These games all seem simple the morning after they are completed, but that only happens if the hard work is out on.
Sarajevo did enough to take the lead last night, lesser teams than Celtic would have stuttered, but that proved to be what the instigator needed.
Neil Lennon now has the luxury of using next week’s home leg to sharpen fitness where necessary, and perhaps to give one or two their first Celtic Park experience.
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BIG WAVY on 10TH JULY 2019 12:52 PM
Thanks for the breakdown in James Forrest stats. They don’t lie.
One of the other big factors in JFs favour is his ability (at times) to play at a very high level against some of the Worlds best players (e.g. the Bayern Munich game a couple of years ago).
In the past we have had players who are excellent at SPFL / European qualifier level but can’t step up to group stage level (particularly CL group stage). I would put Stokes/ Commons/ Rogic and maybe even Griffiths in this category. Mostly this is to do with deficiencies in the physical side of things (speed, stamina or strength).
It’s actually one of the most satisfying things when you look at our 4 first team academy grads (Forrest, Tierney, McGregor and Johnstone). They are not lacking in either the football or physical side of things.
SYDNEYTIM on 10TH JULY 2019 12:04 PM
Clink. As said before. Last Season was poor no standout players Only his ten weeks of purple patch stood out. Calmac would have won but was injured too Mitch
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Injured so much he played 59 games for Celtic and another 8 or so for Scotland. Forrest is a standout player, often up against 2 or 3 players whilst provided with little or no support from the the right back area, and without him we wouldn’t have won the title last year. Anyone who states they would rather have Arzani or Shved when we have seen hee haw from them immediately loses any credibility on all football related matters and should be treated with the contempt they deserve.
*ps did my eyes deceive me or was it Forrest with the assist for crucial 2nd goal last night?????
JF’s stats look even better when you consider he is double teamed against every side we play and for a couple of years now he hasn’t had an overlapping full back to take a man with him
As Jock Stein told Jinky when he complained about being double and triple teamed it means there’s more space elsewhere. Last night showed that.
Good after match interviews and unique camera work on the goals on the Celtic youtube site
https://www.youtube.com/user/celticfc
REGGIE on 10TH JULY 2019 1:45 PM
Beat me to it
Breeny 1.08 pm
Ok I will bite .
“ no work rate “
Do you go to the games ?
Have you ever played fitba ?
“ just fortunate he plays in a winning team therefore he gets opportunities “
Ffs . Seriously ?
One example. The Aberdeen semi final.
Top class goal . He created the opportunity, he delivered the top class strike . Nothing fortunate about it .
I’m trying to be kind here , but are the previous Celtic managers, Scotland managers, and opposition managers who double up on him wrong ?
Dear Doctor, I’ve read some nonsense on here but you really, do you know better than numerous professionals ?
Updated James Forrest stats for 19/20
1 game.
1 assist.
* Please note that these statistics are not valid for residents in Australia.
Breeny you seem a knowledgeable kind of guy, who of the current development squad who have’nt made the first team yet are in your opinion likely to break through to the first team? H H Hebcelt
James Forrest is one helluva lucky player being a forward. If he was a defender he would have,after one winning/competitive game this season Inherited the mantle of “BOMBSCARE”
Hey! BIG WAVY hope your not implying our peninsula rebels
are of the same mind as those strange poms up in Sydney 8-))
H.H Mick
Melbourne Mick
Apologies fella. That fine city produces a very sensible breed of Celtic supporters.
Not sure what the Sydney branch put in their water….
Keep her lit.
BIGWAVY/MELBMICK – not us Vic capital city slickers either!!
BIG WAVY
Probably more salt he..he, what i saw was Jamesy immediately being
surrounded by three players as soon as he got the ball, so made sense
to me for him to pass into space rather than try to hit the byline.
But what do i know, i only played the game for about 40 years and still
showing the bhoys new tricks.
H.H Mick
ST TAMS on 10TH JULY 2019 12:20 PM
Thought Bitton was poor last night, caused a lot of uncertainty between the defence and Bain.
I hope we are not thinking of him as one of our centre halves
____
I thought he had a strong game overall. He made a few great forward passes from the back which is essential in a back 3!
He did make an error that could have been costly when he tried to be too clever with a clearance. He was looking to start a counter attack rather than just hitting it into row Z. Luckily Sarajevo didn’t have the quality to do anything with it.
So one poor error in an otherwise quality performance.
I like Bitton and find him underrated at Celtic. He provides good cover at CDM and CB.
Celtic’s performance wasn’t perfect last night but you have to consider the conditions, the pitch, the unfamiliar formation & how dirty the opposition team was.
3 quality goals though.
I think Scott Brown is beginning to play like his manager used to. He’s breaking up play further forward than he used to. It was evident in the cup final last season and again last night. Both times while we were a goal down. I think this may be a good thing. Perhaps the manager feels we don’t need to protect the two centre backs so stringently. I’m hopeful this points to more direct passing through the middle and less dependence on wing play.
T
REGGIE on 10TH JULY 2019 1:46 PM
*ps did my eyes deceive me or was it Forrest with the assist for crucial 2nd goal last night?????
————
Aye, only cos the wee pr1ck was upfield when he should have been tracking back!
😉🤷🏼♂️😂🍀👏
RE James Forrest
I really like him as a player and he would be my first pick with his obvious ability and pace, however he does have a few annoying traits . He seems to be content not getting involved , and most annoying to me I watched most games from main stand last season, every time we got a shy he would turn his back on PC Mick and not look for the ball so frustrating. I would still play him every week though.HH
MNCELT on 10TH JULY 2019 1:55 PM
Good after match interviews and unique camera work on the goals on the Celtic youtube site
https://www.youtube.com/user/celticfc
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Nice work you!
