Don’t give me any semi-final chat for now, we have a league game ahead, the biggest threat to which is to take your eye of what’s in front of us. For the next six days, the season is one game long.
St Mirren did their homework before coming to Celtic Park yesterday. The Paisley club are five points adrift at the foot of the Championship but for almost an hour were as compact and competitive as any Premiership club against Celtic this season.
There was nothing particularly innovative about their strategy; two banks of four, which seldom had more than five yards between them, with a couple of runners trying to occupy Celtic’s back line, but it wasn’t until the introduction of Patrick Roberts, and, crucially, Leigh Griffiths, that Celtic’s shape was up to the task.
Moussa Dembele and Scott Sinclair were double-marked throughout as St Mirren sacrificed control down their left. We are at the stage of the season that there can be few surprises from any team, and certainly not from these two. The challenge for Celtic is to exploit other areas of the field.
While Brendan Rodgers was right to give credit to St Mirren for their performance, from what I gather there was a bit of an inquest behind closed doors. We lost a goal to a straightforward set-piece, could easily have been two down early in the second half, and created very little before the opening goal.
Much of the afternoon took on a familiar ‘Celtic treble upset’ look. You and I have been here before. Many times. We got away with it this time, partly because we were playing a team at home who have won only four of 25 Championship games this season, but mostly because we have so much in the tank this season we can raise our game.
St Mirren have marked a few cards; no game can be taken for granted.
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Boyata… I would coach him to shoot from distance. He gets the chance to get into the opposition half let him go a bit further forward and have a shot if there is no pass on. When Efe ran into the opposition half they didn’t know how to react and a couple of players would eventually come to him usually leaving a bit of space and a pass on for a Celtic midfielder.
an teach solais
Good Mhan!
MON’s of course
MARSPAPA on 6TH MARCH 2017 5:29 PM
Hot Smoked What makes you think Celtic would be dealt any different from foreign refs . I as well as other Celtic supporters have witnessed poor refereeing decisions in European games.
*and who holds a senior refereeing position with UEFA, coincidence or what.
I would have liked to have seen and heard more of the Bernard Ponsonby interview with DR Duncan Morrow and his report into sectarianism, Bernard was giving him a difficult time getting him to explain where and who denies sectarianism is a problem, I think this Dr has the ear of the Scottish Government and I note one of his recommendations is those who are sectarian and NOT named, so watch out we will all be tarred with the same brush as we clean up the country.
MacIntyre asking why Brendan said St Mirren were the best team we had faced.
Errrr – maybe because that’s what he thought??????
Is John Beaton a cheat or is he simply an incompetent buffoon…?
BFDJ is just a buffoon…
Bernard Ponsonby had the Doctor on toast. Now , I don’t do politics on here so I will not go too far but I do agree that sectarianism in football is swept under the carpet.
Now I also saw the news about BT getting exclusivity to CL and EL football ; they have paid top dollar and the devil will be in the detail.
I currently get a decent deal on BT Sport via Virgin Media , you can bet that will see a substantial price increase. You also will see the dreaded double header kick offs you now see in the Europa League being applied to the CL.
This is solely to sell advertising, they don’t give a shit if it pisses of the supporters.
At some time in the future we may see real choice as to how you watch TV Sport. There will be plenty of ways to access live streams ,all this deal does is ensures that BT Sport will be the source until 2021 and they will hold the aces. BT Sport and SkySport are two cheeks of the same arse to my eyes. HH
DESSYBHOY
For an academic Dr. Morrow came across as very unconvincing and verging on incoherent and unable to substantiate his “conclusions”. Indeed “bumbling” would not, IMO, would not be an inappropriate comment.
It seemed a very shoddy piece of work in academic terms. Agenda driven, rather than a principled investigation.
I suspect, like yourself, it is intended to widen the definition of sectarianism to include political expressions at variance with the perceived establishment “culture”
All in my most humble opinion. HH
Hello again all you young rebels.
Up with the lark again this lovely Melbourne morning, well i’m
just assuming as i haven’t looked out the window yet, watched
our game again and when you have a manager who can make
the correct changes at the right time it makes you think you will
win in the end and thats the Brendan effect but i must admit i
was getting a bit twitchy during the live game, but job done.
