Celtic got what they deserved yesterday. Alarm bells were ringing from the opening minutes when Newco Rangers created several chances. Their goal on 16 minutes was reward for their ability to get inside the Celtic box with remarkable ease.
So much about football is down to game intelligence, something which bypassed Dedryck Boyata in the move which led to the opening goal, as he clumsily barged into the back of an opponent who was running away from goal. After Dedryck went off injured for Erik Sviatchenko midway through the first half, Craig Gordon had little to do.
This fact illuminates the only positive aspect of Celtic’s performance – the defence. Sviatchenko and Charlie Mulgrew both played well, while Kieran Tierney would have collected the Man of the Match award, had his team-mates delivered near to his level.
Sviatchenko wasn’t in the starting line-up because he’d been out injured, but with extra time, he played (well) for 95 minutes. Leaving him out, presumably over concerns he would be unable to play 90 minutes, was a miscalculation.
From midfield forward we were individually and tactically second best. Scott Brown provided more evidence that he’s not regained top form after his injury lay-off. His touch and decision-making were both off. He had an opportunity to clear at the first goal but his contact wasn’t strong enough.
This is a real concern. Scott’s 31 in the summer, young enough to have several good years at this level, but my expectation is that we need to manage the remainder of his career carefully, in light of the cumulative effect of injuries. If this concern is valid, it will have a big impact on Celtic next season.
I did a fair amount of shouting at Nir Bitton during the first half. We were regularly overloaded 3-against-2 on the wing, while Nir remained in a central position, 5 yards away from being able to effectively press. If this was down to team orders they were complicit in a dreadful first half performance. If it was a personal reluctance to press, it was inexplicable. I could believe either scenario.
It was all too much for Gary Mackay-Steven and Patrick Roberts. Gary’s form has been underwhelming this season, but when I questioned his inclusion ahead of the game the point was made that he’s chipped in with a number of goals recently. Ronny Deila turned and walked to the dug-out to instruct Gary’s substitution after one inaccurate pass too many.
In the starting line-up, only Gary, Patrick Roberts and Leigh Griffiths had scored in our previous 7 league games. I suspect we were caught asking the wrong question here – who’s going to score the goals? Instead of asking how best to win the middle of the park. With Roberts, Mackay-Steven, Griffiths and Johansen occupying the advanced four positions we were lacking in kilograms – literally lightweight.
Contrast to when Gordon Strachan plucked Charlie Mulgrew from defensive cover to play left side of midfield at Ibrox; winning a game well against the odds.
Stefan Johansen was another unable to judge the weight or accuracy to apply to a pass, he was hooked injured after 84 minutes but could have gone earlier due to performance. His replacement, Tom Rogic, brought a considerable improvement to our use of the ball. Had we started with Rogic and Sviatchenko it would have been a different result.
The plan didn’t work for Leigh Griffiths. He was unable to hold play up, get in behind or craft a proper opening. He’s been our charm this season, but he’s no miracle worker.
More on the big picture stuff later in the week.
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Had the misfortune to be the passenger in a car today when the Peterborough supporting fekwit Adrian Durham was on Talkshitesport …..
Get ready for it next season Bhoys…..The Old Firm is ‘back’
100 million worldwide viewers yesterday apparently…..What a load of shoite!!!!……My hun ex neighbour searched for a pub showing it anywhere within a 15 mile radius of Southport and couldn’t even find one interested enough to open,in time, for it……I think Jamie Vardy’s sending off was a bigger talking point than anything from Glasgow when I had a mid afternoon beer.
Unfortunately ….Adrian feckwit Durham’s English team would probably be competitive enough to challenge for the SPFL…..Peterborough fekin Unied
Ceiler. No disrespect meant to you and all the hard working guys on it :)
But! You have to understand PL here
Spoke to a guy who worked alongside him at Scottish coal He said PL had one focus Himself. He made his targets no 1 and to hell with anybody else Money was his no one target
Do you think he would risk any future job at UEFA on resolution 12
Do you think UEFA would look kindly on pl if he stirred up a hornets nest
Of course not
The shambles on Sunday is down to PL and his bonus. End of story
Further to my choices of manager earlier, I would like to add:-
Malay McKay – No
Yogi Hughes – No
John Kennedy – No
Moyes would be my first choice because he is an experienced manager who did well at Preston and kept Everton around the top 8 for many years. He did not get a fair crack of the whip at Man Utd. Managing a team in Spain is not the same as managing a team in the UK. If Moyes rules himself out then I honestly don’t have a scoobie who we should go for.
