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.
Read issue 3 of CQN Magazine free online here or buy a print version at Magcloud.
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Below are extracts from an article in today’s Sunday Post. One wonders why our previous Chairman Dr John Reid has waited until he left his post before attacking the proposed legislation outright. He also defends Neil Lennon which is commendable, but one has to question why he was not so forthright when in office?
I have waited in vain for this sort of leadership from him and from Peter Lawwell on these issues and the outrageous comments of the Justice Minister Kenny McAskill and police chief Campbell Corrigan following the CIS Cup Final.
Celtic were silent on the mass choir of bigots then. Silent about those who in their thousands told us to go home to Ireland as the famine was over and how they wished to wade knee deep in our blood.
Funny how the same Reid and Lawwell who were silent on this are quick to go public about the tiny minority of clowns in our support who chant for PIRA.
Sunday Post:-
JOHN REID has slammed the proposed Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Bill.
Celtic and Rangers supporters have joined forces in recent weeks to protest what they see as a draconian assault on free speech.
Reid, while not opposed to the stated aim of wiping out sectarianism, has grave concerns over how the Scottish Government intend to achieve it.
He said, “You need to be careful about encroaching upon freedom of speech, because you will inevitably come into contact with the European Convention on Human Rights.”
“What Neil Lennon went through no football manager should have to go through. No citizen should have to go through that.”
Reid rebuffed suggestions that Lennon’s character or pitch-side persona in some way drew an adverse reaction from his abusers.
He added, “The one thing that annoyed me during it all was some of the commentators — the imputation that somehow Neil Lennon brought it on himself.
“I had a very simple answer to that — why did it happen to Paul McBride? Why did it happen to Niall McGinn? Why did it happen to Paddy McCourt?
“It wasn’t because of what they did. It’s because of what they are — because they are Celtic affiliated Roman Catholics of Irish extraction.
“That is the truth of the matter and I think we have to face up to that.”
notthebus
Thank you for that reasoned response,that’s exactly my thinking as well, that opens another argument as to why were signing the wrong type on players for the spl?
We apparently signed Bangura for £2 million (if that’s the case) speculation again that Neil hadn’t seen him in the flesh. With out meagre budget we MUST sign the correct players. IMO Bangura looks money wasted time will tell.
If there were any players that Neil didn’t sign, I’d hope Neil wouldn’t play then on principal.
Just really frustrated as other are at what’s going on just now.
nothebus,
Fair play pal, can i ask you a question, do you believe Neil sanctioned all the signings that have been made, and do you have evidence to prove it?
Probably not i suspect, but that dosent mean its not true, its the same with rumours pal, jsut because there is no hard evidence it dosent make them lies.
Hail Hail
gebhoy
From a coach who left last year, and probably still should be there.
danso_1888:
What you say mate is 100% right. There are people here who it never even dawned on to wonder if Phil was right. The story is one they don’t want to hear, the idea one they don’t even want to think about as it would mess with their karma and might even mean they have to do more than just turn up on a Saturday.
I think we have to STRONGLY consider the story as credible. Phil has rarely been wrong on this stuff. His sources are first-rate. If they were the first such stories we’ve heard, furthermore, then there would be cause to take them with a pinch of salt, but these stories go back to Gordon’s time at the helm.
Some of us remember Massimo Donati being talked up at a press conference after a wonderful performance in Europe, and a week later that player being sold. Some of us remember Kenny Miller telling the media it was Lawwell who told him he was not guarenteed a jersey despite being on the best form of his Celtic career at the time, and public statements by the manager that he was a first pick.
How quickly we forget. Exactly what I feared in the moment we scored the equaliser yesterday has come to pass, and I suppose it was inevitible in light of what happened at Ibrox. History is being re-written. The very real sense yesterday at half time that we were standing right on the edge of the abyss has been completely relagated to the backs of many minds, and today we’re here as if it never happened, as if we didn’t escape a calamity by the skin of our teeth.
Absolutely staggering.
James F you nailed it with that post sir, good on ye!
