This is one of those hard ties to analyse. AEK were no more than a decent team. Certainly not a clear cut above, and for that reason, the tie remains alive. But despite being preseason, they defended impeccably.
They did their homework. Tom Rogic, who was immense on Saturday, was not given a yard. Celtic opened well with Callum McGregor the principle threat, most often when linking with Kieran Tierney. After those two crafted the opening goal, AEK man-marked McGregor out of the game.
James Forrest was effective when used; it was his change of direction which drew the second yellow card for Galanopoulos, but we were overtly left sided, reducing Forrest’s effectiveness. Olivier Ntcham was our creative fulcrum after McGregor was shut down, but the normally incisive balls into the box didn’t quite come off.
A few early mis-steps from Jack Hendry were not punished, but the resulting nervousness throughout the crowd was clear. Central defenders are crucial to how Celtic play. If you inhibit their willingness to step forward or show for a pass, you inhibit the entire team.
I’m not sure what Kris Ajer thought when he let a cross ball bounce inside the box a minute from the break. It was an inexplicable decision which brought AEK level and changed their game plan for the second half. Even tiring with 10 men, they defended their box flawlessly.
We regularly tried to find Odsonne Edouard with a ball over the top, but invariably found the striker dropping off to take a ball to feet. Nothing seemed to work for him.
A word on Scott Brown. Much of what Scott does is understated but I thought he raised the bar last night. He bossed all his personal challenges.
I called AEK favourites when the draw was made and they are more so now, but they are not Barcelona, circa 2010. We have been here before; no throwing of towels just yet.
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The hands cant hit what the eyes cant see
Absolutely, Brendan Rodgers is the most important employee at Celtic Park – he is the man we must not upset in order to keep him for as long as possible.
However, by the same token he signed the following players for ~£10m:
Musonda (loan fee), Hayes, Hendry, Compper, De Vries, Gamboa, Kouassi
None of these players appear to be trusted, yet he signed them.
I agree that his good signings have been very good, but not good enough to negate the holes left by poor signings at European level.
If we are going to step up a level and match everyone’s expectations of European progress then everyone needs to up their game: players in the performance on the pitch, manager in the recruitment and coaching side, and the board in their mentality and ambition.
Aw, bloody hell, you’ve made me enter the debate ;)
Denayer has knocked us back again………………according to reports
The pattern is there if only you looked
WITS you are a bad man, annoying the £49ers
You have an agenda, I wouldn’t be surprised if you start posting under 49 different monikers.
HH
D. :)
Go tell
Whats that – Players who dont want to play for Celtic?
Andun,
“Seeing him go to Villa for less than £ 3 million is an insult to BR”
Guff.We offered the same money.Mc Ginn chose Villa.I would think its Mc Ginn who insulted BR.
Davidopoulos
Disgraceful misuse of “by the same token”. Mods, please delete that post.
At least I didn’t say “which begs the question” while Ernie Lynch was about. Definately…
BOURNESOUPRECIPE on 9TH AUGUST 2018 1:26 PM
James Forrest
Transfer window is wide open?
Surprised at you of all people joining forces with SMSM and jumping on their bandwagon of made up leaks and body language expertise.
Hail Hail
==================
I’m not BSR. Selling clicks on Celticblog or newspapers at the local shop both need content that baits those clicking or buying. James has mouths to feed and this is one’s a seller amongst the malcontents.
TURKEYBHOY on 9TH AUGUST 2018 1:22 PM
David 17,
The person who made the decision was Mc Ginn.The faux outrage on here at failing to land a guy,we did not need is breathtaking.Fek Mc Ginn.Another who will never reach any heights apart from mediocrity.
==========================
Expressed a similar sentiment in the early hours:
“…As for McGinn – I can’t go along with all of this “you can’t blame the boy”, “good luck to him”, etc.
As far as I’m concerned he – supposedly a lifelong Celtic fan – had a chance to come to Celtic on very good money.
HE chose Aston Villa over his ‘heroes’ – it wasn’t Petrie or Lawwell that made the choice – it was McGinn.
And apparently because he had a ‘nice chat’ with Steve Bruce and a good meal.
Not much of a price to turn the head of a ‘lifelong Celtic supporter’ who would do anything to join his ‘heroes’.
