That was the latest instalment in a long running series of Behind the Couch Celtic away performances in Europe, with the wonderful exception that after Hapoel Be’er Shiva had us on the rack in the opening period of the second half, Celtic put five at the back and closed the game out without any stressful incidents in the final 15 minutes.
There are a few moments worthy of comment:
Hapoel’s penalty came as a consequence of Celtic pressing high up the field for the first time in the game. The home team dropped deep as they were temporarily reduced to 10 men, but when Celtic pressed high to take advantage of an opponent receiving treatment, they easily passed through us, switched the ball left and gave Saidy Janko his first difficult moment of the night.
More on Saidy in a moment, but we cannot allow teams to pass through us so easily. We should never have been caught so high up field. Our alertness, interceptions and tackling were not good enough. Craig Gordon’s block at the penalty was priceless (or at a price of circa £26m, if you’re being picky).
There’s a reason teams who mark zonally at corner kicks don’t mark the penalty spot. It’s because headers from the penalty spot need to be exceptional in order to beat the keeper. Sahar’s goal wasn’t an exceptional header. It bounced before passing Craig Gordon three feet inside the post. It should never have been a goal, and although Craig’s mistake for the second was more evident, the first was as worrying a goal to concede.
We’re fond of talking about “schoolboy errors” in football but Saidy’s lack of awareness of his direct opponent and goalkeeper at the second goal was a classic error from the 9-year-old’s game. I’ll be generous and say he’s not ready for a game at this level. Craig Gordon doesn’t have a let off for this one, either. While his fullback made a mistake, an alert keeper would have prevented the goal and knocked Saidy into next week. Awareness concerns exist for him too.
Whether it’s Craig’s self-confidence, or that the defence don’t have confidence in him, goalkeeping mistakes came perilously close to seeing us drop out of the Champions League last night.
Not that Craig shoulders all responsibility for what was a weak performance. The middle of the park was experimental and looked it. On the back of one of his best games for Celtic a week ago, Scott Brown’s passing, control and influence was miles off the pace.
Scott, Callum McGregor and Nir Bitton were swamped in midfield. Too few Celtic players were showing for the ball, which was thrown forward aimlessly whenever a Hapoel player closed us down. If central midfield is right, your defensive and goalkeeping frailties are less evident, but we were exposed too often at the back last night. There was a period in the second half when watching on TV made it impossible to know where we were going wrong. After a Hapoel chance, we would see a replay, and before it cut back to live pictures, Celtic had lost possession and were again under pressure. This happened repeatedly. Central midfield was the major problem with the performance, if not the result.
Don’t let any of this dampen your spirits. We’re into the Champions League group stage, a fact which will see us break through the £80m turnover mark for the first time. By comparison, turnover was £51m for 2014-15, the most recent season accounts are available for.
Despite the increase in expenditure this season, we’ll pay our bills without increasing borrowing or selling players. We’re on the circuit again, which means we’ll find it easier to attract talent going forward, it means we’ll find it easier to attract commercial deals and pretty much every KPI at the club will become that bit more attainable.
Last night was a transformational day in the life of your football club. We’re back, enjoy it!
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Some different guys mentiomed as variables to the team from last night, maybe at that level they are not good enough? I don’t think we would have went through without Kolo Toure in that team . Scott Sinclair is everything the modern day wide player should be, his workrate was amazing last night, a top player .
Starry
Bastian no daft as the price globally is seeing a sharp rise
he’s stocking up on valuable protein
http://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/foodanddrink/the-world-s-most-expensive-rump-steak-is-going-on-sale-at-aldi-for-499-this-bank-holiday-weekend-a3327401.html
Does sporting advantage only occur when financial superiority is ligitimately obtained?
AskSMSM csc
OG RAFFERTY
Thanks for response.
Didn’t have much time for the Alliance Party though in comparison to the Gregory Donaldsons and the bonehead of the TUV would prefer them. Didn’t a certain lady member of that party suffer for expressing support for the reunification of the country? Nust a thought that in some small way we, as a club, could help the reconciliation process if that is what we, and they, want. Won’t be offended in the slightest if people disagree. That is the purpose of any blog. HH
BIGCHIPSUK – 10 IN A ROW (2001-2010) on 24TH AUGUST 2016 5:03 PM
timaloy29, fair point, but I’ve heard that comments preceded by such as “I’ve heard that…” are generally just idle speculation.
____
That’s exactly why I added that. I didn’t want to present it as absolute fact.
Starry
I think he’s clearly for sale,
Not for the first time in recent seasons our spacing was the problem last night.
We expanded the field for our opponents to exploit.
Distance between defensive and forward positions was enormous.
Both fullbacks had to contend with opponents having options of both sides to attack them.
That KT managed to negate this says a lot about how talented he is.
We truly need an onfield general to organise and lead from the central areas.
Brown is a courageous and physical leader but does not have the required intelligence to be the conductor.
This should be where we spend most of our budget.
BOURNESOUPRECIPE
Good player on his day, I would love to know what happened there, looks to me like he took the huff and said feckthisfurragemmeosoldiers:)
Geordie
That is my intention at the moment. If I do go, I will email about meeting up for a pint.
Cheerio for now,
JJ
BT £897 M contract for footie – go ahead CT , try and take them , even the argonauts in L5 are out of their depth with that type of clout.
Janko I seem to have noted slumped to his knees on the final whistle- was there something amiss or just aware of the poor perfermance he seemed to have whatever scott Brown was straight over to him
my own 90 mins and ET was exemplary.
Phil’s latest …
http://www.philmacgiollabhain.ie/the-brendan-voyage/#more-7849
We badly need a good defensive midfielder asap, that would be my priority .
