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It’s all about the system

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By on CQN BLOG & Comments

Auchinleck Talbot are a sixth-tier club, so I didn’t want to mention this after Sunday’s game, but the passing at Kilmarnock was so much crisper than I have seen from Celtic this season.  The observation was discarded as I assumed it was because the opposition were unable to press Celtic players out of their comfort zone.

We started the same way last night.  The minutes before the opening goal were characterised by pass-and-move routines from Celtic that we scarcely saw throughout 2025.  Bologna pressed but the man in possession was always comfortable and had options.  That panicked feeling when we were pressed that the ball would inevitably go all the way back to Kasper Schmeichel, then possession would be lost, never materialised.

The calamitous opening goal Bologna conceded resulted in Celtic pressing an Italian home side out of their comfort zone.  Cheaply given but thoroughly appreciated.

Racial stereotypes are best avoided, but is it safe to say Japanese players are just too honourable?  A minute after Reo Hatate’s opener, Daizen Maeda was clean through 40 yards out when he was bundled from behind.  Daizen is made of sturdy stuff, so was able to continue; if it was me, I’d have collapsed like a proverbial sack of potatoes.  Had Daizen fallen, a red card would have followed.

Daizen stayed on his feet, Yang latched onto his pass and came close to adding a second goal with a shot the keeper only just got a hand to.  A goalscoring chance was not denied, so the referee was unable to act.

Small incidents can change the flow of football games.  On receiving a ball out of defence, Reo Hatate tried to hold the ball in, but it ran through him, allowing Bologna to open an attack and put Celtic under sustained pressure for the first time.  The same thing happened 10 minutes later, when Reo was bundled to the ground, again Bologna were able to press Celtic for several minutes.

The two yellow cards Reo received soon thereafter were inexplicable for an experienced player.  They should be a learning experience for the whole squad.

With Bologna still trying to figure out how to react to their one man advantage, Daizen forced a corner from a long ball into the right channel.  Kieran Tierney has been written off by a few of us.  His return has not delivered the same form he last enjoyed in green and white.  Perhaps another appraisal is due.

A decision at Lennoxtown to have Kieran take corners from the Celtic right proved inspired. KT’s delivery was excellent and Arne Engels proved he can get on the end of deliveries.  Auston Trusty was dominant throughout the game but no more so five minutes from the break, when he knocked this set-piece over the line.

The second half is so difficult to assess from a tactical point of view.  Celtic had a two goal lead to defend, away in Italy, with 10 men, so doing so as deeply as they did was understandable.  Martin pulled the full backs inside, Out of possession, Daizen dropped into the traditional left back spot.

There was a six-man back line with Yang, Engels and McGregor 10-15 yards in front.  The relentless series of crosses and passing in front of the Celtic box inevitably led to a goal.  Whatever the plan was at halftime, an early change in shape may have been more effective.

I have seen chat that Kasper Schmeichel could have done better at each Bologna goal, but I disagree.  The first was from point-blank range and he was unsighted at the second. More than that, he pulled off saves I have yet to see from Viljami Sinisalo.  The big Dane still has a part to play.

The match stats tell one story: Bologna 36 attempts, Celtic 8.  Not all attempts are equal, though.  All of Celtic’s were from inside the penalty box and four of those were inside the six-yard box.  Bologna were hitting shots from 30 yards.  Their two goals only slightly under-delivered on an expected goals of 2.46.

The prospect of playing 18 minutes plus added time after the equaliser was daunting, but Bologna had fired their bolt.  Celtic’s defenders dominated the game from that moment on.

I don’t want to touch on a negative after such a good performance, but Colby Donovan, Anthony Ralston, Liam Scales, Auston Trusty and Kieran Tiernay have all looked poor this season.  Each betrayed by a system which left them exposed.  See what happens when a management team who can structure a midfield and defence are in charge?  They were all excellent, Liam and Auston in particular.  Even the recently maligned Anthony, who was calm personified in possession.  Honda Civics they are not.  It’s all about the system.

