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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Last night you saw the effect of the absence of a ” big ” player or a “potentially big” player such as Samaras.
Now Sammy could frustrate the life out of you with inconsistency, but at champions league level and with space to run into on a big pitch, no opposition manager could afford to ignore him and so most ended up double teaming him and so meant that two players had to be deployed to look after him.
Even then he was a very good outball, taking the pressure off the midfield and defence — and of course he was a goal threat.
Last night we had no big player, no one who forced the opposition into anything, no outball, no one committed to making a difference with the ability to make a difference.
We should always have at least one such player on our books and available for Europe.
The question is now, with no Champion’s league, will we be able to attract such players at all?
Helsmki bhoy
The boards silence on sfa and sevco corruption is deafening.
They only want to latch on to the bigot pound…because they have no intention of trying to progress in europe…despite telling us that transfer fees will be reinvested in the team…that is quite obviously..nothing but lies.
I question their motives.
They want sevco at cp…what the supporters think…doesnt matter.
We dont matter.
HH
KevJungle – it’s time for “Save Our Celt’s 2″
10:21 on
27 August, 2014
Aaah,Kev.
Condemned from your own mouth.
“It’s not about me. It was ‘never’ about me. Now, it’s all about
all of you out there to please stop being ‘sucked-in’ by a bunch
of Thatcherite CHARLATAN’s who only care about your bank
accounts every summer time. ”
———————————————————————————————————————–
Not about you?
But all about your political preferences.
And how you want to stick them on all-inclusive Celtic.
lazydynamite , totally agree with your comment about Kayal (instead of Johansen) being substituted for Commons. Johansen contributed absolutely hee haw last night, whereas Kayal looked up for it, and should have stayed on.
macjay1 for Neil Lennon
10:30 on 27 August, 2014
_____________________
If, as you say – Celtic are all inclusive?
Why then, are the Green Brigade ‘unofficially’
banned till all the referendum guff is over?
Ye canny see it?
Open yer eyes then!
jamesgang
08:54 on
27 August, 2014
Hellish traffic last night.
Left the house at 6 and just made our seats for YNWA.
Missed CQN corner. Little did I know that that would have been the highlight of the night!.
———————————————————————————————————–Your right jamsiebhoy.I got a bus in your neck of the woods at 11.07am, just got into my seat 5 mins before the game started.
So its Sevcos fault we are out of the Champions league , what a lot of nonsense,we know the lack of good quality players is the problem,and the Celtic Board take all the blame ,im sure there needs to be changes there, Big question were is the shareholders voice,when they see what is going on at our club,or is it there return that there are interested in, and for somebody to say that lennon left us a good team,im not buying into that, many times when he was in charge of better players, they at times rode a lot of luck, as for him ,playing Kilmarnock ,a few seasons ago ,he was on the verge of walking away, also the Ross County game to, even then Celtic were just an average team, so these problems didnt happen overnight, they have been here for a long time, no big changes needed at the top.and sooner rather than later,
I’ve worked in Norway a lot. I’m not one for national generalisations but there is a prevalent trait among many Norwegians to feel they they and their country are world leaders in standards in all aspects of sport, industry etc. My work experience found that this trait was, in many areas, misplaced. Eg, a crane fell over. The DNV investigation found that all the crane records were out of date – callibrations etc – and no proper assessments had been done of the load. He expressed surprise that this would happen in Norway. I kept it to myself but found myself thinking, this is the MOST LIKELY place in Europe to find this incompetence.
I draw a parallel here with RD.
Couple this with the ludicrous conditioning in Scotland that “we’re no good enough”…….foreigners are better at everything.
I posted on here last night at half time – now we’ll find out how Ronnie is tactically.
Do you think any of the other SPL managers would have done a better job?
Jury out on how good Ronnie actually is?
oldtim
aye, 6 hours plus in the boozer….
How can we be playing Stokes – no goals in last 17 euro appearances, in Europe? With all due respect to the lad, he is good in the SPFL but not fit for europe.
What alternative reality are we living in? 17 games, no goals. Has the penny not dropped?
I don’t mind moneyball if we are winning, but we are going backwards at an alarming rate. I think this season’s results in europe are our worst ever, bar none.
There wasn`t much between the teams last night and during the game I was cringing at the thought of seeing our team try to hang on in the Champions League matches.
