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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Hopefully next season we can reclaim the league,but as someone mentioned it’s about time money was spent on the stadium,Barrowfield,Catering Facilities,more money on development of young football players were Barrowfield would be there base,I Know it costs a lot of money ,but when you think what Peter Lawwell and co have picked up,there is no shortness of money at Celtic.
Re Seaspiracy
Yep, they got a few things wrong but the underlying facts were pretty sound. George Monbiot mentioned a few of them.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/apr/07/seaspiracy-earth-oceans-destruction-industrial-fishing
To disregard it completely puts you in the same boat as the climate deniers – ie morons who also probably voted for brexit.
FRANKTERRY on 20TH APRIL 2021 10:04 AM
George Monbiot is always a well resourced independent journalistic source
Supertrawlers and the damage
Supertrawlers ‘making a mockery’ of UK’s protected seas …https://www.theguardian.com › environment › jun › su…
11 Jun 2020 — Supertrawlers spent almost 3,000 hours fishing in UK marine … but these only ban some of the most damaging activities in some locations.
Celtic FC PLC Board statement soon………
Everton is saddened and disappointed to see proposals of a breakaway league pushed forward by six clubs.
Six clubs acting entirely in their own interests.
Six clubs tarnishing the reputation of our league and the game.
Six clubs choosing to disrespect every other club with whom they sit around the Premier League table.
Six clubs taking for granted and even betraying the majority of football supporters across our country and beyond.
At this time of national and international crisis – and a defining period for our game – clubs should be working together collaboratively with the ideals of our game and its supporters uppermost.
Instead, these clubs have been secretly conspiring to break away from a football pyramid that has served them so well.
And in that Pyramid Everton salutes EVERY club, be it Leicester City, Accrington Stanley, Gillingham, Lincoln City, Morecambe, Southend United, Notts County and the rest who have, with their very being, enriched the lives of their supporters throughout the game’s history. And vice versa.
The self-proclaimed Super Six appear intent on disenfranchising supporters across the game – including their own – by putting the very structure that underpins the game we love under threat.
The backlash is understandable and deserved – and has to be listened to.
This preposterous arrogance is not wanted anywhere in football outside of the clubs that have drafted this plan.
On behalf of everyone associated with Everton, we respectfully ask that the proposals are immediately withdrawn and that the private meetings and subversive practises that have brought our beautiful game to possibly its lowest ever position in terms of trust end now.
Finally we would ask the owners, chairmen, and Board members of the six clubs to remember the privileged position they hold – not only as custodians of their clubs but also custodians of the game. The responsibility they carry should be taken seriously.
We urge them all to consider what they wish their legacy to be.
Everton FC Board of Directors
LIONROARS67 on 20TH APRIL 2021 10:09 AM
👍
This guy Chris writes almost as well as his namesake, Billy!
And the sentiment about bringing the club together is one worth paying attention for Celtic suits, at the mo…
‘When I walked back into Bramall Lane, in May 2016, having been given the chance to manage the Club I’d supported all my life, who could have predicted the next four-and-a-half years? It has been some journey and one I’m immensely proud of.
It was an opportunity I couldn’t resist and one that I couldn’t wait to get started. My story with Sheffield United was well-documented, as a fan, ballboy and player in two spells, but my managerial record to then was recognised and I was appointed on merit.
I spoke to a lot of people, canvassed plenty of opinion and set about reconnecting the Club and supporters at the same time as attempting to build a squad that could climb out of the doldrums of League One. Both of those goals were achieved.
Admittedly, it wasn’t the start that everyone wanted but with Billy Sharp as captain and with the backing of the punters on the terraces, slowly but surely we went about our business, taking the rough with the smooth and staying humble as we began to build momentum that would take us to the heights of the Premier League and a highest ever finish in the modern era.
Along the way there were so many achievements and moments to be remembered. In no particular order, important victories at Hillsborough, Elland Road and Old Trafford, collecting a record 100 points, open top bus parades, town hall receptions, thousands of fans welcoming us back to the Lane after fixtures at Northampton and Stoke and, of course, making sure we celebrated the successes because, as Blades fans well know, it’s either feast or famine. We were in good form when Covid hit last year and who knows how far we could have gone, you could not avoid the talk of possible European football – hopefully that kept a few Unitedites going in a tough period.
