From every nightmare there must be an awakening, and from the nightmare that was our Walteresque Champions League campaign of 2013-it didn’t make it into 2014-we have certainly been shaken awake.
Its just a shame that the players out on the pitch last night didn’t have the same sense of alertness. A little effort would have been appreciated. You know, go out fighting, swinging punches as we leave the building..
Instead, the players put more effort into trying to get the shirts from the Barca players at the end than they did trying to get the ball off them during the game.
Its hard to think of anything more cringeworthy and embarrassing than last nights performance.
But I’ll give it a go.
Barcelona became only the third team on fifty years to score six times against Celtic, the others being Kilmarnock in 1963 (6-0 ) and Falkirk in 1965 (6-2 ) .
Its easy to see why they ended up with six goals against a tired and disinterested looking hoops side. They took the foot off the gas after about an hour or so. Otherwise it could have been so much worse.
Manger Neil Lennon, having found a system that suited his players and produced some flowing, entertaining and productive football suddenly remembered that he had Teemu Pukki, Georgios Samaras and Derk Boerrigter on his books, and elected to return to the two wide men and no striker style that had already seen his team brushed aside at this level.
Barcelona didn’t so much brush Celtic aside last night, as sweep them out the door and down the street.
Kris Commons, who had been on the end of moves instead of at the start was left out, after a poor run of seven goals in four games, as was Charlie Mulgrew and the hard working foil Anthony Stokes.
So it was hoof the ball towards Samaras and hope for the best , and when Samaras remembered he was playing -at about half past fecking nine, he actually scored, but by then Barcelona had gone home and were watching the highlights on tv.
If we had lost 6-1 playing the way we had against Motherwell and Hearts, if we had given it a go instead of chucking in the towel before Coronation Street had finished, then it wouldn’t have been so bad, but that last night was just embarrassing.
I felt for the fans in Barcelona who had probably been looking forward to, and saving for the trip as soon as the draw was made. And I feel for all those fans in Scotland who will have to put up with the jibes from other supporters today, and the champions league you’re having a laugh ditties that will no doubt emerge from fans of our former Glasgow rivals.
And then theres the media, who will smugly remind us that our defeat is all down to having no serious challengers at home , the very same media who said we did so well last year because we , er, had no serious challengers at home.
Worst of it for me is the look that colleagues down here will give me. That look where they feel sorry for the guy who goes all that way to watch his team, who play in a league that is the equivalent of the vauxhall conference etc, etc, when he could be watching Stoke chuck the ball to each other instead.
Actually, I feel a bit better now.
No matter how bad it gets, at least I won’t have to sit in the ground hoping we get a throw in, and seeing if it will hit one of the planes heading towards Manchester.
Fortunately, Lennon may be forced into playing the passing style domestically, in order to keep crowds high. Which means he might even adopt it for next years campaign, should we participate.
The manager was a bit despondent after the game;
“There were only two or three players that showed anything,” he said, “Virgil van Dijk, Adam Matthews and Mikael Lustig. I excuse the goalkeeper in that as well. But the rest of the team were very, very poor – well below the standards they´ve set themselves over the past few years.
“It was nowhere near reminiscent of the performances we´ve put in previously against Barcelona.
“There was no bravery on the ball. We started off nervously and it looked like our heads went down at 2-0.
“We came here on the back of two great results at home and with an idea of trying to finish the group with some sort of positive result.
“I didn´t get the performance and I certainly didn´t get the result. I´m angry and I´m disappointed but it´s something I have to get over very quickly.
“But I do have a group of players I want to work with and make them better, and they will learn from this experience.”
Hardly inspiring.
Charlie Mulgrew was also a little downcast post match, and spoke of the players trying to get the defeat out of their system.
“It will take a while. We won’t be able to get it out of our minds for a few days and we won’t sleep well. ”
Thats because they aren’t tired.
The team have been granted a wee break after Christmas. May I humbly suggest they use the time to look through a few Celtic dvds and get a feel for the club they play for.
The club they play for, incidentally, and the accusations that it has moved away from its roots over the last couple of years -mainly from me-will be discussed in a podcast being recorded tonight.
