So what did we learn yesterday? Primarily we learned that you can’t replace 8 players from a team which won 0-4 at Tynecastle while leaving the core element of the team in place. It is justifiable to be critical of the performances of experienced key players who didn’t perform, but Wanyama, Brown, Matthews, Miku didn’t become bad players overnight, nor did Tony Watt, what happened is the essence of our team – the system – was missing.
The effort was there but the focus which makes this Celtic team wasn’t. In many ways this was the perfect setup for a Champions League game against a team too many people are telling me we’ll turn over. Our Christmas Cup Final on Wednesday will require every element that existed against Barcelona last month.
The knives are out for Spartak’s foreign players, who are taking the blame for the clubs disintegration since losing at home to Celtic, both in the press and online fan polls. We may see a more Russian looking Spartak on Wednesday. Which will be no bad thing.
[calameo code=00039017193b8a8bbd612 lang=en page=126 hidelinks=1 width=100% height=500]
760 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- ...
- 20
- »
Why are the East of Scotland teams allowed to kickoff at a reasonable time ?
In the old days when we had a rival they made us play at 12:30
miki67
14:53 on
2 December, 2012.
To be fair to English, and not defending his ridiculous article, he did just last month I think write about the flying pig.
….PFayr
We beats Hearts by four goals to nil during the week,both our strikers were on the score sheet.
Or maybe i was only dreaming.
Edinburgh derby… Deary me. I hope none of my youth team are watching. Could undo years of coaching input..
unew mike
I think we are all aware that when Neil Lennon was appointed he didn’t meet the opined criteria. Back then most supporters wanted an Auld heid (not the CQN one), experienced and respected. We got pretty much the opposite.
Since then though Neil has given us some great times. He still lacks experience and he needs to have those experiences to learn.
He was advised back then to seek the assistance of an experienced type but chose not to. Who knows why he didn’t but that seemed like a mistake.
However, what he is building is encouraging and I’m optimistic that we will continue to progress under his leadership.
Unew mike
that was a more considered post than your Willie McStay one but I would still pick out some points that need re-framing.
1) NFL is no “messiah” or Big Jock equivalent. There is no need to use hyperbole in order to make your criticism more reasonable. Neil was, and still is, a rookie coach who has made a remarkable difference to a club that we going backwards. We lost 3 titles in a row after WGS and were a much “softer” club with no sought after assets bar Aiden.
Neil helped to heal factionalism in this club;s support AND he provided a more competitive team than his predecessor. He is, in his second full season, getting close to achieving one of WGS’s achievements, a league title plus a last 16 place. He is doing this with a more expansive style than WGS managed.
Neil is a very promising young manager who is doing better than an experienced manager, Mowbray, did. How good he will be we have yet to see. I would, at least, give him time to see what he can do for us, when bombs and bullets and assaults do not accompany his every step as our manager. I think we owe him that.
I would also re-frame your thought that we have a problem winning the games against less able sides. If we only raise our game against bigger sides, how do you explain our defeats to Benfica, Barca, Atletico and Sion. As favourites for the domestic league and cups, every one of our defeats or draws will be against a “lesser” rated side. You can draw no significant data from a statistical evaluataion of that unless we have a bigger fish (a strong Rangers?) in our laeagues against which to measure the alternative hypothesis ( we only lose to bigger teams).
This season has produced more dropped points than I expected, but only slightly more. When we were wailing last October we were in a much darker, more threatening place. This year, I don’t think the threat is as large. When we evaluate season 2011/12 we will remember it as a league winning year not as a year when we might have lost it in October, as many doomsayers were saying we had.
Equally, I am not writing off this season, or our manager, on the basis that we are not as far ahead as we felt we should have been. If we are still struggling in March, maybe I’ll edge closer to panic and criticism but I doubt it.
Jock Stein lost 50% of his LC finals. Each one was to a lesser team. Jock won only one of the many European Cup campaigns he began. The Lions lost domestic finals, semis and earlier rounds in domestic cups. Defeats are expected, predictable and occur reliably.
We need to man up and get used to it AND overcome it.
