Newco won 3-0, hit the woodwork twice, had an incredible 24 shots on goal and 9 on target. Their stand-in goalkeeper’s only job of the day was the parry a shot from Reo Hatate that was hit into the ground.
Before we get into what went wrong, let’s put some boundaries on it. Cameron Carter-Vickers was outstanding. Kasper Schmeichel was faultless throughout. None of the forwards contributed anything to the game against a defence who scarcely knew each other, but Celtic so seldom got the ball into advanced areas, we need to conclude the substantive issue lies elsewhere.
Just as in the League Cup Final, and in the Champions League against Brugge and Dinamo Zagreb, Celtic were allowed plenty of the ball. In the 12 games since beating Leipzig, we have had at least 60% possession, which is both remarkable and informative, considering the battering we took yesterday.
We have been figured out. Allow Celtic possession in their own half, man-mark in the middle of the park and press when they approach halfway. Get the ball forward early and if Carter-Vickers cannot shut you down, you are in with a chance.
Brugge, Zagreb, Newco (twice), Dundee United clearly understood this. The 0-2 win at Kilmarnock and the 3-0 over Hibs were bizarre results against weaker teams who played the same tactics as Newco. Comfortable home wins over Ross County, Motherwell and St Johnstone flattered Celtic. The wins over Hearts (1-4) and Aberdeen (0-1) I’ll leave open to interpretation.
Newco’s first goal yesterday came from the same source as their second at Hampden (intercepting a Liam Scales pass). Their second yesterday and third at Hampden came from corners – the only two goals Newco have scored from corners in over 200 attempts. Their third goal yesterday was a copy of their opener at Hampden – anticipate a pass, break quickly and score with the second ball. They can successfully replicate plays against us.
It is all about the system.
Man-for-man, yesterday’s full strength Celtic are significantly stronger than Newco’s makeshift lineup. The system is making good players look bad. Watch great teams. 99% of what they do looks easy, because it is easy. It is easy because their system ensures that players in possession have a low risk/reward ratio when choosing a pass. We have substantial evidence that Celtic players’ risk/reward ratio is high. In possession, teammates offer few safe options.
This has two consequences:
1. We face a high volume of dangerous turnovers against better teams.
2. We find it difficult to progress the ball to the front line against almost everyone.
“Individual errors”, “lack of composure”, “poor passing” can happen in any game. When these things are persistent, as they now are at Celtic, and does not reflect players recent ability, the issue is systemic. “It is all about the system.”
On Tuesday I wrote that Brendan is a “master tactician” as he got the job done on tight occasions last year. His system has been exposed repeatedly over the last two months and needs urgent revision. Best of luck to those who want to have a chat to him about it.
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TAURANGABHOY @ 10:59 AM,
C’mon, you are making things up now…
Rangers paid 12mn for Flo, 25 years ago.
Absolutely no comparison.
Yes the Jury is out on Idah and Engels but they are two excellent developing footballers with lots of potential.
The jury is not out on our 20 mn summer 2023 signings – Holm, Tilio, Yang, Kwon, Nawrocki, Lagerbielke, Luis Palma…
The price and wages of those players show our moneyball approach was a complete failure.
POV: Idah and Engels will come good and worth every penny of their transfer fees and wages.
Hail Hail
THE HAND OF GOD on 4TH JANUARY 2025 11:08 AM
There is a common thread running through some posters contributions regarding certain players , board members and more especially, the manager . This is regardless of performance or results . LUCYCODY’s post at 8.28 am suggests there is some factionalism at play behind the scenes and maybe it’s finding a voice through this blog.
LYNOTT67 @ 8.31.
Agree 100%. I put a few posts up yesterday on that general theme, which I cross-referenced with some plain and direct speaking by Graham Speirs on X.
Incidentally, I wonder what the reaction would have been yesterday (especially from politicians) if any other religious or ethnic group had been the target of such vile singing and chanting. Rhetorical point !
CHAIRBHOY
If you listen to some of Brendan’s critics, the reason our 2023 signings didn’t succeed is because Brendan doesn’t know how to develop players. Nothing to do with the players being limited.
Another wee bone of contention for me,is the reporting on blogs and mainstream media ,on Luis Palma.When Palma was signed he played the 1st half of the season,and was brilliant.10 goals in the league,2 in the CL,and 14 assists.Replicating the form of Jota.As soon as Mazda was fit after injury,he replaced Palma,who was hardly seen again.
In pre season,in America,again he played very well,and looked super fit,but for whatever reason,Maeda probably,was not in the team except for infrequent Sub appearances.
All in all,when played continuously,in his first run of games he was brilliant.Now,it seems,through no fault of his own,he is referred to as a ” Flop” Misfit”,and this from our own blogs.Also,Nawrocki,who most fans have never seen put a foot wrong,Holm,most have been impressed by him,in what little we have seen.Rips my knitting to see fans just fall in with these ludicrous labels,but they do.
