Central-mid quandary for Celtic

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We know what to expect from Aberdeen tonight.  They will flood (pardon the pun) central midfield, defend deeply and, let’s be clear, they will score any time we allow them the kind of space they exploited at Celtic Park this month.

Question is, what will Celtic do about it?  If Stefan Johansen’s ankle knock keeps him out the central-mid triangle of Johansen, Brown and Biton will be disrupted, and surely Neil Lennon will not revert to a central two after the Scottish Cup lesson.  The picture is further complicated by the injury to Emilio Izaguirre, which forced Charlie Mulgrew back at the weekend.  Mulgrew would be a suitable direct replacement for Johansen.

In 10 years doing this stuff I’ve probably used no more than a few dozen words to praise emerging young talent; it’s been a rough decade in that respect.  Without wanting to go overboard in any way, Darnell Fisher has looked more than comfortable at right back in the absence of Mikael Lustig and Adam Matthews.  Darnell’s problem going forward will be that he has two excellent international players ahead of him in the pecking order, but for tonight, I would be tempted to bring Matthews to left back (if he can do it against Barcelona….) and restore Fisher to the right back slot.  This would allow Charlie to sit alongside Scott Brown and Nir Biton in central-mid.

Well done to Frank McAvennie, who is jumping out of an aeroplane 15,000 feet in the air.  You can play your part in this exercise by supporting the Quarriers run, Chavey Down residential home, in Newton Mearns, which helps young people up to the age of 16.

The need is for sensory equipment, toys and wheelchair-appropriate play areas.  To contribute, go to Frank’s JustGiving page, or text FMSD 89 followed by £1, 2, 3, 5, 10 to 70070.

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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  1. Malceye…

     

     

    Serious question as I haven’t seen any of your previous posts on a single issue that seems to irritate you.

     

     

    Are you on the square?

     

     

    Just asking like.

  2. the exiled tim

     

     

    13:15 on 25 February, 2014

     

    Lord Tyre says there is enough evidence for the case to go ahead. But no arrestment of moneys as its unreasonable.

     

    ______________________________

     

     

    Well there yi go no surprise there, there is nothing, and I mean nothing, going to stop this mob coming back, no matter who or what you through in front of them, I told you all yesterday, they are untouchable, and the result in the tax case will go there way too, it has been written trust me, and you can bring in all your law,tax, industry experts you want, the dye has been cast deal with it, but we can still laugh at them.

  3. ryecatcher

     

     

    13:16 on 25 February, 2014

     

    BIGNAN…..

     

     

    Would like to remind you that I am posting as an absolute numpty with a total contempt and distrust for lawyers and accountants…..except for the guys on here like BRTH and co.,who are just good guys with dodgy occupations lol

     

    ………………………………

     

    What do you call 100 lawyers at the bottom of the sea?

     

     

    A start!

  4. Right, now that the little matter in Edinburgh is out of the way for the moment, let`s concentrate on the Aberdeen game ( and, you , Malceye, can indulge in a bit of training for your 100k. I hope the weather is and will be better than it was when you did your little jog from Girvan to Cairnryan 0:-) )

     

    So, Aberdeen.

     

    Team for tonight is not as easily selected as normal . I will assume that Stefan and Leigh are out as well as Izzy (then hope to be pleasantly surprised).

     

    Forster

     

    Fisher Ambrose van Djik matthews

     

    Brown Biton Henderson Mulgrew

     

    Commons

     

    Stokes

     

    If I am pleasantly surprised,then

     

    Forster

     

    Matthews Ambrose van Djik Mulgrew

     

    Brown Biton Johansen Commons

     

    Griffiths Stokes

     

     

    JJ ( Poster, not substitute).

  5. Rioskorrie, I can remember the same

     

    Thing happening to that fine judge of Scottish keepers peter shilton just don’t ask me when!

  6. Awwy Wamont just tweeted how delighted the berrs are with Lord Tyres windfall and that all the money WILL go straight to The Binmans warchest…………

     

    Aye.

  7. I’m currently in a bar having a quiet drink on my own – Tallybhoy no mates.

     

     

    Guy with the loudest, most annoying voice I’ve ever heard in my life.