The Europa is not for everyone but it helped Neil Lennon to build confidence and to eventually lead the team to qualifying in the CL.
Still sick from last night. The only consolation I can take is that we would have been on the end of some almighty hammerings had we qualified. Still, it’s a long season of playing average to sh!t poor teams a head.
blantyretim.
Wis I in a boozer?
Let me ask JFH
Why is it happening then, he is the captain of the ship?
KevJungle – it’s time for “Save Our Celt’s 2″
10:37 on
27 August, 2014
Kev.
Nice attempted change of tack.
Not about you,but all about your political preferences.
Address the issue you raised if you are able.
No obfuscation.
oldim
just for a short period of time….o)
macjay1 for Neil Lennon:
Our manager was a kneejerk appointment to Neil Lennon refusing to con the Celtic Support anymore. He was never our first choice pick, never, and he is not the Captain of our ship, our CEO is.
As for my saying that is the worst team I’ve ever seen taking to the field in my lifetime, remember, I’m talking about my lifetime, not yours, that was not a kneejerk appraisal, it was honest and sincere and I reiterate it, that team last night was the worst I’ve seen.
As for the European Cup we lost, there are many stories I could tell you about that, but not in public, but in the main on that occasion it was the manager and the players who were to blame married with the fact we actually played against a good team who’d actually reached a European final to face up against us, not Champions League qualifier. I’m sure you’ll appreciate there is a subtle difference in there somewhere.
Your refusal to see what is smacking you in the face had me confused for a long time, now it has me concerned though as each day goes by I’m caring less and less, there are more important things in life than watching a football club being ripped apart and deluded fans lauding a heartless PLC in the process.
You go on beating the PLC drum mate but the boring mantra is resonating less and less and fewer and fewer supporters are extending the passive aggressive defence of a broken PLC any credence beyond abject despairing disdain. They are holding the balance sheet up as a flag of ridicule. That is what our club is becoming.
Even Paul is choking on the parody we’ve become and he is toning down the ‘our board is king’ litany. He’s not a fool.
I have just watched the highlights of this ————
Apoel 4 —–Aalborg 0 ( 5-1 aggregate ).
The technical superiority of Apoel surprised me .Aalborg looked clumsy and clueless in comparison
The 4th goal was scored by Cillian Sheridan . He did not look of place in what looked like a a team with a plan and the ability to execute that plan.
PL…you are destroying Celtic.
I call on you to resign.
DD…the absentee landlord who waxes lyrical about bigots and cheats…what planet are you on?
Sell up….we dont need you.
I call on Celtic supporters to resist the plc, if we dont do something….sevco will win the league next season.
Sack the board and their bigot pound plan.
HH
For me Ronnies reputation is in tatters.His line up to start was wrong.Playing Efe at the expense of Denayer was ghastly.As I said last night,his reason for leaving out Denayer was”I thought we needed more experience”He plays Denayer who had just joined the club in a vital away match,yet after the boy performs very well,he drops him and brings in possibly the most mistake prone defender I have ever seen.I take no joy in reminding everyone I said Efe should never be near our back four months ago.
Taking off Kayal !!!!!!Unbelievable,whilst leaving on a poor mans Derk on the left.Bergets was totally useless.Kayal was everywhere,one of his better games.
I know many of the players let him down,they will rightly get pelters for their part,but the manager cannot escape his part in this disgrace.Its not as though he had not watched them performing like this before.The Legia games should have learned him something.
Professional sharks in the Boardroom, a rank amateur in the dugout.
Tactics inept, inability to see that these were failing after 20 mins unfathomable in the true sense of the word. Selections bizarre and the decision to start Ambrose so bad it was almost funny. Inge Bergets is hopefully on the road back to Cardiff as we speak…the impoverished Vidaar Riseth…….
As gutted as anyone about last night …..
Our man needs time…..
Just as GS and NL did….
He needs support also from club and from the punters….
Cash from club for the right buys ….if there is any value to be had.
Support from fans who really want Celtic to succeed not jonny come lately brigade who are spoilt on 16 years of fantastic european performance and expect it as of right….
We are not rangers with their entitlement complex….
Our support can be a 12th man or can be a liability…last night when it was needed at HT some chose to boo the team…
We were crap, I get that, lots wrong, lots to work on, but booing at HT when we were still ahead in the tie helps no one.
