Last night’s result was both disappointing and embarrassing. Considering that Bodo/Glimt were preseason and scored their third long after the affects of cramp and exhaustion took hold, it was even humiliating. Only a remarkable turnaround will see Celtic remain in the Uefa Conference League, an outcome that would be very harsh on the comparatively underpaid and over-performing Norwegians.
When I looked at the teams left in the competition earlier this week, only Leicester and Marseille seemed out of reach. This was a chance, I thought, to go deep into a European competition – perhaps our last and easiest chance for some time, as we hoped to compete on higher ground in the years to come.
We have both seen enough of Celtic in Europe, though, to hedge our bets. On Wednesday, I wrote, “You and I are also full of confidence right now. What we are missing is a test against non-Scottish opposition. Drubbing a limp Newco gave us hope that we are watching something special. Tomorrow night will give an indication as to whether that hope is valid.” We have our answer.
Welcome the truth instead of living deluded. It should fortify us for the challenges ahead, better to know, than to rock up at Easter Road next week with an unbalanced and porous midfield. Or to think that the world has been put to right during two transfer windows.
Cameron Carter-Vickers was head and shoulders above everyone on the field. He operated at a level Bodo/Glimt were unable to reach. Similarly, Carl Starfelt and Joe Hart did not put a foot wrong. Our full backs and wingers on both sides were bossed out of the contest.
Callum McGregor has seen this movie before and covered every inch of the park in a vain attempt to prevent a sequel. Did anyone think Tom Rogic and Matt O’Riley would be an effective midfield pairing? Apart from Ange, of course. Daizen Maeda scored with a peach of a header but spent much of the game isolated. I hope Reo Hatate was carrying an impediment that made his exclusion from the starting line-up necessary. Any other reason would be inexplicable.
And for the record, Ange, no, we did not control the game. That ability lay with the men in yellow, who played exactly how they wanted.
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Paul67
I blame the three left footers.
Another three lefty invincibles Calmac, Rogic and Christie played often, and together ?
Last nights threesome weren’t blameless much more so that we just don’t have a European team.
Cluj, Copenhagen, Prague and now world famous Bodo Glimt have scored 14 goals in 4 games in Parkhead, our reputation for big Euro nights has taken a helluva beating, and is a much bigger rebuild.
That is not a new phenomenon, ie teams still in the game coming out and playing in the last 10 or 15 minutes, it has been forever thus.
and very very few corners results in direct headed goals.
Left back is probably the weakest part of our back four. I thought their left back was some player.
I’m perfectly relaxed at going out of the Europa conference if it improves our chances of winning the league.
Winning the league dwarfs anything we can achieve in this conference.
My only concern is that being so comprehensively bossed at home by a relative minnow undermines self-belief. In the league.
They’re a better team than us. We need to man up to that. So long as we prove a better team than the huns I’ll be happy.
I also have faith that under Ange we’ll overtake the likes of Bodo in time.
He can see the shortcomings in the team better than me. He’ll know Taylor’s limitations. The boy is a very decent SPFL standard player, reliable, good in the tackle etc. That he’s not at the European level was writ large last night. Good squad man, but not the limit of Ange’s ambitions.
KTF and support the team. It’s a good one and will get better.
Also, having a look there on Wikipedia at the Norwegian league winners. Looks to me like Rosenborg did 13-in-a-row from 1992 to 2004. And we thought 10 iar was the holy grail :)
Who won last night — the bookies.
Just saying like.
If it doesn’t make sense then it doesn’t make sense.
I fear AP told them to go out and enjoy themselves as Sunday would mean more.
70 minutes in and we were playing like we didn’t want to win the game.
Everybody seemed surprised when we finally put the ball in the net — with a harder chance than many that had come before.
Plus the SPL odds of 4 days ago looked ripe for manipulation / wealth generation.
We were at 1/2 and the TFOD2.1 were 6/4 — one point difference and the Ludge MIB turned up to 11.
Not very realistic to my way of thinking — 2011 Stag Weekend CSC.
