We seldom remember games like yesterday, won with a porous midfield which was unable to push play into the Dundee half for much of the second period, but they regularly happen.
For me, the example that always springs to mind came three weeks after the 6-2 game, when a Larsson double helped us come from behind to seal a 1-2 win at Dunfermline with 5 minutes remaining. The younger generation will not know, but the 6-2 was such a huge moment in our history. It felt like the tide had turned, then just weeks later we sat through a tormenting game in Fife, worried we had fooled ourselves.
Title winning teams get the dirty jobs done, bank the points and move onto the truly memorable occasions. 6-2 was indeed the day the tide turned, our difficult time in Fife is scarcely remembered.
Brendan Rodgers has plenty to consider this week. After the Scottish Cup semi-final win on penalties, he made a significant revision and gave James Forrest his first league start since 1 November. That decision proved pivotal and may inspire him to mix things up again next time out.
Yesterday’s pivotal change came when Callum McGregor and Kyogo were replaced by Tomoki Iwata and Adam Idah. Callum was shadowed out of the game by Dundee’s Luke McCowan. The decision to return Callum and Reo Hatate to the starting line-up, when both are working on match fitness, looks worthy of revision.
Celtic’s strength in depth is bearing fruit. With first choice players absent or below form, the manager has match winners he can call on.
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Cmon the Hoops !
i was up at lennoxtown this morning,
very little real training and practice going on,
the centre backs were playing with a balloon.
the full backs were swining big range back post crosses whish the other side then fails to clear.
the midfielders were doing a routne of ignoring the easy pass, and hitting the ball off the mannequins
kyogo was playing tig with some stray border collie
idah had a card school behing the big lawnmower shed
maeda hadnt even finished his breakfast
kenneddy and strachan are playing konkey dong on the laptops,
and brendan is having a quick fag ………..
there is something wrong up there and i just cant put my finger on it
do not forsake me oh my darling
BIG JIMMY on 29TH APRIL 2024 10:38 AM
MOISEY17 on 28TH APRIL 2024 5:05 PM
……….
From PREVIOUS THREAD..
I RESPECT any ones reason(s) for considering giving up their season book at Celtic Park. I understand that you may not be too happy at the moment, but can I ask you ” WHERE” in Celtic Park is your seat ?
I will ask you to consider that YOU continue with your season book, but would you be willing to give ME your season book, and each time that the ” Renewal” is due I will pay you the Cost of the Season Book in CASH ?
Obviously, the season book will continue to be in YOUR Name and Address etc for however how long we continue with this ” Arrangement” ?
Because I cant walk too far or climb many stairs etc, I would PREFER IF your season seat was in the MAIN STAND, but if it is NOT….I MAY consider an alternative seat elsewhere in the stadium, but it really DEPENDS on ” WHERE” your current seat is located ?
Let me know you thoughts on the above ASAP ?
Cheers Mate.
HH.
Was thinking the same: how long will the manager give McGregor and Hatate “to get up to speed “.
Two home wins required. Fans need to stay with the team, if it ain’t going smoothly. Atmosphere should be Tonto. Put the minis to the the sword and a home win v the huns will be enough.
I FAILED to Predict the Correct Score in the Dundee v Celtic match however…
I DID manage to place a wee Bet on Spurs – 2 v Arsenal – 3, as a Correct Score at odds of 20/1.
Celtic getting the Three Points was GREAT, and the wee Bonus of my wee Bet on Spurs v Arsenal made it a good day.
LOL
HH.
From Previous Thread……
MCPHAIL BHOY on 29TH APRIL 2024 12:05 PM
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 29TH APRIL 2024 11:39 AM
Seeing your name reminded me to look up wee Oscar Knox, would you believe it’s his 10th anniversary on the 8th of May, he was only 5 years old, where has the time gone?
YNWA wee Oscar
I thought Hatate was our best midfielder yesterday. O’riley was poor, by his standards. Would still start with the three for Saturday.
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MOR escaping criticism again..the new Tom Rogic, sublime or the invisible man. No in between
Yesterday was a massive game and one which we just had to win. The performance was unimportant. 3 out of 4 games now at home. One game at a time is the old cliche but two wins from next two and a point clinches the title at Kilmarnock.
Celtic park will be rowdy on Saturday. Hearts have beaten us twice in difficult circumstances for us. This time won’t be a third. I expect us to be fervent in our pursuit of 3 points, backed by a vociferous crowd.
While watching the St Mirren v Huns game yesterday, I couldnt help but notice that when St Mirren had a Free Kick out wide 30/40 yards from the Huns Goal, that CHEATIN DIVING Hun ” FABIO SILVA” was GUILTY of being out of step with the rest of the Huns defence, as HE ( SILVA ) played St Mirren players ONSIDE at least on a couple of occasions at those Free Kicks.