Liked the look of our new midfield enforcer thought he was like
a big hungry panther stalking about the park looking for his next
meal, slowed down the tackle the St Mirren players were bitchin
about and it shows two players lifting their feet at the same time
kouassi gets a touch on the ball and the other player kicks his
foot and does a sniper shot fall, i reckon we’ll get a lot of that when
the big lad is let loose regularly.
Looks as though our club will have a packed out pub for the stickies
game in the Grand Hotel Mornington, once they count their takings
i can see a big transfer fee being offered for us to relocate there, but
i really can’t see us leaving the Bay, our barghirls would be devastated
not seeing PADDYMACOZ doing his Irish jig ever again :o))
H.H Mick
EBThompson saying Brendan was talking nonsense. To be fair there aren’t too many people more qualified about talking nonsense……
Interview might be on STV website.
ERNIE LYNCH
If i had stated “bias ” rather than poor people would be asking me for facts , i cant prove nor can you that its biased but its definately poor Fact !
Tontine Tim
Yip,how can a dude from Motherwell have such a hold on the Refereeing fraternity .
Steven Thomson is also a buffoon…
The distribution issues for Boyata yesterday was solely down to zero movement in front of him as others left the responsibility to him.
Our two pivots in the central area Brown and Bitton never made themselves available.
Often the only pass available was to the full backs.
Kieran looked less positive than usual and Lustig only started to move in the second half.
Was it the pitch or the sometimes malaise of thinking that it was an easy fixture and someone else would do the work for us?
Classic BBC Shortbread deflection, huns in crisis and main talking point is BR praising St Mirren..
In reply to EBThompson’s nonsense claim Brendan Rodgers had this to say today…
https://youtu.be/hLTcAzHoQWo
Now that really was nonsense:))
ATS
Agree completely, he wants strict liabilty on clubs,if introduced rest assured Celtic will fall foul of this standard more often than any club, as it will be jobs for the boys, like the UEFA delegate at Man City who would not know what being impartial means. Fines partial stadium closures, stand closures points deducted this is what they want and even that may be not enough. Sadly he has an ear in Edinburgh, and yes Scotland does have a sectarian problem and football is just one part of its manifestation however it is being singled out as a vehicle for this. Whats next faith schools?
Off to a RCIA meeting…
Anyone that drops me an e-mail I’ll respond later, I have responded to those that have mailed me to date lennybhoycfc@gmail.com
Keep the Faith!
Hail Hail!
Wilson saying the Foderingham handball outside the 19 yard box wasn’t a red card offence!
Wow, Keech says Fods and Garner should have been sent off and it was no penalty…
What’s going on eh?
THEORIGINALSADIESBHOY on 6TH MARCH 2017 11:23 AM
Marrakesh Express
Joe was banging them in for Motherwell the previous season (I used to go every week to watch him). Before we beat Dunfermline in the 1965 final, we met Motherwell in the semi. Joe scored two goals against Celtic in a 2-2 draw before Celtic prevailed 3-0 in the replay. Jock knew what he was buying. Joe was a proven goalscorer
*hmm interesting, I was also at both semis games and Joe really rag dolled big Billy in the first one.
However, prior to his 3 seasons at Fir Park Joe was a bit of a journeyman player. He had initial success with kilmasonic and was snapped up by Wolves, he never played a first team game there before being loaned out tae Luton.
A wee bit of success at Kenilworth Road caught the attention of the Harry Wraggs and he was now Firhill bound. A similar strike rate as he had at Rugby Park and he was now moving on tae Fir Park, that’s 5 clubs in 5 years, hence the journeyman tag.
Joe’s career really took off with the Ancell Babes where he was top goalscorer for three successive seasons, this as we all now know attracted the attention of not just us but the beaten finalists that season, the Pars, who had also finished in 3rd place in the league 1 point behind both the ayrshire and lothian calvinists, we allegedly offered 22,000 while Dunfermline 25,000. Joe sat tight and ended up with his boyhood favourites.
And we talk about deidco/sevco collusion!!!!, what might have also been in our favour was the upheaval at the Steeltown club with manager Bobby Ancell moving ontae Dens Park to replace Bob Shankly (Bill’s brother and uncle of hun carthorse hynd) who had moved tae Easter Road taking over fae the Big Mhan. Bob Kelly’s appointment of Jock had repercussions elsewhere with Motherwell losing both their long serving manager as well as Joe.
