Plastic pitch is no excuse

89

Celtic comfortably won on our last visit to Livingston, in March.  Prior to that, we endured three draws and two defeats since our previous win, during Gordon Strachan’s second season in charge.  There are excuses given for what by any means is a bogy team, specifically, the plastic pitch.

We regularly see Celtic struggle to get their passing game right at Livingston and Kilmarnock, even defending can be haphazard, as Stephen Welsh discovered when anticipating a through-ball early last season.  Excuses, though, are the refuge of the loser.  We know they have a plastic pitch, we have a plastic training pitch and more than enough of a Brains Trust to figure out how to win.  If the result is not to our liking, I don’t want to hear anything about the surface.

While not quite catenaccio, Livi have mastered the low scoring game.  St Mirren are the only team to score twice against them in the league since August, and that required a 90th minute breakaway.  Don’t think that they are in good form, though, St Mirren and Ross County both beat them this month, County on the plastic.

When the pitch is poor, we have to go direct on occasion, so Giorgos Giakoumakis will surely lead the line.  James Forrest may also get the nod after a couple of impressive recent performances.  I would also be tempted to rest our first-choice full backs.  Anthony Ralston’s crossing ability, in particular, may prove useful.

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  1. Melbourne Mick on

    CAMUSBHOY

     

     

    Don’t think I’ve had a wee talk to you on here before.

     

    Always wondered as a young kid where are my team

     

    going during the holiday season.

     

    Remember Bermuda well, and funny enough I destinctly

     

    remember a photograph of big Billy climbing above

     

    about 5 defenders to score a goal, funnily enough in the

     

    green citizen.

     

    It looked liked a pyramid as the big Celtic icon soared through

     

    the air, but that was normal for our captain in those halcyon

     

    days.

     

    H H. Mick

  2. prestonpans bhoys on

    HS

     

     

    The opportunity was missed when Killie and Hamilton were relegated. No idea why a vote was not constructed, unless of course the players are like you and like a carpet😂😂😂

  3. glendalystonsils on

    BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 28TH OCTOBER 2022 1:12 PM

     

     

    Who would win a fight between the green Citizen and the pink Times?

  4. Talk of going direct to GG and availing of Tony for his crosses is worrisome.

     

     

    Livi want us to cross balls all day into their box. We have to be play through the lines as per our normal approach. Make the off the ball runs and play a high tempo.

  5. In terms of effort expended, the CL games are nearly like 2 matches so it makes sense to give players a break.

     

     

    Jura is the only one I see playing more than 3 matches in the WC so better to start Ralston tomorrow.

  6. PeteTheBeat- i wouldn’t be resting any players due to the World Cup,that’s a matter for national managers HH

  7. TMcL @ 1.18

     

     

    Please come off your high horse.

     

    Throw-away comments seem to set your dudgeon to high.

     

     

    Plenty of memories have been added to this site.

     

    Some have even generated a lot of considered responses.

     

    Others have driven the usual suspects to moon howling — the Hayshed debate for example.

     

     

    Regarding your own recent comments about the Paddock — interesting.

     

    Unfortunately, my younger years mean that it was only ever the Front Stand to me.

     

     

    Same routine funnily enough.

     

    Same seats — near to the tunnel / three rows down from the top.

     

     

    70’s — never knew of season tickets in the area.

     

    That was always the Main Stand Rear where the old money of the Holy City bus sat.

     

     

    In early — always a visit to the wooden hut behind the ticket office where it was trinkets and programmes on sale but with very little bought in my experience. Game programme read to destruction when we made it through the turnstiles — half-finished vibe seemed to hang over the area behind the turnstiles / possibly the 70/71 rebuild had run out of cash after the issues with the roof.

     

     

    Still no substantive news on the rumours of a Jungle rebuild of the late 50’s / early 60’s — stand that would have extended over Janefield Street. Maybe its failure to pass planning meant that the “Hayshed” style roof got replaced / the RE got covered / the Main Stand was updated in the following decade.

     

     

    Not sure if a trip to the Mitchell Library would provide some answers?

     

     

    Now where did I put my newly purchased Rough Guide to the Saltmarket / First Bus timetable…

  8. GDT @ 1.58

     

     

    Look away now if you don’t want to know the result …

     

     

    Pink Times won — not sure when it ceased publication?

     

     

    Memories of it in the late 80’s — after the egg chasing one of the away teams would be btring in a copy if they had been playing in Glesga / caught the guy flogging them outside the Masonic in the village.

     

     

    That would be the Masonic where the local CSC leaves before the Claque / Brain’s Trust gets snarky.

     

     

    Not sure when the green paper closed — have memories of it in the 70’s.

     

     

    Pink Times always had more scores in it.

     

    Green Citizen had gaps if the comms failed — late kick offs and the like.

     

     

    Pink Times = Herald group?

     

    Green Citizen = part of the Record group?

  9. Been a rough couple of days after the recent passing of my mum Peggy, who died on Tuesday. RIP Mum

     

     

    I received so many thoughts and good wishes from many on CQN that I spent an age reading them all to my dad – who has aphasia so struggles with some words – took about 10 goes for him to get Bada Bing!!!!

     

     

    “Bada who?” “BING!” ….as I lost my patience.

     

     

    Thanks all!

