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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Love it Monaghan1900.
I assume this pyoor ragin’ wee hun at Cally is a foreign national and English is his second language.
’tis quiet on here today.
Ach well, back to work now as I’ve loads to do this aft, and it’s a 3.30pm finish today… then back-to-back 5-a-side games from 4pm. Hopefully I can pre-create some of Celtic’s goals for Sunday!
PFAYR
For as poor as the Zombies are ,it will not be a surprise to me if they beat us.
The gulf between the respective first 13 players and the management teams isn’t that big in a one off fixture.
If we hadn’t wasted tens of millions of pounds on useless forwards ,this game would be a walk over.
Deila and Collins also don’t fill me with confidence.
On the bright side. They surely are ahead of McDowell and Durie.
I never enjoy these Glasgow Derbies.
It is all I can think about ,and I have serious work to do.
TT
Will be in Glasgow on Sunday any Celtic friendly pubs for myself and Mrs bigphil to watch the march
PF AYR
You are certainly correct that there is no excuse for us losing as we did against Morton.
Or Hamilton,for that matter.
I won’t be there for the game on Sunday,but was blamed by my ever-loving family for hexing us at those two!
I must have been there in spirit for the Ross County game…
Hallo folks.
Just some info if you are going to the game and the story in the record yesterday about flags not being accepted without a fire certificate.
No such fire certificate exists and flags should NOT be taken to your local fire station to be checked.
I had a young sevco fan come into the station one day prior to their friendly with derby in the close season asking about one because the rams said they required it. It may be something they do in England and Wales but in Scotland it doesn’t happen.
The advice from celtic (according to the record) was to ask the fire service if it complied. This is wrong and I only found out about the story because HQ issued a brief saying we won’t do it.
Laters
BIGPHIL47
Wrong site for questions about a march…
Lol
Match
Baffled and bewildered by those advocating a completely new formation on Sunday?
We do not need to crowbar Matthews into midfield.
We have a stronger side, let them worry about us!
Sid
Daly will play on Denayer and Izziguire.
He will win almost all headers against either.
Denayer is quite short for a central defender.
He is more in the Baresi ,Blind,Cannavaro mould, than the Butcher,Hendry ,Balde ,Varga ,type.
He is weak in the air against big centre forwards.
Miller will play on the Knock on from him and try and expose the large gaps that we leave between our central defenders and especially around Izzy.
TT
Raymy
13:07 on 30 January, 2015
My experience is that plod asks for a certificate from the flag manufacturer that it’s fireproof/retardant or whatever the standard is.
guernica
Matthews in midfield would be a disaster, he’s playing poorly and his passing is not what is required on Sunday, I hope Big Mik starts and rampages down that wing all day long…
Indeed Ernie, not something we can do post-purchase
Open house and invite in the usual boozer at the usual time today
Tara the noooo
Monaghan1900
12:32 on 30 January, 2015
Great post! An illiterate Hun tries to claim high ground. Laughable :-)))
Keep them comin’
HH
Gerry
Reading on the beeb today that Danny Ings is set to sign for Liverpool. Surprising news as
I recall our stenographers reporting that Ashley would bring him to Ibrox. Fully expected the private jet to swoop on Burnley and unveil him at Hampden on Sunday. I only hope that Ronnie has time to revise his preparations as it looks like we’ll be facing an Ings free opposition.
.
BigPhil..
Are You a H@n..?
..;-)
Summa
Raymy.
Disagree, you can take a flamethrower to said sevco fans flag. If it bursts into flames then don’t issue certificate. If it doesnae, throw more flames until it does.
If Biton plays he will be targeted for the follow through in the 50 50s.
Izzy will be targeted for sly digs in the hope he retaliates and gets sent off.
I expect Daly up top trying to get into 1 on 1s with Denayer.
McCulloch will bater Guidetti. Expect scything tackles from Black on Johansen.
Expect Forrest to be hacked down.
Expect one big penalty decision not to go our way.
Despite those things I expect us to win comfortably.
At least they are admitting they are pish now which is better than the start of the season when we had folk claiming their first 11 was on a par with ours. Lol.
Unfortunately Sunday’s game will define Ronny’s time with Celtic. Lose and he is finished with the majority of fans. Win, things continue as is. Win by a large margin….he will become a legend !
Just my opinion.
Honest mistake
No fires of any sort please, the reports are brutal
Fasan
Fisher O’Connell Lustig Waters
Bitton
McGregor Henderson Wakaso
Griffiths
Šćepović
And we’ll still beat them.
