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Don’t blame defenders, this one was down to tactics

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

It’s a well-established fact that we don’t have Beckenbauer and Baresi at the back, so the reason why we chose to play so high up the field is the most alarming element of last night’s debacle.

Dedryck was bound to misplace a pass, or Efe was bound to misread play. We all knew this. Regret over the last time mistakes like this were made doesn’t mean they won’t happen again. So when the inevitable occurred, our two full backs were 30 yards in front of the line of opposition attack, with our defensive mids well into opposition territory.

Efe’s failure to cover Kamara and Dedryck’s pass were consequences of the main mistake of the night, which was tactical.  We didn’t lose the opening goal because of a bad pass, it was lost because we left an acre of Norway unattended.

Ronny, you should never have left so much space at the back away from home in Europe, we’re clearly not good enough for such an open system, not even close.  We’ve learned nothing since what was supposed to be a lesson in Warsaw, when the same expansive errors cost us.  Molde played rope-a-dope football, they could have watched us against Malmo, Maribor and Legia, as each opened their home games against us in exactly the same manner.

It must be an absolute joy to face a European opponent at home who leaves so much space at the back, begging to be exploited.  If we had played with the same tactics we used in Amsterdam I’ve no doubt we would have won the game – no one in that Molde squad would get into the Celtic team.

There’s more.  After dominating possession and creating genuine chances, the defeat looked inevitable from the 11th minute when we went behind. Body language changed in an instant and Celtic went out like a light.  I’ll spare you what I said at the time in case it’s misconstrued, but the evidence suggests there’s more to worry about than repeating the same tactical mistakes.

Celtic have nine months and one and a half transfer windows to get ready for the next Champions League qualifiers.  There’s plenty of time to put things right, but we can’t sleepwalk into another failure.  More immediately, we could be out of a cup if we don’t pull our act together this week.

The original Holy Goalie, our own John Fallon, will be signing copies of his book, and no doubt giving you his thoughts on current events, at the Supporters’ Club on London Road on Sunday from 12:30.  All are welcome.  There’s live entertainment too, so get along and check it out.

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  2. Cowiebhoy on

    We have a squad of players all full internationalists

     

    Who believes, an experienced Manager would get more out of this squad of players, and form a Team ?

     

    I do, we have an Amatuer level Manager, managing one of the biggest teams in world football, that’s how I feel

     

    HT, very good post, can I expand

     

    Who thinks KC is a right sided midfielder ? Not me

     

    Who thinks SA is a left sided midfielder ? Not me

     

    Who thinks SJ is a central creative midfielder ? Not me,

     

    Who thinks SB is a holding midfielder ? Not his strongest position

     

    Theres 4 midfielders last night not playing their best positions

     

    Who thinks EA is a left sided central defender ? Not me

     

    Who thinks ML is actually match fit to only be able to play 1 full game per fortnight ? Not me

     

    Now I read we as in Celtic have signed 16 players in Ronnies 16 months with us, yet only 2 can make the starting line up

     

    Who is making these decisions on the 16 players ? – now costing us a huge amount of money to be squad members

     

     

    Celtic, please change now, before we deteriorate even further, and start with a professional management team, and someone who can identify a better standard of player for what we spend

     

     

    Hugely peed off, at what I am witnessing with my Team

  3. starry plough on

    The same inflexible story was used against Lenny and Gordon Strachan before him..

     

     

    Lenny’s 4-2-4 ring any bells..

     

     

    Two wingers love two middy against five, every Celtic manager since I’ve been posting on here has been coated off by a certain section of the posters and after every bad result calls for his head.

     

     

    Be interesting to pull up the CQN pages of the day after Utrecht which for me was a lot more shocking than last night and see how many were calling for Lenny’s head.

     

     

    I half expected us to get gubbed last night, we haven’t passed the ball well for weeks and with the half fitness of some of our more senior players it was always on the cards.

     

     

    I’m not for sacking the manager and I’m not for Kris Commons becoming our Barry Fergushun but I’m am for something being done with our players to put a rocket straight up their arses after last night and Malmo, not good enough by a long chalk.

     

     

    A lot of talk about the defence last night and understandably so but for me the mythical three is the biggest load of bollocks I’ve seen at Celtic for many a year.

     

     

    Get Armstrong in there behind the striker and see if his drive and ability to control the ball get get us into the box. James or GMS on one side and one of the other midfield contenders in the other spot till Jo Hansen gets his mojo back or not as it may be.

