Straight from the off on Saturday you knew this would be a more accomplished Celtic performance than our last league outing against Dundee. Brown and Bitton in central mid, with Charlie Mulgrew partnering Erik Sviatchenko in central defence.
Charlie is at the back end of his career but you know you are getting a seasoned SPL pro, who is going to clear his lines, attack the ball, and not try to be Beckenbauer (i.e. he’d rather not attempt a 20 yard pass than risk misplacing one). I’ve liked the look of Erik since he’s arrived, our clean sheet count has improved immeasurably, but the Dane was culpable at the Thistle penalty. He was turned, then put his arm around his opponent’s waist. A nailed-on penalty which could have cost us in different circumstances.
I loved Kilmarnock striker Josh Magennis’ comments after his teams’ defeat at Pittodrie: “We can do Aberdeen a favour next week by beating Celtic, we haven’t lost in our two games against them this season.”
Pin it to the dressing room wall at Lennoxtown, Ronny. We battered Kilmarnock last time out, creating 20 attempts but couldn’t convert, and we let them off the hook earlier in the season at Rugby Park by conceding a late penalty. No mistakes this time.
438 Comments- Pages:
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Goals this season
Leigh Griffiths 35
Kris Commons 9
Nir Bitton 9
Tom Rogic 7
Dedryck Boyata 6
Nadir Ciftci 4
Calum McGregor 6
Gary Mackay-Steven 5
Stuart Armstrong 3
Emilio Izzaguire 2
Charlie Mulgrew 2
Mikael Lustig 2
James Forrest 2
Scott Brown 1
Carlton Cole 1
Jozo Simunovic 1
Colin Kazim-Richards 1
TheLoneGunman CSC
Glendalystonsils
Our Goals in Lisbon are iconic goals from open play, but you could argue that Billy McNeill’s header from a corner in the Vojvodina game was just as important in the overall scheme of things, as was his winner in the 1965 cup final which did so much to usher in Jock Stein’s golden age.
********************************************************
Being a shy retiring type of person (ooowww! Just thumped ma knee on the desk shelf…)…I try to stay away from arguements (the big wan always wins)…however I would posit that goals from Fouls, corners, etc are in the main the result of sleekit/desperate/mistimed/scurrilous attempts by a last gasp desperate defence to stem the never ending surge of beautiful, freeflowing, rearguard-busting, imaginative, intelligent, artistic thrusts of open play football for which we are renowned.
Like complementary partners in an extraordinary emotional embrace.
As I say, just a suggestion….nobody shout at me…ma knee is sore enough.
Hail Hail
Matt
Good on the club to do this for the travelling support, now just pen a letter please to UEFA about Res 12.
Have a great night Celts :-)
well done on the tickets at kilmarnock
Good luck to those still working hard on Res 12
Hail hail one and all
:-)
ps Delaneys- you sobered up :-) well done to your family
Celtic Selling The Jerseys!!!
Mon the Retro Hoops CSC
MATT STEWART
goals from Fouls, corners, etc are in the main the result of sleekit/desperate/mistimed/scurrilous attempts by a last gasp desperate defence to stem the never ending surge of beautiful, freeflowing, rearguard-busting, imaginative, intelligent, artistic thrusts of open play football for which we are renowned.
D’ye no mean ‘were renowned’? -:))
BEATBHOY on 14TH MARCH 2016 4:03 PM
Think I kept my shape there.
Must be this new ‘Bro’ I’m wearing!
– See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/pin-it-to-the-dressing-room-wall/comment-page-3/#comment-2795086
Is that the all new Triple B Cup, The Bro-Boob Bra?
I don’t think too many buds would be nippled with that kinna Support.
Glendalystonsyls…..
I have a short term memory problem….(and possibly clueles’s in how to use apostrophe’s)…so I am looking forward to the Dukla Prague Semi final.
Hail Hail
Matt
Starry Plough & Mountblow Tim,
You are in my thoughts and prayers at such a difficult time.
YNWA
Did Thistle get a penalty for Eric tickling their player? Never a penalty for me.
HH
Was never a penalty on Saturday.
Every hun with a whistle is desperate to award any contact in our box as a penalty against.
Our fouls to caution ratios are ridiculous.
In every game we play there are blatant fouls on our players ignored.
On Erik thought he has to come to an understanding of the biased environment he plays in.
Have often said that the difference between how our central defenders are riffed forces them to play a little cautious.
Numerous 50/50 challenges are given as fouls against when other teams defenders get the call their way.
Witness Boogie’s performance against Robbie Kean.He was booked for career ending tackle in first few minutes from behind.He then subsequently committed 7 other fouls and some where from behind with no fear of a second caution.
Paul Elliot in season 89/90 received 11 yellow cards in a Celtic jersey despite having just a few in a couple of seasons in Italy.He strutled early in his Celtic career until he adjusted to the mib.
