With Celtic a goal up midway through the second half yesterday, we tried something new. The back four became a back three, with three sitting in front of them. Adam Matthews pushed into right midfield leaving Izaguirre, Denayer and van Dijk across the back. To the left of Matthews was Scott Brown and Charlie Mulgrew. It was a useful game to experiment tactically as Inverness asked questions throughout.
The most striking feature of this three at the back with three sitters was that Matthews didn’t bomb forward when Celtic were in possession, as he usually does. He kept in line with Brown and Mulgrew. On occasion, they were 25 yards behind their nearest team-mate, which was a bit jarring to see, as it’s so rare.
This was almost certainly a dry-run for Astra on Thursday. Getting it right defensively in Romania is going to be key to the outcome. On their showing at Celtic Park, Astra are a decent passing team who enjoy being on the ball. They were less impressive in attack, as the Celtic defence and Craig Gordon did enjoy to stifle them, apart from one slip, and when we asked questions of their keeper and defence, they looked vulnerable.
I’m not sure Ronny Deila will be overly convinced that his experiments yesterday should be repeated on Thursday. Inverness carved us open several times late in the game, but at least we’ll hopefully not be trying something out there for the first time.
You can get copies of Caesar & the Assassin, Billy McNeill and Davie Hay’s accounts of managing Celtic from Jock Stein’s departure until the appointment of Liam Brady, signed by both Billy and Davie here. I’d a great chat with Billy today, he’s a man who knows how to enjoy his football.
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mon the hoops
Looks like my Man U / Villa double is about to crash and burn…
Jimmynotpaul, Northgate had a number of good players in the office then, Gerry ‘pepe le peu ‘ Black, Danny Gibson, Davie English, Denis Tierney, Tony McLaughlin, John Connelly, Big Melli, Derek & John Swinburne to name a few.
the huddle 22.53
Wee encore for my fav karaoke song!!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x8A9Y1Dq_cQ&feature=youtu.be
Bada Bing
Hows things big man.
Glad to see your doing well with the horses.
Whats happened to your tips,We have bookies out here in Malta.
In local Man Utd Supporters club watching Game.2 definite penalties.I am shouting big time for City.Getting some looks.HH
Dallas.
Doc
If the Jobo third option comes to pass and you go to the game…are you not acquiescing in the lie which is sadly bring perpetuated by CFC
I’m not attempting to miscall you here ….I think CFC will be hoping that your reasons for going to the game ( should you exercise that option) are the widely held view
when is a semi-final not a semi-final ?
feel like the whole of Scottish football (not the sfa, I mean daglish, Hansen, ’67, Aberdeen, wgs, archie gemmell) is on trial .
Brogan Rogan Trevino and Hogan supports Oscar Knox, MacKenzie Furniss and anyone else who fights Neuroblastoma
14:44 on
2 November, 2014
Afternoon All.
I think the blog today sort of represents the difference that has arisen in football fans over a number of years.
Back in the day a club said whatever it wanted to and the fans seemed to just accept it, or were at least without an easily accessible mode of voicing their opinions. That is no longer the case. Now we have blogs, social media and so on galore.
All the points that have been made on here today are understandable though some are personally unpalatable.
Gordon Strachan is the national manager. There are only three clubs in Scotland who have won a European Trophy and one of them has self destructed. That club was one of the big two clubs in the country.
Is Strachan going to hanker after the days when a Rangers team could boast the likes of Baxter or whoever who would certainly merit inclusion in a national team?
Of course he will. So will all the players who played in that era — ask any of the Lions they will all say that they want to see Rangers “back” where they belong.
Even the current Celtic players will want to play in a “Big Game” atmosphere against a “Big Team”. That too is understandable.
However, they ignore the truth. They ignore the fact that any emergence of a team from Ibrox does not and will not look or feel anything like the once mighty, if misguided and immoral, club that once existed.
It is like wishing for the return of Third Lanark or the return of Accrington Stanley. Technically it could happen but would it really be the same team and have the same impact?
The only resemblance to games of yore will be the build up and the size of the crowd perhaps. And it is here that the footballing scribes, The SFA and perhaps even the Celtic Board have maybe missed the bus.
Many fans just don’t want to pay to see such a circus. They have gotten used to life without it and you know what? For some it feels pretty good.
Others hark back to those days of competition. But I remember the competition coming from Pittodrie or Tannadice and having a dreaded fear of some of their players. Same with the Hibs team of the early 70′s. I don’t need to want Rangers to want competition.
