There is usually a fair amount of hysteria after a Celtic defeat, sometimes after a draw, but the reaction since Saturday has largely been grounded in measured concern. Even in the darkest days of the 90s, when Oldco Rangers were at their peak, we could always lay a glove on them. It was bad.
The question is, what now? We won eight out of nine domestic games going into the weekend but the manner tightness of several of those wins did not inspire, were it not for late goals against St Johnstone and Dundee United, your worries would be significantly greater today.
Priority when you suffer a bad defeat is to stop things from getting worse. That means going to Aberdeen on Sunday and winning. It is not self-flagellation to say we need this game at Pittodrie. We need to go to one of the best teams in the league and get a win.
We endured many bad results in the 90s, but, if you are old enough, you will remember how there would usually be a backlash to a Celtic defeat. Whoever we played next saw the consequences of all that pain. We need to get in touch with that sentiment on Sunday. Use the pain.
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POR CIERTO on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:01 PM
BIG GEORGES FAN CLUB – HAIL, HAIL, WEE OSCAR on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 12:59 PM
WORK! This is no time with menial tasks like earning a living, come on! :)) por cierto
—————–
I know – I’m a bliddy part-timer – not been to a game since March!!!! :-)))
HH
BGFC
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 12:44 PM
Why has it come to this?
How did we get to this point?
What is the cause of this malaise?
Things are unlikely to improve until these questions are answered and properly addressed.
###
Because the individual who calls the tune is an absentee owner who is not a Celtic fan.
Of course Paul, we can’t cry over spilt milk and can only play against the team in front of us.
If only it was Aberdeen, I’d think we wuz 60/40 to go there and get a win. But, but…
If confidence and systemic issues are what ails us, a Milanese mugging will leave a huge hangover.
Talking to an equally gutted fellow Celt the day; before the Sevvy game, we thought we were struggling largely cos teams just sat in and packed 2 lines of 5/4 to hit us on the break.
Sevco didnt sit in, they seemed to smell the fragility and went at us, yet our pesh performance persisted.
I want Neil to bounce back and show us all we know SFA. Hope he is good for it.
Welcome KOD HH
Remember at the end of games when the team approached the fans applauding and smiling and looking like a united front? That feeling of togetherness, like the stadium support, has vanished…
Wee ‘oh my days’ Frimpong and ‘I wanna be’ Edouard haven’t smiled in a long time…is Jullien really in a huff over Duffy’s inclusion? Is Christie miffed at someone? Ntcham seldom looks happy. Tom (hun skelper) Rogic? Charlie Adam suggests Bitton wanted to leave…where did that come from? From the mole? I think it is glaringly obvious something has changed for the worse…
Whatever is the cause, we have highly paid people who should be doing their utmost to find out what the problem is and get it sorted…
If not…back to the car park (socially distanced, of course.)
Reading between the lines of this blog it’s worse than we thought.
The collapse of internal club relationships – the most plausible explanation for Saturday’s no-show and overall season performance – would represent a grotesque failure of leadership in this season above all.
The swashbuckling team of Jan/Feb is a distant memory.
Play the B team vs Milan. Prioritise Aberdeen and pray the team spirit returns from wherever it’s disappeared to.
Agree with the sentiment of the article. We can’t afford to spiral and drop any more points.
But, how can this be achieved given what we witnessed on Saturday?
I’m worried. Where motivation should be huge we look sterile, dare I say afraid of winning 10. I’d love Neil Lennon mk1 back for a few months, bristling with energy on the touchline. He looks flat and is rarely out of the dugout.
Who knows what is going on behind the scenes but Lennons agent, Alan Thomson and Ramon Vega all backing manager hints at some negative player power to me.
Even still, I don’t see any discernable system other than Ajer to try to step out and begin moves and prior to that for Christie to create on his own. Worse still, there was no plan B when we were 2 down with over half an hour to go on saturday. Just chucking players on, hoping they’ll be better than the opposition will not cut it against a much more organised rival, who whisper it, actually do have some quality and now believe themselves to be superior to us, perhaps legitimately.
I hope the manager, Kennedy and Strachan are working 24/7 to plot a way through this to win the 10. We need solutions for every scenario until the end of the season.
