Photo: Vagelis Georgariou biglens.co.uk
We’ve often discussed that the difference between success and failure at Champions League level more often than comes down to which team makes mistakes. In the group stages Celtic were 31st out of 32 teams for the amount of possession they had, and for the number of chances they created, but they were immaculately drilled and progressed while more creative teams failed.
Cluj had less possession and chances than Celtic but also know the route to effective football, finishing on 10 points and being denied qualification for the knock out stage on goal difference.
Against Juventus, home and away, things changed. Defenders twice jumped for balls they couldn’t reach, instead of turning and standing their ground. Twice players were dispossessed inside their own half instead of getting rid of the ball early. These moments led to four of Juventus’ five goals and decided the tie. By contrast, Celtic enjoyed the bulk of possession and chances, home and away, against the Italian champions.
What are the lessons have been learned in our Champions League games?
Xavi has learned not to try to control a clearance from Fraser Forster at chest height. Spartak’s Insaurralde will know to keep his eye on the ball while clearing the ball when last man while Suchy will know not to clatter into strikers inside his own box.
No Celtic player made a single mistake inside his own half in either of the home games against Barcelona and Spartak and as a result, both games were won.
Our players’ normal mode of play, week-in-week-out, is the intercept passes, not cautiously move to a covering position. They also hold onto the ball and take a moment before releasing, activities which don’t often lead to a goal being conceded within seconds, but Champions League football is stunningly different than the domestic variety.
The most important lesson from our Champions League campaign is that Celtic are one of the most effective teams in Europe. We can create goals and defend successfully against the best on the Continent. We will look back on this campaign as the one which put us back on the map, and we’ll look back on the Juventus games as an important stage in our development.
The strategy is working; same again please.
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Merryfield? Never liked his character, give me Lennard Pearce any day . Mind you I preferred Kirsty Alley to Shelley Long in Cheers and thought Chris Sutton was a terrible signing so I could be wrong!
Jimbo
I don’t employ terms like Jock, Paddy, Taffy etc …
However. I think the continued use of the term paddy wagon reminds us of how the Irish were once treated in London. For that reason I object to the politically correct trying to write it out of the vernacular.
•-:¦:-•** -:¦:- sparkleghirl :¦:-.•**• -:¦:-•
22:13 on
7 March, 2013
¡ǝɹǝɥdsıɯǝɥ uɹǝɥʇnos ǝɥʇ ɯoɹɟ sƃuıʇǝǝɹƃ
(from Santiago de Chile on an impossibly slow internet connection)
——————————————————————————————-
Almost as bad as my connection in Cambuslang from Sky,PURE PISH.
HH
….pfayr,
Good man, you have taken the first step.
If the situation that is rumoured on here tonight has any truth, then it becomes a serious conflict, I’m sure.
setting free the bears.
I first heard the term when i was a first year apprentice in Barr & strouds…after the first couple of times of hearing it i asked my brother what they meant by calling me it…after being educated on the matter by my older brother, i started wearing my scarf to work.
f**k them i am what i am not what they portray me as.
That place was an education on bigotry.
thetimrieper, you are second generation Irish noone has the right to call you a Plastic Paddy but they probably will anyway. I’m off for a pint now so I’ll bid ye all good-night.
thetimreiper
Why “jumping on the bandwagon”, another derogatory description?
Why not celebrating your inheritance?
I do not see the connection between finding aspects of ethnically and racially based Nationalism distasteful, in whatever country, and noting that exists in both Ireland and Scotland, and feeling threatened by a Scot or feeling a need to deride a Scot who expresses a liking for his inheritance, from whichever country.
Scots born of English parents should be allowed to celebrate their roots. We will never be a grown up community until we get past that narrow minded line.
Test
setting free the bears
Your right paddy is an offensive name, my old man was called
it in an offensive way nearly every day of his life when he
lived in Glasgow. I find the term offensive myself, i was just
saying that i thought it referred to a sham show of irishness.
No offence was intended.
Did Joe Ledley, justify his Selection, agin the Italians?
Answer..
Na.
He did his usual.. Disappearing Act..after an early flourish.
