Competition at the top of the Scottish Premiership table is getting a lot of attention. More on this after the end of the season, but this is largely due to a reduction in standard, evidenced by this season’s poor European results. While Livingston are nine points adrift at the foot of the table, the even level of competition in the bottom half of the table is just as stark.
Livi won only their second game of the season on Saturday, beating St Mirren 0-2. St Mirren’s two previous games, both against Celtic, reached 90 minutes closer than that. With only a two point cushion above Kilmarnock in the relegation play-off spot, they may yet end the season with as League Cup winners and relegated.
The most pleasing thing about the season is the pivot to passing and away from timewasting. Every side in the top half of the table plays out from the back against Celtic, as do Aberdeen and St Mirren from the bottom half. It makes for a better spectacle and has surely had something to do with Celtic not getting everything their own way this season.
Livingston are the most industrial side in the league by far. This style and their playing surface will not be missed. St Johnstone have bossed the Championship, also playing out from the back, offering promise for next term. Each club is consumed by its own issues, but there are reasons to be optimistic about our game.
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Hail hail
It’s Wednesday.
The anniversary of Brendan pooping In my cornflakes and sleeping with my wife.
“It makes for a better spectacle and has surely had something to do with Celtic not getting everything their own way this season.”
—————
Yeah – nothing to do with selling our best players and not replacing them…..
One thing you obviously have missed Paul is that Livingston actually changed their pitch this season, and while still no fan of artificial surfaces generally it was a far better surface than Dundee Utd’s “grass” pitch and a world away from the carpet down @ Rugby Park which has been beaten to within 1/32th of an inch of its life in old money. Time will tell if it resurfaces (geddit) in the SPL next season.
what a non event that article was
:))))
agreed with celtic mac
good artificial better then poor no-grass
All this playing out from the back malarkey certainly makes watching the games less of an ordeal, even if it means we have to put up with more periods of teams having more possession and looking like theyre a bit better than us (they aren’t)
The game last night was such a thing of joy and beauty. Every player was encouraged to show off their technical excellence, it was a really heart-warning watch. A bit different tonight, where no doubt the other parts of the game will be to the fore, but it is all just football.
You’d hope that whoever gets through from this semi will get horsed in the final but theres a part of me that still enjoys seeing characters like Simeone do his stuff.
A generation ago an often heard refrain after some team had undertaken a Herculean effort to defeat Celtic was …
… put money on them losing their next game.
It’s guaranteed to pay out.
A phenomenon as old as the hills amply demonstrated by St Mirren at the weekend.
Ran themselves into the ground to get to extra time.
No team sport ..
Rugby (both codes), Gridiron, Hockey
.. requires the same degree of twisting and turning
– at pace
– under intense physical pressure
– so repetitively and frequently
As football.
Played at the highest level the game is already a potential joint killer, ligament killer and tendon killer.
… and that’s before you factor in the surface.
Artificial pitches should have no place in competition, IMHO.
It makes for a better spectacle and has surely had something to do with Celtic not getting everything their own way this season
——-
If anything this should help us. There is no real evidence of an increase in the standard. Our struggles are mostly due to self destructive elements.
Cracking game of football last night, the mentality of two teams wanting to win was evident, I would wager that the mentality of the two teams will be not wanting to lose, I know what I would rather watch, a new manager in the same vein as Ange please, yer man at the Well might just be that man.
It’s nigh on impossible to compare him against anything really, he has never had a decent bunch of players to work with, again I would wager he would work wonders with our squad, and given his eye for a player, miles better than Lenny’s IMO, he could do the biz.
I’ll come to my own view about whether there are reasons to be optimistic about Scottish football at the end of the season, irrespective of who wins it.
If , as I fear the MIB and their brothers in the VAR suite will facilitate , the last few games provide numerous Honest Mistakes then I will find it impossible to be optimistic and will continue to care about no club other than Celtic and care very little , if at all , for Scottish football in a general sense.
from the PFA
https://www.thepfa.com/news/2013/4/11/research-artificial-turf-versus-natural-grass#:~:text=There%20is%20debate%20about%20whether%20artificial%20turf,have%20an%20increased%20risk%20of%20ankle%20injury.
Back to Basics – Glass Half Full on 29th April 2026 1:53 pm
No team sport ..
Rugby (both codes), Gridiron, Hockey
.. requires the same degree of twisting and turning
– at pace
– under intense physical pressure
– so repetitively and frequently
As football.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
Both Gaelic football and Hurling do and are played on a much larger playing surface.
The SPFL Premiership next season is only permitting a grass pitch.
