The big decision of the day was to move Callum McGregor from central mid to left back, leaving Celtic with a Scott Brown – Olivier Ntcham central midfield partnership. This was the central mid pairing we started the season with, when form was at its poorest for years. Due to injury, the side changed at halftime at Murrayfield in the League Cup semi-final against Hearts, infusing the season with fresh impetus. Without that change in October the league table would look significantly different right now.
Jonny Hayes could have started at left back, as he did at Pittodrie on Wednesday, allowing McGregor to partner either Brown or Ntcham, but Brendan Rodgers’ gamble did not pay off and Celtic did not compete throughout the 90 minutes.
We hoped for tactical changes at halftime but injuries to Filip Benkovic and Mikael Lustig limited what the manager was able to do. Odsonne Edouard replaced Mikey Johnston on the hour, which improved things, especially when Callum McGregor was able to get into the box in support, but Newco had control of the game throughout. It was a one goal victory that could easily have been four. Special mention goes to Craig Gordon, who repeatedly got his teammates out of trouble.
Although we got little from James Forrest, Scott Sinclair, Ryan Christie and Mikey Johnstone, we were forward so seldom, it is difficult to be too harsh on any of them. Dedryck Boyata’s chances of a big money offer next month were not enhanced as he repeatedly mis-controlled and mis-passed.
We had two late chances to equalise, McGregor put the ball in the net but was marginally offside, and Ntcham had a great chance blocked, but a draw would have flattered the champions.
I seldom complain about officiating, but Morelos kicked, punched and stamped on Celtic players off the ball, without caution. I assume referee John Beaton missed each incident but we should see retrospective action.
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I suppose it had to happen – we cannot expect to win every game we play against them
Everything about yesterday was predictable
They were always going to try and run us down give us no time on the ball
We were always going to play our game from the back control the ball
In the end it was their day
The facts are we are top of the League we have won the League Cup and we are still (only just) in Europe
But if ever you needed to witness a club making life difficult for itself, then simply look at us today
For 2 years we battered anybody in Scotland – then decided to relax (summer transfer window)
We have now allowed our competitors to believe they have a chance
We have gone backwards the Huns have improved – yesterday was the proof
Had we won yesterday 6 point ahead with a game in hand – I would have expected minimal activity by the huns
BUT now they think they have a chance I expect Gerrard to use every connection he has to get help for the second half of the season – they will go into debt (more debt – they never learn) to stop 10
As winning the League remains our number one priority – unfortunately for us, we now need tried and tested talent (not our normal transfer policy – which has been very good) this means paying for proper international players
Meanwhile we hear about a couple of kids with potential OK the Belgium right back sounds promising (6m euros mentioned !!)
PL has lost the right to buy a few kids who have potential
PL needs to buy a couple, possibly 3 decent established experienced footballers
They will cost money
A bad summer has come home to haunt us January will be crucial for us
My head tells me that if we stay as we are and the Huns don’t improve we should still have enough to win the league
But I think the huns will improve and if we dont winning the league becomes harder – not impossible
Given our far superior financial muscle we should be dominating Scottish Football
The second half of the season could be a rollercoaster – I don’t like rollercoasters
PL the work you have done for our football club has been outstanding (I’m not a happy clapper – but a realist)
However your job now is to get a few – not decent – but very good tried and tested footballers into our club
Have a good New Year Peter and lets get off that rollercoaster
67ECW
I am as hacked off as anyone after yesterday, really, and the sad thing is, it has been coming for a good while sadly.
However, some of the vitriol on here has been way over the top and some contributors have made ridiculous statements. Sandman whose posts I have really liked needs to settle down and chill before he does some harm to himself. The sense of entitlement by him sounds very hun like. Remember, we have no divine right to win a football match and yes, we do lose on the odd occasion, but in the cold light of day, we are top with a game in hand, we are hopefully aware of our deficiencies and things will improve and , yes , we will win the league.
Going back to yesterday, if hunman is so good how come it took a fluke of a goal to win, ask yourselves that!!!
Yeah we were very poor, it happens.
Not being a football manager, would opt for the team and system we used against Kilmarnock ALL the time, but, as I say, i’m no manager.
So lighten up , have a great New Year and worry ye not.
