Just as a year ago, we lost the first game of the season against Newco, but the similarities end with the result. Celtic bossed the first half and created the better chances in an even second period. Goals change games and when Kyogo Furuhashi centred a cross for Odsonne Edouard, the game should have changed. Instead, Odsonne took his eye off the ball, which bounced off his heel and ran to safety.
One week ago today, despite scoring six against St Mirren, I urged Ange Postecoglou to play Kyogo through the middle, if necessary moving Odsonne to the left. He started Kyogo on the left yesterday and although Celtic enjoyed the bulk of possession, they were blunt in front of goal; Odsonne’s miss starkly demonstrating the point. It was a foreseeable error from Ange, which he later accepted.
Although Newco were unable to keep possession throughout the first half, at home, exclusively in front of their own fans, news of their demise was exaggerated. They survived the torrent when required and adjusted their game plan at halftime. From that point, Celtic were no more than equal in the contest until Kyogo moved into the middle on 70 minutes.
After Kygo shot from a tight angle, Ryan Christie reacted animatedly towards his teammate, presumably complaining that the Japanese striker did not square the ball for him to finish in front of goal.
I’m never keen on Celtic players shouting at each other and suspect this show of agitation contributed to Kyogo passing instead of shooting moments later, when the clear shot at goal was on. Our Imperious Icon could be forgiven for wondering why bother laying chances on a plate for others after Edouard’s earlier miss.
Just like the first goal we lost to Newco last season, yesterday’s goal was lost from a set piece but I’m not pressing the panic button on this one. Last year we were unable to form a straight defensive line, it was largely the central defenders who were causing the problems. The defenders were correctly marshalled yesterday, the goal was lost because none of the others picked up a late runner.
The transformation in Celtic in such a short period has been beyond any of our expectations. We will continue to improve and I expect will top the table after Newco’s visit on 2 January. In losing twice so early, however, we have put ourselves under unwelcome pressure. Playing the beautiful stuff is not always rewarded.
Last week they came after the Japanese, yesterday, they came after the Irish. Racism in Scotland is in spate, it was even given a police escort post-match in Glasgow yesterday. It is not the responsibility of Celtic to win so often that the mob have no opportunity to wreak havoc on the city.
Our political leaders and police cannot ignore this problem away. Scotland is home to many cultures, creeds and ethnicities. All will suffer unless the laws of the land are enforced.
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WBC………….
Correct – but if the message put out is that this is a societal issue, grounded in “sectarianism” then Scotland and The Huns they accommodate are allowed to avoid the horrible truth of their racist attitudes towards the Irish and irish culture / faiths / beliefs……..
As long as Scotland refuses to have a conversation with itself and confront the ugly truth we’ll have the oranj odour and nuggets like those in the video triumphantly taking to their queen’s Highway singing songs of hate……….
Did anyone see the Policeman defending his force’s inaction when the racists were marching through the city centre? He claimed that it was in order to ensure public safety. Why then escort them? Why not kettle them or is that reserved for the Celtic support?
SAINT STIVS on 30TH AUGUST 2021 6:27 PM
They are emboldened and imho getting worse.
SAINT STIVS, true very true words. The two situations in George Sq last season were a challenge to the Police and the Police failed the people and rate payers in Glasgow. It would appear that this new idea of marching in to and through the city is going to be their way of establishing their top-dog status (as they see it) and while the Police fail to curtail such gatherings and enforce the laws of the land, they (the Police) are building up one helluva conflict at some time in the future when they will have to meet them head on. The multiple Orange Walks taking place on the same day in Glasgow next month is another aspect of their growing boldness ( and yes I do realise I’m conflating the two).
SAINT STIVS on 30TH AUGUST 2021 6:58 PM
Having been identified as having racist supporters on our bus a few weeks ago and action taken with these fans banned from Ibrox, we here at the Westerwood Rangers Supporters club have taken the decision to disband the club effective immediately.
