Benjamin Nygren was an unused substitute two weeks ago as Celtic fell to St Mirren at Hampden. He opened Celtic’s scoring account in the two subsequent games, against Aberdeen then yesterday at Livingston. That moves him onto 8 league goals for the season, second in the Premiership scorer’s table behind Lawrence Shankland. No one in the league comes anywhere near Nygren in terms of goals per 90 minutes.
For a player who is not a striker, that is a heady position, made all the more impressive considering it is his first season in Scotland and he has been in and out of favour with three managers. Benjamin has become Celtic’s most valuable player.
No matter how many Nygren and his team-mates score, Celtic will struggle in every game if they remain as open to counter-attacks as they currently are. The calamitous defending during the opening minutes at Livingston would prove more costly against better teams. Defending corner kicks also remains a case for concern.
The most hopeful I can be is that Wilfried Nancy is still learning what this squad can give him. If the League Cup Final was played again, Nygren would be first name on the team-sheet. Wilfried is hampered by injuries to Cameron Carter-Vickers, Marcelo Saracchi and Alistair Johnston, but I expect he will make changes before we visit Motherwell on Tuesday.
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Hello
HH
Happy Holy Family Day, Ave Ave
One Club. Back our Board, the Team,and Wilfried Nancy. Petition.
https://c.org/xsGXWMNsxw
Hello Gene
Benjy can certainly finish. Can miss them too
He’s no centre forward, but as we have found out, he is no outside right eether.
Kind of an old fashioned inside forward good at reading the game, following in, and can score with either foot, and not bad in the air. Eight goals? He’ll hit twenty at least given enough game time…
Hopefully he learns before it’s too late.
Nygren?
Pah !
Doesn’t do anything except score goals.
P67
He’s had 2 CH’s , Scales and Simpson- Pudsey on the bench – don’t see why he picks Ralston in a back 3
Anges sixth league game in charge was a terrible 1-0 defeat against bottom of the table Livingston. It meant we had the worst start to a league campaign in 25 years, and it didn’t get any better, we drew 1-1 with DU and got gubbed 4-0 at Parkhead in the Europa.
It took 14 games for Ange to really get us going.
Wilf took over a team that had scored the second fewest goals of any Celtic team in the last 25 years and he’s got us scoring lots. As many in his first three league games as we’d scored in the first 14 of the season.
I’d reserve judgement on Wilfried until we’ve got players in to play in his system. Ralston clearly isnt a right ch in that formation and while Yang has learned quickly and looks like he might develop into a quality wing back he still doesn’t have the defensive instincts.
It’s the Celtic way – solve one problem and another comes up but if we can get Ihaenacho fit and sign a striker who can develop into a first choice and some right sided players we could be onto something
I fear that we will have lost the League before it’s realised that the man is way out of his depth.
A system that has won us trophy after trophy has been casually discarded in order to adopt a system used by no other team of significance anywhere. Why change the system ?
Yesterdays game was a fiasco. Had Livingston any top class players they would have destroyed us.
With Scales dropped, who is expected to defend corners and free kicks ?
Ralston played 90% of the game facing his own goal, with his dominant passing going sideways or backwards.
A simple ball put between the the three defenders had us in panic mode..
Four defeats, including losing the seasons first trophy, a late winner against a ten man Aberdeen and a very dubious penalty to seal the win yesyerday.
All because we decided to “change the system.”
Never particularly helpful going back over past mistakes but what the hell were we doing selling Idah, Nawrocki and Lagerbieke in the Summer? Wilf’s job would undoubtedly be easier with a striker who’d be starting now and two right sided CBs who are starting in a back 3 at their clubs in the squad.
A strange act of self-harm thats caused us our two main personnel problems
Livvy are a really poor side with very little to offer in any department.
Yet they scored two goals against us and caused panic with every ball over the top and set piece.
The next two games against superior opponents will test us to the limit and may have great implications for the league campaign.
I don’t think Nawrocki was sold.
MADRA RUA on 28TH DECEMBER 2025 12:18 PM
4-3-3 wasnt working, we’d had the second worst start to a domestic season in 25 years and watched tge dream fail to score in 210 minutes against the worst team in the champions league
8 goals in 14 games in the spl before WN took over
Roma showed us how 3 at the back can work, it’s a pretty “normal” formation these days. Almost all the top Italian clubs use it. Braga as well with one of our ex players in the position thats costing us at the moment.
celtic40me on 28th December 2025 12:35
Totally agree that going forward we look very good it’s just the other end worries me!
Play Nygren centre forward, we have nobody else…….
He’s lost 4 games including a cup final and against a team that hadn’t won in forever.
2 wins, one against 10 men and one against the bottom of the league.
Not inspiring- but we’ll see what happens over the next 2 games. 🫣
Ralston also ventures up field in a midfield position (a la inverted full back style of Ange) that leaves a massive gap on the right of our defence.
If I can see that so will any half decent manager.
Oh, BTW, what position was Donovan when he came on?
celtic40me on 28th December 2025 12:35 pm.
_______________________________________________
MON had brought us back within 3 points of top of the table. The reason we had such a bad start to the season was excusively down to badly organised sales, purchases and above all, incompetent investment tactics. Nothing whatsoever to do with the established system.
I hope to be proved wrong, afterall its the same goal we are all hoping for. But, so far, I have zero confidence in the manager or the system.
Two games…Tuesday and Saturday….6 points would be absolutely wonderful.DO IT CELTIC.
celtic40me@12.35
“8 goals in 14 games in the SPL before WN took over”…..
