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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Big Chips,
I agree with much of what you state , however do you think Moussa Dembele played to his full potential last night ?
HH.
Greenpinata, that is my worry… perhaps Dembele’s potential was grossly overstated last season!
RT- IMO Ntcham was played too wide to influence the game, overall our basic passing was nervy and lacked composure and confidence, we never got in behind them all night.HH
In fairness to MD, he had no service, and dropped deeper to try and get involved….
I’m not all doom and gloom but I am disappointed because I feel that if we could get the basics right, cut out the silly errors at the back and play to our potential going forward we could be a quarter final team.
Far too slow in the build up, not enough movement (even worse without Griffiths) and what there is is short and towards the ball. We seem to have an aversion to crossing the ball, particularly from the right. We have become predictable and therefore easy to defend against.
Still a treble to play for, but if we don’t make some changes this will be a lot harder than it should be.
!!BADA BING!! on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 1:00 PM
Rogic has rejected a new deal according to Australian media.
Good player but not the end of the world if he moves on. Too much travelling for internationals means he’s in and out of the team at the start of the season and he’s been injured December/January for the last couple of seasons.
SILVER CITY 1888
Thanks for explaining. That sounds pretty logical but for zonal marking to be effective you need players who are good at attacking the ball in the air, it’s something our team lacks imo.
I think the best we have in that regard is Boyata. I get your point re the merits of zonal marking but you need the right personnel for it to work well.
I disagree that a zonal system would’ve prevented the first goal from last night for the reasons I mentioned above.
HH
G67- yep, agree with your team for Sunday, poor pitch, get it up to MD and Eddie early, get them turning….
Ncham, ajer and KT were by far our best preformers yesterday, dembele was chasing nothing balls all night.
It was our more expensive, experienced players who let us down but they did not go out to let us down it happens.
I do think a squad of 35 players is to much and we have 15 to many. That money would be best spent on max 4 players of a higher standered.
Dont think i need to say where the team needs strengthened its very obviously to all!!!
Re: rogic not signing a new contract, if he wants to follow amstrong out the door he is very welcome, throw in bitton and we can get ourselves agressive midfielder from transfer fee and wages save
HH
In Scotland the players are literally being kicked off the park. Brendan used to be pretty vocal about this he doesn’t seem to be any more . Has he been silenced.
It’s no wonder the morale is low. And a number of our players want out.
There seems to be no protection for our ‘Intangible Assets’.
They are being booted out of it and as usual we say nothing. Add the fact that we are not supporting our players by spending money on decent players. The players are voting with their feet
Watch what happens at Aberdeen. The only teams recently we have shown a bit of fight was Zenit at home and the Hearts game (I think the players resented Heart’s behaviour at Tynecastle.)
I watched Barcelona play against Chelsea the other night. The difference in the refereeing was night and day.
Isn’t Bitton out for the season .(Q Mark)
https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/bitton-blow-out-for-season/
STEPHBHOY
Ironically,injuries are killing us this season,and we’ve needed a big squad.
But I agree with you in principle,our problem isn’t too many players in the squad,it’s too few of any quality. Too much money being wasted on mibbe players.
It’s a scattergun approach to things,like in the famous cost-cutting days of GS early days.
Lost all the quality and managed to increase the wage bill,how does that work?!
This club needs focus. It needs focus on a very small first team-a first eleven,remember that?-and a focus on who is their backup,who can be trusted.
We don’t need any more Hail Mary signings blocking progress for our youth,and draining the funds as well.
This squad is dying on its feet,BR gave it a breath of life and fresh air last season.
It’s high time he was allowed to achieve his ambitions and put a Celtic team out that we can revere,and others fear.
BIGCHIPSUK – 10 IN A ROW (2001-2010) on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 1:00 PM
Consider my mind blown. Spooky how similar those stats are with polar opposites results .
A lot of good points in your post.
HH
Oh it’s all too hard. No one wants to come to Scotland. Etc.
So it’s okay for us to be rubbish?
Out of Europe after another poor performance. Well not unexpected. A good performance in the home leg had given us some hope but our 1 0 lead only lasted 7 mins.
We need to get back on our game for Sunday. Aberdeen can’t live with us when we play but we need to play well. A defeat at Pittodrie is possible as in theory it is our hardest match.
