Celtic outclassed what could simultaneously be both the worst Rangers** team in past 20 years and the best in the next 20 years.
**If they survive.
Goals win games but on so many occasions in the 124 year history of these games brave tackles are equally important and it was an exceptional tackle from Adam Matthews which set this contest alight. Lee Wallace was in possession when Matthews hooked the ball away from him before whipping in a cross which Goian knocked off the toes of Hooper and behind for a corner.
Kris Commons was to have an enormous influence on the game starting with the resultant 17th minute corner. Rangers marked man-to-man but as the Celtic players inside the box moved towards the front post a huge zone was left unmarked at the back post. The ball was inside the box before Charlie Mulgrew but the Celtic defender was flying and dived full-length to head downwards. The bounce left Allan McGregor no chance.
Celtic’s stranglehold on the game was a result of their domination of the key midfield area. Rangers played with Little and Aluko either side of McCulloch up front but Celtic matched up with a risky three in central defence, Loovens, Mulgrew and Wanyama. Such was the gulf in class between Rangers forward players and Celtic’s defenders that the profit Celtic gained in midfield didn’t have a corresponding debit in defence.
Kris Commons scored his first goal of the season on 31 minutes. Gary Hooper collected on the by-line before playing a square pass into space 25 yards from goal. Commons was first to the ball but feigned forward before pulling back and allowing the ball to pass across his body. This fooled Kyle Bartley into lunging for a tackle in a space Commons never ventured into. The deliciously intelligent move unlocked Rangers defences; Commons was clean through with only the keeper to beat, and boy did he beat him.
With McGregor advancing as though the tax man was chasing him, Commons was the personification of cool, carried the ball until 13 yards out and chipped the goalkeeper.
Although Charlie Mulgrew’s crossing was missed, the addition of Emilio Izaguirre, Commons and Adam Matthews into midfield ensured Celtic were always comfortable and threatening in possession. This allowed Scott Brown and Joe Ledley to dominate the central midfield area. Brown played his best game of the season, putting his body between ball and opponent innumerable times, no matter the odds.
By half time, the only question was, how many?
The record books will show a Kris Commons tackle won the ball off Ross McCabe on 54 minutes before Giorgios Samaras passed to Gary Hooper. Hooper’s shot from the 18 yard line rifled into the top corner to complete the scoring.
I said the record books would show this is how the goal happened but another version of events will say that coordinated singing from Celtic fans spooked an inhibited looking Rangers team.
*In administration.
935 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 18
- 19
- 20
- 21
- 22
- 23
- 24
- 25
- »
I must have left early, but I missed super sally shaking hands with all our players after the game. What do you mean the Sky cameras were not covering the tunnel afterwards.
HH
CRC
Well Neil you did it.
You put them in their place
Good morning Sydney. Did you wake up and think it was all a dream. I thought last weekend was good. Well it just gets better n better. Had a wee nap there for 5 hours, woke up pashed n watched the goals again, that was one hell of a day.
Wearing a syrup when rankers die
Wearing a syrup when rankers die
Wearing a syrup when rankers die
…………….repeat
celticrollercoaster says In Neil we trust on 30 April, 2012 at 00:22 said:
Someone posted earlier the same thing.
To be fare to sally our players done the lap of honour, so I honestly wouldn’t have expected him to stand at the tunnel waiting to shake their hands.
On this charge, i’m afraid, sally is not guilty.
As much as I love Lenny I sometimes dispair at his tactics and team selection. Not so today.
Today was a ‘must win’ and he fielded all the players I would have chosen. My one doubt as always is Broonie- who was excellent. So if today’s selection is an indication of Lenny’s team going forward then I’ll be a very happy man. Add Kayal to the mix and we are looking good to seriously dominate. Makes me want to see the Huns retained in the SPL.. Just love beating them soooo much!
Is Vyle Bartley,lovechild of Kid Creole and Dale Gordon,the worst player Arsene Wenger’s ever signed?He’s got to be hasn’t he?I mean,come on. ;-)
BABASONICOS71 on 30 April, 2012 at 00:28 said:
Is Vyle Bartley,lovechild of Kid Creole and Dale Gordon,the worst player Arsene Wenger’s ever signed?He’s got to be hasn’t he?I mean,come on. ;-)
Francis Jeffers.
What a good waste of the name Francis.
What a great day
Just great being party of the Celtic family
Thanks to all the players and management for helping make today special
To the wonderful Celtic fans and a special mention to the green brigade, superb stuff
Pleased to read so many happy posts, emails, look at loads of pictures, tweets, videos over the past ten hours
thank you for making our day special , champions
Champions 2012 11 points clear with 3 games left (well ok 21 points)
Enjoy your next nap Djbee
Ps its no a dream
Say what you like about Creole but he had some cracking nuts.
