While Celtic totally controlled the first half at Ibrox yesterday, Newco’s defence held firm and largely limited the visitors to shots from the edge of the area. Leigh Griffiths’ effort from that distance was touched onto the post but over the 90 minutes there was not a single chance where an attacker from either team should have scored.
Steven Gerrard made changes at halftime that made marginally reduced Celtic’s advantage, but not so much as to permit his side an attempt on target, even after Celtic were reduced to 10 men.
Nir Bitton played well until his red card. He and the impeccable Kristoffer Ajer brought authority and control to the game as they circulated the ball for Celtic. A momentary lapse that allowed Alfredo Morelos to collect goal-side of him saw Bitton grapple his opponent to the ground. Referee Bobby Madden waved his red card in a flash.
Morelos was in a wide position, Ajer, who had already demonstrated his pace by catching and overtaking Newco’s fastest player, Ryan Kent, was covering in a central position. The Laws of the Game ask referees to make a judgement on whether he thinks the covering defender would be able to make up the ground, Madden decided to show Morelos the advantage.
Madden also showed Morelos the advantage five minutes into the game, when the Columbian stamped on Jeremie Frimpong’s Achilles in an off the ball incident. Madden awarded Celtic a foul, but used his discretion to keep both cards in his pocket when many expected a red card. The referee determined the outcome.
Celtic conceded fewer chances yesterday than in any game in months but the goal came from a familiar failing – corner kicks. A ricochet struck Callum McGregor and flew past Vasilis Barkas, who had little else to do all afternoon.
The game was lost for a few reasons: despite our control of play, Newco’s defence stood firm, we did not get into the box or hit the bye-line often enough. Bobby Madden had two decisions to make and you could bet your mortgage he was not making them in Celtic’s favour. Despite the unfortunate nature of the own goal, we again conceded from a corner.
Had we lost and played in the manner we had in our previous three games against Newco the verdict would be straightforward: the better team won and is firm favourite to take the title. I don’t think that is the case, instead, it has taken us until now to make the correct selection and formation decisions against them.
A must-win game was lost, leaving Celtic 19 points clear with three games in hand. Newco are a club who find it difficult to get trophies over the line. They are defensively solid, but I think their league position flatters them. There is work to do for both teams.
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Final point is a question
Does anyone know why hazard was dropped? That disastrous decision by lenny allowed Julien to be ruined.
I think he read the article in the paper which told him to drop hazard.
That’s the only possible explanation, because it’s got nothing to do with the greek being a better keeper.
jph
In fairness I think he went for experience
By all accounts, although I’d never seen him play, before turning out for us, Barkas was considered a good goalie for club and country
JPH,
I thought dropping Conor Hazard was a poor and unfair decision.
I really don’t buy the lack of experience thought process of NFL.
In a Celtic jersey what positive experience has Vasilis Barkas had ?
HH.
PS : I agree with another poster who states Kris Ajer has the potential to be a superstar.
The worst thing that could happen for the long term future of Celtic would be Lennon going on a meaningless unbeaten run post Dubai were we cut the huns league winning margin down to 7 or 8 points. Couple this up with a Scottish Cup win and P67 will be telling us all in May that Neil Lennon deserves another season.
the main issue is the number of goals we lose , we do not have any central defenders of note , Duff. y goodness knows what he is , Julien thinks he is a central half in his own mind , Bitton & Ajer are midfielders or as in Ajer case a makeshift fullback.
No one at the club can can set up the current squad to defend set pieces or corners period , or either the players just don’t listen and if the truth be told any training videos posted on Celtic tv from Lennoxtown that I have watched show the trainer or fitness coach doing a routine only for the players to be repeating his actions half heartedly or laughing and joking with the player/s around them , no respect or professionalism from them, we lost that when BR decided to chuck it.
This pish about the tactical genius of Gerrad changing things at half time
Roofe was injured, he chucuked on a midfielder because they were chasing shadows in the first half.
Hardly out the Pep book of tactics ffs
Well Paul. All the years I respectfully thought you were wrong on various. This and that but you like me are entitled to your own considered opinion.
But today’s post is reeking of a desperate disillusionment and you only encourage the many desperate fans that things are not so bad .
Your post smacks of a late email from the CEO asking for a bit “more leeway”. Very disappointed .