We have a good lead going into these games but 3 consecutive defeats would be bad for morale.
We can afford to lose on sunday and even to Sevco and still win the League
said weeks ago etims ralph malf etc are not br fans.
Paul67 et al
The players and management should be keelhauled across the Baltic and over the North Sea arriving in Aberdeen just before the kick-off.
Much as I like Rogic, if he wants to leave we already have his replacement in Christie. Looks like a top player in the making to me.
BIGBHOY
I’ve got a score for a charity of your choice that says if we lose both those games,we lose the league.
I genuinely despair when I read posts like yours.
http://readceltic.com/2018/02/23/tom-rogic-rejects-new-contract-with-celtic/
Not sure of the accuracy of this.At times he can be a game changer but lack of stamina and fitness means there`s large chunks of the season were you don`t have him available.
Brendan does not strike me a s man who will be cowed by our board, so I’ve got to assume he was confident he had the staff to compete .That is a mistake and I am sure he will know better than anyone.
With the exception of the Kieran,none of the back 4 plus keeper and fit for purpose.Ajer has a long long way to go and Jozo just looks like a man thats lost all confidence. As for Lustig, after his performance against rangers at home, he should have gradually faded into the background to be used sparingly in case of emergencies.
We knew all this in the transfer window, but we bought more squad players and projects for our defence deficiencies .
I am sure Brendan will be hurt and angry by some of the criticism coming his way. I would have no better guy in my corner to bounce back.
Lets take our frustration and anger out on the domestic arena and wipe the floor with the pretenders who celebrate when the lead is reduced to single figs.
But lets identify and acquire some first team picks to bolster our defence for our assault on Europe next year.
NOTHEBUS
Aye. What you said.
Huff
Puff
Blaw
Ye see, its like this……
If there are no balls in the dugoot
there’ll be no balls on the park!
Last time we had balls in the dugoot
the self preservation PLC board
flung the balls under a bus!
Last night, Brendan looked like Ronny wi a tan!
Brendan came from nowhere
Brendan will go back to nowhere!
But, that will solve nothing.
The same self preservationist PLC board
will be pulling the levers, and
the same simple Simon Old Firm supporters
will be blindly backing them!
Apathy almost half emptied the park at the,
St Johnstone efff up, were Brendan’s midlife
crisis arrogant complacent approach to the
game got its just deserts, throw in his consistent
silence about mibbery, and on have your classic
puppet in the wrong movie!
We could as easily win the next two games as we
could lose them!
Who’s fault is that ?
Apathy will solve this…..tic – toc!
……oot.
Thes combination of a Plc that see making a 500k profit on Player Trading in their Interim Results as a highlight (that figure makes me question the quoted price for Ntcham, if we can get Benyu aw well from the proceeds of the sales of Janko and GMS and still make 500k).
The appointment of Lee Congerton worried me. He has work to do to convince me.
Quality of recruitment. The senior pros aren’t daft. They see who is coming in and what is expected of them. They have been telling us for months.
Brendan’s tactics.
Lack of protection for the players.
Players wanting a move out of Scottish Football. We are a stepping stone.
The corruption of the Scottish game seems to be at every level.
A Generation of Domination….
I would hand every Trophy back over the last two years to have some belief that Celtic Plc are in any way an ethical organisation with any degree of integrity. Dermot Desmond and his cohorts are quite simply ruthlessly exploiting a business opportunity with Celtic.
The silence of the Plc is the same as a US Citizen, Pleading the Fifth.
‘Taking the Fifth Amendment’
n. the refusal to testify on the ground that the testimony might tend to incriminate the witness in a crime, based on the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution which provides that “No person….shall be compelled to be a witness against himself,”
Theres KevJangle, who still cannae grasp the difference between ‘apathy’ and ‘action’, but convinced he has the masterplan…
Maybe you could join the Scouting department!
HH
I can never quite get used to how people with no real experience of the professional game, other than watching, can be so assured in their beliefs, as shown through their opinions, that they know more than those who are paid millions for their service and knowledge.
Cheerio,
JJ
NEGANON2 on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 1:52 PM
So it’s okay for us to be rubbish?
Who said that?
