Surprised? Well, yes. This was a no-contest early-on in Maribor last week. Even though Celtic didn’t come home with the win, the chances, balance of possession and play, were well in their favour. A defeat last night was never out of the question, but it was the nature of the defeat that was most concerning. We were second best in defence, midfield and attack.
Pre-match, Ronny told us he expected Maribor to sit in and counter-attack. They didn’t, forcing Celtic into disarray. We were fortunate to go in level at halftime; I was screaming out for a tactical change from 20 minutes in.
Kris Commons proved his value. From the moment he arrived, we had an out-ball for the first time in the night, but it was not enough.
Celtic tried to qualify for the Champions League without a target man, or a striker able to play the kind of football Ronny Deila requires to play his kind of football. Stokes, Griffiths, Pukki and Balde are not an appropriate Champions League strike force, by some distance.
We have plenty of midfielders who are happy to pass and run but no one with the composure to hold the ball. Brown, Forrest and Tonev were all missing, but none will occupy the holding roles given to Kayal and Mulgrew last night. Or to Wanyama two years ago.
The defensive collapse since last season is unfathomable. Virgil van Dijk was clearly a class above, whether in defence or attack, and Mikal Lustig was also assured – it is perhaps no coincidence that we lost the goal moments after he was replaced, but Efe Ambrose and Emilio Izaguirre have returned from the World Cup in alarmingly poor form.
This is where we are. We knew this at the end of last season, perhaps Neil Lennon did too. Ronny Deila has a significant rebuilding job on his hands.
Will we make a significant moves forward this week? This season? The Europa League isn’t the cash-cow of the premier tournament, and it carries none of the glamour, but it is a competition we need to be ready for. Perhaps more importantly, qualification planning for next season’s Champions League starts now.
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big wavy
11:22 on 28 August, 2014
I promised myself I wouldn’t get involved after Wed night but you’ve started me!!
Tattoos.
IMO Celtic would benefit if Charles Mulgrew had spent as much time working on how to kick a ball with his right foot as he did having that monstrosity put on his arm.
Maybe when Buster Stokes was having his done he would be watching videos of himself being caught offside and maybe thinking of ways to avoid this in future.
Aff oot.
Big wavy,
Agree with much of what you say – we do need to maximise whatever we can (so diet and fitness should be basic – we can be poorer technically but should not be poorer physically). And your idea of buying a club like man c is interesting – id favour a b team in Scotland – to prepare kids for scottish football – and a European club to give them exposure to a more technical style!
Thanks Gordon J
I think that’s right. Our loanees ‘strategy’ is reactive now but you can see what it did for Callum and building relationships on the park is something I didn’t consider but is a great way of doing it. Avoids us ending up with too many ‘young’ guys at the club not good enough for us but who could develop in another environment (young Dylan for example).
We’ve had a period of turnaround under Brian Quinn and Peter Lawell and perhaps a signal for a realistic and sustainable growth strategy is what we should signal next. Nothing mad but a clear new direction to help bridge a few gaps that have emerged, be confident about ourselves and what we do as a club and produce a better return rate for the qualifiers each year.
We need a change agenda. It doesn’t have to be of the reactionary type signalled since Tuesday, as seductive as that is, but it should act as a catalyst to be more imaginative.
Bhoys and Ghirls
I just contacted the ticket office to cancel my Home Ticket Scheme as I won’t be able to make the Europa Cup games due to work commitments. They informed me that due to a technical fault I won’t be able to cancel the scheme until after the Europa cup tickets have been issued and that the only way I can cancel is to contact my bank and cancel my direct debit but I am reluctant to do this as this is as I am worried it may affect my season ticket direct debit. It also seems a waste of time for the ticket office to issue tickets and then cancel them once payment has been refused by the bank.
Does anyone have the contact email for JP Taylor ?
James Forrest is praying for The Unconquerable Oscar Knox
11:27 on 28 August, 2014
Davidopoulos:
Yeah it was directed at you. That’s why I put your name on top of it.
If I had no interest I wouldn’t have written a response. And I wouldn’t be writing this one.
I go on at length. It’s when I started my own blog, rather than fill this one on days like today.