Erik has a lot of natural talent but needs coaching on the defensive side.
He tends to square up to man and then overcommits.
If coached to play the angles better and show more patience he will be a very good player for us.
Jimmy Johnstone – they called him Jinky.
TenYearsGone CSC
Glendaly
Definitely not Awe Nawed.
Good to see Ole Hoops legend Nadir Ciftci is off the mark with his first strike for Eskişehirspor……………
fuppin killie
I’m not trying to defend Erik, because it’s a wee bit early to judge – I’ll say this though – He’s a good footballer,which is always a good sign.
Just waiting on Celtic crushing one of those manky mobs, it would be nice if it’s Killie that get obliterated.
God bless Ronny Delia.
HH.
God bless Ronny Deila
I like that
HAMILTONTIM
Excellent stuff from the club.
I’m just back from trying to buy four.
Had the season ticket details,the lot.
Cards to pay and cash just in case.
System down.
One teller suggested logging my details,taking the cash,that’s how it’s done.
Mine demurred.
Tell you what,little wonder we fail to get bums on seats when they’re all working in the ticket office.
Speaking of refereeing decisions, can I be the first to make a prediction for the Celtic – Sevco game.
I predict in the first 10 minutes one of their cluggers will go right over the top of Leigh Griffiths foot, causing the Celtic player to go off injured (a la Elbows on Kayal).
I further predict said clugger will get a stern talking to from the referee whilst at half time the pundits in the studio will say “Well yes, with hindsight it should have been a straight red, but fair play to the referee for keeping his cards in his pocket”.
New club. Same old cheating.
eddieinkirkmichael on 14th March 2016 4:02 pm
Eddie my point is that Ronny is a development coach first and last, IMO Ronny loves the philosophy and ideals of the development coach, again IMO he clearly doesn’t like the pressure and the demands that winning with as a first team manager gets at a big club, he is uncomfortable with that side of the job, now Ferguson thrived on it, Ferguson is a winner first and last then he was a development coach, he never feared being a manager, Ferguson was ruthless when he had to be, a born winner as was Jock Stein
Your statistical analysis of comparing Ferguson’s time at Man Utd with Delia at Celtic is complete bullshit, its meaningless garbage, its is out of context and perspective, both managers managed in a different era, different leagues, different standard of opposition, different state of the clubs which both managers had when they took over e g Man Utd hadn’t won the league title for 23 years, Delia took over a title winning side, the statistics arent anywhere near the whole story, below tells you how big a job it was for Ferguson
At the start of 1990, Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson (long before he was made a Knight of the Realm) was in trouble and his side were struggling at the wrong end of the First Division table. A run of eight games without a win saw the once-great Red Devils staring relegation in the face. The accepted story is that Ferguson would have been sacked if they had been knocked out of the FA Cup by Nottingham Forest on January 7. The game proved to be a reprieve from those calling for his head, but – possibly until the 6-1 hammering by rivals Manchester City – the time remains by his own admission his ‘darkest period’ as a manager.
To say that Sir Alex Ferguson was spurred on by the events of December and January 1990 might be an understatement. He devotes almost the entirety of the preface of his newly released autobiography to that very period.
“After the farewell in May 2013, the pivotal moments filled my thoughts,” writes Ferguson. “Winning that FA Cup third-round tie against Nottingham Forest in January 1990, in which a Mark Robins goal sent us on our way to the final when my job was supposedly on the line. Without the FA Cup [final] victory over Crystal Palace nearly four years after my arrival, grave doubts would have been raised about my suitability for the job.
“We will never know how close I was to being sacked, because the decision was never forced on the United board. But without that triumph at Wembley, the crowds would have shrivelled. Disaffection might have swept the club.
“Winning the FA Cup allowed us breathing space and deepened my sense that this was a wonderful club with which to win trophies. To win the FA Cup at Wembley made the good times roll. But on the morning after our victory, one newspaper declared: ‘OK, you’ve proved you can win the FA Cup, now go back to Scotland.’ I never forgot that.”
The majority of Ferguson’s first years at Manchester United were spent in a position he has since taken great pleasure in becoming unfamiliar with. Ferguson’s first job at Old Trafford was to overturn the run that previous incumbent Ron Atkinson had placed them in and he succeeded in lifting the Red Devils from the relegation zone into 11th place at the end of 1986-87.
Revamping every aspect of life at the club, from training regimes to the scouting network and youth set-up, while paying particular attention to the boozing antics of a select few, Ferguson brought discipline back to the changing room. The signings of Steve Bruce, Brian McClair and Viv Anderson, among others, helped lift them to a worthy second place in the First Division, yet nine points behind champions Liverpool.
