Bayer Leverkusen manager, Gerardo Seoane, summed the game up, “We also made some mistakes, but we had [goalkeeper]Lukas Hradecky saving us, it was a sensational game from him.
“The victory was earned. Maybe the scoreline was a little bit too high, but we deserved to win.”
Celtic were back to their flowing best in the opening 25 minutes but confidence, composure and any chance of competing in the knockout stages of the Europa League evaporated when Leverkusen took the lead. The home side regrouped at halftime and again took the game to the Germans, but the unfortunate loss of a penalty brought that resurgence to a juddering halt.
It is a worry that the heads go down when a goal is lost; the same happened a week ago at Livingston. As well as everything else, a resilience gene is missing from this Celtic team.
We will know by Sunday evening the wisdom of playing Kyogo Furuhashi and Callum McGregor last night. Nothing was gained from their appearance. Kyogo was thrice through with Leverkusen keeper Lukas Hradecky to beat but could not convert. Still, his impact on Celtic remains transformational.
Leading up to his second great chance, he opened play up with a sublime touch that switched the ball to Liel Abada. No striker in recent Celtic history could do things like that. Jota continues to settle into his new surroundings. Leverkusen defenders quickly learned to back off him and to send reinforcements when the ball went to Celtic’s left. A front three of Jota, Kyogo and Abada has a great deal of promise.
Oh David, what happened? Turnbull seemed caught in two minds, between clearing the ball out of his box and allowing it to run out of play. Playground stuff that would have me overcome with paranoia if it happened in certain domains. I don’t think I have seen as poor a goal against Celtic, Leverkusen must have wondered what happened as much as the rest of us.
From that moment, the collapse seemed inevitable. Our full backs were well up field when 3 v 2 left Joe Hart exposed for the second; halftime could not come soon enough. Hart played well throughout, without him, our season would look in far greater danger.
Expectations were so low I think we had all emotionally factored a result like that in. Despite what in any language is a drubbing, we were able to create better chances (against a far better team) than we have in recent weeks. With Kyogo and McGregor back, the worst of this slump will be behind us. The return of Juranovic, Taylor, Forrest and Jullien will help, but central midfield will remain light until January.
The season could pivot one way or the other on Sunday, we will find out then if the corner has been turned.
447 Comments- Pages:
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 12
- »
Boom
Time, give the manager time.
Well done Squire.
H.H MICK
Squire, Posting lots of sense this morning agree with all of it.
I checked out a few late night posts yesterday seems the head in the sand club still expect the manager to make a silk purse from a sows ear. None so blind as a board apologist.
Even if we win on Sunday , I doubt very much if any corner will have been turned . Our issues are much deeper and more complex than that .
onenightinlisbon on 1st October 2021 12:06 pm
I agree he needs time however until we as a fan base know who is scouting and buying players how can we really judge the manager at all?
Tom Rogic playing centre mid in back to back games tells you all you need to know about the wonderful “squad rebuild” we are supposed to be very grateful for.
booo booo boooo boooo
TIMMY7_NOTED on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:14 PM
Agreed. I think he is, above all, a man of integrity and will not allow himself to become a board patsy.
My fear is he will either walk or be hung out to dry before Christmas if results don’t improve.
glendalystonsils on 1st October 2021 12:10 pm
Agreed. Fundamentally broken/missing structure on the football side of the club.
Remember to thank Mr Bankier for the squad rebuild next time you see him. He appears to think he was responsible and due credit for it, his credit card must have taken a doing.
The board screwed Ange and the support.
Ange , nice guy out of his depth. Tactically naive and no signs of change — defeat on Sunday and it’s over for him.
Team midfield is weak with Turnbull failing weekly and Rogic mostly ineffective. McCarthy sorry rather not go there. Bitton deserves a go in the holding midfield role. No Soro for me either.
He needs to stop the inverted full back experiment as good teams have it sussed and teams at another level have stopped using it. He adjusts his approach or his P45 will be delivered shortly.
Bankier and Lawwell may decide to do a Lennon on Ange and and him out to dry to deflect from their own failings. Dividend Desmond needs to recognise that he has failed again and be open to new leadership coming in. Cork knows all about absentee landlords taking what they could —- he seems to be occupying that territory now.
Prediction zero buys in January, Callum McGregor sold in the summer —- Celtic on their way to being a top 6 club. That what the direction of travel is —- tax dodging CEOs never work.
If we don’t win on Sunday , i feel Ange’s days could be numbered.
Also , very painful listening to Lennon telling us what is going wrong .
LUCKY CODY on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:18 PM
Ange , nice guy out of his depth. Tactically naive and no signs of change — defeat on Sunday and it’s over for him.
So you think he will be sacked if we don’t beat Aberdeen?
