This month, Aberdeen (over 120 mins) and Newco have scored three against us. Last month, Hearts and Livingston scored twice. The most we conceded in any one game in February was one, but that happened on five out of six games played. Only St Mirren didn’t score against us that month.
In 13 games since the start of February, only St Mirren (twice) and Livingston (once) have failed to score against Celtic. Saturday’s three concessions draw the eye, but a trend was well established before then.
It is a general rule of thumb that the team who concede the fewest goals wins the Premiership. There is plenty of time left for things to change, but on this measure, we are three goals over.
It is almost impossible to do anything constructive about this so late in the season. All the motivations talks in the dressing room and practice defending cross balls isn’t going to move the dial much.
In fact, disrupting a defence, even one that is losing goals, can make things worse. Across the city, Goldson was dropped at the weekend, signalling a lack of confidence in him. Clement will hope neither Balogun nor Souttar give him cause to reconsider marking Goldson as a liability.
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Defence needs realigning, por cierto
Beaton MIB on Sunday,Dallas on VAR, meanwhile the huns get their pet ,Walsh
We’re scoring and creating plenty of chances, we need to keep on the front foot and out score our opponents.
Dens is massive. Keep the lead intact and 3 home games to see us over the line. Full focus for Sunday – once again Beaton has been called upon…
The solution is to screen your leaky defence from the DM position.
A fully mobile Iwata does this better than a struggling Calmac. So does O’Riley if he is allowed to drop deeper. We can then afford to unleash Hatate as our attacking midfielder.
Good afternoon all from a sun drenched, tropical Govanhill. Not something you read too often. 🌞
Yep, we downgraded every department of our team over the past year or so as a matter of club policy. Scales for Starfelt, Yang for Jota, Oh for GG and although our midfield options remain strong we have never covered for the loss of Mooy and paid the price with long-term injuries to Hatate and CalMac.
I agree it’s too late to tinker and presumably the reason Rodgers persists with the woefully inadequate Scales is because the other two players our star recruitment chief brought in this year are even worse. Chapeau.
If we win the league (or even the double) this year it will be despite the grotesque negligence and unacceptable and unqualified interference in football matters by the football manager wanabee fat cats.
What was it Lee Congerton told The Telegraph last week again? Oh yes, I didn’t know the players recruited, sign off on them and wouldn’t have touched them with a barge pole. And that Peter Lawwell is a nice man, but he’s an accountant. And should stick to the spreadsheets. 👍
Hopefully this summer will bring accountant overreach to an end. Tell the football department their budget, hold them to account for it, don’t let them overspend but stay in your land when it comes to player recruitment. Otherwise we’ll be seeing more Yangs and Scales in the team.
Lets all do the huddle
Thanks for that, any reason given for the reduced allocation of tickets?
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i have only read a tweet from john paul taylor saying that dundee didnt send us tickets for section B of the main stand so thats 400 less tickets.
didnt see an explanation for it though
I feel the problem stems from the languid midfield and the inverted full backs, specially Taylor, who neglects his defensive duties.
Armstrong of Kilmarnock destroyed us down the left.
We are beginning to resemble a Tommy Burns’ team. One who was adept at snatching draws or defeats from the jaws of victory..
We should be keeping the back door closed, as our number one priority.
!!BADA BING!! on 23RD APRIL 2024 12:03 PM
Beaton MIB on Sunday,Dallas on VAR, meanwhile the huns get their pet ,Walsh
—————————————————————-
You could swop that around and it wouldn’t make much difference . They’ve got more pets than the local zoo.
https://x.com/TomWillis/status/1782311679864246348?t=XzuL9orz93-QFPIF0y6qKg&s=08
LETS ALL DO THE HUDDLE on 23RD APRIL 2024 12:23 PM
“i have only read a tweet from john paul taylor saying that dundee didnt send us tickets for section B of the main stand so thats 400 less tickets.”
Dundee sold Main Stand B tickets direct to Celtic fans. I am in Main Stand B for the match with my son.
Dundee and Dundee Utd have both sold some or all of the away tickets direct on occasion in the past also. This is not new, not sure why its being mis reported as a reduction in numbers.
QB
“It is a general rule of thumb that the team who concede the fewest goals wins the Premiership”
—————-
That’s true – although it’s also generally the team that loses fewest games. Most seasons that will be the same team – this season it might not be.
Agree about the risk of changing personnel. It might improve things but why take the risk that you could make it worse.
Not remotely interested in what’s happening “across the city”. Far more important is getting things right for next season if there is going to be any kind of genuine focus on improvement.
MARSPAPA on 23RD APRIL 2024 7:12 AM
From previous article
“Barcelona may request Real Madrid replay if VAR wrongly disallowed Yamal goal”.
Could open a whole new can of worms.