Big Bitton reacts well at each goal. Team player.
HH jg
James Forrest a player who possesses all the skills ……………but he has a big flaw in his game ……..positional sense – football intelligence . He has none -zero! He often just follows his marker around instead of searching out some space. Then he will wander in from the wing cluttering getting in the way of the strikers. He must be a nightmare for our attacking full-back -hes hardly ever in the right place to receive a pass. We should get Pep Guadiola in to coach him. “Jamesie You stay out wide 80% of the time – take on your opposing defender -get crosses into the box – remember you can’t be off-side from a throw-in and pick the RIGHT moment to come in for a shot on goal. Follow my instructions or you will be dropped pronto!”
Sidneytim
Congratulations you have managed to waken the old CQN from its close season slumbers in our first competitive game
Well done & HH
Paul67 et al
Do you get a different view of things when watching the games on telly down under?
JAMESGANG
Noticed that as well, but can we find him a permanent position?
Not so sure.
H.H Mick
I was glad to see Bitton in the team because at first glance I thought he’d be in midfield – which I think needs more solidity in central area….didn’t realise at first that he was CB.
The big lad did ok at the back but wasn’t really tested. I don’t believe he should ever play there.
I have a serious resistance to big, decent midfielders (or forwards) being converted to centre back. Typically what you gain in the ‘ball playing’ sense (they look great when they have time and space) you lose in spades over their lacking in natural defensive ability.
In the past I hated when we did this with Mike Galloway and Brian O’Neill and I remember some heated CQN debates (against Paul67 in the main) in the early days of CQN when he and others were advocating Chris Sutton for centre back. Not for me.
Going back to the 80s Big Feed The Bear Roy Aitken did ok there, but he wasn’t as good as Miller/McLeish/Narey/Hegarty (in that position) and he was wasted there compared to what he could have given us if he was played in midfield. Tom Macadam similar….he was ok, but not as good as these guys.
Big Kris Ajer might prove me wrong – at least he was converted at a much earlier age than those above….but he is still relatively raw defensively. I love his attitude and willingness to learn.
MM and Tully 57
I agree with you both gents.
HH jg
…oh and btw……James Forrest is brilliant and we’re lucky to have him.
TULLY57 on 10TH JULY 2019 2:51 PM
Tend to agree, a very important position in the spine of the team – generally a position for experienced leaders or young players with the awareness, physique and technical skills to grow into the role.
One exception though regarding players who’ve made the step back late in their careers – Ruud Gullit. From memory, a colossus for Chelsea when he moved back.
Not too many others spring to mind. Marcel Desailly maybe, though he converted much earlier IIRC.
HH
Morning all – sunny here in Charlotte but 50% chance of thunderstorms later…
See there were a few squalls on here this morning already…I guess that means Celtic played last night.
How did we get on? A victory you say? Away in Europe? Balkans…where?
Oh Balking at the thought that we might be happy after 3 wonderful goals against a team of Hertz wannabees & an easily conned referee
A professional performance away in Europe – thanks NFL & staff/team.
……………………..
Thanks JG & TRAD88
Good point on Gullit although his playing standard (arguably world’s best player in ‘late 80s and post-Maradona) makes him atypical.
Certain aged Celtic supporters like me will remember the 80s and 90s central defensive calamities.
One of the moments that my hope rose for stopping the 10 in 97/98 was when we signed Marc Rieper – a proper centre half.
CELTIC MAC
Don’t know if Paul 67 gets a different view of the game from
down under, but at 2 in the morn. i’m squintin though one eye lol.
But if it’s the weekend and i’m on the rid biddy i just see a green
haze.
Hope that helps 8-))
H.H Mick
TULLY57 on 10TH JULY 2019 3:05 PM
Yeah, Gullit played several positions during his career – unbelievable talent.
Rieper was class too, if we could’ve cloned him and Mjallby we wouldn’t have gone far wrong!
HH
Tully57
Reiper’s bad toe was one of the worst misfortunes we experienced in that whole era.
My kinda Defender!
HH jg
TULLY57
Big Rieper was magnificent and if i remember correctly it
was a big toe injury ( bunion ? ) that finished his career.
But what about big Falconer? i’m still having nightmares lol.
H.H Mick
melbourne mick
Mick, I’ve seen a few squintin through one eye, and they’re at the match, so no worries there.
Myself, I’m more purple haze, thru green tinted specs mind!
tully57
I give you Yaya Toure, and Gerard Piquet from the CL final 2009.
A masterclass in defending.
oh that james forrest.
shows yir medals,
Scottish Premiership (8): 2011–12, 2012–13, 2013–14, 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19
Scottish Cup (5): 2010–11, 2012–13, 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19[112]
Scottish League Cup (4): 2014–15, 2016–17, 2017–18[113] 2018–19
Scottish Premier U19 League: 2010
Scottish Youth Cup: 2010
Individual
SFWA Footballer of the Year: 2018–19[89]
PFA Scotland Players’ Player of the Year: 2018–19[87]
SFWA Young Player of the Year: 2011–12
PFA Scotland Young Player of the Year: 2011–12
PFA Scotland Team of the Year (3): 2011–12, 2017–18, 2018–19[87]
Scottish Premiership Player of the Year: 2018–19[90]
Scottish Premiership Player of the Month: October 2018
SFWA International Player of the Year: 2018–19[103]
Celtic Young Player of the Year: 2010-11, 2011–12
Embdy else like big Ramon Vega? Quoted as saying ” It was the worst
decision i ever made leaving a club like Celtic ”
H.H Mick