A year ago, after a late 10-man winner against Dundee United, we gave ourselves a platform to go top of the table next time out, a status that was earned and not relinquished. Yesterday’s win against Dundee United was just as ominous for those hoping to get the better of Celtic.
15 games remain in the title race, Celtic have 7 away from home and 8 at home, where we have been imperious all season. Bookies are offering a 4% return on money placed on Celtic, although the period required is less than a year, that is below interest rates.
It took until early in the second half, and we benefited from a goalkeeper error, but the incessant pressure from Celtic was always going to find whatever vulnerabilities United had. Aaron Mooy’s speculative cross looked harmless until Jota seemed to defy the laws of physics to bend the ball over the line. How many players get to see a goal they scored when looking back onto the pitch?
Despite having a pretty good view of the action, referee Don Robertson failed to spot Kieran Freeman raise his hand to block the ball inside the United penalty area. Freeman quickly hid his arm behind his back, so perhaps Robertson believed the player only had the one upper limb.
VAR corrected this aberration. Despite the clear hand-to-ball action, the referee declined to caution the already-booked player. Your thoughts may return to the caution Alexandro Bernabei received when the ball struck his arm, behind him, mid-jump, and wonder why the gaping inconsistencies persist in Scottish football.
Do not trouble yourself with that. Also, set aside any thoughts you may have that the punch on the head Kyogo received was worthy of a penalty. Instead, consider the new rule. If you stand on the ball and fall, you receive a foul*.
Liam Smith stood on the ball, tumbled, obstructed Reo Hatate and, according to Don Robertson, earned a foul. It was an egregious interpretation of the rules which highlights the scale of the challenge we face.
*may only apply when playing against Celtic.
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St Stivs
If you reject an improved contract and look outside then it’s not exactly a push
Last time i got an external offer, i told my boss to see if they would boost me. I factored in being told to GTF
The big man is a big boy and needs his last payday
Kyogo was the meat in the sandwich, Penalty all day long, as McCoist would say! Or, every day of the week as Davy Provan would say,por cierto
Por Cierto
What is Provan doing these days? Big hero of mine and didn’t mind his commentary
Just watched FA cup draw
Alex Scott is a wee smasher
Hopefully Derby take WH to play Man U
Enzo Fernandez cost Benfica €14m 8 months ago. The latest bid for him is €120m
They paid €34m for Nunez and fold him for 80m
Instead of having a Giakoumakis on the bench taking a wage with hardly any potential fir a decent transfers fee we need a young striking prospect with the potential to be sold for the sort of money that’s being thrown around at the moment. One experienced player, someone else developing at the same time
The opportunity cost of keeping him is too great, especially if he wants away. We need more young prospects in the squad
CONEYBHOY on 30TH JANUARY 2023 7:19 PM
Por Cierto
“What is Provan doing these days? Big hero of mine and didn’t mind his commentary”
He’s retired to Spain, por cierto
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Por Cierto
Thanks. Still think there is a place for his floaty corners. 99% of whipped ones are cleared
His floaties gave Aitken and McAdam a chance
Bit like the ‘heid’ floater to Skippy vs huns in 2008
CONEYBHOY:
His goal from the free kick in the Cup Final v Dundee Utd, will long live in the memory. What a crowd in the Celtic End that day, well over Health & Safety limits, glad there weren’t any!!! por cierto
https://www.flickr.com/photos/saint_stivs/4149753913/
provans goal,
my photie.
The four teams in pot 3 this season, of similar size that we have a genuine chance of overtaking
Benfica – when the Fernandez deal goes through – €175m profit this season from transfers
Salzburg – €70m
Sporting Lisbon – €115m with the sale of Pedro Porro
Shakhtar – when the sale of Matviyenko goes through – €130m
Its impossible for Celtic to compete with teams who make that much money when we’re not making any on transfers. They can buy better players than us, pay them more and offer them a route into a better league with a better team than we can
We have to do better or we’ll be stuck at the same level in Europe forever
A wonderful afternoon in the Shipbank with two of my favourite people, Big Jimmy and BelmontBrian. Hellish jokes though ffs 🙄.