Unable to continue that kind of challenge, though, an inconsistent side slipped to 11th in their next season. At times, Ferguson’s men looked like they could be title contenders; at others they would not have been out of place in the Second Division. Clearly, their final position in the table was far less than expected and, with the side described as ”hard working, methodical and dull”, Fergie’s cautious style was hardly winning over the fans either.
Ahead of the 1989-90 season, Ferguson’s attempts to put the club’s boozing history to bed came to a head and he sold Stretford End favourites Norman Whiteside and Paul McGrath. Gordon Strachan had previously been offloaded to Leeds for £200,000 and the loss of such star names, while ultimately good for the club in the long-term, were not viewed as a positive step in the short-term, despite the signings of Neil Webb, Mike Phelan and Paul Ince. Since he arrived three years previously, Ferguson had bought 16 players (at a cost of around £13 million) and sold 18 with only Bryan Robson and Mike Duxbury remaining from the team he inherited.
The overhaul initially looked as if it would bear fruit with a 4-1 drubbing of Arsenal on the opening day of the new season, but four defeats in their next six games (including a 5-1 thrashing by Man City at Maine Road) saw the detractors begin to gain support. Ferguson bemoaned the club’s heavy injury problems – especially with Webb snapping his Achilles tendon a few games into his United career while on England duty – but an infamous banner declaring “Three years of excuses and it’s still crap… ta-ra Fergie” was soon displayed at Old Trafford, and the calls for the manager’s sacking grew louder.
Yet, back against the wall, Fergie undertook what would be the first of many rearguard actions. In October and November, United turned around their early-season form and won four of seven going into December. It mattered little to the baying press pack as their one defeat, to Charlton, in the midst of the run saw the Daily Express ‘s Steve Curry write an article entitled ‘Fergie the Flop!’ which referenced the fact that he had ”the worst record of any United manager of modern times”. Curry threatened that when the paying public become ”disenchanted, as they are doing now, then the wind of change blows in over Stretford”.
Sir Alex Ferguson was under great pressure at the start of 1990 © Getty Images
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News: Rodgers hits back at Ferguson
News: Wenger pays tribute to ‘immaculate’ Ferguson
Indeed, December brought with it a cold wind. Ferguson had claimed that it was ”a hell of burden running a club that hasn’t won the title for 23 years and thinks it should do every season.” But soon he would have more of a weight on his shoulders and he struggled to make his expensively assembled machine run smoothly.
The lead-up to Christmas saw four defeats in five – to Arsenal, Crystal Palace, Spurs and Aston Villa – with only a 0-0 draw which they dominated at Anfield a positive sign. The reaction was more anger from the fans typified by Richard Kurt who remembered in his book ‘United We Stood’ the reaction to the 3-0 hammering by Spurs: ”Humiliated three-nil, we jeered them off the pitch and vented our rage at the manager and chairman [Martin Edwards].”
More pressure from the media followed, which ultimately saw the Daily Express ‘s John Bean write under a headline of ‘Fergie’s last stand’ on December 28 that a bad result in ten days’ time against Nottingham Forest in the third round of the FA Cup would make his position ”untenable”.
So the price of football for travelling fans is very much the topic of the day. I applaud Celtic for the gesture, however I offer a better solution.
Clubs should keep all monies from tickets sold by them and purchased by their own supporters, whether, home, or, away.
That way there will be real accountability by clubs to their fans – it could result in £20 being the top price charged to away fans, no matter what the venue.
It might also encourage fans of Motherwell, Kilmarnock,Dundee, Dundee Utd, Hamilton, St Johnstone and Thistle, to turn up when we play them, rather than balancing their books with Celtic fans subsidies.
It could prove a good marketing tool for Celtic by including a voucher guaranteeing £20 tickets for all away games within the season book. The overall average cost of attending all Celtic’s league matches would be significantly less than £20 per match.
Another benefit may be that if more season book holders attended away games, it could ‘squeeze out’ the flare-throw numpties who besmirch the club’s good standing.
I know this would be resisted by the aforementioned clubs, however it would have support of Celtic, Hearts, Sevco, Hibs and Aberdeen, next season – it is a change that must come if we are to encourage people to attend matches – the broadcasting of highlights with two-thirds empty stadia is a complete turn-off and portrays our game in a similar setting to the non-league Vanarama – perhaps a slight change in favour of the smaller clubs inTV/prize money might be the ‘sweetner’ to get a deal.
Now I await all the reasons why it can’t be done!!!!!!!@
MR PASTRY
There is a theory that the divide between the haves and the have-nots in football gained pace when clubs were allowed to keep all of the home gate money.
This clearly benefited the bigger clubs.
Now you want the lion’s share of the away gate too?
