…OK, I suppose we have to mention them.
I did a preview for STV on Monday and was asked what my expectations were for last night but had to admit I had zero expectations. This season I hoped we would get into the Champions League group stage, or at least, the Europa League. We remarkably overshot. My real hope for the latter stages of the tournament was that we would exit without taking a hiding.
Technically, 0-3 at home is a bit of a hiding but it doesn’t feel that way for several reasons. The first half was the best football we have seen from a Celtic team in years; far better than either of the performances against Barcelona, and on a par with anything under the Strachan and O’Neill eras. Unlike Barcelona, this match plan was flawed, but it was an honourable flaw.
The “gamble” to play Efe is one which Neil may consider, in time-honoured Celtic tradition, will be inscribed on his gravestone. When you face Juventus you need to take gambles; if they all worked, clearly, they were not gambles. This one didn’t, we learn and move on. The player put on a brave performance and I’m very proud of his achievements this month.
With an away game at the daunting Juventus Stadium to come, many considered that our best chance of qualification would be to win the home game, and we clearly went about our business with the intention of doing just that. Had we faced Juve in the group stage it is possible we would have left fewer spaces at the back. Any watching Barcelona players must have marvelled at how big Celtic Park looked on TV last night compared to their visit two months ago.
We don’t know how good Juventus would have been if we camped in front of our own penalty box, as they did for long periods, but they were a more-than-effective counter-attacking team.
It is hard to pinpoint what we were missing. Georgios Samaras would have played if fit and would have given us the height-dimension up front we lacked without him. He would also have given Gary Hooper the support he badly missed. Charlie Mulgrew’s status as Best Corner Kick Taker in Europe is at risk if he doesn’t take corner kicks until Kris Commons has innumerable tries.
Juve were prepared for the Celtic threat from corners and behaved illegally throughout the game. One of the referees should have had the strength of character to deal with the problem but they were sadly unable.
There were many positives. Emilio is back to his very best. On one occasion in the second half two Juve players were goal-side with only Forster ahead. Emilio made-up the five yard deficit and stopped the attack. His pace, skill and decision-making were first class.
Kris Commons repeatedly took-on a crowd of Juventus players before releasing a team-mate or making space for a crack at goal. He looked like he enjoyed the occasion but didn’t get the clear-cut chance his play deserved.
Lustig and Matthews are both excellent right-sided defenders with pace and skill. Kelvin Wilson did well, as did Efe for long periods. Fraser had little to do all night but had no chance with any of the goals. Victor Wanyama bossed everyone in his vicinity, and this was some vicinity. Roy Keane played 13 games for Celtic and, after an unfortunate debut, I remember thinking “This is what all the fuss is about”. Victor elicits the same sentiment; more on the consequences of this another day.
On Friday 1 March the Lisbon Lions will be at the Kerrydale Suite providing commentary and answering questions on their magnificent European Cup final win in 1967. This has never happened in 46 years since that game, to say it is a unique opportunity fails to tell the whole story.
The event is part of our 125 4 125 campaign – central to reinvigorating the charitable spirit which is part of the club we love. It will be a family occasions, tickets are available at £10 for adults and £5 for children. The night has been organised by several fans working in conjunction with the people at Celtic Charity, so please do your best to support this great occasion. Individual tickets or tables are available, details here.
[calameo code=000390171980e8545b80a lang=en page=10 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
926 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 25
- »
One of the best suggestions Ive heard on here today was that if the same carry on happens at corners in Turin then one of our players should target the ref and stand in front of him with arms outstretched.
It would make him react in someway
Is it safe to assume that ex-refs here is Scotland are falling over themselves today to analyze that guys performance with the whistle last night?…………. Thought not……….
sftb
who would bid for Scott Brown…?
A sore one last night, and a result that i don’t think anyone seen coming. Italian teams are the masters of soaking up pressure and counter attacking football, but what we have to learn from last night is the need to be patient and keep our shape at the back early doors.
