Last season’s Celtic edge over the line

1112

Shortly after Elfsborg cracked one against the crossbar last night I quickly scanned the Celtic team and had a thought.  For the second season in a row we are taking on the Swedish champions but we’re missing two of last season’s big performers and none of this season’s new signings were ready for action.  In short, this was Celtic 2012 minus Wanyama and Hooper. No wonder we looked unstructured.

Joe Ledley brought some vision to central midfield when he arrived, hopefully banishing the Brown-Kayal partnership to hidden corners of our mind once and for all.  Anthony Stokes playing at the front of a wide diamond was equally effective.  With the signing of Amido Balde, bids in for Kevin Doyle, and the addition of a wide-delivery-expert Derk Boerrigter, clearly Neil Lennon has a different plan for the months to come….. so there’s no real need for me to state the obvious.

Defensively we looked solid after a shaky opening few minutes.  I’m not the only one who was a bit nervous about Efe Ambrose after he was (again) caught underneath a long ball, but he settled quickly.  As we know to our cost, being great for 87 minutes is not how Champions League reputations are made, you are judged on your how vulnerable you become in your weak moments.

I said yesterday that Samaras and Commons were the two players who could cope at this level, which became plainly obvious during the game.  Georgios was the one player who frightened Elfsborg, they either swamped him with four defenders or fouled him before he got near goal.

Kris is simply the most intelligent footballer we have.  He is not the fastest, will never have the best stats, but he understands how games are won and is able to act accordingly.  Without these two players Celtic would be distinctly vanilla.

Thanks to those who sent over their 1254125 Great Scottish Run details, I’ll have them on the page later.
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1,112 Comments

  1. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    SUMMA

     

     

    Good man,you’ll get your reward in Heaven-as the saying goes.

     

     

    Mind,I reckon we’ve also converted you-unless I picked you up on a forth coming first occasion!

     

     

    Anyway,I lied-my kid sister is the most rabid Celtic fan I know! I’m very proud of her…..

  2. The Boy Jinky on

    Bmcuw

     

     

    Im.not knocking any females about …. thats unfair even to zombettes :(

     

     

    Im ok… apart from being awake 2hrs before I need to get up

     

     

    Been to golf lounge.. im not a swinger so I didn’t rate it

  3. Good Morning to all.

     

     

    Summa of Sammi

     

     

    Still 20 percent chances for Celtic against my Legia. Legia Warsaw is the only club in Europe who has woman Manager of the team, not the coach but manager. She is I think 30 years old blond woman. During the games on the bench or in technical area.

  4. .

     

     

    Zbyszek

     

    05:21 on

     

    2 August, 2013

     

    Good Morning to all.

     

     

    Summa of Sammi

     

     

    Still 20 percent chances for Celtic against my Legia. Legia Warsaw is the only club in Europe who has woman Manager of the team, not the coach but manager. She is I think 30 years old blond woman. During the games on the bench or in technical area.

     

     

    ..

     

     

    Zbyszek..

     

     

    Hope you are Good..

     

     

    Well as Prince Charles says..You learn something New every Day..

     

     

    Ps..Do You want to Draw Celtic..?

     

     

    If You do l reckon You might have a Few ‘Visitors’..Ha

     

     

    001Bhoy

  5. The Boy Jinky on

    Summa

     

     

    Just read the story about the castlemilk guy getting clinked in goa. If thats what fort aguada prison is like inside. Im glad im only taking pics from the Arabian sea

     

    I got stopped on my honda one day near panjim.. cop was angling for a pay off.. I was 100% legal and driving carefully while the families drove past on one bike with a fridge on their heads .

     

    I was very polite and offered to come to the station to discuss his attitude. He waved me on my way

  6. The Boy Jinky on

    Summa

     

     

    Given your earlier post about the swedish physios… im glad to see the word ” square” in your post about your neighbour loving the square sausage ;)

  7. BMCUW –

     

     

    They built the house, not just without planning permission, but without even applying for planning permission.

     

     

    Why? Obviously because they knew they would not get planning permission.