Aye,yer some socialist right enough…
Mr Pastry
Greed
Deary me……………..Poice Scotland with the spin and the ET oblige
The Evening Times
@TheEveningTimes
Old Firm fans to be watched online by cops http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14341415.Old_Firm_fans_to_be_watched_online_by_cops_ahead_of_first_match_between_Celtic_and_Rangers_in_more_than_a_year/ …
Erik getting some over-the-top nonsense thrown at him.
He’s a quality player, evident in the few games we’ve seen him so far – comfortable on the ball, head-up, strong in the tackle.
If he was lightning over 5 yards he’d be up-front on his own. Pace is the crucial defining attribute that separates forwards from defenders and midfielders. There is no such thing as a quick defender; that would be a midfielder; ergo a quick midfielder would be an attacking midfielder/forward.
You can be quick FOR a defender; I’d rate his pace as defensively average, in which case it comes down to the defining category which separates the men from the boys at the back – positional awareness. He seems more than competent in that department, yet to be fully streched.
Complete defenders don’t come around often; if they do they’ll be at Barca/Bayern/etc. Just to remind you armchair experts, Virgil Van Dyke, the ‘best’ defender we’ve had in the past decade, couldn’t manage to win any headers, or learn from cumulative positional mistakes/ erroneous set-ups out of three inswinging corners which resulted in the goals that knocked us out of the CL.
Cut Sviatchenko some slack – he looks a good signing. A possible real quality, complimentary and strong defensive partnership in the making when Jozo recovers.
beatbhoy @ 15:59
As a matter of interest in seasons 03 and 05 which of the improperly registered Huns would you have chosen too replace anybody in Martins preferred starting 11.
Bertie on Clyde haling wee jinky just now.
http://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news/14341415.Old_Firm_fans_to_be_watched_online_by_cops_ahead_of_first_match_between_Celtic_and_Rangers_in_more_than_a_year/
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Yay, Big Brother is watchign us.
Let me be the first to welcome Police Scotland’s football-liason surveillance roasters.
Allegedly you’re all a bunch of servile, forelock-tugging Hun monkeys. I say allegedly because I’m sure a big boy ran up and told me it, before running away. So pretty much like the situation the hordes of hate at Mordor find themselves in every matchday…
BMCUW
Over the years I’ve had a few issues with the ticket office, most recently when I wasn’t put in the ballot for Tynecastle when they said I’d only been to 21 out of 22 away games last season. Eventually, they admitted an administration error and it was corrected.
On the whole though I find the staff to be quite helpful.
MICKYBHOY
As a matter of interest it disnae matter who they played and who we played.
They could have had Eusebio and Pele and we could have had the two wee boys next door to me.
Our players were signed and paid above board. Theirs wurnae.
And that’s it.
Bsr@3.37
Correctamundo
Posted on here in the immediate aftermath of the game it was never a penalty and Bobby Maddens uglier twin (still haven’t seen a handsome one) has previous against us in the New Year/Christmas Derby. Player sent off (Biton), penalty denied (Lawless handball, unless your arm being above your head is now deemed to be a natural position) and a Cifcti goal disallowed.
People demanding consistency ffs we have consistency we are robbed in every match. Think Efe sent off, think Boyata sent off. Decisions that turn games go against us. We are only likely to get soft decisions when we have already the game won and even then it’s more to do with whataboutery. Supposed evidence that these things even themselves out over a season….my erchie. Looking forward to us getting a decision like Saturday’s. If anyone thinks that the same rule book is being applied I have some Delorean shares you might be interested in.
HH
bournesouprecipe on 14th March 2016 4:43 pm
Whit aboot the Centenary top…effing magic.
Are we running a Cheltenham tipster comp?
Oh….Good Evening Timland.
Yeah….Criticism of Erik.
Find that hilarious.
We suffered with Boyata and Simunovic, who are not very good.
Erik is a far better player.
Or do you prefer bombscare Boyata.
Seriously…What Erik is it you are all talking about, bears no comparison to the Erik ive been watching the last few weeks.
Erik is a very good player.
Wont be long before Celtic.
Mark my words.
HH
HAMILTON TIM
I know you see them far more often than I.
That in itself might be an explanation for their facilitation of your requirements rather than mine.
Today was shocking.
Since I was representing others,I bit my tongue. Had I been attempting to buy goods in a retail outlet simply for myself,and been presented with what happened today,I assure you I would never return.
My family are Celtic mad. We love going to the games together. Same as many on here. We’ve had loadsa good Celtic experiences.
And otherwise.
Today was not a good Celtic experience.
Ps
I’m also with Sandman. I think Erik will be a decent signing when he realises the laws are applied differently to us. I also think (using the term loosely) that he would be a good defensive midfielder.
HH
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
Gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood evening :))))))))
And the Green man
Boaby
and there’s your dinner…..
Aff out as a good Celtic mhan is wont to say.