Celtic frittered away another two points at Kilmarnock this afternoon after a performance which ultimately showed depths of determination but was marked by shockingly bad organisation.
Kilmarnock’s opener in 25 minutes could not have been simpler. An 80 yard high ball was collected on the edge of the Celtic penalty area by Heffernan, who turned and picked out the onrushing Dean Sheils, who was initially being marked by Beram Kayal but the Israeli failed to match Sheils run, allowing the Killie player time to pick his spot and score.
The home team were encouraged by the opening goal and continued to press forward. Fraser Forster did well to turn over a blistering shot from Kelly which was destined for the top corner. Kilmarnock’s pressure was rewarded on 40 minutes when Kayal and James Forrest stood off a ball conceding possession. Sheils crossed for the offside Heffernan to score but the assistant referee didn’t flag so the goal stood.
Seconds before half time Charlie Mulgrew was short with a back pass and James Fowler chipped Forster to give Killie and three goal half time lead.
The first 28 minutes of the second half were miserable for Celtic as the team appeared resigned to a fate similar to the Celtic team which visited St Mirren Park in March 2010 but Anthony Stokes had other ideas. Stokes missed what was surely the worst chance of his career early in the first half when the scores were still level, and saw a good penalty claim denied on 71 minutes, but instead of hiding he stepped forward.
James Forrest, who also stood up to be counted throughout, ran at the Killie midfield and was fouled 25 yards out. Stokes struck the resultant free kick perfectly into the top left corner.
Two minutes later Stokes collected the ball from Ki 28 yards from goal in what seemed like a safe position but his swift turn and inch-perfect shot beat Jaakkola in the Kilmarnock goal.
Kilmarnock were now rattled and Celtic were level on 79 minutes. Daniel Majstorovic got on the end of a long free kick at the back post and squared for Charlie Mulgrew who headed home.
Having scored three times within seven minutes and with over 10 minutes of the game remaining the Celtic support had reason to feel confident their team could collect all the points but it was Kilmarnock would should have tied up the win in the final minutes when Heffernan found himself unmarked inside the Celtic six yard box but headed over, however, the home team will be happy to have collected their first point in four games.
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I cannot believe I am saying this,but after watching our defence,and seeing that we have such a small budget,maybe we should have signed Rob Jones and Sol Bamba.They can both win headers andpunt the ball the length of the field.There I said it,I must be going mad.And what about Alex Millar as defensive coach?Slan
Googybhoy-we already have a Director of Football who buys and sells players,Peter Lawwell.
67 heaven
i may be wrong, but i thought that the board were ultimately responsible for everything.
thats why they get 1 million quid bonuses etc
after all if a player isnt good enough we may blame a manger who signed him
if the manager signs too many players that werent good enough
shareholders may blame the board who appointed that manager
if we want to talk about business- thats business
bjmac says:
16 October, 2011 at 15:00
==================
A fine post Sir – brightened my day
Hail Hail
Why do we hold more trials than Glasgow Sheriff Court?
Olivier Kapo, Stipe Pletikosa, Milos Lachny, Gary O`Connor, Pascal Feindouno, Khalo Mphela and James McFadden in the last 11 months alone.
Googybhoy
It would be spun badly but who cares – we do need an old head assisting Neil. We are about to endure more weeks of off field focus when this trial starts. How often are interviews with Neil just about football? Rarely, and never consistently. WGS got a serious amount of pressure put on him but all of a football kind, the focus was always on the game. He could talk regularly about things like ‘tempo’ and controlling a game and be allowed to completely focus on that. Press conferences often started with him telling us how good training had been that week, ‘a right tight session’ being a phrase he used. WGS downfall came when his focus wasn’t fully there in year four, albeit for different reasons, but it’s a good case in point. Neil is on a learning curve which is hard enough but he keeps sliding off it altogether to go an fire fight family safety or court issues. It’s up to the Board to force the issue here, a bit of vision for once. You can’t let a guy under pressure make a decision not to allow the solution to that pressure being pursued if he doesn’t see it like that. It is a possible remedy as far as I can see, and one worth pursuing rather than a replacement.
