The most frustrating thing about last night’s meek exist from the Europa League is just how self-inflicted it was. After previous European defeats I criticised Brendan Rodgers tactics, but no tactics in the world will help a team which cannot defend a corner kick or stop a shot from 24 yards into the middle of the goal.
I saw the Hamilton Accies keeper recently concede a similar goal to the second Dorus de Vries failed to keep out of the net last night. At any level of the game, it was an unforgiveable error. For years Celtic were imperious at defending corner kicks. Now, also for years, it has been a persistent weakness.
Celtic have been far too weak at the back this season – not just in Europe. After the game Brendan suggested we lacked the experience necessary to play in such environments – certainly one of our issues. Hopefully the addition of Marvin Compper will bring sufficient authority to allow our youthful defenders to progress.
By contrast, Zenit were a study in the art of defence, even at home against a team from Scotland. We were unable to land a glove on them until the contest was effectively over. Substitutes Tom Rogic and Scott Sinclair both made things happen, but it is difficult to isolate their effect from Zenit’s own tiredness.
This was a European tie which got away. Sure, Zenit are better resourced than us, but on the showing over both legs, I’m not convinced they are significantly better than Anderlecht – who played us off Celtic Park but had their own troubles when we visited Belgium in September.
Lots of excuses, Celtic, but we really should have done better.
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Just a thought is history about to repeat itself in Brendan Rodgers case
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/football/teams/liverpool/12107245/Liverpool-transfer-committees-lack-of-transparency-revealed-by-former-Anfield-manager-Brendan-Rodgers.html
C’mon Clogher! Sevco can’t be ‘back’ to a place they’d never been, and, as for ‘winning’ 55, they can only do that in the fantasy world that is the SPFL official website, approved by the SMSM, and Sevco, of course!
Unfortunately, Celtic and the other clubs don’t seem to have a problem with it either. Ask Celtic why, they won’t tell you, even with the final EBT decision having been made.
DAVID17
ETims diary comment is ridiculous. Toys out the prom, dummies being spat etc etc
JUNGLE VIP
I thought James was going to be the game changer last night, he started well and had the better of their full back but as you say he didn’t press on with this, fair enough he got a few heavy tackles but in Europe to succeed you need to get over that.
Look at wee Messi:))
HEBCELT.
Package arrived intact. 46%, will go down a treat.Thanks. see you soon.
Celtic were easily played off the park last….by themselves.
Defending starts at the top of the park – itcwas flacid.
It ends in and around your box – it was schoolboyish.
One of the sorest points for me was the post match interview with Mancini. ‘Do you think you deserved to win?’ asked the BT bod offering the easiest dolly of a question to hit for a home run.
People’s initial split second reactions often give them away. Mancini’s was a really toon of contempt allied to ‘yerhavinalaffright??’
To be fair he recovered his diplomatic composure in his reply.
I can accept it would take a miracle for us to win the CL.
I can accept that winning the Europa League would be a bigger task than 67.
I can accept that the superpowers can reject 5 off us.
I can accept being beaten by better resources teams like Zenith if we give our all and come up short.
I can accept that progress wont always be linear.
But I will call out that last night we were gutless and incompetent.
And that our play across this season has been a shadow of last. And that WITS would have support for his ‘Ronny out’ campaign if RD was overseeing this quality and style of Football.
HH jamesgang
TIMOMOUSE
Good article, agree with most but can’t agree with your opinion of Ntcham. When he plays, we play.
Paul67
Agree with your take on it. I didn’t see a disastrous performance last night, we were never overwhelmed, and they didn’t have a lot of chances, but very basic defensive errors cost us more than anything, which unfortunately is down to ability more than anything else.
Brendan takes much of the blame as well, our tactics made it easy for a team who were short on fitness and sharpness. Meek and naive is about right
VFR
Your word of the day features in a favourite lyric of mine. The Rutles’ “Another Day has the wonderful, rhyming –
“You’re so pusilannemous, oh yeah,
Nature’s calling and I mus’ go there”
Away for a hopefully dug-free walk. Could be a Sevconian or two in the area, but last night won’t get mentioned, incase I inquire about how they feel about their own Progrês, or if they are looking forward, like Murty, to maybe winning their first major trophy soon.
Weather, health, holiday plans, price of a pint, anything but fitba’!
http://www.footballwhispers.com/blog/celtic-must-put-money-where-mouth-is
All we ask is for our players to play fearlessly to their full potential.
When they fail to do that it’s down to the players and our management team.
HH.
Hopefully BR now pick his strongest available eleven for the remainder of the season (if he knows what it is). Available is the key word, too many injuries taking too long to clear up. Compper was 3-4 weeks 6 weeks ago, likewise Armstrong. Roberts was targeting return in cup tie v Thistle, no sign. All has gone quiet on Griffiths.
Our best domestic performance since the break was Hearts at home. We played two up front with one off,four across the middle and a back three. Get back to that on Sunday, Edouard and Dembélé with Musonda or Rogic behind them. Forrest and Tierney wing backs, Brown and Ntcham sitting. Hendry, Simunovic, Ajer at the back with Bain in goals (i’d play Musonda in goals before DeVries)
Bain
Hendry Simunovic Ajer
Forrest Brown Ntcham Tierney
Musonda/Rogic
Dembélé Edouard
Aberdeen are without their two best players, Christie and Shinnie.
