Footballers often play two games a week but their peak fitness levels are achieved when the play once a week. More often than that and the muscles don’t recover quickly enough. Top players’ muscles are finely tuned to deliver 90 minutes of exertion. To reach this peak, they NEED games as well as training. It appears to be beyond the ken of sports scientists to create a training routine which matches actual matches.
Apart from a 25 minute run-out against Hearts two weeks ago, newco’s players will not have played a football game in 22 days when they line-up against the champions on Sunday. If the boot was on the other foot, I would be concerned.
Celtic watchers will note that they score more goals late in games than early. Ronny’s team try to win the battle for territory, the ball and energy before running over the top of opponents. Whatever happens in the opening 20 minutes on Sunday I would expect Celtic to be far more effective in the final 20 minutes of the game, when their superiority will be most effective. There’s a chance newco will crumble early on, but I don’t expect many chances at either end until later in the first half.
While we all know how Celtic will play, it’s harder to figure out how Kenny McDowell will line-up tactically. If he was Ross County manager he would defend his 18 yard line for 90 minutes and hope for a breakaway, but I’m not sure that’s a viable strategy for Sunday. Lose an early goal and he would be caught between damage limitation and attempting to get back into the game. It could get very messy.
My hunch is that he’ll play a conventional 4-5-1 and attempt to find space out wide behind Celtic’s full-backs for Kenny Miller to run into. The full-backs will play forward, there will be space, we’ve just got to be faster than the 35-year-old ex-Celt now plying his trade in the lower leagues.
Despite their form against Hibs and Hearts this season, newco have an excellent record against Premiership competition in the cups. Three wins, against Inverness (only one point behind Aberdeen on same games played), St Johnstone and Kilmarnock, without a goal conceded, is a measure of what they are capable of, when they put their minds to it.
The wins against Kilmarnock and Inverness are particularly noteworthy, as both Premiership clubs enjoyed the majority of possession, but were frustrated in attack and hit with sucker-punches. This is what McDowell will seek to do at Hampden.
Ronny, get the job done. Very, very, very, thoroughly.
A reminder for North American readers that the Annual Celtic Supporter’s Féile is on in Philadelphia this weekend. The events include live music each day, the US premier of The Asterisk Years, with a Q&A with Paul Larkin and Graham Wilson of Beyond the Waves podcast, as well as live coverage the semi-final. You can find out more, including how to book, here.
Have you booked for the CQN11 Str Patrick’s Dinner on Friday, 13 March? We’re hoping to raise enough money to build Mary’s Meals a school kitchen in Malawi. Mary’s meals emailed an hour ago with a report on one of the kitchens we built last year, in Kholoni, where they are now feeding 1245 children each day, a considerable increase in the roll-call since the availability of kitchen facilities, see the photo above.
Email me for tickets, celticquicknews@gmail.com (to the Dinner, not Malawi).
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Sevco, Sevco x2
C’mon you Bhoys in Green x 2
IbOrcs, it’s Green and Whyte x2
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha etc
Hx2
Here’s to commons, Griffiths, VVD, Guidetti and Stokes ALL getting on the scoresheet on Sunday!
RFC RIP
CFC
Remember
It’s a new turd, same flies so watch yourself on Sunday Celts
V
Bliddy hell,even HAMILTON TIM beat me to the punch-and he’s working!
Hooooops
Apologies to all you podium posters, better luck on Sunday mibbee :>)
Hx2
Paul67 – One fly in the ointment of your assessment
“attempt to find space out wide behind Celtic’s full-backs for Kenny Miller to run into”
Miller can’t run anymore…..
Do them celtic the more the merrier
l will be Watching Ronny on the Sidelines closely at Hampden this Sunday..
When you think of Lenny in his First match at Hampden it was Actually embarrassing like a Rabbit caught in the Headlights and then you think what he went on to Achieve at Celtic FC..
Good to here Ronny he wont change they Way he celebrates a Vital Celtic goal for Anyone..KTF
Summa
Bobby sorry for distracting ye ,,,,,,,have a braw day …
Cowiebhoy …ma wee heids bowed …
braw
.
Paul67..
Paul Larkin is in Melbourne this Weekend..?
Summa
BMCUWP
“Btw,if you want to piss off a Mason in Kilwinning,ask-
How come you haven’t rebuilt Kilwinning Abbey yet?”