Livi took a punt they’d be relegated, I suppose 😂
Killie need to lay a grass pitch if they stay up, although perhaps they’ve decided to save themselves the money and get relegated along with Livi instead.
The Battered Bunnet
Are Falkirk having to rip theirs up too?
Good afternoon all.
I used to find it hard to put in a decent cross on astro when I was young.
I also struggled on grass cos i was pish!!!!
PS
last night should have been 3-2 with proper defending (Olise, Diaz, Georgian 2nd and Dembele 2nd avoidable)
I HATE artificial pitches, no debate.
I also HATE constantly playing out from the back. Could some statician come up with a figure as to how many goals come from this method of playing or indeed, how many goals, frees, corners conceeded ?
My last negative comment…
Robbie Keane is being touted as a possible manager for Celtic.
Without getting too political, Keane kept receiving the blood money in Israel as his employers financed the genocide of children, women and men.
Even before the present phase of slaughter, the daily treatment of Palestinians by the zionist thugs would have persuaded any decent human being from having anything to do with their evil “state”.
He should be boycoted in the same manner that those who went to S Africa during the aparthied regime were.
Slán.
Robbie Keane, Broonie,Hayes,latest management rumour….the latter 2 were in Budapest last week for a coaching course,seems they met up….
Hopefully 2+2=5
A fair few on here who have no idea what Gaelic football or Hurling is.
Back to Basics – Glass Half Full on 29th April 2026 1:45 pm
Hopefully it holds true for Hibs this weekend who looked dead on their feet at FT at the weekend.
the Bada Bing on 29th April 2026 3:01 pm
Robbie Keane, Broonie,Hayes,latest management rumour….the latter 2 were in Budapest last week for a coaching course,seems they met up….
Hopefully 2+2=5
‐—————————————
A no to all 3 from me Bada. If true what a lack of ambition or a representation of how far we have fallen in terms of attracting a good pedigree of coach/manager.
Fingers crossed that it is an engineered story to fill the rags and social media.
Scorchio in the garden of lower EK
I would take Shaun Maloney with two new executive directors before I’d take the same board with Pep Guardiola.
Get my drift ? CSC
Personally, I much preferred artificial surfaces (and we’re talking 1st gen Helenvale !) to the churned up bogs and cow fields of Lanarkshire and Ayrshire which were very much conducive to big fannys who couldnt play but could slide tackle and hoof the ball. Then again, I mainly played home games in Glasgow on red-ash (and the occasional black-ash).
McPhail Bhoy – they got a bye:
The SPFL has announced that Falkirk FC has been granted an extended period of grace to use its current artificial pitch, before the installation of a grass pitch in summer 2027.
Assuming Falkirk FC retains its William Hill Premiership status at the end of this season, the club will (subject to FIFA certification) be permitted to use the current artificial surface at the Falkirk Stadium for Season 2026/27. The SPFL has agreed to advance some of the club’s fees (in respect of subsequent seasons) to help with the installation of a grass pitch for Season 2027/28.
A spokesperson for the SPFL said: “The SPFL Board was sympathetic to the position of Falkirk FC, which had installed a new artificial surface in summer 2023, in full compliance with the SPFL Rules in place at that time, expecting that surface to have a lifespan well beyond three years. The subsequent change to SPFL Rules, following a divisional vote by William Hill Premiership Clubs, has therefore caused a particular issue for Falkirk FC.
“This one-off additional period of grace, in relation to what has proved to be a high-quality and well-maintained artificial pitch, is intended by the SPFL Board to be a proportionate and fair response to a unique situation, whilst also respecting the will of William Hill Premiership Clubs in the vote taken in May 2024.
“We would like to thank the Directors of Falkirk FC for their hard work and their pragmatism in bringing this matter to a positive conclusion.”
A Falkirk FC board spokesperson commented: “Falkirk FC welcomes the SPFL’s recognition of the position we found ourselves in, following the earlier pitches decision. As a fan-owned and newly-promoted club, having to find such a significant sum to replace a perfectly good surface could have threatened our club’s future.
“While we still believe there is a place for high quality artificial surfaces at all levels of the game in Scotland, we also had to act responsibly in the here and now — and that meant reaching a compromise that prevented uncertainty for Scottish football and for our club.
“We hope other SPFL member clubs will be treated with similar flexibility, and thank the SPFL for their cooperation and diligence.”
and I was just a wee fanny who couldnt play :)
BSR
more liklely to get Pepsi and Shirley than Pep.
