There is a decent possibility that Celtic’s apparent malaise over the six games since the win at Fir Park has something to do with opposition teams closing space our midfielders used to so much effect against Newco at the start of February.
That game was such a platform for our midfield to demonstrate their ability to find and exploit space. Sure, form slips, but opponents watch and learn. Consequentially, Celtic must continue to change the script.
Through this period, Callum McGregor has continued to dominate his area as teams fall deeper, but the two more advanced midfielders, paired from Matt O’Riley, Tom Rogic and Reo Hatate, have been denied the acres available to them against Newco and Motherwell.
We cycled through Rogic-Hatate, O’Riley-Hatate and O’Riley-Rogic combinations during this period, to little effect. The latter combo looked the least effective, but that was against Bodo/Glimt, by far the better opponents.
Meanwhile, Yosuke Ideguchi waits in the dugout. We don’t know enough about Yosuke to make a proper judgement. He made his debut as a late substitute against Hibs in January before being injured at Alloa on his next outing. His only subsequent game time was again as a late sub against Raith.
When played, Yosuke has filled the deep-lying role. Nir Bitton can play here too. I cannot offer any great recommendation for either player, but I would like to see Callum McGregor higher up the field against St Mirren tomorrow, with Yosuke or Nir behind him.
For all the disappointments in Norway last week, Celtic improved when Callum came on to play in front of Bitton. When he steps into the final third, he brings a presence no one else in the squad has. I’m not going to tell you this should be a regular gig for him, but we need to change this area of the park for tomorrow and Sunday. We have options, let’s use them.
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Liked this headline record online ……
‘Rangers ‘tell’ Juventus they won’t chase Aaron Ramsey permanent deal’
Shame that :O)
Can’t quite fathom what motivates some to post the stuff they do.
( difficult enough to grasp why any of us do, but some of the subject-matter is unbelievable)
Just 22 hours to go ….
MARTIM1980 on 1ST MARCH 2022 6:27 PM
A fantastic thread on misinformation and political, tactical social media use to spread such.
This thread about the ‘first Great Information War’ is a fascinating and important read – The Poke
https://www.thepoke.co.uk/2022/02/28/this-thread-about-the-first-great-information-war-is-a-fascinating-and-important-read
——‐———————–‐—-
Well informative thread.she is worth a follow Martim.
Her threads on Data harvesting and Cambridge analytica are true reporting in this day and age@carolecadwalla
I think she is related to Irish investigative journalist @annacadwallader. Famed for highlighting state collusion killing in the 6 statelet.worth reading too.
HH
Players that went other clubs that looking back.
Frank McDougall
Arthur Graham
Billy Bremner
They Gray brothers
The list goes on.
The one player I believe we should have taken a punt on was
Iván de la Peña.
Spurs game goes to extra time, can getting opened🍺
VOGUEPUNTER on 1ST MARCH 2022 9:34 PM
Liked this headline record online ……
‘Rangers ‘tell’ Juventus they won’t chase Aaron Ramsey permanent deal’
Shame that :O)
=======================
True Vp
Read on twitter today only reason he came here was due to free prescriptions 🤣🤣🤣
OK coat….
:-)
HH
BELMONT BRIAN
Howdy pal!
Before your time –
Tony Green.
Celtic watched him and the report back said he was too wee.
Wee coulda signed Billy Bremner to but…………..didny.
BANKIBHOY1
“Can’t quite fathom what motivates some to post the stuff they do.
( difficult enough to grasp why any of us do, but some of the subject-matter is unbelievable)”
—————————
I don’t believe you.😊
TheIrishInquiry (@IrishInquiry) Tweeted:
What’s this meme trying to say? #Ukraine #COVID #sheep https://t.co/SGf48kZmlv https://twitter.com/IrishInquiry/status/1498469141883326464?s=20&t=KNZbZLZwV-6-AyclyBQK-g
the fella behind the curtain is rolling aboot the floor laffin his ass off
BB- he avoided answering the question, it’s being packaged as Ange’s Homecoming, so Sevco will take a step back just now
Brilliant goal for Middlesboro in ET against Spurs. That’s the way to hit a shot!
Sensational goal by the Middlesbrough youngster
Great atmosphere in the Riverside Stadium. Boro put Man U out the FA Cup, now possibly eliminating Spurs. Glad for Chris Wilder, who really should not have been fired by Sheffield United.
Did he get booked, was nearly in the stand
BADA BING
That’s a fitba’ related post.
You just don’t learn, do you?🤣
Big Bamba Boro’s last sub.
IniquitousIV- was going to post on why the West is doing nothing to help Ukraine, i know politically and legally why,but watching these terrified people every night, is only going to get worse. HH
Spurs tactics at corners same as Huns. Cross to near post for someone to head on for Kane.
BADA BING.
I’m with you. I was just teasing about your previous ‘apology’. 😊
IniquitousIV- i know mate,best to try and keep it light like yourself HH
Recall 2 st.mirren games.
1 5-0 aye that 1
https://youtu.be/3Qywda-v64c
2.st.mirren 2 Celtic 3
https://youtu.be/vuZvAs1sbho
Remember ?
HH
It’s a return to Paradise for the Celts on Wednesday, March 2 (KO 7:45pm) as they face St Mirren in the league. You can watch the match from the comfort of your home anywhere in the UK and Ireland live on StreamDigital’s pay-per-view.
A Turnbull hat-trick and an Abada double helped secure a thrilling 6-0 victory the last time the Buddies were at Celtic Park, however the Paisley side held the Celts to a goalless draw at St Mirren Park just before the winter break.
