For a striker, getting your first goal at a new club is a huge mark. The longer it takes, the more pressure lands on your shoulders. Giorgos Giakoumakis settled that liability on his first start for Celtic against St Johnstone on Saturday.
After an inauspicious start off the bench against Hearts, Kyogo Furuhashi also scored on his first Celtic start, away to Jablonec in the Europa qualifiers. The flurry of goals that followed changed the trajectory of Celtic’s season. Giorgos goal on Saturday could be just as important.
Apart from the November international break, Celtic have two games per week until Christmas. This is the kind of run that blunts players whose responsibility it is to carry the load game after game.
Ange Postecoglou will be able to rest Kyogo, who will return to Asia for Japan’s games next month, and let Giorgos lead the line. The Greek striker also has the benefit that he is not the Greece striker, he has not represented his country since March and is likely to have a two week break next month, time hopefully spent at Lennoxtown honing his fitness.
Resting Kyogo also means bringing Mikey Johnston and/or eventually James Forrest back into the team. There is no freshness gained if Kyogo is shifted to the right. Johnston has looked sharp on his substitute appearances this month, especially against Ferencvaros on Thursday. The home game against Livingston on Saturday would be an opportunity for him to start.
For all that has been said about our defence this season, they scarcely conceded a chance worthy of the name during their three consecutive clean sheets. This is a factor not just of defensive form, but of shape in the middle of the park. It is as though everyone now knows what to do.
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Nope……………..
Is the Hibs game on TV?
Hibs game is NOT on TV.
Sky have ignored a full fixture list in Scotland this midweek.
You can get the game on Hibs TV PPV for £15
Or the usual sources
Thanks Moravcik – I’m looking forward to this game – a real test of how things are developing.
I don’t think I’ve looked forward to a game in quite a while.
HH
News is saying Walter Smith has been sent to the stand.
I enjoyed this
…………………………………………………………
STEPHBHOY67 on 25TH OCTOBER 2021 10:46 PM
scotland does not want to be honest and open about it’s nasty secret I.e. 100s of years of anti irish racism allowed to grow and infiltrate all reas of life.
Blaming the minority group for the problem rather than address the above issue of hate towards that group has become the norm .
Creating false equivalents I.e. telling people that calling rangers supporters huns and is same as calling someone a fenian, terrier taig etc when it is clearly not and trivialises racism into the watered down sectarian stuff we keep getting told about.
Allowing orange walks under freedom of expression, that expression brings responsibilities and they fall on all counts. It is hateful
I am a proud irish scot and in scotland that is simply not acceptable. Many folk have lost everything, including their lives for simply being. That is a national disgrace. However the truth is the nation has played its part in maintaining it.
Where else on the British Isles would 50000 folk be allowed to turn up and sign about sending another enthic group home? The place would be emptied.
GREENPINATA on 26TH OCTOBER 2021 10:24 AM
Burnley 78,
The blog is not broken, probably reflecting how we respectfully address Walter Smith passing away.
HH.
———
Personally I choose to remember Mr Smith for the dignified manner in which he conducted himself around the period of Tommy Burns’ illness and death.
I am sure we will afford him the same respect as he paid one of ours.
Shocking news about Walter Smith.
(I didn’t even know he was ill)
Rest in Peace
Any news on Big Julienne?
SQUIRE DANAHER 26TH OCTOBER 2021 10:56 .
Totally agree.
HH.
Greenpinata / Squire D
I was struggling to see updates beyond 9.30am when I posted that.
I realise why now.
RIP Walter Smith.
Thoughts and prayers for his family.
HH Dan
Squire D
I echo your words about Walter Smith. RIP
SQUIRE DANAHER on 26TH OCTOBER 2021 10:56 AM
Personally I choose to remember Mr Smith for the dignified manner in which he conducted himself around the period of Tommy Burns’ illness and death.
I am sure we will afford him the same respect as he paid one of ours.
SQUIRE, well said and in full agreement. I didn’t always agree with his ‘Rangersitis’, but he was certainly moved by Tommy’s death and ignored the merde that came his way for that stance.
Ave Ave
Walter Smith.
Thoughts and prayers for his family.
RIP
RIP Walter.
Thoughts and prayers with his family and friends.
Sad news indeed for the family of the former manager of
the fomer rangers.
Scottish football will mourn.
I’m sure the upcoming fixture against Aberdeen will be postponed as a mark of respect.
