No. I don’t know how thats happened either.
Celtic stormed into the last thirty two of the Europa League-thats the bit that John Guidetti can play in-with a 3-1 defeat at home to Red Bull Salzburg. That wasn’t the result that took the club through, it was Astra Guirgi beating Dinamo Zagreb that clinched it.
So , it didn’t feel like a defeat last night, although it was as comprehensive as any Deila men will take this season.
Salzburg came flying out of the traps and were two up inside the first quarter of an hour. Then they switched off and allowed Celtic to claw thier way back into he game, Stefan Johansen getting one back before the break. After that Celtic did appear to dominate, but couldn’t make anything of it. In truth, the Austrians would probably have just switched back on if we had.
There were some spirited performances on show, Leigh Griffiths was a nuisance up front with his endless running and battling, Anthony Stokes and Emilio Izaguerre combined well on the left, but the reality is there was little else to cheer about.
Salzburg were fitter, stronger and faster than Celtic. Celtic, again, struggled to string their passes together when under pressure. And when not under pressure as well.
Deilas been in charge for five months now, and based on last night, the team hasn’t progressed at all.
Yet there we are, in with a chance of four trophies, or at least a realistic shot at a treble. So he must be doing something right. Or is he just bluffing ? Which means sooner or later we are going to find out that he’s just been very lucky so far.
The empty top tier shows that either the support isn’t interested in the Europa league, or they don’t feel its worth going to see the team when they are misfiring most of the time. The low turn out last night was disappointing, especially as a win would have secured qualification on our own merit.
It was a funny old night, when alls said and done. Ronny seemed pleased, but a little dazed by it all.
“I’m very happy to get through but we wanted to do that by ourselves and win the game tonight,” the Hoops boss said.
“Salzburg are a very good football team. They threatened every time they attacked, and they were direct as we knew they were going to be.
“We opened the game very poorly and conceded two easy goals, and one from a set-play that shouldn’t happen and that put us in a bad situation.
“I was really encouraged by the fight they showed to get back into the game to get to 2-1, and I was proud of how we really attacked them and put them under pressure.
We got the crosses and the chances we needed but we couldn’t put it in, and in the end they got the third goal which can happen when you put everyone in attack.
“We should maybe have had a goal in the second half but the best team has gone through. Salzburg have shown themselves as a very good team to win 5-1 away in Zagreb and win almost every game they have played.
“We have been the second best team and we will have fight further to go through to the last 16.”
Salzburg more often than not prevented the crosses going in, and they were also quick to close down Celtics front three.
The next stage of the Europa League will see Celtic face either a group winner or one of the third placed teams from the champions league groups. Which at the moment is quite daunting. But Ronny isn’t worried;
“I don’t think the third-placed team in the Champions League will be any better than the team we met tonight so this is the standard,” he said.
“We met a modern football team in my opinion, tonight, with 11 incredibly hardworking players and very direct intensity. And if we can handle this we will be able to handle the Champions League teams.
He does know they beat us, doesn’ he. He did notice that when they tried, they carved Celtic to pieces ? So, when he says that “if we can handle this ” its worth noting that we didn’t ” handle this” by any stretch of the imagination.
Theres still the Zagreb game to go, which thankfully is now nothing more than a practice match, and then its a few months before the next Europa game. Lets try to be ready for it.
Hearts are next up on. Sunday sees the second meeting between Celtic and the first division pace setters on cup duty, and it might not be as easy as we think.
Leigh Griffiths and John Guidetti up front ?
Deila called Salzburg a “modern hardworking team” , and they use two up front. Come on, give it a go. This pattern, if you can call it that, of three advanced midfielders behind and around a striker isn’t working. No-one seems to know where anyone is, or what they are supposed to be doing. And they can’t get the ball to them accurately anyway.
Never mind. Dion Dublin, former Celt, has released a Christmas album. From the Scotsman;
Dublin, 45, is a keen amateur percussionist, and invented an instrument he called ‘The Dube’, a type of percussion instrument based on the Peruvian cajón, and accompanied Britpop band Ocean Colour Scene at a gig at the University of East Anglia.
Titled ‘Dion Dublin’s Christmas Presents’, it features songs such as Silent Night and Fairytale of New York.
Dublin, who tasted success with Celtic in 2006 as part of their title-winning side, described the album as ‘quite eclectic’, adding: “You’ve got ska, funk, soul, indie, even a bit of classical.
“They are all familiar Christmas tunes but we’ve given them a twist.”
For every copy sold, £1 will go towards The Bobby Moore Fund, a cancer charity.
