It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what was different from last night’s performance to our previous outing against Ross County, and so many this season. Kris Commons was on from the start, but our tone of play was different, even as Kris limped on the side-lines during the opening minutes.
How that tone was set is worth examining. Celtic were denied an opportunity to train on Kilmarnock’s new artificial pitch, in a move demonstrating the hosts legendary welcome and sportsmanship, but when Ronny Deila spoke pre-match he made his position clear, “The pitch is great”.
One of my pet hates is hearing a player or manager establish a reason for failure before kick-off. Record your complaints about the pitch, or even being denied the chance to become accustomed to it, and you’re subliminally setting yourself up for a fall. It didn’t matter if a pitch is great or not, the manager and players have minutes to convince themselves it’s good enough for them to put on a show. Nothing got in the way of Celtic’s can-do attitude yesterday.
Kris was phenomenal. He got a hat-trick at Rugby Park last season and deserved no less this time, only the crossbar, twice, and some fine goalkeeping denied him. In a team short of goals, his focus on the target is unceasing. There were important Champions League games when he didn’t make the team under Neil Lennon, and there will be occasions when the game doesn’t suit him, but he’s the required fulcrum against a packed SPFL defence.
We’ve touched on this theme a couple of times but it doesn’t seem to be getting traction. For two years shareholders now newco Rangers have been advised to step aside, or as now, sell control for £18m, in the best interests of the club. No deal will be done until the best interests of the controlling shareholders are considered, any approach which doesn’t recognise this is no more than a distraction.
Newco have four directors, two non-execs, who do not work in the business on a daily basis, and two executives, who do. The latter, chief executive Derek Llambias, and yesterday’s appointment of Barry Leach as financial director, both came from the Sports Direct stable. They are the men working on fixing the funding gap. It is inconceivable they will overlook the interests of investors.
On 27th of this month newco will face an SFA disciplinary hearing over an alleged breach of a written agreement not to allow Ashley influence at the club, in place before they appointed two former Sports Direct staff to the board. I would be very surprised if the Sports Direct owner didn’t have the club’s short-term funding and his long-term security secured prior to that date.
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Johanson was, by a distance
He was my MotM, and that is my expert opinion
Turkeybhoy
Just a lad of 18 summers… Good on the ball…. Good off the ball…. Quick feet…. Could pick a pass… And not afraid to mix it…. A goodun…. A real goodun…. But yer right MOTM for me was wee Emilio…. Up and down that left wing without fear or favour…. As always…
CALTONTONGUES
So glad you’re there to keep my Dad in check. I’ll be too busy outside smoking. As usual.
BMCUWP,
I’ll be smoking as well.
As for yer da, he’s the younger looking one right? -:)))
Bmcuw & CT
Cheers guys….. Hopefully see you there…. I’m trying to get one of the McCourt clan to join us too… A mate of mine from Derry…. Hail Hail
Good game last night but then I’ve been saying that after most matches.
There was no great difference in terms of chances created, except we took 2.
Still far too many chances missed.
Missing chances is a positive when it comes to Kris Commons but used as a stick to beat Guidetti and Scepovic. Funny.
I liked that Henderson took his chance, gives us another option for the ‘narrow winger’ role.
Scepovic has now scored 2 six yard box goals, and came close on a few more occasions. That’s pleasing too.
Oh and I thought Broonie was terrific and hopefully put the notion that he can’t pass the ball to bed too.
BMCUW
Ferry from Troon to Belfast not back on ’til the spring I’m afraid.
HH!!
Good afternoon all,
Thoroughly enjoyed watching last nights performance, especially having been at the abject display against Ross County.
I think Commons showed why he should be starting SPFL matches, but for me the stand out performer was Henderson. Let’s hope his development continues!
I think there’s a good player where Skepovic is concerned, should have had a couple of assists and glad he got a goal to improve his confidence. I also feel a bit of competition between himself and Guidetti won’t do either player any harm.
Two questions for anyone interested:
1. Thoughts on Biton? Personally I thought he was our worst performer last night yet others have said he’s doing a lot off the ball etc. I am missing something?
2. What is the situation currently with the advert in the Sunday Herald?
HH
jimtim
13:01 on 6 January, 2015
sixtaeseven
08:18 on 6 January, 2015
yorkbhoy at 07:22 on 6 January, 2015
Those stats are very telling: it just shows you what a dirty lot that Dumbarton are…
Celtic 7 fouls 2 bookings
Killie 8 fouls 2 bookings
Well 9 fouls 1 booking 1 red
Dons 4 fouls no cards
Thistle 13 fouls 4 bookings
Utd 10 fouls 3 bookings
Hibs 15 fouls 4 bookings
Hearts 15 fouls 3 bookings
Dumb 14 fouls 4 bookings
Sevco 15 fouls no cards…
##############
Thanks for reporting that mate . My brothers and myself were just discussing last night how the honest mistakes have many guises . Get plenty suspensions heaped onto the teams who are a threat to thems , and Aberdeen . God how much are we going to take , before we fight back .