Ps I sense a great anger in you? If I’m right then take it easy James we’ll be back, I haven’t written off this season yet as there’s a long way to go and hopefully things can only get better.
V
HH
notthebus says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:01
i agree
HH
donegalbhoy67
Shay Given had long talks with management while Celtic were in Ireland,He’d love to have signed..money talks.
not the bus
the current manager only signed a fraction of the current bloated squad
the rest were signed by wgs and btm
for various reasons we cant unload many of these guys
basically because they came with “potential” and didnt live up to that
IMO we need a few genuine quality players and we need tp off load much of the medicrity has has arrived at the club and dont sign any more of them (easier said than done i suppose)
giving sami another deal was a mistake IMO though and i think that signing faddy could be another
to many players stop us from signing just enough quality players, thats the bottom line. we cant pay 30 players and expect quality, we can pay 18 quality players and use the youth squad as and when needed, this might just chance our fortunes. and all the great managers will tell you its players that win not managers, the most successful managers are the ones that recognise the weak links and change asap.
so when zaluska, brown, o’dea, looven, cha, dan, wilson, foster’s contract are up, and if we can move on hooviel, mccourt, mcginn, sammy, jaurez, murphy etc… just bring in 4 players, all experience first team player, no squad players, 1 goalie, 2 centre backs, 1 striker.
20 million spend will transform celtic and her fans will be up for it. if it was up to me i would sell ki to the highest bidder to bring in quality midfielder with a bit more dig to partner ledley. i.e. every penny brought in spent on top of 20 million and the placed would be rocking.
notthebus
What makes you so sure that the manager does have the final say?
The evidence to the contrary may be something you cannot physically hold down but too many things don’t add up.
How many times has Peter Lawwell pulled the plug on deals for players?
Gabriel Tamas who the manager wanted.
Sean St Ledger who the manager wanted.
Ivan Ramis who was almost a done deal.
Husseklepp
Sandomierski who Neil apparently wanted or why speak to them?
What happened with Pletikosa? Was that down to Neil or money? Not sure myself.
How many more do we know of?
Now we know for a fact that deals were being set up for each of these players and then they were pulled and usually because of money and stories of goalposts being moved by clubs or agents. Now you look at it 2 ways – either this is good business or it is another way of undermining the manager.
Do you think we’d have been stronger with these players or not?
At the same time other players turn up on loans or big deals and then vanish – Juarez, Rasmussen, Hooiveld, Braafheid and many others. Now either that is down to poor management which is entirely possible or players are being foisted onto the manager who he then doesn’t fancy and sends to siberia. Now this can happen to any manager at any club but it happens to Celtic FAR too often.
Do you believe Neil Lennon wanted Daryl Murphy? It seems to be common knowledge that that was a deal done by other people.
The point is many people now believe the manager has been let down. That is not the same as doing him a dis-service.
googybhoy says:
16 October, 2011 at 15:13
Time for.a post of Director of Football. Responsible for the football operations at CP. Buying and selling players with the team manager.
Approves the employment of coaches.
Aiming to keep continuity in coaching staff below the manager. That way if the manager leaves the rest of the coaching staff stay.
If Lenny can work with such a position. Why not he works with.similar or greater input from PL.
I am sure PL would welcome a buffer from critism.
Must be a football man.
Possibilities Roy Aitken, Trappatoni, Niall Quinn.
=================
I very much favour this approach if only to make it clear where different lines of responsibility lie. I’ve mentioned before that we should hire a football man of somes status with a brief that says watch Celtic play Scottish opposition over one match cycle. Watch Scottish teams perform v each other on DVD.
Produce a report that sets out what formation best suits or game with fall back formations.
Identify the key positions to make such formations work. weight each position and indicate those that provide most value.
Present recommendations to Celtic Football and Finance Management.
Get agreement on what is desireable and a fall back position.
Work out coaching skills and other roles required to make it work.
Start recruiting players and coaches to the agreed template where shortfalls identified.
