Defensive experiments will pay dividends

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Playing Adam Matthews and Emilio Izaguirre as wing-backs with Kelvin Wilson, Charlie Mulgrew and Mikael Lustig as a back three looked a bit clumsy and didn’t last the 90 minutes but that was to be expected.  New defensive formations are not supposed to operate as smoothly as familiar systems.

I’m far from certain three at the back is a good idea, or if we have the correct personnel for this formation, but Neil Lennon should persist with the experiment.  We will not learn and grow if we don’t take chances, which was one of our abiding frustrations under both Martin O’Neill and Gordon Strachan.

No experiments on Tuesday, of course!

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  1. zimmerman

     

     

    23:13 on 19 August, 2012

     

    hen1rik,

     

    So that’s both legs on stv yeah?

     

     

    Not sure matey it was STV Grant that tweeted last week that it was showing the first leg on tv.

  2. Cheers mate,

     

    i know the away leg is on stv on tues,just wondering if the home tie is live on tv too.

  3. the_huddle

     

     

    Manners? – Shouldn’t you address the original poster when your trying to undermine their post?

     

     

    £5,000,000 is undervalued regardless of where Ki plays – ask Ruben Kazan who didn’t seem to care whe they bid a reported £9,000,000 albeit via the same MSM

     

     

    Besides it’s not a Scottish player a la Fletcher, it’s an experienced South Korean International and Olympian.

  4. tommytwiststommyturns on

    Hooiveld done up like a kipper at Man City. Where’s Norn Iron superstar Davis?!

     

     

    T4

  5. bournesouprecipe

     

     

    ——–

     

    Manners?? What you talking about? It was a general point not talking to anyone.

     

     

    Ruben apparently bid £6mill according to those ever reliable MSM

  6. MadMitch,

     

     

    Ki has hardly played (first choice) since (last Nov / Dec.) but, don’t let that stop yer Board rant.

     

     

    Personally, I’d make him captain and, build round about him.

     

     

    But, listening to the boozed up feckers who follow us away from home they would rather have some unfit NI fecker who has a good song… What?

  7. My point is Pete won’t do Celtic short, it makes no sense. We’ll get as much as we can for him, not a penny less.

  8. Sixteen roads to Golgotha

     

     

    23:20 on 19 August, 2012

     

     

    CP game is on Skysports 2 i think.

     

     

    Your right bud,just found out through google

     

     

    cheers.

  9. madmitch

     

     

     

    “BC with DC and NF in the 70′s and 80′s was well known for his ability to motivate a herd of sheep.”

     

     

     

    I’ll go for Billy Connolly with Dot Cotton and Nigel Farage.

     

     

    Am I warm?

  10. Neil Lennon hopes the return of key players will edge Celtic towards a Champions League group place. The Celtic manager described elements of his side’s play as “pedestrian” during Saturday’s draw at Ross County. It took a 90th-minute Kris Commons goal to hand Celtic that point after Richard Brittain’s stunning free-kick had put the Dingwall team in front.

     

     

    By Lennon’s own admission, Celtic were also flat when defeating Aberdeen 1-0 in their previous Scottish Premier League outing. The lack of domestic competition — namely Rangers’ absence — may already, then, be having an impact at Celtic Park.

     

     

    In Europe, Celtic travel to Helsingborgs for the first leg of their crucial Champions League play-off on Tuesday night. Scott Brown, Gary Hooper, Anthony Stokes and James Forrest were absent from the Celtic side on Saturday. Lennon is confident of having the quartet available for the trip to Sweden.

     

     

    “You can tell, you miss that quality,” Lennon said. “You’re always going to suffer a little bit in front of goal. We had to change the shape of the team to the personnel that we had. In the end we just threw a few of the kids on and they did brilliantly. I was really pleased with that contribution. We got what we deserved – at least a point.”

     

     

    Lennon’s subsequent claim that some of his players had been “going through the motions” hinted that Tuesday was prominent in their thoughts. “We weren’t thinking about Helsingborgs,” insisted Mikael Lustig, Celtic’s Swedish defender. “The manager and the coaches made sure we were focused on County.

     

     

    “Tuesday’s game is different. It’s the Champions League and you always dream about playing in that competition. Helsingborgs are pretty strong. They are on a really good run just now and have a lot of confidence. We are going to meet a very good team. Helsingborgs are better than Ross County.”

