After the dust settled on Sunday’s game I considered the four central defenders we fielded. Acknowledging his poor performance, Brendan Rodgers reminded us Dedryck Boyata was just back from injury and will improve. Jozo Simunovic coasted through the game but got drawn into the spate of off the ball acts which was a feature of the game.
Kris Ajar (19) continued his excellent recent form, while Jack Hendry (22) didn’t miss a beat when introduced after Jozo’s red card. There will be tougher challenges ahead, but these two are more than comfortable at this level and have a genuine claim to a starting place at Hampden.
The Morton game a week earlier gave Marvin Compper an opportunity to show how match-fit he is – not sufficiently, was the outcome. Marvin is at the club to bring experience and stability to the defensive line. Our four games before the split are all against lower half of the league opposition. The German international must be given plenty of game time in the coming month.
What our central defence will look like for the qualifiers remains an open book. All five players discussed above are under consideration. I expect comings and goings throughout the window in this area too. Brendan will expect Marvin to play a significant part, but it will be a battle for all of them; which is a good thing.
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Oldbhoy on 13th March 2018 3:28 pm
Ralston must not be showing anything in training
we haven’t seen enough of him to draw any conclusion really
HH
TRADITIONALIST88 on 13TH MARCH 2018 2:15 PM
I try to watch as much European football as I can and also play a bit of football manager so I get to know a few players. I would like to think that Celtic are absolutely aware of these guys. The only question mark I’d have about them compared to Celtic’s profile search is their age. We very rarely target players over 23.
SEÁNP1916
Good defender in my opinion, funny enough when he signed my Basel supporting mate said he’s a donkey:))
But that might be cos he came from a Zurich team!!
Mikael was a great signing something uo that street would be perfect!
HH
Celtic are delivering on the promises made to young up and coming players, with International call ups for Ajer and possibly Dembélé.
All good for future recruitment.
Catch you all later bhoys
HH
Quickest most deadpan repartee of recent times. (make sure you can hear the lassie’s question)
http://alturl.com/hsoqc
Hail Hail
Matt
see that INVISIBLE CALLUM MCGREGOR.
is that the same one that is an INVINCIBLE ?
A player of a legendary team ?
A man with 100 games and 27 goals for celtic ?
A hunskelper and european game winning goalscorer ?
Is it him ?
SAINT STIVS
Did you see him celebrating at the end of the game on Sunday, proper Celt:))
EC67, Dena 29,
Best wishes to you and yours. HH
YNWA
i did indeed, he is allways right at the front of the celebrations.
i am watching the match again. i didnt realise they still do “simply the best” so funny.
better still there is pictures of the jigsaw tifo.
4 winners at Cheltenham, still 2 runners to come.Price’s not that Great,but it help’s when they are all counted together.
Glad to see Delaney’s Dunky back posting,you were missed.
Heb Celt. Happy belated Birthday to you my friend, Enjoy the rest of your Holiday.
Matt Stewart
I really liked that one. Excellent.
JJ
Old Tim
Keep skelpin` them bookies, D. !!
JJ
starry plough
SAINT STIVS
Ye ought to hear what they say about him on deadclub media, what with him coming from a real Ayrshire bears family :))))))))))))))
He loves being a Celt does that Bhoy
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/mar/13/scottish-football-brilliance-celtic-psg-rangers-scotland
STARRY PLOUGH on 13TH MARCH 2018 3:54 PM
Understand your point regarding the profile of the player, maybe he potentially is just out of reach in that case but he certainly in my eyes would tick the boxes of a player that would improve our team overall.
Does your mate still regard him as a dud? I would be surprised if that’s the case.
CB is definitely the weakest area of our team (and RB) but until all are fit and competing amongst themselves I guess we won’t know how weak or strong we are.
A note on William Collum of the Masonic brethren and his ilk. The big decisions are always the ones highlighted and when it comes to them you always get the ragers saying they get bad decisions against them as well (which in part is true, you’re always going to get some calls for and some against over time). But what people don’t seem to understand, or point out, is it’s the little challenges and decisions that really influence and control the flow of the game. Strikers being penalised at one end for winning headers while at the other defenders get punished for the merest of touches on the opposition when the ball is in the air. Feet (or arms) being left in away or pulls at the jersey left unpunished. These are the types of challenges that can over the course of 90 minutes alter things, and these are the types of challenges/decisions that you can do nothing about.
Their first goal was highlighted as Boyata at fault (and he was!) but that’s taken attention off what happened before it. James Forrest lost the ball at their corner flag after being pushed and pulled several times, Bates (I think it was Bates anyway) had a handful of Forrest’s jersey twice right in front of the referee and no foul was given. By the letter of the law, pulling the jersey is a booking, but the challenges were completely ignored by Collum.
I don’t know what the solution is. The top level referees seem to be a very closed shop at the moment. Going full time would be one way of at least changing things up.
Have they found out what the goalie was doing?
I think if Brendan had any interest in John McGinn he would have made a move by now.
We should never have let McGeogh go in the first place, it’s all about opinions but in mine, he is a far, far superior player than McGinn is, or will ever be.
……………………………………………………..