Dreadful start for MON’s Sunderland at Norwich
Gene’s a Bhoys name
Know it well, just was not allowed to be there on the day, hence the transistor in the back garden. Ended up in that very enclosure at the Leeds game though, after trying, and failing, to see the match from the Celtic end. And had to climb over a sizeable fence to get there! And even then needed eyes in the back of the heid to watch the second half. Bit like Willie Collum I suppose!
Don’t buy this forwards coach nonsense. Leave that to our American Football and Rugby friends where it has some grounding.
Big Jock was a no nonsense Centre Half and his midfield and forward line were far superior to his defence.
Brian Clough was a free scoring centre forward who bough t a series of duds, for big money, in that position.
Defence, midfield and attack are not discrete coachable entities. Go along to a first team coaching session and watch what professional players and coaches do before just basing your opinion on what you want to see on a match day.
CultsBhoy loves being 1st forever
Edinburgh derby… Deary me. I hope none of my youth team are watching. Could undo years of coaching input..
…………………………………
real blood and guts – it does for football what old Freddie Flintoff did for boxing – but it has a certain enjoyment
Sixteen roads
Correct we did and we played well
Eight goals in eight home games is appalling …..
Pat Fenlon doing a great impression of MON.
sftb
The Lions lost domestic finals, semis and earlier rounds in domestic cups. Defeats are expected, predictable and occur reliably
The Lions did indeed lose domestic finals etc but lets not forget the Scottish game was very strong back then. It is piss poor now. Hibs are 2nd in the league and watching them today, they are a woeful side.
Of course defeats etc will happen, but these kind of results are happening far too consistently for a lot of people’s liking
As i mentioned earlier, after Wednesday there are no CL ‘get out’ clauses. I will expect the team to motor on, starting at Rugby Park on saturday
SFTB
This is Lennys third full season
Pedant CFC
CelticMac
I was at the rankers end at the Leeds game – fantastic night – but the final still hurts to this day
….PFayr
So the strikers now only need coaching on how to score in home games?
That’s not so bad i suppose.
Sixteen roads…
We need to score more goals …
Whether that’s more coaching for the forwards or a change in the system employed I know not
MON looks burst..?
….PFayr
I agree that wee need to score more goals in our home games.
There are many mitigating factors as to why the team is not doing so though.
Reading back on the last blog.and found KK and ttt telling us how families deal with errant children and how they should be dealt with. Now I can understand why they would take on the mantle of parents being of advanced years but I think they are being a bit silly, analogising the support somehow as the parental power is completely wrong and that some how the support must take on this responsibility is well off the mark. It make a lot more sense to me anyway, if the support are cast as the children in this analogy then use their examples of children not getting it right and how the parents should respond. Try it, and I don’t think anyone will be happy with daddy.
MON just needs to be sure that there are 3 teams worse than Sunderland this year – I’m sure that’s what all the managers at bottom half of the EPL think about.
Who are these commentators in studio at the Hibs game? Eh?
HH
setting free the bears
16:09 on
2 December, 2012….
A thoughtful and reasoned post. The fact that you hold the views that you do will not cost Celtic any points.
My fear is that some of the players share your views. It may very well be the case that, without a major rival, our players are thinking….’Defeats are expected, predictable and occur reliably.’……
And….’If we are still struggling in March, maybe I’ll edge closer to panic’……
I really do worry that the mindset within the club is not where it should be.
And finally, you correctly sought to reframe the ‘messiah’ notion. However, we do need to be careful not to be blinded from what seem to be systemtic weaknesses.
And….if Unew Mike can’t post his thoughts without getting the personal abuse, then what does that say about this blog? If people don’t speak up, then the blog will slide off into the same mire that has befallen so many others.
One of their examples is struggling children need more attention, fair enough, point being in our family struggling children are kicked out onto the street.
Hooper has lost the appetite, desire and enthusiasm of his first season.
It strikes me that the boy believes he is too good for Scottish football, and is perhaps in the huff as his ‘big move’ to the EPL hasn’t materialised.
His goal ‘celebrations’ become more subdued with each game.
The GB is a quality example in this analogy, child is being bullied, parental advice don’t upset the bully in any way and everything will be alright. However the parents adopt the bully and put the bully in charge of babysitting duties.
Gene’s a Bhoys name
Sunderland finishing just above the bottom 3 will not keep MON in a job
PF Ayr
Yep, you are correct. It is his 3rd full season with us [If we let him stay in charge till May :-) ]. Still a great achievement to get us to CL last 16, if we achieve it, in a rookie management post.