As for Celtic calling Rangers — Rangers?
Honestly, I could not give a camel’s jobby what Celtic call them.
The fact is that there is a team registered to play football. Celtic should call them by whatever name they were registered under. They might object to that registration or whatever but beyond that call them by what ever name is formal.
No slang, no press names like “old firm” or anything like that.
They are there. Play them. Beat them. Move on. Don’t concern yourself with them and never again enter into any kind of common commercial contract with them.
In actual fact, this Rangers version is less abhorrent to me than the last one.
The last one practised a ridiculous employment and cultural policy for a hundred years and then won football matches by deliberately ignoring and flouting the basic rules of registering to play the professional game, under the stewardship of an immoral and ego obsessed businessman.
I have no time for that entity.
This entity does not follow the employment practice and has thus far complied with the football rules insofar as they have been registered and so on. Sure they are run in a basis which will eventually lead to the toilet but hey- that is not my concern.
Further, The SFA have formally written to the people who run the club, or who they think run the club, and asked for an explanation of their current financial status and their ability to fulfil fixtures.
Without Ashley’s money the recipients of the letter could not have answered that satisfactorily in the here and now. In fact those recipients have now left the building and so won’t be answering at all which might be a good thing. Whoever is left can state they are solvent today but may still not be able to answer for the period beyond December.
That the SFA asked at all and that we know about it shows how far football governance has moved in three years. Four years ago, the SFA would not have even looked out the notepaper let alone addressed the envelope or licked the stamp.
There has been a quiet, slow revolution and questions are now asked and papers scrutinised in far greater detail.
Guys like Stephen Thompson, Turnbull Hutton and others are far more vocal and the SFA and SPFL is far less of a closed shop and a secret society though both have a way to go yet.
So — maybe time for a wee bombshell!
Tony D you asked if there will be a statement on Res 12 at or prior to the AGM.
Yes there will and that statement is a work in progress. It will hopefully refer to the work carried out over the past year, the meetings, the dialogues, the research, the experts who have been engaged, possibly some legals who have been consulted, but most of all it will hopefully inform shareholders that one group of fans through their club have been given the green light to make legal submissions, and pass papers, directly to the SFA through legal channels.
Something that has never happened before.
The fans who are doing that? US
The Club who assisted and supported in making that happen? CELTIC
Football is changing and has been changing in this country for a couple of years now. It is slow and it is tortuous and sometimes deadly dull — but then again so is Eastenders.
You hear less and less from some old familiar names because their modus operandi is being swept aside — slowly perhaps but surely. Purposefully. Dare I say it professionally.
Oh there is resistance. There are dinosaurs from a by gone age who still lurk in the shadows and there are even cave men who want to come out of the dark ages but who every now and then still think like cavemen and so still walk about in the dark sometimes because that was what they were used to in the bad old days and breaking old habits is sometimes hard.
There is a change afoot. In terms of rules, procedures, checks and balances and so on.
That is far more important than replacing half wits like Campbell Ogilvie and replacing him with a similarly minded cherry picked half wit from the dark ages.
Make no mistake Campbell should have left the building long ago but that is another story. For the moment, I am personally quite happy that he is still in office with about as much power as a budgie.
He will be able to help with the mail.
Football administration has not been and is not peppered with geniuses — never forget that.
——————————————————————————————————————-
Gordon
12:44 on
2 November, 2014
tonydonnelly67…
Glenties “Thistle” Supporters club? That’s interesting, I remember the club board which sat at the back window of the bus but don’t recall the word Thistle. I would be interested to know what it says on that membership card. Thanks.
Melbourne Mick…
A now defunct Sunday newspaper ran a “Mr Celtic” and “Mr Rangers” competition in 1968 and Joe was crowned “Mr Celtic”. He reportedly surrendered a life insurance policy to fund his trip to South America for the world club championship games v Racing Club.
——————————————————————————————————————–
Gordon,
Joe Gallagher did not cash in any insurance policy to fund his trip to South America in 1967 for the racing club game.
That was a publicity story that was dreamed up by my dearly departed father who was very pally with Joe. There were good reasons why Joe’s ability to go had to be “explained” and the PR was god for the trip.
Another fan supposedly had a pools win!! — Utter Bollocks.
Another mortgaged his house ……..
By the way the press were just as stupid back then with a few notable exceptions.