I recognise other posters on here value the Europa League and for a club of our size it is important, but not this year, not to me. I’d play the fringe players and have a laser focus on the league.
The senior players – Brown, Duffy, julien, McGregor, BItton, Forrest all must take ownership of this with the management team and carry the club forward. Legacies are on the line, history is there to made. They simply have to find a way through even if it is via 20 odd 1-0s until the end of the season.
TJ
WeeBobbyCollins,
….and when Ryan Christie didn’t celebrate Leigh Griff’s goal at Perth…just a wee huffy fist pump?
My head is stewed with it all.
HH
PETERLATCHFORDSBELLY
Could we even contemptlate the fallout of picking A and B teams now?
:)
Doomed csc
ONENIGHTINLISBON on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:13 PM
You say I have Blind Faith?
My belief that Neil Lennon can and will turn this around is hardly ‘blind faith’.
Currently accross all leading bookmakers we are around EVEN MONEY to win the title with gerrards team a shade under that at 4/5………….so even according to unbiased methodical bookmaker logic it is still around 50/50.
Hardly blind faith is it?
Don’t bet much but might take a Donald Trump @6/4 and Celtic do the ten @even DOUBLE.
£100 WOULD RETURN ME £500 [400 PROFIT]
Another issue that has been festering with me, Bitton gets injured playing in the Europa League leaves the pitch immediately the manager says its serious, and wouldnt be available as he needed a scan, Bitton then joins up with Israel plays against Scotland for 120 minutes boasts in a paper that NL wont be happy and says Celtic pay his wages then gets a positive Covid test , some players are ripping this, how will NL deal with this after the some want to leave comments, to me Bitton will need to be disciplined not fit for his club but fit for Israel did he go swimming in the Dead Sea?
LAZYDYNAMITE
Keep your head in the sand if you want.
I want the best for our club and it ain’t happening just now
Winning on Sunday will be of scant consolation.
It wouldn’t surprise me if both we and Sevco go unbeaten until the next Derby, maybe a draw here or there.
Then they will thump us again and we will be having the same conversation on here.
Neil hasn’t learned over the past 11 months. There is nothing to suggest a change is in the pipeline now.
His demeanour in the dugout suggests be knows he is defeated.
DESSYBHOY on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:28 PM
I agree…something that has not been talked about enough.
Bitton is bang out of order .People don’t like speaking bad of him these days but for me he is a very well paid under-performer and has been for many years
I’m not panicking yet. This game came on the back of an international break. We lost a number of players to fatigue and Covid. We also lost the opportunity to have our new additions to practise playing together. I’m sure we’ll improve.
Crap day @ the office on Saturday, with no positives to take out of that performance.
That display, must go down as our worst performance in years, with not one shot @
Sevco’s goal frame, shocking & also nightmare material.
Also, & what is seriously concerning for all of us, is that over the last three matches
we have played Sevco, the League Cup Final last December 2019 where we played
our get out of Jail Card via Fraser Foster, in that match. With the writing was on the
wall, in Capital Letters, stating wake & sober up, & smell the coffee beans, &
performance level check, & tactics level, & team selection as well.
One has to go back a few years, when the Tax Dodgers, last beet us @ CP back to
back, which does not make good statistics, now does it? No.
It seems that Steven-G & Gary-M, @ present, have twigged how NFL & JK lay
out there stall, & they also know how to nullify our play, where is the Prozac?
We need to drop the mindset, of picking only our favourites, & give other players
in our squad, a proper chance, not fleeting appearances. ACSOM John Paul Dykes
YouTube Channel, (A Celtic State of Mind) raised a good point, along with his
Guest’s, about Oliver Nicham performances, so far this Season. They where saying
that Nicham has scored one goal this Season, & made/laid on two assists. Which is
not going to set the heather on fire, with those types of displays. They (ACSOM)
reckon we should drop Nicham, & give David Turnbull, more of a chance in our
starting Eleven, I would agree with that suggestion. As for the past performances
of Elyounussi, nah rubbish, & non existent & effective over the last few matches,
a waste of a jersey. I’ve on here, moaned & groaned about Ryan Christie’s deliveries,
which lets be honest here, his Corners & Free Kicks @ most, tend to be poor, something
Ryan needs to work @, on the training ground. However we can’t really fault Ryan’s
Effort, which he gives 110% in each match, & we certainly do miss him, when he
is not playing in our Team, that is for sure. As mentioned IMO, we need to give more
opportunities, to the likes of Bayo/Connell/Henderson/Dembele, & so on, to see
what variety, they can bring to our style of play, & not just fleeting appearances,
which is useless, & not giving players a fair crack of the whip.
