The search to resolve our defensive problems this season stretch back before the departure of Virgil van Dijk in August. Dedryck Boyata and Efe Ambrose have struggled with form, which our big summer signing, Jozo Simunovic, has endured two lengthy injury lay-offs.
Defensive stats have been revolutionised since the January arrival of Erik Sviatchenk, who was voted the Danish Superliga’s Player of the Year last night. We have achieved six clean-sheets in his nine starts, losing only a solitary goal each game the defence was breached. It took 20 games to record six clean-sheets before the Dane arrived.
We are far from the finished article at the back. The clean-sheets mask perennial failures to defend corner kicks, which have recently resulted good chances, instead of goals conceded. But, progress has been clear. Jozo’s been out of the team since the week before Erik’s arrival.
One of the things we need between now and the end of the season is these two paired up and tested. You win things (and qualify for things) when you stop conceding goals.
I remember the days I’d pour over Oldco Rangers’ accounts for insights into the future and comparisons with our own business model. I’d a cursory look at The Rangers Football Club’s accounts this morning. There is little of comparative relevance for us, or indeed, probably for Newco’s short-term future, should they gain promotion this season.
The one area that offers comparison is the cost of running a football business in a stadium which occasionally caters for crowds of 50,000 or more. With first team wages (I assume this refers to professional players employed) stripped out, expenses during the paired-down Easdale-led season was just north of £17m.
This is a useful guide of what it costs to pay your rates, electricity , insurance and the million other bills when you need to occasionally cater for 50,000-ish crowds, although many costs, like police, will reflect a lower tariff due to the lack of actual footfall. We don’t get as clear a picture of this cost from Celtic, who don’t separate player wages from non-playing staff. My hunch is that Celtic’s paried-down figure will be a few million higher (the silver polish bill alone….).
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You might want to book a holiday in Lisbon. #Justsaying #knowsnothing
Paul67
Typo alert in headline.
Auldheid
Yes indeed, the Clumpany has given the Big Lie propagators a right good ‘clubbing’ in his latest excellent piece.
Don’t know if anyone heard last night’s Sportsound, but it was absolutely comical. Almost as if they were trying to put on a spoof sports programme where winning is a bad thing.
My expectations were pretty low when the line-up was announced – Kenny MacIntyre, Richard Wilson, Tom English and Derek Ferguson.
The phone-in element of the Monday programme is tag-lined by MacIntyre as “you set the agenda”.
After a positive Celtic fan said how he was happy with the win, MacIntyre quickly forgot the theme and dug out his own agenda by asking if Ronny Deila should stay beyond the end of the season.
English seemed to think that enjoying a win with a “wonder goal” was a bad thing. Presumably scrappy goals are much better.
All the panelists seemed to forget how winning games with late goals was a sign of “great character” and brilliant management – as it had been for Aberdeen’s recent wins.
An Aberdeen supporter then called in to voice criticism of Derek McInnes and was immediately shot down in flames. Apparently didn’t know what he was talking about. English then mentioned Aberdeen’s run of single-goal victories – “narrow margins” as he called it. No doubt he – ahem – did the exact same research as Paul67 used for his article earlier in the day.
Another Celtic supporter said he thought the Kilmarnock pitch was poor. The entire panel jumped on him and said he was talking nonsense. Just like they did when Mark Warburton blamed it for Martyn Waghorn’s injury (that last bit was made up of course).
A Celtic fan emailed in to mention that Deila and Warburton had lost the same number of games but the media treatment of them was night and day. Wilson – almost hysterically – said there was no way you could possibly compare the two, as they were in different divisions and had been with their respective clubs for different lengths. Presumably MacIntyre and English pointed out to him off air that the previous Monday’s show (on which they both appeared) had spent the best part of an hour discussing “manager of the year” which involved comparing at least eight or nine managers from different divisions all with different lengths of service…..
Lawwell not short of a quote about pre season friendlies ,all about the money……
!!Bada Bing!!
I think Ronny Deila asked for no long-distance, preseason tours, to help the players to prepare for CL qualifiers. I wonder if this arrangement is a compromise between Ronny and PL (?), in that Celtic didn’t do so well in Europe despite no long distance tours, so we might as well have some big money spinning games locally i.e. not America.
My theory would be more plausible, if only I could remember what we did pre-season last year.
Have I broken the blog?
What chances the Inter game played at the Estadio Nacional, 50 years on?
Dharma Bam
We stayed at home silly. Diligently practising how to fill in player registration forms to give us that vital edge in European competitions!!!
:-)
HH jamesgang
Terrific pre-season line up of Games.Celtic in with the cream of Europe.God,a lot on here wont like that.Pure ragin,in fact.