Honestly, I wasn’t having a dig or trying to score points. I am frustrated and I think wishing it away is a dangerous strategy. Big Wavy just posted a lot of first rate ideas … that’s what this blog excels at when its at its best.
Today I’m hoping we can discuss these things without the shouting match.
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James, yes, you do go on a bit. Perhaps that annoys me because I typically live by the mantra that those that talk the most often have the least to say. That’s probably very, very unfair of me, so apologies. I’ll be brutally honest, your verbosity is utterly infuriating to me.
Anyway, to the point: I am not wishing it away. That is your supposition. I stated that we have been here before and that things will be alright. Corrective actions need to take place (like buying a bloody striker). We have all read many times over the last couple of days a vast array of corrective actions – some of them will be taken.
HOWEVER, the point behind my comment is that we are stuck in a cycle. None of us will break that cycle because it is a cycle that has been created by the dynamic and economic conditions existing in European and World football at large. WE WILL NOT CHANGE THAT, and any thoughts to the contrary are, as you put it, “arrogant”. The cycle will not change until there are economic shocks within football but we will go through our cycle, and when we get to the peak of the cylce things will be….OK. Then inevitably we will return to status a bit like this one we are currently experience. Such is the nature of a cycle.
You will doubtlessly tell me at great length why I am wrong, however this is my opinion.
Squire
I am incredibly pedantic when it comes to tattoos. I don’t get them at all and when I watched the start of pre-season training on cetic tv I witnessed Kris Commons (who I like as a player) being more concerned with the protection of his new tattoo than the ball !!!
Gordon_J
But is it always apparent in scouting?
What was seen in Victor Wanyama that attracted him to us?
What about Amido Balde?
These are good questions. I think it should be apparent whether a young player can do the basics like control the ball and pass it to a team mate without falling over. Balde and Bangura are sadly incapable of those simple tasks. Victor on the other hand could control the ball most of the time (he wasn’t perfect) and had controlled strength. Whilst Balde is big and strong he doesn’t use that advantage and although Bangura was reasonably quick he had no idea what he was doing and had a terrible touch.
In saying that, most foreign players should be given a season to settle. If they show no signs of being able to play at our level ( or the level we aspire to) they must be shipped asap.
I too believe that a core of Scots, Irish, British and Scandinavian would be considered desirable. I feel we really don’t know how to scout the (former) yugoslav market although maybe the new striker might change that. They are technically streets ahead of us. What is certain is that any Scots with real potential to reach the top level should be bought and played.
South Of Tunis
11:36 on
28 August, 2014
GOUT .
I eat lots of red cherries when they are in season and I dont have Gout .
Must work , Eh ?
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Regular infusions of port.I was told.:-)
Prevention never got more peasant.
Salud or salute or Campai.
Davidopoulos,
Sorry for butting in but I think we always need an adaptive strategy to maximise our circumstances. The BT money gazumps the sky money next year which means the cycle gets worse. We’ll be beyond minnows if we don’t do something.
I;ve said before the loan from Denayer is also a strategy we need to build in. It would not surprise me to see him back with us next year under the same arrangement. Courthois did at with AM and nearly won them the ECL cup as a result.
This is something we have always looked at negatively in the past but with player power increasing and top clubs hoovering up the talent by the bucketload we have to be creative in all types of player acquisition.
Here in Australia there is a tattoo and piercing epidemic.
Horrible stuff. Really clatty mingers over here.
I cannot understand why a manager accepts signings made by other people,when if they are not a success he gets the sack.Surely you must stand or fall by your own decisions.
big wavy
11:47 on 28 August, 2014
Davidopoulos,
Sorry for butting in but I think we always need an adaptive strategy to maximise our circumstances. The BT money gazumps the sky money next year which means the cycle gets worse. We’ll be beyond minnows if we don’t do something.
I;ve said before the loan from Denayer is also a strategy we need to build in. It would not surprise me to see him back with us next year under the same arrangement. Courthois did at with AM and nearly won them the ECL cup as a result.
This is something we have always looked at negatively in the past but with player power increasing and top clubs hoovering up the talent by the bucketload we have to be creative in all types of player acquisition.
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Totally agree. There are things we can do to influence our cycle – and the one you point out is a very good idea. Nevertheless, it remains a cycle.
