The script for tomorrow’s League Cup semifinal could hardly be better for broadcaster and sponsor, Premier Sports. Celtic and Aberdeen are locked at the top of the table, having only dropped points to each other and opened up a healthy gap on the receding pack.
Aberdeen’s early season promise faced big tests over the last two weeks: Celtic, at Celtic Park, where they earned an enormously credible draw; then Newco, whom they beat at home to revive something akin to the Spirit of Gothenburg 83.
Football, however, doesn’t allow for rest. They face Celtic tomorrow knowing that at least some of us expect the façade to crumble when the seal is broken on their unbeaten run.
As we mentioned earlier in the week and Philippe Clement offered as an excuse on Wednesday night, Aberdeen did not play two in four days between July and the week just finished. Tomorrow, they are forced into action three days after that win over Newco. This stuff matters.
On Wednesday, Brendan Rodger was able to rest half his team, while giving game time to those most in need of it. We are very used to playing every three or four days and will hit the Hampden surface in peak condition. Aberdeen will struggle to cope, especially when the legs fatigue late in the game.
Still, we face a club and a city enjoying a rare moment of prosperous unity. Jimmy Thelin will squeeze every ounce out of his side tomorrow. He knows, this trophy is his best chance of success at Aberdeen. Injuries and suspensions will eventually sap their momentum, while Celtic will likely not have so many European ties during the Scottish Cup run.
This is Aberdeen’s biggest game of the season. To them, it will feel like their biggest game in many years, even more than recent cup finals. Celtic will need to be at their best.
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GLENDALYSTONSILS 👍
What will it take for people to stop having a dig at Brendan ? Winning the CL and the world club championship perhaps ?
Bada Bing
Time will tell if the recent appointment makes sense. In short term it probably will. I am less sure in long term.
BURNLEY78 @ 2:20 PM,
Of course it’s very difficult to tell what you are about when it comes to Brendan Rodgers, one minute you think he’s doing a great job – your son worked with him and he was very impressed by him.
Then we have him as a failure in many aspects, including recruitment, no real evidence of course, just made up stuff…
…nonsense like this in fact:
….“…Let’s see what the other expensively assembled group can do…
…he did not excel in building a squad and player identification.
Brendan Rodgers inherited a squad from Ronny Delia that was not fit for purpose.
He shook up that squad and had an invincible season, winning a treble.
When he left, Lenny inherited a much better squad than he’d previously left.
That squad won trophy after trophy, after trophy, yet the more Lenny tinkered with it the worse it got.
Lenny left a basket case of a squad who were the only Celtic team that failed to win the League since Rangers died.
Ange had to pick up the squad and rebuild.
Ange did a good job but in the year he left we lost six of his first team, Jenz, Juranovic, Giakoumakis, Jota, Mooy, Starfelt.
A squad much weaker than the season before, yet was bloated by players of insufficient standing.
Brendan Rodgers did another rebuild and has once again improved the squad dramatically.
We have a work in progress team that has all the hallmarks of a first rate Celtic team.
Brendan Rodgers has never had nett spend at Celtic, unlike Lenny and Ange before him.
Yet is by far the best bang for buck manager we have had.
Your allegations are wrong
The facts are all there and speak for themselves.
Hail Hail
Bournesouprecipe
Kuhn was scouted by previous regime. To be clear there was never any doubt he was coming in at that stage.
Idah is entirely a BR signing though. Credit to him for that. 100%.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE @ 2:50 PM,
Totally agree, the evidence is huge, that our recruitment this year has been top drawer.
Hail Hail
BURNLEY78 @ 3:06 PM,
There were many players spotted by the previous recruitment staff.
Most of them rejected by Brendan Rodgers who had learned from the summer ’23 fiasco.
Both BR and NK are on record as stating the manager and player had a comprehensive dialogue before the player was signed and Kuhn was clearly a Brendan Rodgers signing.
All this good signings the Lawwells, bad signings Rodgers is so old hat.
The smoke n’ mirrors has gone, the facts remain.
Our 2024 recruitment has been first rate.
Hail Hail
Paul Tisdale has been a manager in over 600 games,even though lower league levels, he was involved in summer recruitment, a very interesting appointment for me,we will see where it takes us.