Sellic development up 4-1
Allan, Armstrong, Miller and Aitchison
HH
http://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/premier-league/confirmed-lionel-messis-barcelona-to-face-celtic-at-the-aviva-stadium-34561084.html
Great set of pre season fixtures. Guaranteed glamour games and a lot of cash. Unlike the CL which we will struggle to qualify for (unless the draw is kind to us).
Nice to see Leicester City getting rewarded for their season’s work by getting to play with the real big boys of football.
Scorers of the 2nd and 3rd goals celebrate
https://www.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fichef.bbci.co.uk%2Fimages%2Fic%2F480x270%2Fp01l5t7t.jpg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fprogrammes%2Fb00t2ws6&docid=7GdPbua4KgZutM&tbnid=IWqcZTC13WhR0M%3A&w=480&h=270&client=ms-android-sonymobile&ei=z2bxVt7BHoKOU8-2jNgH
Turkeybhoy,
Can you imagine the rage if the friendlies are a success AND we qualify for cl group stage.
Yikes ;)
HH
bada bing
At least now we don’t actually have to qualify for the Champions League in order to play Barca, we can claim to have played them in the “International Champions Cup”!
Please say hello to a young friend of mine from Cheltenham, Josh, who is a big Liverpool fan, but I’m trying to convert him!
Two days to go!
Guess if the CFC .v. Inter Milan game was to be held in (the heat of) Lisbon then it would have to be at one of these 2 stadiums:
Benfica’s – Estádio da Luz – 65K.
Sporting’s – José Alvalade Stadium – 50K.
Flights based on 3/4 nights stay circa £300-350 return excluding hotels (currently at time of going to press).
AlanWhickerCSC!
Dharma Bam
Celtics pre-season friendlies this summer are of no consequence to Ronny. He won’t be there.
praecepta on 22nd March 2016 3:53 pm –
Estadio Nacional is about 35k. They still play the Portuguese Cup Final in it each year.
Glasgow A city divided.
More people from Easterhouse go to Polmont Young offenders than go to Glasgow Uni,Strathclyde not much better,
Read the article below,click on your post code and see the differences between affluent areas and areas like Easterhouse.
http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2016/03/glasgow-city-divided-learning-lines-160321140932335.html
HH
Gary67 on 22nd March 2016 3:55 pm
Saw that – but I noticed the venues for all the games (incl USA) all appeared to be in stadiums with 50K+ capacity.
Think the USA Organisers are trying to get max-value from this tournament?
We’ve got far less chance of qualifying for the CL group stages of our players are having to travel abroad for a number of friendly matches.
It is a strange decision in light of Ronny last season asking that all pre season games would involve minimal travel.
Hold on a wee minute there HT!!!
So the confirmed games are in Glasgow and Dublin?
HT,
The only announced venues are Glasgow and Dublin.
No exzackerly globe trotting.:)
HH
Ha.
Yer too quick for me :)
HH
GM
It’s the additional fibre in my diet neebs! :-)
Hamilton (Ontario) Tim…
DHARMABAM@1:53
—————————–
You are correct, my questions and Auldheid’s answers were featured on CQN a couple of days ago – I am very interested in what Auldheid and others, not least BRT&H, have to say.
However I am still not clear on the whole matter, because I don’t know exactly what is now happening and has happened internally at the SFA and Celtic FC.
Without that insight, no one can say categorically that they know the whole story – there is more to come out, in my opinion.
TBB
Is there another Cumbernauld on our planet? :-)
There’s a Cumberhead up by the ‘Gow
Mr Pastry
What I do know is I wrote to PL when the news about the time bar was broken by BRTH on this site, I asked him if he was aware of the time bar for RES 12 and in view of this had they[ the board] taken steps to protect Celtic’s position if this required to go to UEFA, he has not replied
This International Champions Cup will be surely worth around £5 million over the three matches – would hope that Celtic Park and Aviva will be sold out.
Nice little earner for the season – probably just as well as there is little confidence that our current squad can qualify for the CL – hope I’m wrong of course.
DESSYBHOY@4:31 – I wonder why!
Hamiltontim,not been up to the mark recently, re this latest action on Res 12, do I need to take any further action, or is this new mandate for anyone who has not signed up previously.
Awerabest PJ
With two of the three domestic prizes available in Scotland now residing in two former Highland League clubs, how on earth can anyone argue that Scottish football has not gone drastically downhill over the last few years.
ICT and Ross County do a lot of their recruiting, not in the lower English Divisions, but in the non- league environment.
How on earth can we compete in Europe when we can’t beat teams with players from the likes of Kendal Town …etc?
St Johnstone, Motherwell, Hamilton and Kilmarnock are now heading down this road, whilst Sevco raid Accrington Stanley – if you didn’t laugh, you cry and cry and cry.