….so that our rabid members can disperse themselves among other Rainjurrrrz supporters clubs and carry on their staunch work .
Good to know that the Club is represented at UEFA level….
There is also a Tweet doing the rounds saying Celtic have accepted a bid from Bordeaux from Eddie,
Griff is supposed to be going on Loan to Dundee,
Talk that in addition to Giorgios the Greek & Jota we are still chasing 4 deals, 2 permanent & 2 loans,
Sincerely hope that all this talk has substance,
Don’t hear much from SG about about racism in Glasgow – quick to jump up and down when he make something of it to his benefit. Duplicitious scuzzbucket.
Corkcelt I too hope it has substance were still way short
CorkCelt
4 in tomorrow would be great.
Giakoumakis – permanent
Jota – Loan
Still need a centre back and probably a left back.
Could be an interesting day.
No great loss on yesterdays input even less loss on his form last year, Ryan Christie is swinging with the wind, but the wantaway tag still haunts him in the revolving door.
Dirty northern towns like Burnley might make him wealthy, but will flatten his career before he adds great to his CV. He’s been reinvigorated by AP, who released him from his wrong foot role, but it might be too late and SKY money will break him.
SFTB @ 5:58
“ I think the jump from 5th tier football to the SPFL will take time and we need this “loan Out” system as an intermediate step.”
You are right on the money here. I watched the B Team 10-0 demolition of one team and was quite shocked at how poor the opposition were. Between 1965-69 and 1970-72, I played 10-12 times for Strathclyde against Edinburgh Uni ( the latter now in the Lowland Division ), and am convinced that the Strathclyde team of the late 60s would have given a far better account of themselves than the unfortunate sad sacks that weakly succumbed without resistance to Moffat & Co.
Have sevco genuinely gone the full day without commenting on the racist behaviour of their fans yesterday?
Politicians of most hues are condemning their actions but nothing from the clompany.
Is this because they don’t know what they wish to say – or because they do?
Uncle Jimmy- huns never apologise to Kaffliks
@CELTIC40ME on 30TH AUGUST 2021 1:31 PM
“I can’t understand the logic behind the desire for big physical players. We lost our way yesterday because we dropped our intensity levels, we couldn’t keep the ball or move it forwards through the press quick enough. That’s how you beat the Huns with Ange’s tactics, not with big strong centre halves and center mids.”
Our midfield has posted missing now in games v Sevco, AZ away and for periods of AZ at home. Part of this seems attributable to a lack of physical presence/stamina/athleticism in our midfield.
Rogic’s issues in this department are well known, but it has to be said that Turnbull hardly contributed in the last two games. I think CBN previously noted that his defensive contributions were on par with Rogic. You can’t play quality teams with 2/3 midfielders contributing nothing defensively.
We need more physical technical players to allow us to compete in the middle. I don’t think anyone is advocating for the equivalent of Lundstram at Sevco.
Despicable the Polis Marching alongside their crew.
The Hun thugs are just animals……. Having Polis Helicopters when the Government wanted to enforce the ridiculous law at Celtic Park pissed me off so much.
Doubt wee Chico and Co are asking the questions……………..mibbes thuv loast The DUP guys number???
Has wee Nippy said anything?
Any phone-ins been hosted?…….a summit/
Anything?
Naw…….?
Aye.
bournesouprecipe,
Ryan didnae have the best game Yesterday, I am Hoping he signs on again as he is Tailor made for Ange Fitba. :))
Shut the windae and watch Celtic Rocket.
And to think we were warned of social unrest if there was no new version of the rangers
Pie & Bovril 🏴
@pieandbov
If we are calling fans out for singing racist songs about Asians last week you are damn right we’ll be calling fans out for singing racist songs about the Irish this week.
Sectarianism, racism, just no place for it, in the grounds or away from it.
Absolute morons.
Uncle Jimmy,
They are vermin, they are emboldened and Sadly being allowed to dae whit haters do.
We pay for this 2.
