I expected Kairat to be fitter, which they were, but I didn’t expect them to be better organised, which they also were. Celtic’s first half performance was a passive throwback to the Horseshoe of Death we hoped to have moved on from. Nothing was reaching Adam Idah, who was as much a spectator as you and I were. James Forrest seemed to have the wrong boots on, while Daizen continued an unproductive run on the wing which reiterated his poor crossing.
One of my pet dislikes in managers is their refusal to drop expensive signings, so Brendan Rodgers deserves credit for his response at halftime. The team returned with his entire £32m of talent recruited last summer watching from the bench; Daizen in his favoured central position, with Yang and Forrest wide.
Yang (who knew!) made an instant impact which led to Celtic’s best chance of the game, when a Forrest shot hit the post, but Kairat soon settled. As the visitors tired, Celtic dominated more of possession, but this game had 0-0 written all over it.
Kairat are not a good team, it would be humiliating to exit the Champions League to them. Brendan is right, we can and should win the away leg. However, I do not encourage you to bet on that suggestion.
The decision to swap (it was) Kyogo for Jota was not everyone’s choice but had merit. Jota’s subsequent injury could have happened to either player. Selling Kuhn so early in this window, though, that’s an odd one which, contributed to the lack of creativity last night. The manager is the only source of information on squad development and he says little on the subject. He could shed some light on why Kuhn was allowed to leave so soon. Hmmm.
More needs to be spent and quickly, that’s for sure. Maybe if we had £64m of last summer’s signings on the bench everything would fine this morning! Surely that would be enough to overcome the newbie managing Kairat?
When the draw was made I wrote, “No excuses”. I didn’t want to hear them on the radio going home last night. It’s not a good look.
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BURNLEY78 on 21ST AUGUST 2025 12:32 PM
Bournesouprecipe
More than Rodger’s to blame
He is to blame though. How else do you take a dominant team winning a treble and exciting us all every week to the level we are now at ?
I accept an invisible CEO does not help. Also very poor club coms allowing clowns and BR to run the narrative. Lazy and weak I would say but BR is disruptive and his horseshoe style is outdated.
—————
So it’s all Brendan and Michael Nicholson’s faults.
Seems like Lawwell has one hand up Paul 67s arse and one up yours.
Why don’t you or Paul, instead of listing BRs signings last season, list all the profits he’s brought in for the club through the CL results, performances and through players he’s developed and sold on, some he also signed like Kuhn?
Tiresome the way you try to back the PLC all the time and slate Brendan. Best manager we’ve had since Jock Stein and there are facts to back that up.
Agree with earlier comments re booing.
At best, counterproductive.
At worst, entitled.
Regardless of the angst and discord, I find it really easy to connect with Celtic players.
They wear those hoops. Tick
Their enormous athletic output plus the physical, psychological and mental stress they need to suffer … every single game … is huge.
Takes courage.
in my line of work and probably most on here – goals are set and resources aligned to support those goals. If the team loses headcount (for whatever reason) then we are operating at risk. The goals change, or timelines changes, or quality is affected. Expectations are re-set if managed properly.
With Celtic – we have lost 2-3 key positions and not replaced them. It’s that simple. So why is Rodgers frustrated?? because the goal hasn’t changed. He want to qualify for champs league but the board are saying so do we but you are not getting the resources you need to accomplish that. Make do with what you have.
In my line of work , that leads to frustration , low morale , loss of confidence in the leadership team and usually poor performance. Do more with less!
I’d have more respect for the Celtic board if they came out and explained their strategy – I thought Celtic was a football playing club with European ambitions (Lisbon Lions Legacy). We are cheap!!!
Look at the state of the stadium , look at the poor quality of Celtic TV , look at the state of the 2nd and 3rd jerseys – we are run like amateurs (from a football perspective).
If the strategy is to get to 200m for some strange reason – say it, explain it , get us aligned! Their silence is arrogant, disrespectful and disgusting.
