Let’s be clear, Morton are not a good football team, nor are Hibernian, but the former’s 0-3 win at Easter Road last night demonstrates the uncertainty principle of any game. Turn up with less than 100% hunger and you will find yourself out of the cup.
Celtic cannot afford to field anything less than their top team a week on Sunday in the Scottish Cup quarter final. Morton are a better team now than they were three years ago when they last won at Celtic Park – and we’re everyone’s favourite soft spot.
I watched Manchester City win comfortably away to Dynamo Kiev last night. It finished 1-3 but 1-5 would have been a more accurate reflection on the chances made. The result and performances didn’t reflect the relative merits of each team. Dynamo are not that bad, City not that good.
City are horrible away from home this season. They have scored 13 goals in 12 away league games, winning only five. More curious is that they also won 1-3 away to Sevilla and 2-4 away to Borussia Monchengladbach. That’s 10 goals in 4 (in total) Champions League away games, not far shy of their 13 goals in 12 Premier League games, most of which were against inferior opponents.
Here’s the thing, Dynamo, Borussia, Sevilla all fancied their chances against City. They pushed high up-field and were shredded as a consequence. Premier League teams don’t make that mistake.
Cup competitions are different from the league, success is all about getting to the next round, and to do that you need to pose a threat, but all three of City’s opponents failed to comprehend the consequences of pressing forward.
All I could think of was our efforts in Molde and Malmo. We took both games to our opponents and were skelped as a result. Away to Ajax we defended deeply and gained a credible draw, at home the open spaces of Celtic Park behind us were exploited by Ajax to our cost.
Dynamo, Borussia, Sevilla and Celtic didn’t know when it would have been wiser to prioritise defending their own 18 yard box. It’s a big lesson, one which has been evident since Warsaw.
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Bogside bhoy,
At their prime in the hoops….
I think they’d fair pretty well. Holding our own in the group stage at the least.
HH
Jobo Baldie
Coming doon the brae fae East Kilbride
How’s everyone doing
(สวัสดี is an informal ‘hello’ in Thai and is pronounced ‘sa-wat-dii’……. It is polite to say it while holding your hands together as in prayer and bowing your neck and waist ever so slightly. In Burmese or Myanmar – NOT Myanmarese there is a parallel pronounce Min-Ga-la-pa. The Burmese are very clever mind you, that one compound word can mean Good morning/goodnight/good day/hello/ goodbye/ thankyou and even sorry. The exact meaning intended depends on the tone of the voice, the look in the eyes, the combination of degree of bow, and speed of return to upright. Even then those not completely versed in the subtleties of intonation can be wrong footed.
Difficult……well imagine a Myanmar visitor to these shores being called a right wee ‘ bastard’…….exactly the same applies.)
– there is a recently introduced variation where if the person greeting you has repeated the salutation i.e. ‘sa-wat-dii sa-wat-dii’ then the response should include an exaggerated bow ending when your forehead meets the bridge of his nose.)
Anyway …maybe a story the morra.
Hail hail
Matt
I can just imagine the stenographers as Phil would call them, “erm Mark, know how you don’t fancy plastic pitches and want them banned, well Ronnie Delia sais there great and everybody should have them, what do you think of that Mark?”
Pathetic.
Paul67…
Good article of Warburton and Rangers. Either Warburton is stupid or he’s bought into the Rangers ethos lock stock and barrel. Warburton is happy to express his opinion, but when Ronny expresses his it’s disrespectful? It’s an attitude typical of Rangers these days – they cannot process or accept any opinions counter to their own, and anyone with the audacity to have an opinion unpopular with them comes under attack.
Rangers attitude is increasingly dangerous – threats from unionists, campaigns by fans, banning journalists (something Celtic have shamefully subscribed to also) and general unpleasantness whenever their world view is challenged in even innocuous ways.
Apart form anything else, the stupidity of Warburton’s remarks stand out. Whilst Ronny maintains a perfect grass pitch is no1, and a perfect synthetic pitch no2, has Warburton failed to realise that in winter (and frequently in summer) it’s impossible to have a perfect grass pitch? I suspect that isn’t a concept lost on him. I also suspect that the ‘conflict’ is a manufactured one to create box office and also to ramp up pressure on Ronny and by association, Celtic.
I’d hope for a robust response from Celtic. If it mentions the words ‘stupid’ and ‘intolerant’ it’ll be all the better for it. Rangers are needed tackled head on.
Anyway, I’m glad you sought to highlight the gross stupidity of Rangers in this instance.
/p
Has anyone asked Warbiola what he thinks about playing on floating pitches?
Anyway, I’m glad you sought to highlight the gross stupidity of Rangers in this instance. – See more at: http://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/when-teams-including-celtic-get-it-wrong-in-europe/comment-page-5/#comment-2783401
Shurely grass stupidity- ed.
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Jobo and CRC
As has been commented on earlier and from P&DDY above, it’s all spin to class our manager/team in the same status as a newco… shameful reporting, from a shameful hun press.
Sandman posted the exact expletives I feel regarding the huns and the smsm…I’m just to shy to repeat them :)
Weet x3,
I remember the 1950 Lazio game.
