Brendan the man-manager, Leigh – smarter than you may think

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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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  1. Who decides what constitutes success or failure in a medical examination?

     

     

    Is it entirely subjective?

  2. The Green Man says SACK THE Board on

    Petec

     

     

    To Sevco….They are part of the British Empire…..apart from being skinto:)

     

    The couldnt run a raffle….unless they bumped the proceeds.

     

    They are lost in space.

     

    Barking mad.

     

     

    HH

  3. THE GREEN MAN SAYS SACK THE BOARD on 19TH AUGUST 2016 1:08 PM

     

     

     

    The one thing I miss about being off work is ripping the p**h out of them.

     

     

    I know a few posters on here won’t be going to the hun game, I’ve deliberated over it and will go to support my team (Celtic) to watch them pump the huns…. Different sh**e same flys, as has been said on here before. HH

  4. You gotta feel for Gordon Strachan. Wednesday night waxing lyrical about how wonderful it is to have Scotland’s captain performing so well at such a level.

     

     

    Then 2 days later . . .

  5. TGM……

     

     

     

    Sit back and Chillax for 15 minutes.

     

     

    Lost in Spice

     

     

    ;)

     

     

    A shut your eyes track, if ever there was one.

     

     

    asta la vista

  6. REGGIE on 19TH AUGUST 2016 12:02 PM

     

    VFR800A8 on 19TH AUGUST 2016 11:33 AM

     

     

    I was looking at this last night and maybe I’m wrong, but I think there is virtually no chance we will be in pot 3 if we qualify.

     

     

    The way I’m looking at it, we need 5 teams seeded above us to drop out of the competition. City are through. It doesn’t matter who wins between Porto and Roma as the winner is seeded above us anyway.

     

     

    So by my reckoning we need all 5 of Ajax, Villareal, Viktoria Plzen, Salzburg and Borussia Monchengladback to get knocked out.

     

     

    The first 3 are in real danger, Salzburg go home with a 1-1, but BM are virtually through all ready.

     

     

    ps i don’t think many fans would want Barca again

     

     

    _________________________________

     

    Reggie, Celtic have a better co-efficient than Plezn and salzburg. We need Ajax and Villarreal to go out and we would get the remaining place in Pot 3.

     

     

    I can post a full list of all the clubs and Pots with co-efficients if required.

  7. Why is anybody giving a flying f@@k about the huns.

     

     

    We have a better manager

     

    We have a ground to be proud of.

     

    We have a team to be proud of, and players that are proud to be with us.

     

    We have a history.

     

    We have more ST holders than crumbling Greyskull holds.

     

    We are enjoying our footie again.

     

    We are playing Euro footie ( quite well ) with the bucks that it will bring in.

     

    We are first in the UK to have a safe standing section which seems to be working quite well.

     

    Our signing targets are real.

     

    At long last we seem to be getting payback from Lennoxtown.

     

    We get invited to prestigious tournaments.

     

    The Celtic foundation.

     

    We have a CEO with a heated driveway that is not on tick.

     

    Etc, ect, ect.

     

     

    HH.

  8. The Green Man says SACK THE Board on

    SIPSINI

     

     

    I genuinely cannot stand the sight of them, any of the fools i encounter, i cannot help rippin the total p.

     

    They have the same effect on me, as Kryptonite does to Superman.

     

    They should be banned….from everything:)

     

     

    HH

  9. Surely the Garner deal will need to go through now, if that falls through the zombies will explode.

  10. G’day fholks.

     

    Good decision from Broony,good decision by Lescott,bad decision by Lescott’s wife (golddigger).

     

     

    I’ve spent all my days in or around Celtic supporters and have to say none of them bear any resemblance to Nilloc.Anyone who checks back will see i’ve never posted about another poster in a negative way but i’m going to make an exception,Mats you are a herman gelmet.You are never anything like any Celtic supporter i’ve met.And your choice of ‘cancer’ to describe some of our support is beneath contempt.I feel you might be more suited to following a different team,maybe a relatively new one with an uncertain future.So off you (sev)go then…

  11. Nye Bevans' rebel soldier on

    Wonder where Lescott will turn up……..

     

    ……it would be funny as f##k!!!!!

  12. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    Lescott when he was 5 was involved in a car accident. It was nearly fata due to the head injuriesl. His mother witnessed him at 5 being dragged along the road. Numerous operations followed. Please desist from the ugly jokes. The lad has been used by Sevco like big Hartson was.

     

     

    HH

  13. The Green Man says SACK THE Board on

    THETIMREAPER

     

     

    I reckon the only thing sevco can do now….is to get a lookalike of Garner, an imposter.

     

    Just like that favour good old Winston did for Monty during the war:)

     

    Dont Panic.

     

     

    HH

  14. Re level 5 suggesting medical failure

     

     

    Surely one would think that would have to be backed up.

     

    It is the mans living

     

     

    HH

  15. BT

     

     

    Enjoyed Wednesday at BV and of course PARADISE.