Don’t get me wrong, i liked the way we pressed from the off, midfielders and forwards passing and moving and creating chances, but at this level it’s paramount to concentrate at the back, one mistake and we’re left chasing the whole tie.
Must admit i don’t like Efe in central defense, he takes too many risks and has been caught out on numerous occasions this season. I like him as a player but Neil needs to find his best position within the team.
We missed Sammi big time, but all in all i thought we played very well
Fraser- before injury would have stopped 1st and 2nd goals
Lustig- gets better all the time, unlucky with wee niggles
Izzy- motm outstanding both in attack and defense
Kevin- could have covered better at 1st goal, takes gloss off a good performance
Efe- 3 moments will be haunting
Charlie- good solid performance
Scott- outstanding shift from skipper
James- wasn’t ready for this game
Kris- excellent best game for ages
Vic- coolest man on the park
Hoops- worked hard,can’t believe the treatment he received
Ref- a total twat, should never be near this level, this carry on at corners needs to be flagged up, sick of teams getting away with it.
Juventus- cheats, timewasters
Pirlo-everyone raves about him, i don’t, 16 years to be voted Italian player of the year, enough said.
“We did it by playing football; pure, beautiful, inventive football. There was not a negative thought in our heads.” Jock Stein
That’s what Lenny tried last night, but it didn’t work out. Sometimes it didn’t work out for Big Jock either, but we play/played football, not wrestling nor rugby.
I’ll tell you this, I would rather watch us play football The Glasgow Celtic way and lose than develop a win at all costs, cheating, cynical style of play. You can keep your Wattenaccio, diving and time wasting. I want to be entertained, I want to be able to say that I support a team that has sporting integrity as its ethos and,yes, I want to win, but NOT at all costs.
Hail! Hail! PMTYH
celt for life
English ex-ref Poll I think in Daily Mail says Celtic should have had at least one pen.
The usually verbose Clark and Co conspicuous by their absence.
I know of a fairly INEXPERIENCED manager who in his first head coach appointment took his team to 2 European finals,winning both.
Disappointed after last nights game but remain proud of what Neal and the team have
achieved this season. I am sure most of us would have gladly accepted the run which
we have had in Europe if offered to us at the start of the season, those who would
have expected more are, in my opinion, being unrealistic.
Looking forward to watching our new arrivals continue their impressive start shown at
Inverness last week. We have much to be happy about last nights scoreline was harsh
it was never a 0-3 game we competed well with a team who spend money at a level we
can only dream off but we are Celtic FC and what our team has done should make us
all proud of them and our manager.
The man who has never made a mistake has never did anything…. the trick is to learn
from your mistakes and I think we can trust Neal in that respect.
Hail Hail
For goodness sake give Efe a break. The support hate having centre backs who are not able to play. Fair enough Efe got caught last night and has rode his luck in the SPL too. His decision making will get better as his experience grows.
PF
Hi.All good. Just busy trying to make enough cash to keep the wolves away from the door, and trying to win the lottery in order to keep the lawyers away as well. :-) The latter is obviously harder to achieve. How are ya?
Folly Folly – yep…tremendous that night for Liverpool, tho’ I was concentrating on 2 legged affairs. Liverpool ? Betcha they’d love a wee shot in the last 16 again eh!
mickbhoy
wouldnt know
i would suspect that there are more on this site with accountancy and tax knowledge than have any idea about managing a football team
I know that Efe was to blame for getting caught under the ball but how many of you turned to the guy next to you (as I did in the pub down here in Benalmadena) and say 30/40secs before they scored “we are in trouble here”.
Hands up, how many noticed that the attempt at a cross from the left where we had as many players as Juve to pass to close by, gave away the ball with that attempted pass and left us lopsided with too many players advanced on the left and not enough cover on the right?
The same thing happened for first St Mirren goal in the LC semi (and I said the same thing 30 secs before they scored).
