Kilmarnock are having a nightmare start to the season. It’s not so much that they’ve lost both games played, or the manner in which they lost, but every other team in the league has picked up points and either shown glimpses of form, or like Ross County, are feeling really good about their start to the season.
Dundee’s 0-4 humiliation of Kilmarnock on the opening day of the season found some context last night, when, before a TV audience, they played some really good football last night in Scotland’s biggest derby fixture. With this in mind, and aware that the evening’s visit of Celtic could make their four goal skelping by Dundee look modest, Gary Locke is likely to put his team into, erm, lockdown.
The challenge for Celtic tonight is simple: find your scoring touch. Three 2-0 results against Stjarnan, Ross County and Partick Thistle, and a 1-0 and 0-0 against Qarabag are great defensive scores, but only the 1-4 win in Iceland looked like a team who are in free-scoring form.
Kris Commons gave us 88 minutes on Sunday. He must have been exhausted at the end but the experience will have pushed his fitness on considerably. It’s important he uses tonight, and Saturday’s game against Inverness, to balance the requirement to increase stamina without tiring muscles for the Malmo game. Another full shift tonight and a cameo appearance at the weekend sounds like a reasonable compromise.
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GUERNICA
Dont want you to feel like you are on your own on this one, as I largely agree with you.
in my ideal team, KC would not be starting. He can create chances for himself out of little, and has a good scoring record …. but, he doesnt link well with the others … and doesn’t have the speed or skill for the style of game RD apparently wants us to play (and which I think is the way forward for us …. if we can learn it). I like the idea of how RD wants us to play (like the old RBS team, with the four forwards playing the uptempo pressing/moving/passing game that, apparently), but the 3 in the 4231 simply aren’t getting it.
That needs to be sorted out. And, really, none of SJ, SA, GMS or JF are getting it…. each do aspects well, but none really seem to be the whole package that that system requires. For example, SJ presses well, when we dont have the ball, and gets into decent scoring positions sometimes, but his passing is woeful, as is his conversion rate for good chances). Others similarly do one aspect well, but, as a whole, there is simply not enough movement or quality passing (the two go hand in hand). And if it were one player not getting it, then it would be responsibility of the player. But, if it is all of them, it suggests to me that there is a problem with the coaching)…
Until it is sorted, KC and LG are really the only two forwards who can create and finish chances regularly.
However, if RD can get more from SA, SJ, GMS and JF, then I agree that KC wouldn’t be the first team. The question is can RD get these guys to buy into/be productive in the system he wants the team to play? for me, the jury is still out on that question. Until he can, then we may need KC’s goals, as we cant continue to rely solely on LG.
See that Lisbon just won at 15/8……
TBM
WITS-Cheers.
Gary67
Re tickets for Malmo – offered the same deal (4 extra tickets) for ST Holders v Inter (also shown on BT Sport live) last year so wouldn’t read too much into that
Would hope for a 50k plus crowd – we’ve opened the LL Upper. Would’ve been 60k 100% if it was a second leg tie IMO.
HH
Ger57: I am going to wait until I go back to work(still have more than two weeks left:-)) and ask to the computer teacher for advice.
If I have anymore of those badges I will bring them over on Saturday if you promise to keep Jamesgang away from my chips:-).
An Tearmann: email me at
dublin2016@mail.com
Just like me,………………… they long to be close to you.
Patrick,
I kinda agree.
The offer tells you nothing about the volume of sales. There might be 4 tickets left. There might be 40 k.
A crowd of 40k + for a televised game is still a great crowd at this stage Imo and will be around the biggest in Europe that night
HH
http://www.snappytv.com/tc/740710/210464
Heavyweight German coach backs Warburton over Dean set piece criticism:
https://raillydecord.wordpress.com/2015/08/12/german-visionary-klomp-backs-warbs-over-dean-set-piece-slur/
My friends in Celtic,
I am unaware of the intricacies of theTV deals.
But my opinion is unchanged. No game should be televised live @ Parkhead until we have reached a benchmark of 50,000 tickets sold.
Football without fans is nothing, and even the most”diehard” fans cannot roar us on as the 12th Man from the setee or pub.
