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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SPIKEYSAULDMAN on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 10:15 PM
In Brendan we trust. For now.
You have missed out the For now which is crucial.
I wanted Brendan back. Subsequently i would look very silly if wasn’t willing to give him a chance. Especially before a transfer window of his own.
HH.
Meanwhile the Blog has become barely readable on many platforms and remains blighted by video clips of long finished prematch press conferences and flooded by adverts. Greed and Hubris make ill bedfellows.
Someone should put John Kennedy out of his misery.
Guys been here for as long as i can remember and he is bringing absolutely nothing to the table. When the pressure is on and the defence have their backs against the wall they crumble. Trademark John Kennedy.
An T
The first bit here is fact mate. Not fantasy.
Murray wanted to pursue the only opportunity presented re England. We didn’t. It would not fly without both. In the end sky offered the championship a deal 6 months later.
The value of Celtic would multiply 20 fold were we to play in anything approximating a 50 million Tv market…… this is a realistic estimate not fact obv.
This should have been a top strategic priority. As it should have been for Ajax Benfica Feyenoord Anderlecht Basel Porto Sporting PSV Brugge Malmo Copenhagen. We would have been one of the biggest beneficiaries but it was not deemed a priority. Mclellland of Rangers and Celtic have had representation on the ‘Yellow’ group at UEFA. Creative thinking and genuine desire / drive for change could have pushed a structure which met all needs through.
The last part is personal belief and not fact.
Paul67
Call for a boycott of the Livingston game. We did this in the 90s before the days of social media. Contact all your peers James Forrest , Sentinel Celts,PMG. Get the message across loud and clear – WE’VE HAD ENOUGH!!
We’re currently likely to lose our title to a club that has lost £1m per month EVERY month for a decade! This simply cannot happen !
The crowd is probably already going to be low due to the time of year, our current form and the opposition – so lets go for it and have a snap election on our Board. I’m willing to make the sacrifice – anyone else?
Current list of those for the chop
– anyone called Lawwell
– anyone called Desmond
– anyone called Strachan
– Brendan Rodgers
– John Kennedy
– Stevie Woods
– too many players to name.
Their collective high crimes and misdemeanors?
Celtic lost two consecutive league games.
Billybhoy67 – you “strike” if you like.
Celtic is my team. Always has been.
I’ve seen far worse than this.
And I’ll be there on Saturday to support them.
BURNLEY78 on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 11:14 PM
An T
Thanks for reply
B78- The first bit here is fact mate. Not fantasy.
AT – Yup i dont doubt they were facts of around that time 04-5,rejected then, it has been fantasy since B78,a yearning to play in a historically different league.This parrot(ing) is dead. Thats the fantasy,in the meantime we do nothing to better our game(reserves/youths/games structure) while we look over the wall to a different country,different fa and unknown Uefa reaction.We have done nothing to improve the games destruction under 87% owner of a club liquidated in 2012
B78-Murray wanted to pursue the only opportunity presented re England. We didn’t. It would not fly without both. In the end sky offered the championship a deal 6 months later.
AT- I wonder why Sir Hunner of Pence was pursuing a more lucrative revenue stream as around 04 the dead clubs QC was advising them to pay the wee tax case.it not rejected by epl(turkeys ,christmas).
I hope at executive level Brian Quinn rejected working with them,another rosette to go with us rejecting ebts and engaging with Hector to see Junihno’s ebt off
B78-The value of Celtic would multiply 20 fold were we to play in anything approximating a 50 million Tv market…… this is a realistic estimate not fact obv.
AT – i dont doubt your forecast B78,but it does beg the question why has our club been self financing since the plan was rejected,Dermot was gunning for it,alas the nefarious business practices caught up with them
B78-This should have been a top strategic priority. As it should have been for Ajax Benfica Feyenoord Anderlecht Basel Porto Sporting PSV Brugge Malmo Copenhagen. We would have been one of the biggest beneficiaries but it was not deemed a priority. Mclellland of Rangers and Celtic have had representation on the ‘Yellow’ group at UEFA. Creative thinking and genuine desire / drive for change could have pushed a structure which met all needs through.