I agree with your post that this could indeed ‘open a whole can of worms’
Some may say that it can never happen, well they said that when Jean-Marc Bosman brought his relatively low-level case before the European Court of Justice almost thirty years ago in 1995.
That ruling said that that clubs no longer had to pay transfer fees after the expiration of a player’s contract. What has happened since has changed the face of football throughout the world.
Bosman and his legal team never set out to change the world; however they set in motion a law of unintended consequences. Unfortunately these consequences have now had a perverse effect that was not foreseen and was not the original intention. Financial power is firmly in the hands of the big five league clubs, sought after players and was instrumental in the rise and rise of agents in the game.
So with this reported challenge coming from a club right at the top of elite pyramid, it mustn’t be dismissed out of hand. It may not succeed this time around, but the seeds have been sown – who knows what will transpire.
The case may be framed thus: when a referee makes a decision in the course of a game in conjunction with his on -field assistants, it is of course very much a subjective decision based on the official’s competence, positioning and interpretation of the incident and/or infringement. The decision is almost always split-second and the officials are immersed in the flow of the game at pitch-level.
However when the decision is then taken over by VAR, it is no longer a subjective decision, but a call to be decided on hard-evidence replayed umpteen times, freeze-framed and takes as long as it takes. Therefore if it can be shown that the VAR officials made the wrong decision when in possession of all the evidence, the injured party could claim negligence and that the outcome was been influenced unfairly therefore denying them the opportunity to get a better result from the game. The authorities will set up against this of course, but then they did that against ‘little’ Bosman and lost, not the might of Barcelona, Real and the likes
This is something for the future, but not the too distant, in my opinion
There is protocol about referee selection and reffing same teams.
We have Beaton for the second away league game in a row. This is not normal.
what protocol is that?
Can you link to it?
I would love anyone to be able to point to when that ever happened before.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/cjewllp0le8o
What a mess.
Dundee sold Main Stand B tickets direct to Celtic fans. I am in Main Stand B for the match with my son.
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i suspected it must have been something like that. wish i had thought of that in advance and tried to get one!
Clunks
I understood it to be so. It clearly doesn’t but there is no precedent for same ref on consecutive away fixtures as long as I have watched Celtic.
Usually it is a 5 or 6 game rotation as a minimum.
Am reasonably confident of victory on Sunday.
That said, if you asked Celtic fans to pick the most unpalatable ref-VAR combo?
I suspect most would say Beaton/Dallas.
Back to Basics
Re the case of the young Argentinian and Cardiff pursuing Nantes.
It is one of the few areas you will see Celtic and rangers supporters agree on.
It is vile and distasteful. It sums up a vile and disgusting club owner and in some cases a pretty dislikable fan base.
Hope wee batter in a few goals early on. Those hun canutes will be trying for their favourite teams.
Burnley78
Stop bumping your gums and go check the rules???
(is this even in the rules??)
Is it a “protocol”
Is there a “precedent2?
Is it usually a “5 or 6 game rotation?”
I would suggest no to all of the above
But don’t let facts get in the way of yourself and a good moan
We ffs
Match Officials
G8 The appointment of Match Officials at and for Official Matches shall be the
responsibility of the Scottish FA in accordance with any agreement reached between
the Company and the Scottish FA from time to time.
Match Officials
List of Referees
G65 Referees for League Matches and Play-Off Matches shall be appointed from the List
of Class 1 Referees prepared annually by the Scottish FA (following a process of
review with the Board)
List of Assistant Referees
G66 Assistant Referees for League Matches and Play-Off Matches shall be appointed
from the List of Class 1 Specialist Assistant Referees prepared annually by the
Scottish FA (following a process of review with the Board).
Appointment of Referees and Assistant Referees
G67 The Referee, Assistant Referees and reserve official for League Matches and Play-Off
Matches shall be appointed by the Scottish FA from the Lists of Class 1 Match
Officials.
I’m going to put on my paranoia hat re. the post split fixtures that most are happy with.
The last round of games for the season all kick-off at the same time for all teams and obviously our game against the huns will kick off at the same time both teams. However, has anyone noticed that in the other 3 rounds the huns kick-off before us?
We think we have an advantage with 3 home/2away versus a 2/3 split for the huns. However, both teams play away this weekend with the huns kicking-off first. In the penultimate round of fixtures the huns play a day before us. Does this have precedent?
They say “it’s better to have points on the board than games in hand”, especially during “the business end” of the season when pressure is most intense. My paranoia head therefore tells me the “computer” has been a little unkind to Celtic.
Everything points to BR rating Scales higher than Welsh, Nawrocki and Lagerbielke.
Nawrocki and Welsh are routinely subbed when they do get a start.
Scales is not without his weaknesses but it’s clear he’s been assessed as better than the rest outside of CCV.
This summer I suggest we move Lagerbielke, Nawrocki and Welsh on.
Walsh Clancy Collum Beaton Robertson are the 5 top rated officials.
