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:
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How true
There is no better than adversity, every defeat, every heartbreak, every loss, contains it’s own seed, it’s own lesson on how to improve your performance next time, roll on tomorrow HH.
HT
Good points well made
IMO Johnstone couldn’t do any worse than our current strikers ….who aren’t scoring anyway
Rather a young interested bhoy …than some of our recent imports who look , at times , as if they couldn’t give a hoot
Also …I know his father …a good guy and CFC man
Hamiltontim
I agree if we continue to bring into the team players that have been given numerous chances without improving,the support will soon lose faith in them,but in my experience if we introduce our youth the support will be more understanding.
I have only seen Denny Johnstone a few times but the bhoy has something about him.Lenny should take him,and Liam Henderson aside,explain to them that they are going to be given a chance,relax and go out and play your their own game,with a view to really push for a position next season.
Ah the ever decreasing circle of the happy clapper…..
Celtic dont buy good players – praise them for their business accumen
Sell our best players – salivate at the thought of the money in the bank
Watch as the team get slaughtered/go out to Morton etc etc – say that we have no divine right to win/take it on the chin
Get to a transfer window – say its not the right time to buy (or my personal favourite – we need to move out the deadwood before we buy)
Insist that we are investing every penny in the team (ignore the fact we arent)
Then go back to the start…..
What a way to run a football club…….
Neganon
Even the happiest of clapper couldn’t assert that we invest every penny in the team …surely
Thehonestmistake…..
We will go along the Champions route to qualification for CL next season again.
In all probability we will qualify for group stages again(would be a disgrace to fail against that calibre of opposition really).
Big Peter will get his bonus and crack incredibly funny jokes at 2014 AGM again.
Tony Donnelly will be as ecstatic as an ecstatic Bhoy in Ecstatictown again.
All will be well again.
As for Fraser Forster telling us a year in football is a long time and he might not be with us next year…..great timing Fraser…
FAVOURITE UNCLE @ 11:30 on 13 December, 2013
If the Baxter talk was “made-up pash”, how come NFL was quoted as saying,
“Stuart will be an adviser to me as and when I need it” after a pre-season friendly match at the Emirates?
Also confimed in quotes here,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/c/celtic/8877120.stm
Check yer facts before you accuse me of “made-up pash”, pal.
The Honest Mistake loves being first
11:42 on 13 December, 2013
Pfayr.
A few things:
Those three teams are far better than any team we face in Scotland.
The luck of the draw spared us from facing superior competition in the qualifiers.
Cliftonville = Falkirk; Elfsborg = Dundee; Karagandy= Motherwell
James MacMillan (@jamesmacm)
12/12/2013 22:33
Shocking news about the spread of match-fixing in football. At least in Scotland our referees did it out of religious conviction…
Never a truer word spoken…!!!!
Prestonpans
No far away
new article posted.
It seems we are at a crossroads –
Old team needs replacing or changing.
Three ways to do it –
1 – buy in January, bed in new players, get ready for qualifiers
2 – Push on in the league building a big enough lead to allow for Academy players to get a run of games in certain positions and build team that way before qualifiers (Atajic being one prime candidate after last Friday)
3 – Combination of the two
The alternative and typical strategy is –
Do nothing
Modest spend in January (the Icelander will doubtless be our lot or we’ll get another satiker on loan who makes no impact and is away in May) saying “We tried but-
a. The selling club moved the goal posts, asked for too much
b . greedy agent
c. Player X wouldn’t come to Scotland
It will never be said – we bid 2-3 Million less than the value of the player or that we wouldn’t pay the going rate of course.
Fans go back to 2009 January Willo Flood window and everyone starts moaning again.
Celtic then can do nothing until the next window and it’s World Cup year.
Celtic board gamble AGAIN that what the manager has is enough to get through the qualifiers and a modest spend takes place or a couple of out of contracts show up in the interim.
Then you have four possibilities –
We make it by the skin of our teeth like this year
or
We don’t make the CL
or
We make Europa League
or we go out before the schools go back altogether.
Remind me why we are a well run club again.
Neganon2
You what mate, honestly you need to find another team or another sport, Ffs man, are you ok with us wearing the hoops, or will you get on to that later, talk about doom and gloom, opinions are welcome, but I just about slashed my wrists there, Deerie meeeeeeeee.
Pfayr.
This is the draw for the champions route:
Dinamo Zagreb 3–4 Austria Wien 0–2 3–2
Ludogorets Razgrad 2–6 Basel 2–4 0–2
Viktoria Plzeň 4–1 Maribor 3–1 1–0
Shakhter Karagandy 2–3 Celtic 2–0 0–3
Steaua București 3–3 (a) Legia Warsaw 1–1 2–2
I’m not sure who are the seeded teams but we have no right to beat all these teams bearing in mind we’ve just navigated two other rounds.