Just watched the penalty incident again on Celtic TV. Thomson needs investigating!! Big J gets brot down stamped on and ICT get a free kick and the ICT player gets booked???????
Liked Thomsons orange tap btw!!!
Dallas
Met up with John Connelly and Melli, assuming you mean Alex Melrose, 2 weeks ago for first time in about 6 years.
John’s boy is one to watch playing for Queens park and in Scotland squad. Davie English I remember too, he was a good player but didn’t take it seriously enough.
….PFAyr, yes, that’s a fair point, I would be, hence the dilemma.
Be a hypocrite or feel as though I’ve abandoned my team.
The horns of a dilemma.
Had to laugh when my daughter told me she was in the garage nightclub last night.
“Zombie Nation” was played and how obvious it was who were Celtic fans…the ones dancing.
While the huns left the floor_:))
Citeh win 1-0
Doc
Absolutely ….the club must not put you and others in that position
BRTH…………..Football is changing and has been changing in this country for a couple of years now. It is slow and it is tortuous and sometimes deadly dull — but then again so is Eastenders.
………..wow …now that is a braw braw braw statement…..can you tell Mrs Braw that?….
I am no daft enough….I am awfy braw but no that daft ….hahahahahaha
bankies rule ok! braw
Justice done at the Etihad.Man City denied at least two stonewallers.
FAI Cup final on RTE2.
Derry City v St.Pat’s.
Bada bing
Improving daily thanks. Hopefully not to far away now….
BRTH,
Another well written post today, I meant to show young Thomas D your earlier one in work this morning.
The only thing the same about that club is the bigots that wear blue and find the wearing of green offensive.
That will never change.
Jimmynotpaul, John is pleased with Lee’s progress at Queens Park. He was at Murray Park before going to Queens Park. John was relieved about his boy not playing for the five star crew. .
Lee scored the winner for Scotland under fifteens v Poland last season.
I made the mistake of thinking Melli was a sticky bun going by his name. I was so wrong.
SB .. CM … LZ together in the Sefton bar on cambuslang main st watching the Manchester derby
Anyone who knows the area is aware of the Masonic and orange Halls 20 yards away .
These bhoys need to smarten up
Goodluck to the super city in dublin today.. Beat pats twice in cup finals this last 8years
Great day out… Gutted im missing it.
should be good game.. Pats slight favs
Glasgow Celtic’s new anthem after 2/1/2015
I love the dead
Cadaver eyes upon me see nothing.
Join in 123….123 ..123…
hmmmmmmm…. going on 33+ since sleep…. 3/4 bottle od stolli keeping me awake.
Sevco…GIRFUY….. ya bassas!!!!!!!!!!!!!
TD rules ok.
HH
posted inebriated so apols to alll offended.,
tbj says wee oscar knox is in heaven with the angels
15:40 on 2 November, 2014
—
Important game on thursday.. Be better off not drinking.
Jude
The ICT player booked at the pen incident was draper .. For giving the ref it tight
Minutes earlier he was manhandling him after the goal .. Should have got a red then
Proudbhoy
They were not drinking but FFs .. After LZ incident the other week
Noticed one of TnTs tips from a couple of weeks ago was running today
Cloonacool third at 14/1
£10 e/w
Do for me
HH
Personally, I think it is high time any experiment involving young McGregor is stopped. He needs a rest badly, as, imo, he has lost a lot of confidence playing on the right wing. Why not let Griffiths have a run of games. He’d destroy a lot of SPFL defences, first tier or otherwise.
Listening to LVG painful
TBJ,
Get yourself and big PM tooled up and get up there :))
….PFAyr, I agree and hope they do not.
BRTH, of Celtic called them by their full name, The Rangers International Football Club, I’ll be happy with that.
Proudbhoy,
Are you up watching the match from Dublin?
Dallas.
Ha! Loving that about Alex, understanding that about his name though, his middle name is Lyle. Alex was best man at my first wedding.
He’s invited me out with a few of the Northgate boys on Fri, Killie Hippo will be there too. Said I will get back to him, depends on work commitments.
Glasgow Celtic’s new board perspective after 2/1/2015
Billion dollar babies
I’m so scared your little head will come off in my hands
Latest tweet from Anthony Stokes
Anthony Stokes @stoksey10 42m42 minutes ago
Regards the tweet I got last night, the boy who sent it got in touch and apologised so that’s it done! We all make stupid mistakes we regret
Paolosboots is at the final in Dublin today supporting St Pats..