KINGLuBO
Sorry but does anyone have a clue how to get rid of these bloody ads which keep appearing. This is despite the fact I use Adblock.
Help, aaaaaaaghhh
KINGLuBO
Kinglubo switch off java script
D. :)
https://twitter.com/safetyman8/status/1079089232088576001?s=12
BADA BING
On that twitter feed referee is looking straight at Brown getting kicked and just ignores the laws of the game.
At end of incident Beaton’s head is in frame and he has a clear unobstructed view from a few feet away.
Until refs are made accountable it will always be the same.
It’s easy when authorities and mssm facilitate such.
David66
Many thanks, will have a go, cheers
KINGLuBO
Fan a tic 5.45pm
Until neutral referees are involved it will always be the same … in th EPL a ref has to declare who they supported even as a youngster … it’s human nature “if” I was the linesman yesterday and Callum was offside marginally my gut instinct would keep the flag down …. “red red red card Ross the unionist” can never be impartial his life is based on not being impartial so impossible to take it to his 2nd job …. sort the refs ? Not in my lifetime sadly
!!BADA BING!!
Sadly VAR would probably have done nothing to adjust things as they’d just ignore it in a studio.
By the way I do realise “red red red card Ross” was in the other line .. but my point remains the same
Let’s call it as it should be called.
“RIP Celtic Football Club 2016-18” https://theclumpany.wordpress.com/2018/12/30/rip-celtic-football-club-2016-18/
GERRYFAETHEBRIG
Red card Ross was beside the Christie incident and the other elbow by Morelos as Celtic player cleared in box but strangely his eyesight failed him at both incidents:-)
its a right miserable bunch on here.
can you not all just take 3 weeks off, head off to the sun, maybe dubai or something and just let all your woes drift away.
or get ready to open up the e-payslip tomorrow that bankers would be ashamed to accept,
is it £2.100,000 or is it £2.300,000
as a football club, at a business that turns over a mere £100 million. a bonus of over £2,000,000.
thats the biggest bloody scandal in this organisation.
meanwhile the search for a striker continues in slovakia.
and a left back, well god knows where.
blows this league . he becomes the new millenium kelly or white, persona non grata.
to the car park.
https://kerrydalestreet.co.uk/imageproxy.php?url=http://i1268.photobucket.com/albums/jj571/GlasgowRoad/BAE286A1-C6E3-4537-A1D1-4D342D2B8B40.png_zpsjopzt2dl.jpeg
Talking about bad refs the guy in Man U v Bournemouth has given a virtuoso partizan performance.
Denied a stonewall penalty when Utd defender Bailly kicked guy in shoulder.
Allowed Utd’s 4 th to stand when it was clearly offside.
Allowed Young to stay on field by giving a yellow for an over the ball studs up challenge.
Now just sent off Bailly for another ridiculous studs up challenge 15 minutes and a Utd goal after the win was a formality.
He played the man I tell yeese, and am the wan gettin lifted.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-6JmGs6ANjW0/VUJ5FaAebsI/AAAAAAAAR8g/GrCF0THWr84/s800/CCQzogUWAAAhyx7.jpg%20large.jpg
Is Morelos citied yet ?
The SFA probably will make up a new rule … what happened in 2018 stays in 2018 :-)
Only just saw Morelos on Christie, saw his boot on Broony & stamp on Ralston … 3 possible reds and not even a yellow and that’s not including his other fouls …. at times I wish big Mick McCarthy still wore the hoops (even in his 60s ?) the wee sewer rat would have got away with one of them and am sure there wouldn’t have been a second …. again as Fan a Tic pointed out the assistant refs don’t want to see :-)
On a different note anyone seen Bad Blood on Netflix ..
About an Italian crime the (Rizzuto) family that ran parts of Canada???
Watched a few episodes and looks good.
D. :)
It’s what the PLC do next that will determine where we end up at the end of the season
It’s in their hands let’s see what they do, if anything at all.
Tim Weah seems the most plausible, Catman confirmed
As for anyone else we’re all just guessing and praying in some cases
KINGLUBO on 30TH DECEMBER 2018 5:22 PM
Sandman whose posts I have really liked needs to settle down and chill before he does some harm to himself. The sense of entitlement by him sounds very hun like.