Right onto Aberdeen with full focus we have a league to win.
Just read the last 2 Etims articles . Has the account been hacked, or written by a spoiled 12 year old ? Does anyone know the perfect manager.
“Last night, Brendan looked like Ronny wi a tan!”
I must admit to a wee titter at that wan, ;-)
Brendan stated clearly when he arrived he wanted a smaller squad with focus on quality.
He said in December that the January transfer window would see a revolving door at CP.
Neither has happened. We put a few fringe players out on loan and get some more fringe players in on loan or for a minimal transfer fee. There has been a massive disparity between the stated aim of BR and the actual outcome. We still have a bloated squad with far too many midfield players and far too few players of quality in defence. Every Celtic fan knows that,
He also stated that he was a believer in playing “the Celtic way”, with style, verve and speed.
So what is being coached? Why are we so slow and predictable? Last night on at least two occasions we had the chance to push forward on the break and yet the midfield slowed it down, played the ball backwards and sideways and lost the impetus to stretch Zenit.
God knows what goes on behind closed doors. What kind of harmony exists in the boardroom and in the changing room? It all looked so rosy a few short months ago. Too much complacency? Too much back slapping with the CL revenue secured?
I am at a complete loss as to why a team that were so ruthless at attacking SPFL teams last season have become so toothless this season. Injuries have played a part for sure. But last season if Paddy wasn’t playing, you know Sincliar and Forrest would delive in spadesr. If Leigh wasn’t playing, Dembele would score. These players scared the living daylights out of Sevco, Aberdeen, Hearts etc. Not now.
For my sins, I thought that we were capable of getting the vital goal in the second half.
Especially after the subs, when we spent more time in their half.
We only had to get lucky once.
The third goal, which is always likely to happen when chasing a game, obviously killed any hope.
HOT SMOKED on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 2:21 PM
I can never quite get used to how people with no real experience of the professional game, other than watching, can be so assured in their beliefs, as shown through their opinions, that they know more than those who are paid millions for their service and knowledge.
Cheerio,
JJ
———
JJ
As a retired school teacher who has witnessed the vagaries of the credit crunch and someone who is presently ruled by a Westminster cabinet of millionaires, I know you know that rumuneration often doesn’t correspond with talent nor the demands of the job!
Also, one of the great joys of fitba is its democratic openness. It’s a simple sport. Put the ball in the pokie, if possible with some style. And do so by passing and moving into space.
When the bad guys have it, win it back ASAP and deny them space as a team and as individuals.
SimplesCSC
Last season we did it. This season (much) less so.
Last week we did it. Last night, not at all.
HH jamesgang
News flash Paul, Compper could not have played even if fit. Even if he had played every game since we bought him and he was the best defender we had ever seen, but the opposite is true. We haven’t even seen him so we, me, you, dont effing know. So why did we BUY him?
If we didn’t have a bloated squad, we might have had to play the development team. This is Scotland where the rules of football are diametrically changed in the name competition. Where rules and articles of association apply to all clubs bar one . Always worth remembering. HH
THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 2:36 PM
Given the amount of possession we had and their flagging fitness we should have scored at least once. Maybe the players are over-coached and aren’t encouraged to think for themselves, or maybe they don’t have it in them but nobody in the pitch seemed capable of changing the pattern of play. Kierney has Ivanovic on toast early on but no one seemed to realize it. They played on our weaknesses, we played to their strengths and when it was clear for everyone to see what was going on no one had the intelligence to change it. I don’t blame brown, Mancini realized his importance to us and they put a man on him as soon as we picked the bell up in defense
Rogic to China?
@ BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 12:56 PM
Precisely. The point of “moneyball” is to recognise value in the market which the rest of the market is oblivious to. However, its overarching aim is to increase the quality of the squad, as you said, by incrementally increasing purchase prices and therefore attaining larger sale prices. After the sale of Wanyama, Forster or Van D, we failed to reinvest. The large sales which should have been a catalyst for our ambitions, proved the extent of them.
!!BADA BING!! on 23RD FEBRUARY 2018 2:55 PM
Rogic to China?
That was a rumour I heard a few months ago. Less travel back to Oz for internationals, the travelling is likely a big factor in his injuries.