I seriously hate the fact our manager has to take those questions and dance around the answers to protect those parasites. Really turns me off!
With a hundred mil – we should have a world class world wide recruitment team run by an experienced, proven and connected recruitment leader. Who do we have again??
!!Bada Bing!! on 21st August 2025 3:44 pm
https://x.com/huell_2/status/1958323675993972886?t=S77bX7yalZRArcbwawKZfg&s=08
Callum calling it straight
——-
Brilliant link, BB.
And total respect to Callum.
That’s leadership.
It’s the old Rangers that don’t pay tax.
We remain conpliant.
Saint Stivs re Corporation Tax …
A valiant effort sir but … going by the layers that have been added? … in vain.
“We don’t spend” …
Becomes “We pay too much corp tax”
Becomes “We fund THIS government”
Give it a week.
Celtic PLC will be responsible for some political or social failing.
dessybhoy on 21st August 2025 2:08 pm
Think I read from David Low that 20% of the shareholders probably don’t know they have them,no register it seems, that being the case DD owns around 50% of the known shares with his shareholding then the corporate block line up behind him, bang, nothing will happen without his approval ever, spare me the best interests of the club we’re being mothballed asset stripped at times and expected to compete at the highest levels, Ashley without the shops, that is this plcs model.
——————————————-
I Celtic does not have a shares register that people can check, the club is in breach of the Companies Act 2006 (as modified):
Register of members
(1)Every company must keep a register of its members.
[F4(2)There must be entered in the register—
(a)the names and addresses of the members,
(b)the date on which each person was registered as a member, and
(c)the date at which any person ceased to be a member.]
Falkirk will be allowed to use their current artificial pitch next season if they stay in the top flight.
Booing is a natural reaction when dissatisfied. General frustration of the referee performance, time wasting tactics and underperforming players. Also the fans can see >76% possession with tippy tappy no impact tactics. Many of us ” hate” these outdated, non productive and one dimensional tactics
Personally I don’t see a problem with expressing emotion.
What is the alternative:- Cheer and clap like seals even when we are not happy.
Slow hand clap.
Stay totally silent
Turn your back
Protest outside.
The worst of the lot is not turning up for future games.
So boo if you like, get it out your system and turn up for the next game with revigorated enthusiasm.
Fans spend a lot of time, effort and dosh to attend. Again Personally I would give them a break.
I wonder how many shout and bawl at the telly.
Ah, but that is different some will say . It’s hunlike at the game and we love to laugh at them booing. It gives us Brownie points.
It’s no big deal, we move on. Hopefully to better things.
HH.
I can only hope that last night’s result can cause some kind of reaction among the players , like having a bucket of ice-cold water tipped over them . If we’re going to win over there it will have to be with the same players but it has to be with a different attitude . A few line up tweaks to get the most out of what we’ve got and a masterclass in team motivation will be down to the manager .
Brendan also needs to give rest to these ‘lack of quality , need to make the best of what we’ve got’ soundbites . He’s correct of course and it may be his only means of putting pressure on the board , but it can’t do player morale much good when they realise it’s them he’s describing .
If we do manage to get through , the ball will firmly be in the board’s court , and will tell us all we need to know about their ambitions for the club
HJ
I remember getting info from computershare in Bristol regarding AGMs etc, think its online now, will they maintain the shareholders register? That is my understanding of what David Low said An Terrman earlier came up with a figure in excess of 20%
The players and coaches were to blame for last night’s rubbish.
DD and the Board were to blame for the lack of transfers completed
Brendan and Tisdale are to blame for the quality of recruitment.
The fans are there, support the team, buy the gear, travel and show their loyalty.
We deserve better
.massive game on Saturday- get momentum back, practise, calm the fans’ nerves etc
DESSYBHOY
I reacted to the words “no register it seems,”
The club has an investor portal
https://www.celticfc.com/club/celtic-plc-investor-relations/manage-your-shareholding/
Also it publishes this advice:
Registrar Contact Details
Shareholders who prefer not to manage their shareholding online can contact the Registrar’s Celtic plc team directly:
Computershare Investor Services plc
The Pavilions
Bridgwater Road
Bristol, BS99 3FA
Tel: 0370 702 0000
There is no reason why anyone cannot track their shareholding.
