Good teams can score anywhere. Great teams can defend anywhere. Celtic have set a modern time record for lowest goals conceded in a league campaign of 17, beating the record jointly held by Martin O’Neill’s Celtic 13 years ago, and by Alex Ferguson’s Aberdeen in the 80s, by a single goal.
This is a remarkable achievement but the bald fact hides another story. We conceded 12 times in their first 17 league games of the campaign, but conceded only five in the remaining 21 games:
St Johnstone scored with a rebound after Gordon saved.
St Johnstone scored when Danny Swanson fired unstoppable shot.
Inverness scored with a rebound after Johansen blocked on line.
Kilmarnock scored a deflection from shot from outside box.
Dundee scored from a move which opened Celtic defence.
Unstoppable shots, or deflections, from outside the box are, from a defensive organisation perspective, irrelevant. If someone ‘buys a lottery ticket’ with a low percentage shot and it ends up in the net, you’ve no remedial action to worry about.
Two rebounds ended up in the net. We don’t make many goal-line clearances, by keeper or defender, so reacting to the second ball is worth doing when opponents get inside the Celtic box. Dundee scored an 87th minute consolation in a game they were completely out-thought. Perhaps a momentary lapse from a Celtic team who thought their work was done for the day.
That 17 goal tally, a record which stretches back 96 years, is largely a story of the last six months, but it’s been a different story in cup games over the same period, where we’ve conceded eight in eight games.
The roof fell in over in the first half against Inter Milan at Celtic Park. While the three goals could be put down to bizarre mistakes I suspect the real story is that we didn’t have the game-plan right for an opponent of that standard. The remaining game and a half against Inter was different, where we conceded only a single ‘lottery ticket’ goal.
Dundee United scored with a disputed penalty (let’s not get started) and Inverness scored three against 10 man Celtic. Those three Inverness goals contrast so sharply with the rest of the season that you could conclude that we don’t have a robust game-plan for playing with 10 men against domestic opposition. The earlier 10-man performance at the San Siro was a different (much better) story, but tactics for Inter Milan and for Inverness will always be so different they are not worth comparing.
The loss of Jason Denayer and potential loss of Virgil van Dijk provides Ronny with a real challenge to maintain or improve the defence next season, but as you will know if you’ve been paying attention for the last 10 months, it’s all about systems, not players, so there’s a lot to be hopeful about going forward…….. apart from the fact that the only goals we’ve conceded since the middle of December in all competitions were to players wearing blue or orange!
Happy Lisbon Lions Day!
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I hope they both get better soon.
Canamalar
The only stats that matter right now are that we scored more goals and conceded less than the other teams in our league. And that means WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!
HH
Jungle Jim
http://youtu.be/3jxuuYOgt-Y
In addition to the non-penalty, Greig was about 6 yards offside, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
AR
All I said was that if we signed a left back, I would like to see Izzie play one position up.
ger57,
Excellent post. Celtic cannot change the underlying Establishment culture of the country.
All we can do is play the hand that is dealt and, more importantly, keep sticking the ba’ intae the back o’ the net.
Always the best move in football, along with the cut back from the bye line.
CQN finally fit enough to post after a great couple of days in Glasgow. Met many great CQNrs,both at the ground and in the BV afterwards, so hail hail to EDB,Malorbhoy, Heaven67 Almore Oldtim, Ritchie, BT and Karen Thunder Road Four Green Fields, Kolncelt, An Tearamm?HT and Minx and others I have,nt mentioned. Not forgetting Ladbrokes for the £105 I netted. Bt did the glasses get home safely? Almore I,ll send my details today, thanks for the gifts will post a review on the black/white pudding over the next couple days. Finally Whitedoghunch thanks for Cail Bruaich it was everything you said. Hope to see you all next season,thanks for the memories. Hail Hail Hebcelt
The Clump any
Excellent rebuttal to the FIFA same club claims.
For those who missed it
https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2015/05/25/definitively-pish/
As you said an insult to our intelligence.
