The Newco team who knocked us out of the Scottish Cup yesterday were barely competitive, which shows just how straightforward Celtic are to beat. Ryan Kent sold Scott Brown then Stephen Welsh to create the chance that led to the opening goal. The defensive disorganisation at the second goal was a collective failure on the part of Diego Laxalt, Kristoffer Ajer and Jonjoe Kenny, although the latter was least culpable. For a critical period in the middle of the first half, we were not compact enough to halt Newco on their occasional forward runs, which cost us the game.
John Kennedy’s big call was giving Laxalt the left back role. It was a mistake, rectified at halftime by the arrival of Greg Taylor, who made a goal-saving tackle. Greg is not going to threaten the two incumbent Scotland left backs, but he gives all he has for the jersey. Diego is one of many who will take their last stagecoach out of town next month.
Our 0-2 defeat at Celtic Park earlier this season, when we failed to register an attempt on target, was definitely the most inept performance of the decade. By contrast, we created enough high value chances to win two games yesterday. The Welsh and Ajer double chance, the Elyounoussi and Edouard double chance, the Elyounoussi chance when Edouard put him clean through and the penalty. These and more were all passed up. Did any of us celebrate the penalty award with expectation of a goal? Not in my house. The lack of confidence was palpable.
Chris Sutton reckons Odsonne Edouard looks “almost like he’s not interested” – and having watched Chris walk around the field after Celtic lost possession in his last two seasons in Glasgow, I’m prepared to believe he knows when a player is not interested.
Odsonne has been wanted by Leicester for a year, his languid appearance perhaps a final sting in the tail of February 2019. He could be in for a shock. Since the Leaving of Liverpool, Brendan Rodgers has coveted the now-available Tottenham job above all others. There may well be a new sheriff in town at the King Power when the transfer window opens.
Compare and contrast the sheer effort from Leigh Griffiths. Give me a man with something to prove every day of the week. Leigh won the penalty because he was playing on his toes. His chest and volley effort was a low percentage chance but the agility he showed is a lesson to the rest of the squad.
More on the consequences of England’s managerial merry-go-round on Celtic later in the week, and we will pick up on the breakaway European Super League proposal. Today is only about a fifth successive Scottish Cup win evading Celtic; we just did not deserve it.
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Not so happy Monday from Louisville during horsey week.
Griff tried to take the spot kick from Eddie, just saying.
Jose Mourinho canned.
Super League coming?
Full squad needed.
HH. Still a Tim.
Harrumph.
Notwithstanding everything else – I’m really looking forward to next season!
HH
BGFC
Still a Tim n’ aw!
Paul67
I’d drive Eddy to the airport myself
Who’d have thunk it CSC
From the previous thread…..
ROLLING_STONE on 19TH APRIL 2021 11:19 AM
If Dave King had been in charge of us this season, he’d have struggled to better our current predicament, such is the complete incompetence of PL and the Board
—
Respectfully disagree.
King’s played blinder. He and his muckers played by the rules as they (don’t) apply to sevco; spent a medium amount of monies they don’t have and prodded to Celtic edifice that turned out to be merengue rather than fortress.
HH jg
Jamesgang:
“‘Monies back’ rather than ‘add ons’ would be more appropriate!”
I needed a wee laugh this morning and you provided ! Thank you.
Hope all is well.
J
The super league development and Jose’s sacking are the start of a scramble for the top mngnt talent. 20 teams will want the best coaching teams going, money no object. Arsenal and Man Utd will surely now be looking for better managers. Rodgers could be a favourite for one of the gigs. Benitez will be in the mix too.
Which may mean the likes of Leicester looking at Howe and Gerard – not to mention Newcastle and the other perennial underachievers. Whatever we think of him, Gerard is a media superstar in England and now a successful trophy-winning manager with a good record in Europe.
He and his staff will fit the profile that many clubs are looking for. Why would he stay at Ibrox? It will not make him any more marketable than he is now.
So do you think Paul that now we are in April that Griffiths is finally fit.
What joke
I think the blog would be far better served where P67 to devote as much corporate analysis to Celtic as he does the newco.
Telling us we didn’t deserve to win yesterday isn’t very insightful.
Deniabhoy
I have nothing to really support this but I feel Gerrard is just a figurehead at Ibrox and none of the Big teams in England would be interested .
To put ir another way, If i were to be told that Gerrard was coming to us, I wouldn`t be feeling a sense of optimistic relief :-)
Gerrard will be on the mobi to Brendan
“when is the right time to grab another job gaffer”
I am still to angry to comment….
MARADOMINIC (from prev)
‘are these assets? or a drain on wages?’ you ask to the list of players I said could still come good for us under the right coach ?
I don’t have a totally neg take on these players at all. I don’t even damn these players by yesterday’s blunders.
I just happen to believe their pedigree makes them rehab-able, which is just one fan’s view, is all.
SHORTGLASSHALFFULLCSC
Exactly the blog I expected. Well done
‘Greg is not going to threaten the two incumbent Scotland left backs, but he gives all he has for the jersey’.
Agree 100%.
He’s also a perfect metaphor for how far standards have fallen.
Griffiths – are we talking about the same player who’s been unable to get himself fit for 2 or 3 seasons? The one who got the ball rolling on this shit-show of a season and was left behind when the squad went to France for a pre-season tournament?
That Leigh Griffiths?
Starting pistol fired on the English managerial merry-go-round.
Eddie Howe will slot in somewhere.
Hottie Smokie
All good my friend. As we speak, quickly pacing my daily steps with a Dunblane sun on my back and Perthshire breeze in my lungs.
Being thankful my Dad got to see myself and the kids for the first time in well over a year.
And channeling my inner zen, a la St Francis and Auldheid, by trying to focus on the things I can change.