Incidentally, maybe if Tom and Matt had played to their normal level, we wouldn`t be criticising Ange`s team selection
DENIABHOY on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:33 PM
…………
That may be a very good shout Mate.
HH.
HOT SMOKED on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:41 PM
Left back is probably the weakest part of our back four. I thought their left back was some player.
I said at half time we should sign him, but I don’t think he moved over the half way line for most of the game. He’s a right back, which made his performance even more impressive, but his stats don’t suggest he’s an attacking one.
“PETERLATCHFORDSBELLY on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:43 PM
KTF and support the team. It’s a good one and will get better.”
The kind of comment I like to see after a defeat. Good man.
CELTIC40ME on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:45 PM
Thanks for that info. My impression was that he was quite an attacking player but not in the traditional sense of down the wing and putting in a cross.
Anyway, it`s a cheerio from me.
Cheerio.
Regarding goals from corners, we have a central defensive partnership who have scored ten goals in 350 appearances between them. When we’re playing with a wee striker and full backs how do you coach that team to score more from corners? The obvious answer is to play more players who score from corners, which would mean a central defensive partnership of Julien and Biton
I don’t have the stats for goals scored in the epl where the coaching is of a better standard than anywhere else, but I do know that Leicester have a set piece coach and have by far the worst record for conceding in the epl
HOT SMOKED on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:44 PM
Incidentally, maybe if Tom and Matt had played to their normal level, we wouldn`t be criticising Ange`s team selection
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That might be their normal level in Europe??
I didn’t think it was the players as such more the fact we again went into a Euro game with 1 defensive midfielder, and that’s CalMac not his specialism.
Even the likes of Man City, Liverpool and Chelsea play 2 sitting type midfielders.
I wonder how long before the hun interloper gets bored.
lovely to see he hasn’t even had so much as a nibble
Susie Dent’s Top Tens: 10 Words to Describe Your Football Team
‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death… I can assure them it’s much more serious than that’.
Nearly 40 years on from Bill Shankly’s verdict, not much has changed. Never one to do things by halves, the game still inspires the same heights of reverence and ecstasy, or depths of disappointment and depression. Not for nothing does the word ‘fan’ come from the Latin fanaticus, ‘possessed by a demon’. As Jimmy McGregor sang in the 1960s: ‘He’s football crazy, he’s football mad/And the football it has robbed him o’ the wee bit sense he had’.
Want to know how to describe your football team? Here are the top ten words to use from everyone’s favourite lexicographer, Susie Dent.
‘Some people think football is a matter of life and death… I can assure them it’s much more serious than that’.
Nearly 40 years on from Bill Shankly’s verdict, not much has changed. Never one to do things by halves, the game still inspires the same heights of reverence and ecstasy, or depths of disappointment and depression. Not for nothing does the word ‘fan’ come from the Latin fanaticus, ‘possessed by a demon’. As Jimmy McGregor sang in the 1960s: ‘He’s football crazy, he’s football mad/And the football it has robbed him o’ the wee bit sense he had’.
Football is also, of course, a microcosm of life. From the fans to the commentators, the referees to the managers – not forgetting the parents spitting blood from the sidelines of the junior game – every form of human life (and lowlife) is here.
But the following list is dedicated to those we adore and abuse the most – the players. It is for the goal-hangers and the whizkids, the divers, darlings, and shithousers who fill us each week with renewed hope and expectation, only to deliver the same anticipointment as last time. Should you need a new epithet or ten for the post-match analysis in the pub or on the punditry sofa, here are a few ideas:
princock: the goalhanger who is only there for the glory, and who somehow neglects to thank the team-mates who did all the heavy lifting.
nickum: the cheat whose dives are a theatrical tour-de-force, or who puts their hands up in doe-eyed innocence after knocking out an opponent.
whiffler: the thoroughly indecisive player who looks around frantically before passing and inevitably loses the ball.
pavoniser: the player with all the gear but no idea. From the Latin for ‘peacock’.