AT-Your top strategic priority would never be allowed as it looks as tho your picking of each countries top teams(at that point in time) without consideration as to how the game in each country copes with the loss of their big clubs.(Celtic have history of siding with the
small teams)
B78-The last part is personal belief and not fact.
AT- All ifs and buts to the game now in 2023 B78.
We have a top league,then B team,and a vague youth structure.it doesnt imo make for good football,we look as tho we are making cream without milk and our academies are sidelined in preference to buying in.All that needs structured so all football improves.
Currently no path of excellence like our current captain took,we need to do better.
At the moment its messy
Uefas latest CL restructure could grow into something that could materially alter our future,but we need to work hard and take serious where we are today so we are in there come september.
Hail Hail
case.it not rejected by epl(turkeys ,christmas).
EDIT -Was it rejected by epl? (Turkeys/Christmas)
:-)
Hail Hail
GREENPINATA on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 10:04 PM
We don’t sack managers when we are top of the league ( How we mocked the huns for decades when they did that to Davie White )
*and scot symon
Sutton1888
Your a starman so you are!
He supports Celtic.
Feel free to change name.
TONTINE
As you say place is loupin with huns.
HH
B78-The chair position at Celtic is not an executive role. It does not weild the power as such either. Nor for it attract a fat salary or bonus
Lawwell has taken £17 million plus out of a Club of our size and turnover,and who answered most of the questions at the AGM? Lawwell, no power you say? Nonsense
I’ve caught up with Burnley’s earlier post.
He’s right. The Lawwells deserve better. They’ve done nothing but selfless work for the club, despite better options elsewhere. And it’s not nepotism. It’s just a loving dad who wants his boy nearby. Got it?
Yes okay, ML might have bulked the squad out with absolute duds, but don’t forget he gifted us Ange! Okay, that was after dad make a complete t*t of the managerial recruitment process in the first place, but stop being so judgemental and remember the good.
These two guys deserve our gratitude, not our ire. Who could’ve done a better job I ask you? And who else would want such a thankless gig in any case? And BTW as Michael Kelly always warned us, be careful,what you wish for. You could end up with a club leadership that serially self-sabotages our dominance of the huns. Thanks Jesus we’re not in that position because of the Lawwells. Bless them both.
So I say to the Lawwells, you’ve done enough selfless work for the ingrate, know nothing proles. Take your talents elsewhere where they will be appreciated and you will gain the material rewards you deserve. Don’t stay here where all your giving goes unappreciated. Leave immediately if not sooner, for your own sakes.
Preferably first thing in the morning, Carpe diem chaps!
PS make sure to take your January transfer target list with you. We lumpen oiks do not deserve them.
Good morning all from a quite mild Garngad.
PLB – Great tongue in cheek post about the Liewells.
Anyone that thinks that Rat Lawell and his spawn have done a good job should be barred from ever entering Celtic Park again, they are never Celtic supporters.
As I say I applied and I am confident I would do a better job than these 2 Liars never got shortlisted Damn, must rememberto lie on that application next time.
WE WILL finish January 5 points behind Der Hun unless we buy absolute tried and tested quality and even then I fear it will be too late.
Our only saving grace would be that we still Play der hun 3 times and these were always going to be pivotal. Even more so now.
The LIEWELLS WILL BLEED US DRY, THEY WILL NOT BUDGE THEY ARE ACCOUNTABLE TO NO ONE AND CERTAINLY NOT A WORKING MAN SCUM AS THEY SEE US.
D. :)
Let me remind you all.
Hugh Dallas sacked and five other SFA staff forced out over Pope email
EXCLUSIVE: REFEREES chief Hugh Dallas was last night sacked by the SFA over the Popegate email scandal.
His son is now in charge of VAR in certain games, cmon tae fuc* & wake up and smell the coffee.
BR has only lost once in 14 games v the huns.
If the huns are as sh@te as many on here state then it should be easy peasy. 🤣
Do we believe that form is temporary, class is permanent.
We shall see.
The 2nd most important role at the club outwith the manager is the Head of Recruitment. Our recruitment since the current head was appointed has been an unmitigated disaster.
Considering the blog articles with an in depth analysis on our challenges re Sevco, referees, packed defences artificial pitches, hamstring injuries etc Its quite remarkable there isn’t one analysing the failings of the incumbent HoR.
