I have a semi-regular correspondent, Raymie, who, over some considerable time now, has expressed concerns when Celtic play two central midfielders with two attack-minded players in the wide berths.
Intuitively, we should be attack minded against all Scottish opposition, especially at home, but football parks are big open spaces which requires a lot of industry to cover effectively. Scott Brown is the epitome of industry while Stefan Johansen appears to be cut from the same mould, but with James Forrest hugging the right touchline and Georgios Samaras playing his usual role on the left, Aberdeen had men over in central midfield, which ultimately determined the outcome of the game.
Neil Lennon seems to know not to play Forrest and Samaras together, they have only both started in wide positions in one league game since September, which was an uninspiring 0-1 win in Inverness. Forrest replaced an injured Kris Commons 28 minutes into a game at Easter Road in October, but although James scored Celtic’s only goal, this was one of only three league games this season we’ve dropped points.
The manager, of course, was part of a robust midfield in his time at Celtic, with Paul Lambert to one side of him and tough-tackling-always-running Alan Thompson to the other, although neither Lennon nor Lambert had the mobility of Scott Brown. It wasn’t until Martin O’Neill left and Gordon Strachan took over, that we got to see the likes of Nakamura on one wing and Maloney on the other.
If you were lining up against Celtic and realised they had two in central midfield your game plan would immediately crystallise. Teams will mostly face Celtic with only one striker, allowing five in the middle, most or all of whom will play tight. This creates a numerical advantage in the most crucial area of the field, and a basis to build forward moves on the occasions, however rare, they are able to do so.
Compare Saturday’s performances with the two comfortable wins over Aberdeen this season. In august the 0-2 victory was achieved with a midfield of Brown, Kayal, Ledley and Mulgrew. None known for their creativity but Celtic cruised nonetheless.
November’s 3-1 win saw Brown, Ledley, Mulgrew and Samaras in midfield; Aberdeen didn’t get a sniff.
One final word on the players……………
Most of us watched the away defeat to Shahkter Karagandy with some annoyance at the ITV commentators’ regular accusations that the players were not applying themselves appropriately. Neil Lennon gave voice to our objections after he heard the commentary while reviewing the game. The game went against Celtic but it was absurd to suggest the players were not applying themselves fully.
Reading comments on CQN and listening to the manager after Saturday’s game I felt we were in similar territory, with Neil saying, “We gave the players all the preparations needed”, “I can hardly single out any player, maybe James [Forrest] and Stokesy, to come out with any credit”, “There was a lack of composure, particularly in midfield and at full-back”.
I just don’t buy the lack of application or focus accusations which have been flying around here in recent days. Players spend all week gearing up for game time, when it looks different on the park, there is usually a tactical reason.
If you would like to read the new CQN Magazine, GO HERE to read properly, and for FREE, the graphic below is just a taster.
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681 Comments- Pages:
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quonno
A quality striker won’t score for Celtic if he gets no service. How many times did we trouble Langfield on Saturday?
Ok bhoys
My presence is required at cash register.
Wish me luck. ….
Later..Hail Hail
79caps
13:07 on
11 February, 2014
Everyone blames Sami, despite his sublime pass for our goal, or Adam or James or the team selection. The glaring weakness against A’deen was Kris Commons, our main goal scorer this season and often our most creative player. On Saturday he was terrible.
He was indeed.People saying that “He has been great all season”as if that makes up for Saturday.No one is blaming Commons for having a bad game,but its Lennys job to see this and change it.He did nothing.Not saying whip Commons off,but change the tactics.It seems he cannot do this.I hate to talk about Lenny this way,but this is getting ridiculous.
And please no one come on and tell us about the great job he is doing in the league.Really,anyone on here could be in that position with the players we have.We are in this position in spite of Lennys continuous tinkerings,trying to look clever,astute.
God give me strength.
A quick question to change the subject for a minute.
A defender chips the ball up then heads the ball back to the keeper so that the keeper can pick the ball up.
The keeper boots the ball away without touching the ball with his hands.
You’re the ref, what is the correct decision?
Jimmyquinnsbits – Yer oul fella sounds like a very fine Irishman to me.