Agent Craig “Green and” Whyte!! on 30 April, 2012 at 00:29 said:
BABASONICOS71 on 30 April, 2012 at 00:28 said:
Is Vyle Bartley,lovechild of Kid Creole and Dale Gordon,the worst player Arsene Wenger’s ever signed?He’s got to be hasn’t he?I mean,come on. ;-)
Francis Jeffers.
What a good waste of the name Francis.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Good shout,but at least he looked ‘naw bad’ (obviously not aesthetically) at Everton.Vyle’s only contribution so far has been to kick Celtic players and look like he’d try and sell you a dodgy second hand motor.
Hitting the hay, but before I go.
Old but gold
BABASONICOS71 on 30 April, 2012 at 00:36 said:
That’s why he’s called Dwayne Dibbley…….
HH
Great day , some right good performances from our bhoys . the green brigade fantastic . We must keep our feet on the ground though we are a work in progress , we still have scope for improvement .and we still have europe to aim for . but delighted for all concerned with the celtic family . Having just watched the game again , really angry with sky, that allowed those two dumplings mccann and nicholas to spout what was a stage managed affair,to fly the rangers flag . That wee mccann is no better than mo johnstone, Is there any chance mccann could have been paid through the dodgy system . was that about the same time . just wondering like .
jimtim.
As i had to settle for watching us giving the thems the runaround today on the box i got to hear their nauseating repertoire clear as day.If you shut your eyes at times you could have believed you were watching a game from the 70s.Why oh why would any of us,or any other decent football fan in this country,want them to susrvive?They are a regressive,deluded,dangerous,malevolent force who shame our species nevermind the game.Some creatures should really know when it’s time to shuffle off their mortal coil and this club are mulling about like a buck-shee zombie.They have never served any meaningful purpose and only know hate and anger,violence seeming to be a lifestyle choice.What they spewed into the ether at our ground today was not surprising but still disgusting and out-of-time.If i never see us play them again i could easily deal with that.
And see our second goal today?They could never score a goal like that.So there!
jimtim
mccan fan dan. he sure did
dodgy system dodgy system na na na na na na na
dodhy system dodgy system na na na na na na na
Pay your Bills!
Or is it loans, pay them.
jimtim
McCann and Nicholas are part of the MSM.
McCann used to work for the manky mob and clearly feels unable to speak impartially.
Mr McCann, please read Glenn Gibbons article from yesterday’s Scotsman and grow up.
As for Nicholas, he is a man of little character and even less brains. His chortling with Jim White over the Celtic fans singing “The fields” will never be forgotten. His vocabulary is cringeworth and his analyses bana, but his gormlessness is just what Sky think we want.
Sky Sports: where you only get punted out if you are guilty of racist, bad taste or sexist remarks. (Ron Atkinson, Rodney Marsh, Keys and Gray)
Sectarian jokes are fine apparently.
(OK it was just White and Nicholas sniggering but if it had been at the expense of a black player…)
HH
Don’t think I have posted since Friday night.
The game today seemed to be of so little importance. I expected the usual tight match and a narrow Celtic victory.
Instead I got a on-sided victory and 3 very good goals. Not a bad day at all, today.
I want to say goodnight to CQN and well done to:-
Fraser Foster- loanee 3rd choice Newcastle keeper
Adam Matthews- A Bosman project
Glenn Loovens- An un-needed squad centre half, waste of a couple of million
Victor Wanyama- a cheap punt from a minor Belgian outfit
Charlie Mulgrew- A Bosman who’d failed first time around
Emilio Izzaguire- Cheap buy from an unheralded league
Scott Brown- waste of £4m plus headless chicken who cannot pass
Joe Ledley- Joe anonymous- Bosman cheap signing
Kris Commons- overweight one-season wonder
Giorgios Samaras- Punt him!- worst player to ever wear the hoops.
Gary Hooper- League One level striker who plays too deep
And finally. Well done to Neil Lennon, who apparently has no Plan B, only plays his favourites, makes bizarre selections the terracing expert cannot fathom, corner boy, manager of a team full of bottlers, and short-tempered ginger heid.
I love you all and the season you have just given me.
May you all keep on making the same mistakes next year.
SFTB (well oiled at 1)
Have to say,i thought Shatner’s cracks really missed Clubfoot today.The ‘Scottish Sammer’ ;-) would hve brought some much needed composure and nous to the midfield for them.We really should count our blessings he was absent. ;-)))))))
Pogues – Dingle Regatta
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sz_MhWZOVDA
I’ve not read back so apologies if already discussed but on Talksport they just said the huns have made a complaint about one of their players being racially abused today.Anyone shed any light on this please?
Are they dead yet? Yawn……
setting free the bears on 30 April, 2012 at 00:58 said:
Best feckin post of the day!
sftb
That was genius. magic. What a bunch of dumplings we have.
