Negatives out of the way first: we’re not good enough, this is a low achievement by a Celtic team who have reached a group stage. There’s no disputing that, but amid the predictable ‘Throw them all overboard’ reaction, I know I’m not the only one who is not panicking right now.
When I heard we were playing three wingers (Forrest, Mackay-Steven, McGregor) I anticipated a thrashing. Gordon Strachan would often drop all his craft players for the more industrial types in European football, with good reason.
As it turned out, we had the majority of the chances, and all the better ones, as we spent most of the second half pushing for a winner.
No arguments with Leigh Griffiths assessment immediately after the game, that was his worst performance in a Celtic shirt. Nor is there dispute in Ronny Deila’s retort that he’s scored plenty for us before and will continue to do so. Even the greats have days like that, including the Swede.
The midfield formation was fluid throughout the game. Tom Rogic initially played as a defensive mid, before moving in front of Stuart Armstrong (who moved everywhere) and Callum McGregor. The defensive mid role Rogic played isn’t one carried out by either Nir Bitton or Scott Brown. We’ve not had anyone in this role since the departure of Victor Wanyama (still pining) and it remains a large gap in the offering.
Lesson: we need a defensive mid. The deep lying playmaker + box-to-box player isn’t robust enough in Europe.
Callum McGregor carried possibly the lowest expectations of everyone in a Celtic shirt but he put in an excellent shift. His goal was outstanding, losing possession immediately before Ajax equalised took the shine off things a bit, but it was still a strong performance.
Do you know the last time McGregor started a game? October 2014. Under those circumstances that was a remarkable performance.
General consensus is that the defence played well. Kieran Tierney is as good a left back as we’ve had in years. Had he not gone off with an injury the result might have been different.
Jozo Simunovic is clearly out best central defender. I know I’m not setting the bar too high with that statement, but he’s a move in the right direction. He’s also young, still working on his fitness, and will continue to progress.
A week ago Celtic Underground’s Harry Brady suggested Dedryck Boyata plays better alongside Simunovic than without him. Dedryck still has a long way to go but the evidence suggests partnered with a game-reader like Jozo has helped him. Let’s see where he is at the end of the season.
And Craig Gordon? He could have stopped both Ajax goals. That’s not to say he was to blame for either, he wasn’t, but these were the kind of stops he was making in last season’s Europa League.
Ronny is 18 months into the job and has contributed to the situation we find ourselves in (tactical mistakes in both Molde games), but this is not the time to lurch off plan. We’re not good enough largely because we’ve recruited too few players since 2012 who have improved the team.
We need to continue to develop players like Tierney and we need to recruit better. Get this right in January, and again in the summer, and we will be vastly better. The alternative is likely to be to pick up a best from the SPFL pool, or someone from the English circuit who cannot get a better paid gig. And then it would take until November 2017 before we could assess them properly.
Return of the Bampots
Tonight, for one night onlyt, Phil Mac Giolla Bháin, John Fallon and myself are in the Hibs Club, Carfin, for a Q&A in aid of Mary’s Meals, with Phil Agnew hosting. The event starts at 7:30, £5 entry, can pay at the door.
Looking forward to seeing you there.
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Auldheid, does the PLC not owe transparency to shareholders?
Masonry. heyy hey hey,
Best and Most Convincing LIARS ever.
It really hurts when you realise you have been Deceived.
Let us Undermine Christ and his Divinity as we wreck the………
GTF Auldheid.
Good night CQN.
Family Guy fans
Conway Twitty – hello darling
https://youtu.be/Og1QRtcWdEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SzzuQX3JUg8
This is the mindset.
I am satanic scum (and so is my wife)!
Only joking petec,, I have enjoyed reading many of your posts – why are you being so aggressive?
FT
No doubt the support needs United and only people can do this is the board and supporters groups.
Livingstone more than welcome to stay on board for a year if he publicly comes out in support of living wage ?
Bankier given more time if he commends the Celtic support in keeping their calm despite being attacked by Ajax hooligans again and questions asked of police.
I don’t have the answers but we are going round in circles month after month , and we see more and more good people getting fed up.
Resolution 12 is defo something the board should be using to unite a support aswel , I can’t blame the CT for being quite on it, I don’t know the ins and outs but we have heard res12 members say they are happy with the role the Celtic board is playing so if the CT became involved it may put the board off and lose support .
Pick your battles and it seems CT are wisely doing this.
L. A. Woman – The Doors
https://youtu.be/JskztPPSJwY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXXz1ZGvqEc
Especially for you Auldheid.
Contemplate, even start to realise you have been Deceived beyond Belief.