Throughout the journey, it has been a team effort and I must point out that the commitment, hard work and talent of a number of people have been major contributory factors to the success of Sheffield United in recent years – there’s too many to mention but Billy and the players, Alan Knill and the staff, and my wife, Francesca, and all the family, have been heavily influential.
I have to mention the supporters at this point, too, because they have also been a driving force of the whole operation, many of whom I’ve stood side by side with on the terraces, home and away.
As proved this season, football is just not the same without fans and I stand by the comment that I’ve made on numerous occasions, the Club have missed out more than most, Unitedites have the ability to turn losses into draws and draws into wins. I cannot stress enough how important the fans are and I’ve been humbled by the unequivocal support, even this season when things haven’t gone so well.
Additionally, since leaving Sheffield United I’ve received numerous messages of support from within the game and I’m appreciative of that. Now, before deciding what’s next, I’m enjoying a period of reflection at home in a city that I love and that I’m incredibly proud to live in, Sheffield is the home of football, it is dominated by the sport and we wouldn’t have it any other way.
I’ll miss the feeling of a packed Bramall Lane, to me it was one of the greatest atmospheres in football but I would say that, I lived the dream of every Blades fan and I hope every one of them understands that I tried to represent them correctly in ‘giving them their club back’, a phrase that has been said to me quite a few times. And one I verbally believe we did!
I would like to wish everyone associated with the football club & the owners the very best in the future. This Football Club will always hold a special place in my heart, it has from an early age and that will never change.
Thanks again for everything.”
UTB
Chris
From Nick Harris Twitter
Billionaires gamble with the club its only money
SO many things wrong with the ESL, it’s obvious. But sticking purely to numbers: it doesn’t even stack up & the 6 English clubs who embarrassed themselves so cringingly with statements on Sun should ask J Glazer to explain the back of his fag packet. 1/n
This fabled €3.5bn pile of cash that’s going to be divided by the 15 cartel clubs, for a £202m sweetener on day one. A) Do you think it’s coming from a magic unicorn? B) Or are you, as owners of ESL, just lending yourselves this?
Clue: it’s not A. 2/n
Maybe you think JP Morgan are ‘gifting’ you the €3.5bn, gratis, and you won’t need to pay it back in the future. In which case maybe you believe in unicorns after all.
So what about tournament revenues?
Champions League, according to the latest official financial data, brings UEFA €3.3bn in revs annually, of which €2.4bn comes from media / broadcasting. Joel Glazer’s numbers say the ESL will have revenues of €5bn.
Broadcasting will HAVE to drive it.
4/n
So, ESL: where is the broadcaster or collective of broadcasters who will commit to perhaps €12bn for initial three-year contracts to show your product that might well be massively boycotted? That’s one hell of a gamble. Any answer?
5/n
Statement by Rangers FC
Rangers FC are perplexed and saddened that we have not been invited to join the proposed
Super League
We simply cannot understand why a club that has won its championship 55 times since our formation in 2012 were not considered for membership of the new Super League, and we wish to register our disgust in the strongest most dignified, staunch manner.
Re the new super league. I do not approve of it at all but UEFA ‘ s display of hypocrisy is breathtaking. It lashes out at the damage that will be done to football and yet still does not truly recognise the corruption that has permeated this institution for years.
It has done, in my opinion, vast amounts of damage to the current European football set up.
Are they concerned for the future of football or the prospect of their ivory tower collapsing ?
Hail Hail
Stay Safe
BOURNESOUPRECIPE – it’s a papist conspiracy for sure. Barcelona, Madrid, Juventus – just look at it.
King and Parks looking at setting up an alternative SSL – Super Staunch League. Free Castore kit and coach hire discount for all members.
LIONROARS67 on 20TH APRIL 2021 10:09 AM
FRANKTERRY on 20TH APRIL 2021 10:04 AM
George Monbiot is always a well resourced independent journalistic source
###
He’s a vegan. He’s against fishing, all fishing, on principle.
So he’s not independent.
