Let’s get the negatives out of the way. Lou Macari is one of the greatest human beings to pull on a football jersey, but for a while he carried a heavy load. He was left on the end of a wall for a free kick in Argentina 1978. Cubillas struck, ex-Celt Luigi winced, and future-Celt Alan Rough didn’t get across his goal. Lou was blamed, relentlessly.
Martin O’Neill’s halftime analysis of the Feyenoord opening goal was correct. It was the Macari incident all over again. The wall was wrongly setup, with Kyogo on the end that the kicker was bound to aim for. Kyogo turned his back. Go watch some primary school football and you will hear the chorus “Don’t turn your back” when inevitably a kid does likewise. Honestly, Kyogo!
The kick was fully 30 yards. Even without a wall it should have taken an exceptional effort to beat Joe Hart. It was not an exceptional effort. The ball bounced before reaching the goal, which made it difficult for Joe to read, but he was slow to get across.
Gustaf Lagerbielke put his arm across an attacker inside the box. The attacker fell ‘wounded by a sniper style’, resulting in a second yellow for Gus and a penalty, saved by Hart. Sure, it was harsh, but it was an unnecessary risk. Learn from it, Gus.
There is plenty to admire in Odin Holm, a 20-year-old with talent and without fear of consequence. Consequences of his actions finished Celtic last night as a correct straight red reduced us to nine men.
With the game still there to be won, I was frustrated at the number of misplaced passes in the middle of the park. Misplaced passes should happen in the final third, when you take risks to create a goalscoring opportunity. If they regularly happen during the transition phase, they drain momentum. We could have been more patient in the build-up.
Short of that, across the spectrum of Champions League defeats, this one was different. There is a clear feeling that points were left on the table. Celtic were a match for Feyenoord for 46 minutes.
Alongside Maik Nawrocki at Kilmarnock, then partnering Liam Scales at Ibrox, Lagerbielke looked like the junior partner. This was not the case last night. Until his dismissal, he was comfortable at this level, perhaps our best defender. Liam Scales again grew in stature. It is difficult to imagine he is the same player who struggled against St Johnstone last month.
Reo Hatate’s return to the starting line-up had a lot to do with how comfortable Celtic were on the ball in the opening period. He took possession, always with at least one defender, often with two and on occasion, with three, in close proximity. This allowed space to open for Celtic to build out of defence and was crucial to our play.
The same player made the wrong decision at Celtic’s best chance. Kyogo had space and was flying towards goal on his right, when Reo hit a shot against the defender in front of him. Our other great chance saw Daizen Maeda withstand a last-defender-assault to force a good save from the keeper. A Feyenoord striker would have collapsed instead, and perhaps Celtic would have had a man advantage.
Opportunities to pick up points in this group will be rare, so that was definitely one we let slip. Still, I expect Celtic to win the return game on Match Day 6.
206 Comments- Pages:
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Burnley78 great post.
What was the scouts name?
D :)
I had a beer in my hotel with a scout from Stuttgart last night.
Precocious talent, wasn’t he? Mmm? Ooh, got it all, you know? Speed, acceleration, sweet left foot, all the tricks – the dummy, the drop of the shoulder, the shimmy, nutmeg, jiggery-pokery, hocus pocus, abracadabra, I wanna reach out and grab ya. Steve Miller Band? Spin Doctors? Ooh, very similar.
You’re just ‘Ron feckin Manager’……….
HH
Fanadpatriot
A few are thinkin that?
HH
“GREENPINATA on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 7:18 PM
Guys,
We evaluated CCV and realised potential was there as a fit for Celtic.
We tested our theory with an initial loan signing.”
Is that, where a loan is possible, not quite a common practice for us?
!!BADA BING!! on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:35 PM
I expect that from Big Wavy but not from you.
Burnley78
I have never made a comment about your posts before but I feel your last post is beyond the pale.
There are some on this blog who can recognise a player when they see one from youth to seniors .
Because you are in with the crowd doesn’t make your opinion more valid .HH
Arsenal 4 PSV Eindhoven 0
Were PSV the team who put about seven past Sevco?
