Amid the hapless defending and general sense of frustration, we were at least able to console ourselves that Celtic were again creating chances, most effectively through the intervention of Tom Rogic.
Seven-year-olds know there is a right side and a wrong side to tackle from, some 24-year-olds, apparently, remain in the dark. Aberdeen’s first penalty was inevitable from the moment Olivier Ntcham decide to pursue Lewis Ferguson from behind. The Aberdeen player applied the brakes and Olivier obliged to knock him off his feet. A team that had created nothing until that moment had a lead to defend.
This was not the season Shane Duffy dreamed of when signing on loan for Celtic. He was in complete control of the football when he demonstrated that his decision-making skills were not up to the rigors of the Scottish Premiership. A moment later, Aberdeen restored their temporarily-denied lead. Like me, you subsequently no doubt researched Christopher Jullien’s likely return date. There isn’t one, so as you were for a while yet. And yes, I see you pining for the return of Nir Bitton.
Celtic of last season would have controlled the ball through the closing minutes with a narrow lead to deny opponents the ability to charge unhindered into the penalty box. Aberdeen, to their credit, were not up for lying down. There is work to do on the training field.
Leigh Griffiths continues to provide evidence that his fitness, attitude and ability are exactly where they need to be to score important goals. A credit to the work he has done. Despite his limited minutes, this season would look a lot bleaker without him. Tom Rogic also falls into this category. Competition for the creative central mid role is fierce, on this form, Tom will retain the jersey.
Mohamed Elyounoussi had an afternoon full of incomplete passes. This did not deter him and he supported the impressive Kristopher Ajer run to force Hoban to foul inside the penalty area. Like champions, Celtic were in front, despite of the costly mistakes.
Callum McGregor and Neil Lennon both attempted to put boundaries on hysteria in their after-match comments. In summary: it’s been a difficult week, Aberdeen are a decent side, a point is sometimes important, so let’s keep our eye on the prize. Both know this playbook, so do you and I.
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ERNIE LYNCH:
I don’t any of the bloggers every make gradiose claims of self importance except one, and I’m not even going to name him because he’d love that and he doesn’t get a shred of publicity from me no how much he baits me on that blog of his.
You said “bloggers” not “blogger” so yeah I assumed that since you commented on my blog, and on bloggers as a whole that I was who you meant.
The Celtic board monitors the blogs; you know this and I know this. They know we reflect opinion and not make it. They would be mugs not to pay attention to the drumbeat coming from almost all of us … my article from earlier was not about the rabble brigade but the straight up mainstream guys who do speak for a lot of people … if the manager has lost them it’s dark times indeed.
They dont know how to organise themselves on the park ?
yes you are correct.
Keep the emails coming, please. Don’t let the disappointment of what happened in injury time put you off ;-) . 1 email with 3 names by 10pm tonight cqnpoty@gmail.com
My friends in Celtic,
Everything now is digital, possibly even Christmas.
The internet can make you or break you, but it defines much of our life including football. An abundance of social media vehicles are out there to discuss our failings.
Celtic bloggers are essential and we should value them.
To quote Oscar ” There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about ”
Exact same as our continued participation in European football. We devalue them at our peril.
HH to all.
I am baffled by the argument that lack of good coaching is the big problem and that Lenny would be a great manager if he had good coaches. A good coach would certainly help Frimpong with the defensive side of his game. But coaches do not pick the team, decide what system to use and what tactics to employ. Surely that is what the manager does. If not, what he there for?
Has Lenny earned the right to fail ? It’s a moot point . It would be a corporate failure . If Lenny fails because the corporate body which he works within is failing us , he would culpable if he did nothing about it .
so if its not the manager or the coaches then the fault lies with players .
RC & TIMMY7_NOTED
Frimpong dazzled at St Johnstone & even got MOTM.
But he seemed flat in the post match Celtic TV interview.
Rangers double marked him with Kamara & Barisic but they also kept showing inside.
Aberdeen did the same – just closing down the outside option & forcing him inside.
Once inside he seemed devoid of any ideas as to what to do & usually passed it to a static central midfielder.
Further, since he drew defenders inside, there was no automatic overlap from a midfielder on the outside.
Sometimes Christie would go outside but as a left footed player he too didn’t try to get to the byline behind their defence. Our threat down the right disappeared until Ajer crossed for the Moi penalty incident.
