I grew up hearing stories about Bobby Murdoch’s ability to play the game in four dimensions. He could play a pass forward into space, across the field, at the right height, and arriving at the necessary moment, when that area would look completely different than it did when Bobby made his move.
That ball from Ryan Christie for the first goal last night fired a childhood recollection. Ryan took the ball on his chest while looking to his left. He volleyed a pass in the opposite direction into unmanned territory. It ended Alloa’s remarkable resistance. We still haven’t seen enough to know what level of player we have in Ryan, but there are reasons for encouragement.
James Forrest still had a lot to do but his shot was the first accomplished effort from Celtic after (literally) dozens of poorly composed attempts. The Alloa keeper deserved the plaudits, but he didn’t actually make a wonder save all night. He was repeatedly in the right place to do the right thing, we didn’t stretch him.
We dropped points at Inverness due to a truly inspired goalkeeper performance, and a remarkable attraction for the woodwork, but last night’s misfiring was all down to a lack of composure. Kilmarnock may reap a reaction on Saturday.
It’s hard being a keeper. Craig Gordon was caught off his line when Greig Spence got a millisecond of freedom in the first half. Spence fired off a remarkable shot which forced Craig into a diving block. It was as good as save as was made by either keeper all night, but what possessed Craig to go walkabout later, when Kolo Toure was on-hand to shepherd the striker wide is a mystery.
Decision-making like this has nothing to do with core goalkeeping skills. You can drill handling, reactions and starting positions all week, but if there’s a rush of blood on match day, or worse, panic, you’re going to lose a lot of goals.
We’ve seen this movie before. Artur Boruc was, by his own admission, the best goalkeeper in Europe in 2008. By 2010 we did well to get £1m for him, as he made his way to the Fiorentina bench. At 30, Boruc was all over the place. The superstar status had evaporated and few were sorry to see him move on.
Six years later he still has enormous potential for the haphazard, but he’s playing a lot of FA Premier League football on merit. He got his head straight and the rest followed. I’ve no idea what the issues are with Craig Gordon but if Artur can get himself sorted, Craig can too. He’s overcome greater odds already.
The same source of my Bobby Murdoch stories last night referred to Ryan Christie as Tony Christie. It’s a generational thing. Show me the way…..
532 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 14
- »
VFR
I disagree there is a clear dividing line between investors and customers and what’s prioritized as Resolution 12 and the lies that were necessary for ST uptake. What about the cheated trophies and the corrupt competitions that we paid to watch ?
HH
DavidOPoulos 2:23
Jim Goodwin a F@nny fact HH
VFR
AWE NAW is making the point,I think,that we seemed to adopt a strategy where success was measured not by excellence on the pitch,nor even by the full houses such excellence might attract,but on having each year another player bought low to sell high in two years time.
And I’m being kind there(!)
That could never last. We only had to get the new signings wrong one year and that strategy was screwed.
Crewe Alexandra did it for years on a smaller scale wi young free transfers from bigger teams. They graduated some fine fine players through the Dario Academy. Even made it into the second tier for a while.
Still my favourite wee team,and I hope they get promoted this year.
From the old Div 4.
frannyb67
That’s a good fact of the day. Neil Lennon says so…
;)
I believe Jim Goodwin chased after the huns who battered Zaluska….
no invitation to the reformed english football league
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/37440689
Jim Goodwin gives his all for the team he is playing for.
He is not intimidated if he is the underdog .
He is a super fit pro.
There is much to be admired about Jim Goodwin.
Kind of reminds me of Scott Brown.
If he is not in your team then you hate him as an opponent.
TT
BMCUWP
The football is not the most important. Profit spun as stability is the most important. Hence why recently it seems we are a player cash and carry. I also reckon there would be a strong case for recompense if those EBT years were proven corrupt That is why they never will be. It highlights how far we are from being in this together. What true Celtic fan would take that case on ? We would just be delighted that the game would be getting cleaned up. Some imvestors without an emotional affiliation might consider it. Hence why it is stifled.
So how anyone can say we are in this together is beyond me and has never been satisfactorily explaind to me
Much to my bemusement. I get no amusement out of it whatsoever
The pass from Christie was very good,but lets not go over the top,he is aa long way from being the answer to Celtics mid field. It is not so long ago it was being said on this site Scott Allan could see a pass,only man in the Celtic side who could. He is not pulling any trees up in Rotherham.
The manager knows best,let him bring Christie
The pass from Christie was very good,but lets not go over the top,he is aa long way from being the answer to Celtics mid field. It is not so long ago it was being said on this site Scott Allan could see a pass,only man in the Celtic side who could. He is not pulling any trees up in Rotherham.