     

     

    Like feckin Foghorn Leghorn on steroids.

     

     

    HH!!

  8. As long as we don’t start with Samaras, Forrest and Commons we have a good chance of winning this game, however if Neil goes all gung ho and comes up with some other form fancy dan type football chances are we will see a repeat of the cup tie exit, win the midfield Neil, win the midfield, if we do that everything else will fall into place.

  9. ………………Meanwhile……………………over on FF………..

     

    GrandMaster Billy McBanger has just demanded………….

     

    whit happened wi’ the Lord Tyre munny…….?

  10. Frank Ryan's Whiskey on

    Is it true that Frankie Bhoy was keen to volunteer for the parachute jump because someone told him that there were many different types of ‘Burds’ in the sky?

  11. Have a feeling Barry Robson will put on another show tonight….hope his team mates let him down though!!

     

     

    What an intelligent player and,in my opinion seriously under-rated in his (too short)stay at Paradise.

     

     

    Reckon he would still do a job for us if he would have stayed.

  12. bigchipsuk – there are only two spl teams in glasgow… celtic and partick thistle

     

     

    13:24 on 25 February, 2014

     

    tonydonnelly67 (13.21), I hope HMRC push for their case to be heard in an English court, as there may be a conflict of interest if it is heard under the Scottish system.

     

    _____________________

     

     

    I think both you and I know that will never happe, think about it all these court cases and they haven’t lost ONE, what does that tell yi, am jist being realistic .

  13. TonyD…..

     

     

    The ‘dye’ that has been cast?

     

     

    Are the Sleazedale brothers colouring their hair?

     

     

    JustforMenwithtriplechinsCSC

  14. Play Liam Henderson if injured players are unavailable.

     

    Lenny doesn’t trust Darnell against pace of McGinn and Hayes IMO.

     

    FF

     

    Adam, Efe, VVD, Chas

     

    Broonie, Biton, Henderson

     

    Kris

     

    Anto, LG

     

     

    EC67

     

     

    1-0 the good ghuys, strike 2 for Leigh

  15. rt rev david hay

     

    13:19 on

     

    25 February, 2014

     

    its no quandry….we shouldnt have sold ledley.

     

    now only three 1st team midfielders for three berths.

     

     

    But we did sell him so what is the purpose of your post?

     

     

    Also,the official website lists TEN midfielders. F Twardzik ,Henderson and Heron plus seven who have played quite a few first team games.

     

     

     

    JJ

  16. Liam Henderson for Stefan Johansen if he’s not fit. Straight replacement. Like for like, centre mid for centre mid. Keeps team shape that’s worked well since cup defeat. Stop us getting overrun in midfield like last time. Prevents rushing players back from injury. Gives youth a chance.

     

     

    Ticks many boxes.

  17. TD67

     

     

    When all this stuff started coming to the fore, long before minty sold the club to whytie, I said on here and other sites that it would get political, and that the goat people would see them right.

     

     

    I was mocked by many for those views, but I stuck by them, and I still stick by them today.

     

     

    I have seen how they work.

     

     

    I knew a high court judge a while back, he was a Lord to boot, always took great delight in telling people he was a legal crook, while quaffing his malt whiskey, that is as true as I am typing just now.

     

     

    HH

  18. antipodean red

     

     

     

     

    12:50 on

     

     

    25 February, 2014

     

     

     

     

    auldheid,

     

     

    In your earlier response to tamrabam, you said, “If HMRC lose then all ebts but those to De Boer and Flo were regular. If HMRC win then all ebts were irregular and LNS falls anyway as it is no longer a misregistration issue but paying players by unlawful means.”

     

     

    Does this mean in your opinion that the LNS verdict will become null and void and that the SFA and SPL/SFPL would then be forced to go back to all matches that these compromised individual players were involved in and alter the match outcomes to reflect this new status?

     

     

    Do you think that it is in any way possible that the trophies ‘won’ during this period would also be declared null and void and appropriate penalties applied to the guilty parties?