Don’t miss what looks set to be an exciting night under the lights at Celtic Park where, for £12.99, you can follow all the build-up, live match action and half-time and full-time analysis as the Hoops look to secure a vital three points.
Big Tony got his jotters there too.for balance
HH
James Foster (@JamesEFoster) Tweeted:
He’s not wrong, though, is he? https://t.co/BYUGU4MzXg https://twitter.com/JamesEFoster/status/1498599784059387905?s=20&t=cp8pciK6C9srPPr0P_vpDw
Celtic40me @5:50 ish
Good point about a deeper sitting team. I’m still suffering from PTSD from the Bodo/G game and still can’t bear/bare (🤷🏽♂️) the thought of the same midfield – though I’m definitely not looking for a more defensive one.
👍🏼
/
I’m another heading to Celtic Park tomorrow night for the first time in a good few years.
Daughter no.1 flying in to Glasgow from Portugal via Bristol for her first home Celtic match. What could possibly go wrong?😂 Fingers crossed it’s a night she will never forget. I can’t wait!
Majestic Hartson.
Your a good tim,we’ve done no bad since July.:-))
Thoughts n prerz bout the ptsd,sing your childhood reb,usually sorts it.:-))
HH
Neilbhoy
Have a good night with your lass.Class.a wee victory too :-)
Whenever there is a big story in the media, look for the story they’re trying to distract you from.
Thousands are sailing, Pogues.
https://youtu.be/swQNNjXztsI
If Celtic PLC agree to a friendly with der Hun scum, not one more dime.
https://youtu.be/lM5x3TJpP24
No one, as far as I know, has mentioned this: If we should keep politics out of football as the footballing authorities tell us then why are these authorities putting politics centre stage in football over the Russian illegal invasion of Ukraine? They’re changing match venues, excluding Russia from competitions and the like – clearly politics and football are interlinked. I support these actions wholeheartedly but I also support the Palestinian cause and am happy with the issue of Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestinian territories being highlighted at Celtic Park by Green Brigade and others. Why then do the authorities consider these fans’ protests to be illegitimate?
An T
From earlier. I don’t think the 2 Cadwalladers are related. Anne’s books on the dirty dealings in the Wee six are of the highest calibre
Nite all, God bless.
FOLK IN HEAVEN, Haus zum Himmel, Pieterlen BE / Switzerland, 2 March 2014.
https://youtu.be/hX0nK4bbHs0
Great comments from Ange in this morning’s Herald. I believe he is acutely aware of our recent failings and all his previous (low key) comments have been designed to calm things down, protect his/our players and keep believing and encouraging players and fans to keep believing in what he calls “the process” (Angeball).
Here is a large section of comments for those who don’t read the Herald:
“Look, I kind of understand it,” Postecoglou said. “I totally get it. It’s not something that is surprising.
“I guess people find it a bit sort of weird that I don’t react to it, and that’s where people are a little bit confused by it.”
“It’s not because I don’t think that sort of reaction happens if we don’t play well or we don’t get the result that people expect us to get, or that I want people to not be passionate or emotional about it.”
“That’s not the case, when you are so invested in something then obviously you are going to get extreme reactions. I’m really hesitant to tell other people how they should feel.”
“Me saying that the players deserve more credit means me telling people how they should view us,” he said.
“I just think that people will take their view on me, the players and how they are performing, I get that.
“Internally though I give the players enormous credit for what they have already overcome this year and the challenges we have had as a team.
“We have rebuilt a side, we’ve had guys coming in at different times. Some of our boys are still in their second or third month of being at this football club.
“I keep saying to them that I have great respect for the way they have embraced this challenge. They are not shying away, they are not making excuses, they’re not dodging the challenges that are in front of us.
“If they keep tackling things the way they have been so far, then we will be in a good place.
“They understand that football is an emotional game, and they understand that sometimes when things don’t go well then there will be things flying our way.
“We can’t react to these swings in mood or attention, and that goes both ways. It can be equally as damaging if you start believing the hype that you have already achieved something.
“I’ve said all along, our job is to be there when the trophies are handed out, not in the meantime.
“At the moment, the players have been really good on focusing on ‘what is the next challenge?’
“Our next challenge is St Mirren at home, a tough game, and that’s where our focus lies.”
Ahead of that game at Celtic Park tonight, Postecoglou has urged his players to yet again resist the urge to abandon their style of play should they be hunting for a late goal to win the match, cognisant of the fact that anxiety may creep in and lead to aimless balls being shelled into the Saints box.
“That’s our challenge, to resist those kind of temptations that the game provides you, because there is no perfect formula to winning a football game,” he said.
“People seem to think that if you’ve got 17 plans going into a game, you can use them all to win that game of football. Well, you could use them all and still need an 18th. My view on all of that has been that we have to have a belief in something.
“We believe in playing the game a certain way, trying to be a really aggressive team, trying to create opportunities and score goals, trying to dominate games of football. When we do those things, more often than not we will win games, but we won’t win them all. I know that.
“No team does that, there’s no system that will give you that. What we’ve got to keep reflecting on is that we are in this current position we are at this moment on March 1st because we have believed in something.
“That is a certain way of playing the game, and if that has got us to this point, we’ve just got to keep reinforcing that to the end and hopefully that gets us to where we want to be.
“It’s extremely challenging [to maintain that over 61 games], but that’s what I mean. That would be another reason for us to make allowances, but the players are not.
“They aren’t complaining about it, we’re not raising it as an issue for us not performing at the levels we want.
“We accept that sometimes our performances don’t hit the levels we want, but it’s not for the lack of trying or the lack of the players wanting and willing themselves to play the type of football we can on a consistent basis.
“But if people expect 61 perfect performances then they are not going to get it, because you are dealing with human beings.”