Defensive experiments will pay dividends

822

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!

Click Here for Comments >
Share.

About Author

822 Comments

  1. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    Hail Hail, The dividends are here,

     

    What the hell do we care,

     

    What the hell do we care,

     

    Hail Hail, The dividends are here,

     

    What the hell do we care now …

     

     

    For its a Grand Old Team to invest in,

     

    For its a Grand Old team to speculate,

     

    And if you know the history,

     

    Its enough to make your portfoli–ohhhhh,

     

    Net Book value

     

     

    We don’t care what the pundits say,

     

    What the hell do we care,

     

    For its all we know,

     

    Is that there going to be a dilution,

     

    And the Celtic PLC .

     

     

    AND THE CELTIC PLC

     

     

    will be there.

  2. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo:

     

     

    I’d keep Charlie, I wish Bobo had a wee brother who could kick a ball.

  3. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    timabhouy

     

     

    12:17 on

     

    20 August, 2012

     

     

    STV …… 19.30…..!!

  4. The best way to sum-up Charlie Mulgrew imo….

     

     

    The stage is set – Jelly & Ice cream sunday @ ibrokes

     

     

    Celtic going to win the league @ ibrokes – spark off hun riots country wide.

     

     

    What happens ?

     

     

    Sone Aluko runs at CM three times. What’s the result ?

     

     

    Two hun goals – one hun penalty.

     

     

    THAT’S how good CM is imo.

  5. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    I think we should also ask those cheap skates that bought the asboesque children season tickets for only 129 quid to make a weekly donation towards the clubs spot rate as well and if the kids cannot do the 21 times table in less than 14 seconds it should be removed from them and they should be given a strip and a piar of boots and told to GTF down to Lennoxtown.

     

     

    HAil Hail

  6. Awe Naw

     

     

    Aiden McGeady cost celtic nothing, we sold him for £9.5 million.

     

     

    Add that to your total and see where you get.

     

     

    The club spends what it can afford on players. I am gladdened to see it spent on players who increase in value (Ki, Wanyama, Kayal, Izaguirre, Matthews, Ledley, Hooper, Mulgrew, Forster). That policy, when sat alongside the best youth system in the country by a distance, developing players who can contribute in the first team (Forrest, Watt) and the occasional indulgence for the manager and the fans (Keane) we are in the best postion of any team in Scotland by a coutnry mile.

     

     

    You of course need to balance that against the ones that don’t work out. With a signing policy which clearly envisages signings at (maximum) £3million you are going to get a few that don’t work out (Rasmussen, Murphy and Bangura spring to mind). However, the policy outlined above has, since its implementation since Neil arrived, worked very well in cumulo. The money generated from the staggered sale of the players in my third paragraph above should see us in profit over the course of 5 or 6 transfer windows. That enables re-investment to be carried out with our own money rather than with the bank’s. Profit generates profit; money goes to money. If we keep profiting in the transfer market we have more money to play with to re-invest. If John Park and NL keep their streak going I’m more than happy for Celtic to always bring in more in transfer fees than we spend.

     

     

    There are players Celtic might be able to gamble on in the transfer market, but there is no sure thing at our end of the market. The board is right to wait and see if we qualify for CL or EL before deciding one way or another if it can afford to gamble shareholder’s cash on somebody who might not work out.

     

     

    Of course we could ditch the current policy and sign players like Gravesen and Juarez again. Or we could go and sign Sol Campbell and Jimmy Bullard. That would be a great idea eh?

  7. Still no mention from the MSM about Butcher’s antics on Saturday on the touchline but if it’s Neil Lennon it’s headline news.

     

     

    Anyone in the past who has agreed with MSM about Lennon being a disgrace should hang their head in shame.

  8. traditionalist88 on

    Ten Men Won The League

     

     

    Celtic site says 3 and a half year deal but if that is only subject to us taking up a 2 year option then thank God;)

     

     

    HH

  9. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo – can I jsut check what it is you want from the money men at Celtic?

     

     

    It seems that you want them to buy and retain a team of players of significantly higher quality than we have been doing for the last few years and that you want them to do this regardless of the long term financial implications?

     

     

    Is that more or less correct?

  10. Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on

    Kit

     

     

    We should start a Mulgrew auction imho.

     

     

    starting at 2 million

     

     

    HAil Hail

  11. Steinreignedsupreme on

    I wonder who complained about the Falkirk boy?

     

     

    He certainly hit the nail on the head with his description – Sevco Franchise.

  12. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    ibleedgreenandwhite1

     

     

    12:26 on

     

    20 August, 2012

     

     

    Not on any HD channels, I’m afraid…..

  13. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    weeminger

     

     

    12:36 on

     

    20 August, 2012

     

     

    Will you please stop being logical and sensible, please………LOL

  14. weeminger @ 10:42

     

     

    You make an excellent point on Newcastle. They also have a very shrewd transfer policy now as they are running their club like a proper business.

     

     

    I agree that is hard for Celtic to compete with such clubs, so why then does our CEO receive a salary commensurate with a top end of the premiership club ? That appears a bit hypocritical to me.

     

     

    It’s also worth noting that clubs such as Porto have similar problems to Celtic in that they are next door to a country which is supported by TV funds that they cant compete with. They use this to their advantage as a gateway club for many players, which is something Celtic should be doing rather than providing pensions to the likes of Daryl Murphy, no disrespect to the big man. If you look at the age profile and calibre of player Newcastle are signing then you can see this is something they are doing too. Porto also have a smaller budget than Celtic yet have pulled away from us in Europe since the point when both clubs were at a similar level 10 years ago.

  15. greenjedi

     

    10:14 on

     

    20 August, 2012

     

     

    I think we’ll get roughly £7-8m for Ki, so can we please go out and buy two experienced good, bad bassas, one for CB and the other for the CF position?

     

     

    ******************************************************************************

     

     

    My information (a whisper in my ear from someone in the Cathedral Memorial Garden yesterday) …..is that a memo was sent from a certain Irish moustachioed majority shareholder to an even more certain well-pressed CEO with EXACTLY THOSE WORDS IN IT!

     

     

    Hmmmmmmm

     

     

    Hail hail

     

     

    Estadio

  16. kitalba/Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo:

     

     

    Are you two at the wind-up or have you been eating the same soup- or are you just pathologically dissatisfied with everything?

     

     

    Perfectionism comes to mind.

     

     

     

    Why is it nobody on here ever criticises your relentless negativity and periodic cynicism whilst others are slaughtered for the slightest wee comment?

     

     

     

    Awe_Naw is your blue funk caused by listening to far too much Nine Inch Nails and reading too much Nietzsche…so many of your posts are relentlessly morose and disconsolate.

     

     

     

    You were even like that immediately after we beat HJK- I really don’t get it.

  17. sticksers lament on

    now old and grumpy

     

     

    Your post earlier re Regan/Doncaster et al sums up my feelings on the subject exactly – thank you so much.

     

     

    A 3000 mile march does start with the first step-from such as RTC/PmCg. The facts do not change and you have summed them all up for me.

     

     

    To quote one much better than me -‘facts are chiels that winna ding’- and the truth will find a way.The good people (and this includes all decent football people in Scotland-and there are a few), will see this thro in spite of the dross!

     

     

     

     

    More power to your elbow sir.