The consequences of a brutal Scottish Cup tie at Alloa, permitted by the kind of soft touch refereeing that would see official intervention during martial arts bouts, has left us without our captain for an undetermined period of time. Callum McGregor’s facial injury was the most severe consequence, if not the most dangerous challenge.
We are likely to head to Tynecastle with Reo Hatate, who has played only 75 minutes for Celtic, and Matt O’Riley, whose entire experience is limited to a year in the English third tier, in central midfield, backed by Nir Bitton.
Should we get through this game unscathed, the experience will do us well as the same players are likely to be required when Dundee United and Newco visit next week. You would be forgiven for thinking these games will go a long way to determining the outcome of the season.
Saturday offered little encouragement bar the opening goal, converted by Giorgos Giakoumakis, his second for the club. Without Kyogo, Maeda and fourth choice striker, Ajeti, Giorgos has the stage to himself. He has started three games since joining from Venlo in the summer. This period could be the making of him.
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Are we going to say anything this time?
Nah, just let our players get assaulted.
We’ll molocate Hearts on Wednesday.
A disgrace that no-one has spoken out about the tackles and the refereeing.
Paul67
Same old Alloa always cheatin
Could be the making of Georgios . . . All is not doom and gloom, yet. Abada has shown he can play and score through the middle. So if he, Jota and JF can stay fit, that gives us options to play with a target man or not.
Yes, why can’t our board be like the Rangers board and act like spoiled brats?
Same old Beaton always cheatin.
i couldn’t work out live on Hesgoal on Sat how we managed to have such a big hole on our left at Alloa goal. I’ve scanned through the highlights on YouTube and offer this:
We are breaking out from something with the ball back with Alloa in midfield (not sure if a corner, FK or just an attack0
all 3 forwards go into the middle to press the midfield and the ball goes back to their CH
McCarthy is the only player on the left and they have 2. Bitton realises and moves across (no sign of Scales)
Alloa see the gap and play the ball wide and then up the line. Not very fast either.
Rogic is more advanced so we now have a bit of a gap i the middle as Bitton has moved left
Now we see where Scales is; in the middle to right. Ralston is in RB position so why is Scales there? No matter, he can fill in for Bitton
Scales proceeds to mark no-one and lets Sammon go past.
Welsh is too far out and sprints back to remedy this and runs past Sammon
So, why was Scales where he was? If we had come out from a corner, I can see he would have come off post on the RHS, however, Ralston seems to have been able to get back to his side so why not Scales ?
The central press was OK for me. If Scales and Welsh had been in position then the cross may have been stopped or Bitton could have helped out Welsh on the header
Anyway, my team for Hearts is
Hart
Juranovic CCV Starfelt Taylor
McCarthy Bitton Hatate
Forrest Giakomakis Jota
Subs we might use: Johnston, Abada, , Ralston(push Juranovic forward),
What are the odds of Clancy getting the 2nd Feb game?
Therein lies the story of why the huns complain.
The board have a duty of care for their employees, sitting saying nothing is negligent.
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The making Giak and the making of Scales.
I’d play Scales, I don’t see Taylor or Juranovic putting in the type of cross that led to the opener on Saturday. Leave Juranovic at right back now.
The SFA’s capitulation to the cheats is a warning to all the referees: you must not red card one of their players or award a penalty against them. It’s as clear as day we will not be allowed to win the league.
There is something very mysterious about the Celtic board not fighting the clubs corner on not just the bias against the club via the governing bodies of Scottish football . Have questions been asked regards sevco favouring referees , retrospective cheating , altered match dates and times in fact the list is endless , we the fans can act on the media ,we don’t need to buy the rags or listen to radio stations ,but we have no say on taking on the no users at Hampden HQ , come on Desmond , bankier , Nicholson get up off your bellies and fight the injustice against our club .
Jackie Macass initially looks worryingly raw for a guy with his goals scoring pedigree,
his one on one with the (alloa) goalkeeper was an example of a player lacking confidence .