Just a wee observation.
HH.
The drop off in midfield again yesterday, as soon as we start the 2nd half is a worry, happened away to Kilmarnock, and at Poundland a couple of weeks ago, Iwata maybe up to the pace of the game more than Callum currently,needs sorted out IMO, Naibalance will have his team wound up to damage us on Saturday, hopefully Maeda back to start
Not that anyone is asking but I’d take MOR over Tom Rogic.
These type of players always infuriate. It was John Collins who could send me over the edge.
I’m sure everyone has a ‘favourite’.
FAVOURITE UNCLE on 29TH APRIL 2024 11:41 AM
Hi looking for some information re funeral this week in AYR. My elderly neighbour in YORK comes from AYR and would like to know the name of dead person.
HAIL HAIL.
I didn’t notice Beaton warning Joe Hart about time wasting yesterday , but perhaps I missed it?
Keepers do this regularly against us but usually get a yellow after 3 or 4 times plus a warning , but Joe seemed to get a yellow first time ?
Keep finding a way bhoys. We can’t and won’t lose the league to that mince out of Ibrox.
Glen
I’m not aware of any opposition goalie getting a yellow for that this season, may even go as far as to say any goalie in the whole league. Could be wrong of course…….
I’m surprised at the level of criticism of Hatate yesterday.
He was comfortably for me our best midfielder, even if it wasn’t his best performance.
Never hides, protects the ball well and tries to get forward or getting a pass away.
Hopefully he stays injury free and improves his fitness.
IMHO we will definitely need him for the games against Thems and the diet Thems.
Also McGregor is clearly not at his best but we have to persevere with him – even if only for what time he can give us in a game. Awata did well when he came on and that could be invaluable.
No great revelations in all of that I suppose but the next two games are so pivotal I don’t think we start changing unless forced to by injury etc.
McGowan played better yesterday against than anyone I have seen domestically for some time.
I haven’t seen enough of him to say whether he’s truly worth a punt but he looked sharp and composed.
Plenty of depth. Rather less strength. That’s why our points total will be well down from where it should be. Great for the oldfirm though.
8 hours left to join the steady stream of voters for your top 3 from the game.
SENCELPOTY@GMAIL.COM
GLENDALYSTONSILS on 29TH APRIL 2024 12:38 PM
“I didn’t notice Beaton warning Joe Hart about time wasting yesterday , but perhaps I missed it?
Keepers do this regularly against us but usually get a yellow after 3 or 4 times plus a warning , but Joe seemed to get a yellow first time ?”
It was his second time. He did the same thing twice but I watched Beaton during both and did not notice a warning. The card was produced in record time the second time Joe did it but even then his free kick was still quicker than most GKs / FKs / throw ins I watch opponents take at CP every other week.
It’s amazing that the ref can read Joe’s intent though and yet not see the Dee keepers antics all game – constant changing side of ball / furthest away side, kicking posts etc. Throughout the rest of the match it was regularly Joe or the Celtic players that were fetching the ball from behind and getting it to Joe for a restart as the Dundee ball boys were not for speeding up our play and the multi ball system was “inconsistent” through out.
It must be frustrating for Beaton, giving Dundee FK chances in decent areas for next to nothing, several minor decisions consistently going one way yet we got through it. The general consensus leaving the match – and passed on to the ref as he left the game – was that the frustration was clear to see in him and he just couldn’t help himself, poor wee hurting hun.
QB
Our midfield did go awol yesterday for large spells especially the opening 20 mins of the second half. We couldn’t get the passes going at all and found ourselves boxed in without an out ball.
Idah and Iwata seemingly changed this and got us more control but possibly Dundee just tired. It was a poor surface yesterday which I think played a large part in our inability to play our game.
Glen D- Quadbhoy mentioned what I also picked up yesterday, the Dundee GK was time wasting in the first half a goal down,remember it’s Beaton here……
Re. Joe time wasting and yellow cards. What about that stamp on McGregor’s ankle, Beaton saw it as he gave the free kick, yellow card (with a possible VAR review for red) nope, just play on. Our fouls to yellow cards must make us top of that league too, Beaton really can’t help himself, he is a cheat, end of.
“Performance is irrelevant, getting the job done and banking three points is all that matters at this stage of the season”
I cannot argue with the above well-worn sentiment, and if/when it comes to pass and the title is won, then all well and good, we move on to another campaign as champions.
Yesterday we met with the weakest of the top five opponents – we were fortunate to leave with the win. We were walking a tightrope for two-thirds of the game, and holding on nervously as corners, crosses and long-throws created panic in our box in the last quarter.