     

     

    Time to stop babysitting players for what ever reason and get the men who can do their jobs into the team.

     

     

    And if you can’t be the boss of this mob Ronny then you should go mate.

     

     

    HH

  4. mike in toronto on

    HT, Cowiebhoy Starry Plough …. all good posts …. lots to think about/discuss.

     

     

    Cheers.

  9. the_huddle on

    Cowiebhoy on 23rd October 2015 10:05 pm

     

     

    We have a squad of players all full internationalists

     

     

    ———————–

     

    If our squad of international players are playing below their abilities because they don’t rate the manager then they should be the first out of the door, and it would be nice if they handed back some of the thousands in wages they’ve stole from us.

  10. Gordon64 on

    Whether RD stays or goes is not really the issue. We all know RD was not PL or DDs first choice. RD will not challenge the board. And neither will his successor. Thats the way PL likes it. And all the while we are expected to turn up regardless and not question why our once famous club spirals into further decline. Not good enough.

  11. yorkbhoy on

    Mike in Toronto.

     

     

    It is a system that requires basic balls skills that most Celtic (and indeed most British players) simply lack (at least in comparison to most other pros). Over the last 30 years or so, basic ball skills in the scottish and english game have fallen far behind most other countries have improved. Tactically, most other countries have adapted to suit the difference in basic ball skills.

     

     

    I agree but what puzzles me is the even the foreign players seem to have the lack of skill as well.

  12. Thunder Road on

    Potential changes?

     

     

    Izzy off for Ciftci…..go 3-4-3

     

     

    To me they only had 2 dangers as such the left winger and big striker…..left winger had pace but the big striker wasnt a flying machine.

     

     

    Drop Johansen back beside Bitton and put Brown right to contend with Elyounoussi and Lustig on the right of the 3 at the back as cover, Ambrose picks up Kamara and Boyatta takes care of anything else that comes near.

     

     

    Lustig Boyatta Ambrose

     

    Brown Bitton Johansen Armstrong

     

    Griffiths Ciftci Commons

     

     

    Brown and Armstrong aint wingers but can beat a man and have the industry to make runs with the ball or pass and move.

     

    Armstrong might even have benefited from playing a little further back to dictate play instead of getting it with his back to goal.

     

    Get the ball forward quicker to the 3 guys up front and see if they can create something…..im sure they could.

     

     

    Cmon…..surely we could have at least tried something like that?

     

     

    Anything……have a Plan B Ronny.

  15. BRISBANE 67...Sack Deila. More of Peter Lawwell # Serving up Tripe & Trialists since 2003 on

    Plan B Ronny?

     

     

    Forget it.

     

     

    The fact that he doesn’t have one, is every reason why he shouldn’t be allowed to make one.

  18. Delaneys Dunky on

    RC

     

     

    Shane McGowan lyrics always cheer me in a way that Robert Nesta Marley lyrics do.

     

    White City. Great song. Thanks for reviving a lovely London memory. :)

  19. Thunder Road on

    DD

     

     

    Yeah…..too much…..got tonsilitis and been off work.

     

     

    Had to watch that last night without so much as a beer :(

  22. jmccormick on

    Too much has been said, we need clarity and a purpose, has to come from our leaders.

     

    For me it has to start on Sunday, if we do not see significant changes in the starting eleven then we are fucked, not fecked, fucked.. I make no apology for my intemperate language.

     

     

    Time to get down and dirty, if Ronnie will not clean out the dissenters in the dressing room, then recruit someone who will. We have plenty of time to fix this, we can offer good wages and more medals than a horse can shite.

     

    No doubt we will win the league , start planning now to win the 6 big matches in July in August, if we fail again we will have ourselves to blame. Not the MIB! MSM or The Orcs….

     

    Get on with it…

  23. sipsini on

    TET…

     

     

    You answered my question, RD was to be brought in as a coach, not a manager.

     

     

    He was a panic option from a man earning a million a year out of the club.

     

     

    As a coach, yep, I see what he is hoping to do but sadly it’s not happening, we don’t have the players to adapt or the skill level.

     

     

    The board should have stuck to their remit that they had planned for RD and it would have probably paid dividends down the line.

     

     

    Then again, PL would just punt them:(

     

     

    I hope to be proved wrong re RD in Europe, luckily the homefront will take care of itself. HH

  24. latchford on

    Paul67,

     

     

    Reading between the lines you now admit Delia is not fit for purpose. Good.