Firstly we are never happy with referees anyway but to suggest it was not a red card and a our player was getting to him is absurd he was 20 yards away the coke head was 6 yards from the box it’s quite clear he would have at least got a shot (away probably a sclaff over the bar )
His early tackle was a yellow no doubt but the first hard or bad one often goes unpunished in this game sometimes you win sometimes you lose .
I thought the ref was not the worst yesterday if he was as bad as we think he had opportunity to award sevco a soft pen and possibly send at least one more player off .
The ref did not cost us yesterday. The inability to cut to hat mob open from good position was the reason. You said it your self no real action after 30 mins for either keeper .
We dominated them for a half but did not gut them or if you like have great chance to score .
The game was changing before the sending off as we were starting to lag after a monumental effort produced nothing .
We lost a goal to poor defending( a familiar call this year/) from a set piece ..
This is also s quick point I take issue with our manager said the felt sevco would tire. I strongly disagree with that the times I have saw (mainly end of Europe) they have seemed full of running and able to hold out/on after being under the cosh .
How many times have you seen us play like that over the years and get a goal plenty. Is the call and we were told it’s what great teams do have bad days get upset but find a wAy to win .
Unfortunately for us slippy has found a way/system to get his low value squad playing and getting results it’s a great thing to have as a team we had it for years but it seems to have flipped this year ..
You have been flip flopping on your message to the fourm but let’s deal in facts
we are getting a bit better but are incredibly vurnabale at the back .
We have a core of a squad who are leaving.
Our coaching is suspect the evidence is there for all to see .
If your flip is a pre cruser to a Neil Lennon us staying till the end of the season msg that the CEO is feeding out to his “press/ soical media contacts”
Then this means we are not spending in the window as why would they give money /options to someone who is leaving .(we should have had a centre half lined
Up any way as a matter of of urgency based on what has gone on this season the fact the French boy is out now a replacement should have been on the plane that’s what a good board does )
The board are guilty of fraud against the common fan if they have not put the wheels in motion to find a new proper replacement …I don’t know who it is but that’s not my job. It’s theirs .
I have noticed a big swing in the they are not that good ,they will fold , it’s doable, narrative before yesterday .
Again to facts. We
We are not as good as we think we are and they are definitely better than we give them credit for they have improved past us .
As hurtful as that sounds it there Infront of us by not accepting it we prolong our own recovery and fight back .
I may have read your piece today wrong. But if it’s as I think a msg that the manager is staying then the board and anybody who speaks for them are not real fans .
Hail hail
How many people would actually pay to support this board if they actually gave Lennon another season?
Huns would be rubbing their hands at the prospect of two in a row….
JPH
Just how on Earth can you blame Barkas for Julien getting injured. Christopher lost the man he was covering and couldn’t make up ground as he is slow. No guarantee the ball was netbound plus the keeper might have got enough of a touch on it as he spread himself as much as possible.
It is a fundamental requirement for defenders to stop a one on one situation for their keeper.
Are Celtic on the 1.15 out of Glasgow today just curious to know if anyone was there and if there are any notable absences or additions?
Notthebus at 2:10
I’m not sure anyone is claiming gerrard is a tactical genius. He has been able to win often v Celtic despite being a novice.
A question if I may
Do you believe sevco improved in the second half yesterday?
How would you rate our response to their 2nd half performance?
Same question re hearts in recent cup final.
Thanks
And Jack Ross’ team got hammered yesterday by Livingston with their centre Half pairing of Porteous and Hanlon shreaded, just in case anyone thinks Ross is the answer.
UNCLE JIMMY
For 60 mins the game was under Celtic control. Hagi didn’t make a blind bit of difference.
We know what happened next. We were forced to change shape, go 3 at the back with advanced wingbacks to try and get up the pitch. For that we needed a willing workhorse centre who would run and run and hold the ball. Instead we had Edouard. We need a rock at the heart of the defence. We had Duffy. Despite this Sevco still never had a shot on target
Hearts scored at Hampden in 46 mins, goals change matches.
To compare the 2 games is not relevant
“They are defensively solid”
Ah, we can but dream. Now get behind the sofa, we’ve just conceded a corner kick !
