When I heard of Liverpool’s freak 3-0 defeat to Watford on Saturday, their first in the league this season, it portended to how Celtic are vulnerable to a cup upset. Football is not a sport where winning all the time is possible.
Even great teams score with a small percentage of their chances and sometimes will miss all chances in a game. Conversely, underdogs will sometimes score with their only chance(s) in a game; cup upsets are a statistical certainty.
As a consequence, this impossibly long run of domestic cup success simply has to end sometime and Perth on Sunday had all the hallmarks of the classic upset. St Johnstone are on form, the pitch was rutted and sodden; the weather, inclement. St Johnstone players were watching television on Thursday, while Celtic’s were exhausting limbs in a failed attempt to remain in Europe.
You will have noted that the only time any of our 33 previous cup games finished level after 90 minutes was at home to Dunfermline this season – immediately after our Champions League qualification defeat to Cluj. That European result hovered ominously over the domestic cup game; players are only human, full of human emotions. Perhaps that Dunfermline game put steel in the legs yesterday.
It takes more than good form, a horrible pitch, a sore European defeat and awful weather to knock this Celtic team out of a cup. The sheer determination to win, which was evident at Hampden in December’s League Cup Final, decided the outcome of yesterday’s Scottish Cup quarterfinal.
We are watching a dressing room united and with common purpose, unlike others I could mention. 34 consecutive cup wins is nothing short of miraculous, but the more miracles you perform, the more real estate you occupy in the minds of your opponents. Does anyone really expect to knock Celtic out of a cup these days?
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CELTIC40ME on 2ND MARCH 2020 2:51 PM
The point I was making was that they appear to play in a different way in Europe. They have an excellent defensive record in the groups, only two teams were better but the 6th fewest goals scored
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Maybe they do, but they came 2nd in a very average Europa League group, and their defence has shown domestically across 26 games, a pretty reliable data set on which to base a judgement of a team, that their reputation for being some sort of defensive masterclass is not warranted.
I think we can all agree it was a huge missed opportunity for us.
HH
*Correction : 23 games they’ve played domestically, 26 goals conceded.
HH
I find it strange the Foundation has arranged a charity game for Celtic Park on Friday night 8th May with the Scottish Cup Final set for the next day 9th May.
Everyone wants the first team to be playing in the final I hope. Is the plan to fill the ground with rugby fans?
http://www.celticfc.net/news/17629
“BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 2ND MARCH 2020 2:52 PM
HOT SMOKED
He was on Sportscene on Saturday night, bit more subdued but still there.”
BSR
Yes, I saw that and agree ( slightly subdued) but Thompson was not there on Saturday. Coincidence?
If sevco were top of the League I would wager that the corona virus would give the SPFL all the authority they need to call a halt to proceedings – no more league games this season – in order to contain the virus – and then declare whoever is leading league to be the winner. Thankfully we are leading league so there is no chance of that happening :-)
@ CELTIC40ME on 2ND MARCH 2020 2:41 PM
It was a very modest group but they did get out of it.
I think it was a great achievement to top our group, but something about some of the performances made me feel uneasy. Too much reliance on FF having a stormer and, as another poster put it, basketball type performances- end to end with little structure. Great for the neutral but heart in mouth stuff at times.
I’ve posted before that Lenny’s Euro record (particularly in comparison to BR) included (and now seems likely to include going forward) higher highs but on general a lower level of performance and results. I think that would be fair comment for this season. Knocked out by Copenhagen and Cluj- both very modest opposition, while doing the double over Lazio (current Serie A leaders).
I think Lenny is a great motivator and inspirational manager but there is a deficit in tactics, formation and sometimes even in team selection.
I would wager that we will see similar results going forward. We may have another Barca or Lazio, but accompanying them will likely be a Sion, Utrecht, Cluj or Copenhagen.
ROCK TREE BHOY on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:13 PM
Cancelling it and declaring it null and void because its not mathematically over wouldn’t be beyond them,
HH
cqn
Bayo , Klimala and Soro must have shown something when they were scouted . I mean properly scouted , not youtube compilation scouted .