Our guest will be Jeannette Findlay, from the Celtic Trust. With hindsight, after her passionate speech at the AGM, perhaps she should have given the pre match team talk last night.
If theres anything you want to ask her, or anything you feel we should discuss, leave a note in the comments section-we do read them, honest-or contact us via twitter, @etims.net .
Theres probably a whole host of other things going on in the world of football, but frankly, I’m a bit miserable and can’t be arsed looking for them.
Nice to see UEFA stuck to their prohibition of political banners last night, with their salute to Nelson Mandela. Mandela, the man who went from prison into politics. The opposite of how it works in this country.
You can tell its nearly Christmas. The dark cloud of misery has descended and will follow me round all day today, like that little rainy cloud on the weather maps. ( Thats how the wife used to find me when i went on my drunken adventures-she’d watch the weather, find the cloud and come and fetch me. With a bat that had a nail sticking out the end. )
I’m not even allowed to go to the Hibs game on saturday, as we have to go Christmas shopping. Which is always a breeze.
Apparently, I’m becoming more and more tight fisted as I get older, and the good wife has just had a right go at me over it. She’s actually locked herself in the kitchen, and I can hear her ripping up all our plates as I type.
If you want to feel a little better today, spare a thought for Napoli fans and players. They accumulated 12 points in their group, and still failed to qualify.
Actually, so what ?
Frank McGarvey headed a goal that secured the cup, and was on his way to St. Mirren before he had a chance to get dressed.
Celtic lost 6-0 to Kilmarnock back in 1963, but it was quite a significant day in the clubs history-27 March, to be precise, why ?
Don’t think they can blame the GB on this one! as their collective back doors were well and truly kicked in. A bit of a Riddy all round.
Jean Findlay and Passion go together. At least that’s what she told me to say.
And that’s why he has to go!
When you getting beat 3-0 at half time you have a chance to re-group and maybe pull down the shutters to stop a further doing. Lennon obviously never said anything to inspire a side that should have been already inspired 45 mins earlier
Lennon obviously didn’t change anything tactically if he the team let in another 3 goals on the second 45
Sorry but he has to go, he has had moderate success in a pish poor league. His transfer policy and success is pish poor, sorry but you can’t keep holding up Hooper and Big Vic as success if you have the likes of Bangura and Murphy
All the talk in recent times was if Celtic can keep hold of Lennon I think it is more a case of saying thanks for your efforts Neil but we think the club should go in a different direction
Say’s it all Ralph.
I am not keen on the manager slagging off players in the press. He should’ve taken some of the blame himself as he was guilty.
My ratings:
Forster – 5 – Don’t think Superman could have saved some of them but value halfed
Van Dijk/Ambrose – 4 – Badly let down by the midfield not tracking, caught static far too often
Matthews – 2 – A sieve in attack, an empty shirt in defense
Lustig – 5 – Tried to get forward and give an option, but still made too many mistakes
Brown – 4 – Holding in a diamond when flat was required, at times you wouldn’t even know he was playing
Biton – 3 – Contributed zero
Ledley – 4 – Got into good positions but wasted the ball
Borrigter/Pukki – 3 – Do they have a future at Celtic? Looked like a total waste of money
Samaras – 4 – Broke into a jog at one point. Had a good couple of touches. Literally
THIS!
Jimmy Johnstone’s debut game was the Kilmarnock match
Jinky played his first game for the first team that day.
Lennon and tactics in the same sentence???
It’s time for a change Neil please do the right thing resign.
Too be honest they would have been better not turning up at least the score line would have been 3-0 … very poor performance and absolutely ZERO effort, If you can’t raise your game to play in the big games/arena’s there is something serious wrong !!!!
I fear the lack of ambition at board level is manifesting on the pitch!
Lenny is culpable for playing Mathews after 2 months out and OUT OF POSITION.
Dropping Commons for Pukki A PLAYER WHO HAS BEEN PISH FOR TWO MONTHS IN THE SPFL.
Not replacing Mathews after half an hour for Mulgrew who by an large has been a LEFT BACK for most of his career.