There is something rotten in the state of Denmark.
From John Hughes.
How are you feeling? Deja Vu all over again?
More times than I can count, I said that the club recruited, in desperation, possibly the only manager in the world that could have gotten us out of the hole we were in after losing the 10.
He brought insight into affordable markets, & who the diamonds were in the overgrown rough. He also brought a unique playing style & singular vision.
He bought players with a specific function in mind. He didn’t just buy them in the hope they might be decent value, in whatever position, at an undetermined point in the future.
Ange papered over more cracks than the fella that wallpapered Dresden post WWII.
Altogether now, let’s all welcome back square one!! Woooohoooo!
The inadequacies, unprofessionalism & nepotism @ board level, once again being matched by a manager whose own inadequacies may be irrelevant in the right environment, but not here.
The confluence of inadequate charlatans, starts recently with ML being wildly unqualified for the job we need him to do, despite what his Daddy said about him being the astonishingly coincidental pick of Ange.
Then you have BR, who knows as much about the markets we shop in, as a hereditary aristocrat doing supermarket sweep in Poundland. His previous record was controversially erratic, and there’s no reason why that would have improved.
Now it transpires BR is so taken aback with the sedentary, unproductive & creatively bereft nature of the players at his disposal, that he thinks introducing them to public transport by accelerating & reversing the bus over their reputations, qualifies as man management.
Has he lost the dressing room? You tell me. Two horrendous domestic defeats interspersed with a great European victory. The kind of game where players put themselves in the shop window. I dunno. Maybe it’s another coincidence🤦♂️
Good morning all from Govanhill. Nobody told me there would be days like these, strange days indeed.
What has become clear in the last couple of weeks is that it isn’t one element that is causing the problem. Those of us who despaired at the summer recruitment (undoubtedly a major factor) would also accept that BR is struggling to impose a style of play on this side and is not getting the best out of certain players. Alistair Johnston has been talked up by so many Celtic fans yet we lose goal upon goal at the right stick with a ball over the top like Lazio and Feyenoord. But, he is far from being the biggest worry. He has shown he can do a job in Scotland at least. Many others are miles of it, have never been at the level required and in all likelihood never will.
I wouldn’t know what to do next. I have genuine doubts that BR can change this around but our board will not have even considered a replacement because, well that’s how we run the club. Reactive as ever.
A starting point is to squeeze the squad and remove 10 players or so in January by one way or another. There are too many players training Monday to Friday that know they won’t be anywhere near the squad on a Saturday. That is bad for morale and creates pockets of discontent which must permeate through the group.
A second plan would be to try and bring in 2 or 3 “job ready” players in January who can actually make us a better side, rather than one’s that may do so in a year or two – before they are sold. Yawn.
If we are too persevere with BR he needs a couple of better players and a striker is a MUST. But, we also need more creativity from the wide men and attacking middle.
We’ve been here several times before but have you ever known a football club that even when it wins so many trophies, has a support so frustrated by how it is rune? I appreciate some are just happy to be best in Scotland and have a lower level of acceptability when it comes to quality of player but surely we can all accept that this isn’t just a blip. The reaction on Saturday showed me how much anger there was, that has been there since the summer and the board are oblivious to. They look at things differently to most and see us as irrelevant – apart from our money.
Saturday is huge and a very tough game for a dreadfully poor Celtic side. We must have the worst squad since 2009/10 under Mowbray. It can be turned around quickly because 1) we are Celtic and 2) we play in Scotland so let’s do something positive in January. Until then BR needs to earn his money better.
Why did VAR not see this
https://x.com/dons_report/status/1736466269971304910?t=Efg5rnnQj9SyGhBx0jkiuA&s=07
Peter Latchfords Belly 4.31
‘And BTW as Michael Kelly always warned us, be careful,what you wish for’
If Michael Kelly had his way,via his ‘pact’ neither you or I would be talking of Celtic this morning PLB.Our club would have been a memory.
HH
fourstonecoppi
Wasn’t watching that game but was listening to it on Sportsound difficult therefore to picture the situation.
