Celtic send unserious signals

102

I am not an encouraging person to speak to ahead of a Champions Legue game against a side from one of the big leagues.  The exertions of playing in the EPL is a couple of levels above what we experience in the Shires of Scotland.  Add into the mix the suspension of Daizen Maeda and the worry about Cameron Carter-Vickers, and you are justified in feeling some trepidation.

There is no doubt there were reasons to sell Kyogo on Monday, not least of all getting Jota in the building on the same day.  However, selling your talisman two days before a Champions League game sets your stall out: We are not taking the trip to Birmingham seriously.  Brendan Rodgers’ first job today is to shift that mentality.

Aston Villa are motivated with the likelihood of a top eight finish if they win.  Celtic actually anticipate a more difficult playoff opponent if they win.  I do not expect that outcome.

The game is important nonetheless.  It is a rare occasion when we face a team from England, our nearest and most lucrative sales market.  To fail there would hurt brand Celtic, to perform well, if not win, would do the opposite.  Mostly, I look forward to the playoff round draw.

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  1. BURNLEY78 @ 11:30 AM,

     

     

    “Could you please tell me a team which had an easier run of fixtures in this seasons CL ?

     

     

    Well, this is the whole point, this is the table you were probably referring too…

     

     

    https://theanalyst.com/eu/2024/08/champions-league-2024-25-fixture-difficulty-group-stage

     

     

    Yes, Celtic have the least fixture difficulty (not the easiest possible draw), second are Bayern Munich.

     

     

    I’d say that relatively speaking, Bayern have an easier run of fixtures.

     

     

    If you look at OPTA UC League predictions you see that Celtic did not have an easy run of games to qualify.

     

     

    https://theanalyst.com/eu/2024/09/champions-league-predictions-2024-25-opta-supercomputer

     

     

    Celtic’s Predictions :-

     

     

    Final Position – 28th

     

     

    Last 16 – 21.1%

     

     

    QF – 4.5%

     

     

    SF – 0.9%

     

     

    Final – 0.2%

     

     

    Winner – 0%

     

     

    We have done phenomenally well, pinching way above our weight.

     

     

    That’s what rwal ambition gets you.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  2. I think Brendan Rodger’s needs to look at our Centre Half position in this transfer window,CCV to me and what I read is maybe injury prone,so is another Centre Half required now and not in the summer.

  3. GlassTwoThirdsFull on

    Looking forward to it. A good test as to where we are but without any real pressure to get a result.

  4. Delaying a ten million transfer for match with not a whole lot riding on it seems highly improbable and irresponsible – the deal likely to fall through in the event of an injury being picked up.

     

     

    No sense in risking CCV. I applaud Brendan for resting CCV – we seen Ange take an absolutely crazy decision to risk Kyogo in a meaningless European tie and he was out for weeks as a result.

     

     

    We’ll be up against it tonight. A punchers chance in the play offs is all I want come FT.

  5. The returnof weeron on

    Tonight might be the time to get the Atalanta set up back together.

     

     

    That performance and result brought confidence back to the squad. We wouldn’t be in our current position without it.

     

     

    Cheers,

     

    Weeron.

  6. glendalystonsils on

    Paul,

     

    I’ve disagreed with a few of your recent articles but not this one . Unless there was some compelling reason why the Kyogo/Jota deal couldn’t wail till after tonight’s game , it does indeed suggest that we see it as a dead rubber .

     

    I also think it’s important to make a statement re the standard of our football by getting a respectable reult/performance , if only to shut up the EPL elitists.

  7. Paul 67,

     

     

    Reducing our expections. !!!!!!

     

     

    Selling Kyogo at his age, probably his best days behind him, dodgy shoulder and crucially wanted to go is a no brainer.

     

    It is nothing to do with setting our stall out.

     

     

    We knew for some time that he wanted away. If I knew it you certainly knew it.

     

     

    Maida through the middle would have been an appropriate mitigation. However the players foolishness has caused us a bit of a predicament.