My mother did some cleaning work for an Italian family and the two women, plus husbands went to the game.
They had a wee friendly bet on the game and even though my mother was of Italian stock, she backed Celtic.
I had attended my first Celtic game the previous month. Charity Cup Final v Thistle.
SoT,
I was working on the QE2 at the tome of the Morton v Chelsea game.
The ship was in dry dock, in the Port that week, so all the talk was about the game.
A few of us decided to go to the game and beforehand, we went to the pub, where we had gone for the lunchtime pint.
I decided to ” go native” and had a couple of glasses of wine and a few pints of Tennents.
It was a great game of football, but at some point during the game, some guy started to make comments about Celtic.
For the first and only time in my life, I was nearly involved in an ensued fracas (c)Weekly News.
I blamed the wine!
BMCUW
Cheers bud
GLASSTWOTHIRDSFULL on 25TH FEBRUARY 2016 6:40 PM
Has anyone asked Warbiola what he thinks about playing on floating pitches?
-#headshot
Tontine Tim,
I remember Joe Mercer’s comment.
He was interviewed on the Wembley pitch, immediately after the game.
The interviewer told him, ” bye the way, Celtic have won the Scòttish Cup”.
JM replied, ” if they had been playing here, they would have won this one, too”.
I can still picture him saying it.
JOBO BALDIE on 25TH FEBRUARY 2016 6:50 PM
Wee rollover getting the punters out. Helps boost the charity pot so all good.
Tough selection for week 1.Good luck to everyone.
warbs is right. #1 choice is perfect grass pitch , #2 is perfect artificial pitch. The problem is reality!
The reality in Scotland is that grass pitches, for whatever reason, are not providing consistent surfaces and therefore result in inconsistent experiences. I know some of it is by design (to level playing field) , some of it is due to heavy rain , and some is down to poor ground staff.
Hampden needing to be resurfaced year after year is a joke.
Ronnie has a point – warbs is full of himself…….for now!
Thomthetim – on the subject of what other managers say about Celtic – I remember Alex Ferguson getting interviewed when at Aberdeen after we had just beaten them with ten men “Celtic are able to perform better with ten men than most teams can with eleven” – praise indeed….and changed days.
Thomthethim
I missed your reply to me yesterday………….time zones.
No wish to raise the subject again,however my opinion has nothing to do with my personal circumstances or geographical location .
It`s all about basic principles.
These never change , irrespective of current day trends and fashions.
Cheers.
https://youtu.be/8ZDqVdGGrjE
A wee song dedicated to our feert meeja
“They drive forward when they’ve got the ball and get behind it when they haven’t.”
Joe Mercer
Like most on here, I suspect, but unlike the majority of non-CQN Celtic supporters, I will not be particularly happy with Sevco and the accompanying sycophancy and lies as they ply their trade in the top league. One consolation, though, is that I will experience the pleasure of them being defeated more often than I have heretofore ( last three and a bit seasons) been used to.
JJ
MR PASTRY on 25TH FEBRUARY 2016 7:14 PM
Alex Ferguson did a question and answer session with big Jock at G.Univ. in the early `70s.
He obviously had great respect for the big man.
” John…………you’re immortal now ”
Bill Shankly
Mr.Pastry,
Changed days, indeed.
Today’s team have to learn strength through adversity and I’m not sure how many of our squad have that quality.
Another point is that any attempt by us to adopt a physical approach is crushed by the inconsistent applications of the rules.
We ar expected to play the European, non tackling game, whereas our opponents are encouraged to “get in our faces”.
P&ddy/Sipsini
Spot on. RS news was describing Ronny as Warbiola’s “counterpart”.
Errr – not even in the same division!
Soccer is simple, but it is difficult to play simple.
Johan Cruyff
Macjay1,
Doctors and nurses have a duty of care to their patients.
Health authorities have a duty of care to their staff.
NO patient would be put at risk.
The greatest risk to patients is the hospital conditions and the reduced staffing levels.
Living in Australia, you enjoy an advanced, properly functioning hospital service.
Nothing to do with your personal circumstances.
The health services in GB and Ireland are on the verge of collapse, due to successive government policies.
PS.
One of the reasons that you do have a good hospital service, is due to the quality of staff, forced to leave these islands, to gain the respect and proper working environment. Amen.
Wonder if Warbiola has any players loaned out to any teams that play on plastic pitches.
67 heaven…
Not seen you post much of late, ( can’t lurk in work now due to a new regime) hope you are well. HH
soukous….
Warbutton is well named as I think that brand of bread is like chewing plastic…plain loaf everytime for me.
Rapid Vienna 0-4 Valencia ( 0-10 on agg )
No hard feelings CSC
Rapid Vienna have just been beaten 10-0 on agregate. Hmmm …
SIPSINI
Give the Warbiola some R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
Plain loaf CSC
Nakisammi
You have LMS7 mail.
HH
CRC
Bouncier Peep Ours
Rabbeted Tenth Tune
Just watched Liverpool scrape hope v Augsburg. The poorest Liverpool team I’ve seen for years. Not much quality in the side, and looks like they’re heading for a skelping on Sunday against Citeh.
Crock Let
Does CQN have an Archive which allows access to posts in the year of its inception?
JJ