Seven past Niven
“FANADPATRIOT on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:39 PM
Because you are in with the crowd doesn’t make your opinion more valid .HH”
Correct. The vast majority of opinions are equally invalid :-))
HOT SMOKED on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:38 PM
!!BADA BING!! on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:35 PM
I expect that from Big Wavy but not from you.
—-
Yippeee…an opinion. You’ll need a lie down after that.
HH
FANADPATRIOT on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:39 PM
Burnley78
`… I feel your last post is beyond the pale.`
What did you think was so bad about it?
BIG WAVY on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:45 PM
An expectation is not an opinion.
HOT SMOKED on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:46 PM
BIG WAVY on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:45 PM
An expectation is not an opinion.
—
Alright Quentin Crisp. Keep yer wig on.
HH
“BIG WAVY on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:48 PM
HOT SMOKED on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 9:46 PM
Alright Quentin Crisp. Keep yer wig on.”
Ah, your sparkling wit has undone me there. I know when I have lost to a more incisive mind.
So it`s a
Goodnight from me.
Goodnight.
…and it’s a good night from him….
HH
Hot Smoked
Third paragraph HH
Plus ,I know more about scouting than him HH
It was beyond the pale ale.
BURNLEY78 on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 8:50 PM
Interesting. Good to see someone else saw some progress in our approach.
And thanks for sharing
https://icdn.thecelticstar.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2575331-768×510.jpg
If you have time to kill.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJ4F5dZG5Ko
CELTIC40ME on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 10:02 PM
BURNLEY78 on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 8:50 PM
Interesting. Good to see someone else saw some progress in our approach.
*aye me tae but then I’m an oul geriatric now
BURNLEY78
You post some crap. But that really tops the lot
Getting a bit tetchy on here.
These are old debates- don’t know why they would engender new angst. A defeat will always produce a greater volume of criticism than a victory produces of praise.
I am sure there are a rare few who have coached or scouted at a semi-decent level but I doubt there’s anyone actively involved in the modern game at SPFL and Euro level who is bothering to come on this blog
Still in bar. MoTM results out in half an hour. Hic
Burnely78 with your insight and contacts can you advise if you would give Mark Lawwell another £15M to spend in the January transfer window ??
*SENTINEL CELTS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2023-24*
*RESULTS FROM GAME #7 – FEYENOORD 2 CELTIC 0*
Good evening, friends and apologies for the slight delay. Hic.
As I’m still enjoying my week’s break in Mallorca I hope you forgive me for the lack of any detailed match report. And also, whilst I don’t have time to reply to every email I do have a sort of unwritten rule to reply personally to anyone who picks the same 3 as me. But I apologise that this rule too has fallen by the wayside for this game as there were, for once, too many to respond to. So, if I may, I’ll go straight to the results.
We have now played 7 games, winning 4, drawing 1 and losing 2 with 8 goals scored and 6 conceded.
A huge thank you to the 48 who voted this week, with one contributor only nominating 2 players. Unfortunately that was the lowest turnout of the season to date but hey ho. The total votes cast for each player are as follows, with my own nominations asterisked.
Hart: 6
Johnston*: 37
Lagerbielke: 2
Scales*: 45
Taylor: 0
McGregor: 3
O’Riley*: 35
Hatate: 0
Maeda: 15
Kyogo: 0
Palma: 0
Yang: 0
Holm: 0
Iwata: 0
Oh: 0
Bernardo: 0
And so, the players receiving POINTS for the game against Feyenoord are –
Scales – 5 points
Johnston – 4 points
O’Riley – 3 points
Maeda – 2 points
Hart – 1 point
The overall positions after 7 games played are –
19 points – O’Riley
18 points – Kyogo
11 points – Johnston
10 points – Scales
9 points – Nawrocki
7 points – Hart, Maeda and Yang
6 points – Lagerbielke
5 points – McGregor
4 points – Turnbull
2 points – Carter-Vickers and Ralston
0 points – Abada, Bernabei, Bernardo, Forrest, Haksabanovic, Hatate, Holm, Iwata, Oh, Palma, Phillips, Starfelt, Taylor, Welsh
We now return to league action this weekend with a trip to everybody’s favourite playing surface in Livingston. A Saturday lunchtime game, kick off at 12.30pm.
Hail Hail!