I hope he wakes up at some point soon and realises that he’ll never look back on a career where he has achieved his boyhood dream of playing for Celtic – and I hope he regrets his decision.
Celtic fan my arse.
Bitter? Me? You bet !!!…”
HH
BGFC
PS – still think Pedro should have fully-backed Brendan in his desire to get the player in, irrespective of whether I personally thought McGinn was good/great/average/worth the money/MoJo Mk2
BOURNESOUPRECIPE:
You’re surprised at me why? If we lose in Athens and go out of the Champions League a lot of people on this site are going to say there is no proof that we’d have won had we gone on and strengthened the team. My answer to that is that I’ll accept that argument but ONLY if those same people accept Lord Nimmo Smith’s verdict that EBT’s conferred “no sporting advantage” to Rangers … because it’s the SAME argument.
We were the better team last night, and the margin between a decent home win and a draw where we’ve conceded the away goal was a thin one … I am not out of order and neither is Brendan to suggest that perhaps it might have been different with a stronger squad.
The transfer window is open, yes. It’s been open for months. Other clubs have no problem buying players, some of them are assembling whole squads. None of us is asking for that. The manager is not asking for that. Even if we do sign players now, the manager is entitled to believe the failure to do it sooner was stupid. If we go out in this round it will have been calamitous.
The assertion that I am “joining forces with the MSM” is cobblers and you know it, but you have nothing to counter a single point I’ve made and are playing the man not the ball. Unfortunately I am NOT surprised at you for doing so. The accusation is groundless, and ludicrous. No-one in the Celtic blogosphere slams the media and aggressively pursues their myriad lies more than I do.
Did I believe Chris McLaughlin last night? Yes, I did. I also believe what I hear come out of the manager’s mouth.
Look, the bottom line here is very simple; you can try and convince me all you like that everything is fine at Celtic Park; even if you succeeded and I did believe it, and wrote that I believed it, I’m afraid you have a bigger problem than me, a humble blogger who has exactly zero influence on these matters.
Brendan Rodgers does not believe it.
That’s the problem right there, and attacking me is not going to solve it.
TURKEYBHOY
Listen to what Rodgers said a few days back. He identified McGinn quite sometime ago. Celtic left the window open for Villa. That’s what Rodgers said.
Celtic matched Villa after they entered the race and put down their offer. The race should have been over had Celtic acted quicker and not decided to haggle over relative pittance.
Rodgers deserves better and I’m at a loss as to how any Celtic fan can’t see that.
BSR
youre supposed to look for it.
There are many patterns, including my badly constructed posts.
Pattern 1) Lets call Man City and see who they’ve got, someones got to get commission
Pattern 2) good or even great manager gets successful up to a point and then gets frustrated by the very same people that sold him the snake oil, then they’re the victim of chinese whispers from a faceless coward of a board member who wont put his (or her) name to the information they’re passing and then the rhetoric changes into making out the team is fine its the manager thats not getting the best out of them.
Hope that makes my ramblings clearer
If Peter Lawell gave an interview in which he expressed his disappointment at the manner in which we lost 7 1to PSG how would that go down.
Brendan Rodgers should not have alluded to any disharmony in his interviews.
Any way its a storm in a teacup. Extremely difficult to please Celtic fans.
Then you have the professional moaners the professional bloggers with crazy egos the trolls and the mentally ill.
A perfect storm.
why have celtic been cursed by meaness no matter who runs club billionaire dermot and the other irish billionaire whos name escapes me
Hi Paul67,
“I called AEK favourites when the draw was made and they are more so now, but they is not Barcelona, circa 2010. We have been here before; no throwing of towels just yet.”
Well, having not seen the game I’m loathed to look too deeply into the performance but from what you are saying and the updates from the ghuys last evening we seemed to have the beating of this team, even though they are a better prospect than we have faced this season.
To loose a goal just before halftime is always a sore one… AEK couldn’t have timed it better.
We’ve been hugely unlucky with the defence during the qualifiers, in personnel, injuries, suspensions and preparation. The better teams will take advantage.
As you say it is now a tuff ask in Athens but for me if we have Dembele playing, we are favourites.
Hail Hail
WHAT IS THE STARS:
A staggering, and loathsome, characterisation of fellow Celtic supporters. Hunnic in its offensiveness.