The manager knows best,let him bring Christie on
The pass from Christie was very good,but lets not go over the top,he is aa long way from being the answer to Celtics mid field. It is not so long ago it was being said on this site Scott Allan could see a pass,only man in the Celtic side who could. He is not pulling any trees up in Rotherham.
The manager knows best,let him bring Christie on at
Echo
Eecchhooo
Eeeecccchhhhooo
;)
AWE_NAW_NO_ANNONI_OAN_ANAW_NOO on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 4:28 PM
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 4:31 PM
Not all the decisions that are/were made worked out in balancing the priority of the footballing side against the business side. The sale of our best players did bale us out significantly, but the harsh reality is that we ARE a selling club. That’s the market we are in. The poor decision making culminated in the Scottish Cup semi-final defeat last season.
The harsh reality of failure (off and on the pitch) brought about significant change and has given us a better management team and a better playing pool. Hopefully we can move forward from this.
Aw naw, as for the cheating, I’ve been watching this one way or another for 50 years; the only reality is that it has been brought out into the open now! Disnae make it right, it just makes it so!
The difference now is that maybe, just maybe, we might get some change in the game now!
Bada,
Jim Goodwin is a tadger on the pitch. A thug who tries at every opportunity to harass or injure. The game often passes him by.
Off the pitch I hear he’s a very decent guy.
HH
SPRINGHILL BHOY
Can we have that in triplicate mate:))
Awe Naw, VFR,
I think that if the team is successfull, then the business side benefits, ST sales, merchandise, etc.
Therefore it is surely in the interests of investors for this to be the case.
There may be and probably are, other factors that determine intermediate strategies, re when to increase expenditure on the team, or infrastructure projects.
These last few years have seen a seismic change in the top league.
It was a leap into the unknown, minus the Departed.
As it happens, it appears as if our income dropped and whether we like it our not. A number of our support missed the frisson of having Them around.
However, it would be fair to argue that attendances have been gradually reducing since Henrik left the club, taking with him the flair and excitement he brought to the game.
What replaced him was pragmatic, uninspiring, if successful football.
RD had the right ideas, but couldn’t bring the senior players with him.
BR speaks the same language and has got off to a good start, saying all the right things.
Time will tell whether he can sustain that start and create a successfull, exciting team.
It may be that the team is the most important part, but only if you consider it ” the front of house”.
You can’t run a successfull restaurant without a competent functioning kitchen.
Also you can ‘t maintain same business without, faithfull, satisfied returning customers.
Hence my view of the three- legged Trinty.
Sorry for the rambling rant.
Sumbdy sing a song!
I thought the Gordon save you mentioned Paul was actually a poor save. A shot from distance that he should have been able to smother, but he knocked it out into a dangerous spot. Thankfully there was no Alloa player there to take advantage. Thought Gordon looked nervous all night.
AWE NAW
Did you leave out a “not” there?
Essentially,I agree. You know that. The can of worms is our board’s reticence to pursue the wrongdoings done to us.
As fans,we can be angry. We can bitch and moan.
Demand at the very least an asterisk on certain tainted achievements(!)
But as a Plc,they should have been seeking financial recompense,as would any other company in any other field which had been robbed and nearly put out of business by a competitor who broke the law.
Example,Branson and Laker v British Airways.
TTT
So why did we not back MON, WGS, NL when they were successful instead of selling their best players ?
HH
About 3 or 4 mins into the second half Goodwin went into a 50/50 with Tierney in the box and followed through with a forearm smash. No action from the referee.
Good honest pro…
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 4:57 PM
I agree with much of what you say; but one of the great imponderables is that we don’t actually know what steps (if any) the PLC Board are taking.
The fact is that, at this point in time, the EBT’s and the Big Tax Case are still up in the air until the final appeal is ruled upon. They may (or may not) be keeping their powder dry. Time will tell.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 4:57 PM
But as a Plc,they should have been seeking financial recompense,as would any other company in any other field which had been robbed and nearly put out of business by a competitor who broke the law.
but not one other spl club, some of whom were in a far more precarious position financially than we were, have chosen to do so
if it’s only financial recompense that the plc would be after, then there would have been a decision to be made about how likely we were to win, and if we won how likely it was that we would get paid. who would have been paying us and with what?
in financial terms it would be a futile exercise
AWE_NAW_NO_ANNONI_OAN_ANAW_NOO on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 5:01 PM
TTT
So why did we not back MON, WGS, NL when they were successful instead of selling their best players ?
HH
________________________
MON got a fortune to spend. He was well backed and left for family reasons.
