With St Johnstone visiting Ibrox, St Mirren visiting Pittodrie and Celtic off to Rugby Park, this was an unlikely week for the champions to extend their lead over all three in the chasing pack. But, thanks to a 90th minute shot from Scott Brown that was deflected into the Killie net, that was how it played out.
This was Celtic’s first win in three league games on an artificial surface this season and there was no mistaking how unaccustomed they were to the surface. Even Kilmarnock players suffered as any forward ball on the deck ran out of play. While it is unlikely we will play on plastic again this season, we need to get a game plan for this surface.
Kirk Broadfoot was given a straight red for a studs-first challenge on Scott Brown’s calf. The Celtic captain then collected his second yellow after fans, in what looked like a tribute to Newco fans celebrations of SPFL wins, invaded the pitch to celebrate with the players. Brown did not actually approach the perimeter of the stand but was quickly engulfed by fans, and inevitably, two cards.
I heard Steven Gerrard’s harsh post match assessment of his team’s application against St Johnstone. If publicly telling players how inept their application is leads to unbridled success, Newco will do the double this year. I do, however, have a nagging suspicion that there is more to management than getting angry and telling players they are not “real Rangers”.
Gerrard is new to management and it tells. Moreover, he split the team by absolving two players of responsibility, not on account of their exceptional performances, but because others did not do enough for them. If you Play Favourites, those favourites better be exceptional.
St Johnstone looked broken at the conclusion of their recent encounters with Celtic but there was more at stake than a football game at Ibrox on Saturday. After winning in Perth in December, Steven Gerrard said, “We shouldn’t have to work that hard to win at places like this, with all due respect.”
With all due respect, that was transparently disrespectful. It was also naive and would motivate every single St Johnstone player. Well played, ‘Stevie’. Sort your own attitude out before attacking your players’ and they might do better.
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POG
The new self elected editor of the blog.
Censorship is always easier than than genuine and reasonable debate.
THE ONLOOKER on 18TH FEBRUARY 2019 2:14 PM
Yer right. At least ours is only half plastic. Still cost millions though and its ‘diseased’.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46948286
Just a thought but shouldn’t good footballers be able to play on any surface?
Who has been Celtic’s most productive striker this season to date?
Griffiths
Edouard
Weah
Burke
Bayo
Morales
THOMTHETHIM
That is a genuinely good question.
I’m torn between Burke and Morelos.
HH
Let’s not forget Stevie’s “class above” comments after his first league match at Aberdeen. Were it not for an honest mistake depriving Aberdeen of a penalty and a subsequent red issued to McGregor, Stevie would still be waiting on his first win over the Dons.
Anyway, great win yesterday. We’re effectively 3 wins away from the treble treble. We’re up to our knees in trophies at this stage.
I gave up judging players on plastic pitches ,a long time ago. The mantra is take any win,and come away with no injuries.
Well, interesting stats this weekend.
After 26 games, we are on 60 points with goals difference of 46; we are 8 points clear. After 26 games last season we were on 60 points with a goal difference of 36; we were 8 points clear. Sevco are 3 points better off this season and Aberdeen are 5 points worse off.
The simple truth is that despite this being (apparently) a poor season in the league, we are in fact better off after 26 games than we were last season. The gap will only get bigger. We picked up 22 points in our last 12 games last season; Aberdeen and Sevco picked up 21. I expect us to claim more than 22 points in the next 12 games and have a point gap of more than the 9 we did last season.
Moussa who?
KTF
TTT
Scott Sinclair?
Paul67 et al/bournesouprecipe
Do the Laws of the Game prohibit?
1. “Actually approach (ing) the perimeter stand”
and/or
2. ” (Making) it to the Chadwick Stand”
I think we should be told!
FAN-A-TIC on 18TH FEBRUARY 2019 2:19 PM
POG
The new self elected editor of the blog.
Censorship is always easier than than genuine and reasonable debate.
————————————————————
You should lighten up, nobody is trying to censor anything but there is a big difference between debate and bumping your gums.
Sannabhoy
Yes, they are all spoken for. However I got the impression they’ll be selling tickets right up till kick off. SoT mentioned he was over there just now , maybe he could sort you out if you don’t wish to leave it till Thursday.
JEEZ_I_THOUGHT_BLINKER_WAS_PANTS ,
Thanks . I’ll check – would rather know I had them although I’ve been without them all this time – another day or two wouldn’t hurt.
