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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FOGHORNLEGHORN
Mentioned plenty by him on Twitter
Repost Ronnie Esplin is responsible for such “well known” Rankers books as
Rangers Official Biography
A nostalgic look at a Century of the club.
Barcelona, Here we come.
Down the Copland Road.
Obviously well qualified to write on Scottish Football matters for an Irish newspaper whose demographic is essentially (overwhelmingly) Nationalist.
Scullybhoy
Irish News defn less sympathetic to Celtic since Stephen O Reilly left the sports department. I met Stephen on the boat over many, many times. It’s like a rehash of the Mirror but not quite as bad as that comic the Sun.
gearoid1998
11:43 on 30 January, 2015
Got a piece printed in the right of reply column in The Irish News yesterday 29/1/15 re/ the death of the term the O** F***.
Journalist Brendan Crossan whilst printing it just didn’t get it I.e “their demise, though, is regrettable because the SPL just isn’t the same”. Obviously he needs brought up to speed on nil by mouth etc.
Anyway in the same issue another O** F*** piece appears courtesy of Ronnie Elspin who is The Irish News Scottish football correspondent. I had a dialogue on this blog about Ronnie who is going over dosing on the term this week for obvious reasons. Now I expect to see this pish in the SMSM given their cheerleading for the new team but I certainly do not expect it in The Irish News given their demographic.
My point caller is… Ronnie Esplin is the “journo” responsible for a couple of hagiographies from the blueside. Is he not?
Very much doubt it will be a thorough humpin’.
Wouldn’t be suprised if Stasi Scotland have warned Celtic about the amount of goals we score,consequences if so.
Am I paranoid? We’ve been warned we can’t celebrate like normal,is it too much to think we’ve been told to go easy if the zombies can’t cope?
Think we need to send a copy of the Sunday Herald over to Philladelphia…
“While Celtic is on course for a fourth straight Scottish Premiership title, Rangers is in the second tier and scrambling its way back up the league pyramid after being demoted to the bottom division in 2012 for financial mismanagement”
a round of appluase for the SMSM, clearly they’ve done a good job over there…
South Of Tunis
Jazz off Zombies on Sunday:))
Nice to see the Australian Open Tennis final is going to be contested by two Scotsmen-
Andy Murray vs Jocky Veitch
all right sometimes you have to be trong ……..even when your old and grey …..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fNhVX7GSw8I
remember to lve and live …..the best you can do is forgive …
braw
trong is good
BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS
13:38 on
30 January, 2015
FOGHORNLEGHORN
Mentioned plenty by him on Twitter
————————–
twitter?
that bastion of lies and corruption?
i would expect some mention of the issue on the place that the issue actually occurred!
there’s something going on, bad news is being hidden.
ItsAConspiracyCSC
Re flag confiscation.
A few years back,my Mum-late 60s-decided she wanted to see Bruce Springsteen at Hampden. Now,she’s hardly a rock chick,and nobody-friends or family-was interested in going there with her.
Well,it’s my Mum,innit? I loved Bruce till he released his demos as an album,400 miles later I’m there for a smashing wee day wi my Mum.
Until we tried to get into the ground-some wee jobsworth told her she couldnae get in wi her brolly. Not a golf-size either,the kind that you can stick in yer back pocket.
I helpfully suggested to leave it to me,plank it till later.
Where,she asked.
Back of that hedge where we used to plank the kerry-oots,I replied.
Great day,first time at a gig wi an older woman,and she enjoyed it too.
Bit concerned to hear Paul talk about player conditioning – the last time I read something similiar was before the Legia ties…
Conditioning at this stage in the season and with a large chasm in class shouldn’t and won’t count for a lot in my view. Celtic should win this handy cos we’ve better footballers. Simples.
Westies so if we get beat on Sunday .according to you Ronny is finished .I have news for you .Ronny’s been finished since the day he was appointed manager of Celtic.for goodness sake give the guy at least till the end of the season.
Lennon n Mc….Mjallby
Said the same thing in work this morning. If Celtic are anymore than 2 up at half time the police will be in the Celtic dressing room at half time pleading for no more goals.
Hope Broon is at the door giving them the Broony \o/
LB
LIVIBHOY
Simple answer to that is four in the first twenty minutes.
No huns nowhere after that.
If we set the pace of the game the Huns don’t see the ball
Simple
Make them chase us …they’re slow, old and lack stamina ….FFS they are out played by Div1 part time sides
If we get done by the MIB …he’ll mend us we’ve done F all about their cheating for years
From Eoghan MacGuire Twitter.
SPFL declined to respond when I asked if #Rangers r same club by law. Conspiracy theorists, make of that what u will http://t.co/HAih7MuR5W
My reply.
Football clubs aren’t about the Law.#dead
West London csc
Just sent them a message via their website contact form asking if I could watch the Sevco game with them at the Horse Guardsman pub Brentford.
My plea….
‘I’m on my boat Thames West London with poor wifi and a dodgy stream and the atmosphere generated by me and my dog is ok for most games but not for Sunday’
Hope they respond.
Any West London csc members post here? I seem to remember someone on recently from Brentford….
meandmydogonthethames.csc
It would be impossible to keep that a secret if the polis were advising us to go easy.
It won’t happen.
Just pump them Celtic.
Without mercy!
My one fear is that we don’t have all our players on the field come the last twenty minutes of the game. I think given the scoddish significance of this fixture that is a real possibility.