The slide started under WGS because, if we are honest, the fitba’ wisnae that brilliant. Mowbray I will discount. NL had some success, but again, the fitba’ wisnae great and only some of the thunder was back. He was only ever a short term solution; I think the idea was to bring RD in under NL and then transition. That didnae work out too well.
A few harsh lessons have been learned, but I hope we can move forward now and pick up where we should have after MON!
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 3:40 PM
PJBHOYNYC
Nice…
—————–
Cheers. Will watch that video on Mr Barret when work finished.
HH
AWE_NAW_NO_ANNONI_OAN_ANAW_NOO on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 5:01 PM
So why did we not back MON, WGS, NL when they were successful instead of selling their best players ?
which of MON and WGS’s best players did we sell?
VFR800A8
Aye,I’ll give you that. They may well be holding fire.
Perception based on past experience suggests they were kinda hoping it would all go away.
Anyway,nae chance of us falling out about it,bud. Time will tell.
The reality of speaking the truth in 21st century Scotland can really have some serious implications .
I saw Paul Larkin has been contacted by the police to advise him of a threat made against his life.
Neanderthal knuckledraggers who can’t handle reality.
Paul appears to be okay and will carry on his good work.
Not sure I’d be so brave in the face of such .
Anyway , well done Paul & HH
CELTIC40ME
Branson got told the same thing when he went after BA.
He knew he had been stitched up. He just couldn’t prove it.
But he knew the proof was there. He even sold Virgin Records to finance the wild goose chase.
Guess who won?
And,btw,when did cost overcome right? That’s why Branson did it. To right a wrong.
Are Celtic happy to allow a wrong to perpetuate through fear?
Aye,that’ll be why we all took the soup then…
“By 2010 we did well to get £1m for him, as he made his way to the Fiorentina bench”
I’m not having that. Boruc, at his best, was the best of a good recent bunch of keepers we have had. Forster was more consistent but Artur reached higher heights. Now, he had lost some form and had fitness issues at the point he was sold but,as a Polish internationalist keeper- £1m was a steal.
How unsurmountable were his fitness issues? Fiorentina bought him as an experienced back up to their French Internationalist keeper. Though he had to wait 4 months for his debut, he then played the next 25 league matches in Serie A. It took him that short time to prove his game and get back to decent form where he was number one choice for the whole of his second season. For £1m, Artur was a steal from us whilst capable of holding down the number one jersey for two seasons in a top flight Serie A club. Peter Lawwell can take no solace from that sale- he grossly underestimated his worth and , at £1m , he did not need to be sold. Seriously, if Fiorentina were interested at that price, are we saying, no other club could have their interest piqued? Are we that bad at marketing?
Oh! and comparisons of Christie with either McStay or Murdoch are grossly premature and verging on offensive.
Last night’s pass was a brave one. He released a pass into an uncrowded area gambling on James’s pace to get him there before the defender adjusted to the flight. If that had been Lustig and not James, the defender gambles on getting there first. It was not a pinpoint pass but a clever one nonetheless. The tiring Alloa defender, instead of chasing the ball down, opted for safety first and letting James get there with the aim of jockeying him and slowing him down till help got there. By the time James chased down the pass and faced up, there were now 3 Alloa defenders on duty across the line of the penalty area.
I would credit Christie with bravery for passing so early but 80% plus of the credit for that goal goes to James’s pace and subsequent execution of the run.
We are so desperate for new bling that we over-praise the abilities of those who have not been tried enough to have failed yet, in our eyes. This syndrome affects Christie, Henderson and Ajer. In the past, it has led to Scott Allan being over-rated. Given time we will be calling for Gary Makay Stevens re-instatement at the expense of Paddy Roberts if he has another average-ish game.
The coach sees these players 6 days a week; we get to judge them on one or two matchdays.
Ryan Christie has a chance. So does Liam Henderson but the reason they are not commanding the jerseys occupied by Rogic, Armstrong, Bitton and Roberts is because those guys have been impressing the coach more.
Ryan and Liam will need a string of impressive performances to oust the incumbent from the jersey they want. If they get it, it will be because they have surpassed the performance of the holder and not just because they look as though they might be able to sometime in the future.
Forrest and Tierney have both made that tremendously difficult jump from Development football to Senior team. They did it without the advantage that Ryan, Liam, Scott and Kristofer had of playing senior football with another team on loan or before being transferred. That will increase their prospects but the gap from ICT and Hibs and Start is still huge as Christie and Allan and Henderson and AJer have shown.