So either all 3 have ‘lost’ what they had or…………………
Siempre
Cancelling it would deprive Sevco of vital revenue.
CELTIC40ME on 2ND MARCH 2020 2:59 PM
Cluj were a VAR decision away from putting out Sevilla on Thursday
They are a decent team
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Agreed. A better team than Copenhagen.
But we still should have beat them at Celtic Park.
We were more than their equal second time round.
https://twitter.com/CelticNick/status/1234285787367211008?s=20
:-))
HH
HOT SMOKED on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:19 PM
Siempre
Cancelling it would deprive Sevco of vital revenue.
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Yes. True of most clubs to be fair.
HH
Siempre.
Of course……..but would the SFA/SPL be bothered about other clubs? :-))
If given a choice it would be interesting to know if our manager and players would prefer to play on St Johnston’s pitch or Livingston’s?
The Blogger
St j`s on a nice day and Livi`s on a wet one?
Paul67 et al
Terrific run of results by any standards, even ours. Then again the 1969 League Cup Final got a mention or two, rightly so, that victory against St Johnstone was our third Cup victory of that calendar year. John Fallon was in goal for all three. In April that same year we won three trophies in the same month, League Cup, League and Scottish Cup. Was going to say not even the Lions did that, but in the League Cup Final against a top Hibs side, big Jock put out the Lisbon attack, Johnstone, Wallace, Chalmers, Auld and Lennox,and hit the Hibees for six. And all that after the disappointment of losing out to AC Milan the previous month.
SIEMPRE CELTIC (FORMERLY TRADITIONALIST88) on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:16 PM
ROCK TREE BHOY on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:13 PM
Cancelling it and declaring it null and void because its not mathematically over wouldn’t be beyond them,
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Hadn’t thought about that but you are right, the corona virus is now their best chance of stopping 9 in a row
HOT SMOKED on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:27 PM
Siempre.
Of course……..but would the SFA/SPL be bothered about other clubs? :-))
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Generally no, but their modus operandi is self preservation and their famous blazers, so lots of factors at play.
HH
ROCK TREE BHOY on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:36 PM
They’d be delaying the inevitable :)
Lets hope it doesnt come to that anyway, first and foremost, from a public health point of view!
HH
If the huns are contemplating an insolvency event before the end of the season closed door games might suit them.
Nae refunds, nae baying mobs to contend with, and lots of other things for the media to focus on.
TEST
THE HANDS CANT HIT WHAT THE EYES CANT SEE on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:13 PM
So, to summarise your thoughts (today and previously) on our performances and the standard of the opposition we faced in the Europa League (forgive me for being a bit reductive here): Copenhagen’s excellent defensive record as judged by goals conceded isn’t suggestive of a very good defensive team because they were in a poor group, Celtic’s record – four goals in 5 meaningful games, joint ninth best after 6 – also isn’t suggestive of a very good defensive team because we were lucky and the goalkeeper played excellently. We even allowed Lazio a shot on goal at the end of one of the games!
Football authorities should be preparing proposals for their club members to review – apart from the Champions issue there are all sorts of problems with promotion/relegation so there should be a lot of thinking going on to come up with practical solutions – does anyone have trust that the SPFL are acting now to avert major problems ?
GLENDALYSTONSILS on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:19 PM
Bayo , Klimala and Soro must have shown something when they were scouted . I mean properly scouted , not youtube compilation scouted .
So either all 3 have ‘lost’ what they had or…………………
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Bayo was signed by Brendan Rodgers and Lee Congerton. It’s possible that Neil Lennon thinks differently about him.
My personal feeling is that Neil isn’t quick to put his trust in new players. If you remember our elimination to Cluj at the start of the season he decided it was better to leave Jullien on the bench in favour of Jozo Simunovic. He decided to put CalMac at LB ahead of Boli.