Dark horse- Jim McIntyre.
Black Sheep – the Two Jimmies.
I also question the “100 million ” viewers, it was not even shown in the US for example. What’s the team v Ross County?
Gordon
Janko Eric Charlie KT
Roberts Christie Allan Armsrong
Commons
Griffiths
I’m off to bed. Remember folks, keep your money in your pocket until we’ve got the changes we want at Celtic Park. Only renew when the Board get the message that it’s the supporters who matter and not them.
Bring back Not The View!
I’ve got a cracking idea for their first “They Embarrassed The Hoops” feature…
Sydneytim, I couldn’t give a rats shite for your view of PL, or what your pal thinks of him, or what he done or what he might be thinking of doing. Its irrelevant.
What I’m interested in is how the PLC are pursuing the viable concerns of shareholders like me who want to know why we were cheated out of champions league finance. PL is there just now but this question will remain whether he’s there or not.
Your pal up the close’s opinion doesny cut the mustard.
A Ceiler. Thank you for your prompt reply
Think you are getting the wrong end of the stick
Celtic PLC and the boards related to them, only exist because they have to be in place for legal purposes for the stiock market. What the members of the board think or want has no relevance
Peter Lawell runs the club as the CEO with the voting power of Dermott Desmond End of story
Peter Lawell target is his 400k bonus and he will get it again if 40 thousand fans renew and he sells a few players
Only the removal of PL can change things
Only starving PL of cash is the way forward
As one blogger said Keep you cash in your pocket till change occurs
What a lot of nonsense on here all day. All this guff about next manager. It has to be one of the O’Neills……either one would be good….and they must have control. Sorry for Ronnie and the John’s. Goodbye.
Also we were bad yesterday but had much more goal scoring chances and should still have won.
Hail Hail
33 shots from 37% possession – thems 3 shots from 63% – lies damned lies and bad finishing
Sydneytim, don’t be mistaken regarding the money in my pocket, It’s going nowhere in the direction of Celtic next season. I’ve had more than enough and that doesn’t include the playing side, I’ll always support the team.
Two hours there and two, sometimes much longer back in the pishing down winter nights with no support from Mr Lawwell has done for me. I’m back to golf and chasing fat tory bints. two things I excel at.
Bmcuw
How ye doing? Am still sore after yesterday, as am sure you are too.
Re NTV ‘they embarassed the hoops’
I must admit I hated those articles boab:-)when I was wee(as now) adoring, playing at,thinkin bout all things Celtic was what I did.I wanted to play for Celtic (still do-53yo centre half any1:-) ,,,,, digressin a wee bit.
I remember at the time gettin into arguements wi fellow celts/penpushers about players who were included in ntv lists.
To be on the list you had to do somethin the majority of us would die for, and that is wear the hoops in an official capacity .the men who wore the hoops, yup am envious :-)
HH
AnT, May 7th I look forward to dramming with you big chap:_)
Hope you are well
Goodnight Celtic men and wummin
Westies
Yep bad we were, contriving to stand off and make a team who shytit when pressed pass round bout us! Bemused eh.
:-)
HH
A ceiler. Good for you. If we had another 20 thousand like you then things will change
I boycotted in 1993/4. I wrote to jack mcginn asked if there would be investment in club or do I join local golf course. The rest was history and my handicapped dropped
ACGR
I will endevour to be there tho weekends hard at mo :-) I will drop big skye a note.you keep powder dry on res12 and a bottle o bluerinse jeest in case you pulled:-)
.you still on a cage of Oz?