ZIGGYDOC1 on 3RD JANUARY 2021 12:33 PM
Your comment about referees in England is correct
I could be mistaken, but my old memory tells me this was proposed in scotland but one club objected – no prizes for guessing who
Even if i am mistaken, we should propose it as it makes sense
i must admit if I was a ref I would give 50/50 decisions to the Huns away from celtics goal and Celtic 50/50 decisions near the huns goal
Simply put i would do the opposite of what’s happening now
67ECW
Watching Brendan Rogers Leicester at the moment. His team are very fast and fit. They’re absolutely swamping Newcastle.
Some might say Newcastle are no great shakes….but that would be my point. No matter how easy the opposition are meant to be, go out and kill them off ASAP
Disappointing yesterday – don’t often (ever) agree with Andy Walker but felt he was right yesterday that we started trying to force a goal after 30 mins which led to us looking like we could play all day without scoring. The sending off led to the loss, but I think we’d have gone to a 0-0 without that rather than a win.
19 points is a lot to make up – I think if we had won the three games on hand and it was only 10 we’d be a bit more confident but we’re as likely to drop points from those three as win them.
The generation of domination is over and we are due a refresh. We’re going to lose a few players between now and the close of the summer window even without trying:
Brown – retiring;
DUFFY – end of loan;
Laxalt – end of loan;
Moi – end of loan; and
Young Dembele – out of contract.
We’ve also a load of players who will be in the last year of their contracts next year and/or want to leave (if rumours are true):
Barkas;
Ajer;
Bitton;
El-Hamed;
Julien (agent was hawking him around England and France last summer);
Rogic;
Ntcham;
Christie;
Eddy.
CalMac and Forrest may decide to chance the chance of a payday down south (I expect CalMac will and Forrest won’t).
Selling all those would (hopefully) bring in around £60-70m to rebuild with.
That’ll leave us with:
GK: Bain; Hazard.
Defence: Frimpong; Taylor; Welsh
Midfield: Turnbull; Soro; Henderson; Johnston
Strikers: Griffiths; Ajeti; Klimala.
We’d also have Shved, Bayo, Hendry and Bolingoli returning from loan – I expect none of them will stay. Robertson and Alofobi also return but I think will go on another loan in the SPL.
So 12 players, and a complete rebuild needed. Given the league is pretty much gone now, I’d get a new man in now to start the rebuild. The trouble is who should the new man be?
My preferred option would be Rangnick as a joint DoF and Head Coach. Basically the job Milan appointed him to before reneging. He was to be paid £5m a year for that which ought to be affordable for us – not least as he may stop us losing 10k season tickets.
Failing that, perhaps Marcelino – did great jobs at Villarreal and Valencia.
Both currently out of work and available. Whether they’d take the job, who knows but worth asking the question…
BOB on 3RD JANUARY 2021 2:15 PM
Pour yourself a double – 100%
67ECW
Eddie Howe would still be my choice
Notthebus
Agree that sevco and hearts and not identical. However, there are similarities.
In both games, we had the better of the first half
In both games, the opposition made half time changes and outscored us in 2nd half
In neither game did we make a tactical change to keep our noses in front
As predicted (and predictably) we make changes after the opposition score
I genuinely cant think if any game where our mgt team have been able to effect change by changes in formation or personnel.
As such, I would question their ability to do so
Newcastle, no great shakes as mentioned, are defending admirably
31003 on 3RD JANUARY 2021 2:37 PM
PLs imagination could not match BRs ambition
BR made one mistake – Congleton
PL had it in for BR from that moment
We had the answer but PL could not see past being challenged
So PL went for a wander into the showers – the rest is PLs legacy
67ECW
“The game was lost for a few reasons: ”
——————
“Losing” (ahem) our best manager in decades.
Replacing him with one nowhere near as good because he “knows the city”.
Replacing a top quality keeper who didn’t need replacing, spending a fortune, trying four other ones and ending up with a far inferior one.
Keeping players who should have been allowed to leave because the manager can’t develop replacements.
Strengthening the opposition by commitment to the old firm.
Ignoring serial failures in Europe and accepting being a bit better than domestic opposition.
Awful recruitment and youth progression.
Football decisions being made by people with no clue about football.
31003 on 3RD JANUARY 2021 2:42 PM
Oh we are on the same page
Big issue, EH will call BR and ask a simple question
What is the CEO like to work with ??