“A storm in a tea-cup.”
The manager at the end of his rope, a board member briefing against him before a momentous game.
Wow. Just wow.
I thought that Jòse won four trophie’s in his first season at ManU, the Europa league trophy being one of them, making it the fourth 4th European trophy of his career. Dizny sound like much of a mug to me. Maybe it was his second season?
Heard a wee story, don’t know if its true, here goes, but I stress, it’s just talk that I heard.
Brendan was brought here and paid for by Celtic PLC, to get them over the same club issue, and help to kick, resolution 12, and the JR etc into the long grass, but most important to them, the old Firm games were eased back into the fixtures, without any Celtic fans rebellion, when that was achieved, a convenient ruck would be created, leading to Brendan leaving the club, and the sleeper at Kilmarnock, Steve Clarke, would be brought to Celtic Park, and a casualty would emerge from the boardroom, serving as a decoy, and a dust settling period.
As I said at the beginning, its only talk.
HH
Why this sudden belief that Chris McGoblin is an oracle of truth? In 2012 his ‘scoops’ were coming from Ramsay Smith at Media House, the huns PR people…
WEEBOBBYCOLLINS:
I’ll put it as simply as I put in the article of earlier.
If Chris McLaughlin made that up I look forward to writing about his immediate, and permanent, banishment from Celtic Park because that is an atrocity of a lie if that’s what it is.
But it won’t happen, because yes, I do believe he is telling the truth on this one, as painful as that is and as horrible as it is to believe.
AFter all the talk on here today about there being a board/PL v Brendan thing going on , and who the good guys are and aren’t , I have a couple of conundrums in my head and can’t see the issues as clear or as bad or good as others seem.
There seems to be only two camps and I don’t seem to be in either but want to be in both. I have an in built and deep scepticism of anything from SMSM and particularly BBC and STV. I have an in built and deep scepticism of the Celtic board and can clearly see past failures to invest when in front.
However, I am equally sure that Celtic will earn lots more money competing in the Champions league and consequently PL would be on a much bigger bonus. Also Champions league will trigger bigger sponsor payments and bigger bonus for PL. in some ways PL will probably personally benefit more from Champions Leaque qualification than most others. So why would he not be doing his best to get us there.
I’m sure he is doing his best because of that and because he is a supporter. So I’m also sure that things not happening aren’t just penny pinching but may be due to other things we don’t know about.
All in all – I don’t believe we are doing all we can and yet think that people in control actually want to.
Conundrums, conundrums!
WITS
Just how would that interview go?
First question a sensible interviewer would put to PL would be “do you not think the lack of quality defenders you had contributed to the mauling?”
……..the grummlers, will rummel oan….some of them will be genuine of course, but ithers………..nah!
Never here for the Cheers, only ever for the Jeers.
Doesn’t matter who it is or what it’s aboooot.
My own opinion they are just as much, or even more, anti-CQN than they are anti- Celtic.
A strong harmonious, united Celtica is a big, big affront and threat to hundom kulchur.
Arzani even been announced yet? He looks like one we should be excited about and may provide that bit of flair we miss at times.
HH
After our embarrassments in the CL group stages last season BR and his staff obviously decided that a change was needed in how we approached European games. When we played Zenit in EL he had changed to a 3 at the back, 2 wing backs, 4 midfielders and 1 up front. It worked in the home leg but didn’t in the away leg. However in the away leg we dominated possession and it was individual errors by Simunovic and De Vries that killed us in the first half.
The three at the back looks like its how he intends us to set up this season. In Europe we can pack the midfield whilst at home we have the option of 2 up front. Some previously first pick players don’t fit into that system (Sinclair being the obvious one). IMO BR thinks Ajer is the long term main man in back three. He wants to keep Boyata but has known for month that Boyata wants to leave. Compper and Lustig either side of Ajer was probably the plan for this part of this season however with Lustig at the WC longer than probably expected and Compper ?????? that plan has been thwarted. Hendry was back up to Lustig but has been pushed forward quicker than would have been ideal (he has done better than many seem to think and has become a whipping bhoy), Simunovic has been asked to play on the left of a three and struggles there. I would assume we are looking at a left sided centre half to take the role Compper was meant to fill and a Boyata replacement if he leaves. We don’t need a right back, we need a right wing back who can be back up for Forrest or play ahead of him in games where the defence will be under more pressure.