GLENDALYSTONSILS @ 3:00 PM,
Yes, those that would divide and rule our football club need to be gone.
We need unity of purpose, we are competing at a level that means amateur night is over and real football squad planning and implementation is crucial to our goals.
The same posters telling us only a UCL last sixteen is acceptable for the manager to be judged on, telling us the same manager is a recruitment failure.
Square that circle!?
Hail Hail
!!BADA BING!! @ 3:19 PM,
Totall agree…
Paul Tisdale was not a hired yes man, he was brought in as a recruitment consultant in the summer and excelled.
His track record and delivery was rewarded by a full time position.
The way a professional organisation operates.
I for one wish him the best…
Hail Hail
https://youtu.be/RZ-Bi4caCW0?si=tdNyHyF4FcMmRyCC
Everyone fit for tomorrow
This made me laugh from betideas.com
Next Rangers manager
Gareth Southgate 3/1
Steven Gerrard 4/1
Frank Lampard 8/1
Derek McInnes 9/1
Kevin Muscat 10/1
Lee Carsley 12/1
Rafa Benitez 12/1
Graham Potter 14/1
Jimmy Thelin 14/1
Wayne Rooney 18/1
😅🤣😂
Glendalys @ 3.00
Uber supporters 👍
PB- the level is more Davie Martindale……
“Darwin on 1st November 2024 12:45 pm
I’m hope Brendan will send out the strongest eleven tomorrow ”
I am confident your hopes will be realised.
EKBhoy on 1st November 2024 1:38 pm
It is much harder for our defenders to move on given the standard of the league. Outstanding players like Virgil and Kieran excepted our full backs are miles behind these ghuys.
Both will re-sign in my view
HH
——————————————-
What you say may well be right, I hope you are; however no news on new deals is not good news at present.
Is the return of Tierney on the cards and playing a part? Some say his wage level would rule this out.
AJ is certainly good enough for the EPL and Greg for the top of the Championship – needless to say that clubs from both could gazump us on wages, if they choose to so do.
Hot Smoked on 1st November 2024 4:12 pm
“Darwin on 1st November 2024 12:45 pm
I’m hope Brendan will send out the strongest eleven tomorrow ”
I am confident your hopes will be realised.
———————–
I take comfort in your confidence HH
DARWIN on 1ST NOVEMBER 2024 4:13 PM
EKBhoy on 1st November 2024 1:38 pm
…..
I’d be very surprised if Kieran took a £40K odd per week drop in wages to return to Scotland, just not happening.
AJ is better going forward under Brendan’s guidance , when he first game most crosses sailed over the bar.
Defensively, on balance I don’t think AJ will be attracting anyone in the EPL ,to be fair he has been better in the CL this season , however very poor last season. I’d say the jury is still out on a move to a higher standard of football.
HH
AJ ‘s big move ( which he hasn’t even asked for ) is only maple leaf .
BSR
Nice.😂
Rangers died chasing Lions.
Sevco are dying chasing Sheep.
Titter Titter
Ave Ave
i took a trip to arkleston cemetary today in search of patsys stone, but i coulfnt fid it. will go back next week with a picture to help me.
can i recommend the celtic exchance episode 2matt corr and celtic in the thirties” outstanding podcast, very emotional.
For someone who never goes near Celtic Park you have some really good insight on facts. Esp re Kuhn as well as your amazing read on Brendan’s comments. You maybe right. I don’t believe so though.
You are calling it a successful summer window after 3 months ! Seems a bit like rangers winning pre season cup. Personally I would like to see where we are at the end of the season first and then whether there is material value increase in the squad.
As for last 16 being a reasonable benchmark for success for a squad as expensively assembled as this I cannot see why this is not reasonable.
Pot seeding has zero impact in the new structure which means we have never had a better chance. To achieve in line with a downsizing WGS on 2 occasions and by Lenny (who had limited domestic competition to sharpen up against) would seem to be a minimum for a tier 1 manager to be set as a KPI.
Zagreb, who already look to be in a good place to qualify for last 24, sacked their manager after a thrashing only 1 goal worse than ours in Germany. They at least lost to the current league leaders.
Of course this is extreme but to suggest last 16 is not a reasonable benchmark for us to set seems very soft for a club, manager and budget such as ours.