And there you have the problem
So it’s back to the showers for PL
67ECW
Was feeling like most of you on here with every incident of yesterday’s match going through my brain and blaming this one and that for our defeat. In the end, I agree with so many of you that we are in this position because of decisions made by a Board who really appear to have no idea of what should be done to transform the situation or who are more interested in their own financial rewards despite getting us into this mess.
Feeling this poorly I turned on Carols from St Paul’s Cathedral and after the first choral recital. the young woman who presented the show started singing “You never walk alone”. It help to take away some of the darkness I was under. I began to remember things that have happened in all the years I have supported our club. It is over seventy years since as a young lad of 11 or 12 that I saw Celtic at Hampden in a Cup Final. Good days and not so good days followed, Yes. I was in Lisbon, Milan and Seville. I saw two nine in a rows, so many Cup wins, etc. But do you know what makes me the proudest to be a Celtic supporter, the ethos of our club or at least that part of the club, the supporters who have not forgotten our origins. WE were created too feed the poor and ever since men and women n our clubs up and down this country and in foreign places have kept that ideal to the fore by their actions. In many places people in need do not walk alone because of our adhering to the ideal. Keep that in mind these dark days. YNWA
The worst thing about yesterday was the panic that set in as soon as the (very harsh but not unexpected) red card.
We have been pegging them back for most of the match in a must win game. So what do we do? Almost immediately we resort to the tried and failed method of 1 up front by taking Griff off, arguably our most potent weapon.
Not content with blunting our attack thus, we also remove Christie from the fray and bring on Elhamed to join the hapless bombscare that is Duffy.
And then finally we have the bizarre and ridiculous site of the same Duffy charging around up front as we desperately seek an equaliser.
Just how many times do we have to repeat the same mistakes?
So many things wrong with our set up and no indication that anything will change soon because the architects of our demise are still firmly in place with their heads in the sand.
I’m old enough to have seen us win 9IAR twice, so I guess I am amongst the luckier ones. Doesn’t stop me being pissed off that we now seem to have given a record-breaking 10IAR up with a mere whimper.
Looking back over the 2007/8 season has given me a ray of hope.
The huns are 6 points beter off this season than in 2008 whilst we (assuming we win our games in hand) will be 3 points better off. We did go 10 points behind them at one stage and the towel throwing on here had Paul phoning his local laundry.
But we all know where the flag was flying come August.
KTF
CRC @ 12:31
The referees dossier!!! Haha! I had forgotten about that. We must have been in a real bad place when that was getting spoken about.
Was it not mentioned in one of the articles on here – the smoking gun we were all waiting for.
Yesterday’s referee has posted on his Instagram.
Utterly bizarre.
See videocelts latest article.
It really makes no sense to admit defeat. If Sevco loose their next game, which they may well do then the “best” case scenario would be a single point lead.
You would get good odds against, but it is possible.
I am sure the Sevco Chairman was delighted yesterday when he witnessed the Celtic Party depart in coaches operated by his Company.
I recall Lawwell patronising a shareholder for having the audacity to question why we were continuing to use this Company.
CLINK\O/ 4X3 on 3RD JANUARY 2021 2:56 PM
Looking back over the 2007/8 season has given me a ray of hope.
You are a very lucky man . And very rare too .
SPIDEY101- do you seriously think we would pay a Director of Football £5 million a year?
When people were on here at the end of last season and the start of this one saying Rangers had a decent team and would provide a challenge to us the abuse that many got was shocking.
Concerned fellow Celtic fans were called “huns”, “bed wetters” and other derogatory terms for having the balls/foresight to say that maybe we wouldn’t coast the league this year.
It’s still not mathematically impossible for us to lose it but I think the “Huns” and “bed wetters” deserve an apology from some.
What Paul67 has missed on Mad Hun
The punch towards Scott Brown and kick out at Kris Ajer, right in front of him, seconds before he decided to hug the Columbian.
We knew in November we needed another Centre Half, with Jullien’s injury it is 2
So are we signing them in January ???
And are we moving on those that want to move ?
Players to ship out this month
Ntcham ( already given up)
Rogic (when will he ever last 90mins)
Elhamed (wants out)
Christie ( allegedly sees himself as an EPL player)
We can then look at moving others on in the summer, including returning the loanees we have.
