Anderlecht have appointed Hein Vanhaezebrouck manager. I like this guy. He took Gent to one of the most unlikely league wins in 2015. For many, this was a one-off, but Vanhaezebrouck
wasn’t finished. He steered Gent from pot 4 in the Champions League group stage, to the knock-out round, eliminating Valencia and Lyon from the competition in the process.
All of this was achieved with Rami Gershon in central defence, so it wasn’t as though he inherited a squad of undiscovered brilliance. Anderlecht will be vastly more effective when they visit Glasgow in December. We will still have enough to take care of them, but the Belgian’s home game to Bayern Munich on 22 November will not be a stroll for the visitors.
I’m in despair at Newco ‘taking legal advice’ after their friendly in Canada was cancelled due to insufficient ticket sales. I know there’s a clue in the used name (“Newco”) but have these people no real-world experience?
The time to take legal advice is when you contract to an undertaking, especially if you are asking fans to book flights. If the event organiser can put your money in escrow or put sufficient guarantor in place, sign the contract. If you, you know the game may never happen.
NEW CQN PODCAST FROM CELTIC PARK ON SATURDAY
Kevin Graham is back with a new CQN Podcast from Saturday. He talks to supporters on the bus on the way to Parkhead, interviews John Paul Taylor outside the ground and captures the atmosphere and action inside the ground before getting some more supporters’ views on the bus home after an eventful afternoon at Celtic Park.
Apologies for a few sweary words in this podcast near the end.
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Philbhoy….
I reckon the pop up adverts are driving people off the blog.
Most just want to speak their mind but can’t be bothered with the hassle of refreshing.
I know posters come on and give advice on how to bypass them but the hassle and the backing off other stuff is a nuisance, which quite a lot can do without.
It has been said in the past, to pay say a fiver a month, which I find cheap at the price and reckon most would have no problem with it to rid the blog of the pop ups.
Just an opinion, hopefully it might get taken on board. HH
GREENINBINGLEYINOSLO
Not the first time we are in agreement, well for a long time anyway.
I have been staggered that nobody has spotte that Aberdeen are alongside us, and we have to go there soon after a hard programme.
The ensuing fall out if we lose that game, which nobody wants, will be catastrophic.
Watch the posts rise then, we will win the league as we can put together a decent run in the March – April spell as we normally do. Stand fast and we will be fine, however a run inEurope will have domestic consequences.
Sipsini- i watched a segment on the EPL Prog on Sky, was about 8 Liverpool fans, who went from a fanzine to a podcast.They started a fiver a month subscription, they have their own radio show, various podcasts, it has went global
They are all full time at it now, and have offices in the city centre.Canny remember name of their group……interesting watch .
Bada….
Hope the powers at be take note of that.
Jude
I keep an eye on Josh at Brighton, because of you. He is doing good I read.
Sipsini
You packed for München yet. Canny wait. Buzzin mate. :)
Could I offer an opinion? If you use News Now Celtic and you can avoid it NEVER EVER click on ANY article from HITC! They are truly, truly anti-Celtic in everything they do. DON’T give them the click-bait.
Connaire
Your post to me was highlighted today by a friend, regarding our Polska Saint Goalkeeper John Paul 2, and our day out together in Murrayfield. I confess that the 10 buses that left from Saint Thomas Aquinas Glasgow were all Celtic fans and the 500 of us started You Will Never Walk Alone for Papa.
One of the best days of my life.
Lisbon was special too. Thank you.
Big Jozo is just an incredible defender – so very impressed by the Rock.
He is so concentrated and very committed to making a challenge, always well thought through quickly and inevitably, well timed. Kieran is the same. If Jozo messes up in the centre it is likely to be costlier. Both are right up there with the very best, IMO.
Need the big guy if we are gonnae get 3 points in Munich. Dedryck played well on Saturday.
We might go 3-5-2 if Jozo doesn’t make it.
It is Celtic, missing crucial players, I know we can do it.
The dude that done that was influenced by a Demon. Thats obvious.
Research huh?
32nd level was the first Scooby Doo.
The Secret ones Worship Lucifer and believe the Lie.
IS /IT is called Gnosticism.
BAE SYSTEMS has many doors that lead to irregular prosperity.
Flag this bampot up.