Where are you getting these numbers from?
Under Martin & Co we played 5 SPL games, won them all and scored 12 goals
Won them all….
“ I’d reserve judgement on Wilfried until we’ve got players in to play in his system”.
That’s a very fair point, but it strikes me (happy to be corrected by anyone who knows what they’re talking about) his type of player will first and foremost have to be supremely athletic. Unless we can unearth 3 or 4 Daizens, these guys don’t come cheap.
Nygren – Not bad for £1.7m eh? Especially when you look across Glasgow. What was it theRangers paid for Chemiti(sp?)….£8m? For a guy who’s struggling to score. Mega LOL’s
Nygren’s not just scored about 8 goals so far, he’s also got 3 or 4 assists. Bargain.
Playing a high line with 3 at the back requires centrebacks with good positioning, pace an 1vs1 defending. Also need to be decent passers of the ball. Trusty and kt are capable in the role. I could see CCV getting on well enough as rcb or cb. Johnston would likly be good in rcb as well but much ptefer at rwb when he returns.
Ccv and starfelt formed a formidable partnership in a high line because they could use their pace and positional sense to good effect. We cant be waiting for johnston and ccv to return.
Priority in order needs to be:
A striker who can put the ball in the goal and link the play up top.
A rcb with the requred skillset asap, good positioning, pace, 1v1 defending and passing.
2 energy busting wingbacks who are good at both ends of the game.
A defensive central midfielder who loves to break up play.
HH
We scored double what Livingston scored away from home. In fact in recent years, I can’t remember us scoring more in Livingston even when we had recognised strikers.
What would keep some people happy. Scoring three times what the opposition scored or maybe scoring four times what the opposition scored.?
HH.
Think Brother Wilfied is too stubborn to change formation. Surely he can see he doesn’t have the players yet to play that way, so get back to 4 at the back. I know Ralston is not Messi, but feel sorry for him playing a position he can’t handle.
Do not forget, we are playing against 14 men next week, not counting VAR.
We all moan on here about our south side pals getting away with “honest mistakes” but we do seem to be theonly ones complaining about it, Why don’t ALL clubs stir the shit ????
king LUBO
Ccv and pace ?
16 points from 9 away games this season.
Even after two wins, I am struggling to warm to this guy.
Having seen better organised Celtic teams lose 5/6/7 in Europe, we could easily lose double figures with this set up.
My other concern is Nancy’s tone when he speaks about the game. He comes across as if he is managing novices or novice fans,who have never played before or watched a game.
After yesterday, he talked about controlling the game in the second half. This is something we were actually good at before his arrival, and the reality is he should be leaving it to guys like Calmac and Jamesie, who have achieved more than he ever will, to see out the game.
I live in hope, but my instinct is we have another Tony Mowbray managing us
Seems to me that WN will be selecting the following team until AJ, CCV, Iheanacho and Jota return-
KS, AR, AT, KT, CM, AE, LM, BN, YH, DM and JK
personally, I think JK should be dropped with DM up front (despite the fact DM most effective on the left- on balance I think that JK profligacy is a bigger loss to the side).
Also- YH is not doing enough defensively and I wonder if LM or Donovan could play right of the midfield (or even whether Donovan might be better at right of defence in place of AR)
What Celtic manager in our long unbroken history has faced GTF chants in less than a fortnight.?
In fact has any new manager of any team faced such an onslaught from their own fans in such a short timeframe?
And some talk about WN’s tone when talking.
FFS.
The return of Mad Mitch…..
CELTIC MAC on 28TH DECEMBER 2025 1:05 PM
Yeah, totally wrong, well out. I was looking at a comparison table on kerrydalestreet that has the correct points totals but the goals column is wrong.
13 from 9 before MON took over, 12 from 5 after.
Celtic’s 18 league fixtures played in date order, (Celtic score first)
… for no other reason than I wanted to see what they looked like laid out as a whole.
Interesting.
1-0
2-0
3-0
0-0
2-1
0-0
3-2
0-2
1-3
4-0
4-0
1-0
2-1
1-0
1-2
1-2
3-1
4-2
Currently averaging just over 2.1 PPG.
Trends to 81 points after 38 games.
IMHO, that won’t be enough to win the league this season.
Pure guess? I reckon 86 will get it done.
One way for that to happen?
Bumpy, patchy results and gradual improvements until end January …
… then go on an 2.5 PPG run across the last 15 games.
Certainly doable but lots of variables … most of which are out with our control.
Turning just one of those variables – our support of the team during games – into a positive constant …
.. is within our gift AND will make a difference
Well I am looking forward to our new style of football .Fed up with low scoring games .
One of the best games I seen was at Dunfermline 5-4 to Celtic .
Down 2-0 3-1 4-2 then won 5-4 .Bring these games back HH
Perchance, in this new era of dazzling ambition, has a single credible striker’s name been linked to the club? Or is that particular asset still considered optional?
Every other club seems to find this “essential piece of the jigsaw” rather handy. But we, in our infinite wisdom, prefer the challenge of completing the puzzle with a crucial chunk missing. Very avant-garde.
I assume the recruitment office was a hive of activity on Christmas Day. Sharpening pencils, realigning paperclips, admiring the tautness of their elastic bands… anything but, God forbid, actually signing someone.
Lest we forget how we arrived at this juncture, and until this is remedied, there will be no remedy to our problems going forward.
El Pistolero was the first domino. . . . . . .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vjD3EVC1-zU
On now BBC radio 2 celebration of the late Johnnie Walker.