We also need to move out those loanees we have out – Bayo, Bolingoli, Shved & Hendry, although most never given a chance
Sell Odsonne and Ajer, to fund our team rebuild
I would also look to move on numerous others, and improve our squad quality with less players but better quality, back them up with our youths – start offering real player development
Today’s big piece, without the link … a lot of what’s in here has already been said.
—
In the aftermath of yesterday, I have strongly argued the case that it was Bobby Madden who had the decisive impact on the game. His call to send off Bitton, whatever you might think of it, was the point beyond which we ceased to be good for the win.
I blame Madden without equivocation. His contribution was critical. Without it we might well have gone on and secured the three points.
The moment he flashed the red card that was over with, so his decision materially, definitively, affected the outcome.
If, like me, you believe the decision was purely ridiculous and a scandal, then you can say with full confidence that Madden robbed us of the chance to keep our title hopes alive.
He is the guilty party.
That the outcome of such a critical match was decided in a single moment, with all its significance in the broader context, speaks volumes about where we are right now. When a club is facing a massive tie with must-win ramifications in early January something has already gone far, far wrong somewhere and most of us are pretty sure where the blame lies.
But let’s look not at the moment itself but its immediate aftermath, because in the statement that “Bobby Madden cost us victory” – which the manager himself repeated – lies one of the most damning verdicts on Neil Lennon’s abilities as you could find.
There were more than 20 minutes of the game left, and we had them pegged back in their own half for almost the entirety of the match up until that point. Yet the second the decision was made, I don’t think most of us believed we’d get anything from the game. I suspect that based on what Lennon said at full time he didn’t believe it either.
That’s the measure of where we were yesterday, this is what our directors gambled the season on; fair winds and no thunder.
Let me put in a way that makes sense to me, and might make some sense to you.
About three years ago, I read one of the best books I ever have; Sebastien Junger’s magnificent dramatic recreation of the fate of the Andrea Gail, The Perfect Storm, from which the movie of that name came about. Junger tells the story of the lost sword-boat and the men on board it, but he also provides a thoroughly interesting, and thought provoking, potted history of commercial fishing on the east coast of the United States.
Over and over again, in the interviews with captains who were in the storm that night or who had survived their own encounters with the weather and the sea, Junger reveals a dreadful truth; every captain knows that the longer they spend out there, the more trips, the more years, the more winters they face, the shorter the odds become that something terrible will happen from which they won’t return. A lot of captains face that with a kind of stoicism.
Others try to tilt the odds as much in their favour as they can. They don’t stay out past a certain time of the year. They won’t fish if the weather gets too intense. They look for places where the water is coldest, which lessens the intensity of the storms. With a good crew, with a good ship and a good plan in case of emergencies, these guys make the same bet as other commercial fishermen, only they do it with a better hand. Even then, it’s a crapshoot.
Because bad luck will happen. Another thing Junger makes clear is that in a bad situation at sea even a good captain and a sturdy vessel can flounder in moments if just the right (or wrong) combination of elements strikes. Rogue waves can overwhelm a boat in seconds, with little warning, and leave things very much in the hands of the Gods. A storm can descend suddenly, turning smooth seas into a foaming inferno within a very short space of time.
With Neil Lennon we put to sea in a modest vessel with a captain who for years has relied on two things; his ability to fish in calm waters and the skills of the crew. A guy who, to paraphrase Springsteen, lives “by luck and fate.”
The Good Ship Celtic, as captained by Neil Lennon, was not designed for stormy seas.
Our bet when we hired Lennon on 25 May 2019 was that the waters would remain flat and calm. We bet against the weather turning, and when it did we had no answer and we’ve still got no answer even as the seas rage and we rise and fall amidst the waves.
I do not blame Neil Lennon for this. I blame the people who sent him out to sea with a crew who depended on him, in a multi-million-pound boat and took the precaution only of crossing their fingers and hoping nothing went wrong out there.
Neil Lennon is a limited manager. He should never have been entrusted with the responsibilities laid at his door. That is a failing on the men who hired him, not Lennon himself. It’s like putting Nir Bitton at central defence yesterday; are you going to blame Bitton for not being Franco Baresi? He isn’t playing in his natural role. On a good day he’ll stroll. On a day with everything on the line, in a high pressure moment, he’ll behave like a fish out of water.