HH.
Ps : sorry TD67, for me Paradise was and is known as Parkhead. In my circles rightly or wrongly it has always been so since I started going around 4/5 years old.
the decision to televise the match has nothing to do with celtic. i am sure the “play off ” roiund is part of the tv rights pot.
effectively every game is on tv , is it now ?
Greenpinta- Agree,surprised home game is live,BT calling the shots now after putting in megabucks.I think ST holders being offered extra tickets,is quicker and easier to process as they already have your bank details.Confident of 50k plus next week.HH
Joey Barton …………………………?
Oh…………….. how the horribles would hate him.
Too much of a temptation for the men in black I fear.
Good player right enough
Kittoch
PS knew it would’nt last Bada, see you tonight for a few
Saint Stives,
Not so, the Celtic Quabag game at Parkhead was not live. I believe Celtic had a say in that.
Maybe I’m wrong, but there was virtually no live coverage by any means that night, and rightly so Imo.
HH.
Bada Bing,
Thanks and welcome back. The blog is a poorer place without you.
HH.
Re the Parkhead or Celtic Park debate,may I suggest that the Parkhead terminology may be due to that being the name of the railway station where supporters got off to go Celtic Park? When I started going with my Dad there were no supporters’ buses from darkest Ayrshire and also there were relatives to visit in Glasgow. Anyway , looking forward to the game tonight and a short stroll from Park Hotel bar to seat compared with Crown Creighton to Celtic Park seat( see whit ah did there?)
That’s the holibags over, time for the real stuff now. Hope everyone is ok.
NothingeverchangesonCQNCSC
Greenpinata-thanks,i don’t remember if return game v Karagandy was live? Embdae…?
Saint Stivs
Correct, BT Sport has the CL rights including the play offs, – Celtic don’t have any option.
Bada
Home leg with karagandy was live.
I near woke my newborn up when Jamsie scored.
LB
Our home has always been Celtic Park for me.
That’s what it’s called.
Go on to the official club site and you won’t see any mention of Parkhead.
HH!!
“You can’t live on the hope of a television contract and play in a stadium with nobody there.”
Fergus McCann
LB-Thanks for reply,a full Celtic Park/Parkheid/Parkhead/Paradise,is a big advantage…:)
I remember wee Fergus referring to ‘New Celtic Park’,in a few TV interviews.
If I think about it, I would call our home Celtic Park but in conversations at home, it was simply “are you going to the game?” or “when are you off?” or since my Dad has been too frail to go himself, it has become “who are we playing?” No need to even mention the ground by name.
So called home of St Mirren Love St and was officially St Mirren Park.
Fergus McCann once famously pulled them up for calling it Parkhead and told them it was called Celtic Park.
Gers 57 – sticks and stones – mud-slinging and name-calling, BUT never a coherent answer – why didn’t you just shout “scaremongering” as usual?
Everyone I knew called it Parkhead, that was just the way we were brought up I suppose. It’s only since Fergus that I’ve heard the term Celtic Park used widely. Although I do know that in the past players etc referred to it as ‘The Park’.
So the lesson is not to post shortly before a new article. I should really know by now.
Anois:
Is the Celticnewsnow app available on android phones via Google Play Store.
Árd Macha
Fair play to Ze Germans. They know how to keep them coming back.
Year after year Borussia Dortmund invests a seven figure sum into the 41-year-old stadium on Strobelallee. The noticeable innovations will be ready before the opening game of the season against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday.
New VIP entrance
A new entrance will open up for season ticket holders in front of the West stand and this will also serve as a meeting point for stadium tours.
Entrance for the away fans at the North stand.
Away fans should be monitored more carefully before games in order to prevent pyrotechnics among other things from being smuggled into the stadium. Am Eingang Nord-Mitte passieren Fans ab Spätsommer/Herbst vorgezogene Schleusen. There was a successful test phase during the last three games of the season. As seen from the Strobelallee side, the home fans enter from the right and the away fans from the left, making separation of the fans a lot easier. At rival games, such as against Schalke 04, crowd dividers may be used temporarily to ease separation. It has not yet been decided whether this would be mobile or fixed.