     

     

    Signing a loan player without an option to buy has not helped us. We have developed him for another team and he has departed at a crucial time.

     

    Our left back position is worrying as is the injury to CCV.

     

     

    In saying that, we must make the most of it. We are in general focus tonight and there are many SPL sceptical eyes on us

     

     

    COYBIG. IBWT.

  8. Crazy to be without Valle CCV Kyogo as well as Maeda tonight. Maeda fair enough but the potential for a home second leg and a seeded positon plus £2m and more likelihood of another £9m if we do reach last 16 is surely something to play for. Alongside pride and reputation of course.

     

     

    Our domestic rivals got their customary moral victories against English opposition after all. Plus Villa are lacking in energy and have poor recent form.

  9. So whose ‘fault’ do we attribute the kashing in on Kyogo, Paul ?

     

    Brendan or the suits upstairs ?

     

     

    PS, when you write: ‘I am not an encouraging person to speak to ahead of a Champions League game against a side from one of the big leagues…’

     

     

    I’d also observe you’re not an encouraging person to speak to ahead of an SPFL game against a plucky, physical side from the lower reaches of our home league esp after we have a tough Euro tie midweek…’

     

     

    WidTakeA Draw CSC

  10. Crikey B78 , you would give Alistair Campbell a run for his spin doctoring money these past few weeks.

     

     

    We all might have varying degrees of trepidation for the game tonight, however I am sure the players will be absolutely relishing it.

     

     

    When we play our game play off game tonight’s game will be forgotten.

  11. BURNLEY78 @ 12:54 PM,

     

     

    Well I’m not at all sure where that 57% came from.

     

     

    According to OPTA our likely final position was 28, four outside the qualifiers.

     

     

    But my point was this…

     

     

    … your narrative of doing down any Celtic achievement with Brendan Rodgers at the helm.

     

     

    “The easiest possible draw” being a classic example.

     

     

    That was just plain wrong, as it was the element of difficulty OPTA were addressing.

     

     

    Secondly, it didn’t take into account the relative difficulty, OPTA doesn’t use the word easy for a very good reason, it is subjective.

     

     

    That was not at all an easy draw for Celtic to qualify from.

     

     

    If you look at Celtic’s fixture difficulty it is 87.4

     

     

    Yet if you look at the other end of the table you have Real Madrid on 90, not a million miles apart.

     

     

    The whole point is the draw is structured in such a way to ensure no Club has an easy passage and no Club has a very difficult passage.

     

     

    It is designed to be as fair as possible.

     

     

    So to couch it in terms that, Celtic have the easiest possible draw, is totally wrong.

     

     

    POV: Celtic have performed way above expectations and you are interpreting the data wrongly to deliberately mislead supporters.

     

     

    Hail Hail

  12. Back to Basics - Glass Half Full on

    Hmm.

     

     

    Never a dull day as a Celtic fan clearly.

     

     

    Where to begin?

     

     

    Burnley78 – I really enjoyed your post at 11:55pm last night.

     

     

    There was much of it I did not agree with – but, IMHO, you set out your position intelligently and honestly.

     

     

    Brendan Rodgers? Very possible I am misreading him having never met him but based on how he is now projecting?

     

     

    He has cojones.

     

     

    He might actually good at this strategy lark.

     

     

    I suspect he’s been given targets for this season.

     

     

    And, in his head, the CL target (play offs) has been achieved.

     

     

    So, he has partly put that target to bed (the luxury of qualifying with a game to go) to focus on other?

     

     

    Including winning the Scottish cup, keeping people fit and building NOW for the CL play off in August?

     

    (Remember the “we’re never ready” refrains)

     

     

    Th following is illustrative i.e. made up. I plugged a node into the manager’s cortex but it fell out.

     

     

    Valle – Tierney is coming. He can go

     

     

    Maeda – hee haw I can do about that

     

     

    CCV – why risk it? Let’s win the league

     

     

    Kyogo …

     

    He’s not my type. He is not the future. He wanted away.

