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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Tallybhoy, Cassano was never the most handsome of players so I gather him being a footballer helped with his conquests of the fairer sex.
South of Tunis, that was very kind of the Lazio fan.
It must have made you he the lost popular you have ever been with friends and family here with the demand for tickets here.
South of Tunis, lost should have been most in my last post. Sorry
Blantyretim, Celtic’s most succesful loanee, Braafheid, plays for SS Lazio now.
He played for them against Inter a few weeks ago.
Lazio equalise
Dallas Dallas
Not playing this evening thankfully
Roma score again
BREAKING NEWS: Real Madrid have sacked manager Carlo Ancelotti who will take a year out from the game.
Good evening, friends.
Rome derby.
What a game.
HH!!
Dallas Dallas 17:59
Ian Fraser did a really good article on the Murray charade in the herald a few months ago. Don’t have a link at the moment, but you could probably find it fairly easily via a search engine.
Congratulations also to St. Pauli, who managed to stay up in Bundesliga ll, with results going their way on the very last game day. It was a squeaker though.
Braafeid wouldn’t have got a game for Glenafton the way he played for us
Glass two thirds full, thank you.
I remember reading Ian Fraser’s article.
A JFK moment lol. Someone in the Scottish media criticising Murray.
Leigh Griffiths will be a better striker than Hooper will ever hope to be IMO.
The improvement in him this season is quite astonishing, and he will improve even more under our coaches, I agree with BB that GH doesn’t fit RD’s kinda player.
Delighted for Alex Neil, feel for my best mate, a mad Boro fan, but he will get over it :-)
HH
Bada
Ancelotti….no surprise ….winning jack at RM won’t be tolerated
Dallas
Who was the other loaner full back we had el hadji or something ?
Think he was right back hopeless too
PFAyr, would that be Glenafton’s second eleven.
Liam Henderson an used sub in Rosenborg’s 3-2 win today. Not seeing much game time most recently.
It will gie him more time with that lovely local lass he has posted pictures of.
TET
Our mhan Scepovic will be a success next season …thought he had an excellent game yesterday
*unused sub
Posters wandering how Murray maintained his hold over the press for so long.
IMHO it was simple. He told a good story right from the start. He portrayed himself as a phenomenally successful young businessman, willing to “bankroll” the club (which many of the press supported anyway) to European glory.
Murray made it clear this was a new era in the Scottish game, that Rangers would be the next Scottish club to win the EC, and were moving onto the level of ManU etc.
It was an intoxicating story, one which provided ready and spectacular headlines. But in order to be part of the spoils, the press had to buy into the story itself. Thus was constructed a deeply corrupt system of control which saw journalists leave their critical faculties at the door when it came to Rangers.
There was no need of threats – everyone knew access to the stories would disappear if the line was not toed, with terrible professional repurcussions.
This coincided with a terrible decline in the type of person who was entering football journalism.
Whereas once we had Hugh McIlvanney, soon we would have Matthew Lindsay. When the odd brave soul (Spiers) came along, he was crushed.
This kind of corruption can happen anywhere. It can happen in politics too. All it requires is for journalists to buy the Kool Aid, switch off their critical faculties, and opt for the easy life.
Blantyretim, he was a left back on loan from Dinamo Kiev, El Khadouri I think.
He did score at the evil empire to give him his due.
Izzy had broken his ankle at Pittodrie and he was brought in on deadline day as cover for Emilio.
Tallybhoy ,SOT
Will Totti stay another year now that CL group stages guaranteed ?
!!Bada Bing!!
Going to sevco then?
Cheers Dallas Dallas
The exiled tim, a second day consecutive day of celebration in Coatbridge
.
Us getting the league trophy yesterday and a Coatbridge man getting his team into the best marketed league in the world.
Braffheid was the worst left back ever I saw in a Celtic jersey.
In a 4-4 draw at Pittodrie,he was to blame for every goal they scored.
TCR
Absolute imposter
McClaren sacked at Derby.
….PFayr supports WeeOscar
18:50 on
25 May, 2015
Braafeid wouldn’t have got a game for Glenafton the way he played for us
———————-
Remember he came on in World cup final……..Wife says to me after my ‘WTF’ exclamation
” What’s the matter with you”?
Blantyretim, no problem.
If not the view still did they embarrassed the hoops, our two loanee left backs in the last six years, would be in it even taking into account them coming into a league in a different country. Neither were first choice at the clubs we got them on loan from. Braafheid was at Bayern Munich and not very popular with their support.
P,
I thought Roy Kay was the worst until Braffheid arrived.Brutal.
the spirit of arthur lee
18:24 on 25 May, 2015
Pointless
https://twitter.com/kraljski/status/602882802628042753
________
Cheers for the link, passed it on…thought he might be a tim at the wind up ;))
Tricoloured Ribbon, Roy Kay did appear in not the view’s they embarrassed the hoops.
Wee Chick no doubt currantly wickin’ his wips that the boul’ Carlo is about to cement his hitherto undiscovered wuv furra gwasgo wainjurz……………………………
blantyretim is praying for the knox family
18:07 on 25 May, 2015
Paul Francis McVey to give him his Sunday name
————————————————–
Or wee Maxi from the ‘murph as he was known when I played football with him
Not to be confused with Paul McVeigh of Donegal Celtic who was a better player growing up but also a complete maniac
About 10 years ago The Scotsman allowed comments under each article in their online edition. I was a regular but every time I or anyone else criticised David Murray, our comments were removed.
I eventually received an anonymous email from a Scotsman employee informing me that Murray was behind the censorship as he used to phone the editor to have negative comments about him removed.
Threats were made and the editor was happy to oblige.