Efe Ambrose looked a tad nervous at the start of last night’s game. He wasn’t the only one. Adam Matthews was pressed into an early return from injury, a forced change, but Celtic’s decision to deploy a more adventurous line-up than in previous encounters with Barcelona was by choice.
The result was 36% possession, heady heights compared to last season’s win and narrow defeat, but oh what a price. When Barca went 4-0 up early in the second half I suggested “This could be our record defeat”. My Dad said “Artmedia was only one more than this”. I meant THE record defeat, not the record European defeat. We were a few bounces of the ball away.
Results like this are always possible at this level if the game plan is wrong. In the minutes before kick off on Champions League nights, when the stomach knots with tension, I tell myself there is no shame in defeat, but “let’s make sure it’s not 3-0 again”. This must always be the priority. There seems to be a couple of rules:
If we defend the 18 yard line, in numbers, we have a chance of winning Champions League games, but beauty will very much be in the eye of the beholder.
If we chase vanity marks, as we did at home to Juventus and Milan, and away to Barcelona, we’ll lose heavily.
Last season’s Champions League campaign was a textbook lesson on how pot 4 teams from weak leagues should tackle the tournament. Spartak Moscow had more possession at Celtic Park than Barcelona had at the Camp Nou last night, but Celtic won both games against the Russians. There is a shout out loud lesson here.
Between now and the beginning of the next European campaign we have a great opportunity to build upon the type of football we saw in the last two domestic games. If we do this well, we can prepare for next season with a more mature model, but venues like the Camp Nou should only see our bedrock tactics for the foreseeable future.
The Celtic Graves Society are commemorating the life of Peter Scarff, who died of TB 80 years ago this week at the age of 25. Peter, a teammate of John Thomson and Jimmy McGrory, scored 54 goals in 112 games for Celtic before contracting his fatal illness at 23. A short service will be held at Peter’s grave in Kilbarchan Cemetery at 11:30 this Saturday, 14 December. You are all welcome.
There’s a Celtic shirt signed by the first team squad available for auction on ebay in aid of the Wellburn Care Home in Dundee, run by the Little Sisters of the Poor. It’s currently going for a song, so get there and fill your boots.
“The centre of Astana very much had a western feel- vibrant, affluent with a splattering of large video screens on the buildings advertising top of the range cars to luxury apartments. With skyscraper office blocks and top-end hotels with marble kerbstones, this very much is one side of Asia.
“The stadium itself looked fairly new, the shape of it reminded me of Tyncastle, thankfully we were made welcome here though!”
From a trip to Kazakhstan page 136 of the 2014 CQN Annual, available here:
Sean Fallon, Celtic’s Iron Man:
726 Comments- Pages:
- «
- 1
- ...
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
- 11
- 12
- 13
- ...
- 20
- »
GER57
No,mate. But I will send you the addy of someone who does!
EUAFA are having a laugh…………FFP my errse.
Its all here in and most of them are or would be bankrupt if they were a normal business.
://www.financialfairplay.co.uk/resources/Celtic.jpg
John Collins??? Am no going back on valium ok????
Doc. Should be a good game big Butcher has put a bit of fight back into Hibernian.As you say we need to show that last night was just a bad day at the office. H.H.
Let’s look at other pot 4 teams where they are in their leagues and their squad make-up and best players:
Final Champions league placings (fourth place)
Group A Real Sociedad – in the hunt La Liga: Vela, Griezmann, Inigo…Spanish mostly (or Basque)
Group B Copenhagen top 3; Danish, a couple of Brazilian and German
Group C Anderlecht in the hunt:Belgian, African, South American players.
Group D CSKA Moscow in the hunt: Keisuke Honda, Igor Akinfeev, Doumbia, Dzagoaev, Ignasheviech…
Group E Steaua Bucharest in the hunt: Romanian internationals, one Brazilian, one Greek, couple of Eastern Europeans
Group F Marseille in the hunt: ex-French internationals, French players, African youngsters
Group G Austria Vienna in the hunt: Austrian internationals; Eastern Europeans
Group H Celtic…
Just scanned back this page.
We need to get out of the league we are in.
