St Mirren, who are ninth in the Premiership controlled yesterday’s Scottish League Cup Final and won the trophy with an historic and deserved 3-1 victory. Celtic had the bulk of possession but were unable to turn that into enough chances to deserve anything more from the game.
For the third game in succession Celtic went behind from the first corner they had to defend in the game. That weakness was a painful feature of the Covid season is back. Those who successfully campaigned for a return to four at the back will have to contemplate the fact that the defensive formation is well down the list of problems Celtic have. Celtic were exposed at the back throughout the game, St Mirren had more shots on target and more attempts from inside the box, measures of which team was always more likely to score.
For the 35 minutes he was on, Kelechi Iheanacho gave Celtic a taste of what an effective striker can bring to a team. The recurrence of the hamstring injury which has limited him to fewer than 90 minutes since October cast a long shadow over an already dark day.
The performance was consistent with so many this year. When pressed one-on-one, Celtic players get rid of the ball quickly – and often backwards. Reo Hatate was the only one who took the ball in and attempted to get past his man. Without taking any opponents out of the game, there are no options for a forward pass.
In the hierarchy of responsibility, Wilfried Nancy has to take his share, but he is not at the top. The squad is not up to the task and needs a radical overhaul. Such an overwhelming reluctance to take responsibility on the ball indicated they are playing without confidence. Who can blame them? Managers have come and gone, one having publicly undermined them, while the feedback loop when a ball is mis controlled or a pass goes astray would have the best of us hiding on the field.
The challenge facing the new manager is significant. He needs to restore confidence to a squad who look shattered, impose a tactical regime which creates chances and fortified the defence, while nurturing the most fragile collection of hamstring muscles in sport.
You and I laughed at Newco fans who were so unable to cope with defeats they hounded a succession of managers out Ibrox and made the job toxic. That’s not how we fix this problem. The man needs our support right now as do his players.
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rebuswad @ 12:12 pm
Most people want unity
——-
I suspect you are right, rebuswad.
Problem is, those wanting unity aren’t even publicly saying so
(let alone doing anything about it).
The public discourse is heavily influenced by those in one group who value rebellion over unity …
… in direct response to those in power who value their own exclusive form of continuity over unity.
If those wanting unity don’t stand up as forcefully as these factions?
They’ll get the outcome of a fight they chose not to fight, plain and simple.
The wider picture around former Liverpool managers continues to evolve quietly, with one familiar name now edging closer to a significant decision.
Brendan Rodgers is close to reaching an agreement with Saudi Pro League side Al Qadsiah, according to reporting from David Ornstein, Mario Cortegana and others for The Athletic.
The 52-year-old Northern Irishman is travelling to Saudi Arabia as talks continue to finalise a deal, following his resignation from Celtic in October.
Rodgers is being lined up to replace Michel Gonzalez, who was sacked on Sunday as Al Qadsiah promised to “move swiftly” to appoint a new head coach ahead of the January transfer window.
Blame Brendan Rodgers
Blame New European Tax laws
Blame FSR
Blame the Ultras
Blame Social Media
Blame the Tabloids
Blame the Celtic Collective
Blame anarchy
Blame toxicity
Blame the big clubs in Europe for being too big
Blame the unbridgeable gap
Blame the supporters that leave early
Blame the supporters that don’t turn up
Blame the supporters again
Blame the 3-5-3
Blame Paul Tisdale
Blame Wilfried Nancy
Quelle drôle de situation CSC 🥒
What a ridiculous piece Paul.You have just used BRs Honda Ferrarri metaphor and couched them into” Playerrs not good enough”.The car metaphor you used for weeks decrying BR.
Still no mention of who was responsible for these players being what’s left of a good team,or who actually signed Nancy.We have MON today saying he offered to stay longer.The Board told him no.For what reason?.Not wanting to pay him anymore?.Probably,because every other reason to say “No” is just ridiculous.Then again,we are dealing with people with ridiculous notions of themselves.
Disagree with at least two claims in Paul’s leader.
1. WN not mainly responsible. For longer term issues of recruitment/injuries, sure. But for performance he is. 3 losses after 7/8 wins with the same squad. That is on the manager. And it is not just results. No one on here expects us to win our next two league games against teams with much weaker squads.
2. Huns a laughing stock for changing manager often. True. But the biggest laugh this season was letting Martin continue when he was a disaster. They have now brought in someone better. There is something worse than changing a manager quickly and that is sticking with a guy who is clearly not going to win the league. Is anyone laughing at Nottingham Forest now that they have recovered from the Ange experiment? Will the decision to appoint Dyche put off future managers? I very much doubt it.