Best wishes to you both on this very significant day.
1858.
Sunday morning Monday morning Tuesday morning quarter backs.
Turkeybhoy
I agree about Saturday. But I don’t agree that Neil is tinkering continually. He should be given more credit for our league performances. Everyone takes this for granted. Last season, when we were better in the CL, we were not so good in the league as we are this season.
By Alexander Krassimirov
February 11 – CSKA Sofia’s former
lawyer Radostin Vasilev (pictured), has
criticised the club management and
ownership saying it is almost certain
that the Bulgarian club will not get a
license for next football season.
Vasilev was fired by CSKA Sofia after
just a few months working for the
club. He then threatened to sue the
club. In 2008 the Bulgarian Football
Union withheld the license for CSKA
to play in European competitions. The
club was suspended because of it
failure to pay 1.2 million leva (€600
000).
“Although I have not been at CSKA
Sofia for the last six months, a lot of
people ask me if the club will receive
a license this year. Probably because I
was doing this work while I was a
CSKA’s lawyer,” wrote Vassilev on his
personal page in Facebook.
“I’m not the right person you should
ask at the moment, but because I have
detailed information on what is
happening at CSKA, at the moment and
what is the situation with the covering
financial criteria, I can tell all who
are interested, that to date CSKA is
99% without a license due to failure to
meet the financial criteria for
licensing. The club does not fulfill the
compulsory licensing payments,” said
the lawyer.
“According to my calculations, the
current management of the club needs
around 1,5 million leva (€750 000) to
take a license. They have a little more
than a month to sort things and I
really hope they will.”
This week CSKA Sofia president
Alexander Tomov announced the club
will launch the sale of 3 million
shares club. He is targeting both fans
and institutional investors with the
share offering, though has not
revealed a price as yet and there are
few details of the share offer terms.
“The thing that bothers me more is
that Alexander Tomov relies on the
public offering of shares to pay for the
license. If it is true, it is 100% sure
that the club will not be licensed”,
concluded Vasilev.
Timaloy29
Wrongly attributed perhaps but very apt for our tactical errors.
Paul67
I was pleasantly surprised that those criticising the result at the weekend did not, on the whole, resort to the cliched and nonsensical, “they never tried a leg” argument.
Most of the critics recognised that Celtic players were trying but performed poorly. There were more accusations that they were nervous, outfought, and, as you suggest, outnumbered by team layout, as there were rants about disinterested (sic) players.
I am sure up_over_goal will be able to provide us with a quick resume of all the occasions on which a Samaras and Forrest combination has appeared and what the overall results were. This theory might hold water but most do not.
Posters tend to have pet theories and look for the facts to fit. Posters say that they know, after 20 minutes, whether we are witnessing a St. Mirren/Ross County type of performance from Celtic. It is the mug punter memory that allows them to savour and recall their succesful predictions whilst burying 1000 memories of unsuccessful forecasts.
They say they “know” the outcome early on because they remembered saying it at those games and they were proven right (which is always a huge boost towards a memory being placed in long term storage). What they forget is the number of times that they said the same thing after 20 minutes but were proven wrong like the JVOH last minute winner against Aberdeen in Sept. 2008, or Hooper & Sammi’s late scores which gave us a 4:3 win last May against the same team. Those prediction memories are placed in the same leaky memory bucket as “That Larsson will never make it” and “I cannot see Jock getting us through against these Italians now we are a goal down in the final.”
A successful prediction of doom gives us all temporary careers as Cassandras whose opinions must be respected. Those of us who support alongside the doom merchants know that it is just their default position and , apart from the CQN gloom diehards who only post after a defeat, most are just as delirious as the happyclappers when a victory is secured.
Now, I am off to research TBJ’s latest theory.
The honest mistake..,
The answer is book Lenny, send him to the stand and demand a 24 game ban at the discipline meeting, too easy :o)
79caps
13:17 on
11 February, 2014
quonno
A quality striker won’t score for Celtic if he gets no service. How many times did we trouble Langfield on Saturday?
Its very difficult for a midfield of two to get any service up to the front players when they are being swamped and closed down by weight of numbers.I thought that they did very well to get as much of the ball to our players as they did.Playing with one striker at home is not an ideal tactic for creating chances.
