Overall I was pleased with many aspects of Celtic’s play yesterday. We dominated large parts of the game and got in and around the Hearts penalty area often enough to score the proverbial barrel load.
Hearts scored a good goal. The flick from Beattie and run from Skacel were both exquisite, although a deflection off the blameless Kelvin Wilson was crucial. Enough has been said about the second Hearts goal already. Defensively we were good.
Midfield also played well, to a point, forcing Hearts into retreat for all but the opening 20 minutes of the second half. Ki Sung-Yueng should have scored twice but he’s never been a player for back post headers and I was more surprised he found himself in that position than he missed both opportunities. He is a player who continues to impress.
The question we should turn our attention to is why Celtic didn’t score more goals?
It is probably not an exaggeration to suggest Emilio Izaguirre is the best left back at the club in 30 years. Skilful and intelligent in possession, Celtic look composed when he is on the field, but he’s being kept out of the team by a free transfer from Aberdeen because Charlie Mulgrew is manufacturing the most crucial item in the game – goals.
I’m close to advocating ‘Give the ball to Charlie’ tactics. He has the ability to fire in remarkably dangerous crosses and has an instinctive awareness that the purpose of the game is to score goals. Kris Commons shares this awareness but Kris has had a wretched season and is still rescuing his game from injury and early season loss of form.
In these circumstances, Neil Lennon cannot afford to play Izaguirre if it involves dropping Mulgew as this would severely hamper Celtic’s ability to put the ball in the net. If the manager wants to use Emilio, particularly in Europe next season when retaining possession will be crucial, Charlie has to play left midfield.
Scoring goals is the primary responsibility of the strikers. None of Celtic’s current crop are impressing at the moment, but we need to look further upstream first.
We have an outstanding original canvass painting of Neil Lennon available for purchase on eBay to kick start our summer charity fundraising. This year the beneficiaries will be Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, Martin Chambers Foundation and The Neuroblastoma Alliance, Aberdour PS PTA, The Haven, Blantyre. The painting, by US based artist, Joseph Gormley, is an outstanding memento of our manager during these times.
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Craig Whyte: ‘Not a chance’ I’ll face SFA judicial panel
By Keith Jackson 16th April 16:30
The Rangers owner insists the disciplinary process is “a farce” and he will not travel to Hampden to contest disciplinary charges.
Rangers owner Craig Whyte has dismissed Scottish Football Association charges against him as “farcical” and says he will not appear at the governing body’s judicial hearing.
The disciplinary hearings, originally scheduled for late March, will take place over three days this week.
The SFA has charged Rangers and Whyte with seven rule breaches following an independent inquiry led by Lord Nimmo into events at the administration-hit club.
Whyte is individually charged with two disciplinary breaches and is entitled to make his case to the SFA judicial panel. However, he has insisted he will remain in the South of France rather than travelling to Hampden, saying that he would be wasting his time in attending.
Asked if he would make his own case, he hysterically retorted: “Not a chance.
“The SFA is a farcical organisation lead by a corrupt individual who is still in the pay of Sir David Murray. How in these circumstances can I be given a fair hearing under these circumstances. The whole thing is a farce. I will absolutely play no part in it and I will have no representation at Hampden.
“I will have more to say about it all in the next couple of days.”
Whyte had already failed to attend a procedural hearing on April 6 which was set for him to “lodge a substantive response and for representations to be made as to state of preparation”.
STRIKEFORCE OF THE FUTURE?
Bas Dost – Plays with SC Heerenveen rated at £7,000,000 30 games in his league and has scored 28 goals. 22 years old.
Get him!!!
At the game yesterday ans was too gutted to come on and ask this but need to know if true. My son got a pic on his facebook of a banner from the east coast buns about Stan at yesterdays game, never seen as was behind GB but one of his pals txtd him saying it was a hoax. All i am going to say about yesterday is we never took our chances to win game and THANK YOU NEIL LENNON for having the courage to continue as our manager to make us the CHAMPIONS.
Doc is Neil Lennon on 16 April, 2012 at 16:37 said:
Big Nan on 16 April, 2012 at 15:56 said:
I thought we were well on top in the first half, slow in the build up, but dominant. Beattie came on and shook things up, but Neil Lennon wouldn’t have known that at half time, the players needed to adjust. At no time in the game were Celtic outplayed, they gave us trouble on the break, sure, but not outplayed.