Beatbhoy,
The whole thing is just about as ridiculous as Vince McMahon of the WWE. No doubt Mr Lawwell’s tip for the top job Neil Doncaster will put it right, lol.
At least we have a Manager of the National Team with impeccable credentials.
BMCUWP’s,
Yep he was told that the training was at Castle Greyskull (or that’s what he told me, when he realised his perch in the Standing Zone, was at risk, due to work commitments :)
Navan Bhoy,
You are doing a great job for your mate. I was delighted to read earlier that Mick has had a visit from the local CSC, in Australia.
Till Later,
HH
G67
Best performance also involved
a) getting ******* in amongst the minis and winning the midfield
b) passing the ball into SPACE for the man to run onto to create some dynamism in the move.
HH jamesgang
If we are bemoaning the lack of experience why sign a guy that is ineligible and Hendry that has no top level experience? Hope Paddy comes through the game OK today, one player in the squad that can make the killer pass and been a huge miss this season.
To all the Moaning Minnie’s out there, accept we got beat, we are not invincible, we will lose games sometime.
I’m proud that we were playing against the big money boys,but I wasn’t too hopeful of a result last night,It would have been great if we were successful but accept that we are in a different League all together, and I’m talking about financial League, we will never compete with the big boys until the system changes.
JAMESGANG
Edouard’s opening goal was a long ball to Moussa on halfway line, control and pass inside and he ran through from about 40 yards. Hearts had pushed forward trying to press, expecting us to fanny about at the back like we usually do but one long accurate pass took out their whole midfield.
Traditionalist biscuit tin excuse matric’s numpty.
You’re funny.
MWD sarcastically measuring myself on replies to posts. Gees a like or a recqn
To those thinking we are having a difficult season, have a look at Jim Craig’s book where the season after Lisbon unfolds in stuttering play, early exit from Europe and dropped points in the league, but eventual success. Our players created history last season. This season was likely to be less good, as opposed to bad.
Moonbam Wet Pants
Actually the point was about the lack of reaction to your sarcy p1sh and how that doesnt seem to register with you – its very clear to all that your post rate is not linked to the number of people who like them, otherwise… yep, about 90% of them wouldn’t see the light of day! Or something in that ballpark.
GARY67 on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 12:25 PM
JAMESGANG
Edouard’s opening goal was a long ball to Moussa on halfway line, control and pass inside and he ran through from about 40 yards. Hearts had pushed forward trying to press, expecting us to fanny about at the back like we usually do but one long accurate pass took out their whole midfield.
——-
That goal could only happen with two strikers on the pitch.
If we are to continually quote finance and resources, the same logic would determine that we should never lose a game in Scotland.
Footie doesn’t always pan out that way.
A big hail hail to all on here.
G67 – exactly!
MWD – I am one of your many ‘creepy acolytes’
Oldtim – but old wise yin we so underperformed last night didn’t we? PS one of Roo’s teammates scored direct from a corner on Wednesday and I thought of you and the day you became a Tim! Awrabest!
Must fly
HH jamesgang
MOONBEAMSWD
Careful,old bean. Your in danger of crossing into the dreaded “entitlement” territory there.
A short step from being called a hun,like DAVID17 last night.
Greenpinata (12:13pm): “All we ask is for our players to play fearlessly to their full potential. When they fail to do that it’s down to the players and our management team.”
Perhaps the problem is that our players did play to their full potential, and the problem is that we can only afford and attract players whose potential is thus limited.
To progress to the latter stages of European competition requires players with greater potential (and realised) ability than we currently have at our disposal, but we have to accept the unfortunate reality that we will never be able to attract significantly better players as long as we play in a league that is so under-resourced and insignificant in a European and global context. Even if we were as well resourced as Man City, no truly top player would come to play in the SPL, even in return for EPL level wages, to play against the teams that we do and in the “stadia” that they play in.
The only way to achieve a long term shift in our European success levels is for the whole Scottish set-up to achieve financial and competitive parity with such as the Russian League, and that, sadly, is unlikely ever to happen.
I referred earlier to two posts on E-Tims,both highly critical. One of which I largely agreed with,but I had problems agreeing much wi the first one.
The second one vanished quicker than snaw aff a dyke,or insert post-Christmas joke here.
So it’s been rehashed. Worth a look,I reckon.
http://etims.net/?p=12549
Yeahhhhh
Likes, reqns and replies.
MWD
BIGCHIPS
I disagree,nae surprise.
I posted on here a long time ago-about 7 or 8 years-that I could understand the board strategy of buy cheap because of where we are,but that the attraction of CL games still made us attractive to a young and ambitious player.
And rich neighbours.
So we sign for 2,sell for 7,buy for 4,sell for 12,buy for 8,sell for 15
Etc,etc,etc.
This was long before Moneyball got mentioned on here.
A total lack of ambition,no impetus to take the next step,too risk-averse.
