It feels like an age since we’ve seen Celtic but it was only 12 days ago. Can you imagine what it’s been like for teams who lost their last game. It must hurt. Really, really, hurt.
I’m thinking about Hearts, of course! Last time out they lost at home to a Dundee United side who had 34% possession but were able to frustrate Hearts and leave with all three points. That leaves Hearts joint bottom with Kilmarnock on one point from four games.
Hearts have endured a torrid two months. Preseason defeats at home to Orient and Spurs, and away to Fleetwood Town, set them up for a Glorious start to the season. Their first competitive game of the season ended in a 0-0 draw, their only game not ending in defeat since May. We’ll return to that game shortly.
Since then, it’s defeats have been delivered by Dundee, Falkirk in the League Cup, Viktoria Plzen twice and Motherwell, before that loss to United.
So it will be straightforward at Celtic Park tomorrow, right? Not necessarily. Hearts are a footballing shambles, who are underachieving at Olympian levels. Their lowest possession level in those three league defeats was 60% – an indication that this is a team with all the resources who are poorly directed or motivated.
The outlier was their opening game draw. That was achieved with 37% possession. They limited their ambition, defended properly and managed to break with purpose on occasion.
If you were a beautician and somehow were tasked with managing a Scottish Premiership club, you would surely find it easier to come up with a game plan which didn’t extend beyond “Get everyone behind the ball”, than trying to figure out how to beat a Motherwell side, who themselves decided to get everyone behind the ball.
I’m not suggesting Steven Naismith is a beautician, you need to go to college to be a beautician these days, but he has a lot in common with a beautician who was asked to manage a top flight football club. Both Steven and the beautician would send Hearts out tomorrow to get behind the ball.
If Celtic play to their strengths, none of this will matter, but we are not facing a bottom of the table squad tomorrow, just a team who are being managed like one.
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Burnley78 on 14th September 2024 1:02 pm
Bennett’s health has not been great of late . The pressure of that kind of job is high. For someone with zero experience and no CEO transitioning the business it is impossible.
As they go he was not the worst.
BURNLEY, I was aware of his health issues and wondered how long he could keep it up. The thing is, the Hordes are hot-wired to their entitlement and Bennet’s attempts over the last months to instil a wee bit of reality into their situation did not go down well and resulted in the aggro directed at him going up various notches.
There have been various attempts to summarise, for the benefit of the hard of thinking, the impact of financial restrictions on the running of the club and the impact on the field. Now THAT does not sit well with your average Bear. Even Clement (who I think comes over as a bit of a pwick) has tried on several occasions to lower the expectations of the Hordes, given the circumstances he finds himself in, but, of course, to no avail because …. they arra Peepul!
A slow unravelling would be my preferred route, but then again I am not a particularly nice person. (Lovely jubbly).
Ave Ave
Stivs
Heavy lifting to me is a pint. And I am a supremo.
Just about to set off – think Arne for Reo only significant starting change today. HH
I left my tart in Dan Flynn’s disco! That was after a couple o’ pints BRRB!
T
Just popped over to Fascist Fascist for a wee gander and saw this. Sums Thems up. Apols in advance.
“Man takes on job he’s not up to standard for
Man finds himself severely out of depth and stressed
Pretty common and hopefully a lesson learned for him
No sympathy from me if anything he should be publicly apologising to every single Rangers fan for the damage he has overseen
JB has done severe damage to us with his arrogance in believing he can be the man to chair.”
Off now to find some disinfectant.
Ave Ave
Tobago Street 1.36
You are getting worse than me. If that’s possible. 🤣🤣
CELTIC: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Hatate, Engels, Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda.
Subs: Sinisalo, Trusty, Palma, Idah, Valle, McCowan, Bernardo, Forrest, Ralston
Engels starts
CELTIC: Schmeichel, Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Scales, Taylor, McGregor, Hatate, Engels, Kuhn, Kyogo, Maeda.
Subs: Sinisalo, Trusty, Palma, Idah, Valle, McCowan, Bernardo, Forrest, Ralston
I left my harp in Sam Plant’s disco
Strong team and bench. Hammer thum Celtic!!!!
BSR
Ffs hahahaha 😆
Greenpinata on 14th September 2024 1:13 pm
FFP or whatever its called this week is a joke. Why should clubs not splash their own cash if they want to. ?
Their own cash ……………………………………………SIR DAVID MURRAY take a bow …………..
oh no trying to get the match and now computer is infected with trogan, help!
Greenpinata on 14th September 2024 1:13 pm
FFP or whatever its called this week is a joke. Why should clubs not splash their own cash if they want to. ?
Top class Football is a money oriented and rich investors are part and parcel. Rightly or wrongly, market forces prevail.
===========
Not in football they don’t if it wants to make claim to being a sport.
In normal markets company’s spend to attract customers to make a profit. If they put another company in the same business by having a better product they take the customers of that company (eg Kodak) over and grow as a result whilst the other company diminishes or goes bust.
If that were to apply to football then the number of teams that can offer competition reduces or their standard does (R2ngers). Competition is what keeps supporters turning up in acceptable numbers.
The game v Dons if things stay the same will be one guaranteed a big audience.
The big difference between football and “normal business” is that normal business is not dependent on other normal businesses to make a living. That is not the case in football. Football is an interdependent industry that requires a set of rules to allow it be be seen as a sport.
The EU has recognised the specificity of sport as a legal term requires a different approach . There is a study at
https://ec.europa.eu/assets/eac/sport/library/studies/mapping-analysis-specificity-sport_en.pdf
and I have copied this extract of a study into the matter. Anyone wishing to understand for example why there was a 5WA and why R2ngers rose from the dead can delve further.
Purpose of the Study
This report provides an analysis of recent EU rulings and decisions relating to the
‘specificity of sport’ since 2007. The ‘specificity of sport’ refers to the inherent
characteristics of sport ===>which set it apart from other economic and social activities <=== The
‘specificity of sport’ has become a legal concept established and developed through the
rulings of the European Court of Justice and through decisional practice of the European
Commission, notably as regards competition rules. As set out in the White Paper on
Sport, the recognition of the specificity of sport requires an assessment of the
compatibility of sporting rules with EU law on a case-by-case basis.
In 2009 the ‘specificity of sport’ was recognised in the amended Treaty of the European
Union. Article 1653 of the Treaty states:
“The Union shall contribute to the promotion of European sporting issues, while taking
account of the specific nature of sport, its structures based on voluntary activity and its
social and educational function.”
The main focus of the study is to provide an analysis of the specificity of sport through a
systematic review of all new case law and decisions relevant to sporting rules since the
publication of the White Paper on Sport in 2007. The research has also sought to identify
how recent decisions and rulings have given weight to the Article 165 considerations.
Once an understanding of the difference is absorbed then the "bluenose leaning "element of decisions can be put in a wider perspective as can an understanding of why UEFA developed FSR.
evening
BRRB,
I was looking at some photos of a family celebration about 50 years ago. There was one of 2 elderly ladies; one was my mother’s mammy, the other was my Dad’s auntie. Both had a connection of sorts to Celtic. My granny was taught in the Sacred Heart by Br Walfrid and Auntie Becky’s father-in-law was one of the original shareholders. He worked on building the original ground and was paid in shares.