I guess they will likely all have 1 rangers and 1 Celtic game (I know that is impossible mathematically but near to that).
The plus is we should definitely not get Beaton again after this weekend.
BURNLEY78 on 23RD APRIL 2024 1:10 PM
“I understood it to be so. It clearly doesn’t but there is no precedent for same ref on consecutive away fixtures as long as I have watched Celtic.”
“Usually it is a 5 or 6 game rotation as a minimum.”
I think the allocation is effectively down to the head of the refs at the SFA. I used to work with a Cat 1 ref and he would check the rotas when published in work – these were usually for 6 weeks at a time and RARELY changed once published bar illness. It was he who dispelled me of the thinking that a ref having a bad game might be taken off the rota / given a championship game next time out because of this; The next rota was usually out before the end of the current one so this was unlikely to happen.
I do recall him saying that they generally tried to get a spread of refs with time between getting the same team so that any incidents (see Hearts away) do not carry on whilst raw/fresh. Within this though, the “better” (more experienced?) refs would get the higher profile games more often tho.
It is a mess. You would think an even spread would be fairer but that would require an agreed process which is not how corrupt organisations like to work as it removes their ability to influence.
Letting retiring refs pick a game is madness also, not sure if that is still a thing; if so McLean I hope does a Bobby Tait this season :)
QB
The names of all referees who are approved by the Referee Committee for matches involving a club or
clubs in full or associate membership are contained in this list.
In accordance with the terms of Article 90.2 of the Articles of Association, unless the rules of a European
or other competition prescribe to the contrary, or unless
the Association gives permission to the contrary, every match in which a club in full or associate membership is engaged within Scotland shall be controlled by a referee whose name is included within this list.
CATEGORY 1 REFEREES
Euan Anderson
John Beaton
George Calder
Kevin Clancy
Ross Clark
William Collum Jordan Curran
David Dickinson Gavin Duncan
Chris Fordyce
Andy Gamble
Chris Graham Graham Grainger Daniel Graves Alastair Grieve
Ross Hardie
Grant Irvine
Steven Kirkland Scott Lambie
Ryan Lee
Stewart Luke Matthew MacDermid Dan McFarlane Steven McLean
Alan Muir
David Munro Craig Napier Duncan Nicolson Don Robertson Calum Scott Alex Shepherd Iain Snedden Greg Soutar Colin Steven Peter Stuart
Nick Walsh
Colin Whyte Duncan Williams Lloyd Wilson
VIDEO ASSISTANT REFEREES
Greg Aitken Euan Anderson John Beaton Kevin Clancy William Collum Andrew Dallas David Dickinson Gavin Duncan
Chris Graham Graham Grainger Grant Irvine
Steven Kirkland Matthew MacDermid Steven McLean
Alan Muir David Munro Craig Napier Don Robertson Colin Steven Nick Walsh
I am not unduly worried about our defence TBH. I’m not saying their world beaters but…
CCV is a colossus.
Scales is limited but an honest workaday CH. I think his ungainliness overshadows his basic defensive skills.
Yes his distribution could be better I think he does the basics well enough. Dropping him now would be foolish and I think there is no chance that BR will take that risk.
Of the goals we lost at Ibrox , one – the penalty – should never, IMO, even have existed and the other two that day might well never have followed if it hadn’t.
The second that day could happen in any game – a shot deflects straight into the path of a Rangers player whose own shot takes a deflection into the net .The third was squarely ( I know he’s young and perhaps should not have been on the pitch at that point because he isn’t a defender) on Yang’s shoulders. I don’t see him getting much game time from here on in.
Not sure our defence could really have done anything about any of them (other than Johnston leaving his leg in a position for Da Silva to dive / cheat and the ref buy it).
Against Aberdeen we lost two goals with none of Maeda, MacGregor or Hatate on the pitch. We were too open in midfield without them.
I appreciate Maeda is a big doubt going forward but I hope/ expect to see the other two on the pitch for 90 minutes from here on in unless we happen to be really cruising in a game
Dundee F.C. v Celtic F.C.
cinch Premiership
28/04/2024 3:00pm The Scot Foam Stadium at Dens Park
Referee:John Beaton
AR1
David Roome
AR2
Dougie Potter
Fourth Official
Peter Stuart
VAR
Andrew Dallas
AVAR
Graeme Leslie
their = they’re
I youst to be abble to spel
Beaton and Roome are becoming a double act , worth a watching.
Andrew Dallas, John Beaton, Alan Muir.
I shudder when any of those guys are anywhere near our games, the last one most of all.
DARWIN on 23RD APRIL 2024 12:55 PM
—————–
Thank you for taking the time to read and respond to my post .
I agree with all you said , even if nothing is done presently it might make the VAR officials (here) think twice about their observations and interpretations .
Referees Quick News
Y-A-W-N ZZZZZZZZ
I’ll try again tomorrow.