Across Celtic cyberspace yesterday and today, the overwhelming realisation that the match ended the moment Bitton was red-carded is an indictment of the men who gave Lennon control of the ship. I knew Lennon wouldn’t be able to plan his way out of the hole Bitton had left. I knew Lennon wasn’t going to respond to it the way Rodgers did, because Rodgers is a top class operator, a strategist and a tactician and Lennon is nowhere near that level.
There were storm clouds on the horizon before we even put to sea yesterday. The big turnaround a lot of folk were hoping for depended on those same perfect conditions and the injury to Jullien at the weekend made sure we weren’t going to get them. That put Lennon in a position where he had to choose Bitton or Duffy, neither of whom was the optimal choice.
See, this could just as easily have been a crucial injury during the game, or a moment of luck from an Ibrox player which gave them the lead against the run of play, or any one of a dozen different things that can go wrong and force a manager to change his plans on the fly … and when Lennon has to do that he flounders, it’s just a fact, we’ve seen it all before.
What haunts me looking at the highlights now is the image of Lennon and Kennedy on the side-lines with looks on their faces which to me screamed “Oh, what the Hell do we do now?” Nobody planned for this scenario in advance – unlike Rodgers, who proadly boasted that he had thought that far, after he’d gone to Ibrox, lost a player, put a striker on and won the match.
Yet in the aftermath of yesterday, there is a casual acceptance that when Madden produced the red the game left our control. But as I said above, there were still twenty minutes left and the manager had no fewer than five substitutions available to him.
What were his game-changing decisions in the first instance? Remember, we’re at Ibrox chasing three points when nothing else will do. They are on the ropes. We’ve lost a defensive player, but there are options here for a manager who can read the runes.
Lennon took off our on-form striker, the player who had tested McGregor into a world class save earlier in the game, and also our on-form goal scoring midfielder. I was not in the least bit surprised that he made those decisions; they are Neil Lennon substitutions.
In those choices was a decision to ditch the high press and sit back and counter, a tactic which has been tested to destruction by every club to visit Ibrox this season … a tactic which depends on you staying lucky and nothing going wrong.
Ha! Why did that not seem like such a good idea?
Because if it was going to be that kind of day, if it already had been, we could have shut our TV’s off and taken the draw.
Lady Luck had already spat in our face.
We were just begging for her to give it a good slap as well.
Which she duly did, and a match where the hosts didn’t register a shot on target ended with them winning 1-0 and brought about the effective end of our league campaign.
But it was always coming, and if hadn’t come yesterday it would have been waiting for us somewhere else down the line.
Because this is what happens when you put to sea and bet everything on clear skies and a gentle breeze.
On some other day where we got stormy weather instead, some other day when a dodgy penalty or bad break of the ball cost us three points and let the club at Ibrox extend its lead, we would be telling this same tale of woe.
It’s like Phil said to me in late November; when a manager is living game to game it’s over.
When his team is living game to game you are just one bad result from disaster, and if you’re one bad result from disaster what you really mean is that you are one dodgy Bobby Madden decision from disaster, and surrendering any hopes you have of the title.
Let me say it again; I do not blame Neil Lennon for yesterday; I blame Bobby Madden.
But yesterday didn’t happen in isolation, it was the predictable result of a club strategy based on crossing your fingers and hoping for the best. It was the Perfect Storm.
At the top of our house, in the boardroom, and most probably, most directly, in the offices of the CEO, someone decided to send the Good Ship Celtic out into a perilous December in the hope that we got calm seas.
Then the rogue wave – the rogue referee – struck on the starboard bow.
It’s over, and to quote Herman Melville’s masterpiece, “Now small fowls flew screaming over the yet yawning gulf; a sullen white surf beat against its steep sides; then all collapsed, and the great shroud of the sea rolled on as it rolled five thousand years ago.”
GLENDALYSTONSILS
Concede nothing to that mob until the sums don’t add up no more.
We never thought that Helicopter Thursday would have been possible that season as we had fallen that far behind. But, win we did.
So why not again. And if we don’t manage to turn this around, then lets at least go down fighting.