We saw enough about Motherwell at Celtic Park in October to know how difficult an opponent they will be tomorrow night. The Lanarkshire side took a second half lead and were undone when their keeper passed to Benjamin Nygren, who levelled, before Daizen Maeda scored a 92nd minute winner.
The goal Newco scored against them at Ibrox on Saturday is their only concession in seven Premiership games. That defensive record is the bedrock for their climb up the league. They failed to score in four of those games, which would normally be a comfort before Celtic play an opponent. There is reason to believe tomorrow will be different to a normal Motherwell game.
In all of those seven most recent games Motherwell had the majority of possession, including 54% at Ibrox and 55% at home to Hearts. Motherwell’s attacking difficulty is because they face sides setup to give them the ball and defence. I expect Celtic will flip the possession stats, forcing Motherwell to play a counter-attacking game, presenting both opportunities and challenges.
Jens Berthel Askou is a stick-on for Manager of the Year. He has brought a brand of football to provincial Scotland which even the notoriously grumpy Motherwell fans can get onboard with. Whether his side can withstand Celtic’s uber high press will determine the outcome tomorrow.
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https://youtu.be/-7-PLVMBTVw?si=k7Qi3i2sdCzbR_nJ
Always quite liked this young guy’s work.
(Fess up time – Since NewsNow pointed the metaphorical pistol and asked for my money or my online life? … I’ve spent less time following links into broader Celtic cyberspace)
c.7 minutes in there’s an excellent graphic comparing performance headlines under Brendan, Martin and Wilfried (league games only)
Focus is xG versus real life data
My view and only mine …
Brendan’s Celtic were uncreative but solid. Based on the data they were slightly inefficient but only slightly.
Celtic’s efficiency under Martin was off the scale.
Ridiculous actual goals for/against gap compared to xG equivalent.
A statistical anomaly … which doesn’t illegitimise the outcomes at all !! … but just might suggest it wasn’t sustainable longer term.
Wilfried’s Celtic – after four league games are VERY inefficient
xG For is exactly 50% greater than Martin’s and 74% greater than Brendan’s
xG Against ?
Only slightly higher than Brendan’s (14%) and Martin’s (12%)
Not reflective of real outcomes in matches.
Biggest takeaway for me?
Wilfried’s real life goal difference of 0.5 is already slightly better than Brendan’s 0.45
Both miles behind MON’s quite ridiculous 2.2
Couple of caveats
Sample sizes are small (and therefore weaker) at 9, 5 and 4 games respectively.
Interesting nonetheless though.
Some people (myself included) have doubts about the value of xG.
IMHO … if it changed label from “Expected Goals” to “What goals MIGHT be expected IF ..”
… It would be more accurate.
Punchline?
I don’t think Wilfried is the messiah but, equally, I don’t think he is a very naughty boy.
His previous record of winning silverware in two national jurisdictions and a one-off multinational contest is real (not illusory or aspirational)
He does not deserve to be labelled a “clown” as he was on here recently.
New country, second language, knackered squad, club divided.
Respectfully?
Ask yourself
“how long would I last in his boots?” …
(Personally, I’d give myself an absolute max of 2 days before going all Reggie Perrin)
… and how about we support the man and give him a chance?
Every time Stephen Walsh played in the Celtic defence he was slaughtered on CQN. Now some are demanding his return to the fold at the end of his loan deal.
What short memories people have.
BTB – interesting indeed. My only quibble would be whether the sample sizes for MoN and Wilf are large enough to draw conclusions.
Regardless, he should not be labelled a clown and told to GTF.
Tom McLaughlin on 29th December 2025 5:33 pm
Every time Stephen Walsh played in the Celtic defence he was slaughtered on CQN. Now some are demanding his return to the fold at the end of his loan deal.
What short memories people have.
Or an example of how poor this squad is,him and Ralston done their bit as pool players years ago,look at the nonsense we have to pick from now Tom
i dont subscribe to the language barrier as a problem.
last 5 seasons in English speaking environments.
what did martin do to beat this rangers ?
copy it
result matters more than a system or performance.
anyways we have a good motherwell team to beat first
Bobby Clark in for £6m, cm from Salzburg is the rumour
I do enjoy an all inclusive holiday, very relaxing and refreshing. Time for a few aperitifs and canapés . It’s a hard life. 🧐
I read in passing a piece on MLS and the differences with European football. I’d link to it but I can’t mind where I saw it.
The observation that stuck with me is that managing in the the MLS is a long game – the prize each season is the MLS Cup, competed for by the top 8 teams in the league.
Accordingly, coaches work to get their teams peaking at the end of the season. All they need is a top half finish to make the play offs and so their performance horizon is months ahead.