Celtic take risks in how the play the full backs and the others need to be very aware of those risks of we lose possession, particularly the central two. I am not sure that they are but alertness is something that can be worked on.
I personally don’t like the old ‘lessons learned’ (crikey no one seems to be learning much do they ?) mantra however I hope Neil Lennon and the coaching staff did indeed ‘learn’ something last night. That is how to deal with cultured/skilful/drilled European teams schooled in the dark art side of the game.
If it means playing them at their own game, so be it. Win at ANY cost is the watch word for many of Europe’s elite. Should we indulge ?
They nullified a direct threat from Celtic last night with their holding/blocking tactics at set pieces thus frustrating and irking our players. That said the referee didn’t cover himself in glory letting it go unabated. Stung by the old ‘laws of the game’ interpretation again. Whilst we didn’t directly lose because of these tactics, they did contribute to the overall result.
We can’t ignore an off night in front of goal and momentary lapses in defensive concentration though. They were the real factors that brought about the defeat.
Hopefully Neil’s belly will be full of fire, ready to take em on next year, armed with ‘dark’ tactics of his own.
We’re not out yet (and no Im not at all hopeful of a miracle) but thanks for this years adventure Celtic.
Cults Bhoy
“who would bid for Scott Brown…?”
I am well aware of your low opinions on this player but given your 180 degrees revolution, in your earlier post, where you said you were only interested in the money we could make from the Juve tie, in sharp contrast to your jibes through the WGS era about Celtic worshiping the Balance sheet, there might be some hope of a turnaround.
Now, Scott Brown received many commendations from pundits watching his performance last night. A couple of them even came from English managers in a position to buy him rather than lazy studio pundits who would only be clapping their eyes on him for the first time.
Scott is an invaluable commodity in the team. High energy, battling, tackling, disciplined (yes, I mean that) and with good reading of the game.
He filled in, and not for the first time, for Adam Matthews when we lost the 2nd goal and it is he, rather than Adam, who gets the brickbats for that.
He is respected by his team mates. He is their captain, and that is what counts with captaincy, rather than the crowd pleasing captaincy sought by many on here.
I have no doubt Scott, like Sammi, has many admirers in the EPL. Thankfuly, both of them seem to “get” Celtic and are not desperate to leave. Those who dislike them will criticise that as a lack of ambition and being scared, though.
What’s with the new sevco rumours?
kabul celt
Well at least Efe will now know the difference between feeling he wants to play and so being ready to play and actually being able to play to the standard needed at CL level.
“we learn and move on”
The only option and the easiest way to ease the pain,Dundee Utd at home on sat is the most important thing now.
Don’t know if this has been posted but Coral bookmakers tweeted this today
@Coral: The Champions League is back, titanic clashes between the biggest and best clubs in Europe… And Celtic!
Time to boycott them I think.
Sorry it was yesterday the tweeted that pash but please do not put any money towards Coral.
May I once again declare (in a politically correct, non-stalking, unthreatening and Platonic way ) my undying love for Big Vic Wanyama.
If he leaves us, I hope he attracts a record shattering transfer fee for a player from the spl.
The Bhoy’s a belter.
HH,
Auldheid.
Hands up. .
I could see it coming ———-giving the ball away can be fatal —— particularly when the opposition has pace and space to play in.. A sieve special. Ambrose was not the only one who made an error.
Come on Thommo, I need cheering up
PFayr @ 15:07
Granted that may be the case but may I ask ? Did you at any time have any doubts during the tenure of Tony Mowbray at the club or were you fully confident in his abilities as a football manager that would allow him to carry the club forward
Auldheid
I wonder if it was kidology from Conte to indicate in advance that he thought Izzy was our defensive weakness and then to produce 3 goals from the right back/ right centre back position.
On balance, I think not. I think it was less to do with managerial tactics and more to do with the intelligence of Juve players collectively to scent dangers and opportunities.
There is no doubt that the floated ball over the top was a Conte inspired tactic. He obviously felt we had CB weaknesses and he was proven right on that point.