Our overall performance since before the end of last year has been underwhelming to say the least. We tend to play for only a part of the game – i.e. first-half, first thirty minutes, or, start clicking in the second-half after a nondescript first. We are top of the league by three points and in the final of the Scottish Cup and that is a massive positive and somewhat of a surprise after the up and down season we have had.
I keep waiting for it all to start to ‘click’ again – it did in the first half at Ibrox, but fell away in the second half, although but for carelessness we would have won and the table would now look quite different. Will our current general level of performance be adequate to get us ‘over the line’? It’s all very well to pump up the bravado and insist that “it is in the bag” – it’s not, there is so much work and fretting to be done.
Callum is still basically unfit – I posted when he got the injury diagnosis that I would be surprised to see him back this season. Achilles tendinopathy is a curse of an injury, and even a grade one strain will take three months to completely heal. It saps the confidence and we can see that Callum is not Callum at the moment. Reo is going through the same ‘getting up to speed’ process and is very hit and miss. So there we have it, our first choice midfield is not up to scratch and is a big miss. To quote Paul 67, “We seldom remember games like yesterday, won with a porous midfield which was unable to push play into the Dundee half for much of the second period”
Our defence and its inability to deal with the speculative ball launched ‘into the mix’ also causes grave concern – let’s hope we can tighten up here in remaining games . Yesterday was the ninth game out of the last eleven that we failed to keep a clean sheet. We are porous at the back as well as midfield.
I hope to God that we can ‘do the business’ over the next four weeks and we can look back and put it all down to experience; and If we do indeed ‘do the business’ it will, in my opinion, be in spite of how we have prepared since June last year, not because of it. Celtic park will be ‘on a knife edge’ in our three home games, I hope and trust that the support will be a magnificent asset in three home wins.
BIG JIMMY
Re your post to MOISEY17 earlier, if you do find a supporter willing to give up his/her ST, you don’t need to have the ST holder retain ownership while you pay for annual renewals.
Any ST holder can transfer ownership to anyone of their choice. All the owner needs to do is go to the ticket office at time of renewal with a letter nominating the details of the new owner — name, address, dob etc. If the new owner is 65+ he needs to show proof of age to get the concession, so both should ideally go together.
That way, the ST is reproduced in your name and you will receive annual renewal letters.
It’s never really bothered me teams time wasting, gamesmanship, shirt pulling etc, happens in every sport, part of the fun is overcoming it.
But when referees and officialdom in general are biased , cheating or corrupt the game is a bogey.
What’s in it for Beaton, why not be the best referee you can be,get promoted to doing big champions league and World Cup games.
Joe Hart wasn’t simply booked for time-wasting. There was already a ball on the spot for a goal kick. He went behind the goals seeking out another ball. His yellow was justified because he was at it.
Wee Bobby Collins from earlier –
I think I am correct in saying that Sandy Denny was the only vocalist to “guest” on a Zeppelin album
Borgo- we might actually have decent referees, but they all signed up to help the establishment team,and are incapable of refereeing a game fairly, that might impact the huns, it’s their loss.
BADA BING
Thanks for the reply.
Totally understand and I agree.
Robertson for example actually got all the contentious decisions correct on the field something many refs seem incapable of doing.
I love Celtic but would I cheat, thereby holding my career back, I don’t think so.
This Saturday’s game against Hearts is another must win,personally I would drop Johnson give Ralston his position, same for McGregor Iwata orBernado in his place,Nawrocki beside CVC,
SETTING FREE THE BEARS FOR RES. 12 & OSCAR KNOX on 29TH APRIL 2024 11:39 AM
Of course I will celebrate our league and cup double. The same way I do every game and have done since I was circa 5 years old and attended Paradise for the first time.
I will also continue to attend as often as I can and support our club off the park.
However I 0lead guilty for wanting us to be the very best we can be.
I do not think we are the best we could be at the moment and I will never lessen enthusiasm for aspiration.
Hail hail.
Good afternoon all from the Victoria Bar. It’s a funny old world.
TOM MCLAUGHLIN on 29TH APRIL 2024 1:29 PM
……….
Cheers for the info Tom Bhoy.
I thought that Season Books were NOT ” Transferable” ?
I am happy to be corrected.
Its up to MOISEY17 IF hes happy to transfer the Season Book to me, but it ALSO DEPENDS ” WHERE” his Seat is located, and IF it would be okay for me, as I can’t climb too many stairs etc etc ?
HH .
It’s funny but as an 18 year old going on 19, I always looked upon Ronnie Simpson as an old man. He was 36 going on 37, exactly the same age as my son is now. They say a week is a long time in politics…and 57 years in the life of a Celtic supporter?
Who knows where the time goes?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5oBMDcLf6WA
Fred Colon…
You may well be correct re Sandy Denny. She appeared on Led Zep IV dueting with Robert Plant on Battle of Evermore.