Ian Blackford
@Ianblackford_MP
· 22h
This is not acceptable period. We cannot allow sectarianism or racism in our communities. When you see this it is clear there is a way to go to become a tolerant and respectful society. We all must stand against this behaviour and support our police in doing their duty. twitter.com/fr4ser/status/…
@ BIGBHOY on 30TH AUGUST 2021 1:02 PM
“Ange has to do without him and Eddy, He has a 1st Team squad of 37 probably the highest number ever and we have another 2 or 3 due in, So we have 40 First…”
Really?
I would say we have 25 first team players . Unsure how we can count Kerr McInroy, Ewan Henderson, Dembele, Shaw, O’Connor or Murray as first team players. Whether looking at it from their wages or their expected contribution to the team.
Of the 25, 4 are keepers. We also have Boli, Griff, Ajeti, Johnstone and Bitton – some who have not and likely will not contribute or are injury prone.
At present, taking the 11 that played on Sunday, we probably have 5 or 6 others in the squad that Ange trusts – Forrest, Rogic, Montgomery, McCarthy and Jullien (Soro grudgingly). That is nowhere near the squad depth to compete in 4 competitions.
We desperately need numbers in the door.
Rolling stone….can’t agree…..desperately need physical presence in the team……if you lose individual battles you lose the war ……Ralston for instance has a physicality that has impressed these last few weeks……its also why the likes of Sutton and Hartson were successful here…….
BOURNESOUPRECIPE @ 6:11
“I can argue with all of it.”
In my best John Cleese accent, “ Do you want a 5 minute argument, or a 10 minute argument?”😊
The squad is weak. I take your points and agree there has been substantial improvement since the flaccid collapse last season. But I think the point was directed at the flexibility offered by the bench. Who did Ange have yesterday on the bench to realistically affect the result? Respectfully, I think no one, with the possible exception of Rogic.
We were bullied – meaningless cliche. O.K. Accept the latter, but don’t you agree that our midfield is powderpuff? Alkmaar easily brushed us off the ball numerous times. We don’t need all of our players to look like Adamo Traore ( who trains on his own for the same time he trains with Wolves ) but some upper body strength augmentation for some of our players would not go amiss.
The Board made a killing. We could go on for weeks on this. I certainly wasn’t arguing against selling all season books! I think the essential point is that we could have spent a lot more money addressing obvious team inadequacies without financial distress to the Club. I’lI acknowledge it if proved wrong, but I don’t think the Board has pushed the boat out to maximize our chance of gaining the CL Group Stage next season. I guess we’ll all have more information when the accounts are published.
Cheers.
PETEC
Me too also CSC
BSR
LMFAO.
Respect Great Celt.
If anything, the last couple of days have again confirmed who the real enemy is, where they are, where they’ve always been are and what they sound like.
’twas ever thus.
ROLLING_STONE on 30TH AUGUST 2021 8:23 PM
Our midfield has posted missing now in games v Sevco, AZ away and for periods of AZ at home.
Not for the greater part of the game yesterday, or at home against AZ. And we did enough in 2 out of those three games against the best team we’ve faced so far.
We need more physical technical players to allow us to compete in the middle.
I don’t know what that means. To play the way Ange wants technique will always come first, a mix of strength and that level of technique means we’re looking at signing the best all rounders. We don’t have the resources or play in a league that mean we’re able to attract that sort of player so the compromise is the physical
We always knew that there would be a premium on technique at the expense of defensive vulnerability, everything we were told suggested that.
If we’re insisting on signing the sort of players we want to see instead of what the manager wants so we can play the way he wants aren’t we just filing what the board are being accused of and not backing him?
Or is this another way of attacking the people who sign the players fir not giving him what he wants, when actually it’s just what we want?
Doing not filing
Tomorrow can’t be a case of two out and two in otherwise the league is lost. Eddie and Christie for all their faults were proven first team members.
We need to be immediately reinvesting Eddie’s fee if Dominic McKay was serious in making us a world class club, if we don’t, the biscuit tin is well and truly back.