===============================
Shite patter.
Called it like I saw it – a pathetic performance from a poorly set-up team who knew what was at stake – 8IAR, Huns back in their box, possibly for good, empty Mordor through the winter months, finances drained as Gerrard hounded out, a step closer to getting rid of them for good.
It’s all done ON the park. We were worse than garbage – we played – and managed – a level or two below the standards required of a Celtic side at Mordor, with no excuses.
There are ways to lose football matches – bending over to a mouthy rabble of assembled pish like we did was a disgrace to the Hoops and an affront to the 750 brave enough to suffer the bile of the army of darkness for 90 minutes.
Have a bad day at the office and go down fighting by all means, but to go through the motions heartless and complacent on such an occasion?
Nah.
You want to play for Celtic and carry the dreams of millions? – you realise what’s expected of you.
That’s not ‘entitlement’ – it’s asking people in privileged positions to know, and bring, the minimum requirements.
They didn’t yesterday, in full knowledge, so I’ll slaughter them for it. Maybe I’ll praise them to the heavens when they deliver next. That won’t be ‘happy-clapping’ or ‘delusion’ – it’ll be recognition.
But you’re entitled to your opinion and expressed it freely, as I did. So no hard feelings, mate and have a good New Year.
Morelos is an absolute idiot. Does he think that his violent antics and petulance will make managers of EPL teams want to sign him, he seems to think they will be queuing up to sign him in a day or so (stop laughing)
I just can’t see any manager in the EPL or championship wanting him regardless of how many goals he scores against lesser opposition he’d be a red card magnet in England, as he should be in Scotland but is protected by strange Scottish interpretations of the laws of the game of football. Such as lashing out at and making contact with an opponent with your foot is not a Red card offense, punching someone in the love spuds is not a Red card offense etc.
Current value in Engerlund heehaw. In China + £20 million* (* Sevco official sources)
The clumpany
Bang on
david 66 @6:30pm
yes and the guy that plays declan was in sons of anarchy.
not a b ad show but not great.
Timhorton thanks, I seen that about the fella from Sons.
I’m giving it a go.
D. :)
Having gained some success , the way Sevco played against us yesterday , is the way Sevco will play against us again, Albeit without wall-to-wall baying huns behind them. They will reckon on another cowering (rather than towering) performance from us . It is up to Brendan to ensure they get the shock of their miserable six year old lives.
The template for MoreLoss to do what he wants was set at the start of the season. Red carded for an off the ball kick. Red card overturned.
No ref is going to send him off now that they have absolutely no authority.
He can do what he wants and he knows he can do what he wants.
Levein said one of his players asked the ref why he hadn’t even been booked and he was told that he’s just a bit silly sometimes.
So, if you are “a bit silly” you can play to a different set of rules as everybody else.
If that is true (and I’m not aware of it being denied) that ref should never be allowed to referee again. Or have they all been told to do the same?
Don’t know why more hasn’t been made of this.
Sandman your constant bigginn up of CG is surely a wind up he is fkn useless end of shot stopper my ass he has saved one pen in 4 years. He was at fault for the goal yesterday FFS it was not a thunderous shot . He was at fault at all times yesterday by passing to defenders with 2 sometimes 3 players on them CG IMO is a total liability and is the cause of all our woes at the moment
Brendan WTF were you thinking of Calmac at left back an absolutely appalling decision
SANDMAN on 30TH DECEMBER 2018 6:32 PM
Not wishing to butt in on your discussion here, but regarding getting rid of them for good…..it’ll never happen.
There’s only one outfit the Scottish establishment wants rid of for good (they already tried) and it ain’t Sevco.
Giving them too much respect. Bad day for us as has been in too many this season….but
Ffs we are better than anyone else & if we strengthen all the better.
We still have a squad to win the league.
Get the tumble dryers on & relax :)
HH & happy new year
CCE 6.46pm
Fair play with your M Johnston shout on Friday night although you can’t be a gambler as a quick check would have shown prices for a hat trick were 50/1 corals 80/1 Ladbrokes & Paddy Power … as for Craig Gordon he is a tremendous goalkeeper … if Brendan wants to play fae the back he should sign a sweeper :-)
Big Dedryck had his worst game in the hoops yesterday … it happens
The Clumpany
Spot on article but……have to say it Bud……rotten title.
