready to happen.
“We also understand that a downmarket tabloid newspaper may run a story suggesting our group in some way misled Celtic plc and told them that we would not be displaying our support for Palestine. This is a complete fabrication …….oh! REALY? So you told CFC that you where going to do this? The kids your grooming to wave your flags are the innocent party here, if they get banned from Celtic Park it will be those in charge of this, what is it now? The BDS Campaign? What ever the f… That is oh and I’m not REALY interested on your malcont input either on what BDS is I’m just a Celtic supporter.
Now bring on all your sugar coated charity post at how great thou are and the great that you do, but at every opportunity you get to f… CFC , just like the SMSM and level 5 do.
GB groomers, The BDS, SMSM, LEVEL 5 and lurking Huns GIRFUYs.
THETIMREAPER on 20TH AUGUST 2016 9:33 AM
Cowiebhoy
The best bit was HT told me I made no sense but called me a wallpaper in the same sentence.
———————————-
Was funny as flock..
PhilBhoy Fella in this life we are only passing through in a very short period of time.However it will decide where we spend our eternal life.Can I encourage you to go back to mass and enjoy the sacraments and bring yourself as close to Jesus as you can. The Catholic church is not perfect it can never be perfect as it is run by mere men and woman but it is a lot better than nothing at all may God Bless you and bring you back.H.H.
tonydonnelly67 on 20th August 2016 9:41 am
Deal with it Tony.
The rebels have won….again.
I’m going for another 5 today with a wee birthday Hatrick from Leigh, 1 for Dembeli and 1 for Wee Jimmy Forrest.
MWD
TTR
In a previous life he was a painter and decorator, maybe where that comment came from :-)))
Oh and you Stoap putting that Calum McGregor in any team
Lucky Cody
Spot on, reward for last week will be applying the rules of the game at a Celtic game today
TD67
Are you on Acid?
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
The Wizard of Oz
Peter Pan
Watch a lot of TV….maybe too much eh
Natknow
:-)))
I though he was maybe plastered
TD67
Like i said before.
All this evidence of ‘Grooming’…maybe you should be talking to Police Scotland, and not airing it on a blog.
Lets get these culprits dealt with.
Go to the Police…..Tell them everything.
Tony Donnelly
I’ll categorically state that you did not write that post. Completely different type of writing from anything you are capable of. Please tell me, for ironies sake, you asked a University educated person to write that for you to copy and paste.
Anyway.
Dry your eyes mate.
MWD laughing like a hyena at that post. Belter. Level 5 irony drips from it strangely enough as they are firmly aligned with you on this. :-]
TD67
Quite a dossier you have compiled now.
Fringe Groups, Malcontents, Groomers, Level 5 helpers, etc
Im sure Police Scotland will be forever in your debt.
Can see you being ‘Citizen of the Year’
Go get em Tony.
Uncover this dark world, only you can do it….TD67, the new Roger Cook.
Sherlock Holmes hasnt got a look in with you on the case.
Happy birthday to the Griff !
WITS any tips today ? I fancy Shrewd in the Ebor , looking forward to watching the Hoops later HH !
TD67
Funny how you never mention Mr Pastry.
Strange indeed
NATKNOW on 20TH AUGUST 2016 9:40 AM
Post-Euro game denouement.
I’m hoping the Brendan effect will mean the players enthusiasm is still high and this will carry them today.
_______________-
This is where we had many of, usually before or after a European game, there players seemed to lack the motivation to perform. I am quietly confident though that those issues will remain in the past.
The Green Man
You encouraging T.D. 67 to be a Lee Wallace ? ;-)
ELLBOY
Announce a flounce?
CQN gets hijacked on a regular basis, there’s even a h** posting every day.
Balance will never be restored if we don’t have opinions, from all sides.
Hail Hail
Bognorbhoy
Well…he is the man with evidence about Fringe Groups, Malcontents, Groomers,, Level 5 helpers, and of course, people who like to read books:)
He should present his evidence to the police rather than involve the blog.
I want to see justice served:)
Hope you are well.
HH
TD67
One day you may actually come to realize that you rank is around the Top 10 in the Level 5 Helpersphere.
MWD
Ole TD67 sometimes forgets to quote despite the quotation marks.
I can categorically state though that he wrote the GIRFUY
All the hun interlopers and level 5 helpers that now disrupt the site on a daily basis, can only be down to one reason!
Its a blog of influence. If it wasnt they wouldnt be here,
Their job is to disrupt the flow of conversation and direct it to a new flow, or just be downright cnuts.
Take it as a mark of a job well done that they are here.
And ignore them when they post. If they cant do their job they wont get paid and will dissappear!
TTR
I have never called any Celtic supporter scum, never, so please don’t accuse me of doing so.
If you were to read my post properly and stop jumping to conclusions you would see that, you yourself were at pains yesterday to point out to someone that they were misquoting you.
HH
……………………………
Up Over
So I’m a mindless bigot then, good for you keyboard hardman.
Referees can’t harm us if we are streets ahead of the other teams, which we are in Scotland. Jock Stein’s teams faced biased refereeing. In fact it was probably worse then because of the absence of technology and lack of exposure. But Celtic were good enough that the cheating made no difference.
They can’t just disallow goals for no reason. Well of course they can and do. What I mean is, there has to be a decision to make, eg marginal offside, suspicion of hand ball or foul play etc.
Winning games with winning football is the best way to stick it right up the cheats. Constantly calling for Celtic to “do something” about referees is futile. What you and I believe is cheating is another man’s good decision, and of course there’s always the “honest mistake” get out of jail card.
I’m sure Brendan will make 2 or 3 changes today, but hopefully not wholesale changes.
I’d leave Roberts and de Vries for Aberdeen next Saturday.
3-1 Celtic.
MOONBEAMSWD
Maybe he used a template and posted the wrong one.
Or maybe his brother has the same opinions as him.
Or maybe he’s simply upped his game.
Who knows?
AULD TAM
I take your point,but I once asked Kevin McBride why he disallowed the Cadete goal.
Because I could,he replied.
McLean,semi-final v Inverness? Same reasoning.
AURORABOREALIS79 on 20TH AUGUST 2016 9:59 AM
NATKNOW on 20TH AUGUST 2016 9:40 AM
Post-Euro game denouement.
I’m hoping the Brendan effect will mean the players enthusiasm is still high and this will carry them today.
_______________-
This is where we had many of, usually before or after a European game, there players seemed to lack the motivation to perform. I am quietly confident though that those issues will remain in the past.
————————————————————–
I’ve always imagined this was down to the players’ state of mind more than a physical thing. I think one of the things Brendan has helped with is psychological aspects of the game so hopefully will have worked on their attitude. We’ll see at noon..!
“If you’re good enough, the referee doesn’t matter.”
Jock Stein
Bobby
him on the bell! when his dad could be paying! – I’ll be delighted to pay truth be told. He’s made the effort to come through on one of his few days off.
Is there a suggestion that TD is from the dark side? The great Hun hunter!
Off for my shower then off out to watch the game.
hail hail
QF
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
I doubt he said that after the 1970 Scottish Cup final,for example.