The point of my post was that you did say we were outplayed, you did, you may not have put it quite as you wanted, I wasn’t having a pop at you, just disagreeing with the point made.
…………………………….
Yes but you and your chum deliberately omit the fact that I qualified “outplayed” by “parts of the game” and concluded the staement by saying “we were still in it”. And the whole thrust of my point by way of analogy by comparing my relaxed view of our drubbing by Partick Thistle with my rage at the referee’s cheating, because it denied us of the knowledge of how the game woud have panned out.
But then you know that don’t you?
Glad to see Paul has introduced some sanity to his comments on yesterday’s game after reading some of the vitriol on CQN directed at Neil Lennon and his squad after the defeat to Hearts. Agreed the team played well but the manic urgency and aggression evident in the great title victory of the previous week was missing. People forget that Neil guided his team to the Scottish Cup last season and has won the Championship in a canter this term – not bad for a rookie manager.
I had this feeling that Craig Beattie would pose a big threat if and when he was introduced with his explosive pace and shooting power and unfortunately I was proved right. Beattie was a good player with us but was dogged with injury problems.
Delighted for Pat Fenlon and Hibs and it makes for an interesting final and probably good for Scottish football. At least with Pat Fenlon at the helm I will now be cheering for Hibs – nice to see a team win the Cup after 100 years wait and I believe Hibs were managed by a Dubliner perhaps a good omen for Pat.
RobertTressell
Shocking
Shocking
Shocking
You saw that and you saw that
No difference
Shocking
Hail Hail
One replay(from behind our goal) of a Hearts chance yesterday showed them pressing forward and Lustig was running toward his own goal and looking over his shoulders left then right.Skacel(?) was the man in possession and was only yards from Lustig at the time, yet Lustig continued running toward his own goal with his back to the attacker! How did he plan to get a tackle in? This is schoolboy defending and unsurprisingly he was hooked shortly after.
HH
My dear,dear,dear,friend.. Tiny Tim
Aha.. Ah goat wan!
Ah jist knew that Ye widnae Like .. My Suggestion o playin’ the Kid . at Left Back..
and
Ah must agree,pally…
Ye are Right..
Phil is Too Callow.. and inclined tae be.. A Marsh Mallow!
Anyway…
Ah kid and aroon and Kid aroon.. but,,
Ah am no Kiddin.. when a Say that we should’
Cash in oan Ki. this coming Windae..
Fur he is
In Ma Opinion…
Although, he has many Sterling Qualitees.. along wi’ some TIN wans.. as weel….
Ki is no Cut oot tae Play in The S.P.L.. faur less a Cup Tie.
Again..
In Ma Opinion..
Kojo
Yer pal.. who always Liked You the Best.
Still, Laffin..
and
Happy as a Street Urchin. who
fun a Penny.. doon a Stank.
Great to see Muamba has been discharged from hospital. Good luck to him on his recovery. HH
traditionalist88
he was injured and that´s why
Hail Hail
On the striker issue I think part of the problem yesterday was where Gary hooper was playing. It was in a way good to see him winning balls in midfield but I want my strikers on the shoulder of the central defender all the time. Hoops was winning the ball, playing passes and then taking an age to get in to the box.
Stokesy likes to come out wide and drive in or get a ball across goal. That’s fine. That’s his game. But Hooper is every inch the penalty box striker. He needs to play centrally, only dropping deep or moving wide in order to get a run on a defender. It’s the coaching staff who need to be showing him this. Hard work is great but it can be done higher up the pitch than Hooper was doing yesterday.
He will score goals if he is in the right place to do so. That’s what he is, that’s all we want from him.
So yes to a new striker but Hooper and Stokes still have much to offer in my opinion.
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo,16:47 said:
Jackson’s geography’s not the best. Difficult to remain in the South of France when you’re in West London
The Token Tim on 16 April, 2012 at 16:34:
I too was thinking Hooper was coming too deep and when the ball was progressed, he had to make up ground.
I am that gutted I took a half day. However, my friend me, you and the rest of us will bounce back. As I said earlier I hate losing to them. When we equalised, albeit a couple of minutes earlier, I couldn’t help but think of 88 but alas, a wee cheat called Norris would spoil that for us.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
TBB- ole Sandi’s let herself go a bit,judgin’ by her recent appearances on the ole BBCR4.