Turkeybhoy
Johanson was mom by a distance in my opinion. Constant harrying, great movement, creative, set up both goals
My only reason for mentioning young Henderson not being MOTM,was to ensure the normal gushing praise does not start about the boy,as it did with Mc Gregor,then once the boy hits a bit of poor form,the “Get him tae f___”roasters come on.
Henderson played very well.Broony and Biton with Johansen and Commons made a very free flowing Celtic a joy to watch.The boy has got talent,which I am sure RD is nurturing.
Whens the hootenany in belfast bhoys? Mite make the short trip up from derry and show yous all how to drink!lol
1. Thoughts on Biton? Personally I thought he was our worst performer last night yet others have said he’s doing a lot off the ball etc. I am missing something?
MidlandsTim,
Sorry I have no idea what game you were watching.This comment is bordering on ridiculous.I know we all see the game differently but Good God.
My view for what its worth is that KC will be moved on Rony is trying to build a young pacy team and Kris isnt in that category.We have to be happy but cautious about last nights win as Kilmarnock are a very poor side.H.H.
Henderson was MOTM
Tiger tim – no one else atribute the club has commons vision in that area. And he’s a waste on the wing imo.
Battered bunnet – relentless negativity of the Scottish fitba media. They are stuck in a past that is gone for good. Habitual criticism of Celtic, berating teams that don’t put ithe up to.us and praising rangers is all they know.
They can’t do the latter any.more so they seem content to belittle everyone else. The mood music they set is doom and gloom. One of my new year resolution is to be more positive about life. I wish the smsm would do likewise.
Joe Filippis Haircut
13:10 on
6 January, 2015
My view for what its worth is that KC will be moved on Rony is trying to build a young pacy team and Kris isnt in that category.We have to be happy but cautious about last nights win as Kilmarnock are a very poor side.H.H.
They may well be,but they are in 7th place in the league.We absolutely humiliated them football wise.You could see their faces.The other night the Dons were very poor and beat a shocking Motherwell side,and the praise from all was gushing.
Its not only the result,its the style its achieved by.
Shame about KC if true.
Basic principles resulting in a better performance last night,
1, Work harder/press when don’t have the ball
2, Move the ball quicker
Also the off the ball running by Henderson and Johansen creating the space for Commons to operate.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
12:52 on
6 January, 2015
DR M
You know,that is a fantastic idea.
Apart from anything else,it would be interesting to see how the MSM-always keen to promote our national game-reported it.
Do they promote the idea to get as many people as possible into our stadia,or do they tell their readers that Scottish football supporters are nothing but Rangers-haters?
I think they would tie themselves in knots over this.
It would also be interesting to see how our own suits reacted to such a day. Would they allow banners etc to be taken into the stadium, would they encourage such a day because if they did not then it lets us supporters know where they stand.
Never understood why trolls can have such an effect.
You can argue with them. If you want. They can’t do anything to you.
You can ignore them.
Frig them. Read, post, discuss as you would in real life. If you are abusive to people in real life as much as some people on here are I.suspect you have had more than your share of broken noses, black eyes and kicks in the haw maws.
Bawsman
13:13 on
6 January, 2015
Henderson was MOTM,
Aye,right ye are,if you say so.
TotallyignoringBroonyJohansenCommonsCSC.
I suspect that KC is too old and too round for Ronny’s liking.
However, until his team can consistently create and put away a bucketload of chances in the SPL, Kris is worth his weight in gold.
I suspect he will leave, but I hope it’s not till the summer.
Wouldn’t be a January transfer window without Robbie Keane rumours!
He said this mornin in an interview on irish radio ”now that I have won the MLS I have unfinished business in Glasgow”
Henderson was excellent. Really great to see a confident, strong performance from such an inexperienced player.
Reminded me a bit of Darren Fletcher when he burst onto the scene.
My MOTM though was Johannsen. He was superb, and is I think our most intelligent footballer since Henrik. He reads the game well, is always looking to bring his team-mates into play, mixes up the passes, isn’t afraid to have a pop at goal and will steam into tackles if required.
mcdowellcelt god bless wee oscar
13:04 on 6 January, 2015
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Where did you hear patrick mceleney is over for a trial ? Saw duffy mentioned in few articles but nothing about fats.