     

     

    So they decided that the rules are for everyone else, but not for them.

     

     

    No sympathy.

  8. Celtic is last, Basel second last Legia supporters want to draw. I would like to meet friends but not sure if I want to see one or the other team kicked out before CL group stage.

     

    Re. Marta from Legia.

     

    Many wise women who love football and their teams.

     

    I mean:

     

     

    MINX1888 for Manager of Celtic FC!!!

  9. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    THE BOY JINKY 0520

     

     

    With,I wrote with!!!!!!

     

     

    But you’ve given it a good write-up!

  10. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    SUMMA

     

     

    Yer nobody’s fool,for sure…..

     

     

    Good luck,bud!

  11. Summa –

     

     

    My lady is in Melbourne on business this week, returning tonight.

     

     

    I was speaking to her on the phone last night and she was talking about the function she was at, which was a get-together of the various corporate executives and such like. What really impressed me was that the event was officially known as the ‘annual Huddle’.

  12. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    TOM McLAUGHLIN

     

     

    You have no romance in your soul.

     

     

    Repent,and write a letter of protest at this draconian decision!

  13. BMCUW –

     

     

    I just don’t like people who don’t believe they need to abide by the same rules as the rest of us.

     

     

    A certain deid football club convinced me of that.

  14. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    TOM McLAUGHLIN

     

     

    You know the theory about how long it will take in any given discussion for the nazi comparison to be used?

     

     

    I’m getting déjà-vu here….

     

     

    Mind,it WAS a very tenuous comparison.

  15. .

     

     

    The Boy Jinky

     

    05:35 on

     

    2 August, 2013

     

    Summa

     

     

    Given your earlier post about the swedish physios… im glad to see the word ” square” in your post about your neighbour loving the square sausage ;)

     

     

    ..

     

     

    Funny enough Jinks..I Kenned it would be You Who Picked that Up..

     

     

    Summa of SqwerSliceCSC

  16. The Boy Jinky on

    Mr Z

     

     

    I think minx is manager of CQN :)

     

     

    As I typed that I realised it was an error … think it has to be manageress … However that confuses me in the pc language criteria . All this chairwoman …. bus conductress …. zombette nonsense ;)

  17. The Boy Jinky on

    Summa

     

     

    BTW

     

     

    You have just put the notion of buchanans of burnbanks finest square slice into my head. Reckon I might be driving home that way later today.

     

     

    I have a meeting in bellshill next week … every time I drive down the North Rd I always remember going to your wee aunties day … that musta been 5 years ago

  18. The reason Jock Stein was never granted a seat on the Celtic board was nothing to do with his religious background, contrary to what our many detractors would have us believe.

     

     

    At the time, Celtic shares were owned by a handful of families. The shares were kept within those families through being passed on through generations. Only shareholders held a seat on the board.

     

     

    Jock Stein was not connected to any of those families. Nor were Billy McNeill or Patsy Gallagher or Sean Fallon or any great Celtic you can think of.

     

     

    The reason there were no Protestants on the board throughout our early history was simply because these were Catholic families.

     

     

    I am not saying it was right or wrong. I am just saying it’s the way it was.

     

     

    It’s a bit like saying, why can’t Ally McCoist become Queen of England?

  19. .

     

     

    Funny enough l Mentioned Yesterday..

     

     

    Why Oh Why.. do some Celtic Fans want Celtic employees to Act like Rangers Managers..:-)

     

     

    ..

     

     

     

    Craig Mather Statement

     

     

    RANGERS Football Club notes today’s verdict by the Disciplinary Tribunal who ruled that Hearts cannot register any players over the age of 21 between now and February 1, 2014.

     

     

    We also recall that Dunfermline were given a similar sanction in May.

     

    But in particular, Rangers are aware of the glaring differences in the sanctions imposed on three clubs who entered administration.

     

    Our club, Rangers, was hit with a £50,000 fine and given a 12 month registration embargo.

     

    While no-one at this Club wishes to see others fall on hard times, questions must be asked about these anomalies and we fully understand the rising anger among our fans.

     

    They are entitled to think there is one rule for our club and another for everyone else.

