Current Celtic issue is not managerial

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Hindsight and all that, but looking back, Celtic’s form slipped in mid-April this year.  We were imperious until that point, but even wins, like the Scottish Cup semi-final win over Newco, were not as impressive than the League Cup Final win over the same opponents a few weeks earlier.

The season petered out amid home draws against Motherwell and St Mirren and heavy defeats at Ibrox and Easter Road.  The Scottish Cup Final win over Inverness was laboured compared to the League Cup Final performance.

Potency was lost when Aaron Mooy was injured in the second week of March.  He returned for the odd cameo – one start and three substitute appearances, but the sharpness was gone.  Adding to the issue, Cameron Carter-Vickers dropped out of the team after the Scottish Cup semi-final win in April.  Aaron is now gone and it has been Cameron’s turn to put in cameo appearances this season.

Watching our midfield this season, it should be clear to all that the other big absence from the side is Reo Hatate.  Callum McGregor has been partnered with two from Matt O’Riley, David Turnbull and Odin Holm.  Stacks of potential there but we are missing the laser-like craft of Reo, nor have we replaced the strength of Aaron.  Until this is addressed, nothing will change.

This is your timely reminder that Carter-Vickers and Jota didn’t join Celtic until deadline day two years ago.  Without that day’s business, Tottenham fans would not be able to pronounce the name Postecoglou right now.  We are not witnessing a managerial issue, just the normal process of rebuilding a team, while targeting valued players in demand with others fill their trollies with frees and journeymen.

Our own Mouldy67 has suffered injury in recent years, which stopped him participating in the recent Road to Seville cycle event from Celtic Park to the city we descended upon 20 years ago.  I spoke to him last week for the video below and asked about his extraordinary work on behalf of the Celtic FC Foundation and the enormous challenge he is about undertake.

He will complete a virtual cycle of over 1,000 miles, including gradients, to raise money for our Foundation.  For a man carrying an injury, it is a magnificent commitment, one that is an example to a few in the modern game.  It was a moving insight into where we have been as a community in recent years, and Mouldy67’s take on being a Celtic supporter.  I recommend it to you.

You can read more about his story, support his cycling and the work of the Foundation by donating here.  Thank you.

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287 Comments

  1. bournesouprecipe on

    Celtic40ME

     

     

    The mere whiff of an EBT should be enough for even our most unprincipled among our board members.

     

     

    Re Postecoglu ;

     

     

    How about he was allegedly tapping up players for another club whilst still under contract with Celtic.

     

     

    You’ll recall Celtic received a record fine for ‘tapping up’ Tommy Burns whilst he was manager of Kilmarnock, a fine that led to the tapping up rules being changed.

  2. Ange just had the experience and patter

     

     

    If he was british he would have been an alex ferguson, Arsene Wenger

     

     

    When I see him talk am reminded of what we had

     

     

    And also wonder if it was sound bytes developed over a 40 year career

     

     

    Most of his clubs has been 2 years or 3 years max before they burned out and he hopped up the ladder to somewhere new

     

     

    And looking at the injury list and lacklustre players we have now he has left?

     

     

    He is perfect for clubs with £400 Million plus turnover

     

     

    As he can replace the players he has burnt out

     

     

    Anyway back to Celtic

     

     

    I hope Brendan abandons whatever the transition has been

     

     

    Drop a winger and ut one more (Iwata or Holme) into the midfield and shore it up

     

     

    We have better players to a man

     

     

    Not sure they are being utilised in the right way for Brendan

  3. garygillespieshamstring on

    MOD 1888

     

     

    Good to see ideas being floated to try to get folk more involved.

     

    Would be concerned that a “dislike” button might put new posters off.

     

     

    I lurked for some time before putting my head above the parapet to post.

     

    First reply I got was from Kojo, followed by a few others, all welcoming me to the site. This encouraged me to continue.

     

     

    I would be concerned that a new poster getting a stack of “dislikes” on their first few posts might put them off posting, whereas a reply giving a welcome even if it disagreed with the content would be more likely to encourage the person to continue contributing.

     

     

    Just my thoughts, but I think a welcoming atmosphere and reasonable discussions were the characteristics that attracted and encouraged a wide variety of posters from the early days.

     

     

    HH

  4. i trawled through the feb to winning the league at hertz (2-0)

     

     

    i am really struglling even reading the reports as to which game angeball started to wither.