It couldn’t be a Martin O’Neil or even WGS figure, it would be seen as undermining since they are still seen as managers in their own right, but someone like Dr Jo (too old now) but of that calibre. Trappatoni’s too busy with the Irish but you get the drift. Been there, seen it, can catapult Neil up that curve without his having to make every mistake on the book to get there.
I think if we’re looking for solutions and to plot a way forward that would be preferable to revolution in the dugout.
fan-a-tic says:
16 October, 2011 at 15:17
I don’t believe they all do, no. But we can only be responsible for our own actions not the actions of others. We can only change our own behaviour, not the behaviour of others. We can try and influence change in their performance – I believe for the players and management, we as a support can do this with out SUPPORT at games.
And of course I fully understand you being at the other side of the world means you support in a different way from me, but you still support and it is every bit as important as the support here.
Last night a poster on here changed his blog name to include “Sack Lennon”, that is not something a Celtic supporter should do IMO, irrespective whether or not that is his opinion. All I’m asking is for every Celtic fan to look at what they do, of course the players and management should be doing that as well.
hh
bjmac
Whatever happened to the spirit that saw ten bhoys dominate eleven men at Ibrox in the cup game last year?
bjmac
many correct points in there of course
i myself cheered on mikey galloway and simon donnelly all the way to a rangers 9 in a row
but i know what you are saying, but i wasnt until wee fergus came and showed a bit of ambition that we began to propsper against the horribles.
currently our ambition is apparently survival
Bawsman says:
16 October, 2011 at 15:19
I was there yesterday, part of that and mentioned it in my post, we need more of it.
I AM NOT saying we should question decisions, discuss players, disagree and argue. I’m not saying we shouldn’t question the board , DD and their decdisions.
I am saying each individual Celtic fan should look at their own contribution, we have a very young team and manager, they need us to be on top form as well.
hh
bjmac
Bjmac @15:00
Great post mate well said.
notthebus
Fair enough pal. I am speculating but it looks logical enough.
Has anyone ever actually asked Gordon Strachan or Tony Mowbray or Neil Lennon the question about who signed certain players?
Now Strachan for me undoubtedly signed Boruc and Nakamura. He watched both players and said on many occasions why he liked and wanted them.
Other players for me were not signed by the managers, they were foisted on them. Robbie Keane is the case in point and so to was Roy Keane. Tony Mowbray got a gift because Spurs asked Celtic do you want him on loan? I think we’d agree on that. Also Roy Keane always wanted to play for us and so we get him whether Gordon Strachan wanted him or not.
Now we’ve all heard the chat from various people and I don’t think people are making it all up.
Do you believe that ALL of these players were bought by the three managers? Certainly youth team products are identified and signed by people in charge of that level but it appears that many players have not been identified by the manager.
Look at the players we’ve signed in the last 5 years and tell me all of them were signed by the manager alone.
Logic dictates that with Neil lennon in Portugal watching Diawarra that was who he wanted to sign. Days later Bangura turned up and despite him being the first name we got from the press, it would be safe to say the manager was looking at someone else and Maritimo said a fee had been agreed on their website. We were told it was a work permit issue by the club and I bought that but I believe someone on here pointed out no application was made to get said work permit. Now we have Phil Macgiollabhain telling us Lenny never even saw the guy Bangura play and he was not his choice. Now the press named Bangura first. Who told them? When El Khadouri was signed it was Peter Lawwell who did the press conference not Neil Lennon. I know that might seem like no big deal but I think these things all add up.
Phil also said Neil wanted a centre half, a dependable keeper and a target man striker and didn’t get them – I think we can agree on that. Instead he got 2 bosmans, a Kenyan kid who all look like potential, a keeper who is too inexperienced and doesn’t command his box or inspire confidence and Bangura. That wasn’t good enough.
I know you think it is doing down the position of Celtic manager but if the club’s leading figures are playing at Football manager 2011 then the manager is effectively just a name on a door and who takes the team on match days and picks from a squad who are not giving their all for that manager (I think we can agree on that one too).
BJMac
Agreed but from the vantage point of my computer screen yesterday the support and some individual players were yesterdays heroes.
Like another poster said the timing of your article but not the sentiment was poor.
It was not any great tactical change that gained us a point so did the coaches do their job?
Stokes played like a supporter who cared as did Forrest,Mulgrew,Mathews and Forster.