HH
Unfortunately in the situation we currently find ourselves in I am not sure withdrawing financial support for the club will have any effect other than accelerating the departures of any players worth money.
Kieran Tierney is fast building a well deserved reputation and in the event of season ticket income dropping a big money transfer down south for Kieran will be used to plug that gap.
I really don’t know where the answers lie. The mistakes of the past few years have finally all caught up with us and I can’t see anything but rocky times coming.
Grim.
THEGLORIOUSBALACESHEET@11:17 – Yes of course we have not had uninterupted success – no club ever has. But there has been relative success, bearing in mind that each year we get left further and further behind in this crazy financial football world.
Of course everyone who is employed and/or who has some sort of influence in the club, must bear their fair and proportionate share of responsibility when things don’t go well.
However the overt and constant character assasination of Peter Lawwell that is carried out systematically by some on here, is disgusting and reprehensible.
Now I don’t need to defend Peter Lawwell, he is big enough and intelligent enough to do this himself – but to listen to some of the ‘gossip’ on here, it would appear that he, Dermot and the board members, spend all day on conference call, plotting how to f*** Celtic and the supporters, every which way.
It really is pathetic, puerile and tedious in the extreme.
If any other the board-haters have a workable business plan for the club – then let’s hear it – chapter and verse; either put up, or, shut up!
Mr Pastry
Nicely put.
When i read some of ” The board are trying to sc**w us ” stuff on here , I keep having a vision of the Kevin Bridges story about the guy on a bus in Glasgow who hasn’t got enough for his fare, but insists Mark Zuckeburg is missing a trick by not charging ” £1 a go ” to use Facebook
AN TEARMANN
Overall,you have a very good point. But that lot on Sunday,made for that article.
I think it was a complaint from Danny Crainie’s family that saw it stopped. To be fair,it had run out of deserving targets by then.
I think it was where I first saw the term Jim Plumrose!
MR PASTRY
Of course they don’t spend all day plotting how to screw the fans.
We aren’t important enough to them for that.
Mr multimoniker
‘Pathetic, peurile and tedious in the extreme’
Good self analysis.
You are fake.
Mr pasty. I am not advocating spending massive amounts of cash
We spend a massive amount more than Maribor and legia and Malmo and Molde. So what’s wrong ?
The so called Center half boyata sums it up nicely
A player who had played a handful of games before he came to us
You can’t for one minute say it was Ronny signing He was young and just maybe could be a moneyball player He wasn’t
But he was still thrown into the first team and has been a liability
Our rivals mentioned above will but players for the position They maybe the wrong age of 28 but doesn’t matter
Our moneyball policy from PL has failed our team
Put the projects along side a coach who had virtually zero European experience and it was a disaster Waiting to happen and it has
Peter Lawell I am sure is a nice guy family man but he has single handily put our club in this position with his policies
Now we can either accept it and look forward to another CL qualifying shambles which will lead to players being sold to ensure peters 400k bonus remains intact. Or do something about it
Barcabhoy
How much of it?
Is down to us, non communication between our club and fans.
Comms/media needs overhauled and the word of Celtic got out there.set our own agenda instead of havin the dailys here slate our club as they have done.there us a market waitin to happen
HH
Bobby Murdoch True it’s not about screwing fans It’s all about Peter Lawell bonus, which sad to say is on track again
400k bonus in last four years. A massive amount of money for failure on the park
Look back to selling vic and hooper. The cash we had , plus CL money. A position of strength on the balance sheet that was squandered as that cash was not used to strengthen
The Peter Lawell statement that we have never had it so good was 24hrs before Aberdeen strolled through huge gaps in our Center midfield where vic used to be and knocked us out the Scottish cup. The money for his replacement sat in the bank and was used to make up for the upcoming CL qualifying shambles
This manager ?
That manager ?
Why should the soon to be removed hierarchy, appoint who the next manager will be ?
When the dust settle’s on the Res : 12 finding’s, I wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if it were made clear that ‘thee’ biggest cheat’s of the Celtic supporter’s were, Lawwell and his board of stoogies.
I have been thinking along those lines for years now….not just after Sunday’s result.