Ye canny jist throw that in the ring then walk away………….
FOD game plan will be the same as it was for the previous club.
Long hoisted ball towards Izzie hoping mcculloch or Daley can bully him and get a knock down.
Worked in a previous incarnation with lafferty. And still tried by industrial opponents to this day.
Gratified to see VVD on occasion anticipate this ploy and move over to go for the header.
HH jamesgang
Miller against Van Dijk and Denayer hahaha
Oh the thought of it
Great article up on twitter re the head of the sfa and the EBTs
https://scotfans4change.wordpress.com/2014/03/04/what-did-ogilvie-know/
Hx2
PAUL67
Hit them hard,hit them early. No foot off the gas,put it on their throat.
Go for goal from the off,and get a few as well.
Get the hun hordes so gutted that they disappear by half-time.
That’s what I want to happen. That I don’t think it will turn out that way,that we will be subject to iniquitous decisions from the authorities and to violence,both on and off the pitch,by a bunch of thugs,both on and off the pitch,is why I won’t be watching it.
Fill yer boots and enjoy,those who will be there or watching on TV. I don’t mean my choice to be a criticism of yours. More a criticism of a cancer in our society which has not only allowed Sunday’s game to take place,but greeted it like a long-lost relative.
And fed the hatred and victimhood into the bargain. Bastards the lot of them,but not one will hold their hands up on Monday and say that by their behaviour there is blood on them.
If it was last season would have been uber confident,the way we were playing,but under this amateur manager and a dodgy ref , I,m less confident,one up front no wingers and Johannsen playing leaves me worried,if forrest not fit to start ,lustig with matthews playing as a winger would be good as it,s worked in the past
The front page Herald article with the headline “RFC Born 1872, Died 2012″ remains in situ on a wall in a corridor at Glasgow Caledonian University. One FFin’ Hun has almost written to complain about it:
“Disgusting that a university allows a sign wrongly claiming rangers fc are dead i demand you act responsibly as a place of education and not a place of nasty political football, religious based sectarian, offensive posters or images to be portrayed on poster boards by bigoted minded people! I expect this to be taken down and appropriate action to be taken to ensure no colours of any attatchments that cause offence prejudicial religious or otherwise be allowed on such boards! What an embarressment to the university.
As you said its been up since 2012 time to take it down and to suggest this as educational then perhaps you can give a breakdown as to what this serves in that area? Why it has been up for two years or more? Why there is nothing about other clubs like hearts for example? Have you any intentions of taking this down or do you have an interior motive for leaving this not only offensive but misleading and most definately inaccurate wrongful headline? Industry changes constant why would the university continue to use wrongful information left on a message board since 2012?
I will take it to the next step because you have evaded the questions about your answer claiming its used for educational purposes which is why your allowing this offensive item to remain and lets be truthful no lecturer is going to hold a lesson in front of a message board therefore this calls in to question your motive? Its a shame that you appear to have an inner prejudice towards students or else you would have this removed? Given the way Glasgow is regarding football,religion , bigotry and sectarianism dont you think the University is being irresponsible supporting the use of material that is not factual? Has the subject material been used for lessons within the teaching areas or do classes get taught in front of message boards?”
Afternoon Bhoys & Ghirls.
Craig Gordon is quoted on the BBC website as saying “What league form the team is in doesn’t matter at all – it’s just down to this one game. It is 11 against 11 and anything can happen.”
I suspect it might turn out to be 12 against 10, if the MiB gets even the smallest opportunity to make it so.
The Celtic players will need to tread very carefully and not react in the slightest way to any provocation from their opponents. However often they are kicked, they have to just dust themselves down and carry on, and in the end sheer quality will prevail.
My preferred starting XI…
Gordon
Lustig Denayer VVD Izzie
Matthews Brown Johansen Stokes
Commons
Griffiths
I wouldn’t underestimate Miller,the guy has a great attitude and will run the channels all day for his team.Remember his performance for North Britain against Engerland last year.
.
Murray Vs Djokovic 7:30pm..
Celtic Vs Rangers 12:30pm
Looks like a BIG Sunday in Melbourne..
Hope Andy can finish Djokovic off in Less than 5 Hours Ha Ha
His 4th attempt to Win the Australian Open..