There is nothing wrong with the teams in Scotland, the authorities are another thing, but we have outgrown the league.
We need competition, and I mean week in week out, a higher standard of football, we won’t win as often, but we would get the chance to realise our potential.
We don’t need to have a zombie for excitement, we need high quality clubs run in the right way. Not a club sponging from our reputation and money.
EPL, no chance, why would West Ham or the like vote us in.
Lower English leagues, maybe.
Atlantic style league, yes please.
And Barca can do what they did to any team, just not ours:-)
JFH, yep, the team owes the support.
I trust them to deliver, they aren’t a team of flops after one result, the team has flaws, but they ain’t all bad.
quonno @ 15:12 on 12 December, 2013
“Could someone please explain to me what they see in NFL that supports the notion he should continue as manager”?
For the simple reason that you cannot name anyone who can improve things and would be available at a price DD and PL could stomach.
———————————————————————————————————————
Are you serious?
Jack Regan
18:50 on
12 December, 2013
Listening to Commons and Samaras and Lennon on STV reveals that not all is well at our team.
I never seen the clip on STV but I did post last night that I thought Neil in his post match interview, should not have named individuals who he thought got pass marks. That should’ve been kept in the dressing room as it could potentially create divisions or resentment within the squad.
I suppose he knows his bhoys and hopefully gets the right reaction on Saturday.
Don’t know if it was mentioned but before the game last night Sky showed a programme with Pique and then Lennon naming their best XI ever played with, Neil basically named the core MON side with the exception of Boruc for Douglas, Matt Elliot for Bobo and Muzzy Izzet in a midfield 3 with Lambert and Petrov.
Now he’s obviously allowed his own opinion of who he played with.
But no mention of Lubo? Made me wonder if he considers such players a luxury, the fact we don’t have one aan are never even linked with one possibly confirms it.
Larsson and Sutton both had him in their teams and waxed lyrical about him. (Lubo not Lennon!)
KTF
Please stay Neil. Sack that Park guy/
jack regan
18:50 on 12 December, 2013
Heard Commons only, and he was misquoted…..anyway, I think you are a wee hurtinhun
Jude 100% with you on that one
I think any business review would identify a real problem there, I think we have a poor success rate in that dept,yes a few notable exceptions
Just my opinion
Hail Hail
bobby murdoch’s curled-up winklepickers ………fc not plc
20:03 on 12 December, 2013
Didn’t know that…..wonderful man
BQN was full of the same knee jerk stuff last season when they were hammered in paradise.. sack everyone, we are crap, need to change everything, its all lawells fault etc..
Its a different sport they are playing and we can aspire to
BarcaquicknewsCSC
Durham is just one of a mottley hunnish crew who have wormed their way into the msm .
Of course he should be ignored but he is spouting his anti-celtic nonsense to the whole of the UK on a regular basis.
We know he’s a wind-up merchant but he’s stepping over the mark with Celtic.Hes a guy whose limited football knowledge is based on the London area and souff of england.
Maybe he is one of Irvines minnions or succulant lamb is on his menu.
Nelson Mandela,good man ,but sadly his cronies are corrupt, millions of black people still stay in them shanty towns, no running water sewers are a disgrace,houses are well shacks terrible living conditions, yet one of his pals who was in the same jail as him, spends millions on his own improvements, and he is just one of many,who by there own greed are milking it ,there is no excuses,hopefully the ordinary black folk will ditch the anc, when the next elections are to take place, I think out of respect for mandela,they have not upset the apple cart .
Cowiebhoy
He’s brot us 3 good players at most. But the duds have cost us millions!!
Having been away from Scotland for a number of years, the Ticket Office sold us Season Tickets in the Main Stand, right next to away supporters. My daughter has been subjected to appalling language from away supporters. We have seen numerous seats destroyed and have a number of objects thrown at us when Celtic score.
I am making no comment on the the events at Motherwell, but who is in charge of security at Celtic Park?
Who do I complain to about the Away Support at Celtic park?
We left the Aberdeen game to mayhem because there were no sufficient exits onto the London Road from the Main Stand.
We have been told that Celtic are keeping their powder dry in respect of Newco.
I have heard nonsense about the Living Wage.
