It’s probably easier to start with what went right last night, than what went wrong. Efe Ambrose was the epitome of composure, trying to retain possession whenever possible, his transformation since Juventus has been remarkable. van Dijk, Lustig and Izaguirre each did well. Fraser Forster had a few saves to make, but this was one Champions League game he didn’t need to pull off a wonder-save. He was totally exposed for the goal but otherwise Ajax didn’t really stress the Celtic goalkeeper, a clue, perhaps, to the solid performance of those immediately in front of him.
Our top two Champions League performers, Georgios Samaras and Kris Commons, both put in their least effective game at this level. Samaras’ normally-reliable touch and ability to hold the ball deserted him, while Kris looked like a guy returning from injury. Slowly.
The minutia of these games are analysed by each team and after last month’s game, Frank de Boer clearly identified that Georgios was the major cog in Celtic’s machine. The striker was triangulated by opponents each time the ball came near him.
Neil Lennon was left with few choices in the middle of the park. Mulgrew and Kayal would not have been his first choice partnership, given a free hand, but the only practical change there would have been to introduce Joe Ledley. It’s far from clear what difference this would have made.
Celtic persisted in playing down the left long after it was evident this strategy was unproductive. Late in the first half one wag text me to say, “Time to bring Forrest on”, which told the whole story. Anthony Stokes was adrift, largely unconnected to the ankle clipping going on behind him. In short, our play was predictable and correctly predicted by do Boer. We didn’t have a Plan B, which even the best of teams need to avoid defeat occasionally in the Champions League.
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setting free the bears supports celtic’s best fighter- wee oscar knox
15:30 on 7 November, 2013
The MSM are conveniently forgetting the Ajax fans reputation, and actions when they were in Glasgow………when are they going to do something to sort Ajax out….and their plain clothes louts, masquerading as Police Officers ….
SFTB
Thanks for the reply. I look forward to having a pint withyou some day.
Corkcelt said: ” Jaysus you must have been some player yourself to demand such high standards from others.”
I have a perfect image in my mind of how you must have looked on seeing DhenBhoy`s post!
JJ
Celtic – Nil, our “Opponents”, Won
Maybe not as important as the reported violent behaviour of some of our support but the mess left in the Square does not sit with my view of great supporters.
JJ
PS I deliberately used the word “maybe” at the beginning of my post. Very bad behaviour seldom starts from nowhere.
Sftb
I think we are saying same thing.
No doubts we gave a great reputation no doubts Ajax have an appalling reputation. So the probability is that we would be less at fault than Ajax bams.
I just think some of our less well behaved support have played in to the hands of those eager to detract from our hard won reputation.Most annoyingly it allows the media to tar us with a brush that is unfair.
Given the behaviour of the Dutch 2 weeks ago it was very predictable that there would be trouble last night.
Hiya Jungle Jim, Must admit I’m a bit peeved with the OTT criticism that is being ladled out. Anyways I’m looking forward to the trip over for the Milan game but next time I’m going out to ground nice & early. These blooming pre match meals run too close to kick off time. I’m going to try and meet a few CQN’ers in the pub around 3pm after having a bit of grub and head out to the lounges about 6. Hope to meet up with you again, enjoyed the chat last time out.
Scottish footballers,on the whole,do not work hard enough at their game.Fitness levels are very low.How many goals have we conceded in the last 15/20 mins in the CL.
The attitude of some players is very worrying,Tony Watt anyone.Are our management doing enough,or doing just enough.
I don’t know the answers,but it seems that we are happy to win normal league games by one goal or to draw,something is not right.
Jungle Jim
Amsterdam was unprepared for the invasion. It would appear they didn;t have the right amount of police and they did not have bins in the square for people to put their empties in. Simple stuff really. I have seen Celtic supporters all over the UK and Europe cleaning up after themselves. They were underprepared.
On another note I thought Scottish police travelled with the fans these days? After the first leg that should have been a priority to keep our citizens safe abroad and liase with the Dutch police. I know people think our coppers are out to get us but a few Tim coppers travelling over and giving out the right advice would have made a difference. The Dutch obviously saw the boisterous singing and assumed that trouble was round the corner and steamed in. They have obviously no idea how our support in the main behave.
It was a situation easilly prevented. The Dutch police were probably criticised for not dealing with the incident on Tuesday at the Old Sailor and decided to go in heavy handed on the Wednesday. They are clearly not the brightest!
LB
Predictable plan A and no plan B.
The football we play these days is horrendous, aye it sometimes gets results in the CL but it’s hard to watch.
No one seems to bother or question the manager.
Jungle Jim
16:23 on
November, 2013
Maybe not as important as the reported violent behaviour of some of our support but the mess left in the Square does not sit with my view of great supporters.
did you see any BINS about.i watched the same thing in BARCA but again no BINS.10K VISITORS you would think someone would think LITTER.
bankiebhoy1
16:04 on 7 November, 2013
If you have issues with any particular poster(s) address them…?
It might make your posts seem less snide and cowardly. Man up.