Dublin added: “My passion for music lay dormant during my football career and now I can explore it.
“I sing a few backing vocals but I’m not much of a singer. You won’t see me on X Factor.”
Oh. Thats a shame.
We won’t see him on X Factor, but he will be on tv a lot this coming week. Craig Whyte is back in town, and he’s helping police with their enquiries. Is he the first domino in the line to fall ? A line that could lead deep into the bowels of “respectable” Scottish Society ? Well, we all know what comes out of the bowels, and there is probably a lot of it swilling around in a lot of high places just now, and it might just be time for it to fall.
So , cheer yourself up a bit with this;
Paradise Road author Stephen O’Donnell has a new book out. “Scotball ” is a coming home story filled with humourous characters and an idea for a tv show that makes a lot of sense in any country in the world, except Scotland. Its out now, and a review will appear on here when I’ve finished reading it. Which is always a good time to do a review, I feel.
Finally, one of Scottish footballs true greats, commnetator Arthur Monford has passed away. In the days when commentators described the action and not the statistics, Montford has a permanent place in the minds of those who watched Scotsport on a Sunday, when people in Scotland were allowed to watch proper highlights of games.
Go over to You Tube and listen to some of his commentaries. Legendary.
May he Rest In Peace.
I was in the pub last night watching the game. A father an young son were sitting beside me. The wee man turns to his father and says “how come celtic can’t play like that dad?”. The hole place goes quite, father replies ” because we can’t pass the ball like that.” enough said.
First up they never switched off we got ourselves back into it with plenty graft and a bit of skill.
They looked fucked with 20 minutes left which in large part was down to our workrate increasing as the game went on.
Although the Deila Out Brigade will never conceded to this fact.
It was a good game once we decided we could play a bit.
They certainly never looked fitter by 60 minutes most of them were blowing their arses by that point.
Griffiths is not European Level at the moment time folk realised this.
Plenty workrate and endeavour but short on the real cutting edge we need at this Level.
You get what you pay for in this business.
I do get the feeling some of you (Ralph included) simply cannot wait for the first exit from a Competition..Lenny was out of 2 by this time last year one of whom was the mighty Morton.
Yet here we are 4 Trophies still up for grabs going into December.
I guess it’s just luck.
We didn’t handle the first half hour we more than handled the rest and were pushing for long spells for an equaliser.
Had we any of the quality up front they evidently had (93 goals in 28 games so far this season) then we might have.
But alas no Big Pete wants to buy his strikers from the ASDA Whoopsed Range.
The pattern as you call it is being deployed by most of the top Managers in Football the pattern enabled us to score a good goal last night and create several other good chances to get something from the game.
Oh and again this pattern has us still in 4 Competitions by December.
Give it time it will come good.
I’m a glass half full kinda guy mind.
You said it Charlie, ever the optimist. When it comes to us finally turning up I will argue that we made a game of it rather than them switching off as well, but digging a hole like that is shocking! Thought the goal and then the effort shown afterwards brought the fans back into it but I’m sick of us playing well for parts of games.
Ralph is correct, the passing was (and has been) very poor. First touch is awful at times and balls are getting clipped into players at waist high on frequent occasion causing no fluency to our play which is worrying.
The Griffiths display will divide the fans, some will appreciate the industry, some will laud the missed header, I think it will be Giudetti up top alone on Sunday so perhaps a moot point.
I thought it was eventually entertaining but more due to a frenetic pace, the quality was poor from our team for large spells; perhaps much like the Ireland international, lots of pace but no quality. Deila has to find a balance.
I agree on the passing but the main players who seem to be struggling with the concept are the players Lenny brought in ffs.
Efe Virgil Broonie even Mulgrew at times last night was passing terrible balls to his own.
This is not a new development though I have been talking about this for the past 2 Seasons bud and especially in Europe.
The sideways passing under Lenny was brutal never a yard in front so the man can run onto it without breaking stride or stopping always level or half a yard behind resulting in the move either slowing up or breaking down altogether.
These guys are paid professionals playing on a Bowling Green of a surface a ten yard pass to feet at pace should be bread and butter to them all ffs.
Therein lies the problem the players we are coming up against can do this with their fuckin eyes shut.
Quality quality quality.
It’s simple pay peanuts then expect monkeys to do the work.
You and me both Charlie ! Said it two months ago still in 4 competitions by Christmas and Ronnie is doing ok. Hope they don’t blow it on Sunday but don’t think they will. It should be an interesting Transfer window revolving door at CP methinks.
