On Friday we spoke about the mental energy deficit Celtic players would have after coming through the previous week’s upsets and triumphs. Neil Lennon picked up on the theme after the Aberdeen game, giving his players due credit for coming through a difficult week in rude shape.
Credit to Aberdeen, who scarcely crossed the halfway line during the opening period, but had the better of the second half at Celtic Park on Saturday. It is easy to point to the missing McGregor, Christie and Rogic, and to a lesser extent, Ntcham, and realise why Celtic were so lacking in creativity, putting things right in the short term is a different challenge.
I am grateful for the return of Nir Bitton after such a lengthy absence, but he is not the player we need or are missing. Changes were required at halftime, but the last thing we should have done was to remove Ewan Henderson, our creative mid, leaving Bitton and Scott Brown playing holding roles. This only served to invite Aberdeen forward.
Neil is still figuring out how to use his forward players. We tried various combinations of Oliver Burke (central then right), James Forrest (right then central), Scott Sinclair and Mikey Johnston, with Odsonne Eduard and Timo Weah making second half appearances. We appeared to be throwing players on to see what would happen. The result was as disjointed as it sounds.
Odsonne Eduard always improves the team when he comes on from the bench, but his impact is not as easy to measure when he is on from kick-off. I expect he will start at Dundee and against Newco.
James Forrest is 27 years old and whatever else you can say about him, he is a winger, not a central defender or a full back, and not a No. 10. We have a solid partnership of Kieran Tierney and Sinclair on the left. Jeremy Toljan, our new right back, should be developing a relationship with Forrest, not Forrest, then Burke, then Weah, or as it transpired, no one at all.
Celtic FC Foundation dementia work
Your Foundation deliver projects in Glasgow and Edinburgh in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland and The Eric Liddell Centre and need to raise fresh funds to ensure the work continues. To this end, the Hail, Hail Trail takes place between 12 April and 25 May. To participate, you are asked to do get sponsorship for walking a total of 130 miles (around 3 miles per day).
I do a lot or reading about running, but the literature continually says that walking is the best thing we can do for ourselves. It has health benefits that are difficult to get any other way.
So if you need an excuse to get off the couch, or if you are already walking a dog and could incorporate a good deed into your routine, sign up here.
Thank you.
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or this, awfy good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioOzsi9aHQQ
KINGLuBO
THOMTHETHIM FOR OSCAR OK on 11TH MARCH 2019 1:10 PM
Since the inception of Sevco in 2012, their hordes threatened to take their revenge of their “enemies”.
*so why don’t they go after the rag and bone man, oh I forgot he stole them niar but he didnae get them the prize they most coveted, the Big Cup.
bournesouprecipe on 11th March 2019 2:07 pm
Celtic could have challenged the false narrative and killed it stone dead.
They chose not to.
They are complicit.
Grateful Thanks to Petec 3:03A.M.on highlighting the Plight of a guy called Gerald!!!!
I Understand That He Has Escaped His Suburban Captivity,(Gerald that Is),and is now Pulling Up Trees in His Role With the WWF,His Remit is to Track Down those Long Lost Species who Escaped The Ark When That Nutter Noah Ran Aground On MT.Ararat.
This Mornings News is that A Wallaby-sized Dinasaur has been Discovered in Australia! But,Evidence on Noah Having Been on The Continent Has Not Yet Been Found.
Chimps R Us CSC.
Ernie
Yes, I believe they should have but understand why they didn’t.
You’re surely not suggesting Rangers fraud should alter or advocate why, or how we support Celtic, their nemesis?
bournesouprecipe on 11th March 2019 2:35 pm
I’m suggesting people should consider why they are financially supporting an organization that is providing essential support to the false narrative that determines Scottish football.
CORKCELT on 11TH MARCH 2019 2:22 PM
And after 14 minutes Marvelous Marvin Compper heads a powerful goal direct from a CORNER by Armstrong OKO-Flex . 2 up. Bring on Marvin for the 10 in a row.
*we were all led tae believe he was leaving in the January windae with a pay off, mibbees, just mibbees he knew that chocolate was for the off and hung around tae prove he could still make it.
Breests don’t make over 300 appearances in the Bundesliga and around 20 in Serie A or the first Hoffenheim player to be capped for the national side.
Ok he will be 34 in the summer but wearie dave was 37 when he signed for deidco and stayed there for 5 years winning 3 titles, 3 LC and 3 SC as well as the SFWA and Premier League POY Awards.
Ernie
That’s an internet question that would draw puzzled looks if asked of Celtic supporters bar a few on the way into the match.
Your alternative by making Celtic ‘complicit’ is either not proven or very widely ignored by the rank and file.