Coaches must work to the system not the system to coaches.
Do it again after a solid team created but with Europe as the backstage not Scotland.
Instal a system and make personnel work to it rather than have the system a hostage to humanh foibles which will always be there but minimise their impact.
Vmhan who Supports Neil Lennon says:
I am angry mate. I am furious. I am furious that a man who has given so much to our club can be treated by those above him as nothing more than a human shield to deflect from their own lack of a clue as to where we go or how to get there if they did.
I said when the window was still open that if Lenny was not backed properly that some of the people at our club would never be forgiven or forgotten for it.
He is being left twisting in the wind. It appalls me. There are people inside our club who might demolish this guy’s spirit in a way the bombers and the bullet-senders never managed and it makes me sick – it makes me physically sick – that some are defending it in the name of the “strategy.”
danso_1888 says:
16 October, 2011 at 15:09
That’s quite an assumption on your part.
53
steph bhoy
stop it
youre sounding like a man who has an ambition for growth and to stop a 8 year decline
thinking like that wont get you anywhere on here you know
The happy clappers dont see that a 15 million quid spend a few years ago would likely have resulted in a 15 million quid CL payback and instead claim zero debt is an achievement
zero debt is only an achievement when we have achieved something
zero debt while being second in a 2 horse race is not so difficult IMO
dont you know its all about survival in the current climate until the huns mysteriously go out of existence and we get into the EPL?
gebhoy is the taxmans tick tocking clock, tick…tock
Yes I do think Neil sanctioned every move.There is not a shred of evidence to suggest he doesnt and to coin a phrase “a mountain of evidence ” to suggest he does
A rumour, by its very nature is ,unverified. Rumour’s becomes fact when it is verified.
My dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. Notthebus @ 15.48
Pal.. Ah am impressed by your Logic.. in the Matter of
When is a Fact…a.. well.. A “FACT”.
Actually, If Ah Say or IMPLY..that Such and Such is a Fact.. then..
Who kin really challenge me,oan this ?
Oh…they kin soitenly Challenge Ma Statement..
But.
That wullnae change the Fact that Ah hiv Said or IMPLIED… that whit Ah stated
is. a .. “FACT”.
in other woids.
Naebuddy, but the actual folks who are involved in the Matter ..wid
actually.. Know, whether, the Fact, that Ah quoted or IMPLIED as quoted.. is indeed . a “FACT”
One Person’s word is a good as Anybuddy else’s, in this kinda situation.
Even. the Illustrious. Mr. Phil’s…woid!!!
Ah canny tell ye if Phil is Consciously Lying or No ,in this Matter..
he may simply have false intel oan this.
All Ah know is the Ah kin tell ye right Noo
That AH KNOW…
FUR A FACT..
That… NEIL IS THE MAN IN CHARGE of Which Player Comes into and Which PLayer Goes Oot of the Club. and Who is tae be OFFERED A NEW CONTRACT..or WHO IS NO TAE BE OFFERED A NEW CONTRACT.
If ye dinnae Believe me.
Well. that is Up tae You ..or anybuddy else oot there in Blogoland.
Kojo
yer pal. who likes ye aloater
BJMAC 1500
You are preaching to the converted with me,admittedly,but that is a crackin’ post.
Only problem is that the unconverted will probably remain so,as they canot see that they are doing any wrong.
I’ll be at the game on the 29th,and again for Rennes,and I think it may be a rather fraught experience once again as I tell certain peepil they appear to be in the wrong end.
I pity my ould Dad who has to put up wi these numpties all the time,while I’m happily esconced in Swindon.
stephbhoy says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:13
I think that is likely to happen, the “deadweight” needs to be offloaded first and players on good contracts (too good contracts?) for their level of ability do not want to move on.
The other problem of course is that players demand more than their value whatever level they are capable of performing at and a wee premium might need to be added to get real experience. When I was watching MotD last night I noticed one or two players now playing with mid table teams that not long ago were experienced high flyers and I wonder just how out of reach they might be.