South of Tunis – you about ? any chance of us getting in touch re tix ? sannabhoy@gmail.com
HH
Sanna
Regarding playing on the plastic pitch, I thought Jonny Hayes was our most committed player yesterday, his attitude and determination was spot on. Went right to the end as well. I got the impression one or two others just didn’t fancy it.
CORKCELT on 18TH FEBRUARY 2019 2:05 PM
If you look at the stats, the league isn’t more competitive in terms of teams getting closer to Celtic. Comparing this season to last at 26 games, we have the same points, scored more goals and conceded fewer goals.
We are on course to win the league this season as easily as we did last season. Despite the (flawed) belief that the gap to Sevco is closing, it isn’t and I expect there to be at least the same 12 point margin as there was last season.
KTF
POG@2-40
Apologies i must have misread your post.
POGMATHONYAHUN AKA LAIRD OF THE SMILES on 18TH FEBRUARY 2019 2:07 PM
Those of you who would like to debate our performance yesterday should pop over to this web forum where you can critique the team’s performance at Rugby Park
The Celtic players who used to say that “good players can play on any pitch” those players would give their right arm’s to play on any pitch, and be paid today’s kind of salaries for doing so.
HH
FAN-A-TIC
You seem to have a great insight into artificial pitches and how to win on them.
Why don’t you send your CV to BR and the coaching staff I’m sure they’ll be glad to receive your input.
Do you think that they don’t practice on an artificial pitch before playing on them?
I would also assume that they won’t want to spend too much time on an artificial pitch due to the fact that players sustain injuries on them.
Celtic Mac
Rules Brittania?
A Police Scotland ( directive ) that is specifically for Celtic Supporters celebrating which as we already know is likely to provoke violence in Scotland.
Fine for Sevcs because everybody knows its ‘just high jinks’ and they are sh*te anyway.
Doubt it’ll be written down anywhere .
We will not be cheated differently CSC
FAN-A-TIC on 18TH FEBRUARY 2019 2:50 PM
POG@2-40
Apologies i must have misread your post.
————————————————————-
Apology accepted, I thought for one horrible moment you’d had a Sense of Humourectomy. ?
BSR,
Didn’t include Scott S as he has not really been marketed as a striker.
I did include Burke, as he is in the process of being recycled as a number nine!
Personally, I would opt for Fred O, as his contribution has been virtually single handed, without the support of Callum ,Ryan, James, etc.
Every game he plays is like a six pointer.
POG
Show me where i said i have great insight into plastic pitches?
So we are now reverting to deflection.
You know full well it’s a forum were supporters can voice opinion that can spawn debate where people will have differing opinions.
No one is naive enough to think any post on here will alter the thinking of the coaches or the club.
I also never said they didn’t practice on our plastic pitch but was just pointing out we have access to one at Lennoxtown.
It would have been more reasonable for you to refute the points in my post rather than your assumption that anyone not posting positive go elsewhere and leave the blog to those who will enjoy the next win.
How do you know how much differing posters enjoy Celtic winning?
Due to a monumental feck up of my calendar I’m now in Nth Berwick for the Hibs Cup Tie.
Anyone know a bar for Tims to watch the game?
I don’t see anything in Celtic Bars.
Nytol,
23:10 here.
I’d love to stay up a bit later and debate/bump my gums but I was up to 3 am watching the game and I’m still jet lagged.
I don’t have Petec’s stamina.
TTT
Think Brendan likes terming them all strikers Ryan Christie being listed as a striker as soon as we sold Dembele
think Olly will be a number 9 in future wherever he plays, and would like to think we’ll try an buy him, too big to be a winger ;-) We’re almost full circle back to the Lions with Wallace Lennox Chalmers all ‘strikers’
Odsonne Edouard 14
James Forrest 13
Scott Sinclair 14
Ryan Christie 10
Griff 6
Burke 3
FAN-A-TIC on 18TH FEBRUARY 2019 3:09 PM
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You seem to think my post was directed at you, it wasn’t. It was directed at the number of people who came on after the game and complained about the performance. I watched the game and thought the performance was ok considering the pitch. We had about 63% possession with 12 shots, 6 on target. Killie had 1 shot on target so if that is a shit performance then I’ll take some more.
You make some worthy points but getting BR to deviate from his footballing philosophy is, unfortunately, unlikely and that’s where we come unstuck in Europe.