     

     

    Still, Celtic were content to be paired with Helsingborgs, who were seen as the weakest potential opposition in the play-off draw. “I don’t think they expect to win but I’ve heard they are really pleased to get Celtic,” Lustig added.

     

     

    “We are a big club and Helsingborgs didn’t want to travel somewhere like Croatia and Romania. They are quite pleased but they believe it will be a tough game as well. Helsingborgs see themselves as the underdogs and they have everything to aim for.”

     

     

    the guardian

  11. They bought Arteta from Everton for £10mill, Everton bought Arteta for £5mill from the huns

  12. GG’s hammy @ 23.14

     

     

    I have asked this question before but cannot remember the answer …

     

     

    What is / was / will be the difference between the UVF and the UDA?

     

     

    Was one supported by the RUC and MI5

     

    The other supported by the Army and MI6?

     

     

    UVF = Trad unionists supporting the status quo both socially and constitutionally across the water with an ability to think about limited change?

     

    Mental and violent but with an ability to follow some orders?

     

     

    UDA = More radical – independence – working class and insular. Very scare of progress as their strand of support will lose the most?

     

    Mental and very violent with an inability to move on from the Troubles?

     

     

    My viewpoint is far removed from NI and any info would be appreciated?

     

    Basic questions include religious influence vs steroid dependency.

  13. I’ve checked the Celtic website and there’s no transfer news. I’ve also checked the Celtic app, but given that they have us in 4th with 4 points and United in 7th with 6, I wouldn’t trust it as far as I could Doodle Jump.

     

     

    Keep Ki. I’d have him, somewhat controversially, in the team ahead of Kayal and Wanyama. Wooft.

  14. BSR

     

     

    You tell me, what did the bold Nigel do in the 80’s?one thing is for sure – “Old Big Head” would know the answer.

  15. Id keep Ki as well, much better player than Kayal and Wanyama but it aint going to happen. He can’t command a first team place in this squad so it’s technically a squad player for us, with just over a year left on the contract.

  16. the_huddle

     

     

    Squad player? He’s surely played more than Kayal has in the last two seasons, Brown possibly, Wanyama definitely and Ledley probably not. This ‘hammer throwers’ in the SPL argument is one of the things that’s holding us back. Yes, the refs are garbage, yes the SPL players are poor – so let’s play 433 and build a team around our best players. And play some football.

  17. Sixteen roads to Golgotha on

    MadMitch – Not much difference,well apart from the titles.

     

     

    Drug dealers,extortionists,and hateful sectarian bigots.

     

     

    Cowards.

     

     

    Certainly prepared to kill for whatever it is that they believe in,but unwilling to die for their “beliefs”.

  18. bournesouprecipe

     

     

    HH m8.

     

     

    I am ok about the players dropping points up North yesterday as long as they bring their A-Game on Tuesday.

     

     

    This next game it is essential we are flying and playing like we did against Ajax away.

     

     

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4481J1Ge2Y0

     

     

    This is the start of our new and sustained adventure this time IMO.

     

     

    Forget about the Huns, they want us to worry about them. If they are not an irrelevance to us now, then they never will be irrelevant to us.

  19. I’d prefer he wasn’t a squad player, I’d build the team round him but if Lenny doesn’t pick him in his strongest 11 then he is a squad player.

  20. Estadio Nacional on

    Ki is a good football player, skilled passing and control and has a good football brain.

     

     

    Ive looked out for the boy since he arrived and watched his international games when I could, last one I went to Qatar v South Korea and he was man off the match and ran the show from deep a la Pirlo but without as much forward thinking. Met a fella the other day who was at the same game and agreed he was the main man in that game, so it wasnt just my bias opinion.

     

     

    He doesnt fit into our team the now and we cant afford to have a £5m-20 player sitting on the bench. I wish he could fit into the team and we had a slighly forward thinking central midfielder in the team but its not happening.

     

     

    Was out to watch the game yesterday so the game didnt get my 100% attention, was it a five man midfeild that justified two defensive midfeilders in Wanyama and Kayal being in the same team a la Lambert and Lennon? Copying MON tactics?

  21. 16 roads …

     

     

    Sorry to push the point but their must be differences.

     

     

    Is it territorial, is it income levels / education, is it outlook?

     

    Is it down to personalities, is it down to history?

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