As for this Season, we certainly have a challenge on our hands, if we want to retain
the SPL Trophy, that is for sure. So we need to approach each individual match, like
it is a Cup Final, if we are to be successful come next May. (2021) Go On The Bhoys!
I fear that a percentage of the team are not as concerned as we are ,some of them being in the ” passing through ” category ,that being the case they should not be trusted again.
I think it was BSR who said we need to get El Hammed at RB,and Diego at LB,I would add to that Ajer,Jullien,and Duffy,as a 3. Defence sorted.
NL should have explained to Jullien that the Duffy transfer was not a reflection on him,but an enhancement to the defence,and that the wages were a matter between the Clubs,irrespective of what Duffy wrote.
Alternatively get Biton,or Ajer into midfield,or back three,lets forget Elonoussi and Ncham.
I hope Eddie is onside, but we cannot gamble a once in a lifetime opportunity with anyone who is not committed fully.
I hope NL is not allowing this to have any detrimental effect on his well being, some of the pressure being exerted is unreasonable,you expect this from the uninitiated but NOT from so called Celtic fans.
Big Wavy
I know. We’re in the realm of rotten choices.
I didn`t see any of the game . Does Laxalt look like a decent signing?
I realise that as poor a team performance as this apparently was is maybe not the best time to judge a man but did he impress/disappoint anyone?
67ECW
I can read, & feel your frustration as regards to last Saturday’s result.
Questions being, as you suggested in your recent past post, & which
is really a knee jerk reaction. So who would you Realistically
appoint, as the new Celtic Manager, & along with his backroom
Staff, & getting rid of NFL & JK & bringing in a new setup?
In other words, who do you realistically think, who would be the
right person/candidates, who would fit the bill? Who would meet
the challenges ahead? Who knows the History & Expectations of
our Club? Who? I will leave that thought with you.
I do love how everyone is radically changing formations and personnel. We as supporters sure as hell don’t know what is our best setup because our coaching team don’t either. We are months behind in preparation for our 10IAR season and hoping now that it clicks.
The Huns line-up on saturday was man for man almost the exact same team (and system) as 10 months ago when they beat us.
HH
HOT SMOKED on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:45 PM
I didn`t see any of the game . Does Laxalt look like a decent signing?
I realise that as poor a team performance as this apparently was is maybe not the best time to judge a man but did he impress/disappoint anyone?
IMO Hot Smoked, the young Lhad Laxalt, will need time to settle into our Set Up.
HOT SMOKED on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:45 PM
I didn`t see any of the game . Does Laxalt look like a decent signing?
I realise that as poor a team performance as this apparently was is maybe not the best time to judge a man but did he impress/disappoint anyone?
—————————–
Hi Hot Smoked – he was OK – which, for a first game is…OK. Actually, probably veering on ‘good’, given the disaster that was befalling around him.
I think he probably improved as the game progressed – better in the second half than the first. Got a bit more forward, was more likely to get crosses in from deep and near the byline, some good interplay with McGregor down the left wing, put in a couple of strong challenges right on the shy-line.
Had we only got him in four weeks ago (or did Milan only decide to get shot of him on Deadline Day?) we would have had a better idea – but we didn’t!!
HH
BGFC
DessyBhoy, Totally agree on that one, ,regarding Bitton. Very strange indeed.
Don’t know that Julien is in a huff over Duffy, there was a suggestion that Lenny did say in an after match comment that Julien was a slow starter but would improve as season progressed and that Julien took umbrage at that, It could also be the case that Julien is genuinely injured and there is no rift at all.
Regarding Eddie, he doesn’t smile that much anyway but lately he is bang out of form.
I think Eddie’s loss of form is a big contributory factor to our less than impressive performances.
