Result gives platform for progress

1761

Last night’s win didn’t look on the cards until the opening goal; Astra were passing the ball better and creating as many chances as Celtic.  It looked like the game we expected – without Commons or Guidetti. However, we find ourselves top of the group with 7 points from 9 at the halfway point, having recorded a draw away to top seed Salzburg.

There’s still a lot of work to do, a win away at Astra next time out in no way guarantees qualification, but we stand an excellent chance of progressing and a decent chance of topping the group.

Having thumped Ross County at the weekend there was a notion we’d turned a corner, which fed some of the frustration last night, despite the result.  What we saw was very poor passing from a disjointed team.  Players were receiving the ball in too little space, where options were already closed.  This impacted the effectiveness on Callum McGregor and Mikael Lustig in particular, but it seemed when every Celtic player looked up there wasn’t a good pass on.

This is all a consequence of change.  We look disjointed because we are disjointed.  We’re disjointed because we’re rebuilding.

The relevant questions are:

Do we need to rebuild?
Are we making progress?

Yes, we need to rebuild.  The squad, tactics, training and other processes are all going through change.  For so long we watched Celtic squads remain constant and grow old (under Martin O’Neill), or out tactics become rigid (under Martin and Gordon Strachan), to the point that we were crying out for some experimentation.

The above is seldom disputed but the question of progress is more important.  Right now Celtic need results.  They need to survive in the Europa League long enough to test and improve their passing, movement, instincts and, where necessary, squad.

Last night’s win wasn’t pretty but it was vitally important.  The next challenge for this team is also important; we need to go to Romania and put on the kind of performance we did in Salzburg.  If we can do that, we’ll have earned a platform to build on.

Caesar & the Assassin, the accounts of Billy McNeill and Davie Hay as Celtic managers, is available below.

Billy and Davie will both sign the early orders we get to them, more here.

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  1. zbyszek

     

     

    Sorry mate I’m back at my own house in Hamilton tonight.

     

     

    I’m going down to England to visit my mum tomorrow could we speak on Sunday when I get back or is that too late?

  2. SOAL

     

     

    I did toot ya tube but you totally ignored me…..thought I was back in the hoose with the missus.hh

  3. Delaneys Dunky on

    Taranis

     

     

    It was possible to drink in Clydebank hostelries for close on 24 hours in the 70s & 80s I remember. Happy and mad times. :))

  4. 67Heaven ... I am Neil Lennon ....The angels are with Wee Oscar in Heaven.. Ibrox belongs to the creditors on

    token tim

     

     

    12:46 on 24 October, 2014

     

     

    Well said that man….HH

  5. Green

     

     

    Personally I think that there should be a major investigation in to the whole academy / youth set up

     

    Seems to me that we spend a large amount of money, personnel and resources on something that delivers very little

     

     

    HH

  6. Hamiltontim

     

     

     

    21:38 on 24 October, 2014

     

     

     

    Mullet’s Mothers beaten again.

     

    ———————–

     

    Gooooooooooooood :))))

     

     

    The Spirit of Arthur Lee

     

     

     

    21:19 on 24 October, 2014

     

     

     

    Johann Lamont to stand down as Scottish Labour leader

     

    Step forward J Murphy no doubt :(((

  7. the spirit of arthur lee

     

     

    21:48 on 24 October, 2014

     

    voguepunter

     

     

    That is my local they still ask for you mind

     

     

    get your arse back in

     

     

    My office is in the Baltic Chambers,

     

     

    ________

     

     

    Noo that was funny.

  8. mullet and co 2 on

    Somebody with a user name which includes 1690 has bought my old suite on ebay. They are due to collect tomorrow.

     

     

    Should I

     

    A. Leave rosary beads in the bottom as part of the transaction?

     

    B. leave a small postcard of the Lisbon lions on the underside?

     

    C. Introduce him to my new sofa that I have been watching the SPL on?

     

    D. Tell him he’s getting a load of old history with that sofa?

     

    E. Tell him I had it blessed by the pope?

     

    F. I remember doing a lap of honour round it after John Hartson scored at Anfield.

     

     

    The games a bogey when he hears my first name anyway which can be awkward in handshake situations for some masons.

  9. croppybhoy

     

     

    I don’t know figures but from what I’ve heard, Lennoxtown easily pays for itself.

     

     

    The plan is realistic in that those in charge appreciate that a golden nugget will be a rarity. Bringing through young players and selling them on is the bread and butter that allows Lennoxtown to operate until the next nugget (golden) comes along.

  10. marspapa,

     

     

    Ye know that wee git ACGR will come gunning for you Boardwalk empire wise…be on your guard ;)

     

     

    You sound like you had a good day/night enjoy mate. HH

  11. RE: OP

     

     

    Why oh why, do managers have to consider it a fait accompli that they must rebuild a team they take over.