He does need a run of games before informed judgement tho .
On Friday a poster was watching Rangers v Stirling Albion live on TV and came on and complained about the referee awarding a throw-in to Rangers instead of Albion. He finished his comment with “The silence from our board is defeaning.”
So here we have someone bemoaning the lack of a statement from Celtic FC about a game not involving Celtic for a wrong throw-in decision about 2 minutes after said throw-in.
Tynecastle is a shithouse at the best of times……maybe time for ange to go plan B …4231…a Rodgers special……Hart….jura ccv starfelt Taylor……….Mccarthy Bitton……..Hatate O riley jota……Gio………can be tweaked to a 4141 with a slight change in the team…..Bitton as the 1 and basically forrest for Mccarthy….biggest game of the season!!
Tom, Bankier referred to it at the AGM. That’s the only mention. Look at Robertson’s history of allowing our players to be assaulted (Tierney, Turnbull and now Saturday) without producing a red.
Some of the ‘tackles’ on our players have been shocking but no one even mentions it.
The club has a duty of care to its employees — specifically the team on the park.
We lose two players to challenges from the same player.
In the second one he delays getting the ball so that he is closer to our player.
Gets the pall then follows through with a scissor tackle — left knee to the thigh / right foot to the area above the ankle.
Wild tackles from the opposition are now part and parcel of our games.
You have to wonder why this seems to be happening this season?
My thoughts are that “Buddyball” is in play and there are bounties on our players.
With the Ludge MIB looking the other way the hammer throwers / cheapshot merchants can’t believe their luck.
If egg chasing rules were to be applied then anyone throwing their weight about with the intention of hurting players on your team then that person is fair game for an appropriate response and it is in everyone’s interest that the response is timely and appropriate.
We seem to think that we are above the need to manage the physicality of the game.
That failure will lead to other players getting bad injuries this season.
We need to manage the game in a manner that stops this free fire zone developing.
We are not a team of fighters and it has been noted — CCV and IS are the only people in the team who are cute while AR and JMcC will stand their ground.
We have not replaced SB and limited though he was — never a hard man type player more a footballing pantomime villain — at least he knew the rules of the engagement.
AP — need to get a handle on the SPL or you will be playing come April / May.
A Board or even a PR team that is on the front foot is not something we are overly familiar with. The media is stuffed full of has been huns, rent a gobs that will ALWAYS spout the DUP -sponsored party line. They get to set the agenda on TV, radio and print and largely go unchallenged.
The banter years were fun because they didn’t have the stomach to fight. Now they are like the Hydra, if we had the balls to cut off their head, two would grow back.
any word from the club regarding the extent of Calmac’s injury and his expected time out
Bit of a radical suggestion with no great forethought.
SFA oversee referees
SFA oversee player discipline
SFA oversee national team
Hypothetical stance for Celtic to take …
Dear SFA,
If our Scottish players get injured by thuggery (your bag) …
with no protection from referees (your bag)
We will not release that player to the national team (your bag) for the next international IRRESPECTIVE of the time lapse between injury sustained, injury recovery, date of international.
———-
The SFA control all the variables …
… while we own the problem.
Make the problem partly theirs.
BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL
That would take the national team manager to speak out about refs allowing brutality.
It’s what’s needed but won’t happen.
Tom McLaughlin on 24th January 2022 12:11 pm
Yes, why can’t our board be like the Rangers board and act like spoiled brats?
You really have got to be joking with this point. Will we allow our players to be assaulted without comment?
Sorry, not for me. There are real human beings underneath Celtic tops, fathers, sons people with ambition.
One of these tackles could end a career. Are you ok with that?
Just to cheer everyone up, I’m hearing Kyogo is out for 3 months.
Hope it’s not true.
It would be frightfully bad manners for any Celtic official to raise the issue of the on field thuggery directed at Celtic players and the lack of action thereanent by the officials.