Provan was a top player,great crosser of the ball
“SAINT STIVS on 30TH JANUARY 2023 6:00 PM
Tom this is a penalty as you say”
I didn`t notice that at the game. A very obvious penalty but if the ref didn`t see it, he can`t give it. If only we had VAR.
Actually, Saint Stivs, did you just make that clip yourself? Surely Sportscene would have highlighted such an obvious miss by the Ref, the linesman and the VAR guy?
https://twitter.com/i/status/1619984186328363009
Coneybhoy
Don’t you start either. 🤣
BIGRAILROADBLUES on 30TH JANUARY 2023 8:02 PM
Big Jimmy`s jokes fall into that strange category where they are so bad they are good !!
J don’t encourage him. 🤣🤣
HS
Maybe somebody asked everybody in the pub and they all said it wasn’t a penalty?
All 4 clubs have sold big players in this window when the right offers came in. Two are second in their league, none of them are as far ahead as we are.
Brave, aggressive and agile in the transfers market, as Ange would say.
Pot 3 is a long way away but its achievable if we take our opportunities and stop worrying about squad players who will never be good enough in the champions league
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 30TH JANUARY 2023 8:07 PM
Sounds about right.
Coneybhoy
Derby are another cheating club with multiple points deductions. Their fans wear it as a badge of honour – hope they get stuffed.
Wishing Andy Walker had the good grace of Davy Provan to retire.
BIGRAILROADBLUES on 30TH JANUARY 2023 8:06 PM
J don’t encourage him. 🤣🤣
OK. Just read out the `so bad `part of my post to BJ :-)))
Cheerio for now.
Hamed Traore joining Bournemouth for £20. 22 year old with 3 caps for the ivory cost and 92 appearances at the bottom end of serie a
As was said recently, we’re all feeder leagues to the EPL now, with £20 seemingly the starting price for anyone under the age of 22
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/3f/b3/fe/3fb3fea55ed9a2453d67cd61ced77644.jpg
Andy Walker and good grace in the same sentence – there’s something I thought I’d never see
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/00/ac/fc/00acfc6798c588b29602e897a740db68.jpg
“The Rangers thing is gone for me. There is no part of me now that wishes I had played at Ibrox. It was my up-bringing and it was ingrained into me but I wouldn’t swap my Celtic career for anything. The irony is, between signing for Celtic in 1978 and 1986, when I played my last game for the club, Rangers didn’t win the title. I won four championship medals and Rangers were never at the races. Who knows what would have happened if I had signed for Rangers but I don’t have an ounce of regret, none whatsoever.”
Davie Provan
https://www.thecelticwiki.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/Provan-Davie-Pic-073.jpg
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/e2c4d8ed5c4accc45c943278270763ff
30m not 20 for Traore. Crazy
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/8bc82917e0ef99c44cb685a9d0ad8027
Good evening all from the Black Bull, High Street. It’s a hard life
“ Gers set for annual January window winning swoops “
Daily Rancour
I objected only to the term Stonewaller being applied to the challenge on Kyogo that was overruled.
If a certain proportion of Celtic fans (not including contrarians like Keevins) did not think it was a “clear” penalty, then it is not a stonewaller.
We diminish our genuine grievances about decisions when we include borderline calls or judgement calls.
We can see with the benefit of replay that Kyogo was fouled after Hatate hit the post but how many of us spotted that in real time? It is possible that linesman, ref and VAR man missed it too without bias being involved.
It is , however, also possible that one of them saw it and just saw it as normal jostling.
We have an issue to present about differentials in penalty awards and in the foul count we suffer. We just water it down if we include contentious decisions alongside genuine stonewallers.
Fair enough Gene
I worked there 15 years and got married and had a kid. Lovely people in Derby
Was very happy to move to Ireland but still have Derby as my English team
SFTB
Contact sport
Captain of our team said it was not a pen