My friends in Celtic, 10 trophies in a row has been achieved, a level of dominance over Scottish football not known, even under Jock Stein. With the League Cup secured, we have won 17 out of 20 league games, topped our Europa League group for the first time, but all of this will count for little if the league title is not won come May.
By any objective measure, Celtic have improved this season. Had we started this season as we started last, the league title would already be beyond our reach. However, marked improvement is not enough. Newco have made even more significant gains. They have won 16 of their 19 league games, came second in their Europa League group and reached their second major final. A win in their game in hand would put them to of the table by one point.
December started with a comfortable 1-4 win at Ross County, but in the eight games since then we failed to score more than two goals. A late rescue against Hamilton Accies painted over some cracks but the edifice came crashing down as Newco deservedly won 1-2 on Sunday.
We played terribly, lost the tactical battle, missed a penalty and invited crisis into our world. It is likely to be several months before we get a chance to feel better about our league title chances.
Those objective measures of improvement are of no comfort, it is vastly more important how we are measure against domestic rivals than how we performed in previous seasons. The objective State of the Club is impressive. The trophy cabinet is full, most games are a sell-out, and finances are sustainable, despite no Champions League income. We recruited well in the summer and continue to transform young players with potential into valued talent.
We are seeded and favourites to win our Europa League last 32 game, and based on our group stage, there is every reason to hope for a run deep into that competition. Our perspective would look altogether different if only Newco were their usual shambolic selves. But they are not. They are a good team with a good manager who have many of us worried.
Celtic have been getting things strategically right for a long time. The level of dominance we have, together with our financial strength, does not happen by accident. We are a well-run club that has absolutely no intentions of letting this league title slip.
Newco are at their best. They recruited well and have not endured the injury record we have this campaign. They are financially below the water line and will find it difficult to recruit in order to improve their team next month.
Celtic, despite their high points total, have not been at their best. They can and will spend. Several areas of the team will improve. The team that visits Ibrox on 15 March will be ready for the challenge.
Had we won on Sunday, the league title would be considered a given. Much of our chat in the weeks ahead would be about the Scottish Cup and a fourth consecutive treble. Instead, we need to quickly up our game. Situations like this are why we run our business on a sustainable model, with flexibility available when required.
You could make the point that winning everything all of the time is not good for the long-term development of a football team. Without a viable challenge, aspirations are not set as high as they otherwise would be.
It was different when we faced Oldco for the title. Like now, they were forever spending more than they could afford or raise, but their budgets were similar to ours, which meant we had to walk a line between financial viability and being competitive. If having little or no competition is not healthy, the scenario we faced with Oldco was a lot worse.
Celtic are now planning to form a team capable of winning pretty much every domestic game between now and the end of the season. That is the bar required. It will be difficult and there are no guarantees we will win the league, no matter how much money is spent.
The one thing you know about Celtic is that they know how to win trophies; in fact, they have forgotten how to lose them. Enjoy the remainder of this season, it will hopefully deliver a cherished and historic title.
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Dbhoy
You wrote, “ I expect to see a supercharged, fully motivated Celtic team on their return from Dubai.”
That would be v welcome. However it should have evident at lunchtime on Sunday.
It so wasn’t. The absence of hunger was all too evident among most of our team. Perhaps it’s inevitable, as few of our squad are likely to know the significance of 9 or 10 for us. Or 1 IAR for them.
HH jg
HH jg
Supersutton
I really like Tom Rogic as a player
But, does he have the pace and workrate we need in the team ? Not convinced he would improve us to where I want to see us
Taylor, I think is our best choice as left back
I worry about his size and physicality for games we face
Can’t comment on Shved
Again small in stature, may have pace ? And strength for his size ? Not seen enough of him
Norrie
Some fighting posts by you of late. Asking those difficult questions that need to be addressed.
P67 ‘Celtic have forgotten how to lose trophies’
I’m sorry, but I hate that kinda talk. The more so as we are evidently about to learn far too quickly if Sunday’s lessons aren’t learned.
HH jg
Hi big J
Good to also see you back posting big fhella
Hope you had a great Christmas
I need to get back to work soon, to much time being spent on Celtic sites 😂😂😂
Ron67:
I’m with you on big Julien. Clumsy at times, cant read the bounce when a high ball comes over from the middle of the park. Worst of all, prone to giving away too many daft fouls and losing discipline, too easily wound up.
Don’t get me started on 6’4” Ajer. He’s 6’3” when he jumps .
At least he goes on mazey runs now and again
this has been coming for some time, yes we have been winning but we have been a bad watch.
our football was poor before br left but we still managed to squeak out wins because of individual talent.
now we do need a bit of dig in the midfield and other areas any one see any youngsters in the seserve teams
or do we have to buy. lots of questions. imo
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 31ST DECEMBER 2019 2:12 PM
@ SUPERSUTTON on 31ST DECEMBER 2019 2:02 PM
Why do we have to offload players in order to bring players in? We have £40m in the bank
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I don’t think I said we have to offload to buy. The two points aren’t linked. We can offload and not bring anyone in was one of my points.
