An aspect of football is so ineffective it is increasingly abandoned as a strategy. When facing Celtic, however, corner kicks are routinely delivered into the heart of the box, providing a remarkably successful return.
If the reason Alistair Johnston was hooked at halftime yesterday was because he lost his man at the opening Hearts goal, I fully support the decision. We are beyond the moment of encouraging, or even harsh words. The second goal was equally as poor. Marooned – both the colour displayed at the end of the game and Joe Hart’s position at the Hearts free kick. The wall did not rise, as a well-placed but stoppable kick sailed into the net.
Not that we should scapegoat Alistair or Joe. All five players deployed on the wing were ineffective. Kyogo was picked out by one early ball and made Celtic’s best chance of the game (Palma was blocked), Oh huffed and puffed but offered little more.
Brendan Rodgers looks like he is out of ideas. Swapping Luis Palma for Alexi Bernabei didn’t work. He was then faced with the choice of either hooking Alexi or weakening his defence by subbing Greg Taylor to allow James Forrest a run at the left wing.
A week about we concluded that Kilmarnock bullied Celtic. Yesterday it felt more like Hearts were simply able to impose themselves on the hosts. The evidence mounts that this is a soft Celtic team.
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Lawwell was forced out in 2021 after a disastrous season. Barriers on the celtic way to protect the guilty. Two years later he is back. This man has no shame.
There is a malaise around this club and I fear that things will get worse before they get better. Just like brendan’s first time here I think Lawwell wants him out. Lawwell wants ” yes” men. Managers he can control and dominate.
we may be soft, bit we have loads of cash in the bank.
i guess you could say we are softminted.
😁
i’ll get my coat!
Paul67
You meant CQN escape goating didn’t you? – Maybe it’s cumulative with Joe’s form, and Alistair Johnston didn’t just lose Menteh for Feyenoord’s equaliser, he abandoned him. To replace him at half time with Anthony Ralston was reactionary maybe a bit angry? otherwise plain daft because AJ is one of his better performers, albeit prone to being sucked in to where the ball is, not where it’s going to end up.
BR is playing darts with the substitutions throwing Bernabei in, was because he’s tried James Forrest on the left, and quickly changed his mind again because Alexi gave the ball away. BR a bit angry? gesticulating for the benefit of the spectators that Forrest was to play further forward and Bernabei was to drop back, sealed a miserable day of futility.
The last thing we need is angry irrational subs, especially when there could be up to five of them, reminded me of a time when Big Billy threw on Joe Miller and promptly took him off again, because wee non plussed Joe wasn’t doing what he was told.
Bizarre that the last three managers have now had the same coaches at Celtic, that era continues.
Shud’ve been Kjetil Knutsen
I’d heard AJ was injured. I can’t remember where but it was on one of the match reaction podcasts.
I have to say….I haven’t enjoyed this blog much since I returned a year or so ago.
That said, today has been a good read, in that good points have been well made on all sides of the debate.
All I will add is this: When things go from good to bad in a hurry, we tend to look for ONE reason, or ONE scapegoat. That, usually, is a mistake. Often, there are multiple causes.
I’ll leave it at that.
Weeron
They had there pen yet
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 2:46 PM
Bizarre that the last three managers have now had the same coaches at Celtic, that era continues.
Equally bizarre is that the same defensive frailties such as struggling to defend corners continues.
Or maybe it’s not so bizarre .
The sight of the ball bouncing around our box while our defenders have a collective nervous breakdown is Mack Sennet stuff .
blatant shirt pull in the box at that sheep corner.
var doing fk all about it. the type of decision the huns get every week.
the ref gives a hun foul for a shoulder to shoulder on TavPen – exactly the same type of challenge he didnt give the sheep a foul for against TavPen a few minutes earlier.
most top clubs nowaday’s employ a dedicated set piece coach , we happily go along with old fashioned wing it on the day.
We have had almost unprecedented success this century and yet when a slightest thing goes wrong boy oh boy do the toys get thrown out of the pram.
Bonkers suggestions that Lawwell is deliberately trying to gift Rangers the league…Sack the board sack the manager sell the players,blah blah blah.
Get a grip lads..
Not one for posting much but anyway……
The second iteration of Rodgers as the Celtic manager and his body language right from the beginning of his appointment, was IMO the mirror image of Lenon on his second iteration as the Celtic manager.
They both has the air of resignation about them and grasped the opportunity because their professional stars were waning (I could be less charitable) and they understood they would never get the opportunity to manage a club with the profile of Celtic and 62000 seat stadium, ever again…….and hey, whats not to like about 20K+ per week salaries, right?