So why is there this idea out there?
Some numbers from memory , our turnover is around £120M , we paid under 10% of that on a young midfielder from a middle table German club.
What transfer level are we prepared to go to and what would it realistically achieve? Not sure what £15M gets you nowadays but for CL ready players players around mid-20s somewhere north of £15M would not be unrealistic. How many do we need ? Let’s say the spine of the team , so 3 players. So £45M around 1/3 of turnover. I don’t think this is realistic and Brendan pushing the envelope with the board can’t believe this is possible off ref desirable.
The higher the transfer fee , for me , the lower the odds of getting these guys to come to the SPL. Hence Mexican stand-off with the board.
Hopefully another game under the belt and we win Asia and we rush in some reinforcements…. Alternatives are not great …
HH
Boondock Saint……………Yes it was all Adam Idah’s fault that we lost this game. Seriously I agree the service to the to the centre forward was non existent in comparison to last year when we had
Kuhn and Kyogo cutting through defences setting up chances in the Champions Lge games before his sudden departure before the Villa game. How these guys were missed last night there was no cutting edge, all predictable stuff..
It was obvious Kairat had played 20 matches and 3 Champions lge qualifiers they were sharper fitter, brilliant defensively but yet Kasper was unemployed for the night, might be aplus going into the return match. I’ve seen LOI teams get great results against east European teams away from home but always seem to fail to finish the job at home. Our back four were solid although ccv gave me heart failure when he stumbled but recovered the ball with a guy breathing down his neck.. Is Paulo Bernardo injured doesn’t seem to be in favour at present. AJ big loss goood to see him getting a great ovation as he was carried from the park.
I think because shareholders may have died and passed their shares on to relatives but not notified anyone of the transfer, also some who can’t be contacted as they have changed address etc were a couple of reasons he cited.
Also some shareholders deceased without making . will or passing on shares and again, no notification. Not anyone’s fault, just circumstances.
It is not a lack of a register as such, but more information about shareholders not being available for a variety of reasons.
How are we going to score?
We shall thrash Livingston on Saturday and Kairat on Tuesday. Easy peasy.
BRRB
Hope so
dessybhoy on 21st August 2025 6:05 pm
So why is there this idea out there?
————————————————-
I can only surmise that people have not verified the information that they have heard/shared.
BRRB,
I think you are right.
Although some may say: Blind drunk optimism 😉 🤣 😄
Busy ole site today…
Apart from the champions league money……maybe we might just be better off in The Europa league……at least we might have a chance of going to at least to the semis……
But not so sure with current squad though..
Interesting few weeks ahead !!🥴
An T
Apologies for delay. Busy afternoon with business deadlines.
BR is for BR first and foremost.
A proper manager really had the club interests at heart would have killed the current media circus around our club stone dead. He has fuelled it at the outset and poured oil on as it died down. Not sure why as it fuels insecurity and lack of co defence in current team , alerts selling clubs of panic and need to buy, suggests his insecurity at club etc etc. Nine do these help negotiating position. Of course Celtic bloggers know it’s a great thing for them and the MSM and many non Celtic folks love this mana from heaven.
His agenda back at the start of BR2 was to get full control of all football matters rather than to encouraging the development of a more modern structure with a recruitment team etc as this might challenge his authority.
He has had this control for 3 windows now as at the end of the Kuhn window he effectively took control by taking Idah on loan as a punt after rejecting several alternative options put to him by the recruitment team. Idah on loan worked for a time and who knows what would have happened had one of the others come in. Maybe they would have been duds anyway.
Obviously BR got his own man in and recruitment became BR’s domain. Except it isn’t now apparently it is someone else’s. For some reason his own guy is not doing it. In fact he has hardly been mentioned. So after 3 BR windows we are massively weaker than before and have no clear structure or strategy it seems.