Bringing in a couple of quality (straight into the first team) players would be a welcome bonus.
seserve= reserve
BHOYLO83 on 31ST DECEMBER 2019 1:57 PM
On Sunday Scott Brown played like he knew his legacy was on the line
Whether it’s too late now or not, in January Peter Lawwell has got to play like his is as well
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Perfectly expressed. I’d add NFL to that list too.
HH jg
supersutton
as it stands i dont think our wage bill is sustainable.
Hola Norrie
I’d actually typed ‘fine posts’. The pesky autocorrect obviously felt a still stronger word was needed! 😉
🍀🍀
I would expect Jozo, Elhamed & Elyounoussi will have a big part to play in 2nd half of season. I also expect at least 3 signings permanent or Loans. I also expect a couple going out.
However one thing that never changes is the wild mood swings of the Celtic Fans,
We beat Lazio and we have the best team in years who knows we could win Europa Cup.
We lose to Huns and you can go through our entire panel and only 2 or 3 are Celtic quality. We need a massive clear out & a total rebuild of the team.
Being a Celtic fan is never boring.
Jamesgang
I understand where you’re coming from, massive game and huge opportunity to deal them a hammer blow missed.
I tend to be on the optimistic side about our team in general, I really hope they use the defeat and their shenanigans throughout and after the game as fuel to drive them on for the remainder of the season.
We’ll soon find out.
HH
Turnover at 30th June 2018 : Celtic £101.6 Million and Sevco £32.6 Million.
Less than 2 seasons ago we had a huge financial and football advantage ..
May 2020 will tell us whether the Celtic Board have been complacent or not ..
Hopefully they still have a plan, and we’ll be 9 In A Row Champions in May ..
God bless and Happy New Year everyone.
It is to be welcomed that P67 is hinting that we will flex our financial muscle. Good stuff.
However, I get uneasy when we assume new players will sort this. When we assume that extra motivation after Sunday will see us upping our game etc
We didn’t lose on Sunday because we had poorer players or players that weren’t quite motivated.
We lost because they had a better strategy. They played to their strengths and contained ours. We lost the tactical battle.
If we concentrate solely on bringing players in they will beat us again.
We must come up with a strategy and a tactical approach to this game, practice it religiously on the training pitch and get three points at Ibrox.
If we fail to learn our tactical lessons, this title is lost regardless of who we sign in January.
Dbhoy
🤞
HH
The hands can’t……
personally I see jullien as an old fashioned sweeper aka George Connelly playing behind a dominant centre half bobo style a no nonsense player , which he is not.
Sundays starting 11 isn’t far away from our best. Get Elhamed back at right back, move Jeremy forward and give James a rest. Play Taylor at left back and Elyannousi on the left wing. As for our centre backs I think that either of the 2 should play (probably Jullien) but the other place should be filled with someone more in the style of Bobo Balde. Finally, whoever we decide is the best player to replace Eddie after 70-odd minutes really does have to carry a goal threat. Simples. And now back to workin’ n lurkin’…..
Paul 67, ( My friends in Celtic )
A wee defeat and real competition works wonders for the blog.
Great to see so many back posting. We may disagree on the travel path , but there is no doubt where we all want to get to.
A mega thank you to all on here for the charity work. It is both humbling and encouraging to witness the effort you guys put in to help others. I can assure you it is greatly appreciated.
A big thank you to Jobo for his CQNPOTY competition. ( Sorry I never participated for Sunday’s game, was really struggling to vote for three players )
Hope you all have a great New Year and may all your own individual trials and tribulations be eased.
Cheers , HH and all the best for 2020.
arsenal v chelsea – arsenal overrunning chelsea in midfield – lampard brings on another midfielder before half-time.
1 cup final and 70 mins later…….
jeezuz – even duncan ferguson had the shamelessness/baws/nous to change things subbing a sub he’d just put on….
Jobo calls it spot on
HH jg
This is how it feels to be Celtic
CHAMPIONS again don’t you know
We’ll be panicking
Until we get the nine @ row
Hope all posters & lurkers alike have a great 2020, I think 2019 will be appreciated far more when this season has finished, whether it’s the definite one trophy or possibly two, three or even a Polish related quadruple :-) :-)
Going to take a wee break from the blog and return next year
Cya the morra
Hail Hail
Big Ayer made a woeful attempt at heading for their second goal he wanted to be second to it and was, , maybe a psychological element to this as he has previously broken his eye socket, he didnt want to be first and wasnt, the space at the front of the 6 yard box was a concern, poorly set up with nobody on the front post either, big gap to exploit and was, however you need people committed to win headers, Jullien at least tries to head the ball and far from the worst I have seen, Ayer is no Centre Half and lousy in the air for his height.
Ajer sorry
Not bad Pablo.
Reasonable assessment of where we are.
That said, agree with some posters about the need to get value from the existing squad.