There are NO positives to be taken from this season when compared to last,IMO. One great result away to a dreadful Anderlecht gave us a great night last week,aye,but this year has seen us searching for our mojo when last summer should have seen us showing ambition and aspiration.
The league is now a priority,and wi mibbery back its no guarantee.
DBHOY on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 10:37 AM
Having read Soccernomics I’m convinced that people have crunched the numbers and decided that zonal marking works more often than man marking. Why would so many teams persist with something so unpopular with the fans and that makes you look so foolish when it goes wrong? For this goal the scorer peeled off his man marker and no one else tried to pick him up. They stuck with their own target. If they had a zone, then Zenit could zip about all they liked. A defender would have been in a position to challenge for the ball.
Rogic has rejected a new deal according to Australian media.
Dbhoy (10:20am): “Obviously disappointed with the result/performance but the show goes on. What’s that old saying about statistics…”
Against Zenit St. P (away) Celtic had 67% possession to their 33% and 9 shots at goal to their 11. Celtic had 1 corner to Zenit’s 4 and conceded 13 fouls.
We lost 0-3.
Against Anderlecht (away) Celtic had 63% possession to their 37% and 9 shots at goal to their 11. Celtic had 1 corner to Anderlecht’s 3 and conceded 13 fouls.
Celtic won 3-0.
The parallels are uncanny but the outcomes were poles apart!
The main difference was in the quality of the respective opposition defending and the quality, imagination and variability of our attacking play.
Against Anderlecht we fielded Griffiths, Sinclair, Roberts and Rogic (from the start). Against Zenit we went with Dembele, Ntcham, Forrest and Kouassi, and looked devoid of pace, movement, imagination and penetration in attack. This allowed Zenit to dictate the game, hold their shape, conserve their energy and play to their strengths in a way that they couldn’t do in Glasgow. And ultimately we paid the price.
So we now return home, tails between our legs, to endure a media slagging frenzy… and to concentrate on sealing the first ever Scottish back to back treble!
BringItOnCSC.
!BADABING!
The physios will be worried at that news. May be some downsizing required!
We’ve been here before many times, the fall out from another Euro disappointment. There are big challenges ahead in that respect but the only way to deal with that is by procuring new players and looking at how we can do things differently. That starts now in the background and goes into full swing in the summer.
The best way to deal with it in the short term is with a big reaction. The next 3 League games will define how easy or hard we are going to make things for ourselves. Whatever tactics and whatever style Brendan has in mind for Sunday, it’s about going back to basics, we work our socks off and give everything for the cause and we don’t leave there without the 3 points. Everyone is looking at us, what are we going to show them?
We need to gather some momentum, however we are in a bad moment, the only way to get out of it is to fight. Make no mistake, the rest of the teams in the League remain poor, we are far superior and we need to start showing it. String a few wins together and Zenit will be a faded memory, until the next time.
A positive from last night was Ntcham. He is a player. I think Patrick Roberts could have made a difference particularly playing with Olivier around him. He was solid on the ball and is adept at making space for himself. Too often he was looking up after having done so and had no place to make the forward pass you could tell he was thinking of first. Paddy offers that.
I think a fit Tom Rogic offers us something against tighter defences too. He can operate in minimal space.
Forest played well and when he was subbed I thought Brendan had decided to prioritise Sunday and protect our player of the year elect for pittodrie.
Looking forward to seeing comperr. Ajer is looking the part but he’s raw in his game sense. Simunovic is a frustrating mix of good strong defender with some bad habits and a tendency to switch off.
Tactically we need to work out how to get the ball forward quicker and push opponents back. I’d have the two wingers pushed as far up the park as is possible most of the time. They do damage in the last third but of late they are rarely there.
I hope the team isn’t as downbeat as some of us are. Can you imagine the meltdown if we don’t win on Sunday?
If we don’t it will give temporary hope to the also rans and give the doom merchants a week or two to expound their theories, founded or otherwise.
It could be a tough few weeks. Or it could be the beginning of better things.
BIGCHIPS
See them possession stats. See if you and four of your mates played a team of five year olds,you’d let them have the ball because they need to learn.
And then,a quick few goals,Bob’s yer Uncle.
We have such high possession numbers because teams let us faff about wi it in No-man’s Land. No danger to anyone but ourselves.
There is no incisive pass,no great run off the ball,no drive.
The team has gone backwards,and it needs to be addressed.
And quickly.
Silver City 1888 (12:57pm), Back in the day, whatever the instructions from the coaching staff, if there was a high cross heading into a dangerous area in the box, Tony Adams or Martin Keown would have put everything on the line to get there first and head it clear. We had defenders in positions facing the incoming cross who could see Ivanovic’s run, who made no attempt to get there, leaving Simunovic, who was a yard behind in the race to get to the ball, and running in the wrong direction to effect a solid clearance, to inevitably fail. Someone else should have taken responsibility to attack the ball…
Silver City – zonal dove properly works. You’ve given the reasons why.
I prefer it. If it’s done properly.
At the other end of the field I have begun to see winning corners as no better than giving the opposition a by kick. We do very little with them.