Anyway, Celtic haven’t used Ross Hall for player medicals for 2 or 3 seasons, since they built their own medical facility at Lennoxtown.
Two men
Behind bars
One saw mud
The other stars.
One man behind bars
thought the mirror
Was a window.
I had a wonderful day at Celtic Park on Sunday.
I met a lot of my family, cousins, etc before the game and a few friends so didn;t make it round to CQN corner.
Me and the wee man left the house at 9.30am in Edinburgh and picked up my mate and his Bhoy in Livi and then onto the game. We were there early because my cousin had my dad’s tickets from the previous home game.
I met up with him and his son who had driven from London to be there on Sunday. This Bhoy was born in London and has lived there all his life but if he is asked by anyone who he supports he says Celtic. No 2nd team or any other club in his heart just Celtic and he drove up Saturday and back Monday just to see them lift the trophy. I love that kid for that.
Entered the stadium and my Hoopy daft son was able to watch Hoopy lumbering up as I took in the wonderful surroundings. I can just stand and drink that pre match atmosphere for hours. My wee Bhoy’s favourite player is Hoopy so we spent a lot more time than I would have liked at the front before we were able to take the great climb up the stand to our seats near the rear of the lower teir of the North Stand. We have quite a wonderful view of the playing surface and of course the ever mischievous Hoopy to keep the Bhoy occupied.
The atmosphere was excellent. I watched some excellent football whilst LB Jr tucked into a full packed lunch box of sausage rolls and cocktail sausages.
We really played some decent football on Sunday and Scepovic must have taken some tips from the bold Harald because they are similar in style. I thought he took his goals fairly well. He drifts in out and out of the box and seems to have a good knack for losing his marker. To be fair to ICT they looked like a side who had the cup final on their mind but some of their lads were playing for places.
I noticed that when Griffiths and Commons came on they had noticed the weakness of the replacement keeper from the sidelines and hit shots from distance that he never looked like saving. Griffith’s strike in particular was superb.
The final whistle finally arrived and although it seemed to take an age they staging wasd finally assembled and the team rentered the arena. I read yesterday that someone said wives and family should be kept back to allow the players to enjoy the moment and I must say I agree. There was not really any lap of honour until Efe decided to get it underway. The rest were too busy milling about chatting to their families.
Enjoyed the lap of honour by both the youth squad and the first team. The fireworks and the streamers were superb.
I waited until the stadium was almost empty and from block 201 made my way inside the ground towards the GB area. Passed the padded seats and picked up a couple of free programmes that had been discarded or forgotten about and LB Jr played fitba with a couple of stray glass wine bottles that had been left under a couple of seats until I stopped him. Crazy stuff.
We posed for a few self taken pictures at the half way line. I believe they are called Celfys or something.
Up to the GB section where the Bhoys were packing up after a hard days graft and if anyone has never seen these Bhoys after a game then you will have seen more effort put in than some of the players on the pitch. The sweat is lashing out of them!
Out of the ground and off for the journey home.
We arrived back in our street in Edinburgh bang on 5pm. My wee Bhoy exhausted by the excitement of the day slept almost the whole way home and I listened to a bit of Radio Scotland and Radio 5 Live. Why Radio Scotland decided to remember the helicopter Sunday matchday is beyond me anyway my mind was going over the whole day and I must admit I have been at many matches probably in excess of 500. I have been to many cup finals won and lost. I was at Seville. I hav seen us win the league many times. I have seen us knock Barcelona out of the UEFA Cup at the Camp Nou. I have been at many great Celtic perfomances. Sunday is up there in my top 10. I just loved every minute of the whole occassion.
Me and the Bhoy climbed the stairs to our flat with me carrying him as he was still in a deep slumber.
When I took him into the living room and he snuggled into my wife. He awoke and said ‘I have had a nice day mummy at Celtic Park with daddy.’
Melted my heart. I am tempted just to get a season ticket. The Bhoy has his for next season.
I was elated on Sunday. I am still elated. It was special and it was something I want to replicate.