Sevco’s recruitment did not bring in a single new player who was any better than what was there.
Clearly what it has done has added experience and competition and, as a result, improved performance.
Jozo, Tom, Leigh, Lewis, Mikey, Gregg, Craig, Moritz, Marion, Kouassi, Nir and Vakoun – over to you to push the guys ahead of you.
Perhaps worth reminding ourselves of the prevailing narratives, realities and facts.
Significant Injuries …..
Celtic – quite a few / Sevco – very few
Perceived form and momentum …
Celtic – average / Sevco – universe busting
Head to Head this season ….
Celtic – 2 wins / Sevco – 1.
Get a couple of real good un’s, refresh regroup, refocus, re-energise, tweak the psychology and execute.
Oh, and when we win the league …….
Make sure we all enjoy it !
:)
Hail hail
We may or may have improved since start of calendar year.
Certainly, we have in Europe. Domestically? I’d suggest we have regressed slightly. Points comparison is not an exact science as other teams (see Hearts) appear to have imploded.
We can only beat the teams we face, I’m just not convinced that league points is the ideal yardstick.
There can be few who can argue that sevco have improved to a greater extent than we have. In one respect, they had to. However, their board have delivered for them. Money has been no object. Players, fans and the brand are fought for in press release after inane press release.
Why this is so can be argued at a later time.
What do we now do about it is my primary focus.
Sign more players now? Change tactics? Rotate the squad more?
Make no mistake, recent performances tell us we have to do something.
I would simply say to the board what Paul67 often tells us around this time – “you did this”
Whatever you think of the board or PL they will know more than anyone the commercial disaster not delivering nine and ten.
I think we will see a big January
foster
elhamed julien ajer
Frimpong Brown Calmac Christie Taylor
Eddy Elyanoussi …….
Add the new first team recruits ???.
subs Bain , Bauer , Bitton , jonny , forrest ,suminovic , Griffiths??
Get loans for ( if its true we are going for a midfielder , striker, winger and a CH
Morgan , Shved , Rogic, KouassI, Bayo \ Hibs , Aberdeen or Ross County would suit them .
Ajer could be our best right back and Suminovic can be our natural left sided CH
btw , the above is only an…. opinion lol .
NorrieM totally agree with you Taylor must be given a run in this team HH
For what it’s worth
We underestimated the hun.
Thems are in charge of the league run in now ( because their first 11 fit together the best in the spfl).
Slippy has learned.
Lenny waited too long to change things on Sunday because of the above.
Their squad is thin ( there is a little bit of depth but they have been lucky with injuries).
They are underreffed ( hence less injuries).
The best thing which could have happened on Sunday has happened ( imagine the points were the same in March and they destroyed us).
We can stuff them, we’ve just got to learn from the last cupla years and stop LEAVING BROONIE ALONE IN MIDFIELD, EVEN A USELESS KNOB LIKE ME CAN SEE THAT FFS which will stop a lesser team making my chances like the scumbags
They think they’ve won The league and need to adjust to being favourites.
This happening before the break is perfect
We might not have signed world beaters last January,but they gave a tired,jaded looking team a real shot in the arm.
So again the media is announcing Sevco detail on alleged racist chants towards Morelos
So
Sevco fans do Not sign racist songs towards Roman Catholics – every game
Kent did Not imagine he was shooting at Celtic fans through the head
Morelos did Not imagine slitting Celtic fans throat
Sevco coach did Not imagine a threat to John Kennedy
Gerard did not assault a cameraman at end of game
Ryan Christie Did not get assaulted in the Tunnel – allegedly, by a player no longer in the Uk ????
Anything to say Celtic FC.
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 31ST DECEMBER 2019 2:00 PM
@ CHAIRBHOY on 31ST DECEMBER 2019
Great post.
@ RON67 on 31ST DECEMBER 2019 1:33 PM
Out of interest which Celtic CHs of the last 20 years would you place above Jullien? Bobo? VVD? It’s a small list in my head.
—————
I like Julien and think he’s been a good signing, albeit he makes a meal out of some challenges.
To answer the question (off the top of my head) of who is better: Bobo, VVD, Mjallby and Vega definitely.
Reiper, Valgaeren and Denayer, maybe.
Apologies
Anything to say
Police Scotland
Other than investigating racism directed towards 1 player
Nothing about
Racism towards the Roman Catholic population??
RON67 .@ 2.36
Jullien and George Connelly in the same sentence ? Mamma Mia . !
Like mentioning Buckfast in the same breath as Barolo .
Marsala
Good opinion,except for Ajer.For me,Simo on the left of a back 3.
THE HANDS CANT HIT… @ 2:00 PM,
Thanks, the state of the club is a great CQN tradition but what we’ve seen on the pitch is cold, hard realism.
It will be interesting to see where we are at the end of next month, the transfer window finished, injured players back and few post Dubai games under our belt.
Hail Hail
Norriem
More please on the “Assault”in the tunnel.What have you heard.