As for a structure where a manager has all the control over football being ‘progressive’, I suggest you look at current trends. I think many progressive and financially sustainable clubs have a model which does not allow ‘all change’ when egotistical managers decide to move on or are fired. All of Germany and increasingly Italy and France plus such as Brighton and Brentford are seeing value in this model.
Looking forward to seeing my team compete tomorrow vs a tough opponent. A game as intriguing and as challenging as our invincible treble game against the same opponents. The last big game my wee mum and I went to at Hampden. Tomorrow is the 7th anniversary of her passing. Hopefully Brendan and the team can deliver as they did then.
Maybe I watched a different game at Celtic Park when the two teams last met.So many people heaping praise on this Aberdeen side,especially the Media,well they would,now that their heroes have messed the bedsheets,does not ring true with me.I have watched them a few times,plus highlights,cannot see what the euphoria is about.A decent,hard working team,who have won most of their games by the odd goal.That is not an impossible feat in the SPFL,if you carry a bit of luck for 7 or 8 games.
At Celtic Park,they were absolutely schooled by us in the 1st half,could have been 4.Second half,a howler from Maeda,got them a goal,and as is normal,gave them impetus as we continued our wee slack 15 minute spell,and a wicked deflection levelled it.
Thereafter for the remaining 20 mins,we woke up from our snooze,and beat the shit out of them.They survived,as quite a few do,great saves,near misses,sitters missed.
All praise to them,but they are nowhere near us,as we proved for 75 minutes.No snoozing this time,Cup is coming home.
More like Wink Martindale for hun manager
BURNLEY78 @ 6:10 PM,
Celtic supporters can be and most are well informed.
Subscribe and read and watch Celtic media and social media – CelticTV, Celtic YouTube, Celtic FB etc etc etc
Lots of good information about what is going on.
Here is Brendan Rodgers on Nic Kuhn
Not in the summer when he was fully recovered from illness, not last week when he’d put in scintillating performances week after, week this season.
No, this is Brendan Rodgers when he first signed Nic Kuhn, no secret squirrel ITK nonsense, no being wise after the event nonsense – just clear telling it how it is.
It was when he was first signed ten months ago in January ’24…
“CELTIC BOSS PRAISES PROFILE OF NEW SIGNING NICOLAS KUHN
Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers has praised new signing Nicolas Kuhn and explained how he plans to get the best out of the German winger…
Rodgers is very much at front and centre of the deal to bring Kuhn to the club and perhaps that wasn’t the case with many of the summer signings as much of the recruitment work had already been done by the time his re-appointment was confirmed.
And it seems clear that the addition of Kuhn will give Celtic more threat on the flanks than has perhaps been the case so far in this campaign.
The German forward joined the Scottish Champions yesterday on a five-year-deal and a delighted Brendan Rodgers spoke to Celtic TV, with the interview being currently available to subscribers. We’ve had a listen earlier today and here’s some of what the Celtic gaffer has had to say.
“We are delighted to welcome Nicolas to Celtic. We believe he is a dynamic player who has an excellent level of quality and all the attributes to fit well into our style of play He has the profile we are looking for, he has a real attacking intent, a player with great pace and ideas, the ability to create and score goals and a player with a great energy and work ethic.
“He is someone who can play wide on both sides so he brings with him that versatility for us too, and myself and the coaches here really look forward to working with him,” the Celtic manager said.
“If you look at his actual profile it suits perfectly to how we play, he is a player that is very dynamic, he’s very quick and we feel we can add goals to his game. That is the area he can improve on. He’s very creative. He likes to create and score but we feel we can help him with his numbers.
“He’s had some really good experiences as a young player at some big clubs but he’s now stepping out into his own light. He’s done very well at Rapid and now comes to ourselves and hopefully continue with that development cycle. I am really excited about him. He fits the profile of our team very well and we hope we can develop him over the coming years.”
“For me, he’s mostly a wide player. He is comfortable playing on the left or right. I know he has played as a No10 and striker also, so his pace has always been a massive attribute for him but I see him more as someone who can really attack the sides of the pitch and look to create us goals and score goals at the same time.”
