When you are full of confidence, every game is anticipated with a sense of purpose. A ‘Bring ‘em on’ attitude lifts poor sides to great heights. When a team are on a losing streak, no game looks easy. Dundee United have won one game in all competitions since September, a 3-1 win over St Mirren seven weeks ago. Jim Goodwin is not in the position he endured in the late stages at Aberdeen, however, he needs any win almost as much as Wilfried Nancy.
United are the only Premiership side Celtic have yet to face this season, but there are reasons for more caution. They have played clubs from the top half of the table eight times, drawing twice with Newco and once each with Hibs and Hearts, once with Motherwell. Hearts and Motherwell managed wins against them, while United beat Aberdeen.
This trend was further evidenced by their home and away draws with Rapid Vienna, who enjoyed over 60% possession in each game, before eventually prevailing on penalties.
United’s problem lies when playing weaker sides who defend and give them the ball, their strength is playing on the counter. Goodwin’s gameplan for tomorrow is well-rehearsed and ready. On this issue, he will have the advantage tomorrow.
An interesting aspect of these games is the amount of goals scored. There were four 2-2 draws, a 3-3 and a 2-3. United are conceding like a team near the bottom of the table but score on the break more effectively than most. Saturday’s 0-0 with Motherwell was only their second clean sheet in 19 games since playing Luxembourgers in July.
Wilfried Nancy will know to expect Celtic will have chances and to defend against counter-attacks at Tannadice. That, at least, is one consolation for our new manager.
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Wednesday and match day eve!
Posting an article in a Celtic website talking all about Dundee United. God forbid we ever have an article looking at the real issues at Celtic.
Our manager will play his own game of that I’m certain, I’m certain we will cough up goals and under him score very little ,all this adds up to what tomorrow night?
Paul the spark,
a wee repost from old blog
https://www.forbes.com/sites/ianquillen/2025/12/16/what-wilfried-nancys-celtic-fc-saga-really-says-about-mls-managers/
HH
Whilst not technically gifted, I believe they are a team of big, physical athletes not unlike St Mirren.
Paul67
Ironic , this time last year just before we sold Kyogo you were bemoaning ‘ a dire draw’. Who would have thought we’d be back with a third manager, and still no Centre Forward.
Win with Wilfried ✌️
Had we appointed Stephen Robinson as our manager this place would have been in meltdown, or maybes not…..
An Tearmann ,Paul the Spark
From the Forbes article – I laughed out loud at the following:
The idea that no MLS managers can succeed in Europe is absurd and easy to refute based on a list of those who have come to MLS already with European credentials and found the league challeng. Among them: Dean Smith, Owen Coyle, Dome Torrent, among others.
No excuses and must win games must have been reserved for Brendan.
Win, Wilfried. That’s your job.
RIP The Bradford Fire disaster victims .
Interesting, yet pointless stats from me (courtesy of the internet)
48 year old Nancy has a 49% win rate from 218 games managed
44 year old Goodwin has 39% win rate from 414 games managed
Tomorrow eve game could go either way. No idea what to expect.
Tomorrow night has disaster written all over it.
Nicholson and his pals still raking the cash in though. Well worth it.
Tomorrow night will not be a disaster if the players stand up and be counted.
HH.
Greenpinata
…..unless they can only count up to 3 at the back
2 calendar defeats in 2024. 15 so far in 2025. An alarming and unacceptable decline.
I have to pinch myself among this self-generated furore to remind myself we’re the same ‘World Class In Everything We Do’ mob who gave a great account of ourselves in Europe last year AND whose financial performance is the envy of clubs from Almeria to Almaty.
I mean, it takes a special confluence of factors (or ‘special kind of balls-up) to arrive at such a torn face, torn state of affairs from a position of relative strength and promise.
And now the gleeful meeja are trying to take Wilf down and we – as a fanbase – seem to be playing along. On his appointment I though he was un type who really got what the soul of the club was; but that’s no enough.
I still hope and pray Wilfried gets his message thru and ignites a new phase in our once illustrious history.
Keep The Faith
PS: I’m enjoying some Cream Crackers and Peanut Butter for supper – how did the two name ever get past the Ad Standards Board when there’ s nary a trace of dairy to be seen or savoured in either product !!