     

    We can reinvest.

     

    I’ll own the fall out from any short term performance dip arising from his absence.

  13. Why all the negativity and criticism of our great team before they have even taken to the pitch for tonight’s game?

     

     

    Just sit back, enjoy the ride, and qué sera sera.

     

    🇳🇬😃🤞🍀

  14. Cmon Celtic be the best version of ourselves tonight, plenty waiting to roast the team for defeat and preferably for them a heavy defeat, set up well with a game plan to attack when we can and lets see how it goes.

  15. I think Celtic had agreed with Kyogo that he could leave after the YB game. I can just imagine the uproar if he’d gone before.

  16. I would rather be in Celtic’s shoes than Bruges who need to go to Man City who also need a win, remember them who got unbelievable luck with a defender picking the ball up for a pen against Villa 3 pts gained, Celtic they got an o.g. and did little else 1 pt gained, they’re very likely to be out even on 11 points before tonights game.

  17. Kyogo, a ‘talisman’, with 8 league goals at the end of January?

     

     

    The articles are getting more bizarre as the weeks go by, someone is clearly losing their mojo or alternatively looking for anything to have a dig at BR over.

  18. Watched the Brugge Villa match earlier in the tournament, Villa big chaps , strong running , subtlety is not their strong suit.

     

     

     

    Got the impression they thought they would wear Brugge down and run out 2-0 winners , however Brugge stood firm and the big daft Villa centre half picked the ball up in the penalty area.

     

     

     

    Don’t think it will be an Atlanta game where inexplicably they just kept crossing the ball to a Scottish team , which was nuts really. Villa likely to play into CF for knock back or turn the centre half’s , seems to me we need to narrow the midfield block the through passes , from memory both Villa backs were steady , for me our wingers stay wide ( not too wide) but drop back 10 yards and be more available for an out ball.

     

     

     

    We need our game face on tonight and stick it to the English

     

     

    HH

  19. Gene on 29th January 2025 1:32 pm

     

    “I think Celtic had agreed with Kyogo that he could leave after the YB game. I can just imagine the uproar if he’d gone before.”

     

     

    I think we likely agreed in the summer he could go in Jan, once our CL fate was decided either way – with regards to qualifying or not.

     

     

    He might have been okay with this if his new agent had no suitable options in the summer and CL was a shop window for him but asking him to play in a game that means little with regards to objectives (as top 8 is near impossible) would be futile. If his agent already knows where he is going then playing is all risk, no reward for him – he has no need to bust a gut / put his body on the line and playing half-committed players is like being a man down at times. I’d rather a full committed Idah or Kenny than a player with more than one eye on the exit.

  20. Weebobbycollins on

    B78 @ 11.30…

     

    You are fast becoming the blog bore…

     

     

    “If I’ve said it once I’ve it a million times…”

     

    Echo chambers r us…

  21. Play off draw just published –

     

    Celtic balance sheet (UEFA ranking #1) will play the winner of Retrenchment (Glory tears long since gone) v Speculate to Accumulate (new kids on the Euro block) .

     

    Celtic balance sheet prevailed comfortably against the Old Firm duopoly in the previous round .

  22. bournesouprecipe on

    Most grown ups know that it made perfect sense to sell Kyogo, with the next stage secured.

     

     

    The parrot tweets ‘talisman,’ as it suits the narrative, and ignores the reality of an underperforming player that wanted to go elsewhere, not to mention three times what we paid for him.

     

     

    We’ve also got Brendan’s ‘backfiller’ to look forward to, and Adam Idah to knock meantime, wonder what they’ll write about if the manager’s contract extension gets signed?

  23. onenightinlisbon on

    Loved Kyogo under Ange but not so under Brendan.

     

     

    £10m for a 30 year old with a dodgy shoulder is fine so long as we replace him………..

  24. bournesouprecipe on

    The sale of Kyogo takes Celtic transfer total to

     

     

    £108,737,000.00 @ Celtic wiki

     

     

    Go figure CSC

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