You are a great man for the stats Charlie.Give us a run down on them from last night. Salzburg did the job in 15 minutes and switched off, job done, easy street. This team we have at present are going nowhere fast under the (lack of) guidance from Deila who wouldn’t know what a real football team was if it was staring him in the face. How many times does he pick the wrong players, how many times do we have to throw our centre half up front in the last 10 minutes of a game? Why did he bring Commons on instead of Scepovic? Why did McGregor start the match instead of Forrest? Why was Kayal/Bitton nowhere near the starting 11?
I really fear we are heading towards some really scary times under this nonentity.
I’m with Charlie Saiz. I think the goal and the subsequent reaction from the fans, rather than Salzburg taking their foot off the gas brought us back into the game. With a bit more quality up front we could have got an equaliser. Having said that there was always he feeling that Salzburg could score any time they went up the park.
The lack of passing ability is not something new this season. Our passing has been woeful for some time now and I reckon our worst culprits are Stokes and Commons with their wee dinks lay offs and flicks that often end up either dreadfully short or put the intended recipient in the shit.
I’m no Deila defender, but our passing malaise can’t be laid on his doorstep. I also agree that playing with one striker doesn’t work, mainly because we don’t have the quality in midfield to play that system. How often are our full backs our most advanced players?
I don’t know what the answer is. Let’s face it there are precious few games we haven’t struggled in this season and if Dundee could have finished the way Salzburg did last night, they would have given us a doing on Saturday.
Just a thought, but was it only me who thought Gordon could have been off his line a lot quicker at their first goal? The deflected shot seemed to spin up in the air for a long time and he had a clear view of what was happening.
Stats:
Possession : Celtic 52% Salzburg 49%
Chances Created: Celtic 7 Salzberg 12
On Target: Celtic 2 Salzburg 7
Corners: Celtic 6 Salzburg 6
They were the better team for 30 minutes and did the damage early on.
it’s not rocket science we fielded an average side against a decent side and lost.
Could as easily have drawn as lost mind had we the same quality up front as they had.
But we don’t and if you read my reply to you on the previous Diary it is fairly evident why that is.
We failed to invest in quality.
Deila is new to European Football this is his first crack at it and I don’t think our average European side has faired to bad over the piece and without hitting top form.
We qualified with a game to spare.
Job done.
“Lenny was out of 2 by this time last year one of whom was the mighty Morton.”
Ronny was out of 2 competitions in August (CL twice).
Thank God Ronny didn’t have to qualify for the Europa League eh!!
Legia Warsaw are Currently top of their Group having won 4 or their 5 games surely your not comparing Morton to them?
They like Salzburg are a better team than us.
Maribor was tie we could have won admittedly but I am not so sure we would have done any better in that Group they are in even with Lenny at the helm.
We did after all get our arses kicked last season in the Groups.
And every cloud has a silver lining, as participation in this seasons CL would have been even more embarrassing and I thank the man upstairs for that one.
I mean God not PL.
I miss the money (as I am sure Pete and Co do as well) but the tankin we got from Barca will stay with me alot longer.
Just think waht Chelsea would have done this Season eh?
No don’t bother erase.
The experience of losing in the Europa whilst also winning a few will benefit those who are going to be with us for the long run.
Johansen McGregor Griffiths these guy will be here in 2 Seasons I doubt very much Efe Kayal Commons or Virgil will myself.
Had we qualified for the Champions League?
Ooft 6 good hidings no doubt or perhaps 1 or 2 spirited efforts thrown in like last season.
Im not comparing Morton to Legia but then again i’m not comparing Astra or Dinamo to Barca or Ajax. Last season we got pumped out the League Cup but made £20m from CL, my point being 1 season CL = 20 League Cups, we had two bites at the cherry this season and even if we win all 4 competitions we still don’t get £20m which could have been used to improve the squad.
I completly reject the notion that Salzburg are better, the only players I would swap from their team last night: Ramalho/Ambrose (maybe), Leitgeb/Mulgrew, Soriano/any striker except Guidetti, Alan/Stokes.
They played some fringe and youth players, a RB at LB and didn’t even need to bring a full bench.
Salzburg beat the Ajax side that pipped us to 3rd spot in the Champions League last season Home and away scoring 6 goals over the two ties. over 2 legs They also beat Elfsborg home and away scoring 5 goals in the same Group.
We struggled against both under Lenny.
This Salburg side have scored 93 goals in 28 games this season we are not talking a poor side here.
No giving Kampl a game then?
He tore Brown a new arsehole last night.
