This time last year the league was in the bag, as it is today, but we had Champions League football to look forward to in the coming days, and would ultimately go on to win the Scottish Cup. The Champions League is always going to be a hard place to measure progress for a club seeded in pot 4, last season it was hard enough to Benfica, a pot 2 team who were eliminated by Celtic but still progressed to the Europa League final.
Domestic cup performances for Celtic is a more accessible measuring tool. After home defeats to Morton (good grief) and now Aberdeen we may well ask, what went wrong?
It was evident from early in the second half that whatever match plan we had was not effective, and despite the introduction of fresh faces, the performance didn’t improve. Aberdeen defended outside their box very effectively, making it difficult for Celtic to play the kind of passes which Samaras released Stokes with to score early in the game. Forrest found red shirts blocking his path whenever he got going. Commons had a day when nothing sparked. Possession was cheaply conceded throughout as Celtic continued to ask the same question of the Aberdeen defence.
While we are playing in in impoverished Scottish football Aberdeen represent the strongest possible opponents. They are second in the league and were the last team to score against us on merit. Yesterday wasn’t a fluke result, it was deserved and marked the progress of Derek McInnes’ team.
So where does this leave us? Celtic remain imperious in the Premiership, the fact that they’ve not tasted defeat against a weaker team there, or conceded in 11 games, is historically impressive, but against the best of the rest, there are question marks, as there will be for Champions League qualifiers.
If you would like to read the new CQN Magazine, GO HERE to read properly, and for FREE, the graphic below is just a taster.
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Auldheid,
I hope my abject cynicism is finally proven as being unfounded with the pebble on the beach that resolution 12 has become.
10 years and counting on CQN soon enough. I feel confident it wont.
HH
Turkeybhoy
You just called for Lennys heid.
Awe Naw
And this year we are insignificant and very poor on the field and much better off of it.
I don’t think the Euro evaluations work on the same “lighthouse thinking” principle you apply. You do not become significant because of one year’s achievements and you do not become insignificant after one bad year.
We are a football club not a company. The company is just a mechanism to run and administrate the football club. That’s where the problem lies. Lack of ambition and an obscene love of profits over football fortunes.
Unfortunately for you, my post was wholly about the significance of football achievement. I did not refer to our achievements as a company because they interest me less than they do you. I still say, we are achieving much more than we ever did in the years 1981 to 2000 and we are being noticed as a middling to big club in Europe whereas in those last 20 years of last century, we were as relevant as, say, Stoke or Red Star Belgrade are now.
Luckily we have our Old Firm partners to hold up to anybody that espouses ambition to take us back to the late 60.’s.
An era when Scotland produced a golden generation of footballers. Where we could have replaced 7 of the Lions team with an equlal or better player from several other Scottish clubs. The pre-Bosman era. the pre-TV rights era. The pre-CL era. All of those developments have combined to favour domination by teams from the big leagues. That glass celing can be blamed on your favourite bogeyman, The Board, The Manager or The Masons but we are knocking on it now when for almost half of our lives as supporters, 1975 to 2000, we could not even see it.
Closest since then spiritually was Seville.
Seville was spiritual. It impressed Celtic fans more than it impacted upon our contemporaries. As far as they were concerned, we achieved in 2003, on the field of play, as much as Alaves did in 2001 and Middlesborough did in 2006. I would not seek to diminish its spiritual significance but my post referred to relevance of sporting achievement. Losing a UEFA Cup final ranks way behind CL last 16 qualification and only people who hate ginger headed managers think otherwise.
You fail to mention that and it also went unnoticed by the Board.
What did I fail to mention? Did the Board fail to notice we lost the UEFA final in 2003? Or was it just its spiritual significance that they or I missed? You have lost me here.
We chose FFP meanwhile resolution 12 has been very reluctantly addressed. That tells you,all you need to know unless you suffer from extreme denial.
Again, my post was about sporting achievement. The only relevance I can discern here is that we could have been even more successful if their cheating had been addressed. As the Jury is still out on delivering a final sentence on the Huns era of shame, I can deny nor confirm nothing about what truly went on. I agree it smells bad but the courts have yet to convict. we can address its relevance after that.