MON WGS NFL all left for the same reason. Lawwell has veto power and a huge ego. BR will leave for the same reason
Copy an’ paste – sleekit lexicon –
Arrange in any order.
Lawwell, Bonus, Pennies, Board,Investment, Confusion, Dithering, Bust -up.
Ad-nauseum.
Ivan Obradovic , new name on the scene ……a spoof or real interest ?? anyone out there seen this guy play ?
James Forrest,
As much as I love reading your stuff,you seem to be getting a tad hysterical about recent events.Brendan is not too happy at the moment.Two weeks ago Mourinhio was on Sky Sports giving his board pelters about not signing his choices.Last season,Pep did the same.Itswhat managers do.Have always done.Nothing new there.You say the Board have done the bare minimum.The gave BR the money for Edouarde.They gave the new contracts to Ajer,Rogic.What has he asked for so far,he has not got.Mc Ginn?.Maybe I am wrong but I recall you wrote that Hibs and Petrie were at it.Whats changed.?When the manager himself is awaiting todays English market to close,his words,and we still have around 3 weeks of our market to go,it would have been more seemly to wait till then before slaughtering the Board.
If our Board were so keen on cashing in,do you not think Boyatta would be having a medical at Fulham today?He is not there because BR said he needed him.God knows what for after his omission last night.With a year left,this could backfire big time on us.If BR,as you seem to think has massive problems with the Board,then resign.Dont go mumbling to the Media in a roundabout way .He started it,and if what you believe,that someone from our Board carried it on both are in the wrong.
To make such a fuss over a bang average playerlike Mc Ginn,who had the chance to sign for us,but chose not to,is quite frankly,playing into the SMSM hands.You know they read your stuff.They will be loving it,and sharpening their pencils.
Btw…re last night’s game…I thought we were a wee bit unlucky. I did say to my son that I wished Lustig would get closer to his man and prevent crosses coming in…but hey ho! After more than 60 years watching the Celtic, some things never change…the big difference is that before, it was a quick post match analysis in the pub then on to the next game…nowadays, it’s blah, bloody blah, blah, blah…right up to kick off….preferred the pub chat…modern day blah blah is rubbish!
Gary 67,
Gamboa?Well,maybe I am alone in this,but he has impressed me.Why he was omitted from the team last night,to me anyway,is a mystery.
“Bhoays,….
*wheeeesht*….
….This jist in,……..
(soto – voce)………ye’ never heard it here – awwrite?
…………Appairuntly, thurs a huge boardroom bust-up, it’s aw aboooot the konfusion aroon, the transfer deal an’ the ditherin’. Also heard Lawwel, Bonus, Manager……..ye know, disnae look guid….
..aye.
….nuff said…”
GARY67
I think that’s quite a gamble to see Kris as the main man, takes a lot of games to be a quality centre half, I know that view might not be so popular on here:)))
Agree on Jack Hendry, the boy has been called upon to step in ahead of schedule and I think has handled it pretty well, he’ll go on to be a guid ‘un I think.
What do you think of Kouassi in the middle next week or is that too big an ask for a young player with little game time??
KT on the left of a three could also be a possibility but then we would need a big game from Scott Sinclair who I didn’t think was as bad when he came on last night as some were suggesting!
HH
TURKEYBHOY on 9TH AUGUST 2018 1:22 PM
David 17,
I’m inclined to agree with you re McGinn and have made similar points over the past few days.
Re the transfer, I thought PL had it in hand and so I was content with our strategy. The trouble is what Brendan has said. BR has openly criticised how long it took to do business and made it clear that he expected the business to be done. I would expect PL to keep BR in the loop in terms of what is happening and to escalate the matter, ie. do the deal at Hibs price if Brendan told him he really needed the player, which is along the lines of what Brendan is saying.
I’m not bothered about McGinn. We missed out on one player, no big deal, maybe we got the strategy wrong but it happens. I’m bothered about what BR said and the reasons for that. Particularly why this is in the public domain.