The team or should I say the bulk of the team (Lustig and Virgil aside)are culpable fort not even possessing the basics of ball retention,first touch or passing ability whilst managing to impersonate a Celtic Player in the TOP FLIGHT OF EUROPEAN FOOTBALL.
Seriously why the fuck can’t these guys trap and pass a ball?
They can do it in a sheidt hole like Fir Park in pash weather but not on a Billiard Table like the Camp Nou?
Simply not good enough.
THAT!
“Seriously why the fuck can’t these guys trap and pass a ball?”
Barca were excellent at closing down, 1 man immediately on the player with the ball, seconds later it was 2 men and if they still hadn’t got the ball a 3rd man was there. fabulous to watch and I felt sorry for our man with the ball. Our Bhoys are not use to such pressure and it frightened the life out of them, this lead to use giving the ball away or punting it anywhere. It was a Barca masterclass.
I agree and I’ve said before that I cannot fathom how we lack so many basic football skills. I often wonder what it is they actually do in training.
Another thing I noticed last night is the lack of pace we have. In one case Ledley picked up the ball in midfield with the Barca guy about 7 yards behind him, he sets off to run and the Barca guy is on him in like 3 or 4 strides.
Lenny has one TOUGH task and needs serious help
Come summer…he needs a team that can qualify for the Cl2014.
80% of current defence could be at the World Cup. The ones that actually return are gonna be well prepared for CL qualifiers, NOT.
Midfield will see Joe Ledley in England\Wales (can you blame him?) Scott Brown retaining that position without threat or consequence. James Forrest fragile on and off the pitch. Mulgrew like us will be wondering how a journeyman squad player became a first on team sheet necessity.
Thomas Rogic maye be in Rio, may be in Poundland, may be in Hong Kong, does he even exist?
Up front – Stokes has new contract and will be there. Commons will stay fit and hopefully lay off the nachos again like last summer, Sammi will be in Rio, say no more, Pukki Bangura and Balde will be wondering why wee Atajic is carving their images into Voodoo dolls. Tony Watt will be the subject of “Knock Knock jokes”
The rebuilding needs to be done in January Desi,we need to pay the money for genuine quality,bite the bullet on price if needs be and then subsequently bed these guy’s in over the next 3 months so they are part of the squad that is competing in the Cl Qualifiers.
We have raked in over £55m in the last 18 months in Champions League and Players sales.
Yes we have also laid around £10m out on players and reduced debts to Zero but if we are serious about competing at this Level Lawwell and co have to realise surely there is a real need for quality to survive at this level?
I feel the Pukki.Boerrigter,Biton and Balde deals were simply made to placate the fanbase by bringing in numbers.
They knew these guys were adequate for the SPFL and gambled they might be good enough in Europe?
That gamble has failed on a Footballing front but been successful on a Monetory front as another £16m has been secured by qualification.
I can see Ledley going on a free and Forster being punted for any reasonable offer over £6m myself so I fear we may need to be looking at around 3/4 new players of decent ability.
A keeper,A Left Back,A no10 and a quality finisher.
Look, when are people going tae look at the bigger picture here, we JUST made it intae the CL after eventually seeing of an amateur Side from Ireland, a crap side from Sweden and a bunch of goatherders from somethingSTAN with last kick of the game, the squad we have isn’t top drawer but oor manager is proving he is totally inept at carrying Celtic forward, i for one wouldn’t give him a warchest in January as he doesn’t even know how to pick his best players now and what position to play them in, and the money he has squandered on pish players already sums it up, id rather we broke the bank now and brought in a experienced manager with good tactical ability, Celtic and Lennon have reached a crossroads, and Celtic have to part company and move forwards. Thanx Neil Lennon u brought some magical nights to Celtic over the last 3 seasons but pastures await u eleswhere… Leaving Commons oot last nite and changing tactics so badly was the final straw.. hail hail, KTF+
Still feeling utterly sick at that shambles last night. I’m not even getting much consolation from the posts of my fellow Tims or Ralph’s jaded banter this morning. I’m not really surprised that we were beaten and given the runaround by a totally superior team but the thing that really hurts is the lack of fight and the sense of resignation throughout the game. I’m not jumping on the sack Lenny bandwagon just yet but he looked completely drained and done in afterwards last night. Maybe that was just the effects of watching that horror show rather than something deeper and underlying.
