Defending to win against Zagreb, Sevco roulette

760

Dinamo Zagreb dropped points for the second time in 10 league games this season on Saturday when they drew a blank against bottom of the table Slaven Koprivnica.  Slaven took only one point from five league games in August, and lost heavily to Zagreb on the opening day of the season, but have tightened up at the back in recent weeks.  Parking the bus on Saturday was enough to curtail the Croatian champions.

That blank score line was a rarity for Dinamo, who had scored in all but one of this season’s 18 previous outings.  After losing their first leg at home to Zagreb, Aalborg shut up shop in the Champions League qualifier in Croatia and overturned the first leg deficit.

So what can we expect on Thursday?  We’ve kept only one clean sheet in the last 10 outings, and that was to lower league Hearts, who missed a penalty and struck the crossbar.  Looking at Celtic’s defensive record, Dinamo will fancy their chances of getting a goal.  Like most teams away from home in Europe, they will plan to defend first and foremost, and take their chances on the break.

Having collected a vital point away to the top seed on match day one, the group opens up for Celtic if they can beat Zagreb this week, but how should they go about achieving this?  If St Mirren, Motherwell, Dundee and Inverness can score against Celtic, Dinamo Zagreb will do so, unless Celtic protect their back line considerably better than they have so far this season.  Celtic are likely to need to score two or more to win the game.  Without Goals Guidetti, this sounds like a big challenge.

Going on form, it’s in Celtic interests to ensure this is a tight game, deny Dinamo space to break into, and use their own speed to attack when opportunity arises.  We’ll need to hold the ball, and that means Kris Commons will have to play, no matter how fit he is, but I would be tempted to give him a deeper role than usual.  Johansen and Brown have critical roles to play in protecting the defence but they will need Commons available to bring calm to proceedings.

I see The Telegraph have taken a punt on Craig Whyte, et al’s, Worthington Group being in sufficient funds to mount their threatened legal challenge to Sevco Scotland Ltd, now known as Rangers International PLC, for acquiring the legal entitlement of Sevco 5088 Ltd.  Sevco 5088 had irrefutable entitlement to the assets of liquidated Rangers FC but this entitlement was assumed by Sevco Scotland, then owned and controlled by Charles Green.

Green and Craig Whyte both claimed to control Sevco 5088 when the company’s entitlement was assumed by the other company.  So what does all this mean?  There’s nothing in The Telegraph story that we didn’t know two years ago.  Even if a journo had first-hand information from a prime source, you’d have to wonder what value you could invest in what any of these characters say.

Until Our Hero spins the roulette wheel at the Ibrox Casino, everyone’s chasing shadows on this one.

[calameo code=0003901718cdc4362fa2e? lang=en page=4 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
Click Here for Comments >
Share.

About Author

760 Comments
  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. ...
  12. 20

  1. blantyretim is praying for the Knox family on

    Can’t cut n paste but yin jar jar banks from star wars is luving imagd of yon orc who was fighting with his zombie fans

  2. up_over_goal @ 5.52

     

    Most players’ extended runs are measured in matches, sometimes dozens of matches. Wee jamesie’s are measured in metres, sometimes dozens of metres!

     

     

    Looks like burghbhoy just got nabbed by a focus swat team! Free the burghbhoy 1

     

     

    HH jamesgang

  3. !!Bada Bing!!

     

    18:01 on

     

    30 September, 2014

     

    DD interview on STV News about 6.15

     

     

     

    ————————–

     

     

    please please pleasse please be selling up.

     

     

    please.

  4. @celticfc: Celtic team to play Partick Thistle: Fasan; Fisher, Kelleher, Findlay, Waters; McManus, Twardzik; Lindsay, Henderson, Tierney; McMullan (MD)

  5. Coming up on STV –

     

     

    an interview with our beloved major shareholder.

     

     

    Daaa Daaa Daaa Duu de Daaa Duu de Daaaaaaa!!!

  6. are green and white saltires allright ?

     

     

    or white with a green cross ?

     

     

    or starry ploughs ?

     

     

     

    i quite like how the youth of the 45 have claimedthe blue and white saltire.

     

     

    if it anyone huns then its magic.

  7. starry plough

     

    18:13 on

     

    30 September, 2014

     

    Saint Stivs

     

     

    Who would be in the running to buy Celtic should DD sell up?

     

     

     

     

    its not a race, bt he could try the old “lets sell the the fans first ” routine, see if it spreads the shares around again.

     

     

    what weare missing is some clout in the old PLC.

  8. lionroars67

     

     

    16:08 on 30 September, 2014

     

     

    Allowing for Salmond being a political opportunist, he’s been a more assiduous courter over recent years of the “Catholic vote” (if such a thing still exists) than anyone else

     

     

    I felt the Catholic community had less to fear from Salmond than from the secular bigots like New Labour and Harvie.