They have a short window to make it, otherwise the next batch of Hendry, Aitchison and Miller will get their chances to supplant them as contenders.
And the cycle will continue.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 5:12 PM
VFR800A8
Anyway,nae chance of us falling out about it,bud. Time will tell.
____________________________________
I don’t fall out with people (no’ even MACJAY or TD). It’s no’ in my nature!
KTF
BURGHBHOY on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 5:17 PM
James Forrest has written a good piece here on it.
FAC the Act
KTF
Awe Naw,
See VFR800A8 above.
The coffers were empty after MON’s front loaded budget, which left GS to operate a tight ship.
To his credit, he did it well, in terms of results.
Neil Lennon hadn’t the coaching ability to take us forward. His strengths were his personality, background and fervour.
He was expected to have RD work under him, but, for whatever reason, that didn’t happen.
In the meantime, there were developments inside and outside the park, which, I presume weren’t all paid via State Aid.
I, too, wish that we held the SFA to account for the Asterisk Years.
However, what recourse would Celtic have if the SFA turned round and said, ” Naw, your getting nothing”?
Do we say, “OK, we’re not playing in your Association any more”?
We are part of the SFA, but we are on,y one vote, no matter how strong our voice is.
For years, we have read about the dissatisfaction of the other SPL clubs over the OF 11-1 voting rights.
Yet, with one half of the duopoly dead, why have they not spoken up and challenged the wrong doing in the game.
What response do you think they would give if Celtic openly challenged the authorities?
What happened with the Huns was sanctioned and supported at Government level, via the Appaling Vista medium.
I’m sure you will recall my repeated BC or DC solution.
It is what it is and we are where we are.
Tub thumping and throwing stones at the windows won’t work with the Establishment.
As far as Celtic is concerned, I am happy to concentrate on the positives of the club, rather than mine for negatives.
I’m happier that way.
Apols for the blog clog.
VFR I read your article in relation to Celtic being “more than a club”.
In fact it wasn’t really about your views about “celtic being more than a club” rather it was an attack on anyone who disagreed with the board and its PLC strategy and its clear drive to make celtic a business first. Hilariously you bestow upon the board the charitable giving (when its the support) and you seem to liken those who question the board’s old firmism with a hankering for yesteryear – which is simply bizarre.
Its akin to reading something on follow follow wherein they wax lyrical about the connection to armed forces and royalty and quintessential britishness.
Sychophantic without a hint of true thought or analysis.
If CQN are really going down the route of this sort of nonsense then all I can say is oh dear.
Funny and sad all at the same time.
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS on 22ND SEPTEMBER 2016 5:17 PM
And,btw,when did cost overcome right? That’s why Branson did it. To right a wrong.
Are Celtic happy to allow a wrong to perpetuate through fear?
You were talking about it purely in financial, not in moral terms.
Who would we take to court? Who would pay compensation? What are the chances of receiving a penny of it?
Given that this is what Nimmo-Smith’s conclusion were there’s a fair chance, if anyone actually contested it, that the court would come to the same conclusion:
“Rangers FC did not gain any unfair competitive advantage from the contraventions of the SPL Rules in failing to make proper disclosure of the side-letter arrangements, nor did the non-disclosure have the effect that any of the registered players were ineligible to play, and for this and other reasons no sporting sanction or penalty should be imposed upon Rangers FC.”
Scuse my ignorance but how does it all work with police informing about threats?
I mean, is it not a bit daft to call the cops and tell them you’re gonna threaten someone?
Not disputing the claims of the disgusting act just curious.
HH
We changed course after Seville it was too expensive having been saddled with the cost of the Dream team. MON wanted out then as he knew we were heading for the”slow lane” he was persuaded to stay another year. ,The point being if the football was more important and if success breeds success … why was he note backed ?Even after Seville what your gentleman are suggesting it is nonsense. WGS most successful manager since Big Jock .. Willo Flood …. huns needed to win to survive .. anybody with an o grade in arithmetic knew…. Lenny CL footbal llike WGS was not backed from a position of strength the financials were more important
So all your suppositions do not seem to be based on historical fact. The football comes secondary and the PLC do not want to deal with the powers of corruption that nearly saw us for bankrupt in 1994. A hands off play it safe strategy. Hence a wee profit, cash in the bank. Old firm derbies and historical gubbings
Getting late here
Good night and happy debating
Money it’s a gas…
GM
It’s done by carrier pigeon or owl if you’re a wizard! :-)
Seriously though it’s no laughing matter, I know someone who received such threats to his life, subsequently passed on by the polis.
Right off tae kick TTR at 5s.
Doesn’t matter that we’re in the same team :-)