It will not have escaped your attention that Motherwell, who host Celtic on Saturday, are above us in the table and have lost only once in their last six outings (at Tynecastle). They won a point from Ibrox and left Livingston with three more than we took.
Ange Postecoglou will not be short of adrenaline when he looks at this fixture list. Having already played two of the top four away from home this season, he is away to the other two (Motherwell and Hibs) in his next three league outings. For a team still basking in their first away league win since February, that is a challenge.
The visit to Hearts came a week before we were ready, the visit to Ibrox was a missed opportunity that should have ended better than it did, the loss at Livi was abject, even that away win, at Pittodrie, was far from a classic performance. This start would sink a lesser manager.
Tynecastle, Ibrox, Pittodrie, Fir Park, Easter Road and the Plastic Pasta Park is as difficult a mix as you could get from your opening round of fixtures. When he leaves Easter Road later this month, Ange will know the remainder of the season will be easier that the round he has just completed. The priority between now and then is to stay in touch. A win against an in-form team at Fir Park on Saturday would go a long way towards the season’s objectives.
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Well said but still a sad commentary of the clubs current standing
My 1st ever podium
Good afternoon all from piperdam.
Grand kids in soft play and sitting having a quiet coffee.
D :)
On a train, passing Crewe
Scared of away games now are we.
How the mighty have fallen.
Shambles of a club.
The fixture “fix” does not happen by accident..
I wrote on 1st or 2nd of August
Back to the time of Martin O’Neill, I always watched for the underhand sleekit advantage given to The Devils Spawn over ourselves.
This was often apparent in the fixture list. Giving us away games after European fixtures, Rankers getting home ties.
Using the normal reputation of the other teams in the league, ( no matter how well we were playing) we always had a little air of caution when we travelled away to Hearts, Aberdeen, Hibs, Motherwell and recenly Livi( because of their plastic pitch)
We also looked on these fixtures as opportunities for the Hun to perhaps stumble.
This season the “Random” fixture generator had given us the following ( I have excluded the other teams for the purpose of this comparison)
In our first cycle of games against the 11 other clubs in the league..
….
Celtic play each and every one of the 5 clubs ( plus Rankers) AWAY from Home.
The Zombies play all 6 of those teams ( including us) at home in that 11 game cycle.
If I was a cynic, ( and I am) I would also note that The FoD even have ensured that the more difficult of these Home ties are at the end of their first cycle.
Hibs game 8
Hearts game 9
Aberdeen game 11.
If this was discussed on a phone in, it would be dismissed as Celtic Paranoia , someone like Uncle Tom English would probably also say ” it doesn’t matter as you have to play them all anyway.”
Utter Bullshit.
We saw last season what happened when we had 2 games suspended because of Bolingoli… playing catchup is demoralising, being in a lead builds confidence.
This year by the time we get a settled team , the league will most likely be done and dusted.
It’s unlikely that the SPFL fix would have been necessary…. but it’s interesting to note that they still put the fix in anyway.
The Huns play their first ‘tricky’ away game on 30th October.
DAVID66
Hope you’re enjoying Piperdam it’s a nice place , we were at a wedding there in 2010 , the groom was a Dundee Utd fan and the Scottish Cup was on display at the reception, congratulations on the podium btw 👍
Scottish football is rotten to the core.
The cheating is beyond doubt.
I think it was poster 31003 who highlited the cheating in Italian football and the Netflix series that shows cheating in all sports.
If any Celtic fan thinks we are playing in an even playing field they should waken up.
D :)
Park road 67 – Thanks, yes we are all enjoying (24 of us) some quality family time together after a tough 18 months.
D :)
DAVID66 on 14TH OCTOBER 2021 12:03 PM
“My 1st ever podium”
Congrats!!!! por cierto
We will not win the league this season because we will not be allowed to win the league. The stakes are too high.
The current 6 point gap is all down to refereeing decisions.
Our disallowed goal against Hearts. Their goalkeeper’s yellow card. The Hibs player’s red card. Madden doing his best to help Aberdeen with 27 free kicks.
We let sevco off the hook when we should have buried them. The genie is out of the bottle.
This will haunt our club for a generation.
What The Onlooker said………………
HH
……………………………………………………………………………
and might I add
Fix fitba; Empty Hampden.
Big Japanese airforce B777 in Glasgow airport today but apparently Kyogo wasn’t on it😎
I presume it the Hearts game wasn’t a week too early for them?
Damn these seasons staring before we’ve had time to be ready. Seems to happen every year.
It’s a conspiracy I tell ya!
Ive already got the fear of our back 4 passing the ball about in our own box,under pressure from a high pressing Motherwell team…
The Abada goal vs Hearts was a tight call – could have gone either way. We blew it with the goals we conceded.
I still think Porteous Red was correct
We should have drawn the Hearts and Sevco games and they should have drawn vs Dundee. Despite a disjointed display, we made enough chances to just beat Utd
On form, we should be 2 points ahead of sevco. 6 points our fault and 2 points due to Dundee missing a pen and man not sent off.
The ref issue for me is the soft fouls due to our pressing/them diving. we have changed our style, hopefully the refs adjust
Fairest refs in my lifetime; 80s were bad
Our opponents know they will get the soft free kicks against us – how do they know? I cannot prove it as i dont watch the other games so much but do you think the Aberdeen or DU players fall over as easily when playing against each other?? i doubt it very much – they know to go over, they are told to – question is by who?
The sheep boys last week were embarrassing the RB in particular – they are told to do it, the get the FK reward so they keep doing it – simple….