In Europe it’s a much shorter horizon. A longer strategy only works provided the team stays in touch with the league leaders – or indeed, is the league leader. Same for those clubs for whom avoiding relegation is the primary objective, versus the MLS where there is no such hazard of failure.
For Bro Wilfried, prioritising medium term system change over short term results would be an acute risk. I’m not saying that’s what he’s doing, but what we’ve seen thus far fits the MLS mindset he is inured to.
Whatever the case, he’s going to have to rely on his colleagues to play a blinder in the transfer window and deliver the players he needs to make his Bonkersball system work here and now. Our mediocre defenders struggle to cope with the chances we reliably gift to the opposition, and outscoring the opposition in such circumstances is an unreliable strategy when you’re absent scorers yourself.
The sharp suits don’t shrink to fit inferior negotiators.
We’re deep in uncharted waters with Wilfried Nancy, we don’t lose 4 games in a row.
If a manager refuses to adapt his tactics and gets beaten he’ll get sacked (see Ange Postecoglu) for a recent high profile example. WN needs to win against Motherwell and Sevco to get the benefit of the ahem Paul Tisdale transfer market.
Then we go again
Currently on loan at derby county
Not the tallest
in again
BSR – I think if he wins both matches this week it’ll come as something of a counter to general expectations – the bookies have it at 31%.
In fact, on reflection I’d say that we don’t have any expectations simply because we have no idea what to expect. We’re deep in WTAF football, 2-2 after 10 minutes v bottom of the league Livi being a solid example.
It’ll take a wee while before we see any kind of pattern in the results. But hey, 2 wins, why not.
I am willing for Bro Wilf to get his type of players in for his system. ay the moment square pegs in round holes does not work, but I trust and hope he gets things right.
Tough gig tomorrow for sure
kingLUBO
Defensive midfielder
BRRB
Take it easy there!
Not being smart after the fact,I posted to keep MON,until at least after the cup final, and look at it again then,how many would be more confident of going into the next 2 games with MON in charge?
Bada Bing,
I posted thee same, 3 or4 timesNow,on reflection,should have kept MON till end of the season. This has become chaotic,as most sensible people, not our Numbskull Board,thought it would.
Anyway,only have to wait until Friday \ Saturday for our new arrivals.
Can’t wait,can you?,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒🐒
THE BATTERED BUNNET on 29TH DECEMBER 2025 6:48 PM
Hmmm… that’s bad, never seen a bookie on a bus.
I think Celtic are shocked despite their own failure to plan, – the bulk of the transfer spend from the last window is at AFCON till mid January ( maybe not that bad a thing ) Hayato Inamura is lined up for a Tokyo loan Shin Yamada is permanently behind young Johnny Kenny for a starting place.
We’re on manager 3 who said before his first game against Hearts that change would be limited? It wasn’t, it was full scale radical. It has been that way ever since sometimes even at HT. My fear is that a good coach would adapt to what he had, instead of asking his squad to adapt to him?
Beat Motherwell and the Parkhead game will take care of itself.
The Motherwell manager seems an impressive character. I think the only change we’ll see tomorrow, is Schmeichel back.
WN needs to win tomorrow and again at weekend.
He desperately needs to put a run together. We passed up the opportunity to draw level with Hearts in his first game. A similar opportunity lost tomorrow night leaves Nancy facing huge questions on his suitability.
This is a league there to be won.
no live updates?
Birmingham on top, Kyogo has been poor
Or do you mean Celtic live updates :O)
celtic updates
Check back in 24 hours
Tell you,I used to be a very good Darts player.Had to stop four years ago,when the Spondolosis got too much.Watching these guys now,some just up and coming,they are from a different planet.
shit i thought this was tues,and i dont even drink lol
sorry huddle
An Dun,
Or lost.
no worries
“I think if he wins both matches this week it’ll come as something of a counter to general expectations – the bookies have it at 31%”.
I’m not a “betting man”, but on average that’s a c.56% chance of winning both games?
I think we’re favourites to win both games? We’re also still favourite to win the league?
Cumulative probability is great for making outcomes appear unlikely.
I’m sure you know that even if the bookies thought there was an 80% chance of Celtic winning each of their next 4 games you would be justified in saying there’s only a 41% chance of it happening.
Mulligan of hibs looks a better player than Clark
DANSO_1888 re: days of the week
That’s why I like to grab a podium to let people know what day it is!
RC,
I agree.We should have had him before.Cant see Hibees selling him.
Kyogo is getting worse service than he did with BR.If he had been playing the games we lost,inside the penalty box,with the chances we missed,good chance we would have won them.
Bobby Clarke never a 6m player, not as good as mcCowan
More like a tenth of that fee
Fergus McCann CBE