Auldheid
A while back I posted a link on here about how easy it is to remotely hack into someones computer with very little knowledge, it got not a single reply.
HH
Is Alfredo Morelos running in the Close Brothers Handicap at Cheltenham today.
See it’s for novices!,
Or should that be donkeys.
Yeah McGeough is quality, Celtic quality i don’t know but definitely a quality player.
LEFTCLICKTIC
He’s one of our own Lefty!
Oldbhoy, Stephen O’Donnell was on our books but was freed 5 or 6 years ago. He went to Thistle then Luton.
When he was released, Danny McGrain , a no bad right and left back himself, was very surprised when Stephen was released on a free. Danny rated him highly.
Hard to think the length of time which has passed since Jinky passed away. The wee man with the biggest heart and most skill.
SEÁNP1916
No not at all, that’s the interesting thing, really rates him now( a bit like the reaction to the Hendry signing on here) and thinks he will go to the Bundesliga even tho’ Basel can offer him Euro footy.
I think they’re in trouble this year in the league so you could see him looking for a move to a club like Celtic who are heading to the CL:))
John McGinn.
I’ve watched him a few times and he strikes me a a decent, aggressive, powerful little midfielder. He’s scrappy, not afraid to mix it and can shoot from distance.
But his passing is poor and I think his tackling is reckless. Never once have I thought: “Wow, he’s just what we need.”
However. I remember watching both James McCarthy and Steven Fletcher when they were linked to us and thinking the same thing. I was staggered at how both players developed (especially McCarthy).
McGinn is not the finished article, but neither was Broon. With good coaching I think he could be an outstanding Celtic player one day.
D17
We will never know, he could have been moulded into a Celtic player, not to worry.
HH
VFR….I just watched it….Annihilation…..so you don’t have to…..nearly 2 hours I won’t get back…..
yerwelcomeCSC ;-))
FTSFA
H.H.
having watched the game again, i need to concur.
Willie Collum was at it the whole first half in particular.
all the sevco attacks came about from our players being bundled over,or held, or pulled somewhere in the rangers half. from one of our corners , mcgregor and brown end up on the deck as they break.
its not an advantage to play on, its a foul to celtic.
also holding at corners, , and the 2 footed lunge.
he got his come uppance by not awarding broon a free for the late challenge, that gave the pass that moussa scores from.
all that cheatin, and they still couldnt win.
we have not hit the heights this season for sure, but the run of injuries on our primary goalscorers from last season , sees us about 30 goals behind. and we havnt really pumped anyone.
my gut feel, we will do in the run in, injured players to come back like moussa and tom, and hit the nets.
cmon the hoops.
and a double pumpin of der hun would be appreciated.
thanks.
THE EXILED TIM on 13th March 2018 5:05 pm
We should never have let McGeogh go in the first place, it’s all about opinions but in mine, he is a far, far superior player than McGinn is, or will ever be.
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Auldheid
A while back I posted a link on here about how easy it is to remotely hack into someones computer with very little knowledge, it got not a single reply.
HH
—————————
It has now.
Repost – the fun we could have with the Huns’ ZX Spectrums…
JOBO BALDIE on 13TH MARCH 2018 7:48 AM
Dharma Bam,
But aren’t club and company one and the same? Just like last time?
Yes, until one of them is liquidated ;-)
Which is why im wondering why the article just refers to Newco and not Newclub. Everyone knows by now, even me, that an incorporated club is am indivisible legal entity. Which is why it makes more sense to me that we should refer to the newclub and not the the newco.
They’re a new club and we should take every opportunity to remind them of that truth. :-D
https://twitter.com/davidkerr1970/status/973292177857175554?s=08
Belter…:)
Saint Stivs,
I thought Collum got worse as the game went on. The repeated penalising of Dembele and Ntcham when they won the ball high up the pitch (vital for us to relieve pressure) was scandalous.
The red card was as soft as they come. No way he saw it so he should have checked what exactly his excited linesman saw before deciding on a course of action. Instead he has the red card out whilst he is running towards Jozo (alway a sign of a total p**** of a ref IMHO).
He failed to penalise a straightforward kick by Alves on Ntcham, and a shocker of an assault from Cardoso on Moussa (I think he gave a yellow but it was cynical and dangerous – as much if not more of a red card than Jozo).
I really expected a penalty in those last five minutes. (Notice also when Morelos hits the post Collum looks to his linesman – almost asking him – was that in?).
In the first half I thought he wasn’t too bad (though on viewing again his decision not to give JF a freekick after 3 fouls on him before the first goal was also scandalous).
The club need to make something of this. If we don’t then we should expect similar treatment in the future – this time from Beaton, Madden or one of the others.
The RAINJURRRRRZZ are comin’!
Aw naw…. haud oan…..jist a minute……naw. They’re gaun away again.
Havent been on but Vfr are you around?
Hail Hail
Sandman
I will when I find it, can’t remember where I found it or where I have put it ffs
HH
True storytellers can make the improbable, at least, credible…..ask MIT or BRTH….;-)))
FTSFA
H.H.
itakiabhoy, your right on all that as well, i just didnt have the time to write it up.