Canamalar.
….Whilst mccoist gets off Scott free.
Paul 67
I’m usually a confirmed happy clapper, but if the the players were applying themselves properly against Aberdeen, Karagandy, Morton, Kilmarnock etc, then what is the problem?
If we are being tactically out thought by Morton, then we are really in the doo doo.
I can accept teams having an off day, but ours tend to be consistently important cup games.
DeniaBhoy
“Stokes isn’t nearly good enough to play in CL games. Yet time and time again they get picked”
————-
You could probably say the same about Commons too. I really like Commons but in the group phase it was 5 starts, no goals and no assists. Year before he had no assists and one goal from the penalty spot.
The Honest Mistake loves being first…
Id like to know how a defender or any player could chip a ball onto his own head.
Turkeybhoy
So you are saying we should play without wingers?
Celtic U20s team to play Killie: Fasan; Kidd, O’Connell, Fraser, Fisher; Lindsay, McManus, Henderson; Herron, Fridjonsson, P. Twardzik (MH)
Game kicks off
Robert88.
…using a pitching wedge.
79caps
13:24 on
11 February, 2014
Turkeybhoy
I agree about Saturday. But I don’t agree that Neil is tinkering continually. He should be given more credit for our league performances. Everyone takes this for granted. Last season, when we were better in the CL, we were not so good in the league as we are this season.
Cant agree.I think tinkering is his biggest problem.He has hardly started the same team twice this season.It seems no matter how well you play,it does not mean you will play next week.Look at the best partnership up front we have had,Hooper Stokes,last season.Hardly ever played them,when they did and scored goals,out with Stokes in with Sammi.
with regards to quite a few comments, has anybody realised that Aberdeen didn’t play too badly at the weekend and were deserving of their victory. Robson and Flood were very good in the midfield.
79 Caps… No team should play without Wingers, Forrest for my liking never gets straight at defenders, he tends to go sideways rather than to the by line more often than not and these little floaty crosses every time don’t work (I know why he does it), what happened to drilling a ball across the face of the box, defenders and keepers alike hate it!
@southside
We had plenty of poor games in the league last year.
79 Caps,
Your 13.17 post looks very much like a reply to your 13.15 post,
no criticism intended, just an observation.
Turkeybhoy
Tinkering? The defence has been settled. In midfield it’s nearly always been Brown, Mulgrew and Ledley. Commons nearly always plays. Forrest always plays – when fit;)
I would not seek to dissuade anyone of their opinion that Sammi and James Forrest and poor games on Saturday.
However, Sammi did lay on the first goal for Anto and JF produced 5 good breaks in the game. Twice in the first half, he hit the bye line and stood up perfectly good crosses to just beyond the back post, a position where you would expect Sammi to be supporting (on both occasions we had two forwards attacking front and centre only).
In the second half JF produced the cross which VVD should have scored from and he produced the cutbacks from which Leigh Grifiths shot wide and Balde’s late squandered chance.
When not playing well, the talent still tend to produce chances while the work horses (Brown and Johansen mostly) give them the platform to shine.
Our main creative talents are Commons, Forrest, Izzy, Sammi, Stokes and Mulgrew. They are the guys who make things happen. On Saturday JF made 5 chances, Sammi just one, Commons and Izzy never paid off and Tony produced one good moment early on.
Our assist stats for the Premiership this year are:-
Izzy-8
Ledley-5
Stokes-5
Commons, Sammi, Mulgrew-3
sftb 13:27
Fair point. But bear in mind there are games that have been won when the performance has been poor. A win doesn’t necessarily mean the tactics were spot-on.
Good article. One point i’d like to make with regards to the full-backs: If the wide men aren’t tracking back then the it leaves the full-backs fully exposed & more often than not, in a position high up the pitch, even-more-so when you haven’t got an anchorman in midfield.
I been thinking about how you learn from your mistakes & how this has been a mistake that we’ve made previously, which brought me to the conclusion that its very possible that the manager has taken this game very personal, after his treatment by the Sheep Sha****rs at Tynecastle. This, I believe, may very much have encouraged the formation chosen on Saturday to inflict as much pain as possible on the Don’s in an act of Vengeance.