Where to now? Answers on a postcard to the Boomerang Channel please.
Did Lenny really give pass marks to Mathews?! I know he was unfit but his ridiculous pass to VVD in the second minute set the tone for what we were all about to endure. The big man saved us from being 3-0 down in the first ten minutes single-handed, here’s hoping he doesn’t go OTT and want away from such embarassment in the future.
Mathews not to blame for being picked whilst unfit, but I think I saw a professional player run the ball out of the park from his own touch (ala Heid in San Siro a few years back) and fit or not that’s inexcusable. Take note Sammi.
Here’s hoping January is a busy month so we can build for next season as barring a few cup games this one is over. Cannot face another summer scraping the barrel and hoping players fit in one week before qualifiers.
Sack Lennon…? If you want to punish him, make him watch the game again. Fortunately the Beautifu Game in Aus is cricket/rugby/kangaroo spotting/wallabie whispering etc…so I’ve kept myself to myself.
As much as that humiliation hurts this morning we were still just as much out the CL as we were on Monday, no excuses but clearly Lenny could t get his message that this mattered across or the players just didn’t believe him and went into this with totally the wrong attitude, (staggering to think cos surely any chance to play in the CL at the Nou Camp is motivation enough)
But realistically right now we buy players to get us in the CL, not compete when we get there.
Having watched every embarrassing minute of our other games I thought they might do better without me jinxing them, plus I was on a sure thing.
So I woke up this morning hoping I wasn’t the only one who scored last night.
The result says it all, but I’m not for getting Lenny out the door.
Since Milan away his teams and tactics in cl have been wrong, but he is working with limited resources, wee were forth seeds in a group of champions, and that’s where we got. The only possible positive is some spending will take place on midfield and attack after this and the players we have get a reality check, but to dismiss Lenny now I improves nothing imo. Big Jock.with Jesus as his no 2 couldn’t have this Celtic out of that group.
And I’m not sure he spent as much on these players as we being told, it often suits a club t to declare the expense to be more than it was
A Mr James connolly Johnstone made his debut
Com own give the guy a break, he has done a good job with what he,s got, if it was not for Brown being sent off and then suspended, things could have been so different. Also look what we are playing against one player from these teams is worth more than our whole team. Remember also all the targets Lennon got during the summer were third choice, is that maybe down to the board. As for his transfer record I recon there are three or four guys in the current team who represent money well spent, Lustig, Van Dijk, Ledley ,Forster (we will get a wee profit there) Ambrose Biton (early days but he is a player) Please guys credit where credit is due.HH Keep the faith.
I was thinking last night about how we blame the players, blame the manager, blame the tactics but the reality of the situation is that we should blame ourselves.
This regime that runs Celtic is interested in only one thing, cold hard cash. To hell with our morals, our history, our sense of social justice, those are all just marketing ploys to sell the concept of how we are more than just a football club.
Dermot Desmond cares only about one thing and that’s the bottom line. He pulled a master stroke in bringing in Lawell as the smoke and mirrors man who fools us all with his statements and promises of future growth and success.
We’re the ones to blame, we’re the ones who have fallen for it all. Players can’t help if it they’re shit, Lennon can’t help it if he’s tactically naive but we can make it change because we control the one thing that they prick up their ears at, ‘Money’.
I don’t advocate not following and supporting the team but my personal stance for the past couple months is to stop plowing money into Desmond’s pocket via merchandizing. At this time of year Lawell is rubbing his hands at the thought of kit sales and DVDs and quilt sets flying out the door, well not to me they ain’t, not this year and not until I see some real investment in the club.
Oh thats going in tonight’ Podcast!!
Still in sunny barca, WTF was all the chances about? Commons is on fire and he is on the bench. Mattews clearly not match fit and out of position and Biton who was caught like a rabbit in the headlights he has only played about 4 games. We were slow ponderous and clumsy with a lack of fight which was worrying. I liked big Effe and Van Dyke but no one else til Charlie and Commons came on.
Agree barca close space down so quickly 1 2 or 3 players onto the guy with the ball giving you no time to settle.