     

     

    In my heart, I know the answers to my questions but I maintain that only a full and open public enquiry will get all of the answers into this unthinkable social scandal in Scotland.

     

    =========================

     

    LNS was always going to be a hostage to FTT then UTT fortune and in many ways it would have been best had it not taken place as it provides cover in the sense of a yellow card was given for what might well turn out to be a red card offense.

     

     

    My contention is that had all the evidence been presented to LNS in the first place he would have been judging a red card not yellow card offense.

     

     

    TBB earlier (and at least a year ago as well) made the point you make re the FTT/UTT result being a matter to revisit LNS.

     

     

    Everybody knows that but the truth is the game does not want to go there because of the title stripping consequences.

     

     

    In that regard my position is they can keep their stinking titles as long as the whole culture of mis-governance that helped produced them is dismantled.

     

     

    I go further, if you listen to Stuart Cosgrove podcast on TSFM (and yes the site is very slow to load) the only way forward for Scottish football is owning up to the true nature of what took place and the UTT, if it finds for HMRC will almost force that issue.

     

     

    Even if it does not, the way the SFA and SPL handled events since Rangers entered administration will leave a stink of corruption that will drive many away from football and it will not just be the tax payer that will benefit in the long run from an HMRC victory.

     

     

    Now I know some will demand title stripping but I ask where does that take our game? In the podcast Stuart Cosgrove speaks of the shame die hard Rangers men feel at what has been done in their name at their club. The nutters will be the loudest and defiant, that is what makes them nutters, but they do not represent the full support.

     

     

    My line is simple, put processes in play to stop what has happened happening again, police them and lets see where we go from there. If the fear of title stripping has to be removed to make that happen then, as I said, they are welcome to the discredited symbols of what they stand for if the culture that produced them is consigned by reform to history.

  19. I was at Aberdeen’s game v PT at Firhill. First half they were the better team and should have been a couple ahead. In the second half PT upped the pace, were in their faces and they couldn’t cope. 3-1 to PT flattered Aberdeen. Robson is still a very good player but is slow and one footed, all PT did was close him down quickly and he was negated to the point they substituted him. Defensively they looked very slow and Taylor of PT gave them the runaround in the second half, scoring two and missing another three equally decent chances.

     

    Dominate the middle tonight and we’ll win. Griffiths pace and movement will cause them nightmares if we can supply the ball to him. That means getting the ball forward quickly like PT did and not our usual crab football where we pass the ball to death and end up deeper than where we started.

  20. Well said, Paul

     

    Young Darnell Fisher is a very accomplished full back(right back) and he struggled a bit at left back until he found his rythmn. The boy is good and should be played.

     

    My worry though is whether Lenny will have learned from his mistake the last time we played Aberdeen and Lenny has repeated a good few, and that worries me a tad.

     

    Aberdeen are by no means a great team, but they do seem to adapt well to a given situation. We can beat them and should but whether the clean sheet record hold out we will have to wait and see.

     

    Predict a 3- nil to the good guys

     

     

    KINGLuBO

  21. Tamrabam

     

     

    We are on the same page, except there is another page still to be turned that will hopefully nullify all that LNS and his cohorts attempted.

  22. The exiled Tim

     

    Oh I believe you, I ran up against the brotherhood once, left a very nasty taste in my mouth, it gave a fright if I’m being REALY honest still does to this very day as wee speak, there is more bad in that fraternity than there is good, you don’t stand a chance honestly.

  23. As I understand Lord Tyres reasoning he thought the sequestration of the funds would be more prejudicial to Imran as it may provoke an insolvency event which would leave Imran up the rio de caca as far as his claim was concerned.

  24. Paul 67

     

     

    Fisher in, Mathews switched and Charlie mid field was my thinking too.

     

     

    Probably means Griffiths at left back :)

  25. ryecatcher

     

     

    13:39 on 25 February, 2014

     

    Tony D…

     

     

    Die….as in Rangers…….died

     

     

    Die Castings

     

     

    SpellingandsemanticsCSC

     

    __________________

     

     

    So what’s the proper one, die/dye you got me mixed up now,? Lol

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