Well that was the Livingston game.
Phew!
What a palaver!
A bright enough opening spell saw Celtic take the lead with Callum McGregor smashing a great shot in from 20 yards. Then Celtic seemed to sit back a little and the players began taking 2 and 3 touches rather than moving the ball on as quickly as possible. This trepidation allowed the solid Livingston players to regroup and shut us down and despite Eddy hitting the post with a nice attempt, we would sadly go in level at half time after Livi scored from a gift from Fraser Forster.
Im really not interested in folk moaning about a foul shy or the Livi player daring to be within 3 feet of our keeper. Forster is a big lump of guy and if he is going to commit to winning the ball 8 yards off his line then he has to win it or take everyone out of the play when attempting to do so. What we saw was Forster run off his line, jump up high, get his hands on the ball but then drop it right at the Livi players feet. The Livi centre half duly lifted it over his shoulder and into the net as a bewildered Forster tried running around his blind side wondering where the ball had gone.
Just fucking PUNCH it next time please big man!.
It was really frustrating to concede such a goal. Livi hadn’t been in the game and we had controlled every area of the pitch. Cue one daft shy thrown deep into our box and calamity. Self inflicted damage yet again.
Sure enough, this gave Livi some heart and they started to grow in confidence and come the second half, it would have our heads in our hands.
Now..We have to talk about big Jullien.
What a season he has had.
Scoring goals for fun.
Winning us the league cup
The big Frenchman has done really well since arriving but there sadly lingers a “but”.
He just doesn’t seem to like the physical challenge of a big burly in your face centre forward. Its that and/or the evidence suggests that after 1 mistake, his confidence collapses and he becomes a wreck of a player at times.
Last night we saw Jullien return to the Tony Macaroni stadium after an earlier defeat where he got rag-rolled by their striker Lyndon Dykes. After that defeat, Jullien apologised and said he had learned a valuable lesson. On last nights second half performance, it seems he had learned hee-haw.
The first half had been fine. Jullien won the high balls down the middle and seemed to be composed. After the break however, it all went pear shaped.
Livi played the ball deep down the right hand side and Dykes raced on with Jullien coming over to cover. Dykes was closer to the corner flag than the goal yet somehow, Jullien panicked and rather than shadow and hold him up, he tried some kind of hardman forearm smash tackle thing than ended up with the Frenchman falling on his arse. Dykes said “Thank you very much” and strolled into an empty box to set up his teammate racing in to score the second Livi goal.
After that, Jullien was like a skittish kitten. Easy balls punted down the middle were treated like hot potatoes, passes to colleagues were ignored for a kick or head out the park. All sense of composure was up in the air and he was making Dykes look like some sort of world beater. It was horrific to watch. At one point someone even compared him to Jack Hendry…it was that bad!
Thankfully though, Livi wouldn’t score again so we were looking down the other end of the pitch for action.
Celtic huffed and puffed but it was no beautiful display. Lenny said we were brilliant after the game but that was clearly just hyperbole and deflection. Up front, Eddy was trying but looked tired. Elyanoussi and Christie were popping up here and there but doing nothing worthwhile. Forrest was playing as a right back more than a right winger. In the middle, Calmac was going from side to side while Broony was watching the action whilst standing beside Ajer and on the left Taylor was trying to get forward but his final ball was finding no-one bar the far side linesman or a Livi defender.
It was clear changes were needed and thankfully on came Frimpong for Taylor with Jamesie switching to left wing. Frimpong immediately started running at the Livi back line and the team in yellowy mustard began going back and back and back towards their keeper. It wasn’t dazzling football but it was pressure and we then brought on Rogic and Griffiths in pursuit of a goal.
Eddy had a chance or two with a nice turn and shot and a free kick attempt but it would be as goal maker that he would earn his money. As the clock passed the 90 minute mark, Edouard ran onto a Forrest pass down the left hand side. Eddy found a burst of speed and skipped pass the Livi defender before pulling the ball back across the 6 yard line for the advancing Rogic. The big Aussie kept calm and passed the ball into the next through a desperate Livi defenders legs.
The point was saved!
Phew indeed!
Then the News came through that Rangers had got beat at home by Hamilton…whodafunk it!
So all in all a positive night as we go 13 points clear but we will be back at Livi more than likely, lets hope we find the game-plan and attitude needed to secure the win there and get that bogey off our back.
Ratings
Forster 5 – Dreadful mistake. A few saves but a game he will want to forget as soon as possible.
Ajer – 6 – Not much to do but didn’t get to make many advancing runs.
Jullien – 4 – Shambolic. Needs to toughen up bodily and mentally or learn to manage tough opposition better.
Bitton – 7 – Arguably our best player. Covered well and tried to advance as often as he could to help attack.
Taylor – 5 – He tried but hes a defender being asked to play as a winger..a work in progress but keeps going at least.
Forrest – 6 – Came into game near the end but wasn’t in the game much first half.
Calmac – 7 – Got the goal and tried pushing forward but midfield was all much of a muchness.
Broony – 6 – Won a good few tackles and got stuck in but cant help think we are missing Ntcham alongside him.