Just wondering if all of Europe is still talking about Engle’s almost losing an eye after getting hit with the Huns transfer budget .
Just a thought
Hi Bhoys
Look at it this way BHOYS that’s our annual domestic defeat out the way.
KEEP THE FAITH
Turkeybhoy – I have been in favour of getting Jota and KT in through the door and have said so many times. Yesterday I missed the sarcasm in your post, I thought you were against it when you said:
Turkeybhoy on 3rd January 2025 9:27 pm
KT,nah,dont want him.
Of course, you were referring to those who are against it. Glad you see it is a no brainer to get back to of the best players to have played for us this century. Outside of Larsson, no one else matches these two (maybe VVD but we didn’t see the best of him the way Liverpool has).
Turn that doon Turn that doon
PAUL THE SPARK @ 12:01 PM, TURKEYBHOY @ 12:13 PM,
Yes, the narrative is they haven’t seen their potential.
If their potential was Celtic first team starters that’s where they would be.
Kwon did fine at St Mirren, is doing okay at Hibs
Yet why would you bring a player from a completely different culture more than half way around the world when we have a dozen homegrown Scots of the same calibre or better?
We have had this argument for well over a decade of players not been given their opportunity with Celtic.
From the players that didn’t make it there was one, yes one, that went on to prove he was “Celtic Class” and that was Teemu Pukki.
If it was true we would see players who have moved on or went out on loan playing for EPL, Championship level Clubs.
As far as BR&Co developing players there are plenty of examples of players that were here who have improved – Matt O’Riley being the classic example.
Of course the amount of players Brendan has developed in his career to the top level are legion.
Hail Hail
Reading through last night’s posts I was sitting thinking just now ..wow..BR is going bankrupt 🙈🙈 we must have blown the league…his EGO will make him leave if we don’t qualify for CL next season ( rather than looking forward to europa league) .
Did people actually look at transfers in and out we actually made a PROFIT on transfers and already look as if another 4.7 is coming in with another 2 sales likely. We do what we do sell and buy.
It’s amazing what a hun defeat can do !!!!
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Celtic TV subscribers in the UK and Ireland will receive a special discounted price of £9.99, which will be automatically applied at checkout.
Should be BR is going bankrupt us
BOURNESOUPRECIPE @ 12:24 PM,
:))))))
Classic…
Hail Hail
CHAIRBHOY on 4TH JANUARY 2025 11:40 AM
Maybe both were poor? 30m on a window that was supposed to add quality to the first team and we ended up getting a doing at Ibrox with 5 of them on the bench. Our team looks pretty much the same as the one that ended last season with Bernardo who came in the Summer for O’Riley
Before the Summer the talk from you was of the three disastrous windows that preceded it. Brendan even mentioned it in his presser. We had AJ and Kuhn who have been two of our better players and Bernardo starting from them. But none from the Summer
It’s entirely possible that Summer 18 months ago was a bad one off. Just like in its own way, this Summer with its much biggger spend might prove to be. It certainly doesn’t lok like the great success it was suggested it wasn’t the time.
However, taking individual windows in isolation proves nothing. The team that Brendan trusted at Ibrox and that has been so successful was signed over a number of windows.
Watched the game again.
I love the fact they think they’re the mutts nuts and that the Celtic Express has somehow derailed.
Yes, we saw multiple glitches in how we like to play. AJ, Kuhn, Reo and Scales had particular shockers.
Yet honestly, the huns were/are still average – but everything went kinda right for them.
Watching with me, Mrs Quad asked me if everything was OK behind the scenes; like had there been any arguments or fights that may have upset team unity. Interesting theory from my observant wee missus.
Is this why BR wants KT back so badly? He feels we need a new captain or leader ?
I’m not trying to sew discord; just looking for reasons we had a sizeable and collective ‘aff day’… and I hope we bounce back strongly against the Saints.
MOREBOUNCETOTHEOUNCE CSC
I remember Paul67 and the ‘cataclysmic retrenchment’ back in the days of the ole Burnssssss Howfffffff
It is funny how we’re talking about the Summer 2024 window and recruitment again today.
It clearly wasn’t the issue at Ibrox. The mibey spent on the players on the bench clearly is. At the moment we aren’t getting the talked about “value” from the Summer window and we aren’t in a position to write off missteps like that
Should read
“The money spent on the players on the bench clearly is a contributer”
Is it possibly as simple as …
£11m guy wasn’t well enough to start?
Up to £9m guy wasn’t fit enough to start?
Crystal Palace and Ipswich in for Doak,£15-16 million mentioned, I wonder if we have a sell on included?
Anges Tottenham defence will see him sacked
CHAIRBHOY I wouldn’t give up on Yang ,also Nawrocki and Lagerbiele,personally with Rodger’s if your face doesn’t fit,then you are for the ofski
CELTIC40ME @ 1:02 PM,
Just to put things in context…
The three poor windows we had was summer 2022, January 2023 and summer 2024.
