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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Btw
I couldn’t open your link
wee bgfc 3-0 for me
have a great day …
keep your ears covered … don’t listen to their songs
HH
3-0 Jocko with 2 breaks
Andy’s mind has gone.
I’ve just realized why it’s all gone quiet on the Steve Simonsen betting scandal….
“Cammy Bell remains sidelined with a shoulder problem…”
Ha ha ha
Still won’t “save” them…
Ah, wee crystaltips
No team news on official site yet
Murray looks a beaten man now 3-0
i dont really like graffiti, and glasgow is such a tidier city now,
but yesterday on the wall outside argyl street station facing saint enochs was a simple black spray painted message, whatever does it mean
RANGERS RIP
Gordon
Lustig Denayer VVD Izzy
Brown Bitton
Johansen Commons Stokes
Griffiths
Commons starts Stokes & Griff start.
WEE BGFC
Very nice of you to post your prediction,bud.
I’m gonna wait till I see what Ian Black puts on.
I suspect we’re done with the tennis here.
Sigh.
Orcs have Miller up on his own
Smith and Aird wide
Like the look of our team, get the job done Celtic
Afternoon SOT,
Unfortunately we won’t strengthen, another opportunity lost. We owe an Italian side a doing.
I hope Celtic hit the ball into the net as much as Andy Murray does.
Rangers are deid!
There are still load of huns who live on though
lets get the job done Celtic!!
I reckon the underdogs today have already shown that they can soak it up and hit effectively on the break against Premier League opposition.
Against teams who play at a much higher level, this tactic can be very effective, especially if you’re not expected to get anything from the game, while the pressure of being such clear favourites can bring its own problems.
So, yes, I think Villa might do it today!
Jocko no even sweating
Looks like Djoc had a wee nip of something after 2nd set and that Andy’s drink got spiked. What a disappointing turn around.
St Stivs
YLCWAG!
Well, i just hope the Celts bang as many into the net as Andy is now currently doing. 4 or 5 would be nice but i’ll take 1-0. The main thing is that we avoid any serious injuries – on and off the park.
We don’t have a great record in this cup against wee teams over the years so I’m not being complacent. Especially as my first ever game was the 1971 LCF! Also scarred by defeats to Raith, Falkirk, Dundee & Morton.
Mind you, today would be the most humiliating of all given how poor the tribute act are!
Paul 67
______
Just incase ye scroll back…I was jesting about yer name
and about ye being a sleekit fly-man. Ye knew that, right:)
Hail Hail – Stay safe – Off oot.
beatbhoy
Yep. You had me going there reaching for the keyboard.
Sorry ghuys techie problem with my link will try and get it sorted. Stay safe everyone and lets humiliate them. Hail Hail Hebcelt
Billy Bhoy
Celtic don’t have any record in this fixture
murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers
12:10 on 1 February, 2015
WEE BGFC
Very nice of you to post your prediction,bud.
I’m gonna wait till I see what Ian Black puts on.
——–
Teee-heeee :-)
I hope we’re as clinical as Novak today.
T4
Is it true that the state of the pitch at the National Stadium is because Ally McOist is now the head gardener there?
Happy hun skelping day.
No surrender was the war cry of the Belfast Brigade.
Hail Hail.
The telly knows already. It just switched itself off.
BSR
I’d’ve loved that scalp!
Murray given a lesson
Bigchipsuk
Ha!Ha!
Nice one.
Great player that Djokovic is, Murrays performance in last set was a disgrace.
BILLYBHOY
That 71 debacle was my first final and also the first time I saw us lose.
Ah hope there’s a dope test at the end of that final !!!
Never seen Djoko smiling so much after he had his wee booster.
Andy as usual was on the pure malt.
Our club , in Toronto, is struggling to put bums on seats.Many of the ex-pats from Scotland and Ireland, who came here in the 60’s and 70’s are unfortunately, at the wrang’ side o’ the cemetary dyke. The fortunate ones, who are regulars, along with the diehards, the glory hunters, the inquisitive and maybe some EPL supporting Canadian kids will pass through the door this morning.
This will be most welcome as the bottom line is to put money in the funds and keep the club rolling along.
Whatever version of Newco or Sevco we play matters not one jot.
The team we play are cheats, bigots and a sad reflection of everything that is wrong with Scottish society.
The only way to heal this sense of injustice we all feel, is to get them on a park and humiliate them. Vengeance? maybe we could all do with a wee bit o’ cleansing o’the soul.
Do we really have to hate something so much that we understand the meaning of love?……….nah! didnae think so.
Hope the club is heavin’ today. Will let you all know later.
Crucify them Celtic ……..1-0 at least :-)
Burghbhoy – What would Roger Casement have done….C’moot fae hind they curtains and turn the light oan.