Kinglubo- settings> Safari>advanced> JavaScript and switch it off.
Hope that helps
D. :)
I was travelling all day yesterday – Bingley to London, London to Oslo – so did not see the game.
I followed updates on here as best I could, which prompted a return to my immature relationship with alcohol, across 3 modes of transport and two countries.
Sevco’s very existence causes me pain, because it is the primary symptom of a deep sickness in Scottish society.
We can talk all we like about tactical f***ups, our players not performing, where CalMac should have played, whether Jonny Hayes should have been in, etc etc.
But none of that matters a damn when we go into a fixture where our opponents have dictated that our support is effectively barred from attending (and hats off to the 800 btw), where three of the four match officials are supporters of our opponents, and where our opponents have carte blanche to kick, stamp and punch our players throughout the 90 minutes.
I’ve just seen Twitter clips in Bada Bing’s post above of Morelos’s thuggery, sanctioned by the match officials, who saw it all and did nothing. I’ve been watching hun thuggery for 50 years now so I shouldn’t be shocked and horrified, but I was.
This is a direct result of the SFA’s rescinding of a red card earlier in the season given to the same player for an off-the-ball, thigh-high kick.
The SFA has rewritten the rules under which the rest of the world plays football to say that, in Scotland, it’s OK to kick, stamp and punch so long as you’re wearing the blue of their pet team.
In Scotland, the rules apply to every team bar one. They have their own set, sanctioned by the game’s governing body.
So it’s a rigged game. And it is time for our club to call it out.
The Clumpany
Great article; very well said.
Guys,
Its done, we need to regroup and move on. Although our ” celebrations ” at the end of the game rang round the numerous pubs; I feel the team let down themselves but more importantly the fans.
Incidentally I could not believe the queues in the Merchant City outside Graces and Oneills @ circa 11.00 o’clock. Thank God Mchuills was only jammed to the gunnels, but no mad queue when I arrived.
We are Celtic, HH.
I
Kinglubo might not be Safari, but what ever your search engine thingy is called.
D. :)
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 30TH DECEMBER 2018 6:45 PM
I hadn’t read your post before I posted my rant but agree 100%.
It really pains me to say it because I can’t stand the man, but Levein has done more to highlight the institutional pro-hun bias than anybody from Celtic.
Paul67′
‘Peter Lawwell undermining Brendan Rodgers in the summer transfer window leaves Celtic impotent’
I’ve fixed your header for you.
Good evening CQN, having taken some time to reflect on yesterday, here are some of my thoughts for anyone who cares to read them.
Fans of a 6 year old club, who were also previously fans of a now liquidated and toxic oldco, celebrated winning a football match (deservedly) against the Champions by 1 goal to nil.
In doing so, they celebrated as though they had also won Wimbledon, The Masters, Super Bowl, the Eurovision Song Contest, Mastermind and Crufts.
They also celebrated in a venomous, bigoted and vile fashion that suggests they don’t know how to be happy without showing bullying and superiority characteristics.
That win was their first in 13 attempts against us since Brendan arrived and puts them second in the league whilst we have a game in hand and a superior goal difference.
They are out of Europe and did not win the League Cup.
Nor did they win the SPFL Premiership, the Scottish Cup or the League Cup during the 2 and a half year period of the 13 games that Brendan has been Manager.
Indeed, the only things they have ever won is 3 minor league titles and a cup that the strongest teams don’t play in and no one can remember what it’s called.
Their stadium is in a state of dilapidation and they have no funds to address that.
Their ownership is questionable and they are tied in knots with litigation.
Despite reports to the contrary, they don’t even have a floating pitch or a casino.
Whilst we are not perfect, compare and contrast their lot to ours.
That is what they have become, a joke who should be treated as such.
Let them enjoy their moment, everyone has their 15 minutes of fame, their celebration of 2018 is beating us once by a single goal margin whilst we have embarrassed them, home, away and at Hamden, won 3 trophies and qualified for Europe post Christmas.
Hail Hail and roll on 19th January when we will regroup and restart the process of making 2019 another successful season for the famous Glasgow Celtic.