Spot on cody.agree with everything there hh
bitton has had more than enough chances , a liability of a player.
Playing without one or two good holding midfielders is a disaster against teams in Europe, especially one that is of CL class like Bayer L. I like Ange’s philosophy but last night I was disappointed in him for the first time.
A lack of class in a lot of positions also exposes us. More than a year ago I thought we should get rid of Bitton, Griffiths and Rogic. The first two are still not contributing. Rogic was like an old man yesterday and was easily hustled off the ball by BL’s fitter players. And his lack of fitness sets a bad example. Ange has to forget that he’s an Aussie.
I really hope no matter what happens on Sunday the board stick with Ange. He has the skills to transform us a club and we need to look beyond the short term fix. If he is allowed to do his job and given the correct backing he could be transformational for Celtic.
Ange has inherited a shit show.
The guy needs time.
Will he be given it? it remains to be seen.
Bring on the sheep.
At least Cal Mac and Kyogo got some game time.
Play Cal Mac further forward where he is more dangerous.
Drop Turnbull for a few games and give the bhoy time to reflect, recuperate and compose himself.
D :)
Onenightinlisbon,
No I don’t think he will be sacked as the board are caught in the headlights ; they will hang him out to dry , winning the league doesn’t matter to them. They cling to their board seats as some sort of local status simple ; they also have no clue on who to give it too. Strachan is too cute to take over this mess.
Which manager of repute would work for the misfits on the Celtic Board. A board where the 2 guys with the most influence on Desmond ensured McKays stay was limited to a short summer break.
Nothing changes until the Board is cleared out —- manager is a sideshow.
GLENDALYSTONSILS on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:10 PM
ONENIGHTINLISBON on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:16 PM
LYNOTT67 on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:21 PM
Good posts
———
Timmy 7_noted – cheers
LUCKY CODY on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:35 PM
Yes, i fear you are correct.
SQUIRE DANAHER on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:35 PM
Appreciated.
starfelt looks a lot more comfortable moving the ball forward out of defence other than trying to pass across or backwards as he has a tendency to panic when under pressure when he’s tries to switch the ball from his left foot to his right when he is playing on the left side.
“Nothing gained from playing Kyogo and McGregor“ says our host.
Mmm.
If I were Paul, I’d abstain from offering advice regarding team selection for the time being.
If we’d followed his advice the other day, regarding starting Bolingoli last night, we’d have fallen foul of UEFA regulations by playing an ineligible player!
;-)
HH
Personally, I’m glad we got some game time into the legs of Kyogo & Calmac before Sunday’s important match.
HH
RC
Bitton absolutely not for me either .
Another liability thats already had plenty of chances.
I liked the look of Liam Scales , big lad that deserves his chance to see what he can do.
We took on a very good German outfit with Ralston (not the worst last night ) and Montgomery as full backs !!!!….so vital in the modern game …….it really isn’t rocket science……Turnbull and Rogic will not sprint back to recover …..we need a couple of Stuart Armstrongs preferably with a nasty streak …..
Worry a little about the new centre forward ….looked very rough …as in Chris Killen rough!
DTs head must have been scrambled to have made such a horrific error in judgement. I thought the same when Joe Hart blundered against AZ. The change in mentality that Ange is demanding must be difficult, but in a high intensity game like last night, when not only are you expected to maintain high levels of energy but also be mindful of the threat that an excellent team pose, while supporting the front 3 and getting back to defend like DT was last night – it must be physically and mentally exhausting.
Being brave on the ball when you’re laying out from the back places a new set of stresses on players who aren’t used to it. Starfelt said as much the other day.
Jota spent much more time tracking back last night, he’s obviously learning
But we were up against a team that wasn’t in transition, that was comfortable in their roles.
I don’t believe Ange isn’t capable of setting a team up to defend, he wouldn’t have been offered the job if that was the case. If we’re to see if Ange’s Celtic can be as great as we’re all hoping he’ll need time from the board, which he’ll definitely get, and some understanding from the support.
We rush to judge, it’s what we do, but let’s show some more patience. The board will cop the usual Flack, which incomes with the job, and criticism also comes with the managers job, but to give Ange a proper chance he needs a fair go of it from everyone
Playing Kyogo and Calmac, I believe, gives an indication of the pressure being felt.
There is no medium term planning or looking ahead.
We’re now at a backs to the wall, every game is critical phase.
Ange starting to look isolated.
This may the the result of him not having his own backroom team, no DoF in place and a change to CEO.
I support him fully and hope the decision makers back him fully.