How they have won any games this year I don’t know.
Useless ra lot of them.
Don’t like to text like a teenager and never have done but.
PMSL lol
Goin for a nap if I can stop laffin.
HH
Tom English: Badly beaten, cruelly goaded Ibrox men endure longest day
Celtic fans display a huge banner before kick-off. Picture: Published on Monday 30 April 2012 00:00
A SHORT while ago, Ally McCoist was speaking about the miserable plight of his club; the debt mountain and the men who created it, the search for a buyer that was dragging on, the embarrassment and the confusion and the fear of what lay ahead.
He said that only one thing was certain about the Rangers story – they were at rock bottom. They couldn’t fall any further. Things, said McCoist, couldn’t get any worse.
As he watched this evisceration you wondered if the Rangers manager was revising his theory about rock bottom. If you have been to a coursing meeting where greyhounds chase a hare around a field in attempt to gobble the thing up, you’ll have an idea what this was like for Rangers people. From first minute to last they were coursed around Parkhead. Chased, harried and beaten badly.
Even before a whistle sounded or a ball was kicked, Celtic were letting their visitors have it. This was expected, of course. Rangers fans didn’t come here expecting love and understanding, didn’t fetch-up in the belief that the locals would go easy. No, no. They knew how it would be. They knew that for 90 minutes they were going to get it between the eyes from their counterparts, their only hope being that their team would deliver something special and give them an opportunity to do some chanting of their own. They chanted all right, but in grim defiance rather than in celebration. To say that this was a chastening day for their support would be putting it mildly.
The Celtic banners. Lord, how many man-woman hours went into dreaming them up? There was a level of genius about some of them, one in particular, a gigantic image of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with Neil Lennon in the saddle on one and Hector the taxman on board another. Your Day Is Coming was the message underneath this footballing Mona Lisa. All around it, people waved black flags and held mock gravestones, each with its own message – The End, Rot In Hell, Scotland’s Shame, Get It Up You. Not subtle, but then subtlety wasn’t in the plan. Down the other end of the stadium another collection of Celts held up signs with the word Goodbye written in a dozen different languages. This was goading on a grand scale. If there was a Champions League for revelling in the misery of others, then Celtic would be Europe’s pre-eminent club.
The game? In many ways it reflected the current state of the clubs. Celtic were organised and confident, Rangers were blunt and became more jaded and demoralised as things went on. Later in the day, McCoist suggested that this might be the last Old Firm game for quite some time, but in the case of many of this Rangers side there can be no dubiety about it. At the end, Kyle Bartley flung his jersey into the visiting supporters. We won’t be seeing him in this fixture again, you fancy. And others. Allan McGregor, Steven Whittaker, Steven Naismith, Steven Davis? The Old Firm game will surely carry on, but you have to think that it will do so without Ibrox’s most stellar names.
As a contest it lasted half an hour, the length of time it took Celtic to score two goals and bury any notion Rangers had of making it three wins out of four in this fixture this season. Celtic were sharp and ruthless and disciplined, all the things they were not at Ibrox the last time these two came face to face. Back then, Sone Aluko set the tone and scored the goal that sent Rangers on their way. Aluko was the spark that ignited Rangers, but here he was a damp squib, an honest tryer right enough, but utterly ineffective. Celtic had a plan for the one guy who makes Rangers tick and it worked beautifully.
Every time Aluko got the ball he was surrounded by hoops. If it wasn’t Victor Wanyama it was Joe Ledley, if it wasn’t Ledley it was Scott Brown. At various times it was two or three of them all at once. At one point, Wanyama robbed him of possession and Aluko threw his hands in the air in frustration. Rangers never got going as an attacking threat because Aluko never got going.
It was a long day for the visitors. Long, long, long. The opening goal came in the 17th minute and like the two that followed it was a picture, a corner by Kris Commons, who is beginning to show again what a fine player he is, nutted home by Charlie Mulgrew. If you’re looking for the poster boy of Celtic’s season then it has to be the centre-half. Mulgrew has been wonderful.
Now the theatre began anew. “Can you hear the Rangers sing?” came bellowing out from the stands. “We’re having a party when Rangers die” followed soon after, a medley that reach its high-point with a joyous serenading of Craig Whyte. “Liquidation, liquidation, na, na-na, na-na,” they sang. In reply, Rangers men sang God Save The Queen and Rule Brittania and eventually We Are The People. Celtic fans applauded them. Their irony was inescapable.
There was no respite for Rangers. Aluko wasn’t doing it for them, Rhys McCabe, so influential in the heart of the midfield at Ibrox last month, was crowded out of it. Lee Wallace, a constant nuisance bombing up and down the left flank in the last Old Firm game in the face of meek resistance from Cha Du-Ri had a different type of competitor to deal with in Adam Matthews.