In hindsight, those decisions look absolutely mad. Jullien has been one of our most consistent and important players. Benching him for a big game would seem like madness now.
We might feel the same about Soro a year from now.
We were then subject to rumours touted by PhilMac & others that they were Lawwell signings. Despite the fact that Neil Lennon travelled to France on his birthday to convince Jullien to sign…
How long did it take for him to give Taylor a chance?
It’s hard to say.
Larrybhoy on 2nd March 2020 3:52 pm
‘Football authorities should be preparing proposals for their club members to review –’
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It’s the Government’s responsibility to take whatever action is needed to slow the spread of the disease.
Leaving it to every sector of society to adopt their own policies is ridiculous and ineffectual.
CELTIC40ME on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:47 PM
So, to summarise your thoughts (today and previously) on our performances and the standard of the opposition we faced in the Europa League (forgive me for being a bit reductive here): Copenhagen’s excellent defensive record as judged by goals conceded isn’t suggestive of a very good defensive team because they were in a poor group, Celtic’s record – four goals in 5 meaningful games, joint ninth best after 6 – also isn’t suggestive of a very good defensive team because we were lucky and the goalkeeper played excellently. We even allowed Lazio a shot on goal at the end of one of the games!
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The question is… should we be impressed by a team that defended well against Lugano? Dynamo Kiev? Malmo?
I don’t rate any of those sides.
Here’s the expected goals against Copenhagen in the group stage:
0.3, 0.6, 0.7, 1.4, 0.7 & 0.7
So they didn’t concede many chances.
The two games against Celtic? 2.1 & 2.2
What happened? They played against a better team. I’m sure it would be even worse against Leverkusen or Inter Milan.
The best thing I could say about Copenhagen is that they worked hard enough & made fewer mistakes.
Ernie
However every individual can help by following basic hygiene rules. Can’t count the number of times I’ve seen men walk out the toilet without washing, being on their mobile while having a pee etc.
LARRYBHOY on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:52 PM
– does anyone have trust that the SPFL are acting now to avert major problems ?
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No, but:
https://spfl.co.uk/news/coronavirus
And governments say their first duty is to protect the population but they’ve got a big eye on the economy.
ERNIE LYNCH on 2ND MARCH 2020 3:40 PM
If the huns are contemplating an insolvency event before the end of the season closed door games might suit them. Nae refunds, nae baying mobs to contend with, and lots of other things for the media to focus on.
*it would also allow them tae dump slippy with nae pay off.
Ernie Lynch – to establish rules for the eventuality that public gatherings are halted/banned by the Government – isn’t it responsible for a football authority to determine what will happen – i.e. on the day they are stopped, that’s it over – whoever in that position in the league, done. Or, await developments to see when matches could be played ? Or, everything null and void for the season – those sort of considerations that can be thought about
Gene on 2nd March 2020 4:04 pm
Ernie
However every individual can help by following basic hygiene rules. Can’t count the number of times I’ve seen men walk out the toilet without washing, being on their mobile while having a pee etc.
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I reckon only about 5% of the population know how to wash their hands properly. And most who do know seldom do it.
In other matters.
I don’t want to seem alarmist but this coronavirus has got me worried.
I beleive that all travel from and into blantyre should be banned.
Keep blantyre safe.
GENE on 2ND MARCH 2020 4:04 PM
Ernie However every individual can help by following basic hygiene rules. Can’t count the number of times I’ve seen men walk out the toilet without washing, being on their mobile while having a pee etc.
*me tae durty bassas, you sometimes see them walking up tae the bar and grabbing some nuts. Don’t sample them anymerr.
Siempre – thanks for the info
TIMALOY29 on 2ND MARCH 2020 4:01 PM
That isn’t the question or related to my point.
But to answer yours, they took their chances. They had 5 attempts on goal over the whole tie – 4 goals and a saved penalty. They defended well enough to limit us to fewer clear cut chances and took advantage of an awful 20 minutes of defending by us.