Christie – 5 – On, ran about, sent in a few set pieces, did nowt else of note really
Mo – 5 – Like Christie, ran about a bit but no real impact
Eddy – 7 – Looked tired but still found the class needed to set up the winner on 90. Hopefully rest him after 60 mins of Saturday.
Subs
Frimpong – 5 – Made a good impact. Due a start on saturday.
Rogic – 5 – Scored the equaliser, could he get a run linking up front with Eddy as they gel really well?
Griff – 4 – Led the line and freed up Eddy. Worth a start before Mo on Saturday versus the Buddies.
Manager – 5
Took a while to make changes after the Livi goal to go 2-1 up. Cant really fault him for Forster and Julliens mistakes as neither were caused by anything tactical, purely players poor decision making. Could have looked at changing formation earlier as we seemed very lightweight with Christie and Mo and we are crying out for someone who can actually put in a tackle. Left hand side needs consideration and lots to consider in regards going to Ibrox where we will meet a similar pressing game.
Why have we abandoned 2 up front? It was working well, now we are struggling. Starting to doubt Lennie.
This was the game that worried me in the run in and with us probably having to go back there I’m not counting my chickens yet. Jullien, well what can you say? There’s a mounting body of evidence that he can’t handle the big burly striker. To be honest I was glad sevco went for Kamberi and not Dykes. Taylor? He lacks one key attribute, he has no pace. Time and again last night he was forced to turn back because he couldn’t get past his man. We were better when Frimpong came on and the formation changed. Another key question for me is what has happened to Christie? Another game where he was ineffectual, again we were better when he went off.
Having said all that, Sevco lost and we are another point ahead. Still unbeaten and winning without playing well. I’d have took that before kick off. C’mon the quadrofenians.
Any idea how many more points are needed to make the 9 official ?
6 wins
4 if you beat them twice
Sorry BG I don’t quite understand your comment it seems a contradiction is it 4 wins or 6 that is needed, excuse my ignorance, I appreciate your response.
6 games we need if the scum win all the points available to them
but if we beat them twice then we only need a further 2 wins
I think
im confusing myself now
aye im right
they have 30 points left to win, if we beat them twice that means 24 points available to them meaning the most they can finish on is 88
were on 77, if you beat them twice that’s 83 at least, 2 more wins then takes you to 89
Wow they got to 55 and figured the job was done.
The Huns bottle has gone, to much pressure once again for it to be a coincidence. So me, after last nights result, I cannot see them as anything but serial losers. In the Europa’s they are not expected to win, so not much pressure for them playing in that competition. Plus a rookie manager that cannot alter his thinking like Delia, he cannot motivate them, job done.
Win the next 5 games and they cannot catch us. Lose or draw with them then we have to win more games.
Seven goals conceded at home before last night,and only two defeats while losing 29 goals in eight defeats away from home suggests that every team should get a Magic Carpet like Livingston.
Football shouldn’t be played on surfaces like that.
I agree with most of this but Jamsey is a huge part of the dilemma. Did nothing for 70 mins and made no effort to get back when their full back had a field day. As you say Frimpong and Griff changed the day. Frimpong running at fullback why did JF not do that until Fringpong showed him how to play. Jamsey should have had 1 point for passing to Eddy his three crosses and 25 backward passes get no points. Ryan and Mo tried and ran hard but were constantly pushed tripped and bumped and the ref chose to ignore. Rogic did nothing and got a bit of luck with the goal as he hit the defender and it could have gone anywhere. Griff was not brill but his movement meant the centre halfs had to worry about more than Eddy. Greg will not do as the full back hope I am wrong but apart from good crosses in some games he is not giving us anything. Broonie had another off night and slowed the tempo and lost or misplaced passes but I would always play him in games like this. I thought Biton was excellent followed by Calmac and Ajer. Eddy could have had a hat trick in the first half. But for an extra touch or two that allowed them to tackle. I also think if we had another 5 mins we would have scored a couple more as they were dead on their feet. Overall I was annoyed at goals but pleased with the attitude and desire of the players to try and get something from the game. Manager has to look at matching some of these physical teams by maybe bringing on James and Mo after we have won the battle. May have been ideal to start with Biyo but have any of us seen him play much. Also a bit unfair on Mo and Christie who are just getting back after injuries to play them both to start.
hes been involved in more goals for celtic this season than anyone else
yeah, hes a problem right enough
A wee bit of credit to Livingston, aye they are big, burly and not at all beautiful but well organised and a baw hair off taking 6 points off us at home. From the radio heard the local plod were getting a bit tasty after the final whistle? Big Rogic looked non-plussed with the equalizer too….
if they don’t ram it into the filth next sunday they can forget it
Lenny answered the Rogic question last night, when he said that he wanted him to start the game, but Tam was unhappy to do so because of the plastic pitch. What more needs to be said about plastic football pitch’s unsuitability, than when a professional footballer (2 if you count Sumo) says that he is unhappy to start a game because of them. I knew that last night was a critical game, I thought that Cal-Mac was outstanding, a ready made Celtic captain for when Broony hangs up his boots and opens his inevitable Celtic bar. Odsonne was once again wearing his ballet shoes. Jullien was scattergun, but my biggest disappointment was being reminded that both our left backs are not Celtic class, another £5.00 million down the drain, joining Soro and Polish Paddy, totalling £10.00 mill. Who scouts and picks these players? Give me a P, give me an L. For a fraction of the cost we could have had Dykes up front and the money saved Wanyama in midfield.