Joe’s first game for us was a benefit match in aid of the Isle of Man Society for Handicapped Children in the Celtic island of against his former club. He lasted only about 12 minutes before going off with a gash above his eye following a clash with his former colleague.
A game played in typical fair fortnight bucketing doon weather ended in a 1-1 tie with the ‘well goal being crossed intae the box by DD’s freen Pat Delaney ). Our equaliser came with seconds to go fae the mhan who replaced Joe that afternoon and almost certainly the same mhan whose position Joe would have played in on May 25th.
One highlight of that game for me was the alleged 4 visiting Celtic supporters partaking too much of the favourite pubs, Yates Wine Lodge, vintage and being found guilty of a breach of the peace where they were sentenced tae 9 lashings with the birch which was still legal in the tailless cats island. The saying they had their erses felt took new meaning after that.
Incidentally Joe finished that season joint top goalscorer with a player that was dropped for the Cup Final against us and who Joe was being signed to replace.
DESSYBHOY
As you say there is an objective by some claiming to be “modernists” to attack faith schools yet there is no empirical evidence to show that faith schools are responsible for bigotry. Indeed the reasons for the 1918 Act are just as valid today as they were in 1918. Bigotry starts in the home.
Existing laws ban such “cheerful ditties” as the Billy Boys but Police Scotland take no action.
I wonder whether the learned researcher has done any researching of bigotry/discrimation in his own domicile- the North of Ireland. Must look on Google.
I suspect that his report will be used to justify OBAF Mark 2. HH
Caxinha
I smell SFA all over this.
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL –
I haven’t seen the Foderingham incident, but the rules state that a red card applies where the goalkeeper deliberately handles the ball outside the penalty box to avoid a goal-scoring opportunity, otherwise it’s a yellow card.
I owe Dr. Morrow a bit of an apology. Just did some quick scanning. He does not attribute any of the blame for sectarianism and bigotry in Scotland to faith schools.
So if you’re lurking, Doctor, sorry on that score.
Another staunch defence of Sevco’s soon to be new manager by the BBC’s Dave King correspondent.
for tims in Toronto area ….
it looks like there is an extra pair of tickets for the Jens lekman concert next Monday in Toronto ….
It sold out quickly, so I am sure I can get rid of them at the door… but, I’d rather they went to a good timmy home …. so if anyone is interested, get my address and drop me a line.
Dick Wilson still batting away heroically for Sevco…….pathetic
G67- snap…
AN TEACH SOLAIS on 6TH MARCH 2017 6:40 PM
I had the same impression of Dr Morrow, he really hasn’t a clue of what goes on with Scottish football.
Maybe he should walk the streets whilst the ‘oo’ walk the streets and cause mayhem.
HH
Hun now saying Ebouie tackle worse than Garner’s…wtf?
…and anything can happen in an Old Fish game…
Deluded or what?
Hi Bhoys
How can this Doctor Morrow say that football is the most obvious area of Scottish life were sectarianism is tolerated. Has he never seen or heard of the public parades of hatred allowed on our streets for around 10 months of the year. This is tolerated by our government never mind any football bodies.
KEEP THE FAITH
ATS
Thats the difference, we can reflect and rectify when necessary, cant find a TV link for the Bernard interview though, he had Dr Morrow struggling who kept trying to answer a question he wasn’t asked.
FAN-A-TIC on 6TH MARCH 2017 6:46 PM
Correct
Tontine Tim
It’s true to say McBride’s career hadn’t stalled or was going nowhere, unlike Armstrong till BR arrived, so maybe not the best comparison.
However such was Stein’s influence on a player who at the time would’ve been similar level to say Dixie Deans, that McBride’s progress albeit among great players, became meteoric.
I place him second only to the King of Kings as a number 9, just ahead of Nicholas, Cadete and McAvennie.
AN TEACH SOLAIS on 6TH MARCH 2017 7:15 PM
Faith schools… Holyrood is a faith school and a third of the pupils are of ethnic persuasion., like a lot of Catholic Schools.
I’ve had to enlighten many a hun when they use this argument, as both my kids attended said school.
Yep, the fix is on.
JMCCORMICK on 6TH MARCH 2017 6:38 PM
‘BT Sport and SkySport are two cheeks of the same arse to my eyes.’
##
You should have gone to Specsavers.
They are both commercial organisations competing in the same market.
But only one is connected to Rupert Murdoch.