You can bet your bottom dollar if the yanks are in charge of ESL(JP Morgan) it will be be a totally different ball game…advertisements will rule the roost just as in U.S t.v sports.Maybe we’l unfortunately see the match split into quarters.bollocks
LIONROARS67 on 20TH APRIL 2021 10:32 AM
Its not a gift, its an advance against future revenues.
The italian and Spanish clubs need big money now to make up for the losses over the last year and help them service the huge debts they have. Four of the english clubs are out of the cl places at the moment. Nobody knows what next season will look like.
The ESL offers them a quick, relatively risk free solution.
The big clubs have long wanted to negotiate the rights themselves. They dont believe Uefa get good value for them. The old broadcast rights model is nearly obsolete, the way football is monetised will change, streaming, subscriptions, social media. The new league allows for a lot more of the sort of games that will get people watching more, and spend less time watching the pesky domestic leagues.
A quick google search for the owners of ac milan shows what uefa are up against.
ERNIE LYNCH on 20TH APRIL 2021 11:03 AM
You mean he’s not as independent as the majority of media companies that have taken money from oil companies/big pharma/the fishing industry etc etc?
I’m not a vegan but it’s laughable to talk about ‘vegan propaganda’ without recognising that t 99% of our media sources are affected by much more malevolent lobbying.
I’m going to hazard a guess Ernie, you’re either a climate denier or someone who doesn’t see it as a particularly important issue? Am I right?
Cant believe there us still no info or update on how the search?? for our new manager is coming/not coming along.Total disregard for the fans
Caddingtoncommon
I would add the EPL to the hypocrites as well as some of the pundits who have benefited from the cosy arrangements.
So the Quadruple treble meant nothing
Winning the Scottish cup this (just in case we did) would have meant nothing
The ‘Invincibles’ meant nothing
Notice – no abuse – just observations
.
Embdy found a way to block the ‘disable your adblocker’ message yet – very bliddy annoying
Heres a Novel idea….
ALL those Players who are BIG Earners at their clubs who are a part of ” the Big Six” who wish to join this Super League, those Players who are AGAINST the whole idea and unhappy with their Clubs for wishing to be part of the Breakaway Six, should simply ” DOWN TOOLS and or Request to be placed on the Transfer List….and ONLY to be sold to a Club that is NOT one of the Big Six in England.
This would mean that THOSE Players would probably have to take a Wage Cut if Transferred to another Club outwith the Big Six. The Big Six Clubs MAY decide to punish any player who simply ” Downs Tools in protest by reducing and/or suspending their wages et ?
Also…IF the Majority of those BIG Earning Players who are employed by ANY of ” The Big Six” would therefore be DENYING their Clubs their ” Services”, for any Super League Matches…so the clubs would NOT be able to showcase/play their so called BETTER Players, and that in turn would automatically undermine the concept of a ” Super League”….IF English clubs are FORCED to play so called ” LESSER” Players every week ?
I know the above scenario is highly unlikely, but IF those BIG Earners at English Clubs REALLY are unhappy with the actions of their own Clubs…then they SHOULD be seen to be making a strong stand against their Clubs…and NOT just Mouthing off about being unhappy about their clubs part in all of it ?
Will the above happen….probably NOT ?
HH.
new article posted.
Gene at 1209
Agree absolutely.
1.6 million £s to Lineker to host a show which, because of Sky and BT sport, we already know the outcomes. Btw, it’s taxpayers money.
Hail Hail
Stay Safe
I received a Citation for jury service next Month.
Due to my poor Health etc, I can NOT possibly attend any Court duty, and I am trying to get a Letter from my GP in the next few days to have me Excused. Ive been Excused in the past due to my Health.
however, I would LOVE to be part of a Jury, and in the Dock is some Hun Bassa who has assaulted a Celtic supporter etc…I would find him/her Guilty…NO Problem and then send The CHUMP down for at least 20 years if I could !
Maybe some nice Tim on here can take my place in the Jury and IF it was a case of a Hun acting like an animal etc…then YOU could find him/her Guilty etc in MY Absence ?
IF only ?,,,,,,,
HH.
Big Jimmy
Not sure that’s how juries are supposed to work!!
PS
i get confused about juries I watched 12 angry men but my mate said it was the four men of the jury who give the verdict………
:/