Good morning CQN from a dull and dry East Devon.
Good morning, friends from a rather wet, driech and windy East Kilbride.
That felt good ;-)
http://celticbynumberscom.ipage.com/scouting-report-john-mcginn-hibernian/
New feature! Scouting report. John McGinn of Hibernian.
DD…..
Missed your post last night, yep, all sorted for Munchen, it can’t come quick enough.
Celticbynumbers
A (another) fascinating read.
Watched McGinn give Broonie his most difficult, nuisance-filled domestic challenge while he was playing for St Mirren (aged 18-19?)
Said then we should take him home and was surprised and disappointed we let him go to Hibs.
I accept your statistical point that Saturday was something of a goal bonanza by his standards but one line did make me smile wryly …….
‘Can select poor shot options especially from distance’
Thank you.
HH jamesgang
Goooood Morning CQN
Reagan, Bryson, Dickson, etc, don’t think we have forgotten about you and your brethren
Now
Celtic by numbers
Interesting, and like big J, thought McGinn was worth a punt 2 years ago – and think he would improve further with Brendan’s guidance
Also (not surprising to me) the poor side of the potential new Scotland caps game
Timreaper where are you :-))))
Interesting read :-)))
How’s our FtSFA doing
The EFL’s rules have stopped a “quite significant” number of people from buying clubs, says its chief executive Shaun Harvey.
Those wanting to buy a club must pass the owners and directors’ test, which clubs agreed to tighten up in June.
It is designed to stop people damaging the “image and integrity” of the league and its competitions.
“What the test never gets credit for is how many people it stops from applying to buy a club,” Harvey told the BBC.
Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, the 47-year-old added: “It is only easy to pass if you have not committed any of the acts that mean you would fail it.”
“How many people don’t come forward to buy a club that otherwise would have done because of the test? I think the number is quite significant.
“They are the ones we are looking to prevent from buying our clubs.”
187 games worth of experience is extensive for a 22 year old. I was surprised but would ideally conduct analysis over 10 games. Don’t know if Sat was average for McGinn or not. HH
Celticbynumbers
Given my team manager is a diehard Hibbee whose daughter is a season ticket holder atvwaster road, Saturday’s result was quite ‘diplomatic’.
The Hibbees rave about McGinn. They’d part with him in exchange for Henderson.
(If Henderson and Christie are allowed to leave Celtic without giving had the chance to stake a claim on the pitch, I’ll be disappointed for both young men.)
HH jamesgang
PS Cowiebhoy and I agree on everything, notice that? Even now about CalMac!! ;-))))
Jamesgang…..
“The Hibbees rave about McGinn. They’d part with him in exchange for Henderson”….
Aye, plus a huge chunk of cash!
HH
JAMESGANG on 4TH OCTOBER 2017 8:17 AM
Imho it won’t happen for Henderson.
McGinn for Henderson would be a tremendous deal for Celtic. McGinn worth much more. I would like more data e.g. 10 games worth though.
Christie I don’t have enough data for but check out TheSPFLRadar, Dougie Wright, 90minutecynic and TheRangersReport on twitter who all rave about him.
Injuries to our players
———————————
I know Jozo is somewhat injury prone anyway but when you consider the additional demands on our players these days relative to our Scottish competition, no wonder we need a big squad.
Just thinking that we need to go through 6 qualifying games straight after the close season, we have another 6 group games, and last year we played what 8 to 10 cup games on our way to the treble?
Add our internationalists and it’s perhaps a total of an extra 25 games v some clubs, and probably 22 or so more than the Dons and Sevco. That’s a lot of extra football. Plastic pitches will add to the strain! We will probably be adding 2 EL games at least to that number. It’s an astonishing number of games and we get the shortest close season too with the SC final to deal with.
To be approaching 60 games unbeaten domestically, is an astonishing achievement.
I hope we can strengthen in the Jan window with an additional centre back. I assume Brendan will take the players on a winter break as he did last year. That’ll help too.
It’s a long shot, but if we were to do a double treble it’ll be one of the greatest feats ever achieved in football.
My colleague mentioned 20 quid as the additional fee she’d want!
Given how many coffees I’ve bought her over the last two years the actual total of funds moving from Glasgow to Edinburgh is nearer the million mark!!