Neil also got a lot right tactically. The pressure applied by Comons Hooper and the much criticised James Forrest also led to a lot of misplaced passes from the normally composed Juve defenders. IMO, their defence made many errors too. The main difference was that we did not capitalise on them.
miki67
I met someone this morning who said he “does not understand what people see in victor” ,WE DISAGREED :)).
C’mon now o.g. me owld muckah….we wiz promised some new explosive merde re. los tranqueros, and all we get is sabre-rattling from N.Korea.
Only messin’…..
InstantGratificationIsTooSlow CSC
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
15:04 on
13 February, 2013
_________________________________________________
Efetobore Ambrose Emuobo
Date of birth 18 October 1988 (age 24)
Yes, give the bhoy a break. He is only 24 years old and, which of us, at that age, would have been mature enough to tell the manager we weren’t up for playing against Juventus or any other team, for that matter, in the last 16 of a Champions League match at Celtic Park?
The problem we face is being able to keep this young team together to develop into something special, I think we all know the answer to that one. We couldn’t keep the “Quality Street” kids together in an era when players wages were nothing like they are now and there was no Sky TV ( Satan’s Transmitter) finance them.
leftclicktic :15:20 on 13 February, 2013
>>>>>>
Wiz it his brother? Sibling rivalry can be bitter.
: > )
twisty
fine pal…
bit like yourself …busy trying to keep all the balls in the air
up for another racing day out when the weather improves ?
Jamsie, in respect of their “offers” they are a honking bookies anyhow. Never used them , never will.
On the subject of bokies, Bet 365 banned me some time ago. I wasn’t too worried, but last week I wanted to place a bet on which they were offering the largest odds by some way. So I opened a new account from my works e mail addy, used a different card, and got the account opened. All was looking good as I got my bet on.
2 days later and I got a mail from them saying they “could no longer accept any bets frm me, except in the virtual gaming sections”.
Not sure how the b******** sussed me out, but they did. So I remain a very faithful beneficiary to Paddy Power., He seems very happy to take all my money regardless of which way I want to lose it be it horses, footy or dugs!
PF
Definitely. Was on crutches for a while, and getting physio 3 times a week, but almost brand new again. So, nags for sure. Possibly April/May? We will make it Ayr this time since you always have to do the travelling.
SFTB@14:49
Well said Mr. Irving.
Sober, rational sentiments seem out of place in this maelstrom of attrition, condemnation and accusatory hindsight.
I include myself and Kris Commons in that.
mickbhoy
i thought Mowbray was a poor choice as manager ..i was concerned before he got the job
my concern was based on the overall performance of WBA in the EPL the season after he achieved promotion
Anyone else hear mention that the Spanish referees son plays with one of Juves junior teams?
It may explain a few decisions made (or not made) last night.
Hail Hail
Latest Corker
RhebelRhebel@RhebelRhebel
Any truth in the rumour that last nights referee Alberto Undiano Mallenco’s son plays for Juve U12’s
Dublinbhoy
the astonishing thing was that he must have been watching what was going on since he decided to book both players? Wtf did he see?? Hooper getting thrown around? A guy not even looking at the ball but simply obstructing our player? Why the Hooper booking? Astonishing.
Reminds me, who was the player the currants had who used to do that? I mean staring at the player rather than the ball? I am sure it was in the M.ON era.
I said earlier ( adopts pompous stance ) that until last night Efe A. was being unversally lauded as an outstanding athlete.
These are not excuses:
we are a very young team to be playing at this level in Europe.
we have to work extremely hard to bring out the maximum potential from our young players.
we are given no breaks domestically prior to such a huge draining ,taxing encounter.
our play last night was scintillating at times, but we lacked the final coup de grace.
there was a universally slated bizarre referee.
life”s like that
football’s like that
We did not disgrace ourselves and were lauded in many quarters. We move on.
KTF!
twists n turns – did they ban you for your own good:-)))