I hope our Captain plays to the best of his ability and screws the nut.
I also hope we scud thum badly but just beat thum Celtic, please.
HH.
Sundays game needs a strong, impartial referee – our first problem.
Livibhoy
It’s a certainty that’s the kind of low that has to be stopped too to appease and accomodate hunnery,it’s the modern new level of embarrassing obvious snakery which is practised for their benefit.
You can bet your bottom dollar everything has and will be done to prevent a rerun of Wilson,Mochan,Fernie and McPhail.
….and as for this Dear Green Place……..
let’s sit back and watch the rockets………………….
……….boost!
;)
CapeCanaveral CSC
Philbhoy,
Exactly. It’s getting all a bit silly.
Bankiebhoy,
We’ve beaten much better than the huns this season with 10 men :)
Ktf
Stooped,even
Personally, I have mixed emotions about Sunday’s game: if proper rules and procedures had been applied fairly, Sevco should not exist and in a position to take the field for a cup semi-final. I’ve tried my best to avoid most of the build up, but through a combination of reading this blog and headlines on the BBC website I’m sick in the stomach as the MSM try to bill this as the biggest “OF” match ever.
I cannot change any of this, so with that being said I will watch the game on Sunday in the hope of seeing Celtic COMPLETELY OBLITERATE the mob from Govan and expose to all the fact it is very unlikely Sevco will ever again compete with us on a level playing field.
Whilst I have mixed emotions, I am happy this game has come for Ronny Delia, on whom I think the jury is still out. A very, very, very thorough job on Sunday will buy him some time and breathing space to put his philosophy in to practice. A clean (or less tarnished) slate, if you like. Anything less and he’ll never recover.
TOMCOURTNEY
I spent a pleasurable evening in The Horse Guardsman after we played Brentford. Probably the only pub locally that I hadn’t been in before the game!
Rocking,landlord was a tad upset at the noise due to local residents,but great night.
In all honesty,bearing in mind where you are,I would consider the Wimbledon Irish Centre. You will be warmly welcomed and will certainly end up wi some great stories and greater pals from the day.
Btw,my Dad appreciated the acknowledgement of his 1426 post.
HH
Anyone know if there is a way of listing all the posts you have made on this blog or is it a manual trawl ?.
Ta in advance
Playing against better players and a better team can be inspiring. However if you start to realise they are also fitter, your legs are.heavy reaching for clearances and so on, then it becomes less inspiration and more torture.
That’s my.experience – most people I ever played against were better. The only time I felt good was when I.knew I was as fit or fitter and could at least keep up physically.
If our attitude is right on Sunday this will be a mismatch.
I’ll be glad when it’s over though. It just feels a bit grubby.
kevinbhoy
13:30 on 30 January, 2015
BigPhil, the Kerrydale Suite at CP?
_______________
I reckon the kerrydale suite is hospitality only on Sunday. HH
Re
WEEFRATHETIM
Tad concerned about our universal pal,lads.
Tried to call him for wur usual wee blather over an hour ago,no reply.
Left a message,get back to me,nothing.
Now,tbh,I love wur wee blathers and I’m not sure my weekend will be complete without us both talking garbage-caveat,that may well only be me-but I know the weather is bad,especially on the moors where he lives.
So-anyone heard from the head honcho of CQN corner?
(Playing possum isnae funny,bud!)
chill oot……..braw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8s9dmuAKvU
smiley ding ….
braw
Does Diego Costa have a god complex?
RT
Spot on
apols bobby …
Tabloids reporting horseracing fix in San Antonio. Texas, last Saturday.
Winning jockey seen with electronic gizmo in his hand, used to speed up the horse. Veteran trainer, 49 year old Danny Pish declined to comment
He should, as I’ve been betting his horses for yonks.
NEUSTADT-BRAW
No need for an apology there,mate.
It included my über-hero,Bob.
Good enough for me,most of my heroes have let me down eventually but not Bob.
Scullybhoy
Irish News defn less sympathetic to Celtic since Stephen O Reilly left the sports department. I met Stephen on the boat over many, many times. It’s like a rehash of the Mirror but not quite as bad as that comic the Sun.
gearoid1998
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
One 25th May edition on a significant aniversary (cannot remember which one) of the Lisbon Lions didn’t even mention the game. I don’t even buy the paper anymore.
Update on the Statement from Celtic Supporters in the Sunday Herald:
http://www.cqnmagazine.com/?p=2728
Hi Sipsini,
Further info following what I suggested to BigPhil earlier, just had a look on Celtic website, hope the following copy and paste is ok…
IF you’ve not got a ticket but are looking for a place to watch the Scottish League Cup semi-final, presented by QTS, alongside fellow Hoops fans, then why not come along to Paradise and get behind the Bhoys?
Tickets for the LIVE screening in the Jock Stein Lounge this Sunday, February 1, sold out quickly so we’re also opening up the Champions Bar so that even more fans can enjoy the occasion in good company.
The doors will be open from 11am on the Sunday morning, and the bar and food court will be open from 11am until 5pm. The game at Hampden kicks off at 1.30pm.
Season and non-season ticket holders are welcome, and it’s on a first come, first served basis. Entry is £5 per person and includes a pie at half-time.
Places must be booked in advance and you can do so by calling Event Sales on 0141 551 4405/4288 or by emailing events@celticfc.co.uk
Hail Hail,
KevinBhoy.