TheMexicanCSC
Hail hail!
79caps
13:17 on
11 February, 2014
quonno
A quality striker won’t score for Celtic if he gets no service. How many times did we trouble Langfield on Saturday?
Valid point. All too often in games that Celtic must win opposing keeper could stay at home.
If he ever gets it, which I doubt, NL’s asked for physical line leader might he4p to open the door a bit.
I fear, that knowing what we have is not good enough, with his weekend statement that missing out on CL group stage for one year would not be disastrous, PL was softening fans up for qualifiers.
Bhoys
I have been lucky enough to watch rubbish games at CP since the 60,s and we had much better teams than the present one playing , we lost a game , we will lose many more .
HH
Good afternoon,
Article spot on Paul. Afraid I would put the defeat down to the managers tactics in surrendering the midfield as you outlined above. Very disappointed that at halftime with Aberdeen having dominated the middle of the park for the latter part of the first half Lenny did not see fit to do the obvious change of beefing up the midfield.
Dan
I met young Fridjonsson on Saturday after the game, plenty of time to spend with the fans, not rushing away, Miss Doc had a foto taken with him.
I have heard great things about this lad, I hope he gets a chance before the end of the season.
Okay, let the hand wringing recommence.
LennyisstillthemhanCSC
Keep the Faith
Paul67 et al
Well Martin got the best out of Stan Petrov, and Gordon also had Aiden McGeady, so let us give them a mention. It could be argued that WGS came unstuck at the end of season four, against both Hibs and Hearts, by sticking to the format he knew best, something Neil Lennon did on Saturday. Most Celtic teams in the last twenty years or so, even the less successful ones, such as Tommy’s and the good Doctor’s, had the ability to drive Celtic on from the midfield, Wim’s too, but Celtic lacked that at the weekend. I noticed on a link earlier that Celtic, statistically, are 19th out 200 World teams so Neil is doing something right. What he is not doing right this season, is getting his selection and tactics right for the games that require something a bit different, as in a Cup tie against Aberdeen. Neil created one really good team, and if he develops his coaching team, he can create another good Celtic team. Or does pride come before a fall?
On subject of qualifiers, is Murrayfield pitch going to be fixed in time for visit of Famous Glasgow Celtic?
I don’t enjoy the prospects of our Euro -hopes restin’ in the armless hands of a bunch of ole nematodes.
ohits
13:48 on
11 February, 2014
Bhoys
I have been lucky enough to watch rubbish games at CP since the 60,s and we had much better teams than the present one playing , we lost a game , we will lose many more .
HH
Problem is too many of the lost games are cup ties where you get no second chances.
The harsh truth is that in THEIR absence Celtic should be hoovering up trophies and it is just not happening.
I saw the comments attributed to rent-a-quote Peter Grant about players not having the desire etc. IMO that is a bag of shite ( an opinion admittedly clouded by the fact that I considered him to be about as good a player as he was an assistant manager ) – If Mulgrew had played, the midfield would have had a better balance, we would likely have got a result and we would have been spared all of this .
Players train all week for a match they want to win , will get bonuses for winning, but then don’t bother their arse because they aren’t from these parts – Really Peter ?
I felt the crowd lacked their usual urgency while trailing with minutes to go – unlike in the league game against Aberdeen when sammi scored the late winner. I for one must confess that I wasn’t on the edge of my seat roaring Celtic as i would normally have been under the circumstances but that is because I was reflecting that if we did go out , it would deny them the chance of a potential life saving £1m tie against us. I was happy that going out of the cup was a price worth paying if it meant the end of them, their insidious goings on and not having to see the nastiness they visit upon us when we had to play them.
DBBIA
New Gazebo worthy pitch planned for Murrayfield.
Dontbrattbakkinanger
New 50/50 (grass/astro) pitch in place for our qualifiers and the nematodes will have been liquidated by then…
HH
godblesstommyburns
13:54 on
11 February, 2014
Them finished. What planet are you on. Bar we get relegated we will be playing them in eighteen months.