To back up my comment,
Last nights teams:
Salzburg – 65 caps
Izzy – 74 caps
Celtic – 257 caps
That first half was as bad as we’ve played all season, and Christ we’ve played bad, ALOT, the lone striker pish is killing CELTIC, even against mediocre teams it’s naw working, once again CELTIC resort tae pumping balls intae the box and hoping somebody/ anybody gets on the end of one, the fast paced attacking football vision that Ronny dreams off is exactly that,.. A DREAM!!!, how many times could we naw even do the absolute basics off passing to your own man who’s 3 feet away, the ball control was embarrassing from so called ” Top Professionals” we’ve qualified purely on luck, certainly not skill, but at least we qualified, and now hopefully Big John will sign and CELTIC can at last put a half decentperformance in in Europe.. HAIL HAIL
Wish I had your optomism Charlie but I’m with Ralph, I’ve yet to see this ‘progress’ we are making.
I was disappointed when we lost 3-0 to Juve at home, I’m embarrased we lost 3-1 to Saltzberg.
I don’t really care what the reason is, manger/tactics/fitness/investment I just desperately want it to immprove and soon.
Agree with Charlie Saiz – still in 4 competitions. Yes the start was poor last night but we clawed ourselves back into the game and to be honest I didnt think there was much much between the teams once we decided to get about the Salzburg players – unfortunately it took us about 25 minutes to realise that ! We do need a focal point up front and if JG signs that may be the answer. They were a decent side – No.44 Kampl was a stick out – look at the goals though, not reacting to a deflected shot for the first and Stokes not challenging for a header in the box for the second. How many saves did CG make ? I think 2 at most. Last year Morton put us out of the League cup, here we are still in 4 competitions and we’re still not happy ! It’s not perfect admittedly but we’re in a better place than a whole lot of other clubs ! – KTF
A couple of points from last night: I felt that Craig Gordon could and should have been out to punch the deflected shot away at the first goal and also thought he should have been onto the ball headed back at the second. Not giving him all the blame as we should be able to defend a cross to the front post and we could have made a better effort at blocking the shot, the guy ran passed three players at the edge of the box.
Lots of effort after that and a good goal but we always looked kind of disjointed. The best we played was when we threw out the tippy, tappy passing and went long or down the sides, but that left a lack of bodies in the box. Still something not right here, something lacking, we have good players before anyone goes off on a tangent of sack the board, but last night they just did not gel together.
Sorry other point was we deserved to go through, this is not a knock out and however bad we played last night it was the other performances that deservedly put us through.
I was certainly disappointed with opening 20 mins of the game but overall I agree with Charlie’s positive outlook….
Salzburg didn’t chuck it, we fought our way back into the game.
Salzburg are a really good team….they remind me of Shaktar Dontesk from a few years ago, no one really knew much about them but they were a cracking team
We weren’t lucky to qualify, we qualified on merit by earning more points than the 3rd and 4th teams with a game to spare
Plenty of things to improve on for next year from Deila and the team but we’re still in 4 competitions, we’ve got some big players to come back from injury, Guiddetti can play in Europe next year and can get in a few more players in January.
“Anthony Stokes and Emilio Izaguerre combined well on the left”
What game were you watching???
my thoughts as well.
izzy does alright, to a point, but for someone who hits so many crosses into the area, surely he should be working on his delivery and picking out a Celtic player more often?
Stokes is an imposter – lovely football skills, but his contribution to the team is negligible.
Evidently a different one than me.
Mulgrew covered Izzys arse a few times I thought.
Mathews was left a bit exposed on the right I thought but McGregor was having to come inside alot and shore up the middle.
That Kampl tore Brown a new arsehole I thought.
Very very good player who will no doubt go for a good price in the Summer.
What happened to all the new energy that Ronnie has been trying to drill in to our squad? It certainly wasn’t evident last night when we needed it most. In the mist of time , I seem to remember when we played at home, we were the ones who blasted the opposition off the park for the first twenty minutes, scored a couple of goals and then picked them off at our leisure throughout the game. Then we would blast them for the final twenty minutes and leave them barely able to leave the ground on all fours. Last night we looked like the away team and only started to play when Salzburg eased off thinking the job was done.
There’s no doubt that we need to sign some key players in the January window if we are to progress in this competition. We won’t have to worry about losing Virgil on last night’s display. I doubt if Rangers would have him on that showing. Efe had to rescue him a few times as he lethargically strolled through the game being constantly caught out by the quicker opposition.