Kojo – I disagree on Ki – he ran the show for large periods yesterday. He was Celtic’s metronome when we were keeping the ball moving. That is what he does. Makes space for himself, head up, pass, keep it moving.
It doesn’t always look like much but it is the kind of thing you notice when it isn’t there.
I’m with Paul67 on this one.
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 16 April, 2012 at 16:51 said:
traditionalist88
I thought Driver’s tackle which injured Lustig was a nasty one.
O.G.Rafferty on 16 April, 2012 at 16:52
You know how thick Keech is will believe anything that anyone will tell him. Which is bad for a journalist but great for a dim witted hack.
Hail Hail
BRHT Post on RTC is a must read
Murray, Masterton, Cummings, BOS & the Handshake banking on the Mound
Plus the exellent Ian Fraser articles exposing the corruption that were prevalent at the time
What tangled webs we weave to decieve
Plus what a parcel of crooks in a nation
Conspiracies dont get any better than this one
Jail the lotta them as George Galloway once said
celt55
oh it was nasty and the ref should have blown up unfortunately Driver was bearing down on goal so Norris removed the whistle from his lips
Hail Hail
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 16 April, 2012 at 16:51 said:
Yes, he put his studs into his shins. I thought the ref was going to give it at first as well, but the chance was on!
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo on 16 April, 2012 at 16:49 said:
RobertTressell
Shocking
Shocking
Shocking
You saw that and you saw that
No difference
Shocking
Hail Hail
—————————————————————
Thanking you.
Probably enough to get him banned for at least a year. I noticed he was wearing a Celtic tracksuit, being in possession of an Irish accent, actual being Irish and red headed and that the referee was thinking back to Lennon’s aggressive playing style.
It was more or less attempted murder on Lennon’s part.
@bbcjimspence: Big breaking story coming up on Sportsound at 6.10pm don’t miss it. It has implications for everyone in football in Scotland.
Rangers owner Craig Whyte says there is ‘no chance’ he will appear before SFA judiciary panel
Rangers owner Craig Whyte has told the Scottish Football Association there is “not a chance” he will appear before its judiciary panel tomorrow.
By Roddy Forsyth
4:29PM BST 16 Apr 2012
The re-arranged hearing, which is set to take place over three days – Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday – follows Lord Nimmo Smith’s independent inquiry which ended with the SFA charging the administration-hit Ibrox club and Whyte with seven breaches of its rules.
The club is charged with five offences, including failing to abide by SFA regulations over the ‘fit and proper’ person’s test, and Whyte, ruled unfit by the SFA to be a club official, with two more.
The SFA adjourned the original hearing on March 29 after Whyte’s lawyers asked for more time to prepare a case, but the Motherwell-based businessman failed to attend a procedural hearing on April 6 which was set for him to “lodge a substantive response and for representations to be made as to state of preparation”.
Speaking from the south of France, Whyte laughed when asked if he would be at Hampden tomorrow, then said: “Not a chance.
“The SFA is a farcical organisation lead by a corrupt individual who is still in the pay of Sir David Murray. How in these circumstances can I be given a fair hearing under these circumstances. The whole thing is a farce. I will absolutely play no part in it and I will have no representation at Hampden.
Whyte will be tried in his absence by the three-man judiciary panel if he fails to turn up or be represented.
However, Rangers fans might worry more about the fact he has not yet spoken to Bill Miller, one of the three bidders in the race to take over the club.
The US businessman is competing with former Rangers director Paul Murray’s Blue Knights consortium and a Singapore-based group headed by Bill Ng.
Rangers’ administrators Duff and Phelps were expected to name the chosen bidder last week, but claimed that the publication of Scottish Premier League proposals on sanctions for clubs going into administration and liquidation had caused interested parties to seek more information.
The proposed rule changes would see a Rangers ‘newco’ hit with massive financial penalties and 10-point deductions over each of its first two seasons.
Murray warned Rangers’ administrators on Saturday that time is running out to save the club from liquidation and last night worried Gers fans accused Duff and Phelps of putting the club in jeopardy of that nightmare scenario because of their failure to name a preferred bidder.
Whyte remains a key player and he offered no solace to Rangers fans, who expect a resolution any time soon.