     

     

    Did not meet ÁRD MACHA after game as I was knackered and did not leave my room.

     

     

    HH

  16. VFR800A8 on 19TH AUGUST 2016 1:32 PM

     

     

    I’m happy to be corrected but I’d be interested in your source. I’m using Bert Kassies seedings which have been reliable in the past

     

     

    Pot 1 coef. Pot 2 coef.

     

    ———————— — —————- ———————— — —————-

     

    Real Madrid (CL-TH) Esp 176.142 Atlético Madrid Esp 144.142

     

    FC Barcelona Esp 159.142 Borussia Dortmund Ger 110.035

     

    Leicester City Eng 15.256 Arsenal Eng 105.256

     

    Bayern München Ger 163.035 Manchester City *4 Eng 99.256

     

    Juventus Ita 107.087 Sevilla (EL-TH) Esp 95.642

     

    Benfica Por 116.616 FC Porto *4 Por 92.616

     

    Paris Saint-Germain Fra 112.549 Napoli Ita 90.087

     

    CSKA Moscow Rus 48.716 Bayer Leverkusen Ger 89.035

     

     

    Pot 3 coef. Pot 4 coef.

     

    ———————— — —————- ———————— — —————-

     

    FC Basel Sui 87.755 Viktoria Plzen *3 Cze 44.585

     

    Tottenham Hotspur Eng 74.256 Club Brugge Bel 43.000

     

    Dinamo Kiev Ukr 65.976 FC Salzburg ** Aut 42.520

     

    Olympique Lyon Fra 63.049 Borussia Mönchengladb.*4 Ger 42.035

     

    Villarreal *4 Esp 60.142 Celtic ** Sco 40.460

     

    Ajax *3 Ned 58.112 APOEL Nicosia ** Cyp 35.935

     

    PSV Eindhoven Ned 57.112 Besiktas Tur 34.920

     

    Sporting CP Lisbon Por 51.616 Legia Warsaw ** Pol 28.000

     

     

    http://kassiesa.home.xs4all.nl/bert/uefa/seedcl2016.html

  17. Go tell the Spartim on

    Level 5 lying, surely not……………………………………………………………..

     

     

    Have they not got a history for it, and not a history thats been bought

  18. AN TEARMANN on 19TH AUGUST 2016 1:42 PM

     

    Re level 5 suggesting medical failure

     

     

     

    Surely one would think that would have to be backed up.

     

     

     

    ###

     

     

    Unless there is an objective, pre agreed standard he had to achieve to pass the medical then it would be up to the club (or maybe it’s the holding company, not sure) to decide whether he passed or failed.

  19. Some good banter this afternoon but I’m with Awe naw on this.

     

     

    I think we are above ugly gags.

     

     

    Unless joey Barton is the target

     

     

    HH

  20. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 19th August 2016 1:38 pm ,

     

     

    I didn’t know that.

     

     

    He has done very well considering what he went through.

     

     

    HH

  21. Hoop hoop Hooray on

    THETIMREAPER on 19TH AUGUST 2016 12:24 PM

     

    Griffiths first 45 mins on Wednesday was the best I’ve seen in a long time. The two centre halves could not cope with him. He held the ball up, won every header, ran the channels, layed the ball off, the reverse pass for the 1st goal was sublime, his header was outstanding, and the free kick world class.

     

    ————————————————–

     

    Agree 100%. If you watch his the first goal again griff received a strong cross field pass from lustig when a defender was tight on him. His first touch took him two yards away from the defender whilst spotting sinclairs run. A quick swivel and dink and we were in. If that had been messi we would have been raving about it.

  22. traditionalist88 on

    Ugly? Sure he doesn’t care as he goes home to his big house to count his money etc and contemplate not signing for Sevco ;)

     

     

    HH

  23. BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 19TH AUGUST 2016 1:25 PM

     

    Have Sevco made a statement yet?

     

    Yep. They’ve said you’re not a hun

  24. Awe naw

     

     

    Did you ever get an answer to your query re

     

    Mike confirming payment from the south african criminal receipt Sort of thing

     

    I have the t&c of orig £5m somewhere and will dig it out.

     

    I would suggest change of patent date- mikey to nooklub, would be date mikey got his dosh back.

     

    I am pretty. Sure mikey knows who he is trading with and got his dosh.

     

     

    HH

  25. ernie lynch on 19th August 2016 1:24 pm

     

     

    Who decides what constitutes success or failure in a medical examination?

     

     

    Is it entirely subjective?

     

    ________________________________________________________

     

     

    Ernie, I would take a guess that it might be the doctor :>)

  26. Joe Filippis Haircut on

    Im not sure of this but I thought firstly Villa were going to pay part of Lescotts salary secondly I thought a loan period could be canceled anytime and the loan player returned to his parent club.So why would a medical be required as there appeared to be no risk for the tribute act ? H.H.

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