Seeing that clip now, well that is a penalty all season long, for but not against Rangers.
Brendan has already lost the dressing room. Chucked the squad under the bus publicity for weeks now. No point giving him players as they will sink into the same malaise as the current treble winners.
All the new signings have been deemed poor by the guy and some of them were coming onto a game before they were banished so he could make his point to Peter.
He is done, January is complete smoke and mirrors routine.
Look at Kyogo, Mac and now AJ for the level of Chucked it since he has back in. Once he doesn’t get who he wants in January it still will be someone else’s fault.
Don’t get me started on the board, they are going nowhere but firstly our elite manager will need replacing.
KLV
Chucked the huns a treble this season to keep sky interested? Gave them a huge lifeline if we don’t win the title.
Partnership.csc
KLV
KLV
People are saying what’s all the commotion about it is only 2 defeats….
Our football has been Turgid ( good word 😄) for weeks now , just can’t see how he can turn this around , but really hope he does !!
Weirdly, I found a copy of Craig Whyte’s book ‘Into The Bear Pit’ in a local op-shop downunder – it’s not brilliantly written but sorta entertaining in a gossipy way. Self-promoting PR at its most bald in all honesty.
just read the bit where he’s describing their unexpected Malmo and Maribor humblings and how a team of their worth should not have been pumped by such football minnows. Also, what he thought of their key coaches, players and old-fashioned mason-infused directors… it struck me how much his comments eerily echo a lot of the accusations and posts made on here the last few days.
When I say echo, I guess I mean in the sense that “everybody was sorta crap and only he knew how it shoulda been done better”, kind of way.
Also, it seems the way THEMS were run has parallels to ways our elders and betters done some things as well.
KEEPYERENEMASCLOSE CSC
Tough remainder of December coming up.
Previous Decembers under Brendan were always tough watches … so my expectations already set weeks ago.
We’ll see what we are made of for sure.
Board, manager, players …..
…. And fans.
I will be there on Sat. , would also like to see the GB there too.
RC – as would I.
If neither side postures and their common purpose is the driver ….
… I don’t see why it cannot happen.
Good read. We don’t have the personnel at our disposal to be playing an effective 4-3-3
https://thecelticblog.com/2023/12/articles-and-features/for-rodgers-to-survive-and-win-this-league-he-has-to-change-celtics-playing-style/
new article posted.
BILLYBHOY1967 on 17TH DECEMBER 2023 11:20 PM
Steady on , there plenty of time left to panic.
Team performance is with the manager , his constant chirping away in the press on specific players and about wanting a smaller squad must have had a really positive impact in the dressing room.
In my view , he has talked us into a slump in performance, which we periodically break out of when there is a really big game when players are in the shop window.
This is stupid management, we laughed at Beale , quite rightly, but Brendan is equally guilty of taking nonsense basically deflecting criticism onto the board and players. He knows that there are enough board malcontents to get the reaction from the stands on Saturday, which frankly was pathetic.
There is a serious debate to be had about the shape of the squad and future recruitment but gobbing off about it in public is just plain stupid.
In life , plausible characters are sometimes given credit for being intelligent, Brendan failing into the trap of now believing his own press
I am a “now ” person who does not believe in What if’s. The old adagde of if your granny had balls, she’s be your grandad !
Beginning sadly to think it’s huns turn to win the league, I mean the “old firm ” flame is almost out, so let’s all boost it to get more revenue by those who want that.
Makes a wee bit sense to me.
Conspiracy, what !!!!!!
KINGLuBO
Had a lovely weekend!
Friends for dinner on Saturday night, one of whom is recovering from cancer.
Absolutely brilliant!
On Sunday I hosted 11 family members for brunch!
Full Scottish devoured by most then drinks from early afternoon on.
I love weekends!
Many fans are in denial about the general standard of players in our squad .
As with most disasters there isn’t just one failing .
It’s normally a culmination of several different things .
Nepotism is currently hurting us .
From Ross Desmond to Mark Lawell .
Diabolical recruitment.
Poor man management.
Outright conflict with the fans.
A divided house .
Kamikaze leader ship
TT
Philbhoy
That post has cheered me up .
Also a wee reminder to make the most of our friends and family .
TT