Davidopoulos :
Haha I won’t actually mate, cause you do make a lot of good points.
All myself and some others want to see are signs of life. Signing the big striker today is a step in the right direction, but I think we’re entitled to answers as to why someone who was so obviously scouted last year and featured highly on our wanted list wasn’t pursued until now, when it’s too late for it to matter in terms of our most important games.
I think we’re entitled to know why we don’t do our business better, cleaner, quicker, more transparently, and we’re entitled to answers about how the Hell we’re supposed to develop a football team when every player of any value is going to be sold as soon as an offer comes in. Whatever happened to “He is our best player. Not for sale at any price, unless we’re talking off the radar mental money.”
Off the radar mental money I can understand. Wanyama wasn’t a £10 million player, and nor was Big Fraser.
No-one realistically objects to those deals. It’s taking the money, sticking it in the bank, and hanging the manager out to dry that pisses us off.
I used to think Paul67 was on to something when he predicted that English football was going to collapse. The enormous money Sky pumps into that game … you do scratch your head and think “there’s no way they can keep that up …” yet they do.
Odd though … a lot of people, me included, once looked at Der Hun the same way, and a lot of people thought it would never change.
In that regard you’re right 100%. Everything changes. You cannot look at Sky’s big transfer total and think it’s anything other than clinically insane … Man Utd paying nearly £60 million for a player yesterday … obscene. Utterly obscene.
Yet it goes on. And on. And on. I’ve been waiting on the crash for years and it looks no closer today than it was when I first heard it was coming.
dr ramesh
Pure supposition from me but if Neil didn’t want Balde then it’s only natural that he and the coaches didn’t show the love or devote the time to coach the guys game upwards. I feel for Balde but I suspect he was bought as a very rough diamond to be converted into a better player for money ball purposes.
In short the whole club strategy has to be in synch and aligned or it doesn’t work. The idea that the coaching staff are being presented with players they don’t want and then subsequently don’t / can’t develop has to stop for the reason above. It’s a false economy and perhaps led to a parting of thew ways with Neil and there club too.
Anyone else think our manager’s formations are naive or plain stupid?
4-4-2 is a no brainer.
With better players it almost always gets the better of weaker opponents.
That’s why 4-4-2 is the most widely used and best known formation.
We do things differently though.
fanadpatriot
11:49
It’s the way of the modern game. Do you think Anchelotti gets to choose who he signs? He might get to give an opinion but it’s the director of football and the president who do the signing. Managers come and go but the club has to keep going. Clever clubs have a strategy to mitigate the problems of a new manager coming in. Others just rip everything up and start again at great cost. If you want to be one of the clever clubs you have to chose a time to start and stick to your guns whilst being flexible enough to tweak any failings.
James Forrest is praying for The Unconquerable Oscar Knox
Our thinking is much closer to each others than we might both realise.
The only point I disagree with there is that I do genuinely believe that a crash will come eventually. It will take a lot longer than any of us would like but one day, perhaps when we have given up hope, it will come. It will probably coincide with a massive economic shock in general terms, however it will be in our lifetime and I hope as many of us here on CQN as possible will be around to witness it.
There are indeed a number of things wrong with the Celtic set up at present but the most important thing is to get the squad and Management right. Wakaso sounds exciting, hope he delivers, get the Serb in, get rid of deadwood like Balde & Derk etc cut our losses if necessary, loan out our young lads who have little or no chance of gametime. Give Ronny a few months to get his act together, hopefully he does. If not he is on a 1 year rolling contract so not too expensive to say bye to, equally lads like Berget & Tonev. PL & The Board should be putting all their efforts & Support behind getting the core product our Football Team & Management right. Get that right & the rest will follow.
If Virgil wanted Champions League football so badly he should’ve scored the other night
instead of “passing” it back to their goalie.
It looked easier to score than anything else.
If he does go who’s gonna be our back four ?
Will PL invest any of the over 20 million he’ll have taken in this season our shall we just continue on our ever downward spiral ?
Hooptastic
11:15 on
28 August, 2014
Catman
Good news. Are we likely to see anymore? I think we need another striker if Balde and Pukki get shifted.