The 2 wide players need special mention for having no bottle along with Puki they looked like they were all out for a training session.
Lemons tatics have been appalling since Barca at home. We got lucky against Ajax (H) they missed 3 one on ones with the keeper. playing 2 wide men who do not work off the ball and cannot do anything with the ball just leaves us wide open. (Forest, sammi and Dirk.)
Very pissed off of for a beer
the biggest pile of WILFRID HYDE WHYTE, THAT I HAVE EVERE SEEN,P.S. GET BEHIND THE TEAM AND GIVE NEIL LENNON YOUR SUPPORT…….HE NEEDS IT NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!
After last nights shambles and reading the body language of some/nearly all the players i personally think that they themselves are losing confidence in the manager and especially his team selections and tactics, all the chopping and changing, different formations, different tactics and more often than not them not working, inform players benched, i cant imagine what commons must have been thinking when the team was announced, 7 goals in 4 games, best creative player in the team, totally on top of his game but benched.. iv stuck by lenny from the very beginning, even after throwing the title away at Inverness after beating Aberdeen 9-1, even after losing tae ross county and recently Morton, but on that gutless performance last night then im with the opinion that we DEFINITELY need a change at the top.. as much as i agree that the board a guilty of lack of ambition they dont pick the team and choose how we approach games.. hail hail, KTF+
Reality check bhoys and ghirls. The team that had us all purring with delight after playing the mini huns and murderwell off the park is pretty much the team of last night. Commons not playing was baffling, but there were not many other options for last night.
The facts as I see them, for Celtic to win matches at CL level we need these 4 things to happen. We need 9 or 10 players playing at their best, we need the opposition to underperform, we need decisions to go our way and most importantly we need the luck.
Give Neil Lennon a break. I think he has done and will continue to do a great job with the resources at his disposal!
As others have said Keep the Faith! We are Celtic supporters faithful through and through……
Meant to say that it was one of the worst experiences ever watching Celtic.
KTF GBNL
Bans were given to people for damaging the reputation of the Celtic fans. Who should be banned from Parkhead for trashing the clubs reputation in European football.Lennon ? For childish tactics + team selection/formation in last 2 CL games. Lawwell? for allowing us to enter CL in a weakened state. (He’s taken a lot of credit for our financial state, yet that mostly comes from the CL run last year plus sale of players who made that run. could be argued that “one off ” financial spike occured despite Lawwell, not because of him).Failure to land Finnbogason similar to Fletcher/ McCarthy dealings, or lack of.
Desmond? What exactly does he bring to the table? Is there a plan, a progressive strategy ( if so it’s taken a few steps backward now) an ambition?
I don’t have answers to all these questions but I know it’s time for the support to start asking these questions out loud and with purpose. We had gained a strong platform last season but again, failure to capitalize has seen us lose all those gains and some. We’re not even back at the beginning again. I fear we’re even further back than that.
No political banners. Ok then assume Barca up on uefa charge for the “we want a vote” aligned to a Catalan flag clearly visible during the CL anthem and team pics
The general consensus seems to be that a lot of the players and maybe the manager are not good enough. Bringing players in is going to be a hell of a lot more difficult after last nights result. How many players will want to come and be humiliated and made to look ridiculous?
We lost 6-0 in Ian Rush”s testimonial to Liverpool in the 90’s. Does that count ?
No game in the nineties counts. Well, early nineties anyway.
i,ve said it before and i,ll say it again, spend more time on practising ball control and less at the barbers and tattoo parlours and maybe we,ll get somewhere. hh
Well said John Mccloy.
How can such highly paid professionals not even master the simple basics such as controlling a pass(on wed I counted 3 of them who couldn’t even control the ball when they were already in possesion of it- letting the ball run out of play!!)or simply passing the ball accurately to their OWN team-mate.As the old saying goes practice makes perfect.Our bunch of superstars are obviously not training and “practicing” the basic skills enough.It won’t turn them into world class players overnight but it will surely help improve things and help cut out the basic mistakes that are costing us dearly.Whose fault is it that they are having such a cosy time and not training enough. Come on Lenny get it sorted Keep the Faith