This remains Celtic’s worst season in five, but the club which wins more games and trophies than any other in world football is edging back on track.  That will confound those who spend their emotional energy trying to convince friends, readers and media colleagues that Celtic are a badly run football club.  God help them if the result on Sunday goes against their world view.  It’s so much easier just to complain than to self-reflect.

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  3. lets all do the huddle on

    so it is up to B78 and his wife to decide what football fans are ‘scum’?

     

     

    fair enough.

     

     

    🙄

  5. flynn on

    If you give a bunch of cheats the ball then they will cheat you.

     

    Collins was ganged up on by masonic Broony and Caldwell, who ganged up behind Collins back, not to his face, when they both rounded up a possie of backstabbers to go to the Hibs masonic Chairman and demand the removal of Collins, because the possie did not have the front to front up to Collins in the dressing room.

     

    The very first thing that Brendan Rodgers did when he first arrived at Celtic, was seek out Collins to get the run down about the Collins vs the Commons, Mulgrew, Broony possie which destroyed Ronny Diela.

     

    After their meeting, Broony became a dressing room choir boy for Brendan.

     

    the Bada Bing on 23rd January 2026 10:47 pm

     

    Day after Seville, Collins was in same hotel, holding court ,all he did was slag Celtic players and tactics, giving it the totally simplistic nonsense, that you have to keep the ball……no thanks a dreamer,why has he not been involved at any Club for a long time?

  9. Celtic Mac on

    burnley78

     

     

    There is a possibility, remote true, that the protagonist was actually being satirical, that, far from being a Glasgow Ned (no not those ones, aw the ithers) he was sending up the vernacular and the behaviour of some, many maybe, of the protesters, of recent months. It could be that he was mimicking the ‘sack the board’ crowd, and their mentality, and showing just how ridiculous it is and moreso how it appears when it manifests itself in the presence of the actual Celtic CEO, the Celtic supporting Mike Nicholson in the historic City of Bologna. It could be….

  11. spikeysauldman on

    there is also the possibility that the Celtic CEO thought that the folk who spend much of their disposal income following the club that they live and die for (mainly to make up for being way too unsuccessful in life) were actually very happy with the way their club was being run, were delighted with the board and thought that he’d join them of an evening for a wee nightcap…

  15. Turkeybhoy on

    Thats not Nicholson.Too small.

     

    Just a wee Peely Wally Tally thinking,WTFs this guy on about

     

     

    .

     

    Also,a bit glaikit and gormless looking.Oh,wait a minute!!!.Only joking.That’s a poor unfortunate lookalike.

  20. flynn on

    If you live in Britain you live in a union.

     

    If you were born under a union flag then you will die under a union flag.

     

    Them’s the apples.

  21. spikeysauldman on

    B78

     

     

    as proud as the board’s friends and families for teaching the anti-establishment lot a right good lesson with a little help from their friends in the errr emmm establishment

  23. Turkeybhoy on

    Wait till the real shocking pictures come out tomorrow.Nicholson,leading off the GB.Standing in front of a Bologna fan pub,shouting

     

    ” MON THEN”

  30. Saint Stivs on

    nicholson being succered into the hug with the drunk or whatever guy . pulling him in. around his neck.

     

     

    how do you react ?

     

     

    run away ? fight back ? defend yourself ?

  31. flynn on

    Flynn is my 1st and second name.

     

    I like it that way.

     

    Maybe I’ll get married some day and my new husband will also be a Flynn, just to save all of the confusion.

  32. flynn on

    Celtic fans lost their giant pride when WGS arrived.

     

    Maybe MON is trying to reverse them back to where they should be, wearing the name of Celtic with responsibility, and class, as well as knowing that MON sees Celtic fans as thee key components of the entire club.

     

    Which was last seen when we defeated Barcelona in the Uefa cup in 2004, and Celtic fans went to the second leg at the Nou Camp equipped with a carrier bag each for our litter, and make sure that the Catalans see who and what we really are, the good guys.