A club like no other …we are privileged to be part of It …we are indeed a sleeping giant in Europe and I believe one day soon ( within next 5 years) we will return to where we belong and be a feared force in Europe again …have faith fellow Tim’s because as Aquinas observed …for those with faith no explanation is necessary ..whilst for those without no explanation is possible 🍀
Nice to see some of our closet hun pals back on; not so visible after we beat Sevco – but back reinvigorated again after a green and white Euro bruising ;))
BURNLEY78 on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 8:50 PM
I had a beer in my hotel with a scout from Stuttgart last night after the long wait to get out of the stadium. He worked with Klopp at Mainz and Dortmund for 10 years. He watches Celtic a couple of times a year. He said that was the best and bravest technical football he had seen us ‘try’ to play in the past 20 years although we lacked physically in key areas. He was impressed that we tried and persisted to play properly. He was surprised at the ref and how weak he was. He thought Brendan to be a coach showing he is capable of evolving. He thought Johnston and O’Riley would walk into any Bundesliga team apart from Bayern. He had hoped to see Hatate and Kyogo but felt he hadn’t really done that but they appeared to need bulking up a bit….. His parting comment was that there were 7 other Bundesliga scouts at the match and that is normal. I didn’t asked him but my sense is that they shop at a slightly higher price bracket than we do and do focus more on development and adding value to their capability.
——
Very interesting given it comes from someone way more dispassionate than most of us who love Celtic (and our own opinions) that wee bit too much sometimes. Cheers.
BURNLEY78 on 20TH SEPTEMBER 2023 8:50 PM
Great comments especially the comment on physicality, we play teams whose players are also athletes..
stpatricksbhoy
Hello again all you young rebels
From a very wet and miserable Melbourne suburb.
Where did all that sunshine and beach weather go?
Maybe the same place that the hunterlopers go when
Celtic win at the doom dome with a reserve team 😜
Young loons all on holidays here, so maybe head down
to our local parks see if I can spot a project or two.
Oh ! wait maybe a seasoned pro would be better ?
But…but We won’t get our money back on oldies ???
Feck it I’ll go and just enjoy the footie👍🤣
HH. Mick
Good morning all from a very dark and chilly Garngad.
We move onto Livingstone another team that should be banned for impersonating football/players.
D :)
1899
All the accounts of the tour and press coverage in both countries referred to them throughout as The Kaffirs or the Kaffir touring XI. It was only by exploring a history of South African football at the time you discover that they should have been referred to as a the Bantu club or possibly a Basuto XI. This touring side is the first team of non-white players to have played v Celtic.
They played around 49 games, mostly against professional teams in England & Scotland, and one game in Ireland v Belfast Celtic.
Following from notes from Celtic Historian Eugene McBride
The game was played on Thursday 21st September 1899 with Celtic winning 2-0. This was the only match on their tour in which the touring side failed to score.
Teams
Celtic 2
Team & Scorers not listed
Kaffirs 0
Adolph
Abels
Daniels
Appollis
Soloman
Broffit
Kortie
Lakay
Twazi
Martin
Stephen
https://wikifoundryimages.s3.amazonaws.com/fa10e785c4cd26e7d8c720a1ebf326c2
All the very best to Monsignor Charlie Cavanagh(good poster CONNAIRE here)on todays celebration of 60 years serving tbe faith.
St Marys Greenock 7pm tonight,drinks and refreshments after.
He was there in 1967.
Hail Hail
Congratulations Monsignor and God Bless.Hail Hail stpatricksbhoy 🙏☘☘☘
Congratulations Mons. from an ex-St Mirin-er.
On other matters divine-leaning, we went to a lay mission/talk last night led by an ex-UK gangster.
Wunt quite my cuppa guv, tbh.
In one of Brendans first interviews when returning. When asked about the squad , he said that we lacked , physicality, pace and power.
Which was evident to most fans.
It was up to the recruitment team to bring in players that would improve the squad with these attributes.
There is no evidence of this having been done.
We don’t need some anonymous scout to tell us this.
JOBO’s POTY Update is now available:
https://celticpools.co.uk/celtic-fc-player-of-the-year/
por cierto
Congratulations, Monsignor and God Bless.
HH