If I can do the 10 payment deal and get a seat near the Bhoy I will get one.
There’sabuzzabouttheplace CSC
LB
Ger67,
There’s many many other stats that support them stats that if different we would not have got them stats
Ray Winstone
My nom de blog is ironic and also short for my real name. There are too many Gerrys on here already and a wee bit of irony can smooth things out. (See what I did there?)
Thomthetim 9.37
McGinnes could have been talking about Sky coverage of Celtic games.
Thanks for posting link. A lot of good points in it.
Wee Jay, brilliant.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qx4YZ3ezmA4&feature=youtu.be
RWE @ 22 03 .
Harlan .
This (IMO ) is great ———
Jim Ford -Harlan County ( White Whale / Sundown Records )
A gem of a Country Funk Lp . released in 1969 . Didn’t get radio play , wasn’t promoted / wasn’t advertised and therefore didnt sell. . Quickly turned up in bargain bins across the States for a dollar .Used to buy it every time I saw it and then sell it to specialist dealers in London for £5..
Eventually reissued by Light in the Attic Records ——–Highly recommended !
Hebcelt
Thanks to mrs BT being sober and driving home glasses safe and sound
Made a wee pit stop on way home to get a picture at paradise
Ended a great day perfectly
Canamalar
I believe you, mate.
ger. Ha ha. Mind you don’t leave the irony on too long though.
I’ve lost a few shirts that way.
dexter says pay the living wage celtic plc
09:41 on 26 May, 2015Breaking News:Robbie Keane and Eidur Gudjohnnsen spotted at Ross Hall
Winston Wolf spotted at Poundland…..
GER57
Tell the truth to the lads. Yer called Reg,yer 75 ya oul’ git,and a bit backward.
SofTunis – it’s on Country Got Soul [vol 2].
From memory it sounds a bit like Tony Joe White – High Sheriff Of Calhoun Parish, which is also on vol 2, and Larry Jon Wilson – Sheldon Churchyard, which is on vol 1.
Sort of gruff vocal, semi -spoken rather than sang.
LiviBhoy
Viviani .
Saw an interview on Sky Sports ———-said he didn’t know if he was returning to Roma./ said he wouldn’t entertain another loan. . Said there was interest from 4 Serie A clubs and 2 EPL . clubs . Said he and his agent would hold discussions with Roma soon / said he wanted his future sorted ASAP.
Any Celtic supporter having doubts about their support for the club, contrast the cloying, depressing, Celtic-are-rubbish-and- you’re-all-mugs post from KevJ earlier and the heart-warming, uplifting, awe-inspiring contribution from Livibhoy who writes beautifully about enjoying the love of his own family amongst his brothers and sisters in the Celtic family on a special day of joy and celebration.
Thank you LB for blowing the moaning-for-moaning-sake self-indulgent nonsense out of the water.
Hail Hail.
A Scots billionaire on the brink of taking over the club he loves
Nov 18 2010 Keith Jackson, Daily Record
Craig Whyte started playing the stock market at the age of 15. By the time he left school he had more than £20,000 in his bank account.
Today, aged just 39, this financial whizzkid from Motherwell stands on the brink of pulling off the biggest deal of his life – and finally bringing the curtain down on one of the longest-running sagas in Scottish football.
Record Sport understands self-made billionaire Whyte has entered into the final stages of negotiations to buy control of the club he loves from Sir David Murray.
And he’s still one year younger than captain Davie Weir.
A deal worth around £30million is now believed to have reached such an advanced stage that sources say Whyte, a high-roller who splits his time between a home in London and the idyllic Castle Grant in Grantown-on-Spey, could even have the keys to Ibrox in time to fund a major refurbishment of Walter Smith’s top-team squad in January.
The news will delight Rangers supporters who have been fretting over the future of their club ever since Murray first slapped a For Sale sign on the front door of Edmiston Drive around three years ago.
As the club’s financial health deteriorated to such an extent the banks moved in to control the purse strings, a series of false dawns came and went.