Summa
CFC should have opposed Ogilvie’s reelection
I have my own reasons for wishing they had
Monaghan1900
12:32 on
30 January, 2015
….these will be exam questions this year …pulse …no pulse …mmmm action ..body is very cold and clammy …
deid deid died ..to the MOTD tune …hahahahahhaha
Newco means new club .
braw
Bmcuw
Lunch break Bobby, lunch break :-)
MONAGHAN 1900
I refer you to my earlier post,
67 HEAVEN
The ‘secret sign’ on social media?
I usually start at the spelling and punctuation errors,then work through equivocation and lies until I get to foaming-at-the-mouth lunacy.
Not so secret,really. But then-I’m a Kilwinning lad,and know quite a few of their signs!
(Edit)
HAMILTON TIM
Just wait till TONY DONNELLY hears that you get lunch breaks as well as holidays.
Paul
They will come out from the start, as the always do, at 100mph. After 10 mins or so, we take control. I would wish for and hope that it’s done and dusted by half time and we can begin the second half as an exhibition game and extract a good quantity of urine.
Hail hail
KINGLuBO
BMCUW. Is Tony Donnelly ok ? I havnt seen him on CQN for a bit. H.H.
2 sleeps left. Or to be more accurate, 2 nights of interrupted sleep left. Increasingly excited or anxious in turn. Will be a surreal moment on entering Hampdump and seeing those massed ranks of the undead. Can’t wait but at the same time also dreading seeing them again.
For me, a Celtic win will be like lancing a boil, a coup de grace.
C’mon you boys in green!!!
Hail Hail
Plenty happening over at http://www.cqnmagazine.com so far today with more to follow…
On the bookstore we have a bundle that includes signed Caesar & The Assassin, a CQN Annual, a Celtic DVD a copy of THAT Sunday Herald and a wee something to enjoy and to celebrate the truth being told…
http://www.cqnbookstore.com/books/book.php?id=78
oneofthe70percent (12:32), calm down.
Celtic have won 14 and lost just one of their last 16 domestic games.
And I would suggest that you compare the domestic record of RD’s Celtic (% of games won, drawn, lost and goals F/A per game) to date with that of NL’s team. The difference is much smaller than you might expect.
The defensive record of the current team is actually somewhat better than NL’s (clean-sheet record breaking) team, but the performance at the other end of the pitch is a little lacking this season.
I would anticipate fewer goals on Sunday than we are hoping for, but I am also fairly confident that we will keep a sixth consecutive clean sheet.
JOEFILLIPISHAIRCUT
Dunno,mate. I’ve noticed a fair few similar enquiries and his friends have always been reassuring on that.
I’m sure that were there any problems,we would know. Unless of course he asked for the opposite.
I could argue all day wi the fella,and neither of us would change our original opinions. But neither of us would deny the other our love of Celtic.
Same wi plenty on here. Approach the same destination via different routes.
I hope our defenders have been practicing their clearing headers this week, as they will be fielding 50 yard forward punts every time The Rangers get possession. As long as they get a form head to the ball and clear it to the half way line every time, Craig Gordon should have little to worry about.
I also reckon they will target the space behind Izzie, as he will be spending a lot of time pushing forward, and they are likely yo be trying to press his buttons too. He will need to focus very hard on just laughing at them and walking away… something that our opponents are quite used to watching people do!
South of Tunis
If you’re around this could be a wee weekend listen for you…
http://www.mixcloud.com/maxvibes/jazzin-22-polish-jazz-special/
Kenny Miller has regressed greatly since the Wembley performance. He has lost pace and fitness. The other problem is where they play him. Miller has always been a front man with plenty of energy, closing down defenders, he has never had a great goal scoring record. My hunch is Miller will play from the midfield and Daly will get the nod up front, trying to win fouls, they will play for throw ins, corners and free kicks.
Miller is finished.
The Huns are crap …I have watched several times of late …they have been humped different by Div1 teams …inc conceding three goals in 20 mins at Alloa
By all means we should preach caution re expecting a landslide victory
However
There are no excuses for failure on Sunday ….it’s not the same as losing to Morton , Ross County and the like
No excuses…smash them CFC
Summa of Sammi….
12:35 on
30 January, 2015
.
Murray Vs Djokovic 7:30pm..
Celtic Vs Rangers 12:30pm
Looks like a BIG Sunday in Melbourne..
Hope Andy can finish Djokovic off in Less than 5 Hours Ha Ha
———————————————
Hope Celtic finish The Rangers in less than 5 minutes!