  10. The Star above The Crest on

    Art Of War

     

     

    I’m sorry to hear of your loss. My thoughts are with you and your family HH

  11. A.O.W Sorry about your loss ..and sharing all the CQN bhoys thoughts with your dad was lovely….

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    H.H

  12. glendalystonsils on

    MADMITCH on 28TH OCTOBER 2022 2:20 PM

     

     

    I was always torn . Dad always got the Citizen which I liked because it was green , but then again , the broadsheet was more awkward to manage for young hands.

  13. Does anyone else remember there being signs at the turnstiles warning us to ‘Beware of Pickpockets’

  14. RON BACARDI on 28TH OCTOBER 2022 3:00 PM

     

    Does anyone else remember there being signs at the turnstiles warning us to ‘Beware of Pickpockets’

     

     

    ……………………………………………………………………….

     

     

    The Board has always been a target of hostility!

  15. Good afternoon CQN

     

     

    It is always good to remind yourself of how numb boringly idiotic the sporting hack is in Escotia, tabloid scum in so many ways

     

     

    What a talent wee Lubo was

     

     

    Proud Huddle CSC

     

    @CelticCSCPride

     

    ·

     

    Oct 27

     

    “I don’t know what I find more laughable – the fact that Celtic cannot find £500,000 from their biscuit tin to sign a proven talent like John Spencer, or the fact that they then spent £300,000 on one of Dr Jo’s old pals, the unknown Lubomir Moravcik.”

     

     

    https://twitter.com/CelticCSCPride/status/1585602049177260032?s=20&t=THHrxikApFLWwJKkf7y1OA

     

     

    https://twitter.com/CelticTV/status/1585567926316302336?s=20&t=THHrxikApFLWwJKkf7y1OA

  16. Afternoon all

     

     

    Re : Green Citizen versus Pink Times

     

     

    The Citizen ran until mid-74 when the Express’ Glasgow operation on Albion Street shutdown. Always carried ads for Kings Oddfellows, ‘Very Good Sweets’ beside its masthead, I think. The great thing about that paper were its colour souvenir specials before most games we played in Glasgow. Fantastic pictures of players and sometimes the teams playing. Think that in reality the souvenir specials came with the ordinary lunchtime edition not the Green later edition. The Evening Times did I think run colour photo giveaways for the cup final ( i.e. the Scottish Cup) with its Saturday lunchtime print but the pink itself did not carry so many pictures of the games played earlier in the afternoon. Both had extensive coverage of junior and amateur football as well as the results of schools’ football.

     

     

    The Citizen had a weekly competition where successful entrants won a pair of Billy McNeill or John Greig shin guards. I won a pair the day we played Aberdeen in the infamous RH Davidson final and saw my name in print for the first time- every cloud and all that. The colour photo giveaways with the Citizen ended at least a year before the paper itself folded- for a while it gave away pictures of pop stars of the glam era, but I cannot recall if those lasted long.

     

     

    The Pink stopped being pink by the late 70s although it was still referred to as such. I mind when I went to stay in Edinburgh in 1981 I was surprised that for a time the Evening News sports edition of a Saturday evening was still recognisably ‘off-white’ and was so for a good few years. Even though I knew the scores and who had scored etc I still bought the Pink News well into the 90s, possibly even this century, if I came back to Edinburgh straight after the game. Three or four of us would go to the pub and say little whilst we drank our first pint as we read the reports. Obviously if we went out in Glasgow this same ritual was observed but with the Times. I cannot recall when the Pink Times – even if it was by now not pink- bit the dust but it was well before the Edinburgh equivalent because I think there was an attempt to transplant the News to Glasgow for a while, although it did not last long. Or I am imagining it.

     

     

    Anyway, the Citizen was better for pictures, but the Times had more to read in it.

     

     

     

    Jimbo

  17. garygillespieshamstring on

    Used to get a colour photo of a celt in the Saturday citizen before the game. First one I got was Stevie Chalmers.

  18. ART OF WAR on 28TH OCTOBER 2022 2:33 PM

     

     

    Condolences on the loss of your mother. Best wishes to you, your dad and the rest of your family

  19. Tom McLaughlin on

    PRESTONPANS BHOYS

     

     

    The last vote on allowing artificial surfaces in the Premiership came with a proviso that it couldn’t be voted on again for a number of years. Not sure when it was and how many years.

  20. I am sure that Ernie said the voting on plastic pitches was a once in a generation event, so you all need to suck it up and be happy with your lot.

     

     

    Moany cults.

  21. Tom McLaughlin on

    In any case, it only needs 9 of the 12 Premiership clubs to call for a vote against artificial pitches, but it requires 75% of all SPFL clubs to vote for the change.

     

     

    Currently 17 of the 42 clubs have artificial surfaces. 32 would need to vote in favour of a ban. This is further complicated because some of the 17 have genuine Premiership aspirations and would be very unlikely to support such a ban.

  22. Art of War on 28th October 2022 2:33 pm

     

     

    Been a rough couple of days after the recent passing of my mum Peggy, who died on Tuesday. RIP Mum

     

     

    I received so many thoughts and good wishes from many on CQN that I spent an age reading them all to my dad – who has aphasia so struggles with some words – took about 10 goes for him to get Bada Bing!!!!

     

     

    “Bada who?” “BING!” ….as I lost my patience.

     

     

    Thanks all!

     

     

    ————————————————————————————————————–

     

     

    ART OF WAR

     

     

    Please accept my condolences on the death of your mother. May she rest in peace.

     

     

    Prayers for your family and your dad. 🙏

     

     

    KEEP THE FAITH

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