First, a consortium headed up by South African-based tycoon Dave King came to the fore only to fail to meet Murray’s asking price.
Then, in March this year, Londonbased property developer Andrew Ellis emerged as the frontrunner and was granted a period of exclusivity in order to get the deal done.
But Ellis, now part of the consortium, did not have the financial clout to back up his bold promises and his bid collapsed, leaving Rangers firmly in the grip of the Lloyds Group.
Exiled Glaswegian King was then talked up once more as the possible saviour but he was also engaged in a long-running battle with the tax man and while those issues remained unresolved, he too looked l ike an increasingly unlikely white knight for a club now engulfed by crisis.
But yesterday, quite out of the blue, Record Sport learned a new man is at the table and that a deal to end Murray’s 22-year reign is ready to be completed.
And that man is a relative boy.
By the age of 26, Whyte was already Scot land’s youngest self-made millionaire. Now, 13 years on, and in charge of a vast business empire, his wealth is off the radar.
Whyte is a venture capitalist who has made his millions from playing the markets – a skill he secretly began honing in his third year at Glasgow’s Kelvinside Academy. In one of his few interviews he revealed how he immediately regretted going to the private school – because he despised playing rugby.
He said: “I hated the discipline of it. It was a rugby-only school, which I didn’t play as I was interested in football.” Whyte worked weekends for his dad’s plant hire firm. And he saved up his wages to fund his habit of gambling on Stock Exchange.
It is said that, by the time he left school, he had more cash in his bank than many of his teachers.At 19, he was in charge of his own hire plant.
Now he owns his own castle – one of the most historic buildings in Scotland. And very soon he could be adding Rangers to his portfolio. It remains to be seen if Whyte’s move to capture the club will f lush any other parties out of the woodwork because – despite their failure to strike a deal with Murray – King and his consortium have yet to throw in the towel on their own ambitions.
They had put together a package worth around £18m but this was flatly rejected and Ellis drove the price up when he agreed to pay Murray more than £30m.
The club’s debt has been reduced by around £10m since then but the selling price remains the same.
Now, quite clearly, Whyte believes he will be able to close the deal and the young gun must have said enough to impress Murray, who has stated all along that he will only sell the club to the right people – men with enough money to take the club forward.
Who knows? Murray may even regard Whyte as something of a kindred spirit.
After all, Murray was himself aged just 37 back in 1988 when he launched a takeover of the Ibrox club.
It was the beginning of one of the most successful periods in Rangers’ history but Murray’s aggressive pursuit of European glory eventually saw him writing the kind of cheques that his club could simply not afford.
Now Whyte is bringing his money to the table but it remains to be seen if he will adopt the same scatter-cash approach as the man who has owned the club for the past two decades.
But if he brings in even half of the number of trophies Murray delivered then the fans are unlikely to be complaining.
South Of Tunis
This lad is in some demand at the minute or does he have a smart agent? Certainly one of the two maybe even both!
Tom McLaughlin
I could have written a book about Sunday.
LB
Auldheid,
Every time J.Mc.G speaks, he is worth listening to.
He really does have the same ethos as RD and commands the ultimate respect from his players.
He transformed the Donegal GAA culture from being one of a pub type team to a highly professional ( unpaid) outfit.
He not only changed the playing style, but changed the players holistic attitude to their lifestyles, where necessary……similar to what RD is doing at CP.
LiviBhoy
09:58 on 26 May, 2015
————
Braw post sir,
Watched Kris Commons & Lisa with there weans on Sunday,the two of them got ditched instantly when the 2 eldest seen Hooooooopy,:)))),
was taking the grandson up the street yesterday ,he was wearing his new Ronny roar badge with pride,
“gran I support Celtic” says he ,without lifting her head from what she was doing she smiled and said ” there’s a suprise” :))))))))))))
Tom McLaughlin
10:14 on 26 May, 2015
Any Celtic supporter having doubts about their support for the club, contrast the cloying, depressing, Celtic-are-rubbish-and- you’re-all-mugs post from KevJ earlier and the heart-warming, uplifting, awe-inspiring contribution from Livibhoy who writes beautifully about enjoying the love of his own family amongst his brothers and sisters in the Celtic family on a special day of joy and celebration.