circumbendibus: partner to the whiffler, this is the player who passes the ball all round the houses instead of driving it forward.
huff-snuff: the indignant one who is forever muttering to themselves, shouting at the ref, or scornfully tossing their freshly-bleached locks whenever a decision doesn’t go their way.
cacafuego: Spanish for ‘fire-shitter’, this is the player who is all bluster and little substance. Cacafuego was an impressively-armed Spanish galleon, captured easily by Sir Francis Drake.
dandilly: the fan’s darling who can do no wrong. George Best was often told by Matt Busby not to turn up for team talks, because they largely consisted of: ‘Whenever possible, give the ball to George’.
aliped: the Usain Bolt of the team who leaves all others in their wake. From the Latin for ‘winged feet’.
unasinous: one for the team that promises the world and ends up giving nothing but heartburn. From the Latin for ‘one ass’, this means ‘united in stupidity’.
Fair assessment Paul, other than the over the top praise for CCV. He can’t pick a pass other than to the right full back or to Starfelt.
I thought their left sided centre half and left full back were outstanding.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:39 PM
Our record is bad. No doubt about that.
We play these sides like they’re an Aberdeen and leave ourselves far too open.
We will not change though. Ange is on record as saying his approach will not change so more nights like last night lie in wait.
Our Achilles heel in Europe is also are biggest domestic strength where our open style breaks down low blocking opponents who rarely attack with the intent or skill we see in Europe.
Bodo/Glimt’s one touch passing out of deep defence was great to watch. We need to learn and copy. And their physical conditioning was frightening.
SAINT STIVS on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:40 PM
‘and very very few corners results in direct headed goals.’
###
But what roughly is the average rate of goals resulting from corners and how does this compare to Celtic’s?
They were the better team & they deserved to win.
Their Manager was ecstatic at how well they played so we must assume that was one of their better performances.
We have seen Jota, Matt. Hatate, Rogic et al playing really well, we know they are not duds, yet they played like duds last night.
Paul made a lot of fact they were on long mid season break but they are no fools, they had warm weather training & friendlies & their approach was all tailored towards last nights game,
Last night was our 9th game in a month, that is an extremely tough schedule, both mentally & physically & it told last night,
On Football as in Life you have to take the good with the bad, up to yesterday we were on a 17 game unbeaten run, with a new Manager and almost a totally new team, we have won the League Cup & currently lead the League by a point,
We have made a lot of progress by all means analyze & discuss last nights game but keep a perspective as to how we are doing overall this Season,
As things stand we are still in with a chance of winning our tie & the Huns are still in with a chance of losing theirs,
However I would gladly accept us going out & they progressing if it meant we win the League.
why not go look for it yourself ?
So apparently Ange doesn’t rate James Mccarthy, but rates Bitton.
That doesn’t add up.
Celtic’s performance peaked this season with the drubbing of the huns and has declined since.
Is it a psychological thing?
SAINT STIVS on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 2:23 PM
‘why not go look for it yourself ?’
##
Where would one look?
79CAPS on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 1:15 PM
Someone made a good point about the signing of McCarthy on a four-year deal. A monumental mistake. We need a good defensive midfielder in European games. Is Ange aware of this now or will he be like BR, playing the same way in Europe as in the SPL?
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Agreed. Not everyone is on the same page. I get it that JMcC cost no transfer fee, but I’m guessing big wages. Liam Scales – not much of an outlay for sure. But neither obviously have been oven ready. And we’re half way through the season and in our last chance at European progress for a while and neither to be fair have brought much to the table really.
Ange’s style demands what we haven’t got – a big interchangeable squad. This becomes even more important in Europe where we get found out. But it was already rearing its ugly head against Aberdeen and Raith. Against Raith we didn’t just make changes to rest players we changed to try and win the game!