We have a CEO on in excess of 900k per year.
You begin to think that nobody cares at Celtic Park.
I wonder what Paul Mc Conville would make of this.
My friends in Celtic,
Apart from the obvious, the biggest dissapointment for me when watching a torrid performance was the fact that neither Kris Commons or Georgio Samasas could take their chance towards the end of the game. Somehow 6-2 seemed a better scoreline, although maybe not deserved and could have flattered us.
How sad is that ?
However I’m trying to convince myself that Barcelona on song could do that to most teams.
Yes it is a setback, but we must learn and move on, however I truly believe that the “competition” in Scotland disguises our level of fitness.
KTF.
HH, Always in Celtic.
Jude2005
Read my post at 09.24 this morning.HH
RobCFC11, not everyone on here is negative, lots are looking for positives and a way forward.
OptimisticCSC
RobCFC11, I take that back, now I have read and understood your point, oops.
were we all watching the end of master chef?
Well Bhoys , how’s the mood tonight?
Over the course of the day, I’ve chewed over last nights events and slightly mellowed.
When all said and done we are playing complete monstrosities at CL level.
The Barcas , Madrids, Manures et al have perverted the competition.
Really sickening to see their enormous debts and them guzzling the worlds best players.
Guess what I’m saying is we may put up a credible challenge one year and maybe not the next.Financial fair play is non existent.
We pay our bills , and do our best.
I am comforted by that.
Still feel that the PLC haven’t backed our manager enough .
Coz I’ll tell u what , the day our manager gets a decent budget we will be a match for any of them.
Coz we’ve got something the rest ain’t……….Us!!!
Hail Hail
PS Talk crap is a complete joke of a station.
Durham is a baw bag!!
fana 9.24
Yipp agree. And what has happened to Mr Mc Guiness ? Emdae!!!
Jude2005 & Fanadpatriot
I have a personal friend who worked for one of his previous clubs, and the only compliment he will pay, the man is an exceptional Administrator, know every detail on players contracts, those coming out, and what it will take to get them.
His words not mine, he would not identify a football player if they booted him in the he-haws !
And he was astounded when He joined Celtic.
And Doc I have already shared this with you :-)
Hail Hail
We don’t need to be negative we need to be realistic and understand the football World that is the Champions league. It is a set up that panders to mega rich clubs and does not have a place for the well run clubs of Europe which stick to an affordable budget of which we are one.Platini talks a good game but has done nothing to improve the hopes of a level playing field.Unless the well run clubs make a stand there will be no change so it is not all the Celtic boards fault or Neil Lennons or our players they do there best with a limit budget but David cant allways slay Goliath. H.H.
jude2005 is neil lennon \o/
20:44 on 12 December, 2013
Cowiebhoy
He’s brot us 3 good players at most. But the duds have cost us millions!!
————
Which 3?
Paul67 et al
Fallon
Young Gemmell
Murdoch Cushley O’Neill
Johnstone, Gallagher, Hughes, Lennox, Auld
Not a bad side that. Not so great at Brockville on April 14, 1965 though, which if memory serves me well, was a midweek match.
Falkirk 6 Celtic 2
Still trying to get over that one!
CowieBhoy, you have, shared that with me before, true enough.
Perhaps Peter Houston is being brought in as an extra filter of these players.
S B
Good Q!!
Celtic Mac
21:09 on
12 December, 2013
Time is a great healer ;-)
I wonder how many of last nights team of tattooed tims have got any timmy tatts?
I suspect only 1.
Big Vic, izzy & Ki ?
I am led to believe, hooper was GP, Lustig was big JM & Forster was AT, although he has taken credit for those
Incidentally, thanks Mikael Lustig for last few months putting Celtic first, even though clearly struggling with your hip injury ( including last night), Class act
Hail Hail
Our board is top heavy imo!!
Dubaibhoy
Well it wasn’t as bad as another match, which I also attended, back in 1963, which BSR mentioned last night (wrongly by the way), down at the Rugby, when we lost 6-0 to Kilmarnock.
Think Bob Kelly might have been in charge that day. But as you say, time is a great healer!
nb before you ask, I wasn’t in Barcelona last night!