Just saw that keano rumour on facebook ? Did you hear the interview ?
Love keano but id rather see griffiths guidetti and scepovic get games . Wages needed for keano would be better spent elsewhere .
weeminger
12:40 on
6 January, 2015
traditionalist88
12:39 on
6 January, 2015
I was about to say the same to you. :)
==============
:)
McDowell-Default Robbie Keane on irish radio this morning
My biggest regret is not winning the SPL….
with Celtic – now that i have won the MLS with LA Galaxy I feel i have unfinished work back in Glasgow. Scoring 12 goals that second half of the season and not lifting the league title was a tough one to take”
McDowellcelt god bless wee oscar
13:22 on
Think he was referring to looking up Mr Mcindoe to try and get his “investment” back !
The only real question from last nights victory is how the hell Commons didn’t score at least 4 goals?
Deserves a bit longer contract that’s on offer in my opinion.
kcd
Great minds dont always think alike ,I thought Johansen did not play well. Gave him the lowest rating of the team -on last nights perfomance.
Dr m. I like it in theory. However I really believe the 15k missing from our home games are not all staying away because of corruption.
For example, there used to be 5k irish based fans at every home game played on a Saturday. Not so now. My experience is that it’s financial and to do with perceived lack of competition.
I like the idea in general. Solvent clubs playing by the rules making it clear that we don’t want the game skewed again by the reckless behaviour of one club, that we don’t accept that they are the same club and that the rules should be applied evenly to all.
I was delighted in the vast majority of our display last night. Most certainly Commons was extremely unlucky not to score with several good chances which would have put a more realistic final outcome. Craig Gordon had very little to do but in fairness made a couple of excellent stops.
For me the huge difference was amount of work done by such as Henderson & Johansen to allow Commons to float about as he wished. While he certainly put in a lot more effort than of late (Shades of Stokes in the cup final when out of contract) but I feel certain we would have been equally served by Griffiths in the same role, probably better in terms of finishing chances. For me Griffiths is a better / cooler taker of the half chances created while Commons seemed to want to hit the ball ever harder rather than placing his shots.
Griffiths would also lessen the load on others.
Bitton had a decent game, but could do with being more aggressive in picking up loose balls. I like Scepovic, intelligent positioning, decent touch / awareness of others….hope he hits a purple patch and starts to bang them in. He has been very unlucky in some previous games and is due a run.
Great to see also Darnell Fisher getting a wee run out, while Joe Thomson was also worth at least a seat on the bench, his time won’t be far off either.
One aspect I still don’t like is our wasteful throw-ins, counted at least 4 times we lost ground / possession from OUR throws, while giving the opposition an easy time of it.
Finally a change in setup at corners, switching front post & backpost crosses, near post knock ons etc. Now if we can just learn from the terrors of Karagandy last year who were an abysmal side – maybe we can create more opportunities ourselves from set plays.
Proudbhoy
A mate a mines told me that mceleny was going over for trial aswel as duffy. He had a few pints in him so I shoulda knew to take it with a pinch a salt!lol
Must be nothing to it cos only duffy went over yday.
Pheersy
Hahaha. By the sounds of it he got no return on that ‘investment’..
In general the ball was moved around quickly with little dithering. This improved our game a lot. Overall everyone got pass marks.
We still have weak points.
Johansen might run a lot and make space for others but he is constantly out of position. Sometimes his closing down comes off for him but more often than not he misses the tackle or block then ambles back into position before running around like a headless chicken again. His passing is awful 80% of the time and he almost never uses his right foot. He needs to learn from Brown who had the same problems when younger but has developed it to a far calmer and more accomplished player.
Bitton played well until a couple of loose passes and lax play in the last 20 mins or so once the game was won. Admittedly a few players had similar moments.
Efe had a wee tumble but it looked to be caused by the pitch as did his wayward pass. His defending in the air from the corner was a bit worrying.
Scepovic got a goal and hopefully that will help him settle down and get a run of games. His lay off work was in general very good and with movement around him he could come good. He did have a couple of poor touches and a ridiculous shot!
There were many good points, none more so than Emilio’s goal. He has been getting into the box a lot more (he was in the Killie box on several occasions). He has done this a few times this season and it adds another dimension to our attack. We just have to make sure that someone is covering him!
Hopefully the break will do us good and the team can come back refreshed and focussed.
mcdowellcelt god bless wee oscar
13:32 on 6 January, 2015
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Ha the famous derry rumours
Patrick has the ability for a higher level but doubtful if he has the desire or fitness levels needed.
turkeybhoy
12:54 on 6 January, 2015
He was my MOTM would go as far as saying he played that position better than stokes has all season. Could he do it every week .