If the club is going to stick with this project and fund it in January, don’t expect European football next season. Then see how hard it is to find a new manager.
“Better to remain silent and be thought a board apologist and a fool than to share your thoughts and remove all doubt”
Abe Lincoln, Washington DCSC
Brendan could be soon splashing the transfer cash
Club owned by the 4th richest company in the world
Al-Qadsiah FC
Full name Al-Qadsiah Saudi Football Club
Nicknames Fares Al Sharqiyah (Knight of the East)
Fakhr Al Sharqiyah (Pride of the Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia)
Founded 1967; 58 years ago
Ground Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium
Dammam, Saudi Arabia (Aramco Stadium planned)
Capacity 26,000[1]
Owner Saudi Armco
Chairman Bader AlReziza
Head coach Míchel
League Saudi Pro League
2024–25 Pro League, 4th of 18
Al-Qadsiah (Arabic: نادي القادسية لكرة القدم, romanized: nādī al-Qādisiyyah li-kūrāt ae-qādam, lit. ’al-Qadisiyyah Football Club’) is a Saudi Arabian professional football club that competes in the Saudi Pro League. The team is based in the eastern city of Khobar and their home ground is the Prince Mohamed bin Fahd Stadium.[2]
Aramco Tower in the King Abdullah Financial District of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Trade name Saudi Aramco
Native name Saudi Arabian Oil Company
Saudi Aramco (Arabic: أرامكو السعودية ʾArāmkū as-Suʿūdiyyah) or Aramco (formerly Arabian-American Oil Company), officially the Saudi Arabian Oil Company, is a majority state-owned petroleum and natural gas company that is the national oil company of Saudi Arabia.[7][8] As of 2024, it is the fourth-largest company in the world by revenue[9] and is headquartered in Dhahran. Saudi Aramco has both the world’s second-largest proven crude oil reserves, at more than 270 billion barrels (43 billion cubic metres),[10] and largest daily oil production of all oil-producing companies.[11][12][13]
There we have it ….BR fault….deary deary me….a man who told everyone last January we need a striker …who probably day out day in was tearing his hair out during the summer transfer window which culminated in last day desperation (as per) paying over the odds for players and STILL not getting in players we were desperate for….a right winger and striker!!!
I wonder how long DDs patience will last
Hands up who thought the Board were getting namechecked, after seeing the article headlines? Me neither……
It’s not a tragedy or disaster, it’s a football match. We shall come back and win more trophies to add to our unbroken history.
Deludedamol stocks must be high at CQN towers.
Customary dig at Brendan Rodgers unsurprising.
The players were not low on confidence 2 weeks ago. Nancy has ruined them.
The Board have dug a massive hole. As expected they will dig it deeper because they think they know better.
What a car crash.
Hierarchy of responsibility:
1. The moustache
1.5 Fat man Lawwell
2. Mikey the Mute
3. The decrepit Board
4. Paul Spivdale
5. Wilfried Nancy
6. Brendan Rodgers
7. The players
8. Pro-Board bloggers & bullshitters
9. Ends (clue – not the fans)
Brendan & the fans getting a wee dig. Yet the Enron guys in suits get a pass.
😊
World Class incoherence.
Lionroars67
Brendan could be soon splashing the transfer cash
—–
Hopefully on Engels, Tounetki, Balikwisha and Nygren.
Club strategy is now without doubt making an enemy of the supporter base. A club/ business that relies on said base more than most. That’s the level of genius we’re dealing with here.
we laughed at the huns cos their fans got rid of GVB – a guy who took them to a Euro Final
we laughed at the huns cos the fans got rid of Clement – who may have been on his way to catching Celtic
every c*nt laughing at us cos our Board have got rid of BR, prematurely got rid of MON and have appointed the French Russell Martin.
At least the huns got rid of the clowns providing the so called project players.
Who’s laughing now ?
You Said:-
You and I laughed at Newco fans who were so unable to cope with defeats they hounded a succession of managers out Ibrox and made the job toxic. That’s not how we fix this problem. The man needs our support right now as do his players.….
The whole atmosphere in our Club from top to bottom is Toxic just now….
This has been allowed to happen from them sitting at the very top….
If you can’t see that…then YOU ARE part of the problem…
“The squad is not up to the task and needs a radical overhaul”
—————-
Are these the “Ferraris” you were speaking of recently?