HH
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A left back but doubtful that it will happen this window
HH
fanadpatriot
11:49 on 28 August, 2014
I cannot understand why a manager accepts signings made by other people,when if they are not a success he gets the sack.Surely you must stand or fall by your own decisions.
________________
That’s because they took the job on. Only a fool would not look at his squad before deciding whether to manage them.
Davidopoulos:
Well that’s my thoughts exactly mate. I think if we’re waiting around for the crash that we’ll wait a long, long time, but as I said, the big transfer clock is nearly at £1 billion this year. It stops the heart to think of what the wage bills inside those clubs are like.
You cannot imagine that it can go on forever. Mediocre players are earning mid-five figures per week. “Top players” are now routinely earning six figure weekly wages. It’s wrong in every way, and it has to be unsustainable.
So what’s this predictives I speak of :
Take the Forster example and build it as evidence of a strategy that works :
1. Hire a guy with talent that is affordable and has an appetite to learn and improve (you can assess these qualities now through some clever assessment) ;
2. Ensure he can adapt to the culture at the club (the diet, the regimes, etc)
3. Give him the tools to match his appetite to succeed (GK coach, diets, exercise regimes, feedback, encouragement, etc).
Make him feel good, give him playing time and stand by him as he develops. You start to build more and more FFs around the place committed to improve with us and less lazy sods who think beating Ross County at home is the pinnacle of their career.
Make FF the type of benchmark for success at Celtic and not (insert name of player I am sure we can all think of).
Catman
Wish i hadn’t asked!
Cheers
HH
new article posted.
Garngad to Croy
11:40 on 28 August, 2014
jptaylor@celticfc.co.uk
When Lawwell is getting pelters P67 goes quite… Maybe just coincidence?
The Celtic world is so bad that, even I canny be bothered moaning about them anymore.
So, I’ll just say this…the sooner the huns come back – the better coz, I’m missing the
“Jingle -Bells” song at ne’erday.
Celtic fans are ‘rebels’ by dna/design so going by that….we’ve slipped into slumber coz the huns urny there to keep us on edge – every rebel needs a tyrant.
Bye.
Weeminger, hopefully you factor in the average sale of 10 million in players each summer.
If everything remained the same and we signed no one and sold no one in a season with no European football I can see a 10 million loss but with Europe and 10 million in player sales no. For that is how we have been performing and have built up a cash surplus. We need European football but we don’t need to sell.
Sell and buy better yes but let’s not buy crud.
You buy crud and the product on the park follows. The product on the park drops then European football drops out. Fans lose interest. Income drops further, player sales value drops, ability to maintain wages drops.
Scouting and coaching are key.
Big wavy
Ff was a remarkably driven individual who has long term goal of being England no 1. Difficult to find many FFs. That said, hooper is a similar example – first couple of years developed enormously the got fed up. So part of the key is knowing when to get rid before they become comfortable just winning the league.
James Forrest is praying for The Unconquerable Oscar Knox
Enjoy your blog and your musings, even if I don’t always agree with them :-o) made a wee contribution today about the same as the annual one to this blog which is to cover the CQN magazine.
Hopefully we can get back to reasoned debate on the blog, maybe the new striker (hooray) and the Ghanaian winger wont be the last signings before Monday.
I would keep Pukki, I think he has something to offer but if we get the right offer then he can go, Balde I love the big fella but he has no football ability that I can see, who scouted him? Please get him off the wage bill before Monday.
Van Dijk should be told he’s going nowhere unless silly money is paid >£10 Mio, get Commons re-signed he’s a class player.
Lets hope the board are listening to the feedback which they get from the supporters forms, which I recently sent back.
By and large I think they do a reasonable job under the circumstances we are in, but player recruitment last year let us down big time. Needed to invest the cash we got for Hooper and Wanyama much better than we did.
I am sceptical that Peter Lawwell acts as defacto DOF Neil Lennon would never have stood for that. I also remember the press conference when Derk Boeriggter signed where Neil was waxing lyrical that he had been looking for a good “lefty” for a while so that doesn’t say to me that he was out of the loop on that transfer.
Sunday’s game next challenge.
Mon the Hoops!
RobinBhoy