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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Miss Prestonpans still pished
off at not getting a ticket, to wind her Up I sang, I’m going to Hampden , I’m going to Hampden You’re no, you’re no. The joys of parenthood
BLANTYRE
behave.
Listening to land of hope and glory myself. Ah the good old days before we left the empire and the dam natives took over
Melbourne
That’s football fans for ye
johnbay
I’ll pop over as well, not far from Coatbridge, just text me.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
BT,
ahh the ole Rebel Karaoke!
Gaunyirsel pal.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
BT,
last time i was in the Parkville was for the ML3 Social Christmas night oot!
1995 I think???
You could well have been there???
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
One for BT
http://youtu.be/-d30rpdvtiA
When all is said and done…we will WIN on Sunday…full stop ..end of….
CRC, that was classy today.
Thanks for that.
WITS
Elgars, pomp & circumstance is a smashing piece of music……
But no as good as the broad black brimmer…….
“But me mother has preserved it all the while”
Doc
22:04 on
30 January, 2015
No probs, Doc
Hope Mrs Doc is well on the mend?.
HH
CRC
Kraftwerk on Beeb 4 for anyone like me who loves them. :)
CRC
66/1 for 6-0
150/1 for 6-2
More than double the odds for them to get 2 against oor 6…..hahahaha.
Stick a £1 on each of them.
Given the fact that the Herald sold out on the day the ad was run, perhaps the editors of all scottish media publishers might realise that had they chosen to pursue and print the truth (instead of running scared) they might just have increased their circulation, astronomically.
Still sore, tired, but her day was lit by you and your families gesture.
Cowiebhoy
Just read back.
So sad to read of your family’s loss
RIP James McCabe.
eddieinkirkmichael
I had to clear my cache / browsing history and then look up CQN, log in and then save the successful address to my favourites.
Once you have it re-instated, you will have no problems. Hope it works for you. If not, I will get my Systems Manager to sort it for you – he is a Huddleboard fan but I will threaten not to pay him in February if he does not help,
Delaneys – hmm. Got a terrible disappointment there. Got my black and decker work bench and Stanley tool box out, lined up my bolsa wood and glue all for feck all….
Kraftwerk my hole….
I haven’t read back, Melbourne Mick, at what time did CowieBhoy make the post?
Cowiebhoy
Condolences, prayers and thoughts.
RIP James McCabe.
Cowiebhoy
Just caught up on reading back. Apologies.
Thoughts and prayers for your Uncle.
HH
CRC
Robert
Haha. Nae luck. Fun, fun, fun on the autobahn. :)
Cowie bhoy
Condolences mate
delaneys dunky.
“Kraftwerk on Beeb 4.”
My son ( and a pal, just in case ) under heavy manners to record it and Air Mail it to me ASAP.Can’t wait !
prestonpans bhoys @ 21:58
Miss Prestonpans still pished off at not getting a ticket, to wind her Up I sang, I’m going to Hampden , I’m going to Hampden You’re no, you’re no. The joys of parenthood
PB that sounds to smack of not just piquancy, but acerbity, sapidity, relish and astringency.
pedrocaravanachio67
22:09 on 30 January, 2015
See the 6-2 bet, is that our goals to there kicks ??? Hehe HH
Cowiebhoy Been absent due to the Blog problems.
Thoughts and prayers, Rest in Peace,James McCabe.
Papa John.
Today we lost a great songwriter – Rod McKuen.
One of his most famous interpretations was the song “Seasons in the Sun” from an original French song by Jacqus Brel.
If you like passion and emotion in your music, have a listen to this.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY__eaedtOA
Cowiebhoy, condolences for the sad loss of your uncle James. May he rest in peace.
cowiebhoy:
Just seeing now, I didn’t know mate. God Bless James McCabe, may he rest in peace.
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
CowieBhoy, RIP James McCabe.
You and yours will be in my thoughts.
SoT
It’s flashback tv for me. Magic Dusseldorf sounds. Enjoy when you view. :)
Mea Culpa
Absolutely correct… When will the written and broadcasting media realise that people want the truth.. many may not like it, but mostly people accept it.. they have a moral and ethical obligation at the very least.
Text just in. Good pal up Glasgow City .
Mob of huns gone past exchange square.
Andy53…answer is never…
The truth dont sell papers…thats reality…sad but true…
Doc
09.51 previous blog.
His uncle James.
H.H Mick
Cowiebhoy,
sorry to hear of your loss.
Thoughts and prayers fotr you and your family.
HAIL! HAIL!
Token
Ah Aye awe this oldco newco sevco hun holy trinity takes me back.
Back in the day when the huns were non zombied de facto huns and growing up in that geographical spherical solid angle that spans the surface of the earth that we collectively call Scotland during the 1970’s and 1980’s was a retrospectively terrifying experience for such a young fenian as myself.
I used to run and run and run.
I’m still running.
Away from huns.
That’s why I live in America.
Ah lost count after six the number of times I goat ma heed kicked in fur being a fenian bastard. Twice in Bathgate. Once in Livingston. Once on Glasgow bridge. Once in Ballieston. Once in Girvan.
Ah the archaic Scottish cultural history I pine for.
I used to believe If I could only gobble doon a marathon chocolate bar I’d have loadsa energy to run and run and run away from these sociopaths. (Big word at the time)
I’m still terrified of their violence and so should you be.
I think I made it by the skin of my teeth twice.
Being punched unconcious at Bathgate reservoir while fishing for perch and coming around having a 7 year old kid jumping up and doon on my back to the hysterical laughter of his hun father is one of these cultural phenomena one never really recovers from.
Marathon helped me a lot.
As for newco these new Snickers bars are delicious.
I’m telling ye!
Roll on Monday morning.