Unfortunately BR won’t buy any of the players because he won’t help the shambles.
Our 70 odd million will soon vanish on repeated payments to pay off mistakes we seem to have splaffed 10-12 million on bang average players and now 2.5 year contracts on a dreamer who hasn’t heard of transitions and the danger of losing a ball in attacking areas!!
Dundee United will be the next team to benefit from schoolboy football.
Tictastic
P67 is just the factotum for the fat man. His blogs reflect the club position. He mostly talks (smug) shite but that’s because he’s speaking for the fat man.
The same laughable Sevco,who could go 3 points behind us tonight….
“the salivating crowd itching to abuse our own at Hampden was a sad reflection of society today….”
and a sad reflection of those at the top of govt, institutions and companies everywhere – thinking they know better than everyone else, in it for themselves and not really giving a donald about what the under classes think
sack the board just doesnt mean sack the board – it means replace the board with folk who will do better, folk who can communicate, reason and articulate. It means replace the board with folk with some kind of ambition that matches those of the fans. (aye but the huns went bust doesnt wash at all)
Who would you trust at Celtic to carry out a massive overhaul of the team? I can’t think of anyone. Maybe we could headhunt Mark Lawell from the high end job he is in, or is he still weeding his garden?
In reply to the ‘give him time brigade’, including P67, these were not just 3 games. They were crucial games for the season’s goals – league, Europa League, treble.
A cup final – a cup final for God’s sake – and he wouldn’t change his approach in the wind and rain to get a result.
Even Ange knew in the EL final with Spurs that he needed to park his attacking approach and dig out a 1-0.
To treat a cup final in such a cavalier way shows WN does not get Celtic and probably does not get top level football at all.
“You and I laughed at Newco fans”
———–
Speak for yourself. I’ve got absolutely no interest in “Newco” or their fans.
Yesterday is History and Tomorrow is a Mystery. We only have Today, and today we don’t look like a team who’ll win the league title, or win the Scottish Cup. The mystery of tomorrow is will the high heid yins splash enough of the cash to give him the players he needs to play his system, and will that system work? Probably if the players he has are quality and not projects. I fancy, Ange like, he’ll go for guys he knows who can play this way from MLS, but again that’s a risk, por cierto.
Glenowen
belter
“If a million people told me to do something … and I was the one and I didn’t feel that something was right, then I would take my own counsel.”
Dermot Desmond
Bonne Chance – wi that CSC
A week ago (is it only a week?), with Hearts collapsing and the worst team out of Ibrox anyone can remember, it seemed impossible that we could find a manager capable of losing our title. Quite a trick, but the high achievers running the club seem to have pulled it off.
Paul. Who sits at the top of the hierarchy of blame?
Pathetic that you call out Rodgers and the fans yet protect the very people who are culpable.
We are heading into the abyss although some are happy to continue to support the bastards that put us there.
An absolutely cowardly and sycophantic piece of garbage.
GlassTwoThirdsFull @ 1:53 pm,
Exactly…
Also, it’s possible to have a bit of sympathy for football fans who have been continually ripped off by spivs and snake oil salesmen.
At Board and Executive level the Old Firm are very much two cheeks…
Hail Hail
Bournesouprecipe @ 1:58 pm,
Also the petulant, extreme demand avoidance doesn’t help…
Hail Hail
B78…
“A lot of miserable entitled behaviour magnifying our problems and manifesting negativity but with zero solutions offered by these geniuses other than pathetic sack the board shite.”
You are so far up the board’s erchies you must be covered in shite…
“Those who successfully campaigned for a return to four at the back will have to contemplate the fact that the defensive formation is well down the list of problems Celtic have.”
We were playing four at the back!?
Who knew?
During yesterday’s match the defensive formation was not well down our list of problems – it was right up there with Brendan Rodgers…
Hail Jsil
But . . . but .. . . .but . . . . . 25 league titles in 20 years . . .
and a sad reflection of those at the top of govt, institutions and companies everywhere – thinking they know better than everyone else, in it for themselves and not really giving a donald about what the under classes think
—
correct.
and what they all do is to try pit the ‘under class’ against each other to deflect attention away from them plundering us.
governments use the immigrant argument to pit the public against each other.
the celtic board use the green brigade
Succulent lamb CQN style.
CQN Paul’s back channel communications are under threat which is affecting objectivity.
This will end in the destruction of the Board. The only question is how long it will take and whether they are prepared to burn the whole club down around them. I think we know the answer to that one.