big tam didn’t look overly pleased for scoring a last min equalizer
No bg he did not, so why not? is he unhappy about not playing and starting most games? I know that I would feel that if I was in his boots. I am a big fan of Tam, almost all Celtic supporters are, so I am puzzled at why he doesn’t start most of the games. Its well known that his knees cannot be put under too much pressure, but he has to be played-started more often surely. I too am a big fan of Christie, but he has been off the boil lately, its such a pity that we cannot fit them both into the team, I would.
Mike I thought last night was ideal for Rogic to play from the start but if he tells the manager he doesn’t want to play then that becomes a problem.
He just didn’t like being out there last night for some reason.
Weekend I would give Broony a rest
Forster
Bitton Jullien Ajer
Frimpong Hayes
Forrest Rogic McGregor
Edouard Griff.
Goals galore 6-0 the bhoys
HH
Jimmy,
A 31 first team squad of players.
but we only regularly only use 18-19 off them.
11 of the 18-19 are International players. Are these young men, the 11 at risk of burnout?
Why do we only utilise only 18-19 of these young players? Why do we have a first team squad of players and do not play them?
P.S. Hayes, Lenny trusts, but there is clearly a problem at L.B.
Looked in a right huff last night did Big Tom.
Lenny does not dejavu, the team should have been set up with 3 defenders, what Taylor was doing, he was a Little boy lost. Julien cannot take in his face, and achieved a give away goal similar to Simon.
You know they will be in your face and block the midfield, why play into their hands, but as for Gollym a nasty wee individual, did nothing to protect the players, also a clear penalty ignored.
But the comedy show continues for the seventh season at Ibrokes
As usual well written article
I thought it was interesting when John Guthrie of Livingston said after the match that the Celtic defence was weak. That is why we have been beaten in European games by inferior football teams and overrun by Rangers. Middle to front we are excellent and have a good goalkeeper. If we splash the cash in the Summer for a couple of quality defenders and a defensive midfielder and keep Eddy we will have some team. Scott Brown is a brilliant wee hard man but it is a mismatch for example if he is battling with a huge Viking player. Keep him for another season to make the ten but have a replacement in the Summer.
Has the time come to make Broony a sweeper ? He could read what is going on better than most from the back. Shore it up if Ajer or Bitton etc break out from the back. Nobody is filling in when players move out and great gaps appear especially down the left.
Maybe Broony is the answer in a sweeper role.
Forster
Broony
Bitton Jullien Ajer centre backs
Forrest Hayes wing backs
Christie Rogic McGregor
Edouard.
Been saying to anyone who will listen that Greg Taylor is never a Celtic player.
Maybe been spoiled by watching Tierney marauding down the left but i see nothing in Taylor, sometimes i think maybe it’s too early to judge, however it’s up to him to impress us with solid performances.
He dallies on the ball & loses possession to readily.
I think there is far too much made of Livingston & the lumbering Dykes, they are well organised & play on plastic, that is all they are,hard working.
I was getting frustrated with this inability to cope with the mighty Livingston, then the result came through from the Reichstag, Ice cream & Jelly all round!
and there is the point monti
the issues at the death star means we got away with it last night
that’s the 3rd time in a year under lennon we have failed to beat livi, can we not learn from prev mistakes?
There was two individual mistakes that gave two goals to Livingstone last night, plus Odsonne hit the post. We had nearly all of the possession, on another day we would have won the game comfortably, even with Gollums piss poor usual performance. Perhaps he could be criticised for team selection but in the end it was down to the mistakes of the players, not the manager. IMO. of course.
Mike,right to point these things out. Gollum gave a free rein to thuggery, tripping and rugby tackles. Their first goal should have been ruled out. All that on a crap pitch. Post-split, we are owed home ties to all of the other five teams but I suspect it will be home to Sevco, Aberdeen and Hibs, away to Motherwell and…Livvie. Sevco only gets two home matches, post-split. Sevco did beat Livvie on their plastic pitch.
I think you are a bit harsh on Julien as it looks to me as though his standing foot slid away from him just as he was about to challenge Dykes. As a result he slides in (it looks like an attempted slide tackle) and bounces ineffectually off Dykes leg. The Livvie boy rides the challenge and then picks out a good pass. No one was more surprised that he landed on his erchie than the big man.
Maybe he borrowed a pair of boots from Slippy G?
ElHahmed has to be brought into the team, he has been in full training for over week now, he is one class act.
think julien would benefit from a mentor figure playing next to him someone in the wes morgan mode as opposed to him mentoring ajer…dont think he is mentally mature enough yet to be the main man in a partnership duo
maybe worth a look at gogic of hamilton accies. Traditional centre half who relishes high balls and not afraid to throw his weght around. The guy is very good on the deck also.
Nurse ^
Wtf is being said in the dressing room at half time?