Previously his problem was the right options were not being put his way. Now his problem seems to be something else. Whatever it is it is not his fault. It is someone else who cares less about Celtic or the fans than he does.
The reality for me is the style of football now is back to the same style we had when he left. The world has moved on not only is it boring but it is ineffective against any well organised teams. Even Almaty showed us that last night. We were very lucky rangers were such a dis functional entity last season.
It has been poor for some time. Aside from Munich away I can’t recall us really stepping up in a big game since we beat what proved to be a very poor Leipzig.
Someone much better informed than me and nothing to do with our board said to me on Tuesday BR is all about BR and this feels even more correct seeing his recent utterances. He is managing his exit now as expected.
I hope we can get through next weeks game and I really hope our rivals carve each other up this season and we can sneak it domestically. Even if we do have to bring in a few of his old pals on short term deals in the window. Thats as good as it gets for me.
I also do understand the very last thing our custodians are is complacent, even about the new rangers ownership. So they are not for hoarding the cash.
Spending it wisely and effectively against a proper football strategy may be a different matter with the current set up.
Just my thoughts and maybe in a minority of 1 as I seem to be.
I wake up many days and appreciate I am not someone tasked with leading an entity like Celtic. So many experts on the side with no real experience of actually what is involved. So many areas which seem they could be improved but reality is probably very different. We also have an increasingly hard recent history to better which is also not easy.
Sack the board the crowd shouted. And replace with what I would ask ?
Just like none of the armchair experts on here moan about not signing players but can’t name any we should sign, none of the board haters can suggest a realistic workable strategy.
ffs …………
clyde caller – ma pal at lennoxtown was told that rodgers told them not to score, but dont let them score either,
i bet this appears on one of those blogger rants
My memory of BR Part 1 was no Plan B, has that changed in Part 2.
just to force them to get players in.
Greenpinata 6.45
Sheer impertinence M. 😂
rogic turning out for the celtic legends, for goodness sake get him back.
Burnley 78
As you appear to be an authority on all things Celtic and a self confessed Brendan hater .
Who do you actually have in mind to replace Brendan Rodgers ?
BR78
So what are you saying ?
HH
Hrvatski Jim on 21st August 2025 5:32 pm
dessybhoy on 21st August 2025 2:08 pm….
SHARES…….
I too, had lost connection with my shares. One too many changes of address over the years.
David Low was in a video (ASCOM maybe) in which he went into detail on this issue. I contacted him. He gave me info on the steps that I needed to undertake. He also gave me the phone number of the organization that I needed to contact. I followed the instructions and got the connection restored to my shares.
I would encourage other to do likewise.
Weeron.
Great minds…..
Hrvatski Jim on 21st August 2025 6:03 pm
DESSYBHOY
I reacted to the words “no register it seems,”
The club has an investor portal
https://www.celticfc.com/club/celtic-plc-investor-relations/manage-your-shareholding/
Also it publishes this advice:
Registrar Contact Details
Shareholders who prefer not to manage their shareholding online can contact the Registrar’s Celtic plc team directly:
Computershare Investor Services plc
The Pavilions
Bridgwater Road
Bristol, BS99 3FA
Tel: 0370 702 0000
There is no reason why anyone cannot track their shareholding.
Return of weeron
So what’s the big plan then ?
It’s amazing how people answer questions with a question.
Paul The Spark on 21st August 2025 7:17 pm
It’s amazing how people answer questions with a question
who is doing that ?
BURNLEY78 on 21ST AUGUST 2025 6:53 PM
….
Brendan’s constant moaning has given the team an excuse to fail. It’s very simple.
Side to side play to tire a team out and make use of the space is less effective against teams well into their season , with a semblance of organisation.
This is the start of the long goodbye for Brendan , it won’t be pretty , and he’ll be very difficult to manage over the next 9 months.
HH