Rodgers has taken a little longer to begin the implosion process because he is marginally a better coach and slightly more worldy wise than Lenon but not by much, more polished in presentation probably but thats about it.
On the current performance trajectory the team performances are heading for a top 5 finish….Hellooo!
The elephant in the building?
PETER LAWELL SNR.
He over saw the debacle that was the Lenon second iteration and after being forced out by the support then, he has managed to re-insert himself after a 2 year hiatus and is now presiding over the Rogers second iteration………its not difficult to understand.
CONCLUSION: nothing will change on the football field until PETER LAWELL SNR and those that appoint him are removed from positions of executive management control which will only happen when there are large swathes of empty seating and sales are absent of merchandise.
For the record:
Desmond (to the best of my knowledge) has never purchased a Celtic share that does not give him voting rights, dividends or both
Lawell (to the best of my knowledge) has never purchased any Celtic PLC shares prior to his original appointment. He obtains them as part of his financial bonus contract.
The board/higher management all receive a basic salary, share dividends and further financial performance related bonuses….its in their interest therefore to retain as much money on the balance sheet as possible.
The average LSE listed company changes its boardroom appointees around every 6-8 years I believe.
Celtic PLC are now averaging almost 20 years?
CONCLUSION: Celt PLC will not change its operating philosophy at Board level until there is new blood with fresh impetus.
Of course I could be wrong, Celtic could run away with the SPL and grab another 40+ million next year from the CL BUT something tells me this is not going to be the way it pans out………
A Sunday article to tell us “Brendan Rodgers looks like he is out of ideas”.
A cynic might think you’re trying to shape the narrative.
For sure, the manager is not helping himself but he’s been thrown under a bus by a couple of truly wasteful transfer windows.
What’s in the Starz Definitely sack this present board ,some of them should be retired,I know we’ve been spoilt over the years,but this season is as important as the last ,we need to stop Sevco from picking up £68 million if they win the league.
EMDY think CEKTIC will sign 4 players by the end of first week of window
2nd week of window
3rd week of window
4th week of window..
Sack the board : How do you sack the board ???
Login ad nauseum
HH
WHAT IS THE STARZ on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 3:44 PM
I don’t think Lawwell is DELIBERATELY trying to hand Sevco the league nor do I think he is the only person responsible for our stagnation but there’s no doubt we have enhanced Sevco’s league chances by default .
The manager not being up to it is the least likely explanation of our problems .
THE BLOGGER FORMERLY KNOWN AS GM on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 3:48 PM
A Sunday article to tell us “Brendan Rodgers looks like he is out of ideas”. A cynic might think you’re trying to shape the narrative.
For sure, the manager is not helping himself but he’s been thrown under a bus by a couple of truly wasteful transfer windows.
*weren’t they Ange’s windows, personally I believe the fraud is working his ticket and will be in Saudi this time next year , he just seems to have lost any spark he ever had and is probaly sorry, well no as sorry as we all are, that he listened tae DD.
There is no way I would give him any money in January just keep it for the “new” guy.
Aye get a grip, just no excuse for booing Santa Clause at half time poor guy.
Bang out of order CSC
So eff if the hooligans win we’ll just have to listen about how they are world beaters!!!
But we know they are the only business who kept going despite being liquidated
Amazeballs.
HH
Phil
BR is not blameless here but it is irrefutable now that the latest window was a complete shambles and it frankly embarrassing that a club of our stature could get it so wrong.
Someone mentioned earlier about getting players with the right attributes – don’t make me laugh – the only attribute that counts is the money. If player X costs £2m and he does OK for a season or so he will be driven to the airport the minute we reach the target number and so it goes on. Forget attributes and suitability doesn’t matter- that will be why we have no improvement or competent back up to Taylor. It’s not that there are none but that they didn’t fit the finance model. Maybe a little to expensive, or too old (27) or sell on not showing big enough on the excel file- it doesn’t matter how great the need it’s all about the finance.
They are not bothered about building a team and squad to compete better in Europe it’s “show me the money”
Here an interesting thought – imagine that say Holm and Oh had been reasonably successful and we received decent bids for Kyogo and O’Riley. Clearly they would be gone in a heartbeat and the funds boosted by say £30m and we would go again with the £2-3m project, cause that’s what we did this season, and so the cash fund grows still further. The question is at what point does it stop or are we just a cash generator for owners/shareholders?