As for behind Frimpong, in the first half just before and at the penalty incident, the ball was played in behind him requiring others to cover. Duffy was pulled out to cover Hedges & the midfielder on that side to cover any runs in behind was Ntcham. In the first incident he went with their runner but didn’t prevent the cross coming in. In the next, the penalty incident, he was ball watching & let Ferguson get in behind him too. Ferguson played for & got his penalty just the way Paul outlined.
Frimpong is a decent player & has a good cross on his right foot, but he doesn’t yet have the James Forrest
skill with the outside of this right foot. We miss Forrest in attack & defence and neither ElHamed or Frimpong can do what he does.
IMHO it’s unfair to blame Frimpong for Duffy OR Ntcham having to cover for him being a wingback in the team shape. If Ntcham & Duffy had not made such a hash of providing the cover that was their job – then we wouldn’t even be having this discussion.
Frimpong can be accused of not providing the crosses that his wingback role is supposed to deliver, but when we have no right footed player on that side it was easy to shut down our right side crosses by forcing him inside.
HH
TBB – great question earlier.
I think / feel that from a Supporters perspective Neil ( or any other manager for that matter) does not have the right to fail……………and one does not earn that right. As a supporter I see things in green and white never black and white – that’s for others to do, often in retrospect and usually with the benefit of hindsight.
Our expectations of management bring out the best and the worst in us. For me, that’s the rollercoaster of following Our Great Club. The added element is that most of Scotland wants us to fail – everyone knows that……..including the incumbent manager – in this instance, Neil especially so.
Now, in real life my life has been full of failures and I’m a better person for all of them but in my sporting, Celtic- supporting life – failure is not an option .
You, me, and Neil knows that.
We’ve known all our lives.
HH.
If Bitton is the answer to our defensive woes – I dread to see the question.
u
I think we were in Pot 1 in the EL draw so I guess AC Milan and Lille were Pot 2 + 3 – not looking forward to Thursday evening (behind the couch, again).
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/oct/26/lille-psg-ligue-1-title
Two AC Milan players, Gianluigi Donnarumma and Jens Petter Hauge, plus 3 other staff members have tested positive for Covid-19.
The tests were conducted on Sunday evening 3 days after we played them & well within the incubation period which is 2 – 14 days after being infected.
I’m bracing myself for the next 10 days.
ULYSSES MCGHEE – A DEMOGRAPHIC OF ONE on 26TH OCTOBER 2020 4:05 PM
The question is – do we have a defender on our books who is better than Duffy?
….any “positive” news from Snake Mountain?
SAINT STIVS on 26TH OCTOBER 2020 2:20 PM
Not saying Eddie Howe or indeed any manager is “the answer” but simple stats are misleading.
Comparing Lennon and Howe’s win ratios isn’t comparing apples to apples. What was Lennon’s win ratio in the Championship, for example?
You can deride Bournemouth and Burnley but I’d bet a few quid Lennon doesn’t manage a club as big as those after Celtic.
ernie lynch
” My question is : Do you trust the Celtic Board to appoint anyone better? (Please show your workings).”
Did the Celtic Board not appoint EPL Manager, Brendan Rodgers ?
TBB @ pages ago
Probably rhetorical, but absolutely earned the right to fail, he’s spent the budget. It’s his gig not only are the calls for his head premature they’re mostly predicated by not wanting him to get the job in the first place.
This was the deal he accepted and he’s delivered each winnable competition he has competed in all at short notice, he’s overseen three transfer windows and the players we bought need to step up and prove that Celtic made the night decision.
We’ve played 11 games the swing in points is minimal backing the manager, is backing the club.
Sackings would only be right if they’d a plan B. Celtic don’t work like that and it’s why you have an ex player in charge in the first place. They’ve appointed a lot worse Owen Coyle nearly, Tony Mowbray, Ronny Deila, and if DD hadn’t met WGS at the races?
Celtic have continuity beyond this season changes will occur at natural point like 11 in a row, change at the very top, but now we’ve traded blows with Sevco at the supermarket buying up prospects and punts like De Vries, Compper, Hendry, Kouassi, Shved, Frimpong, Bolingoli, Duffy which dropped us to their level.
Neil Lennon however, is the course and distance winner so has totally earned his rights.
Celtic Board haven’t been found wanting this transfer window,
This blog was full of comments from the witty brigade how Pedro would be selling Eddie/Ajer/Ntcham/Rogic/Christie to top up his pension pot.
It didn’t happen, we sold no one.
But we brought in 6 new players.