Ledley’s Performance ,wiz totally.. Unacceptable..
Ah say… Unacceptable…
But To Who..or..should that be…to Whom???
It is a Cinch..his Performance wiz No Acceptable. Tae Kojo.
Wiz Neil happy wi’ it?
If he wiz.. Ah wid be Surprised.
Kayal, Actually, He wiz no Bad..his Performance was .. acceptable.
Did Wanyama Play?
Ah am noo too sure, aboot that wan.. Wull hiv tae get back taeYe..oan That.
Commons?
UGh!
That aboot describes his Performance.
Hoops?
Double .. Ugh!
Sammi?
Played well..
Darling Charlie?
He .. well… as ye Know.. Ah really like this Guy..
Howevah.. Let’s jist say that Kojo wiz disappointed in His Performance..
Izzy?
He also..turned in a Disappointing Performance,last eve..
Adam?
Not quite ready fur Prime Time..
Forster.. ??
Say whit ye will.. but.. He Gift the Foist Goal..
Ah know, He saved the Initial shot.. but..
Noo
Who did NOT Disappoint.and Exceeded all ithers… in their Performance of Last Night,then..???
You May ask ..or.. may not.. but, if ye dae..well.. Ask.
Ah wid be Surprised that Ye do not Know.. Who was Celtic’s Solitary. Lone.. Isolated…
Non Disappointer..in Last Night’s Confronto..
But, Ah wull gie ye the Answer,anyway.
Why .. Mr. Wilson,of course!
Kelvin, gave us. Yeoman Service.. He was My Celtic Man of the Match, by the length o’ Watling Street.
Efe?
Did He Play?
Did Broonie??
Hmmmmmmmm…
Na.. Broonie, Didnae.. Wid He hiv made a Difference?
Couldnae Tell Ye..
We need a Shake up in oor Mid Field..
The One we sent oot last Night..
Didnae dae the Biz..
Quite . Horrible as a Unit…
In My Opinion.
Guid fur the S.P.L..of course.. But Europe is a Jamaica St Bridge… too Far..
Kojo
Still, Laughin’
;
Kojo
Ledley was our best performer.
Ntasoola
“I don’t employ terms like Jock, Paddy, Taffy etc …
However. I think the continued use of the term paddy wagon reminds us of how the Irish were once treated in London. For that reason I object to the politically correct trying to write it out of the vernacular.”
There’s terse and there’s contradictory.
You do not employ the term Paddy but you will post in defence of a poster who does because you imagined a charge of “anti-Irish” racism was being made (though it was never used by the complainants)
And you would defend and preserve “paddywagon” because only the Politically Correct would find it offensive. That helps explain your defence of Kojo’s invented derivation of nig-nog.
So how do you support it but not use it?
Your sense of the derivation of the paddywagon term is speculative anyway. No one knows definitively if that was why it came into use but it is highly unlikely that it was first coined in London or anywhere outside of the USA (New York is the best bet)
Ntassoolla
So why the wind up about Donegal then???
notthebus @ 22:27
Couldn’t argue with that.
Notthebus
You really believe that?
Ledley wiz oor BEST PERFORMER?
Ah Soitenly Didnae.
Ah believe that that Must sought efter Designation .
Belongs or Belonged tae . Kelvin Wilson.
But..
Ah am more that willing to allow You tae Believe, otherwise..
Kojo
Still, Laughin’
I was always under the impression the the term Paddy Wagon came for New York.
Have been know to be wrong mind you >}
The Italian press seemed to feel that Sammi was our best performer with Forrest and Commons highlighted too.
All 3 would have been driven to the airport and punted for nothing at several stages of the past 2 to 3 years.
I thank God that real pros are charged with the job of team selection and not the butterfly minds of our judgemental fans and their Shock-Jock (no reference to nationality there) posting cheerleader.