God works in mysterious ways so it is said.
Well, maybe God has sent Mark Warburton to deliver us from the cheating-deceitful-serpents of the Celtic hierarchy ?
Sunday’s result has certainly opened a lot of previously closed eyes.
Although, I still think that Celtic were unlucky to lose having hit the woodwork 5 or, 6 times.
Listening earlier to Peter & Roughie.
Roughie said that at least, 6 Celtic players didny turn up.
Boyatta
Brown
Bitton
GMS
Roberts
LG – got fed up – siad Roughie.
Murdo was on as well.
He said that Celtic had brought in something like 50 – 60 players in the last 4 – 5 years, almost an entire team every season. This made me think about my suspicions about – JP / PL and foreign agents.
It will probably come out somewhere down the line that, although the ibrox stuff over recent seasons has been nothing short of scandalous but, that what has gone on at Celtic Park has been even worse….for Celtic supporters.
FWIW….I wouldn’t be surprised if, Jim McIntyre Ar La puts his credentials for the Celtic job on display on Sunday and, begins the last throes of Celtic PLC.
Jeanette Findlay Ar La and, her ilk are the leaders of the future.
Please let them retrieve what is left of Celtic’s tattered soul from the burning furnaces of the Scottish establishment were Lawwell left it, after the shame-game.
Btw….
Jeanette Findlay Ar La and her ilk – The leaders of Celtic Football Club.
Big Mark McGhee – Director of ‘all’ Footballing operations.
Jim McIntyre Ar La – First team coach.
Roll the dice……
The Donald Ar La – The Doyen of CQN – CSC
HH
Sydney Tim
Hi mate.
A new manager comin in will have a lot of raw material to work with , some signings and maybe one or two ‘kierans ’bout the devt squad and who knows
What else, (PL exc) would you change?
Scouting? Board ? Club democracy?
HH
You’ll Never Walk Alone….in the Jungle.
……bed-time-zzzzzz………
not sure how getting shot of Pistol Pete changes anything. The absentee landlord will just put another puppet in his place.
Afternoon An tearman. About to have a beer at the opera house to clear my head after Sunday’s shambles
With the removal of PL will bring massive amount of changed
You talk about scouting. It was let slip on December and reported in the press,that one of our chief scouts said had no 1 remit is to find gems that we can sell to EPL within two seasons , this cane direct from CEO
How is that for building a team , how is that for finding a goal scorer or Center half or centre midfield position
That policy will be scrapped and the scouts will work for the coach
Massive move forward for our club to get rid of PL. but he ain’t going anywhere while he gets his bonus Why would he
Overseas bhoy. It’s not the amount of money we spend is the problem. Buts the way Peter Lawell controls it and buys projects 40-50 players in last 4 years. Wow
DD remit is don’t get into debt. Simple as that
If we get CL income and invest and get more income and remain debt free , it’s all the same to DD
Pl had chosen the easy bonus route. Sell your best players
OVERSEASBHOY
DD is no mug. He knows when to change tack.
His ‘hands-off’ approach has caused this just as much as Lawwell has. He won’t make that mistake again.
Sydneytim, if there were two like me things would be different. There are not.
Deal with the hand you were dealt.
Bmcuw 4.16
Correct.
Men at work-who can it be now
Watch “Men At Work – Who Can It Be Now? (HD, 1080p)” on YouTube
https://youtu.be/siF-aZwLZ5w
Night cqn, time to get an hour or two
:-)
HH
ACEILERGONOFRUST
Fuxake,one of you is plenty(!)
Evening/morning all. Rudi,don`t be slagging Peterborough when I`m here. I played for them in season 78/79 Six Scots,four Irish bhoys and one token English lad made up our team. Name of the ground? London Road!
SydneyTim
Ta for reply mate.hope the beer goes down well ;-)(only 1 !!
Quickly,I dont think he will go anywhere, posted page back or so that he will still be on Celtic board to enablehim to get on some of our fraudassociations committees.politically he is to valuable as change will come at sfa.
Fadin mate, rain on.
HH