I’m definitely heading to bed now as knackered.
bournesouprecipe
Agreed! Scott Brown is the victim of an International Worldwide* conspiracy!
* (includes Kilmarnock)
Pog
Nobody has the ole petec stamina
celticforever @ 1:06 pm
“Does anyone remember back to Broony,s testimonial against The Republic that
Ireland brought a young black lad on during the second half
I have been wondering if it was Oko Flex”
Don’t think it could have been. I only found one source for the ROI team line and it read:-
REPUBLIC OF IRELAND XI: Doyle, Coleman, Egan, Lenihan, Williams, O’Dowda, Browne, Williams, McClean, Walters, Maguire
Subs: Stevens, Doherty, Burke, Cunningham, O’Malley, Robinson
I remember the view that Brazilians were so good on the ball was because they were brought up in poverty and played on any old bit of spare ground they could find so they HAD to control it with their first touch as they couldn’t afford to let it bounce. Seemed a logical explanation to me.
Any updates on the griff HH
FUBAR
They call it altinho, we call it keepie uppie.
BSR..?
Every days a school day.
When we played in the Holy Cross playground you had to have a fantastic first touch,as playing 25 a side at interval, you were only likely to get one chance at getting a touch.
On the side of hill outside the old science block CSC
Eurochamps67
EC67
The original game of ‘one touch’
EUROCHAMP67
So true.
A few years ago i was playing 5 a sides with an old friend of mine who had a stint in the professional game.
There was 3 youngsters who were all signed to youth contracts with professional teams.
All 3 were superb athletes.
After the game they all were impressed by my friend and i’s first touch and asked how we used to practice to achieve it?
We both put it down to playing during breaks and lunchtime when 25 to 50 a side was the norm.
First touch was so important or else you just became a spectator.
Lesser players sometimes got a game for the 1st Juveniles when they were in third year.
Lots of furor about our exuberant fans celebrating a time added on winner, I know sevco the last couple of seasons are making a habit of this, but that aside some of our support are jumping on the smsm bandwagon in their uncalled for criticism.
There’s a you-tube out there of an SC game in March 1966 at swine castle, after 2 minutes the game had to be stopped as the crowd spilled onto the field and the teams taken to the dressing room for ten minutes while order was restored. The reason for this “invasion” was although this was an all ticket game it was evidently clear there were more in the ground than the original limit placed.
This was a typical SC game, a cracker, and there were 3 more invasions, twice when we equalised and once more as we went in front, as far as I can recall there were no arrests and nobody was ejected from the ground, it was just put down to high spiritedness. The game ended 3-3, oul Ronnie had a nightmare as did big Billy at right back and the calvinists star man was wee Wispy.
4 days later, with Billy in his usual centre half position, which IMHO was a bit harsh on big Cush as he had done nothing wrong on the Saturday, we won the replay easily going 3 up early in the 2nd half. With 7 minutes to go Wispy lobbed the Faither fae at least 20 yards to which the crowd around me in the Celtic end chuckled about him being a silly old bu88er or words tae that effect, I remarked tae my carolina that night that I wonder if they would be as harmonious if John Fallon had been in goal.
A good night turned intae a great one as we descended the stairs toward the Gallowgate finding out that all 3 of our rivals including deidco (2-3 at Brockville) had lost that night, which meant we had retained our spot at the top of the league.
In 2000 Falkirk were denied promotion, even though they won their division convincingly, because of the inadequacies of Brockville, that decision saved Aberdeen, who like us has never been out of the top division, from relegation.
In 2003 Falkirk again lost their bid for promotion in a vote by the 12 member clubs of the top flight which saved the bottom club, Motherwell, who were also allowed to vote, from relegation.
The reason being they would be ground sharing with Airdrie United until their own new stadium, at Westfield, was constructed. As stated above 3 years earlier Falkirk failed to fulfill the requirements of having a 10,000 all-seated home in bricks-and-mortar form, as such they by then had sold Brockville to a supermarket chain and construction of the new one was well underway.
Motherwell was jubilant at the news, the club was already in administration and playing in the SPL would ensure the club would remain on a sound financial footing they themselves admitted they had been thrown a lifeline.
Now I have no love for the Bairns, even though 2 Celtic legends have played for them, by any manner of means, a club with right anti-Celtic support, but they were twice well and truly shafted due tae perceived ground concerns and yet we have 3 teams playing on substandard pitches in the 21st century.
EUROCHAMPS67
Real School Football:))
HolyCrossCSC