FrankTerry on 29th November 2015 1:31 am
I am satanic scum (and so is my wife)!
Only joking petec,, I have enjoyed reading many of your posts – why are you being so aggressive?
}~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Time is late, I just want everyone to adhere to the 10 Comms.
The First Comm being, obviously, the most Important.
KT is tackling like a wee Tiger.
You’ve been brainwashed beyond belief ..
Go to your kip .. Ya spiteful bible thumping numpty!
FrankTerry,
Hail Hail Great Celt.
Dinnae ever Stop Believing.
Good Morning my fellow Celtic Supporters,
I am so glad to see the we still have the most important agenda in the history of the game in Scotland back on our front pages.
Make no mistake, lose this battle against the most corrupt and protracted events in the lifetime of the game in Scotland.. and it is over for us.
The Scottish professional game will disappear within a year, and with it, our beloved Club.
KTF. lets unite to beat this evil.
Auldheid.
Just logged in for a late night lurk.
The whole Res12 issue is very significant in whatever future Scottish football is going to find itself in.
CQN only represents a small fraction of the Celtic support. Likewise the Scottish football monitor site, only gives a small proportion of
“switched on ” fans who ignore the daily’s
I wish you all every success.
The whole shebang stinks.
You don’t walk alone.HH
If I was Celtic manager, Charlie you can go, Kris you can go, I can use your gigantic wages to bring in real quality. Any other members of the clique you would like to stop stealing your season book money ?
before you ask I have complete faith in Ronny, John and the board.
Hail Hail.
TET,
your definition of a troll is far more accurate than The_Huddle’s in fact he simply made his version up, have a look, here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_troll
here
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Internet%20Troll
and here
http://netforbeginners.about.com/od/weirdwebculture/f/what-is-an-internet-troll.htm
I’ve got to say I’m surprised at you letting yourself be brow beaten without checking up on the bullshit you are being fed.
Robust is a quintessential hun word in the fields of hello hello loyal apprentice wier vanguards!!!!
Just saying like….
Every Tim that passes on, man woman or child, in their soul they take a few seeds of paradise to our mother heaven, God stole/plagiarised ‘paradise’ off Celtic. (Forgive me Father)
Nobody is perfect. Not even a Celtic Supporter.
Chins up bhoys… it’ll always be a long war; a long, long war.
But one day, maybe in your day, hopefully in your day and my day too, for too many have gone before us and never saw equality… but out from the ashes… one day, it will rise, one day. Trust me.
Being born a Tim is not an accident of birth.
It is a blessing.
Count it as one, and never ever forget, heavens angels fortuned you.
You are special; Very, very special, and most of you don’t even know it.
You can’t buy that special; it is a gift from above; it is not exclusive but it is selective.
And nobody can afford to buy it from you either. Besides nobody could ever afford its value.
Not that you’d ever wish, or dare, to sell.
Sometimes life isn’t great, sometimes it is hard…
but always look on the bright side of life.
We are Celtic Supporters.
Kit…,
I always keep my chins up :)
Having been in the Emerald bar standing st the door when those scum fans came in I must admit that I am more concerned with Police Scotland reaction than that of the board of CPLC
I asked one of the officers how this was allowed to happen in a calm way, (my nephew was rather more annoyed as he and 2 mates from Liverpool where also attached with one having to leave the match to go to the Royal)
My nephews question was met by a big lump of arrogance advising that he came to our town for this, I advised him to leave as he was causing more stress and that I was having a courteous conversation with his colleague and that he was police Scotland and not Tayside anymore
We eventually walked over and stood at the barrow lands before my brother and I left to go to another bar whilst the others carried onto the match( my clothes where saturated and my jacket and my brothers where on the street in the gallowgate)
We where advised in the pub that police Scotland threatened staff that anyone leaving the bar would be arrested for causing a riot
My anger is with the police for their lack of protection, I have emailed my msp
Back to sleep, hope the match is on as my dad and 2 nephews went up yesterday
Canamalar:
I lost my chins a while ago, unfortunately my hopes went with them.
How does corporate Celtic phrase it (gospel; from the horses gospel mouth) ,,, margins… margins….
Who pays for the margins?
Who pays for the margins?
Who pays for the margins?
Sad I know but for me the greed for the dollar killed ambition and hope and I am lost.
God help Celtic. And I really mean that. For the good of our children… I really mean that.
Oh and Paul, if Peter offers you Red Red wine and succulent lamb too…
Just tell the fecker you’re on a diet…
No need for you both to sell your souls….
You’re better than the margins crap.
FingerhandswrritsandarmsANDTOROTOOdownmythroatCFC
BT,
I hope you got the badge number of the twat that was being aggressively threatening victims by the sound of it.