Is the James McCarthy rumour strong or just aul paper chat… Love to see him in the hoops.
Hope Rodgers is given nice budget to bring in 1 or 2 quality players
An Teach Solais @17.09hrs.
I think that’s an excellent idea in principle. How would it work in practice, difficult but possible.
If there’s a will there’s a way.
Sometimes we all need to think outside the box.
Hail, Hail.
WHITEDOGHUNCH
Relief probably:))
This article from JohnJames about the UEFA ‘New Club’ letter is always worth another read :
https://johnjamessite.com/2016/08/24/could-the-detail-be-in-the-advertising-retail/
GREENPINTA @ 17.39h
Thanks for comment. Yes, it might be difficult to achieve and, after earnesr consideration by the club ruled out on practical issues. I see the joy on the faces of the schools/ youth clubs invited to CP by the Kano Foundation – no, I am not suggesting for one moment that the foundation should be landed with the job of implementing any possible visit by kids from the divided communities in Palestine-Israel conflict but just wonder…… Would it be possible/feasible?? Just a feather floated in the wind. HH
Spending (reported) to date by the PLC on recruitment,
Sinclair £4m
Dembelle £500k
Toure Free
DdV (undisclosed)
Sales Scepovic £1m
Fisher (undisclosed)
£13m net was spent over the last 2 seasons…(on 23 players)
(TD67, We reportedly made £26m on sales and spent £13m.)
So we’ve been spending £6.5m per season net of player sales and no CL income.
To date this season it’s about £3.5m…plus DdV’s cost.
How much we’re paying in wages now is another story?
HH
Evening Celts,
We are there.
Yep all that could have happened but it didnt.
We are having a party
In the Champions league
Well done Celtic
It all about us.
God bless you Celtic
Hah
Celtic have won more European Cup/Champions League titles than all 4 of Englands representatives combined.
Not sure if this has been posted before. Even if it has been, it will add to the joy of the day.
Thai Tims serenading BR . . . “He is awesome, he is witty. He is the boss of Glasgow City . . .”
http://www.espnfc.us/blog/the-toe-poke/65/post/2936414/thai-schoolchildren-sing-about-celtic-manager-brendan-rodgers
HH
https://twitter.com/LilZe1888/status/768487115223162880
CHICAGOBHOY 1967 @ 5.51pm
Thank you for posting the link to Thai Tims’ latest song in honour of Brendan Rodgers. Truly inspiring. Hail, hail
I’ve been reading the Scottish papers and its obvious that we should spend a few Bob buying the sevco squad, apparently they have better players than us!
THETIMREAPER@5-53
In fairness he is just coming back to fitness.
In the development squad he was probably making higher risk plays as there are no serious consequences.
Would not make any judgements on his play there.
Ajer looked weak in one development squad cup game in cup but then was excellent against a much higher calibre opponent in the Inter game.
When players get an extended run in the first team it will be fair to judge.
come on Celtic – for once !! give us a full strength football team – fed up with a “nearly” a good team. We need 3 quality signings for champs league surprises
TBB
Neganon posted last night.
He´s out shopping with the wife buying a new sofa. The wife just want´s it upholstered but he´s demanding a Ralph Benz Burgundy leather Luxus corner sofa. Which might be a bit dangerous
PeekingRoonCornersCSC
Bobby Charlton having a medical at Sevco.
An Tearmann.
How good is that? Having a huddle in the Champions League.
L.D. is training with Dundee Utd but no deal done yet. They want to see him and L.D. wants to go somewhere where he will get game time.
I would keep Janko, Johanson, Bitton, Armstrong, Mc Gregor, cifti .. along with Ajer, O´Connel, Henderson and I would play them in all domestic cup games this season and make a judgement on them next summer unless their contract is up (then sell) or we get a fee as good as we paid for them.,
HH
Bada Bing – i would agree re toure. the value of having a guy who has been there and done that is huge. Those who were inexperienced or struggling for form last night could take a real lift from knowing he was in the team beside them and in any walk of life a person like that who those around can rely on is really valuable.
Another one like that or with the potential to be that guy in our midfield would be more than useful. Maybe even an experienced front man who might give us an option and bring on dembele too just as toure will bring on o’connell and erik.
Sipsini- we have a guy of true class in charge of the team, you can be sure it wasn’t the SMSM who applauded Brendan at the end of the press conference….
RT- aye, a wee bit of experience would help a mostly young group of players.HH
Pot 1 Pot 2 Pot 3 what a load of kheech……really.
Stick all the teams in together and draw them out 1v1, forget all this co-efficient crap, every team should have the chance to play anyone in the draw.
In fact take the ones who have never won the league in their own country and stick them somewhere else….who cares where.
This UEFA mob have ruined the whole shebang imho.
Load of nonsense if you ask me, we’re drawing the same teams every year we get through to the “group” stages.
Who are we being linked o signing a flyer our big windfall?
I don’t by the newspapers.
TT
I only got to see brief highlights of last night’s match thanks to Virgin Media dropping BT sport from it’s platform and not knowing the final result even the fifteen minutes were nerve wracking to watch. It looked like Hapoel were about to achieve the impossible. How could Celtic be so good in the first leg and so poor last night. I was confident we could at least score a goal – unbelieveable.
However the team has done extremely well to qualify having come through some tough games playing in baking mid-summer heat of the Middle East, Asia and Iberia on poor pitches. Well done Brendan Rodgers to get the team into the Champions League considering he is only a few months at the club.
By = Buy
TT
HEADTHEBALL on 24TH AUGUST 2016 6:15 PM
Bobby Charlton having a medical at Sevco.
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To borrow from one of our own on here…braw. ;)))