There is an issue whether the players we brought in are performing and in my humble opinion with the exception of Laxalt & possibly Ajeti even though I thought he was useless yesterday, they are not,
Now it’s still early days and it would be foolish to write anyone off including Duffy but blame recruitment, blame the coaches blame the Manager but the Board are not to blame for recent setbacks.
I remember my dad and I watching Bobby Lennox as young player struggle against Real Madrid in 1962 and concluded that the lad wouldn’t make it, totally dismissing the quality of the opposition.
I should have known better having seen Real put 7 past Eintracht Frankfurt in 1960 at Hampden.
My memory was restricted to Bobby struggling against Real but I did a Google to confirm and found this on a site Jim Craig set up and I suggest old timers book mark it as a memory refresher. Jim wrote:
“These matches against Valencia get a mention from Jimmy McGrory in his Managers’ Report in the Celtic Football Guide:
In the Fairs Cities Cup, 1st Round tie against Valencia in Spain we were beaten 4-2 but we put up a very good show and we were quite confident we could turn the tables when they came to Glasgow, but the best we could do was draw 2-2 making the aggregate score 6-4. Our form against the continentals has not been the best, but I am sure we couldn’t look for anything better than the show against Real Madrid when we lost 3-1 at Celtic Park.
This match against Real Madrid referred to by Jimmy McGrory in his Manager’s Report took place on 10th September 1962 and was a friendly, the brainchild of a well-known Glasgow businessman and Celtic supporter called Max Benjamin. It was devised to benefit the Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust, the proceeds from which went to help the rehabilitation of refugees, particularly women and children, from Europe and North Africa. The match was promoted by the Blue-and-White committee, the name reflecting the colours of Israel’s national flag. Because of the charitable nature of the game, Real Madrid reduced their normal fee by a third and both the referee – Leo Horn of Holland – and the linesmen – local men Tom Wharton and Bobby Davidson – all gave their services free.
72,000 were there on the night and in the first half they saw Real Madrid give a commanding performance and go into a 2-goal lead through Puskas and Amancio. Celtic brought on three substitutes at the interval – Chalmers, Carroll and Byrne – and although Real scored another through Gento in 60 minutes, Celtic pulled one back through Steve Chalmers a minute later. Suddenly, the home players rose to a new level and the crowd saw the unusual sight of the Spanish masters struggling to contain this young Scots side.
The final result was 3-1 to Real Madrid but the crowd was so delighted by Celtic’s performance, particularly in the second half, that they demanded a lap of honour. Naturally, the team was hesitant. After all, it is unusual to be feted after a defeat. Eventually, though, the players appeared, in assorted clothing, some of them in bare feet, and paraded round the pitch. Later, hundreds of excited fans gathered outside the Central Hotel, where the post-match banquet was being held, chanting the names of their heroes.
Celtic’s team that memorable night was Haffey, McKay, and Kennedy; Crerand, McNeill, and Price; Lennox (Chalmers), Gallagher, Hughes (Carroll), Jackson, Brogan (Byrne).
and the site is at https://football50.co.uk/celtic-in-europe-1961-64/ “
VVV-Venlo Quick News in meltdown
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/av/football/54676595
See all the goals.
Auldheid
Bookmarked 👍
things will get better but jesus we are handing it on a plate to the scum
AULDHEID on 26TH OCTOBER 2020 4:32 PM
I remember my dad and I watching Bobby Lennox as young player struggle against Real Madrid in 1962 and concluded that the lad wouldn’t make it, totally dismissing the quality of the opposition.
*after Thursday’s second half display and the praise the side were given that game came tae mind, AC dropped a couple of gears and so did Real that night after Hento , to giveuse the pronunciation of his name, scored.
However we will never know how it would have ended if Stevie’s disallowed goal had been given. A foul by Alice Byrne on Casado in the lead up was the reason given, wonder who flagged that , tiny or davids(hun).
Anyway we went tae Shawfield on the Saturday winning 3-1 only tae fall tae the sheep at Parkheid 1-2 the following Saturday. Typical Celtic in those days.
AULDHEID on 26TH OCTOBER 2020 4:32 PM
I remember what, I think, was Bobby Lennox’s first game. It was against Dundee the year they won the League. Bobby scored but was ruled offside for excessive speed. Frank Brogan was on the wing and Billy scored the winner in the dying minutes.
That Real Madrid game was phenomenal. A packed house at CP cheering the team to the echo after a defeat. Five years later we would play them in Madrid for Di Stefano’s testimonial and give Real a lesson. Things change quickly in football.