Ernie, I agree with you 100% re the inflexibility of Brandon Ravers regime at times, but at least domestically, there appeared some semblance of a plan B.
NFL seems to be stuck with a mid-table mindset, and I defy anyone on here to justify the thinking behind Saturday’s substitutions…
ernie lynch said:
” Celtic could have challenged the false narrative and killed it stone dead.
They chose not to.”
Why did they choose not to?
JJ
Three tough games in difficult and unsettling circumstances, won two, drew one and already Lenny is a dud.
I give up!
Ernie
….and incidentally, I thought your John Donne (?) quote was most apt. Very good.
JJ
im hearing that professional football players in scotland and england have been discussing retaliation on fans for the recent upsurge in attacks on them
my source says that they are planning random attacks on fans at their place of work
their method will be to enter workplaces, ask employees if they are football fans and if they answer yes then the player will launch a coin or bottle at them or maybe hit them with a quick jab
luckily my work has controlled access but i feel sorry for people who work in shops for example where anyone is free to enter
so if you are such an employee and a random person comes up to you and asks if you’re a football fan, just say no
this could get messy
stay safe out there
?
Karamoko Dembele is 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
Short of issuing repeated Statements, to whom and how would Celtic direct their objections.
Direct to the SFA?
Direct to UEFA?
FIFA?
Through the SMSM?
Standing outside, throwing stones at the windows, is a futile exercise.
FIFA, UEFA and the SFA have rules that thwart any outside or inside challenges to their authority.
Those are the same rules that only they are allowed to circumvent ,at their Discretion.
Now away and play outside till your dinner’s ready, Ernie.
TONTINE TIM
But will Marvin;s 34 year old legs be afforded the same tolerance weary Dave’s legs got?
The constant tripping and pulling from behind and numerous fouls in the box that were ignored?
He was clearly a spent force when Everton released him but the huns knew refereeing tolerances would make up for what he lost.
A video highlight of his hun performances would clearly show how bent the Scottish game is in favor of the huns.
As an aside i would love big Marvin to prove Brendan wrong.
It’s funny, one of the big criticisms of Lennon in his first spell as manager was that he tended to wait too long before making changes
Now he’s making them too early
thomthethim for Oscar OK on 11th March 2019 3:08 pm
Celtic only needed to make their position known once.
The advert in The Sunday Herald provided an opportunity for them to issue a reply to a suitably primed hack.
It didn’t happen. It won’t ever happen.
Why not?
Money?
Connivance in the five way agreement?
Insurance against a rainy day when The Old Firm money spinner might be needed?
Not wishing to jeopardize the possibility of getting The Old Firm into a bigger league?
Who knows. All I know is that it should have happened but didn’t, rendering the game in Scotland a laughing stock without a shred of credibility or integrity.
If we compare Lennie`s managerial skills with those of Rodgers, Lenny will come off badly.
I believe we must judge lenny ( if he is to be judged) by his own actions, the team`s performances and, most of all, for this season, by results.
Brendan is a very hard act to follow and it would be wrong to expect Lennie to have the same success. All we can do is get behind him and the team for the rest of the season.Support , encouragement and confidence exuding from the stands will help much more than the over the top criticism that spews out of the mouths of some so called fans who feel that paying for their seats allows them to behave any way they want.
JJ
JJ
Headtheball on 11th March 2019 2:57 pm
‘Three tough games in difficult and unsettling circumstances, won two, drew one and already Lenny is a dud.’
\\\
And of those three games the only must win was against Hibs.
What was BR’s record against them?
Karamoko scores the winner from a free kick in the 90th minute , Final Score Celtic 3 Hearts 2.
In my opinion the very very last thing we need is a hard core uber support of circa 30k at Parkhead clapping like seals at every action we take. Especially if it’s blatantly wrong.
Constructive criticism must always have a place.
HH.
Hot Smoked @2:57
You don’t need to ask EL why Celtic chose not to challenge the relegation/new club lie. We have the answer from DD.
PL stated we didn’t need them, and he got publicly smacked down by his boss DD, who stated publicly that Rangers were relegated, and were “needed for Scottish football because of their following, the size of the club and especially their history”
Afternoon all. Just waiting for the forecast storm to wreak its havoc. Very dark down here already.
Hope all is not dark and gloomy down Parkhead Way.