As Celtic men were winning their individual battles there was a certainty of a second goal – and it came soon enough. It was another clinical thing, a quick-fire sortie created by Gary Hooper and finished by Commons when he drifted into a gap and dinked the ball over the terribly exposed Allan McGregor.
This was the measure of Celtic’s dreams, a title won and now a rubbishing of the argument by some Rangers people that their title of champions was tainted because of the Ibrox club’s travails. No right-minded person will think that now, not with the gap at the top standing at a princely 21 points, not with the pummelling that was completed when McCabe was ransacked by Georgios Samaras, who played in Hooper to thump home a third.
Long before the end, Rangers had a punch-drunk look. They had taken on the appearance of a weary fighter who had suffered too many blows. As Rangers reeled, Celtic bobbed and weaved. The difference in energy was as stark as the gulf in class.
“evisceration” good word although I don’t know what it means Mr T but I will google it after my nap.
evisceration evisceration na na na na na na
evisceration evisc zzzzzzzznmph
Hector-MurdochauldandHay on 30 April, 2012 at 01:17 said:
“The Celtic banners. Lord, how many man-woman hours went into dreaming them up? There was a level of genius about some of them, one in particular, a gigantic image of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse with Neil Lennon in the saddle on one and Hector the taxman on board another. Your Day Is Coming was the message underneath this footballing Mona Lisa. All around it, people waved black flags and held mock gravestones, each with its own message – The End, Rot In Hell, Scotland’s Shame, Get It Up You. Not subtle, but then subtlety wasn’t in the plan. Down the other end of the stadium another collection of Celts held up signs with the word Goodbye written in a dozen different languages. This was goading on a grand scale. If there was a Champions League for revelling in the misery of others, then Celtic would be Europe’s pre-eminent club.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Get It Up You” – I chortled at that.Sometimes the simple ones are the best. ;-)
DJBEE
Sliced and diced = evisceration
HH
RWE
Just watched the game again.Wonderful!
All I can say is that the first 15 minutes were hairy!
According to rumours Mcgregor was the player who was racially abused ???
WTF.
The thing that was most evident to me from today’s game was that Shatner and Whyttaker share the same barbour. ;-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SMsnsOU0as
It was Bartley on twitter that got the racial abuse.
BABASONICOS71 on 30 April, 2012 at 02:33 said:
they sound like the Arctic monkeys…good though!
jock steins celtic on 30 April, 2012 at 02:36 said:
Yeah..from McGregor
Still think we should get rid of lawell.
efter, aw, ive read on here that we wud ave wunra leauge an at if he hd signed fletcher an nat, so must be true.
he just signed that ki to sell jerseys, same wi, izzy, wanyama, kayal, and the rest.
get um oot noooo, i say, and lets sign big good guys fae that sky telly program, premier english league, n at, cos theyre dead brilliant.
signed, part time celtic and footy watcher.
plastic cellic fan
I’m turning in,it’s been a long,sweet day.
The whole team were on song today but i have to single out Big Vic.This ghuy will be awesome.Although he already is.In another life i’d have loved to have seen him box Evander Sno.Wow,that would be worth watching.
Anywho,well done Neil and the bhoys.They’re naw the people.
G’night fholks.
A message from The Monkees to the monkeys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kk3btFwivtE
FOREVERANDEVER!!!
BABASONICOS71 on 30 April, 2012 at 02:41 said:
Heh I was in San Antonio for the first time ever last weekend. San Antonio Texas as in Taxes Rangers. Coincidence? I dont think so!! I was down on their famous Mexican style riverbank and I saw someone with a Celtic top on. He was about 12 and I shouted “Come on the Hoops”. He responded similarly. His parents were initially shocked then after some hesitation that involved discussing with their son as to what the hell was going on I opened my jacket. Needless to say that the parents ushered the screaming 12 year old out of harms way whith some smiles directed in my direction while the jive talking ferner was shouting things like “Just cant get enough” which in retrospect you can understand some uneducated parents concerns!!. Funny as $%^$^!!
Anyway it was a good omen and funny as hell. No one else understood except me and the anonymous 12 year old who I never managed to talk to.
ah Such is life!
Maragaret,
A while back i was in Greenock,Scotland,in the famous Oak Mal??? and a young bunch of rascals about 13/14,some wearing rANGERs tops,were heard to yell “feenyin b*****ds.”
Just doesn’t have the same romance as your experience,does it?
Ah well,young huns,what can you do?
Last tune and goodnight.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLKL6iUFSQQ&ob=av2e
Apologies,that should have read Margaret,of course and not Maragaret which sounds like a Brazilian,football-stadium themed smoke.
We done them…we done them proper.
HH