This afternoon’s friendly against Tottenham Hotspur gives Ronny Deila a dilemma. Last weekend he played a second string against St Pauli, but with things going so wrong in Warsaw on Wednesday, the pressure is on to pull a game plan together which will work at Murrayfield.
Our other concern is that the squad, without Ambrose, Brown and Forrest, is already looking threadbare. We simply can’t afford an injury to afflict Commons, Griffiths, Stokes, Johansen, van Dijk, Matthews, Lustig or Izaguirre.
The suggestion was put to me this week that we should play Lustig with van Dijk in central defence on Wednesday. Lustig can play there, but would Ronny trust them on such an important occasion without a warm-up game?
If I was taking a risk with first-team players this afternoon it would be to pair these two. If we’re going to get the required result on Wednesday the most important area of the team to get right is the defence.
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2,168 Comments- Pages:
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boabyevans
12:46 on 2 August, 2014
Long time lurker very occasional poster just wanted to say I have been told to bet intrinsic in the gold cup 3.50 Goodwood from a normally reliant source , I would not normally post tips but I have had so many good tips from other posters & I would be delighted if I could repay you in some small way , so here’s hoping it wins now back to lurking HH
Gary67 13.13
Been thinking along the same lines. Maybe a 3-5-2 with Henderson, Biton and Johansen in the middle. While of course we need goals, we really can’t afford to concede any.
I’d have CM at LB & EI at ML to give us a chance of not being KO’d
67 heaven
Down with that sort of thing :-))
I’m thinking Pukki isn’t getting a game on weds as he’s selected for todays match.
What other club would organise a friendly on a Saturday between two midweek CL qualifying matches? I suppose there’s money in it. Hope Spurs don’t play their strongest team against our kids, but I expect they will.
G67- rest assured the intrepid FOCUS crack troops will have the vermin in Derby in their sights………hope they made it back from Warsaw safely…..
Mulgrew at CB, Lustig at RB, drop Matthews as he has contributed very little over a long period of time for me.
eddie – Pukki is maybe only there because he’s Finnish?
Is the game only on Celtic TV?!
T4
Is that Jackson Irvine in our starting line up?
Allegedly, Pukki is only playing to fulfil contractual commitments. Perhaps Paul67 can shed some light on this.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
eddieinkirkmichael
Pukki’s hometown I think Eddie..
Good luck lennybhoy here’s hoping it wins
Eddie
I’d imagine it’ll be the same for Henderson which is a shame. I’d much prefer his engine on Wednesday in our midfield.
Paul67
I’m sure I read the only starting player to travel was Pukki.
Hamiltontim
I agree with you this time! Henderson should start against Legia. I think our ball retention would be much better with him and Biton in the team.
starry plough
Think big Mulgrew needs to be dropped for this one. I like Charlie he has been a good player for us since his return. But watching him on Wednesday I honestly felt his head had gone completely.
The tie has gone anyway and in the long term the EL is better for the club, support and the new manager in what we can only hope will be a season when a new direction will unfold.
This season we would have been humiliated in the CL and the lack of realism and expectation of the many hysterical supporters would have been too much for a new system to bed in.
saint stivs
13:03 on 2 August, 2014
does anyone know where i can buy a pommel horse.
————————————————————–
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_kw=pommel+horse
79caps
Phew, I was starting to think you were picking on me :-)
Yep I’d definitely have Biton and Johanson in the starting 11 alongside Henderson.
I read the St.Johnstone are looking for £800,000 for Stevie May with Watt leaving and Balde likely to follow him do you think Celtic should take a punt on him H.H.
question in the irish cub last night.
if celtic are debt free why does the co-op have security over Celtics assets.?
could not answer.
Boabyevans… that the race that gives e/w for 5 places??
H.H.
I am certain that if the SPFL was a summer league, and Celtic had played say 15-20 competitive games, we would have demolished that Polish mob.
HH.
saint stivs, you could try here ;-)
http://www.gymnova.com/en/catalogue/f1-AGR-apparatus/f2-ARC-pommel-horses
timhorton 14:01 on 2 August, 2014
Who asking the question and who was answering it?
Hearing the hun hordes are wrecking supermarkets etc in Derby
This would be my team for Murrayfield
4-4-2 diamond which is the formation that brought about our best performances last year.
——————Forster
Lustig—-VVD—–Mulgrew—-Izaguirre
——————-Biton
——-Kayal / (Henderson)—Johansen
—————–McGregor
———–Griffiths —– Commons
Commons is not a number 10 in the european sense. He is a number 10 in a British sense, a 2nd striker, where his lack of mobility doesn’t hinder the midfield, a Mark Hughes type of player. I’m convinced that front 3 has goals in them. Full backs flying forward to provide width. We’re going to have to be open, so we must control the midfield.
BIG-CUP-WINNERS
Aye whatever way ye slice it, we need the defence to be solid, the midfield to be mobile and the strikers to be scoring, a tall order for any team.
We are in a period of I would say “unplanned transition!” and it could be sore until we sort it out. I hope we make it to the CL as it’s the place to be and our chances there can’t be that much worse than last year. I thought we had a poor season overall last year so this new system and changes can hopefully improve on that given some time and patience both of which I try to have with the team.
I’ll get my rosary beads out!!
Bring on the Legia..
big-cup-winners
Until last season we’d equipped ourselves admirably in the CL. At times we’ve done it without key players who were out through either injury or suspension.
In my opinion last year’s battering away to Barcelona was inevitable at some point. We’ve continually punched above our weight and I always felt a result like that was just around the corner.
Some of our poor performances in Europe last season weren’t helped by some strange tactics and team selections, at times were far too offensive when we should have looked to keep things tight.
We always risk another humping but I’d take that risk if it meant playing at the top table.
Is the game on anywhere?
Secondly….why are the woman boxers wearing headgear at the common wealth games and the blokes aren’t?
JFH
Yes. If we can’t afford better then he’s the type of striker we could do with.
timhorton
Celtic have a £30 odd million facility with the Co-op, comprising a term loan and an overdraft facility.
Part of the deal to have the overdraft facility is to have drawn down the term loan, which currently sits at about £9M (reducing each year).
This was put in place a decade ago to give the club flexibility in an uncertain environment.
The overdraft facility isn’t used, and since the bank account has an 8 figure sum in it (prob in excess of £20M just now) the cash at bank nets off against the loan leaving us something like £10 odd million in credit – the June accounts will be out in 6 weeks or so and will confirm the numbers.
In order to have this facility, the bank requires security.
Celtic could elect to cancel the agreement and rescind the security, although since it’s cheap as chips to operate the facility – Libor plus 1.125% – and gives a ready made financial fall back in the event of need, that’s highly unlikely.
Hope that’s helpful.
Sanna re jodpurs
GO outdoors.coatbridge and clydebank
Greaves in Gordon st
HH
I’m sure that’s Lee Naylor playing against the Tribute act.
Drambowie celt yes
Hamiltontim
I agree about playing at the top table, but perhaps, just perhaps taking a step back may allow the club to progress to a higher level after the new ideas, ideals and approach take root.
We weren’t really going forward in recent seasons, the opposite in fact. Perhaps, the innovative appointment will allow the opposite.
Perhaps not, but the status quo was stagnation.
Dilema bhoys
Just met my niece’s fiancé
From n.i.wearing a linfield top for ffs.got party tonight what to do?
the battered bunnet
14:12 on 2 August, 2014,
I remember you posted the same information last year when I asked for clarification on our credit agreement with the co- op bank.
The huns were clutching at straws regarding it, your reply to me enabled me to “bury” them.
Thanks again. HH