Kojo
have a read
http://www.tictactic.co.uk/
Let me highlight a comment made on Celtic’s midfield
“Good possession countered
Beram Kayal, Mulgrew, and the excellent Joe Ledley looked as comfortable as ever in midfield, sweeping the ball from side to side in search for a full-back runner. But when it came to working it through the centre – perhaps to Commons in search of a shot – there just wasn’t enough space. In that final third Juventus sprang to life, with Arturo Vidal and Paul Pogba providing an aggressive, impenetrable shield. Celtic’s best chance early on was restricted to Ledley’s long range drive.”
Buster Merryweather?
One day in Sharkey’s Bar in Annagry, during a Scotland v Italy rugby match, I was called both a Scottish B and an Italian B.
Is this a down market Scottish tabloid?
Kojo
We could debate who was our best performer all night, however describing Ledley’s performance as “unacceptable” leaves me baffled to be frank.
TET it may come form New York.
I know it from London and was initially uneasy about it.
STFB you really do twist things.
I too thought Ledley was excellent along with Kayal. I agree with kojo that Wilson was our star man.
http://t.co/1JULqgILk6 Get your complaints to the ASA about SEVCO stating on Clyde they are most successful club in Scotland #liquidated
Ntasoolla
You really do go into hiding and refuse to answer when caught.
Ledley was easily one of our best performers last night.
Anyone who claims otherwise either knows hee haw about football or has an ulterior motive for saying so.
I’ll plump for option 2 then.
sftb
I hardly ever post about tactics, or who I would play, or even who I thought did ok or not, always someone who will have a differing opinion.
Many years ago, I coached school football, trust me that was hard enough, had parents telling me I knew feck all, their boy should be in the team, they knew even less than me btw.
Naw, I agree, leave it to the people who know what it’s all about.
Tis amazing that we have so many accomplished managers on the blog, so it is.
HH
setting free the bears
I noticed that too.
Notthebus
Did You See the Game?
Ah am no being Sarcastic,pal.. believe me..
The Quotes which you hiv supplied, which Single oot among ithers… the Joe’s Performancve of last Night wiz, indeed.. Praiseworthy.. come from another Source, rather than .
YOUR OWN.
Ah am only Interested in. YOUR OWN OPINION.
Ah hiv given Mine..
Kojo
Still,Laughin’
setting free the bears
Im not condoning the term, and everyone has a right to
celebrate their heritage, the use of bandwagon was used
innocently. Im proud of my irish roots and always will
be because i know how much they cost.
Hail Hail
Hi all.
First look of Paul’s article today and What’s came to mind is the impact of missing sammy in the first leg against Juventus .
Would we have pressed the game so high up the park at home?
Or would we have played a more cautious approach like the home games against Barca and Benfica.
I’m not having a go at how it worked out but the article is about what was learnt about this campaign.
I would love to know what the bosses thoughts are on that question.
Tictalker talking tic
I went to Paisley once. It was closed.
notthebus
It is the usual shockjock approach. He’s using tabloidese.
Nobody ever has an average or a weak performance. They must be mediocre or unacceptable or a disgrace.
Kojo reckons CQN needs the provocative heat that he and KevJ provides otherwise this blog might manage to achieve its stated aim of avoiding lazy journalism.
And that would never do.
thomthethim
22:37 on
7 March, 2013
Hahahahahahahahaa
Strong words from the normally docile crowd in Sharkey’s!
Last chance
I believe that it comes from the horse drawn carriges that used to take the Irish to the jail.
I remember seeing a prog on the tele years ago, it was about the american prison system, and I think it was called Oz, not sure, anyways, every week they gave a definition of sayings, like Paddywagon, Eaves dropping, etc, etc, and they confirmed that it was what I understood to be true.
Still could be wrong mind you.
jude2005
Ha, I can beat that, I went to France and it was closed………
HH
There was 2 much sand dancin around the penalty area last night. Work the goalie shoot on site. We were 3 goals down F G S!!
Hamilton Tim
Whit you are saying ..in effect.
is
“Anywan, who submits an opinion, oan the quality of a Celtic Player’s Performance.. which is contrary tae Mine…(Hamilton Tim)
is Not Qualified tae Submit an opinion oan the Subject at Hand, because Ah.. Hamiltontim says So.”
Yep.. That’s jist whit ye are saying..
Wow!
Kojo
Still, Laughin’