“I have spoken to two of the bidders, the Singaporean bidders and the Blue Knights,” said Whyte.
“But I have not spoken to Bill Miller and I have no plans to speak to him. He has not made contact with me.
“I am happy to have a conversation with him or anyone who is interested but it is my understanding, through third parties, that they [Miller’s consortium] want liquidation and that is no good for the club.
“But anyone who is named the preferred bidder will have to talk to me and thrash out a deal.”
Awe_Naw_No_Annoni_Oan_Anaw_Noo, 16:57
He’s not alone in that either. Some of the same thorough and in-depth research will be held up to ridicule on Clyde this very evening
True lads re the tackle on Lustig, must have hurt. Doesn’t excuse the defending earlier though,
HH
Bada Bing ; was expecting something like that. Might be trying to spike Alex Thomson’s news tonight.
O.G.Rafferty
contrast and compare what Roddy Forsyth is prepared to publish compared to Keech it could be editorial control or hun denial acuteness
Hail Hail
My dear,dear,dear,friend… Robert Russell
Pal… Ah admit that Ki diz hiv Sterling Qualitees..
No Question..
However, Ah canny see him playing Next Year..at Parkheed oan the Clyde…
Nevertheless..
Ah must admit that Ah nevah thought that we wid Re Sign .. Sammi.. or.. Broony. .when thur Contracts ran oot.. eethur..’
So..
Ye canny pey too much attention
When Ah say that
We must Cash in on Ki.. before, his Contract Expires..
although, Ah dinna Happen tae Go Ga Ga over Ki…
there are Plenty o’ Managers oot There .. who…like Yer Guid Sel.. Dae!
An Whoopee.. Fur That! Says I!
He is Cash oan the Hoof..which we Badly need tae Enable us tae Buy.. some.. Badly needed Qualitee..fur oor.. Under Nourished Striking Dept.
Nice chatting..palomine.
Kojo
Yer pal.. who thinks yere swell.
Still Laughin’ and Happy tae be Alive!
To make matters worse this morning an orc who does not know where ipox is came in asked if I was okay. He then proceeded to say that we had lost two Cups and won a tainted title. Well, I didn’t shoot and miss, I told him they had won tainted titles for years. Secondly, I left him in know doubt our title this year was not tainted and are worthy Champions. I also asked him how many Cups they lost this year. He had no answer to any of my observations.
Anyway, been asked to read at Confirmation Mass tonight, I will get some solace from attending, perhaps put things back into perspective.
Championees, Championees…
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Mate got this from the club:
‘Celtic Away Shirt – Available to pre order from the 26/04/2012
Launched on the 24/05/2012
Celtic Home Shirt – Launched on the 05/07/2012’
HH
so it is now official
one bidder wants to liquidate
so that means two bidders
The Blue Mites will not part with one penny as they see Duff & Phelps as being a front for Craig Whyte
so we are left with Billy Ng
Hail Hail
@bbcjimspence: Big breaking story coming up on Sportsound at 6.10pm don’t miss it. It has implications for everyone in football in Scotland.
Ballrocks is this a ploy by the BBC to stop us listening to Alex T on Snyde? – choices choices – emm which one should i listen to?
traditionalist88 on 16 April, 2012 at 16:50
By that time Lustig was already carrying an injury and his mobility was down to nought. Think you’re a bit unkind for until he was crocked thought he was pretty good yesterday.
Awe_Naw – don’t go writing the American off just yet….
Dick Byrne’s wee green book
neveralone
Maybe I am being harsh, but the fact he could still run…
He looked more than decent going forward and put a couple of good deliveries into the box.
Time will tell, hopefully he can make the position his own.
HH
No I am not writing them off but they will liquidate first if they become the new owners and I would imagine be embroiled with Ticketus for years in the courts and I am told that they intend to bring baseball to the Govan masses
Pangur Ban on 16 April, 2012 at 16:48 said:
There’s links on the previous thread to a Hearts fan forum about the banner.
It seems some mob called the Broomhouse Loyal had the banner with them at a pre match drink in a bowling club in Motherwell (how many stereotypes is that?). Other Hearts fans took exception and tried to burn the banner and a punch up ensued.
It’s not clear if the banner got to Hampden.
To be fair to the mini huns on that site they were as disgusted as we are by the banner.
Oh, and they refer to the huns as, huns.