May He Rest In Peace.
HH.
Walter Smith rip
HH
Walter Smith, a man I met many times through my work. He knew who and what I was but was always kind and thoughtful, with a great sense of humour too. May he rest in peace.
Wee Bobby…………….
Isn’t that quite remarkable, eh?
Thanks for sharing.
HH
Sad news regarding Walter Smith, may he R. I. P.
STEPHBHOY67 @ 10:46 PM,
Your point on equivalence is ligit to an extent. Yet to try to suggest there isn’t any anti-protestant feeling in Scotland or Ireland is a nonsense.
There isn’t much we can do about anti Catholic and anti Irish hate other than call it out, yet there is so much we can do about our bigotry.
It seems to me the song book at Celtic Park has regressed with add-ons back in. We need to stop it, no point calling out sectarianism then singing about the IRA.
It’s getting worse again – of course the owners of both clubs don’t mind, hate sells in Glasgow – but we really need to review of outlook and that can start by our songbook.
I read on here yesterday someone suggesting that Celtic was a Catholic Irish Club. Maybe someone should explain to him why Br Walfrid choose Celtic instead of Glasgow Hibernian for our Club.
With numbers of people of faith dimishing and the Irish love of the EPL I’d suggest it makes little business sense to persue this demographic, also the culture of hate is not a great platform to build an elite sporting enterprise.
Many Celtic supporters that are neither Catholic or from Irish stock understand this, it’s about time we all did.
Hail Hail
CHAIRBHOY
I was in the Kerrydale bar on Saturday before the game.
When Liam Mcgrandles was signing the Willie Maley song , the table next to me were all Irish. They were the only ones adding on to the song.
But by the end of the song they had become embarrassed and stopped.
CHAIRBHOY on 26TH OCTOBER 2021 11:30 AM
You may encounter criticism for equating sectarianism with Irish Republicanism.
Other than that I completely agree with you about the GB songbook. Not only is it regressive, much of it of late has been obscure and frankly dirge-like.
To what extent is Celtic Park an appropriate place for the expression of Irish Republicanism in 2021?
Walter Smith was un unrepentant Hun,but never tried to hide the fact.No problems with me on that.Cannot stand the sleekits.Showed his humanity by ASKING if he could carry TBs Coffin.Will always remember him for slaughtering,in full Glasgow language ,Chick Young ,in the tunnel after a game.Hilarious.
RIP,to a dogged opponent.
Chairbhoy on 26th October 2021 11:30 am
Excellent and honest contribution, thanks.
The GB,who I greatly admire for their very clever and original displays,and also their wonderful imagination in digging up new songs,are really letting themselves down with their present songbook.Its a throwback to the 70s,when the songs had meaning.They are far too imaginative to be stuck in this time warp.
RIP Walter Smith
Thoughts and prayers for those who are close to you.
Celtic Park was better before the GB stuck their oar in.
It was a quite, peaceful, restful place where the elderly in body or spirit could rest their weary bones for a couple of hours every fortnight and reminisce about the good old days and fading memories.
I used to let OO parades annoy me.
Then this strange thing happened
I grew up.
Imagine that.
What kind of support would Celtic have if if its green hun / fake Irish Republican rebels had to also grow up?
If you don’t like OO parades you have a choice.
Ignore them and grow up.
Or, get it into your thick green hun heads that minority immigrants don’t get to tell majority what to do.
If you can’t do that, there’s even a third option, realise that you can’t assimilate, appreciate that the huns are factually correct, that the famine is over, and that nobody is stopping you from going home.
Its that simple.
Have a good day.
Sad news of the passing of Walter Smith. A real thorn in our side in his day.
new article posted.
TIMMY7_NOTED @ 11:41 AM,
Thanks
SQUIRE DANAHER @ 11:38 AM,
Thanks for giving me the opportunity to clarify…
Catholic – Protestant
Nationalist – Unionist
Republican – Loyalist
Whatever your bag you can hold those views, I know where I stand and believe the truth will prevail, if you disagree with someone’s views that’s also fine.
But when it comes to bigotry and hate and sectarianism from whatever quarter then it must be roundly condemned.
As a wiser man than I once said, take the plank out of your eye before you take the skelf out of your brothers…
Hail Hail
ST TAMS @ 11:37 AM,
Cheers, we have great songs, no other Club comes close, the add ons rarely improve them.
Hail Hail
Hail Hail
Stay Safe