HH jamesgang
Word of The Day
tumescent /tjuːˈmɛsənt/
adjective
1. swollen or becoming swollen
2. exhibiting or affected with many ideas or emotions; teeming.
3. pompous and pretentious, especially in the use of language; bombastic.
Derived Forms
tumescence, noun
Word Origin and History for tumescent
adj.
1806, from Latin tumescentem, present participle of tumescere “to begin to swell,” inceptive of tumere “to swell” (see thigh ).
KTF
Welcome back Jobo:)
COWIEBHOY 805
“How many people don’t come forward to buy a club that otherwise would have done because of the test? I think the number is quite significant.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How much would I have won last night if I’d picked different numbers? I think the number is quite significant.
AuntiesnunclesCSC
Lustig sits out Swedish training session too…….hope it’s a precaution….
G’mornin’ Jobo…………
A period of fine CQN weather exprected!
Twists n Turns, great point on fixture
Astana away was a huge mental and physical drain. Dropped points to St Johnstone afterwards. And we dropped points to Hibs following Anderlecht away.
We have Hibs in the Cup on the Saturday morning following Bayern away on the Wednesday, then Aberdeen away on the Wednesday. Respite at home to Killie on the Saturday? And then Munich at home and St Johnstone away following that. Munich game is Tuesday in Glasgow which helps, but that is some run of fixtures, every midweek with a fixture.
There’s then a two week break, presumably for world cup qualifiers. There’s a mini season in that run of fixtures, no world cup qualifiers for our players would be no great loss to me.
The run up to Christmas is full on too, with the League Cup Final should we get there following PSG away, and Hibs away following Anderlecht, then 9 games in 31 days from 29th November culminating in the festival of sevconian annihilation.
We need a squad and we need players confident and desperate to win a place and keep it, banishing thoughts of fatigue. The sports science team will be earning their money.
i think the love in for McGinn is way way over the top, barely noticed him in the first half, except when he was going east when Rogic was going west, at best a squad player for us
BLANTYREKEV
With the volume of games we have I don’t imagine the first team squad will do much training in between.
Stretching, physio, rest and some coaching.
I remember big Jock saying that when Celtic were playing 2 games a week they didn’t train as much.
Still, I am a wee bit concerned.
In Brendan I trust.
Does anyone know how many more games on average our players played last season, including internationals, than the others in the SPFL? I am sure it must average at least 20. This season, it might be more. And we had even less of a close season rest than the others, apart from Aberdeen. That must take its toll…….
TNT
I agree with everything that you say. With the ever increasing number of games our players are required to play, it is becoming a problem. Don’t forget, from next season we will have to play an extra two UCL qualifiers.
I know Brendan is looking at legacy, and Trebles are not to be sniffed at, but if we are to continue to keep the UCL cycle (SPFL Title – UCL Qualifiers- UCL Group stage +?) going, and we must to earn the funds to stay ahead in Scotland and compete in Europe, then I think the time has come, when we should put less player resource into the domestic cup competitions.
Using one, or preferably both, of the Cup domestic Cup competitions primarily for Youth development and injured first teamers’ recuperation would ease the burden on the playing squad over the season. If we didn’t target the Scottish Cup, then the first team squad could finish their season, as soon as the league is clinched. IMO this would remove 2-5 weeks of the season for the first team, and allow a proper break, and a proper pre-season for these players, and in doing so, would decrease the chances of having a catastrophic UCL Qualifier the following season.
A side benefit, would be a more challenging environment for our rising stars than the status quo. Who is to say they wouldn’t win one or both Cups anyway?
HH
HUNDERBIRDS ARE GONE
Do we have the extra games no matter how many co’efficient points we garner this season?
PARKHEADCUMSALFORD on 4TH OCTOBER 2017 10:34 AM
With 6 qualifiers, 6 CL games and a dozen or so in the 2 cup runs last season, I we played maybe an extra 10 on average (the lesser teams like Sevco played in the League Cup section games).
Our extra games were also at a higher level and intensity with much travelling (6 away European ties). A large proportion of our squad also play maybe 8 to 10 Internationals as well so some players may have had up to 20 games more than fellow professionals.
It will be much the same this season and a World Cup to follow in the summer! Not much downtime before the ECL qualifiers next year!
KTF