Spikeys
True dat 🍀
Madra Rua….
https://www.irishpost.com/sport/keane-explains-reasons-why-he-decided-to-stay-at-maccabi-tel-aviv-281433
liked this…
“This month, Keane was invited into the Ireland camp before their match against Finland in Dublin, where he presented caps to players at the team hotel on Monday night. His appearance sparked criticism on social media, with one commenter stating, “Him? That’s who you picked? So out of touch with your own fanbase,” while another added, “They could’ve gotten Declan Rice, Jack Grealish, and Thierry Henry to present these awards… and it still wouldn’t be as bad as this little c***.”
Celtic Mac @ 9:21 pm,
chairbhoy@1.28
You forgot the 2 X 0-0 draws against FC Kairat in the CL Qualifiers and the 0-2 defeat at home to Braga in the EL. I personally would not see them as good results. As for being part of “the campaign” which campaign would that be? Rodgers was working his ticket, only a fool could fail to see that, that and the Magic Carpet parked alongside the Honda Civics outside Parkhead’s Gates……
Ye Gotta Roll With It”
What a great game last night, to think we were minutes within beating Bayern Munich last season.
Our team put in a great shift, the level of professionalism and commitment of PSG and Bayern show what is necessary to compete
Our front three of Jota, Meada and Kuhn were pacy and industrious – that is what it takes, full commitment…
So, far from forgetting those games, I certainly remember them.
The manager at the time was none to happy with the Board – not only had they failed to recruit the extra players we needed, especially forwards…
They had sold Kyogo in January.
Jota was long term injured
Kuhn was sold early in the transfer window
Meada had been sold and was waiting to go to Germany
Yang had been sold to Birmingham and
Idah had been sold to Swansea
Kairat were playing the most important game in the history of their football club and were right up for the game, what was left of our forward line were emptying their lockers and looking through the tourist guides of their destinations.
Were we guarateed a win? The arrogance complacency and incompetence of the Celtic hierarchy was astonishing.
Or you may believe as I do, the hierarchy were setting BR&Co up to fail, then were going to get their placemen in social media and connections in SMSM such as Roger Hannah to play the blame game, undermining the manager.
We have signed ten players since Kairat and still have yet to find a functioning frontline, so incompetence us certainly a major part.
Aff oot
Hail Hail
I think the current lack of control, the ease at which teams like Dundee and Falkirk have played through us at times is down to a step down in coaching.
Brendan had the same players and we didn’t see these problems. We seen plenty of other problems which were quality related but the players still kept possession and still pressed opponents quite well.
In MoN’s first stint, immediately after Kennedy and Brendan left, we looked a more direct and more dangerous team, whilst retaining the core qualities of passing and pressing associated with Brendan’s team.
A bit like Lennon’s second season after Brendan, the further MoN has found himself down the line from Brendan, the more we’re seeing an unraveling.
I don’t think we’re a well coached team and I think we’re susceptible to getting beat by any opponent we play from here on in. That’s not down to the brilliance of the SPFL. That’s down to us regressing.
TBB- I heard Falkirk CEO on Shortbread a few months are re plastic pitches getting binned next season, he said talks were ongoing, with a few other clubs and the SFA……
Kairat were playing the most important game in the history of their football club and were right up for the game,
——————
Celtic in turn, were playing the richest game in the history of the football club.
At all levels we were not up for it.
From board level to the players on the park, we were not up for it.
CHAIRBHOY on 29TH APRIL 2026 3:42 PM
18 months notice for a qualifier, manager of the football team tells you we need a striker.
BR was told that Adam Idah would be replaced, and guess what they did? That’s right they sold him without a replacement. FWIW I would have sold him too, he was unpopular and playing up, – but not for sale without an acheivable plan, low bidding on deadline day isn’t sustainable.
This was the bit for the infamous Celtic line, certain things didn’t work out but we’ll learn.
HH
“I’ll stop short at saying that we’re supporting Rangers on Monday night,” Celtic supporter Paul John Dykes told the BBC’s Scottish Football Podcast.
“But it definitely would be the best result”
——
Don’t know who the “we” in “we’re” is.
But it doesn’t include me or many of my Celtic supporting friends.
Gets him noticed I suppose.
chairbhoy@3.42
Jota had been injured since April. Brendan had already ruined Kyogo before he left. It was Brentford who bid for Maeda. Rodgers sanctioned the sale of Yang to Brum, and later Idah, who did not want to leave, to Swansea. FC Kairat was on him, nobody else, Martin & Co would have got past them, though the CL would have been a challenge. The writing was on the ceiling, the magic carpet getting revved up……
House of Cards…..to the House of Saud….
Ye gotta roll with it