Snake Plissken
Your post once again is full of conjecture.I do not have an issue with that, in fact we are all here to voice our own opinions on all things Celtic .That’s what its all about.
But,I have an issue with posters claiming as “fact” that Neil Lennon is being undermined in team selection.
It muddies the waters and detracts from focusing on the real issues we have at our club.
notthebus says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:19,
Again you are entitled to your opinion, i certainly disagree with it, there is too much circumstantial evidence which suggests he didnt sanction every buy.
but more power to you fighting your corner!
gebhoy
James Forrest is Lennon,
i am on record as not having given a penny towards celtic plc since gordons last season incharge
for me the writing has been on the wall since before that but i still contributed, but the kenny miller incident you refer to was my final
aceptence of what was happening, and i made my decision of which some not very many though have accused me of contributing
to the downsizing because i wont invest, to which i replied thats not true because the strategy had been embarked on before i decided on my action,
now i have not had a go at at peole that still invest in the club buy whatever means that they do it, that is their decision and i accept that,but i have made my decision because i believe its the only way i can protest of my feeling that we are being badly managed from the top which eventually works its way down and through out the club.
I have to laugh at these claims that Fraser Forster doesn’t inspire confidence in the defence. He’s been pulling off great saves all season.
The Celtic defence through individual mistakes have cost us about 90% of the goals we have conceded this season. How many goals can you blame big Fraser for losing?
Have any of big Fraser’s critics considered he may have no confidence in the defence or is that so obvious you can’t see it?
Kojo
Well said
FACT!
James Forrest is Lennon says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:17
Did you say anything at the AGM you attended? Surely this is an opportunity to raise some of the points you mention, you may have found you would’ve got some support, certainly from the numbers present.
What do you propose we do as a support? I think we all want Lenny to be successful.
hh
bjmac
hh
bjmac
Steinreignedsupreme says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:27
Great point by the way, i am certainly not fraser’s biggest fan, but he has been outstanding in some games and he had another top class save yesterday. He may be weak for cross balls but he has been very consistent so far this season.
By no means the finished article but certainly dosent deserve the pelters he takes on a weekly basis.
gebhoy
gebhoy is the taxmans tick tocking clock, tick…tock
Ahh but you never get a conviction on circumstantial evidence!!
Thanks and i respect your civilised manner
James Forrest
I don’t think it matters as much as some, that Celtic managed to gain a point from 3-0 HT, against SPL plodders.
Not one single bit does it matter (in the big picture ), we merely moved a few inches back from the abyss. It’s how we got there, and get
away from it again, that matters.
Besides, 4-3 Killie, wouldn’t have flattered Kilmarnock, we shouldn’t be where we are today and NL’s alleged Al Pacino speech at
half time, should never be necessary.
Neil Lennon was given a job, it’s never for life and we’ve paid our money till May, what rankles are the same mistakes in team selection
and format, even with the players he’s assembled.
notthebus,
It is easy to draw a line under the rumours and such, all it requires is Neil to come out and say, “Yes i bought all these players and sanctioned their signings”.
I dont think you will ever here a statement like that being said any time soon.
hail Hail
gebhoy
notthebus:
Don’t confuse proof of absence with absence of proof.
There is a mountain of evidence, but as with the Warren Commission report it’s scattered, disjointed, difficult to understand without context. And there’s something else, the nature of the football world, the nature of life in this country in fact and the unspoken truth that Scotland is too small for secrets.
Some of those rumours are such only because the have never been publicly acknowledged as more. We have all heard stories from people we regard as solid sources that there are things going on which are not in the news, but which nonetheless are being discussed far and wide.
I agree, it is often hard to sift the half-truths from the lies, and the facts from the fiction, but over time you get a sense of which is which. For example, I got a text message in the pub on the night the Dallas story broke, shortly before it did, and I knew by instinct that story was true. It seemed so left-field, the kind of thing that either had some basis in fact or was the product of a febrile imagination so good he or she would have already made a living writing for television. And it seemed in line with other things I’d heard over time, where the sources seemed sure.