     

    A few years later the Huns visited Barcelona, and the Mayor of Barcelona wrote a news paper article addressed to Celtic FC, stating that every Celtic fan deserves a Gold Medal for having to live among these, Rangers Animals, every day of their lives.

  33. Aipple on

    JAMES FORREST re: name calling

     

     

    Disagree all you want outwatch your language kid.

     

     

    ————

     

     

    SECTION111 re: blog as a mOney maker

     

     

    Of course the ads make a few quid. Hosting. costs and all that add up. I am far from a Paul67 apologist but keep the shots above the belt. I come on here to read the thoughts of people whose views I like reading. Would you rather the platform went away?

     

     

    ———————–

     

     

    BSR re: app

     

     

    You’ll remember someone on here launched an app over 13 years ago that gave live push notifications of teams and goals faster than any other service. Wonder what became of him?

     

     

     

    ———————–

     

     

    TBB Great post.

     

     

    ——————–

     

     

    BACK TO BASICS – GLASS HALF FULL re: MLS coaches

     

     

    This one? https://www.theguardian.com/football/2026/jan/12/american-soccer-coaches-abroad-bob-bradley-chris-armas

     

     

    ————————–

     

     

    How many logins do you have Kev?

     

     

    Watching, listening and reading the news. I hear all these people say its a great title race for the neutrals in Scotland. There are no neutrals. There are our fans and people that hate us and want others to win

  34. Celtic Mac on

    saint stivs

     

     

    None of the above…

     

    You let it play….

     

     

    AlltheWorld’s a StageCSC

  36. Chairbhoy on

    Parkheadcumsalford @ 3:11 pm,

     

     

    “By the way, SS, I still think that much of the time last season and early this season, the football was boring. The odd game might not have been but in general it was, imo.”

     

     

    There is no doubt that the football under Wilfried Nancy was at times often more free flowing, entertaining and exhilarating, however – that type of football gets slaughtered in Europe and against better teams as Roma, R2ngers, Hearts, Motherwell etc proved.

     

     

    Football changes through the years.

     

     

    You may well remember when Hibs were one of the best teams in the world with five forwards.

     

     

    You have the folk who demand the two up front, always two up front… harking back to 4-4-2

     

     

    Fact remains, pragmatism is currently the way to go…

     

     

    We say Wilfried never had the players at Celtic to play his formation and tactics.

     

     

    Well Beendan Rodgers didn’t have the players to play the way he wanted, the ones that performed were sold off – he had to compromise on “entertainment” to get results.

     

     

    The Battered Bunnet @ 12:26 pm,

     

     

    Excellent Post…

     

     

    Aff oot

     

     

    Hail Hail

  37. Moisey17 on

    Here my issue with the MN video. WTF is he doing on a jolly up trip with he should be at his desk, in meetings, on zoom calls and burning the midnight oil to bring in the very best possible players permanently or on loan. This should be the absolute norm for someone who “works so hard” for Celtic especially in the circumstances we are in with the league and even more so with the self confessed errors made in last window. Is it asking too much for Celtic to go the extra yard in this window – it would appear so. Let us never hear again how the exec and board are so dedicated and give it all for Celtic when it is clearly not the case.

  40. Celtic Mac on

    moisey17

     

     

    Whatever next?

     

    A Celtic supporting CEO of Celtic Football Club supporting Celtic Football Club in Bologna…..

     

     

    Dearie dearie me

  41. Burnley78 on

    Wow

     

     

    New low for Celtic and new low last night for some pond life on here who sadly somehow justify and value behaving worse than rivals you despise.

     

     

    Still the media will have their fun with it. More amo to destabilise Celtic in lead up to 2 crucial games.

  42. bognorbhoy on

    Destabilising Celtic is it , well imagine putting a man in charge and after one game , watching the disintegration of a team and thinking , let’s give him 7 more chances , sure it’ll be fine …😲

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