And Celtic are, above all, a Club with good manners. Civilised, polite and refined. Dainty and delicate.
So nothing will be said and nothing will be done.
When’s Calmac having his operation?
Notthebus @12:26pm
Jackie Macass
What a horrible way to refer to a player of the team you
say you support
I’m surprised that nobody has commented on the small detail that if the table stays the same then, post split, Sevco will have to play all their matches away from home and we will have to play all ours at home!
That’s a big problem for the league!
… and of course they won’t – some will have to play 3 games at Ibrox and we will supposedly have to play some top 6 teams three times away!
That is a huge advantage to Them and brings the corruption in the fixtures into sharp focus.
Paul 67,
I am willing to give our big Greek striker time. A big, rough CF who can play with his back to goal if required is an extremely valuable asset. It gives us a completely different dimension to our Japanese strike force.
I was hoping we could have given Christopher Jullien 15 minutes on Saturday to announce his comeback, however the nature of the game ruled that out.
I watched Hearts on Saturday before our game and I witnessed a good professional performance. They were not fazed by ridiculous referring decisions.
I am confident we will rise to the occasion and I’m eagerly looking forward to it.
Every game now is crucial, there is no perfect time to ease CJ in, so why not Wednesday?
HH, the journey continues.
Completely agree with Paul67 on this one. Does Giakoumakis have it in him to step up and deliver the goals that will garner a minimum of seven points over the next three games ? It is very much in his own hands if he is ready to announce himself as a Celtic player. He may not get another opportunity.
After the assault Ideguchi, the BBC commentator smirked ‘welcome to Scottish football’.
I had the misfortune to listen to BBC Radio Scotland yesterday afternoon, Kenny McIntyre, Daryl Prodfoot and Craig Levien discussing the referring standards in Scottish football. Kenny McIntyre and Prodfoot managed to blame Celtic for Rangers writing a letter to the SFA and really Rangers did have a point because the standard was so bad. McIntyre then had a go at Levien for calling out Mike McCurry at Ibrox, Levien retorted to McIntyre ‘so I’m not allowed to have my say because it was against Rangers?’
Ange is not a stupid guy,that is why he is keeping his powder dry.
The referees are just waiting on him complaining,then he will spend games in the stands.
Bankier is the one who’s voice should be heard ,and we know that will not happen
I believe that Giakoumakis is part of a £18m quintet, including, Barkas, Ajeti, Bolingoli & Soro, that never have, and in my opinion, never will, deliver at Celtic.
That is serious money that must have a detrimental effect on our financial position going forward. We will be lucky to recoup a third if we manage to shift them
& meanwhile their ongoing wages just exacerbate things further.
Contrast that with the £10m Japanese quartet that gives us hope.
I am not being gloomy, or, pointing the finger of blame, merely highlighting a situation that we can ill-afford during a transitional period.
How are the bbc allowed to be so biased .how are they allowed to hire a near rangers cast . Or allowed bigots like mcintyre, broadfoot etc a stage to share there hatred for celtic and its supporters ,and at the licence payers expense , surely there are guidelines to that sort of bigotry getting aired . Is there nowhere to complain about it .
Fanadpatriot
I don’t really think it is too much of a punishment for any manager to watch from the stands. These days everyone is micc’ed up so communication is fairly OK plus you get a much better view of the pitch from an elevated position.
I would prefer Ange to acknowledge publicly what is happening to his players because no one else will address it if we as a club don’t.
BBC Complaints
Well, it is what it is. Challenging. We either whine and make excuses or we roll up the sleeves, pull up the socks and get tore into it.
If we win this title and I believe we will, then it will rank as one of the most remarkable for us having overcome serious adversity and sheer bad luck almost every step of the way.
Kyogo and Calmac are big losses to any team but we still have enough quality to beat every other team in Scotland, bar none.
add starfelt and julien to your quintet and we are talking nearly £30m