     

    We will be seeking clarification for our fans.

     

     

    ..

     

     

    Why Not..Just do it..

     

     

    Then Shout from the Rooftops..

     

     

    Summa

  20. .

     

     

    Tom McLaughlin

     

    06:09 on

     

     

    Is that Not like Saying Rangers Never signed Catholics Players because they were Not from Protestant Families..;-)

     

     

    Summa

  21. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    TOM McLAUGHLIN

     

     

    Gosh,old Bhoy,that was just a tad holier-than-thou,and sanctimonious.

     

     

    Belittling Jock Stein had passed from being an ambition to being a daily event for Desmond White.

     

     

    He took great pleasure in his final humiliation of Jock Stein.

  22. Summa –

     

     

    No, because the over-riding rule was that you couldn’t take a seat on the board unless you were a shareholder and you couldn’t be a shareholder unless you were in the family and had shares passed down to you.

     

     

    As I said, I make no judgement on the rights or wrongs.

  23. Manageress ? Strange.

     

    We use word manager in Polish in relation for the men and the woman. Does not manager word come from Latin manu agere and has nothing to do with sex?

  24. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon..!!.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    Summa

     

     

    No ….. More to do with shares held

  25. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    ZBYSZEK

     

     

    The English language does not have masculine and feminine nouns in the same way that most languages do.

     

     

    Except in terms of occupation.

     

     

    Maybe,going back to earlier posts,we are simply born sexist.

     

     

    So no blame attached re the Swedish physios………

  26. The Boy Jinky on

    Mr Z

     

     

    As you know. . The English language is very difficult. .. even when its your native tongue.

     

     

    Too much of this pc stuff …. I always hold the door open for anyone behind me … one lady complained I was being sexist :(

  27. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    Zbyszek

     

    06:27 on

     

    2 August, 2013

     

     

    Your derivation for manager sounds logical.

     

    By way of comparison,there were feminist objection to the word chairman which now is often now referred to as “chairperson.”

     

    This in spite of the fact that the ” man ” in chairman derives from the Latin “manus” {hand}

     

     

    Viz “manual labour”

     

    Cheers,pal.

  28. The Boy Jinky on

    BMCUW

     

     

    When the ghirl won the half time draw I think she was in tears. … thought it was cos she hadnt got the same insults as the swedes :)

  29. A Stor Mo Chroi on

    I can name a board member back then who had no shares, actually he was more than a board member.

  30. BOBBY MURDOCH'S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on

    TOM McLAUGHLIN

     

     

    PMSL,as these young tyros would say!

     

     

    In my defence,I was showing off my good spelling.

     

     

    I remember Jock’s last season very well-effin disaster!

     

     

    Having lost the likes of Davie Hay,Stevie Murray,George Connelly by the time he returned from his injuries,he lost Kenny Dalglish and Danny McGrain-injury-in quick succession

     

     

    Then the injuries started. Biggest loss probably Pat Stanton.

     

     

    Signing a Juniors player on Monday and playing him on Saturday as we lost 4-1 at Hibs-btw,I liked Mike Conroy big time!

     

     

    Jee-zoh,that was a hard season. But I think Jock would have turned it round.

     

     

    Then we’d have been robbed of the 4-2 gemme,I suppose…..

     

     

    Still no reason to treat him so shabbily. I lost all respect for the board then.

     

     

    Maybe not,cos they made a lot of decisions after that which caused a similar reaction,if not on the same scale.

     

     

    Bye,hope swapping semantics isnae playing havoc wi yer ticker.

     

     

    How’s the health?

  31. .

     

     

    Zbyszek

     

    06:27 on

     

    2 August, 2013

     

    Manageress ? Strange.

     

    We use word manager in Polish in relation for the men and the woman. Does not manager word come from Latin manu agere and has nothing to do with sex?

     

     

    ..

     

     

    Since we are All PC Today..

     

     

    l blame Scottish Schools..;-)

     

     

    Although many Actresses call themselves Actors..

     

     

    Oh..I Give Up..Ha

     

     

    Summa