“Aberdeen’s first penalty was inevitable from the moment Olivier Ntcham decide to pursue Lewis Ferguson from behind. The Aberdeen player applied the brakes and Olivier obliged to knock him off his feet.”
So Ferguson bought the penalty. He hit the brakes so that the tailgating Ntcham ran up the back of him enabling him to fall to the ground following contact inside the penalty box. Did he foul him? Did he even tackle him? I thought it was soft.
Generally speaking, our play has improved as the week has gone on but good managers know that successful teams are built from the back. That is a constant. The defence needs sorting out quickly.
Neil Lennon has my support. He has earned it. It’s been a tough week but I’m optimistic that things will turn around soon.
logged out again, what goes on with this site
JAMES FORREST on 26TH OCTOBER 2020 3:07 PM
By the way, I also find it mind-boggling that anyone in the Celtic support reads Hugh Keevins expecting him to come as “the voice of reason” and then attacks Celtic bloggers as selfish and arrogant and out of touch.
————————————————————————————————————————————————————
Thank you for two replies.
First one was a typical wordy defence of sorts,” not going to descend into the gutter ” whats that about? I don’t know why your getting anxious,I said nothing which could be considered inappropriate.
I did not have you in mind when I wrote the post,the Blog which annoyed me was Paul John Dykes,who debated with someone called Kevin,the suitability of Neil Lennon.
Second response referred to reading Hugh Keevins,it is he who considers himself the ” voice of reason”
not me,and the comment appeared on my Twitter feed.I do not buy newspapers.
Bloggers being “Selfish,arrogant ,and out of touch,” I never said any of that in my post but if that’s a bit of self awareness breaking through, then well done.
Stay safe.
It was the context that made yesterday’s game so disappointing – back to back defeats, a spirited second-half come-back then defeat snatched from the jaws of victory.
Financial Accounts show a break even position for last year, That is better than I expected.
that Real game –
http://image.wikifoundry.com/image/3/a73fa40d3bcf28770f40489b1d929a17/GW768H892/
and the occasion ?
1962-09-10: Celtic 1-3 Real Madrid, FriendlyThis is a featured page
Match Pictures | Matches: 1962 – 1963 | 1962-63 Pictures
Trivia
This game was the idea of Glasgow businessman and Celtic supporter Max Benjamin who wanted to raise money for the Jewish National Fund Charitable Trust and the rehabilitation of refugee woman and children from Europe and north Africa.
72,000 come out to watch the greats like Di Stefano, Puskas and Gento.
After the game thousands of Celtic fans stood outside the Central Hotel in Glasgow and the players had to wave to them from a balcony before they would disperse.
http://image.wikifoundry.com/image/3/7de3b7f185e2006a28838169eda3696f/GW800H575/
check out Puskas comments about Crerand and McNeill – prophetic
http://image.wikifoundry.com/image/3/874e51f85c81873950c6773437a09460/GW1271H680/
Disappointing Paul. More of the same, nothing to see here Timmy….
I reckon we will have a new article shortly on the Financial Accounts.
ONENIGHTINLISBON on 26TH OCTOBER 2020 5:17 PM
Disappointing Paul. More of the same, nothing to see here Timmy
hi mate
can you give a list of changes you would like to see?
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
tia mate
hh
so the board is blamless in all of this, the board who the main shareholder described rainjurs as one of the great teams with a great history, make no mistake desmond knows which side his bread is buttered on, and he also knows scottish football is fecked without them orange bassas, ill leave it to you ghuys to debate,H,H,
Celtic PLC Annual Results
By: Newsroom Staff on 26 Oct, 2020 16:37
Announcement of Results for the year ended 30 June 2020
SUMMARY OF THE RESULTS
Operational Highlights
– Winner of our 9th consecutive SPFL Premiership title and our 11th consecutive domestic trophy success
– Winner of the Scottish League Cup for the 4th season in a row
– Finished top of our Europa League group, qualifying for the Round of 32 for the third year in a row
– 26* home matches played at Celtic Park (2019: 30 games)
Financial Highlights
– Group revenue decreased by 15.8% to £70.2m (2019: £83.4m)
– Operating expenses including labour decreased by 7.3% to £80.5m (2019: £86.9m)
– Gain on sale of player registrations of £24.2m (2019: £17.7m)
– Acquisition of player registrations of £20.7m (2019: £6.2m)
– Profit before taxation of £0.1m (2019: £11.3m)
– Year-end cash net of bank borrowings of £18.2m (2019: £28.6m)
*Due to the early curtailment of the Scottish domestic season, 4 home SPFL Premiership matches were unfulfilled.