Thank you LB for blowing the moaning-for-moaning-sake self-indulgent nonsense out of the water.
Hail Hail.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Well said!
LEFTCLICKTIC
Magic!
I hope MARSPAPA’s wife soon hears the same words,mate.
thomthethim for Oscar OK
dont know how many times I have watched this :))))
Jimmys Winnin Matches FULL Documentary
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvKEBxmXIko
leftclicktic
Lovely story about your grandson.
I never appreciated the value in Hoopy until I took my own Bhoy to the fitba.
Talking of badges.
We went down to the baby change and disabled toilets after half time on Sunday (LB Jr is toilet training). We met a lovely guy in a wheel chair and I assume was his girl in the toilet on our way out and he gave the wee man a badge. It was Goofy with a Celtic strip on. Very much appreciated by both of us although the Bhoy was shy.
I couldn;t believe it because LB Jr has a Hoopy at home and calls him Celtic Goofy! Amazing stuff coincidence. If the Bhoy is looking in the badge has pride of place on the wee mans wall at home.
LB
DBBIA .@ 10.10..
Yes .
” I hung out with Keith Richards , I hung out with Jim Ford , Keith Richards was a choir boy compared to Jim Ford “.
Bobby Womack .
LIVIBHOY
You need to chuck whatever drudgery it is that you do for a living and follow your true vocation in life-a writer for People’s Friend!
Only kidding,bud. Every time you write about Celtic,I’m envious. Of your passion,and of your ability to convey it. I’m Celtic-daft,but you? Wow.
And going the right way to bringing yer Bhoy up to be the same too. Well done,mate.
Tom McLaughlin
10:14 on 26 May, 2015
____________________
Ger 57 and Livibhoy’s post’s were the positive perception of the present day Celtic FC and, some valid and, tangible reflections of the fluctuations of Celtic FC…well said by poth CQNer’s and, thanks from me.
Now….no harm in a wee bit of realism either or…is ‘that’ not part of being all-inclusive these days…?
However…Celtic cufffed a ‘depleted’ ICT side on Saturday when….what?….was at stake….?
The ICT side that wasn’t ‘depleted’ put Celtic out of the SCSF and, stopped the Treble.
Folk on here and, elsewhere will tell you that we were cheated in the SCSF because of the ‘handball’….?
So, what effect did the ‘handball’ have on Saturday….?….None?….coz, ICT were ‘depleted’ and, as a result…didn’t present the same challenge.
So….what way do we reflect on these two games V ICT…?
HH
jungle jim hot smoked
09:27 on 26 May, 2015
Izzy`s crossing has improved .
JJ
…..and I don`t mean the Father , Son thingy .
——
He still needs to really work of them!
But he’s talking to the Big Mhan and that’s grand for me.
Celtic players who aren’t prayers are also grand for me. Before anyone asks!
HH jamesgang
Livibhoy
Great post.
TT
LiviBhoy 09: 58
Great wee reflection and story from you again
Your love for family and all things Celtic shines in your posts
Gladdens the heart , great stuff pal
H H
People’s Friend Ultras are coming to your town soon…….
…….to help little old ladies across the road and nake cups of tea for deserving pensioners.
We’ll put stickers on the toilets saying, ‘cleaned and ready to use’ and make sure the seats are put back down.
…….and then we’ll get nicked by FOCUS on the way home for being ‘aggressively nice’
HH jamesgang
.what way do we reflect on these two games V ICT
-well call me ole fashioned but I enjoyed them both.
The first game was spoiled by the officials, and the only downside on Sunday was the cold wind
I know we were hard done by in the Cup, but the sky didn’t fall in.
Next time you’re off oot you could always pick up some perspective.