The consoling thing is we have 6 more europe ties to play pre xmas and a final in Warsaw would be nice and symetrical. Loads of co eff points to gather along the way.
I agree with posters who say that we did not have the players to negotiate 3 qualifying rounds. We did not prepare properly for these games by having the players in place to get us through.
Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
Silk purses and sows ears CSC
Denayer wasnt fully fit, therefore didnt start. Lustig got injured hence what seemed at the time a bizarre substitution. Im all for constructive criticism but lets get the facts right before we condemn the management team. I too have reservations about them, like probably most Celtic supporters.
Woke up still gutted this morning, what an awful performance last night.
Honestly believed it was too early in the season to be resting players (ICT). Ronny gets two decent performances out the team then breaks them up for a rest!! They did not look rested last night. Another 90 mins together, even tho risking injuries, might have made the difference.
Another thing which night have made the difference would have been starting our most talented and effective player, Kris Commons.
I fully understand mcgregor starting but I cannot for the life of me get my head around Berget starting both games ahead of commons.
Taking off Kayal at half time beggars belief when you have Johansen & Mulgrew giving the ball away for fun in the middle of the park.
The way izzy is playing would Mulgrew at LB not have been an option?
The atmosphere was poor, badly missed the GB, it was hardly intimidating for Maribor.
We also badly missed Brown and could’ve done with a fit Forrest and a more attacking game plan considering we were the home team.
I don’t know where the club goes from here, it feels like a massive low. Almost feels like we need to start learning and preparing for next years qualifiers already.
Whats happend to the 2 new signings ,have they been signed ?
Europa options
Inter
Everton
Feyenoord
Would be a fun group !!!
Or
Seville
Legia
Rapid
Could be some tasty matches……
B78
People have been asking for the club to spend money and you have ridicled posters for doing so..
Have you finally come to the conclusion that we need to invest in the team
ianinascoli
10:40 on 27 August, 2014
_____________________
Neil Lennon was a last chance saloon mangerial appointment for a desperate board of directors who knew that ‘they’ had flucked-up big time by appointing a manager who had just been relegated from the EPL or, a manager who had finished 20th out of, 20 managers and, Celtic’s board deemed BTM’s stock to be good enough to take on the – honest mistake / ebt assisted huns.
The top and bottom of it is – if you don’t do ‘puppet-strings’ – you don’t get the Celtic managers job. imho
I said after the Warsaw defeat that RD should go as he was pillock!
I stand by that.
Also, a point that seems more often than not to be – overlooked or, sarcasticly referred to is, where does all this CL money that is so craved – go to?
I mean, the Celtic operation is or, has been down sized to the degree that, the died huns – right at this minute – would run us close. imho
The bounty of CL/SB money isny paid out in ‘vast’ player wages or, in player recruitment due to said – downsizing so – where does it go?
We as supporters, support Celtic, when are our custodians going to do the same
Go Tell The Spartim. There are more than one reason why it happens imo the biggest problem is the poor standard of Scottish football.We will never be able to recruit a top notch manager so we have a young manager who may succeed or he may not that also applies to players as well.If we take last night many of our players are slow of thought and are caught out time and time again they are not up to the standard of most European teams Legia Warsaw and now Maribor have shown us that.Now we have to hope everyone at Parkhead clearly understands we need to rebuild and that this will take time.H.H.
“We are where we are”.
With due respect, nay, nay and thrice nay.
Why are we here?? That’s what most should now be asking.
B78
What a brass neck you have.
Happy to be inferior.
Delia has been rotten since he came to. Celtic. He is a dud. A good manager can do something with these players. He can’t. Get rid of him early. Why go through all the pain again of hanging on for ages with a duff manager?
Me martin1980, didn’t realise .
TBB 9.30- can’t say it any clearer than that. The quality isn’t there now and getting the quality in isn’t an exact science – we take our chances with players and hope at some stage we get a wanyama, hooper, vvd, Kc, brown on the pitch at the same time. Unfortunately last night it wasn’t there so we gotta wait.
We as supporters, support Celtic, when are our custodians going to do the same
Inter Milan
Celtic
Dinamo Zagreb
Slovan Bratislava
This is what I’d like
work calls…
then the pub..