Test
Greenpinata 2.37 – I was thinking about Say Hello Wave Goodbye:
Standing in the door of the Pink Flamingo
Crying in the rain
It was a kind of so so love
And I’m going to make sure it never
Happens again
You and I
It had to be
The standing joke of the year
You were a sleep around
A lost and found
And not for me, I fear
0 0
Suck The Board x 58,000 empty heads lol
Brendan1 = Get Tims to suck up the Old Firm games return without a single question about how do Celtic view newly promoted Sevco?
Ching Ching PLC 1 V 0 58,000 Empty heads idiots lol.
December 2016 7,000 empty heads in the Broomloan singing….
“Your Not Rangers Anymore!”
Idiots had just paid £49 old Rangers price to see new Sevco lol
Any cheating that comes the way of these 58,000 idiots after they ALL souled out is `Poetic Justice` you clowns!
No wonder the PLC are….
Permanemtly Dubiously Rich!
Permanently Tanned Poseurs!
Permanently Hideously Fat like ugly huns!
Permanently Laughing Their Arses Off!
Pernanently Smug As Fukc!
Permanently Posted Missing!
Permanently on the wrong side of Integrity!
Permanently Sneering Down Their Noses At The 58,000 Idiots!
God bless the Green Brigade who are the last remaining remnants of Celtic-ness at the entire club.
The Same Club Lie was enthusiastically embraced in 2016 after the huns promotion by a PLC who played the Brendan1 card to sneak through the old Rangers = new Sevco ticket pricing trick which hooped up idiots gleefully went along with and the PLC had 58,000 succulent idiots eating out of their hands!
After pulling the Brendan1 trick on the 58,000 succulent idiots who gleefully rubber stamped the Old Firm games back onto the fixture list oh but they didn`t call the huns “Rangers” to prove that they were real rebels, the PLC then blew the 10 season without a single glove being landed on them!
A PLC who`d just helped the huns pull off the biggest sporting heist in sporting history were now blowing league titles to help the Old Firm game retention just like in 2009, 2010, 2011!
And 58,000 succulent idiots thanked the crooked scum filled PLC by selling out 60,000 tickets to thank the PLC for blowing 10 in a row!
Just lol!
58,000 You are the succulent idiots, you made the bed a King Sized Old Firm bed covered with a sash and shamrock quilt fit for the shafting of the worst collection of Celtic fans in the clubs history.
A Celtic with fans like that deserves to be closed down!
Just fkn throw away the key!
Brendan2 might grant my wish!
Robertson books sheep players/doesn’t book Sevco players ,for identical fouls .
If we cant get our act together & win this league, the board should gtf.
What a dreadful 8 days of football. Medicine time right now.
Last week lad Armstrong for Kilmarnock was MOTM bye a country mile , yesterday I thought the lad Cochrane was immense … do we need to go overseas to find quality ?
do we need to go overseas to find quality
—
yes
we tried the ‘sign every scottish player that looks half decent’ strategy
and it failed big time
Cantwell tugs Dons players shirt in the box, not even looked at by Dallas on VAR.
Still, our board think it’s all a laugh.
Another reason to get shot of them. The simply don’t stand up for Celtic.
We can all complain about decisions, pulling shirts etc. But until our gutless board pipe up we are fckd.
THE LONG WAIT IS OVER on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 2:27 PM
Genuine question.
What is it that BR has done to “ruin” Kyogo?
Isn’t it just that teams have gotten wise to how to nullify him
———-
It’s GOT ……..not “gotten”….al day long.
Unless you are a Septic Tank who feels the need to own a gun
i dont think the issue is to do with the board being OK with the huns winning stuff so dont want to get too far ahead of them because its good for business.
PLCism is the problem.
as with every other PLC execs their main care is how much cash they can shovel into their troughs at the end of the year.
and then hit you with shareholder value bullshit patter and so on.
so if they spend too much of that 70 million on players, its less cash in the bank at the end of the year and so they will almost certainly get smaller bonuses which greedy cnts like them wont accept
Their transformation under Clement is concerning and should end the arguments that Rodgers needs a couple of windows and better recruitment. He’s the best paid manager in our history and gets the big bucks to get the best out of what he has. He isn’t doing it and Clement is. The Derby will be massive and an indication of where Rodgers can take us.
Watched with as neutral an eye as would allow.
Rangers are a very poor team. Long diagonals and win the race or the second ball is the order of the day,Dessers trult is as bad as they make out. Sima, all the pcce in the world but as likely to run into the stands as into the box
If the two teams play to their capabilities, Celtic will beat them comfortably, assuming we have a fully fit Meade
Logged in for 3rd time today .
HH