Brendan Rodgers also looked back on the first six months back managing Celtic and reckons that the team will improve in the second half of the season as we approach the business end of the campaign. He discussed injuries as a factor in the autumn period but did point to some outstanding performances, naming the two games where he felt that his side showed its true potential
“We’ve had some other really good performances – Atletico Madrid at home in the Champions League, Aberdeen at home when we were really clinical, but we hope in the second part of the season we can continue to grow and develop the mindset of the players and the team, and look to have a really exciting second part of the season.”
Rodgers looked back on previous Scottish Cup campaigns as he looked forward to facing Highland league side Buckie Thistle and talked about the magic of the cup. The Celtic manager watched footage of the Buckie players celebrating being drawn against Celtic and reckons that this is what it’s all about playing in the Scottish Cup.
While he doesn’t tend to get nervous, Brendan admitted that the nerves got to him ahead of the 2017 Scottish Cup Final against Aberdeen, because he fully understood what was at stake that afternoon when the wonderful Tom Rogic scored one of the most memorable goals in Celtic’s history and in doing so secured a unique piece of history that almost certainly will never be repeated, winning an Invincible Treble.
Brendan’s interview on Celtic TV should be available via the club’s You Tube channel tomorrow”
https://onefootball.com/en/news/celtic-boss-praises-profile-of-new-signing-nicolas-kuhn-38890050
Fholk remember what you said, being the big man, the uber fan, the in the know supporter.
Only those with short memories won’t remember the nonsense you have spouted
Example…
Mark Lawwell…
– A top recruitment expert who was key to the Man City Group
– His signings are excellent and will come good
– His loss to Celtic will be huge, he will end up as head of recruitment at Manchester United or Liverpool
So above we can see what Brendan says and we now know what has transpired
We know what you said and how that pans out.
People can make up their own mind who the bad actor is!?
Hail Hail
This is what Brendan Rodgers said where he seen Nic, remember this is when he was first signed…
He likes to create and score but we feel we can help him with his numbers…
…He fits the profile of our team very well and we hope we can develop him over the coming years.”
“For me, he’s mostly a wide player. He is comfortable playing on the left or right. I know he has played as a No10 and striker also, so his pace has always been a massive attribute for him but I see him more as someone who can really attack the sides of the pitch and look to create us goals and score goals at the same time.”
Here are those numbers.
Rapid Vienna. Pld 51. Gls 7. Assts 10
Celtic Glasgow. Pld 43. Gls 11. Assts 14
Not fantasy, pie in the sky, ITK nonsense.
FACTS
Hail Hail
A wee reminder of old fitba pitches …… with some satirical modern Scottish commentary
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/TLcLB2ACvfY
FANDPATRIOT@2:22
My thoughts exactly….I think AJ could go to an EPL club but Greg i’m not sure.
CHAIRBHOY
Every success down to Brendan, every failure down to the Lawells, eh? You’re even rewriting the story behind Kuhns signing.
Kuhn was part of a “disastrous” January window. Proof of the need for an overhaul of the entire recruitment department that Brendan was going to deliver. And part of a window that didn’t deliver the proven quality that we heard was so essential to our progress according to Brendan and your good self. The wrong profile, no better than a squad player from a lowly Austrian team.
Come on, it’s not a good look claiming every success for Brendan when some of them clearly aren’t. You can’t butch and moan about him not getting what he wants and then claim he wanted them all along
It’s really not a sign that Brendan isn’t doing a great job to suggest that some of his best players weren’t down to him.
Next up you will probably have a series of quotes that are open to interpretation to prove your point. From you and Brendan in all likelihood.
CELTIC40ME @ 8:36 PM,
We were debating recruitment this summer, we got into a disagreement about what Brendan Rodgers was saying.
It turned out you didn’t listen to his pressers or interviews very often.
It’s not science for rocketeer, it’s listening to what the manager, coaches, Captain players are saying.
It’s doing some of your own background checks, watching how things transpired- fact checking.
There is nothing rewritten about Nic Kuhn’s signing.
If you had listened to Brendan Rodgers at the time as I did.
If you listened to Nic Kuhn who later on gave interviews.
It’s all a matter of record – not the subjective rhetoric that you often post.
In the disastrous January window, we broufht in two players – Kuhn and Idah on loan.
Arguably were a great help in securing the double.