(While all the while being totally PO’d about the fitba!£
Hope you’re well
HH jg
JAMESGANG on 19TH APRIL 2021 12:12 PM
To clarify, my reference to Dave King is to highlight that a Sevco man running Celtic would have struggled to do the damage done this season, as achieved by our masters of the universe; such is the incompetent in the boardroom.
King has been shrewd and his prediction about a house of cards has proved prescient.
We barely deserved the fourth one, Paul.
It’s-Definitely-Not-Rangers won the game comfortably.
The goals were awful. Welsh looked like he had been watching Simunovic DVDs the way he came charging out and ending up wrong side of the ball. Davis looked like the invisible man the way he got ahead of Brown and Kenny.
As for Laxalt? Oh dear.
But this is what happens when you slap yourselves on the back for winning leagues ahead of teams managed by the likes of Stuart McCall, Derek McInnes and Pedro Caixinha while your European failures go on and on and on…..
But hey, we’ve got the old firm back and the massive big rivalry. What more could you really want!
As poor as Eddy was yesterday, he will still be one of those in the running for player of the season (not that it means much) come year end, together with Turnbull and Ajer.
I find it unbelievable that Paul is pointing to LG as some sort of example. A guy now reduced to 20 min cameos who couldn’t even been bothered to be fit for our 10IAR season.
LG should be a stick on for shipping out at the end of this year; his lack of professionalism is emblematic of the malaise permeating the club.
Rolling Stone
Gotcha. Agree – totally.
Sorry for my misunderstanding – I’m hard of thinking!
HH jg
“PETERLATCHFORDSBELLY on 19TH APRIL 2021 12:25 PM
Exactly the blog I expected. Well done”
A mixed bag? Positive? Negative?
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We wish to confirm that we will not be taking part in any European Super League.
Also, why is Broony starting when he is weeks away from semi- retirement at Aberdeen?
There are a mountain of statistics showing we perform better with Sorro. Why have we benched him? Are we intent of destroying the confidence/goodwill of the players that will be here next season?
But, but, this is our trophy Paul…….
Maybe if Rodgers goes to Tottenham, Leicester will replace him with Neil Lennon? Hey, it’s been done…….
I am quite strongly of the opinion that results almost entirely determine the response of many, many supporters as regards the performance.
Had we taken our chances yesterday ( and Sevco had taken theirs), we would have won comfortably. I believe that scenario would have led to many positive responses even if everything else in the game was exactly as it was.
I totally accept that failing to convert these chances is indicative of a deeper malaise but goals alone is not an accurate barometer for assessing performance.
SAINT STIVS on 19TH APRIL 2021 12:36 PM
Excellent :-))))
Unfit players like Griffiths and Rogic set a bad example. They must go. We need a few experienced players with a winning mentality and hungry young players. Dortmund play a 17 year-old signed from Birmingham in the CL. We send Luca Connell, now 20, who also played in the English Championship, to play in a pub league.
Rolling_Stone
Sadly, yesterday has to be Scott Brown’s last game for us.
There is no reason to play him in the remainder of our games.
He did not deserve this season to be his last at the club or
that game to be his last.
Sadly he has been surrounded by players who show a fraction
of his commitment.
Roling Stone @ 12.37
Yes, it’s a mystery why Soro isn’t selected. Against Lille he was an excellent defensive midfielder but also made lots of good forward runs. When he came on as a sub against Falkirk, with the game already won, he just passed the ball sideways to Scott Brown – presumably that was what he was instructed to do.
@HOT SMOKED on 19TH APRIL 2021 12:41 PM
Sevco had a comfortable lead by the time we started making chances. Had they needed to, they likely could have gone through the gears.
We are so easy to beat now that they don’t even need to properly turn up to win.
The one game they absolutely trounced us in terms of performance, they lost (LC Final). But you had a lot on this blog unconcerned by our performance that day, based solely on a lucky result.
He even knows the city……
At last , some good news , just been informed we can pay £12.99 to watch our game on wednesday evening . the good news just keeps on coming .
respect
Soro the latest to be elevated way beyond what his contribution so far would suggest.
Wouldn’t have mad e blind bit of difference to the schoolboy efforts at Goal. The Welsh “clearance ” was the stand out
We had the chances to win comfortably with the players selected, we fluffed them all
Hot Smoked at 12:41
I get your point, however we didn’t take our chances.
Additionally, i posted our entire head to head v sevco on the previous thread (top of page 17 I think) so this isn’t just a one off. Few of us can be genuinely surprised with the result yesterday.
I agree that goals alone aren’t the sole barometer. Trophies won give a longer, broader view.
Sadly, we’re not doing too well on that front either this season!
HS @12.41
I hear you but…!…define ‘performance’
It’s a smoke sport, hence its global appeal. Put the ba in the pokey more than they do. The remainder is visual aesthetics. Like all art, nice to have, but doesn’t of itself sustain (football) life.
So with the ball, we were easy on the eye for a few fleeting moments but ultimately achieved nothing. In counteracting our opponents, we failed twice in the 90 mins and totally over the season.
HH jg
Hot Smoked – I kind of thought that too about Gerard. But he is box office in England and he would take his coaches with him if they are crucial to his success.
The current generation of players down there respect him, look up to him. He’s young enough to make mistakes, learn from them and grow. He went to Ibrox having never managed a team before, and has now overseen the downfall of a Celtic team that were on a different planet when he arrived.
That is what the English media see. They are not interested in how, in reality, we masterminded our own downfall. They see a rangers team bossing the quadruple treble winners and having two very good Europa League runs.
Would I want him as our manager? Hell no. Will I be glad if he ups sticks and heads South? Hell yes.
He and his staff have indeed made a silk purse from a sow’s ear.
Could The Ibrox Board, minus King, be so lucky twice?