I am not going to repeat rumours on this site. But there are many of them out there. People are talking, and stories are circulating. Some are obvious lies. Others … you hear two versions which sound different enough that they aren’t varients of the same rumour, and similar enough that you mentally tick a box in your head and say “Yeah … there’s more going on than meets the eye …”
A man may say something in public and something else in private, to people he thinks are off-the-record. And although stuff doesn’t make the papers, those people do talk, and things get around.
It happens. It is happening. Absence of proof is not proof of absence.
James Forrest
The weather is alright over here but it is much cooler than before. There are some folk who don’t like bad news.
It really is time now for tough love.
As far as I am concerned Lawwell runs Celtic and has control over too many areas of the club and none more so than the playing staff.
He sold Kenny Miller as you say. When Miller came back to haunt us he made the comment “not bad for a 5th choice Celtic striker”. Who called Miller that? It wasn’t the manager. Who sold the player? The manager wanted him and Lawwell wanted the balance sheet balanced. We spent 3 million that summer, we made 3 million that summer. It was not so noticeable because Miller was poor in a Celtic shirt on too many occasions but he came back to bite us on the backside too many times for a player with his inability and why did he do it? Because of the way he was treated.
One poster said that in a conversation with Stephen McManus he told him “Lawwell runs the club”.
Jackie McNamara was treated disgracefully when he left us and that wasn’t Gordon Strachan’s fault.
Lawwell has pulled out of many deals for players the manager has wanted be it Strachan, Mowbray or Lennon.
Lawwell was gloating in the press when we beat Rangers for Loovens.
He did the same with Commons – stepped in and took him from under their noses with or without Lenny’s approval.
If I had the chance I’d ask Tony Mowbray if he wanted Ki or not.
How much more do people need?
MWD re yir soup kitchen, when wee Deeryghirl wins the lottery it’s the 1st thing she’d do with the money, yir invited :>)
V
HH
One thing we should forget as a support and it hardly ever gets a mention, is the number of injuries we have had this season, and to crucial players, we shouldnt underestimate the impact these injuries have had on the current malaise.
But that shouldnt take away from all the other problems we currently have.
gebhoy
I’m Neil Lennon (tamrabam) says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:19
i know what you mean, think pepole forget that we managed to pay 30 million back over a 6/ 7 year period so whats the diff now, i reckon a big spend would galvanise a support and the money would be returned 10 fold
My dear,dear,dear,dear,friend.. Ghebhoy @ 16.25
Pal. noo ye are getting intae anither Tangle of Unsubstantiation..
when ye bring in..
“CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE”
Noo. Exactly… Whit Circumstantial Evidence are ye talkin aboot?
Ah suppose that ye are Making the Point that..
If a New Player is Patently.. not a Good Choice..
then
Obviously, that Choice .
Could Not have Possibly Have bin made By the Manager???
or…
If the New Player, turns oot the Be .. a Fine and Outstanding Choice..
Then..
Obviously. that Choice Must have bin the Manager’s?
Hmmmmmmmm
Sounds Great tae Me..
Yep…
That Circumstantial Stuff..is the Pips!
Kojo
yer pal..who likes ye aloater.
danso_1888 says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:26
Well done! I hope you’re proud, you plank. I’m glad you don’t go, one less negative voice. What kind of supporter boasts about their non-support of the club they purpose they support. Even huns don’t boast about it they do it, but then deny it.
If every fan decided to do what you done, we wouldn’t have a club.
Please continue your “stance” but don’t celebrate our victories as a supporter.
Hunbelievable!!!
James
You may have missed my earlier post (below), i am most interested in your answer
notthebus says:
16 October, 2011 at 16:06
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 based on the above are you saying Neil Lennon is a “puppet on a string”?
Danso
We are Celtic observers, faithful through & through, over & over we’ll observe you (froma distance and without paying a penny)
A really unbelievable post.
anyone know Danso the Celtic observing clown, sounds like a hun to me, they observe Celtic as well.