In the summer of 2022, we signed some Ange players, including loans to permanent who were very good.
In January 2023 we signed some good players but overall it was poor.
That meant we were bloated with development players and players who hadn’t made the grade as we approached the summer of 2023.
The new manager stated the type of player he was after – experienced, with pace and physicality.
These players weren’t just wanted they were necessary if we were to reach our objectives.
It was not the players we got in, the players we got in were simply not of the requisite standard – even if they did have the potential, the fact was we already had enough development players – we needed experience, physicality and pace.
In the January 2024 window the manager used his veto and rejected most of the recruitment candidates presented to him.
There was a totally different recruitment set up by the summer of 2024, our signings were…
Schmeichel, Sinisalo, Bernardo (loan to permanent), Trusty, Idah (loan to permanent), Engels, McCowan and Valle (loan)
A good mix of development and experience in my book.
We made a nett profit on our player sales v players signed.
We also managed to move on a dozen players making our squad much more manageable
This window we are seeing some of our own development players Johnny and Dane coming back to the fold – KT a top quality experienced left back coming back.
Our development, recruitment and squad management is at a totally different level than it was in the summer of 2023, a huge leap forward.
If you look at the last twelve games we’ve played over the last six and a bit weeks, you will see that the group was fully utilised (sub GK excepted).
We have done phenomenonally well.
On Thursday we played poorly against a form team that are eighth in the Europa League, we paid the price…
No dramas!!
Hail Hail
What he said
The levels of angst are telling.
One defeat has some questioning the foundations and the overall strategy.
No big harm in it I suppose.
Chairboy
I think you will find that Matt O’Riley was already fulfilling his potential before BR arrived.
His first game v our biggest rivals at CP showed that pretty clearly. Not sure he ever dropped off much from that to be honest. Carry on with the Brendan develops players line if it makes you happy. Rewrite reality too.
Interesting to hear you claim to attend matches at CP now also.
TIMBHOY163 @ 1:31 PM,
Brendan Rodgers certainly hasn’t given up on them, Lagerbielke got the loan move that he wanted – Yang has developed this season and is been given opportunities – Nawrocki is often on the bench and is fifth choice but can push his way up the pecking order.
BR&Co have made it crystal clear what you have to do to get in the team – attitude, show it in training, personality- if these players aren’t doing that, then their opportunities are going to be restricted – down to them.
Hail Hail
BURNLEY78 @ 1:42 PM,
Not rewriting anything…
Look at Matt’s goals and assists before BR&CO and afterwards.
Look at a 10 mn Ange player going for 25 mn a season later.
That’s development, that’s value.
Hail Hail
Chairboy
On Thursday we played a form team ?
Yes a team which had dropped 5 points in 2 games and succeeded in uefa v Nice 3rd team and Steau 2nd team plus a chaotic injury ridden Spurs.
A club in utter chaos. ….. A form team lol
BURNLEY78 @ 1:46 PM,
Never too wise to underestimate the opposition.
This season I’ve seen more R2ngers games than ever – they were more than capable of that performance, especially given carte blanche to foul our players – up to and including potential maiming.
While if we breathed on them they went down like a sack of potatoes and got a foul – Hagi was ine of the worst offenders.
No excuses, we were second best, but some context is needed.
Hail Hail
I reckon Celtic and the summer of 2024 is still trying to rebuild the waste of the summer of 2023. The Brendan (or anybody ) bashing experts lying in wait, sceptical ‘ nagging doubts ‘ ‘ worried ’ by 4–0 home wins round Christmas. Drop a point and the ‘public comments’ fill up, whilst ST holders get pulled up on line for leaving the stadium a few minutes, too early Celtic.
Brendan 💤💤💤 with his 19 – 2 over Sevco no wonder they’re jealous.
Does anyone think Thursday was fixed, you know, for the sake of the old firm shit ?
Paranoia FCFC
Sincerely hope NOT
am no going tomorrow because brendan rodgers got beat by rangers
Judging by many ( majority?) posts on here since Thursday`s defeat, the sense of entitlement we attributed to Sevco fans also applies to us.
Burnley78 on 3rd January 2025 9:07 pm
Any sign of anyone from our management group highlighting the brutality dished out to our star player yesterday? And asking why it was ignored by ref and var ?
B78
i)Any sign of the club making a statement on that?(i dont think we will),any petitioning will be done as usual ‘in the background’
ii) more importantly,do you think our club will speak out on coin/battery/lighter throwing at our players when playing the huns,or do you think that is in the managers remit too?
===≈==================
Others/spelling pedant
Celtic have no such player called Engles,his 2nd name is Engels
Celtics managers name Brendan not Brandon or Brendon.Brendan Rodgers
HH
Hot Smoked 2.48
I would say you are bang on.
Poor wee tellys,still squirming from the shoutings they were subjected too,
HNY j
HH