TMWTL
Yes, that was Scotland’s golden era but, since we do not have domestic Scots of the calibre of Murdoch, Johnstone, Gemmell and McBride to play with than the circumstances are equal.
You can only win in your own era and against those you are playing. What difference will it make to your enjoyment of this league if we win it by
A record margin?
Over 20 points?
By six or fewer?
By one point?
Paradoxically, I think you’ll find that our biggest outpourings of triumph have come after narrow competitive title wins.
So, again by re-framing, you could say we were sustaining interest and future crowd attendance in March and April by NOT winning the league out of sight right now.
This is a good time to be blooding youngsters and taking the risks of dropped points. We said we were going to do this and we are doing it .
Surprise, surprise, we have dropped points.
But we won’t lose the league, will we? So why does it have to be by a set amount?
Hibs kick -off and find touch – more appropriate at M’field
weeron,
It says the blog is open to anyone to make their point within the rules, nothing more or less.
SSN
Natalie Sawyer and Jim Whyte
Beauty and a Beast.
Makems expect top half..
MON is out imo
NBDIP
Hooper is one of those strikers who once netting after a lean spell, will go on a run of scoring
Yesterday was perfect for him to boost his tally and confidence, instead of the ineffectual Miku
Lee Griffiths coming off injured at Easter Road.
Griffifths off injured.
Hearts will probably win now
sftb
I’m not bothered about winning the league by a set amount of points per se
I’m more concerned that the management don’t seem able to find a way past opponents who sit in and defend
Lenny has the team set up as a counter attacking unit. Hearts played into our hands by having a go at us on Wednesday. Other managers aren’t as stupid as McGlynn and sit in and wait for for their moment
Lenny doesn’t have an answer to these tactics at the moment
Sir Paul
Ah sorta..but, far,far,from.. Entirely.. Agree, wi’ yer
conclusion..
That…Yisterday’s, Celtic Team .. Had too Miny Chinges.
That ,being said..
Let Me say this..
Noo.. Ah’ve went and furgoat whit Ah wiz gonna say..
Gie me a Minute..
Oh! Aye……. Ah remember, noo.
Whit really happened.. in yesterday’s Game..
Wiz..
This.
Celtic, faced a Team.. Who Played Hard Deeefense!
Ten Men behind the BA’.. and Fully COMMITTED.. tae mak sure ..that Celtic, couldnae play their usual attacking game…
This Method, of Defense.. has bin proven.. Many times.. This Season Already..
and .. It is Extremely Effective against this Celtic Team.. Who are Completely and Utterly Bereft… of Finding a Solution to counter act this Method.
Let Me Further ,add..
In Ma Opinion..
It widnae hiv mattered, much..if.. at AWE..
If Neil, had selected his Very Best Sunday.go tae Prayer Meetin’… Formation .. For Yesterday’s confronto wi’ the Smokies.
Not wan whit..
Celtic, wid Still have struggled tae Break Doon.. A Ten Man.. well drilled n Stubbornly Determined Ten Man Defense.. such as They Faced ,in yesterday’s Game.
The Only time that This Celtic outfit.. Under the Coaching System that Neil and his Crack Team of Helpers hiv implemented.. has bin able tae Rack up a Comfortable Victory.. agin. Minor.. and No sae Minor Opposition..
Is…
When that opposition..
In cases .. where …
A Team, who are Playing and HOME..and Celtic,are the Visitors..
Have..
Decided tae Be Suicidal.. and Hiv .. Come oot and Endeavored to Play an Open and More Attack minded set-Up… against the Celtic.
However, when Celtic are the Home team.. and the Opposition.. are the Visitors..
Most..if Not All.. Teams..
Will.. Opt .
For the Dreaded..Ten Men Behind the Ba’..and “Thou shalt no Pass”.. method of Deee.fense.. against Us.
And why No?
It Woiks!.. that’s… Why No???
Celtic, need a Bettah Coaching System.. and anither Look at the Present Make -up,of their Mid-Field..Personnel..
Changes in Baith..are Vital.. if .. We wanna fix this Leetle Problemo.
Kojo
Still, Laughin’