They like the fantastic away support never gave up.
My dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. 67th Heaven @ 15.14
Pal..
Noo ye ur cookin wi Gas!
Yes, Virginia.. It is Always.. the Fault of the Players !!!
Uncommon Sense, dictates that . well.. Dictum!!
Ah hiv previously stated that AH wiz Thrilled with the Solid
Response which we goat fae the Players that we Hid oan the Park, in
yesterday’s game..
They did NO do their Usual… Imitation of a bunch of Waxwork Dummies..
They .. Rolled up their Ankle Sox.. and goat
“Stuck intae These Suckers!!”
This. again.is… as always..
In MA OPINION..
Ah believe that we witness, yesterday in Kilmarnock ,in Ayrshire…
Some kind of Miracle..
And, it Could hiv bin a Religious Experience that the Players went Thru..
Fur , Godot knows. me and Ma Pals, who where watching and Praying,all during the Hauf Time Break.. Fur Divine Intervention fur the Celticl Cause!
‘Cos, the Last Thing that Lenny Needed wiz a Catastrophic Defeat, at this time.
And.
Shazam!
Oor Fervent Prayers wur answered…
Fur the First time in almost Living Memory.. Ah said. “ALMOST”. so Ah am covered!
Celtic. Fought Back.. and
Lenny’s Bacon wiz Saved!
Yep. you are right.
It is ALWAYS UP tae the Players oan the Pitch.
And.. we hiv Much Superior Players , Skill wise.. tae Any ither Team
in the League..
It is no as If that oor Crew were Incapable .
They maist Certainly Ur.. mair than Capable ,,,of going oot and Winning
EVERY S.P.L. Game..in which we are involved.
Noo. Agin Continental Opposition?
Well. noo . Ah dinnae think that we hiv the PERSONNEL. the Noo. who could be capable of Beating Many of the Continental Teams , at this time. but..’
In , Scotland. AH say the We hiv the Players , right noo. that should be
sweeping awe before them.
And.. Sadly…
They URNAE!!
So
Like YOu say and Ah heartily agree..
Oor Troubles in Defeating Inferior Oppos. is awe doon
tae
LACK OF EFFORT by the Players that Lenny his at his Disposal
IT IS NO THE FAULT OF OOR FINE MANAGER,LENNY!
or
The Board.
All of the Above
Is MA OPINION..
Kojo
yer Pal who likes ye aloater.
fan-a-tic
Regarding Ki. When we don’t have the ball he looks to others around him to get it back. In fact, too many of our players do this.
When we have possession he rarely loses it and, contrary to what you’ve said, he has a terrific range of passing, an excellent shot with either foot and can control a game. Still young, still learning and should never be in a central two against any motivated team away from home. I’m surprised you don’t see the good qualities he has.
On Paddy, we’ll have to disagree. I’d love to think he’d be mesmeric consistently and be a regular in the team. You’re right in that he doesn’t get many chances, but sadly he does slow things down too much, allowing defenders to get back into position too easily. Great when on his game though, there are not any others like him.
RPM
tamrabam
Agree.
The club ( Peter Lawell?) is obsessed with signing midfielders and strikers, and because of the market we shop in, there are inevitable plus and minus
results.
Successive managers have had a shot at a million pound plus, CB. e.g. Loovens for WGS Hooiveld for TM.
Neil Lennon, missed the boat with a Ramis type player, – Bosman’s of Danny and Kelvin Wilson was not enough, to change our fortunes, so we suffer on, hamstrung in the rest of the back four with lightweight full backs, under orders to get forward at all costs.
Sorry to repeat, but fundamentally to rebuild the side from back to front was the requirement, sadly NL is following in TM’s footsteps, – Barca Celtic with sub standard players.
Anyone know we’re I can find the local soup kitchen?
BlantyreKev???
Anyone got a spare cardboard box? Needs to be a big one.
BlantyreKev???
Anyone goat some spare newspapers I can shove up my duke at night to keep me warm in my Cardboard box when I get one (no tabloids – id rather die of hypothermia)
BlantyreKev???
10p for a cup of tea?
BlantyreKev???
MWD
BlantyreKev says:
16 October, 2011 at 15:28
We are on the same wavelength.
Though I have not been having your dreams. Thank God.