CHAIRMAN’S STATEMENT
The overwhelming event in the year under review was the emergence of Covid-19 and the attendant restrictions on social movement and trade. This has had an adverse impact on our operations and our balance sheet. At the time of writing we, like many football clubs and indeed many businesses, are still grappling with the challenges the pandemic presents including the near term uncertainty. However, the Board continues to monitor the situation closely, taking proactive measures to ensure the Club and our colleagues remain safe and is in the best position to allow football to continue.
The SFA and the SPFL suspended football at all levels on 13th March 2020. By this time, we had retained the Betfred Cup for the fourth successive season and had reached the semi-final of the Scottish Cup. In addition, we enjoyed a 13-point lead in the Scottish Premiership.
As a club we were involved in discussions with the SFA and SPFL concerning the plans for Scottish Football. Like many of our peers, our strongest desire was to finish season 2019/20. As it became increasingly obvious that a compromise would have to be made in order to protect the seasonal calendar for 2020/21 and remove the financial burden on many Scottish Clubs of an extensive and uncertain delay, we accepted, reluctantly, that the current season’s football would have to be curtailed. This view was widely shared across Scottish Football and we supported an SPFL resolution which afforded the SPFL Board the power to call an end to the season. The resolution also gave the SPFL Board the power to award the league title based on an average points basis. On 18th May 2020 the SPFL formally ended the season and Celtic were declared Champions for the ninth consecutive season. We warmly congratulate Neil and the team for this record equalling achievement.
Unsurprisingly, Covid-19 has had a material detrimental effect on the financial results and the year ended 30 June 2020 saw revenue fall to £70.2m (2019: £83.4m) and profit before tax fall to £0.1m (2019: £11.3m). As discussed in more detail in the Strategic Report, this was largely attributable to the value destructive impact of the pandemic across many aspects of our business. Nevertheless, these results are satisfactory in the circumstances at hand. Our year end cash net of bank borrowings was £18.2m (2019: £28.6m). Post year end we also took the opportunity to increase our existing revolving credit facility from £2m to £13m to provide a further buffer should it ever be required.
Following the suspension of football, the Club’s executive worked successfully on developing protocols and engaging with both the football authorities and Government authorities to have our players return to training and to then commence season 2020/21 on time. Additionally, they focused on protecting our key revenue streams and retaining our people infrastructure. I am pleased to report that all of our commercial sponsorship arrangements are intact and season 2020/21 saw us welcome adidas as our new kit supplier. The response to the launch of the adidas products in August was outstanding and exceeded our expectations.
The governmental restrictions imposed to protect public health continue to have a negative financial impact on the football industry. Our hard work and measured approach to investment in recent years has provided a degree of protection, but given the inherent uncertainty of the current environment, we must proceed and invest with a degree of caution. Nevertheless, we remain confident in the fundamentals of our football model and since the Balance Sheet date we have strengthened our player squad. Following the year end, we invested in the registrations of Vasilis Barkas, Albian Ajeti, David Turnbull and brought in loan signings Shane Duffy and Diego Laxalt. We also extended the loan of Mohamed Elyounoussi. Moreover, we have retained all of our key players from last season.
As we look ahead, our immediate priorities are to work with the football authorities and Government to have fans return to watching football in our stadium in a safe manner. Having qualified for the 2020/21 UEFA Europa League against a challenging backdrop of single leg qualification ties, we are matched against AC Milan, Lille and Sparta Prague in what is sure to be both a testing and exciting, group stage. Domestically, the overriding objective is to win our tenth consecutive league title.
In closing, I sincerely thank our supporters for their commitment to buying season tickets and also our sponsors, partners and all of the colleagues at Celtic Football Club for their steadfast support in these most difficult of times. Please be assured that the Board recognises the challenges and sacrifices made and is determined to balance the objective of success with the strategy of long term sustainability.
Ian P Bankier
Chairman
26 October 2020
Read the full Celtic plc results
Saint Stivs @5.17
Thanks for that wonderful post.
18 million in the bank, a very small profit and an increase in our credit line in case it is needed.
That’s it :)
Accounts released
£18m cash in hand 3m.
https://investegate.co.uk/celtic-plc–ccp-/rns/results-for-the-year-ended-30-june-2020/202010261635052463D/