The Glasgow police escorted an army of Ajax hooliganish supporters as they marched down the road through the city centre chanting sectarian insults.ftp.
They then stood back as the Ajax morons created havoc in the stadium.They arrested no-one.
But their very keen to go after any Celtic fan who got involved in Amsterdam.
This is not impartial policeing.
Fair play to the Celtic supporters over in that open-air sewer last night.
They were obviously provoking people all day long,and the Celtic support decided that enough is enough.
We are the most peaceful support in football,but Celtic supporters are no mugs.
Scottish people are no mugs in general,if you wind them up too much,then you are gonna get yer balls rolled – simple as that.
Dutch people are mugs,clowns.Good money makers though – the things that they allow to take place in that city for the sake of money can only be described as pure evil.
They cannot criticise the behaviour of anybody.
Estadio National.
Totally agree with you.
Woe betide anyone who speaks bad about Neil Lennon.
fanadpatriot
I would agree to an extent but the Ajax subs were important last night. They made a much better impact than ours did. I have no idea why Kayal was subbed in both games. His shooting may be woeful but he was just starting to assert himself in midfield in the home leg and last night when subbed. I know he was on a booking but he was getting things moving. I thought we were much weaker without him.
LB
oldtim67 16:38
WGS was chased for football I say was better than what we have just now. We are getting a reputation for dour defensive football but the fans are great, would be great to hear the opposition talk about our football. But he ho ‘we are all Neil Lennon’ apparently.
Hope all is well.
EN
Fitness levels very poor and basic are ….. well a bit basic. Some of our Bhoys couldn’t trap a bag of cement last night and first touches were passes to Ajax. Compare and contrast the skills of the young Ajax players. Be interesting to know if and how these very obvious shortcomings are being addressed at Lennoxtown.
Fitness levels very poor and basic football skills are ….. well a bit basic. Some of our Bhoys couldn’t trap a bag of cement last night and first touches were passes to Ajax. Compare and contrast the skills of the young Ajax players. Be interesting to know if and how these very obvious shortcomings are being addressed at Lennoxtown.
Hi Ghuys, Salve salve;-
Consider, our youth team hammered Alax at home and missed two penalties away on Tuesday. Taking this in conjuction with their previous performances against First gen and champions league youths, they have proved to be broadly of the same ability both tactically and technically. We then come to the first team and the question which arises is what is happenning? .
If you take Ajax and look at the way they set their team out and the tactics they employed thirty years ago are they any different to what we witnessed last night? Ok the personnel have changed and you don’t get many Cryuff’s or Bergamps about, but the ehtos of the team is the same. This begs the question what influence has Ronald De Boer had in deciding what the playing philosophy of Ajax will be? He is in fact as much a custodian as he is a manager and the fitness, technique and tactical ability of that side will be overwhelmingly the remit of the coaching staff.
Compare with what we get every time we have changed our manager, we have changed the way we play the game, the youths seem to play a different game to the first team so it is little wonder that when they are given some game time they can find it a struggle. Some might accuse our manager of finding a way to play in Europe which brings a measure of success and they would be correct up to a point but I do not think that the majority of Celtic supporters will continue to stick by the team if they continue to play Wimbledon FC football. I was really enthusiastic about the appointment of Gordon Strachan but by the time he left, I was glad because the football we played at the fag end of his time was lamentable.
I think that if Neil Lennon is to continue in place then both Johan Mjalby and Garry Parker should be replaced with as good coaches as we can get. I started with the youths and will end this post by saying that our manager really has got to give more of these boys more game time. I have always disliked managers in any industry that I have been in who practised favouritism and there is no place for it in a successful football team. Btw Mr Mcguinness fitness guru and motivator did he come back? If not was his leaving down to someone’s ego not allowing influence over the team? and why did Willie Mcstay have to leave the club? Could these two have made a difference to youth development?
Greenwells.
Una salus victis nullam sperare salutem
This group is going exactly to form
Our home games were always going to determine our success.
The final home was always going to be crucial
TBB – that is a very interesting take on events actually.
Tuesday night Celts were attacked in The Old Sailor totally unprovoked.
Today I spoke at length to the girls in the bar in Dam square where the trouble was last night. (Darlings by the way) They insisted Celtic fans had behaved well. Group of Ajax fans had removed a flag (presumably in retaliation from our home game) from Dam Sq and had been chased. Plain clothed cops jumped in and set about some guys but no one knew they were cops. People fought back and it escalated from there.
Having said all that, I agree with your friend. Whilst I recognise I am not a young fella anymore I thought some of the behaviour from our fans was a bit dodgy. It was generally good humoured as ever but some were well over the top.
I have never seen as many young ones at an away game in Europe and I mentioned this to the Dublin guys I was with.
Amsterdam is a place to be enjoyed (I might have over indulged myself) but there was an atmosphere I haven’t experienced before. I don’t go to many domestic away games so perhaps I am just not experienced in it but it was new to me.
The main trouble was definitely not of our making though, I checked it out.
Good craic overall if you take away the performance of the team.