If Rogic and Calmac and Taylor and O’Riley had excelled last night we wouldn’t been questioning Ange’s selection some say. But more likely had they excelled we wouldn’t have been playing Bodo. Ange’s selection played a big part in our downfall last night there’s no escaping that. It’s okay saying he knows we are not the real deal yet but moving closer to the real deal should begin by selecting a team to beat what’s in front of you. And that means a really good defensive midfielder should have been on the field last night.
What do you do when you can’t make corners count? I guess mix it up more with more short corners is all I can think of. We are only an SPFL team as it stands and will remain as long as everyone is not on the same page and Europe is the standard. It’s going to be a tough run-in and nothing is guaranteed. Let’s hope last night doesn’t affect our performance on Sunday.
Saint Stives I’m a season ticket owing to health issues and travelling from West Lothian it was getting to much for me this season I’m 78 so age is starting to take its toll on me but hopefully when the weather gets a little better as well as my health I’ll be back watching Celtic ,and just to put the record straight and yes I’ll renew god willing till the day I’m no longer on earth,I only asked why does the girls play at the Penny Car Stadium Airdrie instead off Barrowfield or Lennoxtown if you can find out for me it would be appreciate ☘️
The corners of your mind …😜😜
ERNIE LYNCH on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 2:25 PM
SAINT STIVS on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 2:23 PM
‘why not go look for it yourself ?’
##
Where would one look?
————
A sage on here recently announced that if wanting to research something then “google is your friend”.
report back your findings please
SAINT STIVS on 18TH FEBRUARY 2022 2:32 PM
Thank you for your contribution. Most enlightening. Though perhaps not in the way you intended.
Whilst a bit of perspective needed, some basics from last night went astray and should have been sorted. Things like their left back stepping inside Abada about 5 times in first 20 mins and others as the game went on, faffing about deep inside box trying to play out when they have pressed us in, not recognising that their defence looked uncomfortable when faced to their own goal and why do we persist in short corners and free kicks – get the ball in the box.
Ange has goodwill in the bank but I’d like to see it mixed up a bit when the opponent is on top.
mc Carthy on a paid as you play contract ?
Pass me the remote
Do it yourself, you’re nearest
Hmmm, how very enlightening
Warming up for the Friday night squabble club
BOURNESOUPRECIPE @ 1:39
I tend to agree. Remember the uneasy feeling we had in years past when we saw the team sheet with Mikey Johnston or Christie as lone striker, or McGregor at left back? I had that last night when I saw our midfield 3 of Tam, Callum and Matt. All fine players, but couldn’t tackle a fish supper between the 3 of them. On top of that, they are all slow, Tam painfully so. Speed can’t really be taught, covers a multitude of sins, aids recovery at change of possession, and is a necessity in Europe. 2 of Liverpool, Chelski and Man City may well contest the CL, and none would dream of playing without 1 or typically 2 sitting midfielders.
Teams that are speedy all over the park can carry 1 or 2 slowpokes with exceptional talent, but we are manifestly not that team. Poor selection and tactical naïveté done us in last night.
suspect we play a lot of short corners due to not having any decent heading of the ball players or players who are not capable of timing a jump to make decent contact or we may be tactically nieve in playing set pieces.
I would think that Ange is either shielding the players to maintain confidence or rattled them in the dressing room but is keeping it quiet.
I was at the match last night and I thought we were very poor indeed. Bodo by luck or design prevented Jota doing anything of note first half. He is so important to us.
People have said to me O’Riley did ok. TV can actually be better in terms of assessing individuals but I have to say I just didn’t see it in the stadium.
Rogic up close is so classy but his skilful play wasnt really matched by another Celtic player.
Maeda hardly had a touch bar the goal. The system we played resulted in very few cross balls for him. Any efforts at through balls inevitably missed.
We are still a long way of but sure we must have expected that during the first quarter of the season.
Fingers crossed for the first goal next week….
what odds on Celtic and Dortmund qualifying,,
Liverpool 2nd best for long spells v Inter,Robertson whips in a corner, Firmino runs to the front post and heads it in.More practice required in delivery and movement in the box,short corners invariably end up back at the halfway line, totally pointless.