Are we on the climb back to the top or are we still on the slide? It’s hard to tell at the moment
If Ange’s interview, and, discussions on his plans of how he wants to play the game are the same as what he is attempting to get the team to do i.e. attack attack attack then it is not him that is the problem but those who hired him,no team can attempt to play this way, mistakes happen but when people are out of position due to a misplaced pass or missing a tackle Celtic will be vulnerable to every team that plays us. It seems that we have hired another philosopher when in fact we should be making ourselves hard to break down against better teams, adjusting tactics depending who is available, not trying to play the same way is evidence of someone who is able to reflect and be pragmatic, I see none of it in Ange.
Defeats and heavy defeats do nothing for morale of the team nor does it create optimism within the support
Turnbull needs a rest. When you consider his significant surgery, it’s hardly surprising. What looks like ‘fully recuperated’ on the surface may not be all it seems. There’s a really good player in there but one who looks like his battery needs recharging.
Again a fair summation. Up top we’re excellent, when our players are fit. I actually feel sorry for the defence, which is constantly outnumbered and overrun. Hart has been excellent and CCV and Starfelt are decent players in the right system.
Our problem is midfield. For years our strength, now a shadow of itself. Persevering with Turnbull and Rogic in the same team will be the end of Ange. Not that the alternatives are inspiring, but we can’t carry both in a defensive sense.
The team lacks character, which makes me fear Sunday even though Aberdeen are crap. Another defeat and things will start to get ugly.
Kyogo and CalMac would not have played were they not fit to do so. They came off when the game was beyond redemption and have got minutes in their legs having been out for weeks.
Criticism of Ange for playing them seems very strange to me. Of course they were going to play if fit.
I may be something of an optimist but with a double header against Ferencvaros and Betis arriving to Celtic Park afterwards, 3 wins puts us back in contention with the last game against an all ready qualified Leverkusen to see out the group. Still plenty to play for.
I’m hoping we’ve seen the last of the Turnbull and Rogic midfield combination and the inverted wingers when playing high calibre opponents.
I sense P67 has written Ange off at this stage. It certainly doesn’t look good at the moment. Sunday truly is a must win for us.
A worthy repost Celts
NORRIEM on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 12:54 AM
Copied over from our RCQN WhatsApp group
Please support if possible :::::
The CQN/Sentinelcelts community, and the many friends of Garry Duncan aka Delaneys Dunky, would like to commemorate Garry’s life and friendship as well pay respect to his recent untimely passing.
We have had many great suggestions from you on how we best commerate Garry’s life, including flowers, a memorial brick, donation to Mary’s meals and financial support for the family etc.
Garry’s family, like so many others in our world today, is not a rich family and find their wealth is through the happiness of the family, so to have the burden of not only laying Garry to rest, but also the cost that goes with it is horrific .
Having spoken with Garry’s son Ryan, we feel it appropriate to pass any monies raised direct to the family to let them decide the best way to use it.
Anyone who wants to support the family in leaving a long lasting commemoration in honour of Garry can do so through making a donation via bank transfer to –
o Account name: Walk With Shay
o Account number: 15326765
o Sort code: 80-22-60
o Bank: Bank of Scotland
Please note – tick business account
:You can also make a donation via paypal to walkwithshay@yahoo.com
Donations will close on Friday 8th October.
Thank you in advance for supporting Garry and his family at this very difficult time.
🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏
Huge Thanks to CRC for supporting, with the use of the Walk with Shay Legacy Fund/account, ensuring support can get there quickly.
Thank you Celts for reading.
Hail Hail
Easy to forget Turnbull is not long turned 22 as well. A lot of responsibility on such young shoulders. He showed great bravery in constantly showing after his mistake, even when he was getting heavy criticism from the stands
Naivety sums up Ange’s tactics the team’s performances. Ange needs a while yet but he must prove he has what it takes to manage at this level
There are literally hundreds of players out there without a club.
Our organisation should know about these players – hey maybe they do but I doubt it.
Maybe they wouldn’t come here but surely somewhere out there is a midfielder with a
decent engine.
MARKIEBHOY on 1ST OCTOBER 2021 1:19 PM
There are literally hundreds of players out there without a club.
Our organisation should know about these players – hey maybe they do but I doubt it.
Maybe they wouldn’t come here but surely somewhere out there is a midfielder with a
decent engine.
———
Think you’ll find that The Great Desmondo ticked that box but didn’t look under McCarthy’s bonnet.
Why should Ange get time? That simply ensures 30mill for gers this season, possibly setting them up for 5/6 in a row. We sacrifice that to satisfy anges ego?
Im a fantastic manager, you guys are so lucky to have me. My teams are magic.
If posters could see with their eyes and think with their brains! He’s totally out of his depth. No clue. No tactics. No charisma. No leadership. No leader on the pitch, especially defence. I would not allow my defender s to run about like celtic s defenders. A total shambles. Never mind the horrible capitalist tory board. Ange puts the team out. All the rubbish players. Again and again. Sack the dud. Don’t repeat last year’s horror. This year’s is worse!!