Snake- I have posted a few times that BTM had never heard of Edson Brafied until he turned up at Lennoxtown one day,courtesy of the management duo Lawwell and Park.
Any Bhoys from the NW of England lurking.any if you going to see u19s tommorow? Hyde Town at 19.00.
Few of us are meeting up.
MWD
I gave you all the info man, 2 goals at Ibrox, I just got the ratio a bit cloudy. You know these dreams mate, the air wobbles, it’s hard to focus.
Snake.
From all available evidence, the manager has the final say on who is added to the playing squad.
He will use all the resources available to him and take advice from numerous sources, but ultimately its his choice and his responsibility.It has to be.
If Phil can can state as a matter of “fact” then he has to reveal his evidence to support his claim.Until such evidence is uncovered anything else is a conspiracy theory based on conjecture.Good fun, but ultimately without foundation.
Thats not fair on Neil Lennon.
Afternoon bhoys, hot and hun free.
Bada Bing
Unless you have substantive proof, that is just a scurilious rumour :>)
Undermining the manager like that, scandelous….
Kojo
Here’s a wee tale
Many years ago at Celtic’s training ground (Long before that new fancy one we have)
Manager X called over Player A and Player B.
Manager X asked player A – If selected what are you going to do on Saturday?
Player A replied that he would try this and that and bomb forward and support the wingers and try and get early balls in for the forwards.
Manager X then asked player B – And what about you?
Player B replied – Exactly what you tell me to do boss.
Manager X then turned to player A and said – and that is why you won’t be playing on Saturday.
That tells me the manager is quite important in this football mullarkey…
And,player B was, alledgedly…
Bjmac-
Completely agree with you. Change begins with oneself. Be an example to others. Negativity only generates more negativity. This is the only reason the atmosphere at Paradise seems to be on a downward spiral.
ZenCSC
!!Bada Bing!!
How do you know this?
Bada Bing
But do you have exact proof of this?
That seems to be the only thing that will convince some people. The way that guy played, you’d think people could well believe it.
RPMcMurphy
Ki may have a fantastic range of passing which makes it even more galling that he only passes sideways and backwards in a Celtic jersey.
His completion rate should be high as he only takes the easy option and shoulders no responsibility.
He has great ability to strike the ball with both feet which frustrates me immensely as he rarely leaves the centre circle to be in a position to use.
On rare occasion he does he is successful.Is he constrained by coaching directives?Maybe but in present form he has more negatives than positive.
On Paddy i think it’s unfair to judge given the limited opportunities Neil has given him.
He at least forces teams to defend and work to stop him .He makes forward runs forcing opponents to change team shape and creates space for team mates something Ki from his centre field vantage point never does
Snake Plissken
If you come on here making wild accusations you should expect to be challenged.
If you have no evidence, then at least make it clear its your opinion.
notthebus
“From all available evidence, the manager has the final say on who is added to the playing squad”
In that case were in a pickle, as you must admit that certain players signed in the last three seasons aren’t what we’d expect for Celtic. Looking at our “first team” squad who is? so where does the blame lie?
6 games in Serie A produced 2 goals today
What a poor league Serie A has become in the last year or two
Snake Plissken:
There are none so blind as those who won’t see mate.
Right now, I’m writing a review of Ewan McGregor’s new movie, where the people of the world start losing their senses one at a time. I think the first manifestation of that has happened on this blog, to people I thought were actually smart enough to see what we’re facing here.
I read Kojo’s latest prattlings about Phil and others “undermining Celtic” and I wonder what planet they are living on, but in the end I frankly don’t care. I hope the weather is warm there.
I care about the things I can see and hear and touch and taste mate, and when something looks and smells like bull do I have to touch it and taste it to know what it is?
When Phil talks about Rangers and there problems, people believe him. When he broke the Dallas story, people believed him. Yet here he is accussed of pursuing agendas and making up lies, and for what purpose? To damage the football club we all love?
Does that make ANY sense?
People question Neil Lennon’s judgement on players. Indeed, I’ve done it myself. I would not have spent money on Daryll Murphy, not one penny, but at least I understand that signing in the context of what Neil wanted to achieve with it. We needed a player with physical presense and Lenny saw him as the poor man’s Chris Sutton … fair enough.