Big Wavy
Totally agree
James
I’ll read that and reply later
Go Tell
Same
It’s amazing the pull the CL/moneyball cup has on clubs now – we have no chance of winning it, progressing in it would be our world cup win, not getting humped is a good result and getting one win is seen as a significant accomplishment. Whoever created it knew what they were doing and somebody somewhere is making shed loads of money.
I recall the days when many would unquestioningly believe anything negative said or written about Fergus McCann.
Today many want a stand named after him.
The perspective of time is a funny thing.
TURKEYBHOY:
The McGinn story is well known mate, as you’ve said yourself. I do not believe that Petrie would have sold John McGinn to Celtic under any circumstances short of having a metaphorical gun stuck to his head. I also believe – believe but don’t know – that Brendan and his coaching team were fully aware of that fact and had intimated that if worst came to worst they could live without him.
John McGinn is not the issue here. That’s part of the problem, that the manager, in his frustration, hit out at the board for failing to complete a deal where he knew there were extenuating circumstances.
I said in my piece on McGinn yesterday that whatever happened in that deal I would not hold anyone at Celtic Park accountable for it, and I stand by that. I do not. I believe, in fact, that we ought never to have submitted the final bid. It made us look weak in chasing a deal we would never have been able to complete.
That’s part of what worries me; it’s as if Brendan made that a line in the sand, because I know for sure that the club had no intention of matching any bid for McGinn that Hibs got prior to Brendan’s statement. Call that arrogance in the belief that he would sign for us in January and hold off until then … there’s an argument for that, for sure, but I think many of us wrongly assumed the same.
The problem is that Brendan’s comments seem to have bounced them, and that can only mean that what he said in private was even more forceful than what he said in public. Equally, I’m astonished and concerned that Boyata is being retained when a seriously good offer for him is on the table … I suspect that, too, is a sign that the manager is digging his heels in.
I wish I didn’t believe any of that, but I do.
I think Brendan’s loyalty to the club is being sorely put to the test. He won’t resign unless the breakdown is complete and irrevocable; he has no interest in doing us harm. Neither, by the way, does the board and I refute any suggestion that they do.
This is a deliberate policy, of that there is no doubt, but it is not designed to do harm.
The simple truth is that ours would not be the first board ever to think it knows better than the manager. A calculation has been made – and part of it is being made on how good Brendan is, by the way – that we had enough in the squad to go through. Over-confidence, arrogance, call it what you will … it doesn’t have to be based on BAD faith … just misplaced faith.
And the irony is, Brendan might very well pull this off.
Yes, I’m worried. Relationships can collapse over misunderstandings and miscommunication just as easily as by wilful deceit and bad intentions. This one is now fragile, and it shouldn’t be. It’s tragic that we’re here.
Right! I’m going for a cup of tea…think I’ll put something in it! @&%::*8*$££@@++$!”@
Yuk! I don’t like sugar in my tea… :-)
Tranquilos todos…
TURKEYBHOY
Ascribing my views as merely taken from the media is completely unfounded. I watched both Sevco’s games against the Croats. As a manager, I always watched the main opposition to learn as much as I could. In both games, Barisic was, by a fair margin, the best player on the park. He played against Sevco on the Thursday, and was signed the following Tuesday. It took 4 days. How long have we been seeking a full back?
I know who owns Juventus. I know how wealthy they are. That is not the point. Like AEK, (who are not wealthy) conscious of the threat of rivals PAOK, they were proactive in the summer in doing their best to maintain the gap and repeat the following season. We have far more financial resources than Sevco, and what have we done? Signed a player we had on loan, extended another’s contract, and possibly bringing in another loan from Man City.
The double treble is in the past. We have to look forward. If we do nothing to tighten up our back 4, it will come back to bite us in the arse this season. We have lost three shutouts in a row at Celtic Park to eminently avoidable goals already. Watch Ajer holding a Livingston player in the box in the last minute where even a moderately defensive center half would have reacted quickly to intercept the ball before it reached him. He is naive, slow, and gets turned too easily. Lustig is a shadow of the previous player, and Simunovich is an accident waiting to happen. Unless we do something radical in the next three weeks, eight in a row is going to be a lot more fraught than many on this blog seem to believe. I hope I am wrong, but I fear it is already too late for Athens on Tuesday.
Hail, hail, IniquitousIV