Corkcelt @ 15:58,
“.. Just seen on one report that Police arrested 44 fans 28 of them Scottish& 16 Dutch. Why can’t ye all be nice & peaceful, like the Irish. ”
Their grandad’s might have been Rangers supporters:-)
Hail Hail
LiviBhoy
Agree about Kayal.If he was given an extended run in the team I feel sure he would recapture his form of before.Strange how Mulgrew rarely gets subbed,even when he jumps out of a 50/50 ball last night.I am slowly losing my faith in our managements abilities.
Tom
Saw your tweets earlier. Pleased you enjoyed the town, if not the football.
Estadio National.
When are you coming home,I seem to miss you every time you’ve been home lately.Have to have a drink with you next time your back.
I’m trying to get fit too go to the Barcelona game.
Fanadpatriot
Agree re Kayal. If gets back to his best – he should be captain in my opinion as he will be well ahead of Scott Brown .
Re Manager – Lennon has progressed massively for a guy with so little previous experience. I’d stick with him as he could be a truly great manager in the making and almost certainly better than who we would replace him with..
KTF!
Old Tim 67 and EstadioNacional
I have been a constant critic of Neil Lennons tactics and system.
I always feel his limitations far exceed his positives.
I don’t take too much flak for this.
Generally I’m ignored. :)
fanadpatriot
Neil Lennon will make mistakes. Comes with the territory. He sent the team out all wrong last night. Didn’t change it early enough and when he did he got it wrong again. It happens.
He will learn from it. Our players look jaded. Probably due to the early start of the season. Players appear to be picking up all sorts of wee injuries and appear tired. I would withdraw all Celtic players from the Scotland friendlies. Absolutely no good to us. We need our players fit and ready for our games. We must beat Hearts in the cup and hopefully pick up something at home to AC Milan or we have one trophy to go for this season and it’s already in the bag!
LB
Estadio Nacional & oldtim
There seem to have been an awful lot of posts criticisng our manager, our players and various others.
If there really is “No one (who) seems to bother or question the manager.” or has woe to betide them, if they do, it seems to have been a remarkably unsuccessful policy.
I would say that those defending them are in a minority.
reading a blog seems to be as hard as reading a game :-)
One time 8 of us hopped on a train from the airport.
We didn’t know how to pay for tickets,so we decided that we would just pay the €3 fare on the stupid train.
They wouldn’t let us pay the fare and fined us €46 each on the spot.
The lowlifes.
They were actually smiling when they were handing out the fines,and just wouldn’t listen to anybody.
Down nearly €50 each before even setting foot in the place.
Welcome to Amsterdam eh?
They even said have a nice day in that stupid Dutch accent.Not stupid when they are ripping people off though.
oldtim67 16:52
Aye that would be good. I was back last month, the one week there was no games on. Looking at going home for AC Milan game, over a year since my last home game, I need to get back. Would be good to get a drink. 01Bhoy said we had to have a drink for you when I met him in Sydney, we had a load of them.
EN
fan-a-tic 16:52
Ha, ignored by those that refuse to think the football should be questioned, they ate probably blind ;)
EN
I havnt been to euro away trips for a long time but what I remember in switzland that many German Celtic fans turned up . These guys were not shy in engaging the local hooligans. They seemed to regard themselves as minders for the scot Celtic bhoys and they steamed in at the slightest provocation.
There was talk of St Pauli fans being in Amsterdam yesterday. Otherwise it might have been chelsea fans who done it.
LiviBhoy / CultsBhoy
I would stick with Lenny also,but feel we need a new face in the dressing room,new ideas.
Regarding tired players what game time has,Rogic.Biton.Teemu,Balde,Boreightar,Fraser,McGeough and youth players been given.this is one area we are failing in.
SFTBs.
I try not to get involved now, I passed an opinion too Estadio National backing what he said, and I fully agreed with what was said. My love affair with the Manager ended a while ago, but I try not to criticize him often.
setting free the bears supports celtic’s best fighter- wee oscar knox 16:56
Fair point, I’ve not read much. Not been to games either, what’s the general view of the manager from the crowds you’ve been in?
EN
fanadpatriot
Neil has to be the man in the dressing room and if he thinks he has what he needs coaching wise that is fine with me. I don;t know why we don;t tap into former players to run a session just to freshen things up like Henrik did before we scored 9 against Aberdeen. Doesn’t have to be employed just something a bit different.
On the players you have mentioned I feel they have got the game time they have deserved from what I have seen of them. A few have had injuries too.
The only beef I have with Neil is that he didn’t play a reserve type side v Morton. It still annoys me we got knocked out that cup at home by such inferior opposition and we couldn’t even score a goal!
LB
Twitter.
Milan fans attacked in Amsterdam.
Ajax fans riot in Glasgow.
Ajax fans attack bar in Amsterdam.
Celtic fans responsible #OnlyInScotland
No one from media want to mention this video.
Video of attack on Celtic fans last night in Amsterdam from @De_Duis1: http://t.co/x5Hx8xbkE6