Lol no just text illiterate Sammi
Nice to see Hun Media getting into a stooshie:-
Wherearewenow-
Today, 08:26 AM
FIFA need to get better organised.
Nice to see that tweet from them.
But then their website stlll shows this page:
http://www.fifa.com/…01/7/index.html
You’d think that they could present a common line ffs!
If they’ve realised that Rangers are still the same then someone should go back and correct that webpage….
wherearewenow
Today, 08:42 AM
> Reformed under a new company, not a new club,
Er, no – that’s *not* what it says.
Doesn’t say “reformed under a new company”, it says “reformed as a new company”.
– they really need to change that website page if they’re going to send out those tweets.
And whilst they’re at it they can take out the bit that says “the club was consigned to liquidation”
– it’s things like that which celtic fans jump on! Best they fix it.
Come to think of it, I’m not comfortable with the use of this “reformed” word as well.
¥¥¥••••¥¥¥¥¥¥••••••¥¥¥¥¥¥¥••••••••¥¥¥
Inconvenienttruth CSC
I wonder if all those flags allowed into INDOOR and outdoor venues were fire retardant..?
Hmmmmmm
The nearest British standard with regards to fabrics particularly INDOOR is as follows
Source 5, or Crib 5 as it is frequently know as, is usually a contract
standard for upholstery. In contract upholstery you might also come
across BS 7176 which determines specific risk or hazard areas that your
fabric is being installed into. In simple terms, BS 7176 covers all 3 of the
above tests. Furthermore, whilst Crib 5 is the highest standard of the 3
tests it does not follow that a fabric which passes Crib 5 will also pass
the cigarette and match test – even though it is likely to.
Exceptions, Mandates & Exemptions
Fabric is exempted if it is 75% by weight of cotton, silk, viscose,
wool i.e. 75% natural fibres. A FR inter-liner must also be used to
keep the exemption.
Furniture MUST IN ALL CASES pass the cigarette test. No
exceptions.
Cigarette Test will be undertaken using standard foam – this
presents a worst-case scenario.
For fabrics that do not inherently pass the required test then
treatments are usually available, often where the back side of
the fabric is coated with a fire resistant substance not affecting
the look and feel of the fabric
For already made-up furniture, we doubt that it is possible to treat
it retrospectively to pass the tests. However it may be possible to
prove that the fabrics that have already been used are in fact
compliant.
Bada Bing
You have mail.HH
BigPhil, the Kerrydale Suite at CP?
Bring out your dead….
Liquidation is for life not just for a season:))
INDOOR and outdoor venues at the recent Commonwealth games!
Good luck to the show in Philly this weekend, especially Paul Larkin and Graham.
As one of the many modest producers of the film, I hope it nails it and does what it says on the tin.
Tainted trophies for a bankrupt organization.
Can’t be there in body but the spirit is another thing.
HH
still getting sporadic issues with CQN when accessing from my phone
so the CQN FUBAR rating is now up to 43
though the strange thing is Paul67 has mentioned nothing of it in any of his articles
hmmm
PravdaCQNCSC
johann murdoch
13:29 on
30 January, 2015
I wonder if all those flags allowed into INDOOR and outdoor venues were fire retardant..?
Stage sets are probably a better example, you can get a spray which coats any fabric making it Fire Retardant, would work with flags if it’s a real requirement
Thanks keV will. Do lovely
Told yous I could not text
starry plough @ 12 51.
Many thanks for that link .It will provide the soundtrack for tonight’s dishwashing duties .Much appreciated.
Can never think of East European Jazz without remembering a brill grafitto in Prague . A Hammer and Sickle where the the tip of the sickle had been converted to a snake’ s head with a forked tongue and coming out of the snake’s mouth the words – Jazz Off Russkies.
Paul 67
Doesn’t happen very often but I disagree with you on two points in your blog today.
1. Imo the first 20 minutes/first half will be absolutely crucial on Sunday as it’s almost inconceivable to me that celtic will have 11 players on the pitch in the last 20 minutes. Our superior stamina and conditioning will be used to counteract their almost inevitable (imho) extra numbers in the latter part of the game.
2. I suspect it is easy to guess how they line up and tactics. Kmcd had already said he’ll be consulting the Cardigan. 451 as you suggest, two banks defending the 18 yard line and pumping the ball long to a single forward who will fall over at every opportunity. Set pieces will be their only ambition for moving up the field and creating chances. They’ll have been practicing for 22 days.