Just out from under the duvet after Wednesday.
Hopefully missed all the usual rubbish sack the board, sign twenty new quality players etc.
The reality is we are a Pot 4 team because we are a Pot 4 league. We do not have the money to compete with the big boys on quality. Even if we had the money what quality players would want to come to the SPFL.
That does not mean that we should not be able to compete in individual games and the team and the management must take culpability for what has been a very poor CL campaign this year. Belief, basics skills like passing and marking should not be beyond us. Tactically we are pretty poor and most teams can soon nullify our play. So Lenny needs to up his game as well.
So where to next? I usually find that I agree with most things that Snake says but not sure if I agree totally with his view. I agree that some players need to be moved on some because they have had their day or are not really up to the mark. However I do not think it is the end of an era and I think Lenny should stay. Some changes to the backroom staff might be useful as I think they all lack experience at this level.
Other teams manage to compete at this level by developing their youth. This has to be the way forward for us. I remember seeing Kompany as a youth playing against us in a European games I think for Anderlecht. The league is won so lets blood some youth players every game and see what they can do.
Our own home grown players can surely produce as much as average imports and we can always be on the look out for the occasional Vic or VDD.
own=on,better keep the grammar polis happy!.
big sean
East Lake 1315 Cheltenham
Colour Squadron 14:25 Cheltenham
13:15 @ Cheltenham – Shooters Wood – NAP!
Good luck everybody.
Morning all
I’m aff oot early, so no time to study. That’s probably a good thing:-)
I had a quick glance at the December gold cup and noticed a horse that I thought last year was likely to do better this season, so I shall opt for 14/1 chance
Sew on target ( 2 25pm Cheltenham )
It’s ridiculously well in at the weights and has a 15lb pull with Johns spirit. Still a bit to find but maybe today’s his day.
Anyhow gl all.
Grandioso 2:25 Cheltenham…good luck everyone.
Lads,
naps here please…
fleagle1888
Bears affair 15-15 Donny
20:20 Wolverhampton (AW) Seek The Fair Land
Happy Punting
Doncaster 135 ranjaan
… after much to-ing and fro-ing, and checking previous tips, I’ll go for Double Ross 2.25 Cheltenham today.
Good luck everyone.
today’s dunkey is
FRENCH OPERA
CHELLTENHAM 1:15
Good luck all
Salubrious……. 3.35 Chelt.
Franciscan 1.35 Doncaster
Henry King 12:50 lingfield
Good luck to you all
Glens Melody 3.35 Chelt
Fransiscan 1.35 Doncaster for moi.Bit of divine intervention need. hh
Eastlake 115 Cheltenham
Lads,
Kuilsriver (2.30 Lingfield)
Good luck,
fleagle1888
CQN Saturday Naps Competition : Week 18 results & standings
Some impressive winners last week :
BULL67 (Tantamount @ 9/1), Cathal/twists n turns (Theresnopanic @9/1)
Other winners : leftclicktic (De Boitron @8/1), bonbhoy (George Fenton @11/8)
+£27.00 Rockon Neil Lennon (7)
+£ 8.88 Som mes que un club (3)
+£ 6.00 BULL67 (4)
+£ 5.00 Bada Bing (3)
+£ 0.88 bonbhoy (4)
+£ 0.50 fleagle1888 (3)
-£ 0.50 What is the Stars (2)
-£ 1.00 tommytwiststommyturns (1)
-£ 3.50 16 roads (2)
-£ 3.50 Cathal (2)
-£ 4.50 leftclicktic (2)
-£ 4.50 twists n turns (2)
-£ 5.00 valentinesday (3)
-£ 6.78 PF Ayr (4)
-£ 8.00 green T (2)
-£ 8.25 Che (2)
-£ 8.50 Kilbowie Kelt (2)
-£11.00 BMCUWP (2)
-£11.00 El Madrigal (1)
-£13.50 MHARK67 (1)
-£13.80 voguepunter (1)
-£16.19 Burgas Hoops (1)
-£16.20 Sponsored by Cheetah (1)
-£18.00 petec
-£18.00 unionbearBhind
*No selection (wk 18) : Burgas Hoops, El Madrigal, petec
*Non-Runners :
Cheers, fleagle1888
I’ll take a chance on ole Gauvain in the 2:25 at Cheltenham.
He’s won off a higher mark, but admittedly that was 2 years ago. The major doubt, apart from his age, is that he hasn’t won beyond 20f.
Good luck all.
T4
Invigilator 9.20 Wolves