  9. setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox but saying no to CQN racists

     

    18:15 on

     

    30 September, 2014

     

    If DD turns up to watch the Zagreb game, it will alter our chances of winning, losing or drawing not one mini-whit.

     

     

     

    —————————————————————-

     

     

    bit unfair mate,

     

     

    we need to see where Ronni D plays him.

  10. whits he sayig, whits he saying ……………….

     

     

     

    golf is magic,

     

    bring back the huns

     

    celtic fans ungrateful

  11. Saint Stivs

     

     

    18:18 on 30 September, 2014

     

     

    setting free the bears for Res. 12 & Oscar Knox but saying no to CQN racists

     

    18:15 on

     

    30 September, 2014

     

    If DD turns up to watch the Zagreb game, it will alter our chances of winning, losing or drawing not one mini-whit.

     

     

    —————————————————————-

     

     

    bit unfair mate,

     

     

    we need to see where Ronni D plays him.

     

    ……………………………………………………………………..

     

     

    I hope he is played in defence because their attack won’t get much change out of him.

  12. Could someone point in the direction of a European game where KC held the ball for us?

     

     

    In any I’ve seen he gives it away time and again, and in awful places.

     

     

    Keep him on the bench to throw on if needed to chase a goal.

     

     

    We should go with pace.

  13. SP,

     

     

    its allways been muted thats the point Haughey will be back in.

     

     

    Have my doubts though, as I heard of another group led by a Charlie Whyte and a Craig Green, who ever they are.

  14. A Time to enjoy beckons!

     

     

    Two home games, a week off, then the school holidays, away at Dingwall, a game that I would have missed anyway.

     

    A week in the sun, (not missing any games), then home for four home games in a row.

     

     

    Mon Ronny this is the time to produce a wee bit of form.

     

    6 games out of 7 at Paradise.

     

    What’s not to like?

     

     

    EC67

  15. Scotland Today highlights, Celtic first bit of negativity showing every Tom Dick and Harry scoring against us DD giving his annual intervew in the only place you’ll catch him, a top golf course.

     

    Onto the currents 2 goals for Hibs and one for them nothing controversial in that game..!

     

    Although just a wee tiny bit of the tide turning against cheeky.

     

     

    Ayrshire is Green and White

  16. Guernica

     

     

    the thing is – is he there for holding the ball up ?

     

     

    I don’t think that his strength is holding the ball up- but I wouldn’t be without him in the current cellic incarnation .

     

     

    One of my favourite goals of his was against the dying others – loved it , still can’t quite see what he did.

     

     

    Yeah, the ball can bob out 2 meters from his first touch but he does loads else imho

     

     

    nothavingagojusttalkingaboutaplayerilovecsc

  17. Guernica

     

     

    The Commons dilemma is exactly that. He never started the home game versus Maribor, and it was the stick with which Delia was beaten with.

     

    Therefore Delia needs to be strong enough to return to his initial thinking re Commons , I.e bench him, or does Delian bow to the pressure and include him.

     

    Because my concern is this… By including Commons it forces Delia to play this 4-2-3-1 shape, that every fan can see isn’t working for us.

     

    It doesn’t work for us, because the 2 centre mids become isolated and get overrun by the opposition midfield. I.e the Salzburg game away from home. We were lucky to escape 2 each.

     

    Surely it wud provide a solid base if we were to play a Kayal or Bitton in beside Brown and Johansen.?

     

    With 3 hard working centre mids, it wud give us the platform to play with 2 genuine wingers, and a No.9 striker.

     

     

    The Commons dilemma …..

  18. gene’s a bhoys name

     

     

    KC was missed on Sunday… What it showed, is that McGregor has some way to go, to be Commons replacement in that No.10 role behind the central Striker.

     

    The other thing that was puzzling Saturday, was playing our natural left winger Wakaso, playing him wide right. And playing Stokes wide left, on a tight pitch…not like the hearts game where Stokes had plenty of space.

  19. setting free the bears for res. 12 & oscar knox but saying no to cqn racists

     

     

    18:15 on 30 September, 2014If DD turns up to watch the Zagreb game, it will alter our chances of winning, losing or drawing not one mini-whit.It is a piece of fluff and irrelevance about which we can vent. It has as much effect on the outcome as the colour of the players’ boots.Mike Ashley is a regular at Newcastle games. How are they doing?

     

    Imo,if we had a more ‘hands on’ owner,who was a regular at CP,he might be a bit more in touch with the fans,and how they feel about the Club.HH

  1. Pages:
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. ...
  12. 20