Can’t remember who said it, but can we not recruit a Barry Robson type player………..
………the spine needs some stiffening.
Signing big players on the back of one goal conceded at ibrox would be short sighted and hinder the progress we’ve made under Ange
We conceded goals in the Netherlands from two ridiculous defensive mistakes. Otherwise we didn’t concede over 180 minutes against a decent technical side.
We already have a keeper who can’t pass, another central defender or center mid who is t comfortable taking the ball under pressure completely undermines Ange’s system
It’s a new way of thinking but if we’re not all in then it won’t work
A Superb Poster was PJBHOYNYC…… I may have got his name wrang, Apologies if so.
He drapped a Big Sonic Bach in the Davie Hay.
Parapa the Rapper.
It will come to me Jam&Spoon.
CELTIC
CELTIC
UTLR
Make no mistake a victory at Ayebrokes absent Celtic supporters would have sent a message to the hordes yesterday. Would have, could have. Now, unless we meet and beat them in the League Cup we will have gone two years without doing so before we play them on Jan 2nd 2022, and according to Paul are at the top of the league. Know we’ve got a Greek manager, and also a Greek forward, but even so more than a touch too much hubris on show here. There was a programme on Radio 4 this morning, 9.30 – 9.45am, and still available on the site. It is called ‘The Age of Denial’ – ‘Knowing and Not Knowing’ with Isabel Hardman. All on here would do well to listen to it, especially Cork Celt. Also covers the role and development of optimism in human evolution. Turns out 80% of us are optimistic, the rest no doubt worried about that sabre tooth tiger which might be just around the corner. Worth the effort.
Our rivals are fitter and stronger than us. They had a stronger bench. They were missing a handful of players, some of whom are first team choices. We were missing er James McCarthy. I am part of the 80%, but I am a wee bit less optimistic than I was before kick off yesterday.
BANKIEBHOY1 on 30TH AUGUST 2021 9:10 PM
You’d hope James McCarthy is better than BR, good as he was for us
FFS, hun on hun, canny whack it >:}
https://twitter.com/i/status/1432415950767263754
Let’s not lose our nerve after losing one game at Ibrox that we could just as easily have won
INIQUITOUSIV
I’ll go for the 5 minute debate every time and cuddle up to my ST like a daftie Celtic supporter.
in the best Alec Baldwin Glengarry Glenross accent
The squad is weak?
“The leads are weak?”
You’re weak
I think we agree the squad is better most pragmatic Celtic supporters know that Rome was not built in a day.
According to this blog we were so far behind Sevco we’d be as well not turning up. Broken down, unknown, second choice AP has turned it round pretty quickly especially when he’s always hog tied by a cheating self profiteering board.
Joe Hart – Goalkeeper, Tottenham Hotspur, £1.08m, 34, England
Carl Starfelt – Central Defender, £4.50m, Rubin Kazan, 26, Sweden
Osaze Urhoghide – Central Defender, £200k, Sheffield Wednesday, 20, England
Josip Juranovic – Right Back, £2.60m, Legia Warsaw, 26, Croatia
Liam Scales – Central Defender, £540k, Shamrock Rovers, 23, Ireland
Liam Shaw – Central Midfielder, £300k, Sheffield Wednesday, 20, England
James McCarthy – Central Midfielder, Crystal Palace, Free, 30, Ireland
Kyogo Furuhashi – Left Winger, £4.86m, Vissel Kobe, 26, Japan
Liel Abada – Right Winger, £3.60m, Maccabi Petah Tikva, 19, Israel
Georgios Giakoumakis – Striker, £2.60m, VVV-Venlo, 26, Greece
Total = £20.28m
Big bucks for Celtic? yes I think so TV rights £2M if you win the league? Peanuts for Parkhead The rest is selling shirts and ST’s, there are no board members running away with millions of pounds or cheating disgruntled Celtic supporters that missed their vocations in business.
HH