     

     

    In the case of RD, I might understand this if NL had been sacked for incompetence and left a poor outfit for his successor, but the fact is RD has come in and made a complete hash of things, when all he needed to do was to see how the squad was progressing over a few months to a season and then implement change slowly.

  12. Evening Timland from a cool hun free mountain valley.

     

     

    HT

     

     

    Can you expand a little on how Lennoxtown easily pays for itself.

     

     

    I was under the impression it cost well over a mill a year to run.

     

     

    Tha’ts a hell of a lot of selling kids for any kind of money, I can’t recall any in the last year that have been sold for a significant amount.

     

     

    CuriousCSC

     

     

    HH

  13. Hamilton

     

     

    I hear the same things but wonder if it’s true or indeed a worthwhile use of resources that could be spent on either buys for the first team or a proper manager for the first team?

     

    How many times have we seen the young players parade around CP with their trophy only to see most of them released by the club the next week?

     

    The thing should be judged on the whole on how many players we get through the system

     

    If we were getting two or three every year and could then afford to sell on guys who had made the break through 2 or 3 years ago – the way clubs like Ajax do -my then I would back that. However we are far from that state of affairs!

     

     

    HH

  14. From twitter:)))

     

     

    In @labour in Scotland the political equivalent of Sevco?

     

     

    Good night all

  15. Jobo@1846

     

     

    You really are “tailored” for that modelling lark. :-))) Sorry for the late reply, had a busy evening. :-) See ya Sunday, hopefully dryier. :-))

     

     

    BSR

     

     

    He cut a fine figure, more like a male model. Not that I’m into that kind of thing, you understand. Hahaha.

     

     

    Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.

  16. What is the Stars on

    Burnley 78 in reply to your query about a time when I enjoyed celtic, silly question by the way, but here goes. Almost all of the time from 1967 to 1974, most of the time since then with special emphasis on the year we broke the hearts, the centenary double, the joe miller final, stopping 10 in a row, the martin o Neill years, the Gordon Strachan years, the neil lennon years and various other bits and pieces like seeing Di canio weave his magic, I could go on. Sorry have to mention tommy burns both as a player and manager, ah sure I better stop now before someone calls me a hun

  17. Magnificentseven on

    jude2005 is Neil Lennon \o/

     

     

     

     

    22:15 on

     

     

    24 October, 2014

     

     

     

     

    Getting advised to update my Google Browser Advice please.!!!

     

     

     

    don’t do it. its a virus

  18. The Battered Bunnet on

    Any truth in the rumour that Johann Lamont is throwing her hat into the ring with Brian Kennedy, while Philip Nash is running for leader of Scottish Labour?

  19. the exiled tim

     

     

    I’m only going on what I’ve been told, as I said K I don’t have figures.

     

     

    We don’t need to be selling players for huge sums, just continually bringing in enough to keep things ticking over.

     

     

    Remember the sale of McGeadie brought in £10m alone.

  20. GuyFawkesaforeverhero on

    First time didn’t work. Emailed Aberdeen at 7.20pm so think I just made the deadline.

     

     

    Good luck to everyone else still playing.

  21. croppybhoy

     

     

    I agree that it can be frustrating, deep down we’re all hoping for the next Aidan.

     

     

    However, I’m a great advocate of youth academies and I believe it’s essential we continue to do our upmost to produce our own talent through in the best traditions of the club.

  22. Hey guys you know i’m smarter than the average “bear” pffft lol hehe

     

     

    fks they must be thick or whit !!! ???

     

     

    Ronny is our “mccoist

     

     

    Says what you want to hear .

     

     

    our avarage players are beingu made to look……….

     

     

    MEDIOCRE!!!!!!

     

     

    Fence sitters

     

    happy clappers …..

     

     

    think mcoist

     

    think ibrox ………

     

    imo ,

     

    new manager needed…..

     

     

    WGS ….

     

     

    could’nt give a flying monkeys ah know am in the vast minority BTW ,

     

     

    “Education is wasted on the clever ”

     

     

    g/nite aw yooz clever arses that/kin make mince/meat/oot a /mee

     

    lol

     

     

    how on gocs earth can you fevkwits typr drunk

     

     

    hahahahahah

     

     

     

    ;)))))))))

     

    DD/HT/B/T/SipSiLennyBh/ bmcuwp and all the other greats

     

    arseholez the lottaethum

     

     

    haha only kiddin !!! they’re fkn arseholez !!!!

     

     

    pishedcfc.com;)))

     

     

    g/nightcfckingdom

     

     

    ;))))))

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