It’s the uber fans that are saying recruitment is down solely to Brendan not me
Again Brendan is on record stating how hard the recruitment team are working, for instance congratulating the Scout who spotted Engels.
It’s not only the recruitment team, today he was praising Peter Houston and his team for analysising the Aberdeen side helping prepare the team for tomorrow’s semi-final
Did you listen to that?
“You’re even rewriting the story behind Kuhns signing.”
So, it was a made up the piece that I posted pretending it was published by the Celtic Star in the middle of January ’24
The Celtic TV interview on the signing of Nic Kuhn never actually took place and is part of my fantasy life…
Come on…
This is now getting way beyond a joke.
FactsRUsCSC
Hail Hail
CELTIC40ME…
If you can’t be bothered listening to what Nic Kuhn
Q: I’d imagine you’ve had conversations with the manager before you came here, and now you have since you arrived, can you give us an insight with what it was like with Brendan Rodgers…
Two minutes in….
https://youtu.be/B8dLmOvLthI?si=hOwmtXYuFGAxqS2T
“….he convinced me to come here…”
Not even a minute, 59 seconds, hopefully not too taxing for your attention span…
Hail Hail
Mc Coist being mentioned on Talksport for the Hun job.
We can only live in hope.
Great,funny article by James Forrest today,about the new drug doing the rounds across the City.Hopium.
Give it a read,lighten up,and stop bitching.
In the transfer market the more successful a team is the more attention your players get. When other clubs look at you they tend to want to buy your better players. They tend not to want players who you are happy to ship out
The more successful your team is the more successful the clubs looking at your players are. Therefore, players like AJ will be a target for top clubs in the top 5 leagues. For example, Manchester United would likely be interested in AJ but maybe not in Greg Taylor.
Our recruitment team know we dont get as much TV money as the Big 5 leagues and we cannot pay the transfer fees and wages that the top teams afford
Our players know that they can triple their wages going to EPL teams and even better that by going to a top 6 EPL club. If they dont know then their agents do know.
Not only did Tierney got a massive wage rise, Van Dijk, Ajer, Eduoard, Christie etc also received massive pay rises, Yep Bournemouth pay more than Celtic.
We need to be cute and buy players before the top 30 or 40 teams in europe notice them. Thats why our Recruitment team was given targets of full internationalist U23 with up to 50 senior games. thats where there is a potential to get into our first team with the potential to be worth more money.
However, Brendan wanted players who were improving his team immediately. He didn’t want potential and project players.
This balance is one we still face every window.
CHAIRBHOY
Sticking to the point, you are rewriting it. The buzzword leading into the January window was quality, you even questioned what a squad signing from Rapid could do for a UCL team, your exact words.
We had months leading into the window where Brendan talked about provided quality, you argued constantly about the failings of the development model, and how we needed to sign experienced players with proven quality instead of more to add to the list of failures you kept trotting out. 4 quality players was the message from Brendan, anything less was a failure.
You held the window up as proof that the restructuring of the window that Brendan promised was needed. It was one of the three “disastrous” transfer windows we heard all about from you int rehabilitated lead up to the Summer. Proof of the failure of Mark Lawell and the reason for his sacking.
I think you raise some interesting points but when you completely ignore what you’ve said previously to fit your agenda and change your viewpoint to fit the present circumstances while forgetting that you’ve argued against it previously, you undermine everything you say. It reads like you dont actually have any strong principles except for proving that Brendan is absolutely perfect and everything that is good is his work and every mistake someone else’s.
Its interesting that you should praise the recruitment team for their work in the Summer while celebrating the sacking of Mark Lawwell for his failures, even though he was in charge of scouting when we found Kuhn.
CELTIC40ME @ 9:35 PM,
Again, you are making things up, while I present fact after fact, quote after quote, words straight from the horses mouth.
Forget your uber fans choirboy fantasy and try digging out something with real gravitas to prove your point.
We know we needed to recruit five players in January to strengthen the first team to the requisit level.
Instead there was only one player that the Manager thought goid enough.
He scratched around and last minute dot co. We got Idah on loan – without a buy option may I add…
The head recruitment staff were mutualled shortly afterwards.
The summer recruitment showed a huge improvement, the squad management was also excellent, as we’ve turned a corner.
Hail Hail