It is a worrying time, but for the most part we are shooting in the dark basing assumptions on Lenny’s weight or his lack of interaction with Strachan & Kennedy. Similarly with different players demeanor.~
A rising tide lift’s all boats, a few good wins would put the smile back on a lot of faces.
However if there really is trouble at Paradise the likes of Pedro should be in the know and should sort it out pronto.
I cant agree with those saying the worst thing we could do now is sack Lennon.
Realistically, any half decent manager could come in and with that squad beat SPFL teams week in, week out.
People are forgetting the gulf in quality here. Neil has £17m of strikers to choose from, plus Leigh Griffiths. Can’t you remember a period save for MON when we had those options? The minimum requirement is beating the likes of Accies, Aberdeen and Hibs.
A change now means that at least a new manager could be bedded in and have a discernible approach to tackle Sevco at Ibrox. Otherwise, its just going to be our 11 running around without a plan once again.
BIG WAVY on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:51 PM
I do love how everyone is radically changing formations and personnel. We as supporters sure as hell don’t know what is our best setup because our coaching team don’t either. We are months behind in preparation for our 10IAR season and hoping now that it clicks.
The Huns line-up on saturday was man for man almost the exact same team (and system) as 10 months ago when they beat us.
HH
The problem is Big Wavy, the Huns have beet us, the last two matches we have played
them @ CP, which is really a serious concerning problem, which needs to be addressed.
asap, & is also a big psychological problem as well.
Bournsouprecipe…………..A back three I agree is always a chancy tactic and leaves a team wide open to the swift counter attack. Christopher Julien has been a great signing and the sooner he gets back the better. Shane Duffy had a dip in form on Saturday but has scored a couple of important goals for the team. Shane had three 8 out of 10 games recently for the ROI with Stephen Kenny’s team only concession of a single score which was a goalkeeping error with Duffy playing in a back four with three first choice EPL players.
ROLLING_STONE on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:57 PM
I cant agree with those saying the worst thing we could do now is sack Lennon.
Realistically, any half decent manager could come in and with that squad beat SPFL teams week in, week out.
People are forgetting the gulf in quality here. Neil has £17m of strikers to choose from, plus Leigh Griffiths. Can’t you remember a period save for MON when we had those options? The minimum requirement is beating the likes of Accies, Aberdeen and Hibs.
A change now means that at least a new manager could be bedded in and have a discernible approach to tackle Sevco at Ibrox. Otherwise, its just going to be our 11 running around without a plan once again.
Yeah Rolling_Stone, the Ronny Delia Syndrome “No Plan ‘B’ When Things Go Pear Shaped”
Shane Duffy , 8th October game plus extra time in Slovakia.
11th October game in Dublin
14th October game in Helsinki
17th October game in Glasgow.
That is 4 big games in 4 different Countries in 10 days plus extra time in one of them.
That is a big ask of any player.
Between fatigue & Covid, the fecking International Break had huge consequences for Celtic.
AKBW1888 on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 1:46 PM
In one of my previous, frustrated, angry, trying to be sensible posts after Saturday – I did say we had 2 options
Option 1 – look to get a tried and tested and more importantly available manager now
Yes I know it’s easy to write that sentence on here, but actually getting one is a big task for PL
But the world is not short of Football Managers
My preference/level starts at Eddie Howe includes Chris Houghton wanders to Steve Clarke is agreeable to Michael O’Neill and happy to listen to anybody that can produce an “acceptable” character In my view we have one ambition – win the league
I believe NL may be in need of help both professionally and medically he is carrying a big weight – he has my respect and must be treated with dignity
But we have a problem and winning the league this year is becoming a bigger task as each day/game passes
We as a team are struggling not just Saturday but most of the season
Option 2 If Option 1 proves impossible and it could – then promote Scott Brown either to replace and or assist NL
SB knows everything that is going on in our club – as club Captain he has the respect of the players
We have the players to win 10
But at the moment we do not have the motivation the system or the formation (not just Saturday)
Ask yourself this horrible question
If Gerrard was in charge of Celtic today would we win the league
I’ll just leave that with you
Hail Hail my friend
67ECW
Dressybhoy it was Frank Connor that took the side tae hades when big ally good tae the last drop actually did that in front of Charlie Nick who moved the ball on tae John Collins for our equalizer.