     

     

    wins at pittodrie, hearts, killie, st mirren,

     

     

    a 4 goal half time at killie

     

     

    down halftime at paisley and we score 5 in second half

     

     

    cup ties won by more than two goals,

     

     

    hums smited 3 times,

     

     

    seriously what did people experience last season ?

     

     

    the run in was a dawdle.

  5. 100% Mod1888.

     

     

    Are you a hun?

     

     

    With injuries the first thing he should have done was revert to their strengths, we would be 3 clear and still in a cup in my opinion.

     

     

    ;)

     

     

    KLV

  6. The urgency and free flow was gone Stivs, no one said we were crap but we were far from angeball.

     

     

    KLV

  7. GARYGILLESPIESHAMSTRING

     

     

    Agree and disagree

     

     

    It’s up to us to welcome the new posters onto the blog

     

     

    And that’s a massive thing

     

     

    New peoples on the blog are massively intimidated

     

     

    They should be welcomed on and then after a few posts be treated as the rest of us are?

     

     

    And to be honest, it is up to the new posters to keep the standards high

  8. The urgency and free flow was gone Stivs, no one said we were crap but we were far from angeball.

     

     

    cannot agree.

     

     

    4 goals in 20 minutes at killie.

     

     

    5 in 25 minutes at saint mirren

     

     

    the trademark goals in last ten happened when needed.

  9. GARYGILLESPIESHAMSTRING

     

     

    Speaking of Kojo

     

     

    When I first posted I was Clunks67

     

     

    Kojo ripped into me so concisely for the 67 thing

     

     

    I dropped it

     

     

    Fast lol

  10. Chaz Mulgrews comments on the game at the weekend

     

     

    “”The one positive that I’ll start with is that it was a much better performance from Celtic in terms of, they created three or four good chances which they didn’t do at Kilmarnock.

     

     

    “The ‘keeper made some good saves for St Johnstone and I think the Celtic players will be disappointed that they didn’t take the chances so straight away, if you’re not judging games on results and you’re judging it on performances, they probably should have won that game.

     

     

    “If they scored all of they goals, it could have been three or four.

     

     

    They didn’t and it’s disappointing from Celtic’s point of view.

     

     

    I think this week, they’ll try and get two or three signings in to fit into Brendan Rodgers’ style and from then, they can be judged moving forward from there.”

     

     

    Hard to disagree

  11. garygillespieshamstring on

    MOD 1888@8.22

     

     

    Can’t disagree with any of that.

     

     

    RE Kojo , I do remember he had strong opinions on blog names, among other things.

  12. GGH

     

     

    Yeah he did lol

     

     

    No one ever found out what became of him

     

     

    Which is a shame

  13. MODERATOR1888 on 28TH AUGUST 2023 8:17 PM

     

     

    Ange left Yokohama in the middle of a successful season. They were second, I think, when he left. He left the club in good enough shape for two first place finishes after he left

  14. A wee bit different now,instead of fking about before the Qualifiers, we are fking about for players after we are in the Groups now

  15. The like/dislike thing

     

     

    Just a like, love, laughing, crying thing

     

     

    Possible a clover….

     

     

    No dislike button

  16. BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 28TH AUGUST 2023 8:16 PM

     

     

    No problem with tapping up. A bit of a problem with the suggestion that Ange was tapping up players for another club that hadn’t even offered the job to him, in Celtics time.

     

     

    Even the old Huns couldn’t conjure up that sort of shenanigans

  17. Prestonpans bhoys on

    Hope the sfa/spl accept signed scanned contracts because the state European flights are right now folk outwith the UK are not moving fast. Got folk stuck in Berlin for starters……..

  18. All being fit and well,and three new signings used ,this would probably have been our line up from now

     

     

    Hart

     

    Johnston. CCV. Navrocki, Taylor

     

     

    Calmac O Riley. Hatate

     

     

    Palma. Kyoto. Yang.

     

     

    Now apart from Taylor,which will be the most voted on,who would you drop from that team to allow the,” 5″ new signings to play?.

  19. We used to have a chap on here who was always the go to guy for late in the transfer season

     

     

    What’s his name, and where is he now?

  20. Sent an email to Catman’s last known email

     

     

    Hope he posts, even if he got nothing on transfers……