     

     

    Any view on the Bonus Thief Lawwell who put him there and also screwed up with Mowbray. Any view on the Bonus Thief dismantling our club piece by piece.

     

     

    Of course you can exercise your right to the Fifth ….Pedro would really appreciate that.

  27. Captainmoonlight on

    HT, huv you nae homework tae mark ;)),

     

     

    Seriously bud, wholeheartedly agree with your post. I’m always raw after a defeat and have learned not to be hasty and give in to my emotions after a very poor display and last night was another in a long list of them. There are serious issues at CP that require immediate attention,too many to mention which have probably been covered.

     

     

    So what do we do, or what do Celtic do? Sack Ronny? well no……. not yet anyway, maybe not at all. As an aside, I don’t agree with arranged marriages and certainly don’t like arranged managerial partnerships,especially at the club I have loved since a bhoy from Brigton Cross.

     

    Ronny has been in a precarious position from the start as he never had a courtship with John Collins and never “popped the question” so to speak. So here we have a football management team which IMHO is not built on mutual respect but maybe a slight respect for each other’s successes in the game , nothing more. I’ll go to Paradise on Sunday proud to be a Celtic supporter,the same as after the Malmo defeat ,when I wanted to chuck my season card in the bin but knew that I couldn’t . stay strong Celtic men and wummin, after all it’s only a game or was Bill Shankly right?

     

     

    Hail Hail

  29. Gordon64 on

    We are hurting badly. We were humiliated last night. There is no other way to describe it. Drastic changes needed.

  32. andyR53 on

    Alright Alright.. we’ve had our moan and our greet, and we’ve had a go at every single staff member at Celtic Park.. Lets get over it, lets stop feeding the already brutally upfront anti anything Celtic media, lets stop giving them ammunition and the impression we are all at war with our own Club and there’s gonna be a ‘boycott’ and we need to oust Lawwell and Deila.. Give it a break lads.. We had a real lousy night last night, a shocker, a humdinger when we thought this was gonna be a push over.. Its called a wake up call !!

     

    Dundee Utd on Sunday, they’ll be feeding off this, Hertz the following week.. they’ll be feeding off this too.. we still in 4 competitions, lets keep our negative thoughts to ourselves till May.. Meanwhile.. C’mon The Hoops.. the media world is lovin this.. Lets show them on Sunday, we still a Team with great support.

     

    Hail Hail.. COYBIG

  35. dixiedeans on

    Sad to say but having been waiting on the Ronnie revolution I am not impressed.Been supporting the Tic for 50+ years and while there have been worse Celtic teams I cannot remember off hand a team so disjointed so lack lustre so unwilling to fight for each other,most of them look like its not an enjoyable experience going to work at Celtic park.That is unacceptable there is something rotten there and it needs cutting out now not later.you can see the problem getting worse week by week.Not saying its all Ronnies fault but has he not been exposed that many times a blind man could see that he is clueless when up against it.Kris Commons might have done us a favour by focusing on this ongoing Crisis at Paradise.There is no unity and a svere lack of passion and fighting spirit and that my friends saddens me to the core.

     

    willthe realCeltic please standup.

     

    HH

  36. BRISBANE 67...Sack Deila. More of Peter Lawwell # Serving up Tripe & Trialists since 2003 on

    ANDYR53

     

     

    Get a grip pal.

     

     

    You mean…”Okay lads, we’re utter pish, let’s stop moaning about it, accept it and support it.”

     

     

    No thanks.

     

     

    Celts For Change FC

  38. Delaneys Dunky on

    TR

     

     

    A good bevvy and you forget about the tonsilitis. Worked for me. :)

     

    Get well soon. Celtic need our backing on Sunday. See you there.

  41. Cowiebhoy on

    The Huddle

     

    I quoted 5 players, all being played out of their best positions, with another no where near match fit. All trying to play to a system Ronny wants, which leaves huge gaps for teams to attack and hit us on the break

     

    In my small world football ain’t complicated

     

    Ronny is making it extremely complicated for many players with his decisions ? I think that, hence the damage we are seeing on our team

     

    He is way way out of his depth

     

     

    I think the blog has been very good over the past 24hrs with some great contributions

     

    One I picked up on, Any one watch Swansea under Laudrup and Weighorst ? A very attractive team to watch, with the management team picking up players through their own network, I believe

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