Anyways my battery is nearly empty so I cant reply until tomorrow.
Thank God for that, I want to retire to watch TV too so I don’t have to get drawn into anything further. :-)
I think my plea for a footballing perspective was made a couple of days too early. People are still raw about yesterday and need more time to express strong emotions before they can look at this more coolly.
BCW
Ipaddy defo no deadybear. Met him and he helped Wee Oscar.
HH
CRC
So regards the cup draw.The big Celtic supporting golfer was taken aside,told which balls to pick,and give the hun an easy tie.Oh,and dont tell anyone about it!!!!!!!.
How bloody ridiculous does that sound?.About as ridiculous as anyone spouting such rubbish.
You canny complain about the draw if your not in it
Deal with it
Forcing myself to watch the highlights, the boy Goald looks about twelve,not a pick on him and looks a player.
Wish reserve football was reastablished.
Give our youth a chance as our overpaid stars aren’t doing it when it matters.
SFTB
I promise to properly answer your last post to me tomorrow evening.
HH
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
22:30 on
9 February, 2014
Turkeybhoy
You just called for Lennys heid.
LOL,but not straight out!!!!!!!.
phyllis dietrichson
21:53 on 9 February, 2014
Awe, ya wee sole yeh……don’t get embarrassed…….
CRC
It was the guy himself who mentioned it……
Turkeybhoy
Maybe won’t be a strenuous World Cup for our players but I’d be very surprised to see them back with us and training ready to play on 15th July.
We will still have enough in the squad to get past first qualifier it’s the next two will be the worry!.
Turkeybhoy,
Samaras set up our goal.
He didn’t play well, but he wasn’t alone in that respect.
Personally I think it is time for the big guy to move on, perhaps an interim loan to a league where the transfer window is still open ( MLS?)
When he does go, he has my sincere thanks and good wishes.
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
22:43 on
9 February, 2014
Did I win the quiz on Friday, with my double pointed answers on Thursday evening? :-)
HH
CRC
Clashcitybhoy
22:49 on
9 February, 2014
The question is ” Will he be in your “CQteN team of the decade”, which will be launched tomorrow night (hopefully)?
U going to CQteN?
HH
CRC
Gauld looks too young to be out that late, even when it’s a lunchtime kick off
But the wee man can play, mind!
Right. Bed beckons. 4.30 alarm to go to London for the day. Bluchhhh!
Be good to one another.
HH jamesgang
Ok guys, burdz to attend to in the morning, (the feathered type) speak tomorrow. :-))
Weefra HH supporting Wee Oscar.
SFTB @ 22.32
Surely the question has to be asked why the board did not use Seville as a catalyst for a step change to the way the club was set up and operated?
Given the next 4 months the board were embarrassed that we had got their at all.
Absolutely no thought given to kicking on just a case of no funds to buy anyone –including JMcF which was an open goal missed from 2 yards.
2002/03 = £2mill positive cash flow.
But what did we do with it?
Absolutely nothing due to the civil war between BQ and MON.
No players brought in over the summer apart from a loan LB.
We get a lift from the emergence of LM only to lose him in Jan 2004.
We get SP by flogging SC down south and he offers some life in the 2nd half of the season.
Then there is the bonus of the home grown youth — JFK + DM.
The blame game is complex.
BQ was a debt nutter with an agenda.
The loss of JMcF was him cutting of our nose to spite our face.
MON was wasteful and thrawn to the point of being a caricature.
However DD did nothing to sort this out.
I fear his arbitrage based strategy was one dimensional and Seville was a distraction.
Turkeybhoy
You are right errant nonsense.
Next they’ll be proving in The Court of Session that the Chief Executive of the FA thwarted their efforts to sign a star player on the eve of a vital match.
whatever next, perhaps it’ll be to expose the referee,who awarded the first no contact whatsoever penalty to give them the league, of sending sectarian Emails.
Paranoid.lot these Tims eh?