When the manager goes on television and announces that we want a goalkeeper, and names the player, and we don’t get him … questions must be asked about why. You want to question the decision to sign Fraser Forster, you start with whether or not he was the manager’s first choice. We know he was not. How? Because the manager identified two other keepers publicly.
You want to know why no central defender was signed aside from Wilson? Don’t blame the manager. He knew we needed one as much as we do, and said so publicly.
We needed a target man. The manager knew that and identified not one but several candidates for the role. Did any of them sign? Indeed, he went to Portugal to watch one, and the player’s club announced that the deal was as good as done, yet he never signed.
We ended up instead with a player who is NOT a target man, and the papers were filled with stories about how he was recommended by Larsson … yet no comment from Larsson has ever been printed which confirms that. Lennon talks about the club watching the guy – the club, not him – and there are rumours of us watching various players with the same name, and a persistent one that we “signed the wrong guy.” I don’t believe that, but it does not matter.
What DOES matter is he was not the TYPE of player Neil Lennon said we needed to sign, and that position is unfilled.
Who fills the number 7 shirt? Lennon has deliberately never given that jersey to a player, but it’s not because he didn’t identify players who could. Bellamy and Keane were amongst two who he clearly had in mind for the talismanic shirt.
Is this Neil Lennon’s team? The one he wanted? The players he identified? The holes we can see in the squad are not ones to which the manager is oblivious. He has PERSONALLY identified those areas of the team as the ones where strengthening was, and is, needed.
I had to laugh at Lawwell the other day at the AGM saying we would try and bring in experience to help the young players, as if the idea had just dawned on him.
Neil Lennon has been saying the SAME THING for over a year. Why hasn’t it been done?
I am thoroughly sick of all this. There is a mountain of evidence pointing towards signing policy being dictated by people above Lennon, and that is unacceptable in every way. If the manager does not run every aspect of the team he is a puppet on a string, and that would be a disgrace even if that manager were not a man who put his very life on the line out of loyalty to this club.
Defend these people and you are wrapping the noose around our managers neck, because they who have not supported him will not hesitate to sacrfice him if it all goes wrong.
G’day Celts que pasa amigos?
Kojo at about 15:00…… I hear ye but to stay silent on this won’t help to fix the problem, sticking yir head in the sand doesn’t work, a failed strategy and our manager undermined, changes at the top required IMO.
V
HH
some of the sceptics on here when it comes to the failings of our custodians will quote the demise of the orcs
and we should be grateful to have the men we have, were has a lot of the ongoings at ibrox been uncovered and by whom?
phil mac of course and he gets quoted a lot by those same board clappers as proof of this, well when the same guy expresses strong
concerns [and he states he knows for a fact]of players being brought in who the manager did not ask for then surely we have got to take this on board as a real possibility of being true, if we totally dismiss it then we would be as guilty as the orcs we mock for having their heads buried in the sand,
and as for naming his source of these allegations might it be possible he believes in protecting his source, just a thought.
Mick
The unpalatable answer to your question is Neil Lennon.
He has failed to deliver the right players to build a balanced squad. The fact that Celtic football club, for the first time in their history don’t “own” a first team goalkeeper is an embaressment.
We have a bloated squad of highly paid under achievers.
The manager has to take 100% responsibility
James Forrest is Lennon
James
Can you clarify please, you say
” There is a mountain of evidence pointing towards signing policy being dictated by people above Lennon”, you then say “If the manager does not run every aspect of the team he is a puppet on a string”
So are you saying Neil Lennon is a “puppet on a string”?
Jeezo, now it’s all Lenny fault, sad, sad, sad.
not the bus,
Neil Lennon isn`t to blame for the goalkeeper situation at Celtic.
Neil inherited Zaluska and played him at the start of 2010/11. It was obvious that Neil did rate Zaluska after his performances in Braga and Utrecht, hence Fraser Forster being handed the goalkeeper jersey at Motherwell immediately after the Utrecht away game.
Neil Lennon took steps to source a permanent goalkeeper this summer but for whatever reason no permanent keeper was signed. Given that Neil was publicly quoted expressing interest in Sandomierski and Shay Given, I am absolutely certain that it was not Neil`s choice to revert to Fraser Forster on loan again this season.