I was thinking yesterday that we might go 4 3 3, until our main creative players come back. I would have a back 4 (until then) of Lustig/Toljan, Boyatta, Bitton/Siminovic and Tierney, a middle 3 of Brown, Ajer and Henderson, and a front 3 of Forrest, Eduard and Sinclair. Subs: Hayes, Burke, Gordon and 2 of the back 4 not starting.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 11TH MARCH 2019 3:03 PM
Karamoko Dembele is 1.60 m (5 ft 3 in)
*the wee mhan was 1.62m (5.314961′)
ZZ back to Real apparently.
Ernie L,
It would appear, from your posts you like to be believe yourself to be a well rounded, considered personality.
That you cannot see that for CelticFC, alone, to come out against the “same club” scenario would have only been viewed as an anti rangers attack that would be used against the club, does not seem credible.
Celtic, in this country, in this present climate, with these footballing authorities, this government, these police and a extremely hostile MSM, would’ve been on a hiding to nothing, had they come out alone against the continuation lie.
For goodness sake, the Supreme Court and the Takeover Panel can hardly make a dent on the nonsensical narrative being spun since 2012.
Celtic have, as yet not had an opportunity to join the debate , in any meaningful way.
Therefore they have decided to hold their counsel, at least until a forum arises where their views would be given equivalence.
Ernie, you do not appear to be a man of shallow minded thinking. Maybe on this issue you appear a wee bit too keen to lay blame at Celtic’s door.
Eurochamps67
Karamoko Dembele winning goal for Reserves against Hertz today.
When he set it up, I thought shurely not from there, but the runners did their job of distracting the goalie.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1105135951041515521
Karamoko puttin’ on the ole growth spurt?
2cm in 90 minutes?
At this rate he’ll be the size of Bobo by the end of the week.
Eurochamps67 on 11th March 2019 4:41 pm
That’s hand-wringing nonsense.
It’s a pity there’s no archive facility on here, otherwise we could look back and see what posters were saying at the time of the huns implosion and the immediate aftermath.
It was pretty much unanimous that Celtic would, and should, call out what was happening. The only disagreement was on timing. It was claimed too soon for Celtic to act, that legal action was ongoing, it was all too premature but that without doubt the time would come when something would happen.
I said then it would never happen, it hasn’t and it never will.
It’s a shameful state of affairs.
Hard to argue with this sentiment…
Twitter today
“@SPFLNewsNow
Follow Follow @SPFLNewsNow
More
Isn’t it crazy that the SFA can change the results of Clyde FC games that an ineligible player was present in but not strip Rangers FC of titles….. https://spfl.co.uk/news/disciplinary-hearing-clyde-fc …”
Perhaps Clyde should just “imperfectly” register players next time and they too will get a mild talking to over tea & biscuits at Hampden.
Ernie,
I give considered reasons why it hasn’t happened.
You merely blame Celtic and call them shameful.
Way to support your club.
Eurochamps67
Those 3 points awarded to Queens Park instead of Clyde are unlikley to have any far reaching consequences in League Two.
But the 3 points awarded to the weee Rovers brings then a point above Berwick in the bottom spot which determines which team has to go into a play off to retain their senior status.
Wonder if Berwick will speak out?
I thought it was a mistake not to start Eddy. I agreed with bringing him on a half time but not MJ. I think NL was too slow to move JF from the no10 role and shift him out wide and to bring Weah on. Some lessons hopefully learned.
Sheesh………… 90 mins, a game of two centimetres
Tully 57
“Said at the game – and not with hindsight – that putting 2 subs on at HT seemed impulsive, over-reactive and ran the risk of ‘cashing your chips in’ too quickly with only 1 x sub left. Talking to my son-in-law Hibee he says that was a thing with Lenny at Easter Road – can’t remember him doing so with us previously. ”
One of Lenny’s first managerial acts was to substitute Landry N’Guemo before half time in the SC semi final we lost to Ross County in 2010, even though it was still 0:0 at the time.
Lenny was reacting quickly, I believe, as an attempt to show he would not tolerate the same passivity that had crept in under Tony Mowbray. There was also a lot of fan pressure to make subs earlier as a signal to the fans that you had a Champ Manager skillset.
Lenny is a restless improver and wants to shake up this successful team. He will want less faffing aboot at the back and he will want indifferent performers subbed as a message to the others. Only time will tell if this is a winning approach with this squad or a recipe for dissatisfaction.
For me, the presence of Scott Brown in the dressing room will ensure that Lenny will tailor it right before long.
James Forrest has been James Forrest all season and last, gets moved to inside left and suddenly he’s wee Jamesie again.
What Larks csc
DONTBRATTBAKKINANGER on 11TH MARCH 2019 4:58 PM
Karamoko puttin’ on the ole growth spurt?
Let’s hope the ole Celtic jersey stretches to fit fast growing players.
Wee Kara looks a good’un