Correct Paul , we will make chances . Recent performances have shown however that we will not take them and that is as likely to result in a loss as a draw . Correct also that we will also have to defend breakaways and we have seen how Wilf’s 3 at the back cope with those .
I will be utterly amazed if we win this game.
* a loss as a draw or a win
Celtic in crisis —- root causes and solutions ignored.
An article on how to avoid defeat against Dundee Utd—- how far we have fallen with no end in sight.
Dropped points tomorrow he is a goner.
When will the culprits be removed…only then change begins.
If the board’s main priority, as suggested by Desmond Jnr, is to win the league and pile up the trophies rather than see us making strides in Europe where there is now an unbridgeable gap (his words), then would we be any worse off in appointing a McInnes, Askou, Goodwin, Robinson type? Such an appointment clearly does not match the ambition and expectation that we have as fans but if we are downsizing why not go the full haul and appoint a manager that matches the board’s level of thinking?
I will not be surprised if Maloney is in charge come January.
There is so much talk about players standing up and working harder/wanting to win more. Anybody who has ever played the game knows that every player has a glass ceiling to their level. They all dip below it from time to time and the best one’s maintain the good standards nearer to their maximum.
This group are devoid of technical ability. Sunday showed hardly any of our offensive players have a technical ability level that would be expected at Celtic. This squad has been gradually taken apart by a board that PAUL67 supports, a business model that he endorses regularly and a former manager that he continues to blame for this season and all our failures.
The statement by Desmond junior at the AGM has shown to have huge holes in it and we are continuing to see the result of a badly run football club.
January will not be enough to save us. An experienced manager with huge buy in from fans and players (MON) may have been able to win silverware but a new novice manager has little chance. His comms are poor, his reasoning even worse and fundamentally he has been left with a poor group of players. Admittedly we have injuries to some big players such as CCV, AJ and Jota.
Most fans have turned on WN already but that is a diversion away from the bigger problem of so many incompetent people running the club.
WN should not have got the job. He should not have made it past yesterday.
As he has all we can do is watch on with the inevitable dismissal coming. It is exactly like MArtin at Ibrox.
I just hope we as fans don’t start any vile chants against him and focus more on change at board level. I fear DD is so arrogant that he can not relieve WN of his job unless we were hammered. SM was not far away from a hammering.
Write this season off unless we make changes quickly. Singing new players and bringing them into a toxic, unsettled club won’t help.
KT came off to be subbed and Nancy stopped him and started giving him instructions
KT back peddled back onto the pitch
Stevie Woods had to intervene, tell Nancy he was coming off and get KT off the pitch
This is a clusterfcuk
I have very little faith in anything other than an ongoing clusterfcuk
Repost.
Kettlewell is still available.
Does anyone really expect us to win tomorrow? I am in total depression about WN.
DB
The above list of SPL managers might indeed be the list we draw a new manager from, the killing of European ambition complete, Nancy cannot continue in this role.
Moisey17 @ 10:33 am,
Very good post…
“The lack of ambition and the characterless conservatism of the major shareholders is mind numbing whilst nobody is suggesting going bat shit crazy with spending can anyone honestly say that we have done our absolute best and pushed on…
It was interesting when it became clear that Wilfried Nancy was to be the man and he was bringing his crew…
My thoughts were, this could be a very smart move – if they know what they are doing ( cough, cough ) we could have strategy to give us the extra edge we need.
However, what is now clear, is they didn’t know how it would work out, they were prepared to take that gamble.
In other words, with the cups, with the league, with the team and with the supporters expectations – they were prepared to swing and miss…
Funny when it’s their cash they’re worried about, they never, ever gamble
Charlatans…
Hail Hail
Signing that Palestinian striker early in the window, a transparent move to placate fans and buy time, is exactly the kind of cynical gesture we’ve come to expect from these charlatans. Plenty on here will be ready to spontaneously combust if it happens. It would be delightful to watch as they attempt to couch their language and their true allegiances.
Frankly, it’s a shame James McClean has retired; he’d have fit perfectly on their list of hollow, symbolic targets.
But there’s a silver lining. The longer this charade continues, the more people finally see it for what it is, a distraction from the rot at the core. And that awakening is vital. You can’t save a tree just by pruning its branches, not when the roots are poisoned.
bournesouprecipe on 16th December 2025 11:56 am
AN TEARMANN on 16TH DECEMBER 2025 11:36 AM
Yes , but the Celtic board knew all that didn’t they?