Big Judith looking magnificent, 👢👢
Moisey17
The managers are smart enough to see how we were penalised in the Hearts/sevco games and tried it out for themselves. The rugby chaps work out what a ref will allow before and during games
David 66
Greetings from the other side of Dundee, just waiting for Gym Class at 2.15pm. Nice spot Piperdam, been there a few times for “Do s”, I even remember the odd one or two 😉😉🤣🤣
HH
We need to act much smarter and use game intelligence. If we know the opposition are playing for it, we need to be aware and adapt accordingly. Not rocket salad…
HH
Agree around both players and managers knowing that going down easily against us will ALWAYS be awarded a foul, Aberdeen was a case in point, aided and abetted by a Cheatin’ Hun ref. However, what really annoys me is our midfield/forward players who when an opposition player is facing their own goal/ goal line with nowhere to go our players either go right up against the player or put their hands on them, easy fouls for cheating Hun refs to give, don’t give them the easy ones, stand back and let the defender make an ar@%e of it!
!!BADA BING!! on 14TH OCTOBER 2021 1:42 PM
Big Judith looking magnificent, 👢👢
———
Has she brushed her hair today?
After the seemingly unending international break an article about an upcoming Celtic fixture.
Rejoice !
“Tynecastle, Ibrox, Pittodrie, Fir Park, Easter Road and the Plastic Pasta Park is as difficult a mix as you could get from your opening round of fixtures. When he leaves Easter Road later this month, Ange will know the remainder of the season will be easier that the round he has just completed”
First sentence is true (IMHO).
Second sentence probably true but it’ll only be easier because we’ll be better.
Sometimes overlooked is the fact that round 1 fixtures are guaranteed to be repeated in round 3, before the split.
Want to hamper Celtic’s title bid?
Make sure they DEFINITELY visit Tynecastle, Pittodrie, Fir Park, Plastic Park and Easter Road ….
….. AT LEAST twice
🤔
SD- a bouffont to die for
We really are clutching at the merest hint of a straw if we think that the fixture list is deliberately skewed against us. If we have a tough first round of games, isn’t that balanced by an easier second, and a third countered by the fourth?
Last season’s political decision after Boli & Killie, was a directly targeted and spiteful blow, but let’s face it, did it make any real difference in the end? Those players who decided to take advantage of empty stands to just ‘go through the motions’ would have settled their mindset before a ball was kicked in anger.
Domestically this season, apart from thrashing three really duff sides in Dundee, St Mirren & Ross Co at Celtic Park, we have turned in some astonishing performances. In nearly every case, including the West Ham friendly, we have had a twenty, sometimes thirty minute positive involvement in most games, and then it is “over to you Claude” and the confidence & energy run out as the opposition take over. The late goals at Betis & Aberdeen only flatter to deceive.
We are in the early stage of a rebuild – stopping, and digging out, the rot. There will be many more planning and material changes, maybe also in management, before any kind of structure, fit for purpose, takes shape.
Our ‘friends’ at Ibrox have had their three-year rebuild under Gerrard and come up with an unspectacular but mostly solid unit capable of wearing down most sides and prevailing domestically in the league. They will be susceptible in ‘one-off’ cup games, and who knows we might just get a sniff of LC, or, SC success.
Ibrox CL auto qualification will be a lifeline to them and yet another bitter-blow to us…as our three-year rebuild begins.
Against Livi, play stopped to allow a Livi substitution. The camera pans to Martindale talking to the sub. Martindale turns his back on the player, looks over his shoulder towards him and pats his own arse. It was clear he was instructing his player to “go down” if and when a Celtic player came up behind him. He KNEW the ref would give a free kick for little or even no contact. We’re at the stage now where we will have to instruct our players to social distance at least one yard if the opposition player has his back to us. Otherwise we’ll continue to allow the refs to penalise us, mostly for no contact
JHB on 14TH OCTOBER 2021 2:41 PM
I think, with respect, you’re missing the point.
If we have been away in first and third rounds to the whole of the eventual top 6, we will still have to play at least two, if not three, away from home for a third time.
No need to try and explain to him…he more than already knows….
Good afternoon people. I am collating all the names and addresses off those attending Garry Duncan’s funeral tomorrow for the family, so if you are going, can you please send me you name, address and postcode either by text to 07881 511223 or e-mail to fsheeran@sky.com
I am also co-ordinating transport of those who need a lift; so if you do, let me know where you are coming from – I won’t automatically assume it’s from your home address.
KTF
When we all realise that the bigger enemy is the Blazer-wearin’ brown brogue rogues then the sooner we’ll focus enough effort where it’s immediately needed.
As we’ve said before talk about the issues that impact us, draw the sleekit huns ooot into the light, gradually issues might change and we might help Scotland want the change.
HH
Brendan Rodgers said in an interview “the quicker you put the ball up the field, the faster it comes right back at you”
I like that.
We don’t have the quality of personnel to execute this tactic correctly as we speak, but no doubt its the right thing to strive for.
We are likely to be 10 points behind Sevco by the end of November.
TT
For those who cannot make Garry’s funeral tomorrow it will be streamed live from just before 10:00 UK time on this link:
https://www.westreamitservices.co.uk/duncang
KTF
TinyTim,
Not sure how you can say that.
If you take next 7 games to 1st Dec,
Huns & ourselves .are both away to Motherwell & Hibs & at home to Hearts & Aberdeen,
We are at home to Livi & they are away to them.
So on those 5 fixtures we are playing the same teams, we have a very slight advantage in Livi game.
In the other 2 games we are at home to St. Johnstone & away to bottom Club Dundee,
They are away to St, Mirren & home to Ross County.
Anything is possible but how you conclude that we are LIKELY to lose a further 4 points to them, seems strange.
Some nonsense on here today.
And the Eejits are not even on yet.Looked in,logged out.
TINYTIM 3:33
That’s the spirit 👍