MCDowellCelt,
Realistically we could be going into CL qualifiers with a team that looks like:
Lukasz or new guy in goal
Mikel or Adam at right back, and three other new faces, because VVD, Efe & Izzy have left, or are injured post WC
Brown, Chico,, Stefan
Forrest or Commons, Griffiths, and Balde or Stokes,
Personally that makes me very nervous.
I am sure we can beat our first round opponents, but if we were to draw a Swedish or Romanian team in rounds two or three, then I would need bicycle clips.
Auldheid
22:28 on 9 February, 2014
“we”?
naw we dont
celticrollercoaster supports the dambhoys
22:52 on 9 February, 2014
Clashcitybhoy
22:49 on
9 February, 2014
The question is ” Will he be in your “CQteN team of the decade”, which will be launched tomorrow night (hopefully)?
U going to CQteN?
HH
CRC
—————–
Didn’t get myself organised enough to get tickets, and not important enough to get on a VIP guest list :-)
CRC
Not quite. You’d have to be going some to beat Kayal33. He answers almost before ive posed the questions. And has won 3 out of 4 so far. BMCUW won the other, but it was easy that week.
Your opportunity to oust him will be this Friday at 9pm.
Make of this what you will.
http://thecelticway.net/forum/showthread.php?21056-Goodbye
BCW
Well done for taking on the quiz mantle. It is hard work, but good fun!
HH
CRC
Watching the great Barcelona play tonight, the commentator summed up another outstanding performance saying 11 of the 13 who played all came through their youth system: ( that includes the few who had left for other clubs and returned).
Granted we don’t have anything like the resources they do, but doesn’t it tell us something about what can be achieved by investment in a structured youth policy with the aim of bringing our kids all the way through?
Margartet McGill
I meant the geographical “we”.
All good teams have bad days but there is worrying pattern to our cup exits.
Auldheid:
I agree that fiscal ineptitude can led to death but Celtic are going backwards; less competitive, less quality on the pitch and far smaller crowds. We ignore that at our peril…
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo
22:30 on
9 February, 2014
Auldheid,
I hope my abject cynicism is finally proven as being unfounded with the pebble on the beach that resolution 12 has become.
10 years and counting on CQN soon enough. I feel confident it wont.
================================
I was not around for the fist six years :)
However it is the shareholders Celtic will have to convince, not the requisitioners or internet bampots..
West Wales Celt
23:08 on
9 February, 2014
There is a danger of that but have a look at Ajax UEFA involvement. They develop and sell and live within budget.
UEFA participation and success is cyclical.
You can see why, as soon as you have a team that can compete, its backbone transfers out and it is the players who dictate when they go.
Quite how you prevent that I am not sure given the wages that take them away cannot be matched.
West Wales Celt
23:08 on
9 February, 2014
Ever decreasing circles under the current strategy.
My only worry now is that Peter’s package will not hit £1m. Last year he was about £6k short. Not sure how he will survive if he is forced to have a decrease?
HH
CRC
Celticrollercoaster
Thanks, Iused to enjoy the quiz when you ran it, the others did to.
You are right it’s good fun and the quick wit of the CQNers gives me a laugh every Friday.
Can be a worry though, this question was nearly a disaster on the first night:
Click on the link below and name the Celts ( there are 11), from left to right, celebrating their Scottish Cup win (1 point for each and an Additional 10 points for all 11)
http://www.assetstorage.co.uk/AssetStorageService.svc/GetImageFriendly/721201975/700/700/0/0/1/80/ResizeBestFit/0/PressAssociation/33EE7A09C9C18132AEFA1BD984509E5E/soccer-scottish-cup-final
I thot Hucknell was a Man City fan??
Auldheid
23:06 on 9 February, 2014
am a we bit confused. The geographical we? is it like the royal we? as applied to whose perspective?
Yours muddled
couple of questions,
how much have we spent on players this season.
who rubber stamps the signings.
before we get rid of pl etc why don’t we start from the bottom and work up.
timhorton
Who is at the bottom ?
Moyes looks like he’s going to start saying “we take it on the chin”.
mick hucknall or charlie drake??????