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Oh they did…that’s confuses too, as its implies direction
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Thank you for Bradford remembering 👍
HH
Woods and another coach,we’re telling Nancy to wait on subbing Tierney, as Ralston was down at that time, Tierney off followed 2 minutes later by Ralston, a sub lost,amateur stuff.
“Brendan Rodgers has been appointed manager of Saudi Pro League side Al-Qadsiah. Rodgers, who will be joined by former Celtic coaches John Kennedy and Jack Lyons…”
Is there a depressive version of mass hysteria – the symptoms are certainly widely on show atm.
People now saying we should hire any run-of-the-mill Scots Irish journeyman duffer as our gaffer!
Isn’t it just possible that Tisdale et al took the club brief, did their homework and research and diligence and deduced this guy has what it takes to move us forward? Yes it doesn’t look like it so far and maybe the language problem is compounding the early issues; but surely these football guys know more about the game than most of us blog types banging our keyboards do?
Now, you may say I’m a dreamer…
John/Neil/Lennon CSC
BANKIEBHOY1 on 15TH DECEMBER 2025 10:15 PM
Still sore after our dire performance……………….
Having a wee read back………..
I’d have to say that those hopeful of Major Shareholder change on the back of supporter unrest and activism might remember that DD is a strategic commercial financier to his core.
While the current climate may be uncomfortable I’d doubt it’ll alter or overly influence his stewardship.
HH
ThereIsNoSanityClause CSC
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Hope you’re good.
History shows that it’ll more likely cause him to strengthen his vice like grip on Celtic. A big ‘daft’ billionaire doesn’t exist, especially not in the Celtic world.
What has happened though is supporters are more interested and enlightened as to why he does, what he does, and that it’s not just for the Celtic he says wee Ross and him adore just like us.
It dispels the notion that he does it for the good of his health and doesn’t make money from Celtic, which he has done from 1999 where his £30M is now £100M (minimum) in the unlikely event he would sell tomorrow. Thats roughly £3M a year, even more roughly 60,000 a week (three times Henrik Larsson for 25 years)
Not bad for poor wee Celtic Glasgow. If you get my drift 👍
Bhoys Town on 16th December 2025 12:44 pm
Does anyone really expect us to win tomorrow? I am in total depression about WN.
Does Celtic put a wage in your pocket?
Are yir friends and family alright?
Snap out it.
Get off here and social media.
Take yourself out a walk in the bright daylight
Am in town and I just think how lucky I am literally at every street corner,Celtic pales when your in a cardboard duvet -8.
I hope we work hard for our victory,and harder to unite.
Chin up, 1-0 Celtic,with a 93rd min twice deflected in off type of spawns goal to get a victory
HH
spikeysauldman on 16th December 2025 10:20 am
A complete cluster feck from those in charge and calling for unity & blaming the bogey men wont hide that,
/===
Disunity has brought Celtic to this point and unity will not help the past or present but it could make a difference in the future and change a toxic relationship.
In any case it will not happen overnight and will not happen at all if the subject and how to bring it about gets no mention
Could this be all part of the bigger plan- Get the fans that pissed off with a nobody of a manager that they’ll accept Maloney (On his own) as the saviour
I’ve become that cynical with this board of directors and their penny pinching that it would not surprise me
Wilfried Nancy will know to expect Celtic will have chances and to defend against counter-attacks at Tannadice.
never mind counter attacks, what about basic defending against set pieces and a player standing as close (as allowed) to a long thrower to restrict their action
or having a defender on the back post at corners .
When was the last time we scored direct from a free kick ,not that we get a lot .
Will we see Yamada at centre or Inamura make an appearance in the back 3 , hopefully we have seen the last of maeda at centre or AR at right back .
Here’s hoping for a performance and much needed 3 points.
Wilfried’s presser this afternoon 👍✌️
“Newco” (sic) alert….2nd paragraph”
Which so called “Newco” do you consistently refer to, Mr. Brennan?
In the first half of 2025 (January to June), approximately 363,000 new businesses (Newcos) were registered (incorporated) in Britain.
However, there were no other “SEVCOs” registered in this period.