Wee Macari’s first derby against them was the mars bar game when we were 2 down after only 3 minutes and at the half time talk when another goal had been lost he allegedly said to the players that they had got themselves intae it and it was up tae them tae get us out of it.
Trying to be positive …… maybe a decent showing against Milan might give a few of our serial huffers and tool-downers the chance to impress any serie A scouts watching . Who knows , they may even decide to try a leg .
if Neil doesn’t do coaching then he of all people should be shouting from the high heavens and banging on the doors to those responsible for 1st team coaching recruitment for them to be allowed to leave and replace them all or does he not want to rock the boat.
Advert for new Celtic Manager
Come and join us but lose one league game to them in any season and we’ll call for you to be sacked.
CorkCelt,
Duffy’s deficiencies are nothing to do with fatigue.
He’s not a ball-playing CH. We all knew that before saturday.
He’s a backs against the wall, body in the way, threat in both boxes kinda guy.
He’s surplus at Brighton as they want to play football from the back.
I guess Neil acquired him for leadership qualities and that unquantified ‘getting it as he sang a song in a Derry pub” kind of way.
An odd signing in a season of odd decisions.
We were crying out for a left footed CH if we wanted 3 at the back.
HH
TT
Thanks, I met the same man a few years ago in Carfin Hibs club, time plays tricks on the memory, anyway my point was about being able to get results with lesser players if they will battle have a system and try for you.
We have spent a fortune on a squad and cannot pick an effective team or play to a system.
SFTB,
That’s just utter, simplistic nonsense fella.
HH
CORKCELT on 19TH OCTOBER 2020 2:12 PM
Sorry, but if Shane Duffy can’t lift himself to play in a crucial game against the huns then he doesn’t have anything to offer Celtic.
Before the Shane Duffy is a Brighton reject story gets any more legs:-
Season 2016/17 (championship)- played 31 games
2017/18 (EPL)- played 38 times
2018/19 (EPL)- played 40 games
2019/20 (EPL)- played 21 games
That’s 99 games for an EPL outfit. He lost his place ( but still made 21 starts) when a new manager paid £20m+ for Adam Webster, who is being touted as a future England International and a big money signing for a top 6 club.
The reaction of Brighton and Celtic fans to the signing were documented on the local Susex newspaper as :-
@DavidMeyler: Congrats @shaneduffy can’t wait to watch you head balls 70 yards for @CelticFC Green heart
@DC94__: @shaneduffy and @CelticFC Absolute unit can’t wait to see him in hoops
@SpencerVignes: As a Brighton fan with a major soft spot for Celtic, I couldn’t be happier for Shane Duffy. If he was gonna go anywhere, then Celtic Park makes complete sense. He’ll become a Hoops hero, mark my words, and I can see that year being extended. Good luck ‘big mon’!
@AdamLynch27: If you think Shane Duffy isn’t good enough you’ve clearly never seen him play. He walks into our team
@seanmarkus_67: Celtic are a bigger club than West Ham by quite some margin. Shane Duffy is a Celtic fan. Shane Duffy will win trophies this season and not fight for mid table.
@RealKevinPalmer: Shane Duffy has been pushing to get a move to #CelticFC for the last few weeks and he’s finally got it. He will be a huge success in Scotland
@bhafcryan: It really is the end of an era…Shane is a huge Celtic fan. He will do very well up there. Still a Premier League defender in my opinion, just doesn’t suit our style anymore. You’ve got a fantastic defender, #CelticFC fans. Take care of him. Blue heartGreen heart
@colincurryer: With the departure of @GM_83 & the seemingly inevitable departure of @shaneduffy, we are seeing the last stalwarts of the promotion team leave. Only @lewisdunk, @8stephens & Solly March remain now. That team will live forever in the hearts & minds of those who saw it play #bhafc
@TweetingSeagull: But, Shane’s move to Celtic is one that makes sense all round. It would be crass to suggest #bhafc don’t need a player of his ability, but he deserves to be where he’s getting more game time & more appreciated for his attributes. For Potter, it’s one less defender to keep happy.
@Brightonfan: One part of our famous brick wall has now gone. Thank you for absolutely everything, you will always be a legend. Thank you for getting us and keeping us in the promise land for 3 years @shaneduffy my heart has well truly sunk now! #bhafc