The new “Stadiondeckel”
BVB has taken over the food stands at Signal Iduna Park so only the mobile stalls in and around the stadium will continue to be operated by our partner Aramark. Furthermore, from today a new payment system will be in operation. The new “BVB-Stadiondeckel” is fan friendly, handy and deposit free. Registration and a log in is only required when you top up online or on the BVB app. After your last transaction the card is valid for three years. A credit payment is also possible on match days.
Cash payment is possible once again
For fans who regularly come to games the “Stadiondeckel” is the most comfortable and quickest payment method, but it is not compulsory. At the so-called “multi payment kiosks” it is possible to pay by cash and debit card as well as the “Stadiondeckel”. In one of our next issues we will show you the locations of these “multi payment kiosks”.
Beer in the fast lane
Long queues at the bar just to get a beer? That’s now a thing of the past thanks to the “Flügelflitzer” which is a new express kiosk where only beer is served. This will take the strain off food stands and reduce waiting times. The “Flügelflitzer” can be found on level two of the North and South stands and levels two and five of the West and East stands respectively.
Give me the cup!
We are getting used to our new cup system. Since the end of last season we have been working with disposable cups made from cornflour which are 100% biodegradable. “Give me the cup” is our campaign to reduce the amount of rubbish in the stadium. Originally a plan for levels one and two of the South stand, we have now installed special bins in which you can easily dispose of these cups. At the first three home games, the old cup can still be exchanged at various stands. In addition to the disposable cups each fan has the opportunity to purchase a so-called “Souvenir Cup” for €1,50 on match days. For hygiene reasons refills are not possible.
Ladies and Gents Toilets
There are too few and too few nice toilets, especially those that have been there since 1974. In addition to the new WCs installed last season on level one in the West stand, there are five new toilet areas.
Standing Block 63
A new standing terrace with 1,311 places will open on the lower tier of block 63 of the North stand which will increase the stadium capacity by 692 to 81,359. This block is to be used predominantly by young people aged 15 and over who are no longer allowed to sit in the cheaper family seats. “We wanted to give young people a new home” said organisations manager Dr Christian Hockenjos.
Goal Line Technology
Its first use at the Cup Final in Berlin in May was celebrated and now the goal line technology “Hawk Eye” is ready to be used in league games. Now there will be no dispute whether the ball has gone over the line or not thanks to the fourteen cameras that have been installed under the stadium’s roof.
Car access
There has sometimes been a long line of vehicles on Wittekindstraβe up to Barop and it hasn’t looked any better in the direction of the city centre. To ease congestion on Ruhrallee at home games there is a new feature on the bad spot: a left turn off onto Strobelallee. Here a set of traffic lights as well as a second left turn off will be built. Additionally, there are now two lanes providing access to the entrance of the car park. BVB contributed €140,000 to the overall €450,000 cost of this project.
LB
The most interesting attendance for me will be Saturday at 3pm against ICT. We all reckon that’s still optimum time for people to attend.
CL QUALIFIERS take care of themselves….
LiviBhoy,
That’s impressive.
Well done BVB.
Árd Macha
HT
I recently re-read George Connelly’s biography in which he frequently refers to ‘The Park.’
HH!!
RT-good point,you have to ask why there are so many games this early in the season? Maybe trying to appease the ‘summer football’ advocates.HH
BSR/ HT,
Your views on CP tally with my own.
I don’t ever recall it being called Celtic Park in my youth.
It was like Love Street, it was referred to by it’s geography, rather than it’s proper name.
Perhaps it was because a semi derelict ground in Govan was named after it’s location.
Fergus definitely forcefully promoted Celtic Park, due to it being both it’s official name and by calling it by that, promoted the Cektic ” brand” universally.
Parkheed!!! – has been officially named Celtic Park since 1888 including both the original ground, and move in 1892
When Fergus came along for the revolution he took the view that calling it Parkhead was not only incorrect but an excuse for ‘them’ not to say ‘Celtic’ in referring to the ground.
It was a fairly well commented upon interview at the time.
Oops.
Celtic, I think it is called!