Agree first and foremost Police Scotland and your MSP, MP and MEP’s should all be getting copied in on your complaint.
But the board were very quick to blame Celtic supporters a couple of years ago they have no excuses for refusing to challenge Police Scotland’s inaction especially in the light of that Dutch scandal, again Celtic supporters are victims and again the board live in the belief that the supporters bring it on themselves eh.
Ict site says Game on
Following a 7-30 inspection the ref has passed the pitch as playable so the game is on
Reporter on Sky Sports just confirmed – game on.
Woohoo game on.
CANMAN
Agree re Celtic after the criticism handed out to the fans from the board for Amsterdam
Ht, I hope you got your thermals, Baltic and very damp here. There was about 5 mm of ice on the car windscreen earlier.
The fools, the fools, the fools.
“I’ll send an e-mail.”
“I’ll send a letter.”
“I’ll get it raised at the next meeting.”
“I’ll send a letter to my local MP.”
“We shouldn’t be getting treated like this.”
“Why don’t they say something?”
Why don’t you all stop clucking like a bunch of old hens and, take a leaf from the Aberdeen supporters who have left you all at the starting post?
The Aberdeen fans are no angels(who is?) but, they sussed you lot out after the LNS response or, rather….lack of response from the club.
Again, the banner said it all – “You Silence is deafening!”
What the Celtic supporters response?
…Get the jelly & ice cream out.
The glutinous fat hags in the green seats were to busy being self-consumed by what they saw as the end of the huns.
Wrong!
The minute that, the huns were given a licence to start again…without being punished….should have seen prominent supporter figures of ‘all’ clubs issuing an, everybody out move to keep the cheats out till they were ‘properly’ dealt with.
I can only assume that the Banner from the Dons support, represented the views of a lot of other clubs fans as being that…Celtic’s silence is evidence that they’ll need they’re auld pals back.
I’ll get kicked up and down the blog for this but….the Celtic support of today are fools, fools, and bigger fools.
The saying of, yeez bring it on yerselves ‘is’ appropriate….imho.
Just think back to the day that, Walters cheating-ebt-team were celebrating winning 3 in a row at Rugby Park.
What were the Celtic supporters doing….?
60,000 of them were doing the huddle inside Celtic Park!
Ah mean, the directors were sitting in the directors box watching this……probably having a collective wet-dream.
They must have been thinking…the fools, the fools…..the fools.
A week later, the same wonderful Celtic support were in attendance at the SCF v’s Motherwell were, at h-t….the BBC’s Rob MacLean and, Pat Nevin took it in turns to slaughter the Celtic supporters ‘live’ on BBC1.
What the beloved board do?….They sent a letter to timbuktu.
Thing is….and it’s a real worry….your on yer own…and still….you don’t get it.
You continue to hand yer money over to a bunch of folk who’ll….NEVER…stand up for you.
As I’ve said above, the Dons fans are no angels but, they’ll….NEVER…be took for the mugs that you all get taken for.
This is definitely a case were you bring it on yerselves….so flukin sad.
I’ve come to the conclusion that….since the end of the JUNGLE…the Celtic support have become, the Simple-Simon’s of World Football.
I’m nobody.
I’m a voice that comes from nowhere.
I’ll go back to nowhere.
But, ye know what?…..Nowhere is a better place than, the inside of a, sleekit-bunch-of-swivel-eyed-charlatan-kowtowing-feart-fae-the-huns-sit-at-the-back-of-the-bus-look-the-other-way-Celtic-soul-suckers-poakits…..imho.
Nowhere is the new Paradise…the fools, the fools….the fools.
Celtic FC R.I.P.
Died in May 2005 from being cojones-less after Marin O’Neill walked alone….oot the Parkhead Gates.
….so sad….
Kevj
Don’t ever call me a fool
blantyretim
_________
Do you get taken for a fool?….By the board?
KevJ – you have a certain style but the point is well made – I’m getting a bit sick of the victim mentality and the Tim Henman type response from our custodians.
We may see it again today cos with the weather forecast I can see our bhoys being turned back half way up the A9!
Hail hail (plus snow,wind and rain)
I haven’t renewed my ticket since the WGS time and won’t until the CEO and the board get their finger out
Those writing to msp bro etc and those in the CT are doing more than you or I who moan about it on Cqn
God bless
I should add that individual fans and groups have been a lot more up front with the authorities but the powers that be are letting us down
Jinkyredstar
_________
If,…me…getting kicked up n doon the blog….opens eyes and…stops Celtic supporters from being treated as …fools, by the board then, thats a kicking I’ll gladly take.
HH