As far as team selection goes, I’ve given up trying to suss what Ronnie’s rationale is, if he’s got one!I think he puts all the names on cards, throws them in the air and whoever lands face up is in the squad. God I hope he doesn’t read this, I don’t want to give him any ideas!
Never mind, after 65 years of commitment to the cause I still keep the Faith and know that one day we will achieve our destiny. Whether I will see it is another matter altogether, maybe from a much higher position in a grandstand far away!
The objective was to qualify.Job done.Praise to Ronny for this achievement.However,we are taking one step forward,then two
back,in terms of our overall play and performances.
Why ? Deila’s RIGID 4-2-3-1 sytem.He plays players who are out of form,like McGregor,to accomodate his ‘system'(Charlie must agree here).
Yes,away in Europe,or at home in Europe,play this formation when you have the PERSONNEL.But,we don’t have these players.Is it a wonder,they are all running about like headless chickens !
Take a leaf out of Salzburg’s book Ronny,play Griffiths and Guidetti up front in ALL domestic games.Stokes is a waste of space!
Another point,many fellow ETims have made before.When are we going to buy Scottish/Irish players who know what Celtic’s all about ?
Lawwell in his address to the nation,at the start of the season,
said,”our guys(Park) have looked at players playing in Scotland,
and consider they are not good enough” What ??
Russell,May,ArmsttrongCiftci etc. These players aren’t good enough,but Boerrigter,Pukki,Baldi and Scepovic are ??
Why pay 2M for Scepovic,when Ciftci at half the price,would have hit the ground running,proven goalscorer in spfl.
A radical overhaul in recruitment,is our No1 PRIORITY !!
Agree with Charlie, too many on here willing to go back to suffering defeats from Morton, St Mirren, Kilmarnock etc.
I have been in the give Ronnie a chance camp, but after watching the game last night, I am having serious doubts, I’ve never seen the Celtic defence so static!!
I presume you are 12 years old and never watched Celtic before Martin O’Neill showed up. Believe me Celtic have had much worse defences than the current one. Possibly in every decade since 1888.
Lawell bemoans the lack of cash in Scottish football but surely the Austrian game isn’t awash with cash and they seem to be able to get a team together that could hold its own with any mid level club in European football, I could be wrong but I doubt Red Bull are paying their players and management anymore than we do?
Do you know anything about Red Bull Salzburg? Why do you think they are called ‘Red Bull’? I think it is because the drinks company who sponsor them are willing to put heaps of cash into the team. Do you get it? It has nothing to do with the league. A previous club was shut down and a new well-financed team emerged. They will pay very good wages. Half of this team will be playing with bigger clubs in the next two years. They have been an improving outfit for 3/4 seasons. Their old manager is now at Leverkusen. It takes longer than 5 months to build a decent team. But I suppose we could sack Deila and appoint Keane for 3 months or Owen Coyle, they are Celik men after all!
Spot on John.
Salzburg put 6 goals past the same Ajax side we lost too in Amsterdam in the Champions League over two legs in the Europa. 3 at home 3 away.
They also put 5 past the Elfsborg side we struggled to get by in the Qualifiers in the same Group
They have scored 93 goals already this Season.
In 28 games.
They are no mugs.
We got through last night but I’m not impressed with Celtic at all, there is no consistency of performance or team selection.
Glad we made it through…
Come on Ronny, we need more than what we are getting!
Ronnie has achieved something that Mon, wgs, mogga or Lenny couldn’t. European football after Christmas in his first season. Probably with less money spent than the lot. I ❤ Ronnie! Good times ahead, unless we get pumped by the jambos on Sunday.
I said a few days agao Celtic should always be aiming to play two up front in Scottish league games, and at home against most Eurpoean teams, and got battered. “who plays with two up front any more?” – eh, Liverpool last year for one, West ham this year for another (I fond of West ham, for my sins) the 4-3-3 / 4-5-1 isnt working. Jesus, a blind man can see it isn’t working. Add to that failings in the absolute basics – passing to a team mate, defending set pieces, its no wonder we arent seeing progress. The only thing I can say in favour of Ronny so far is he seems lucky – whalloped by Legia, repreived (and we now what happened then), well beaten again last night but still qualify.
yes Celtic gave it a good go in the second half, but i can only remember two good chances – the Griffiths header and when Izzy got to the bye line and sot rather than square teh ball.
Mulgrew isnt up to the level – slow, often misplaces passes in dangerous areas, Efe is Efe, Mc Gregor might be good in the future but right now is contributing the squre root of F all, adn Stokes, jesus Stokes, with his ridicuous hair, lightweight approach to physical encounters, poor touch, consistent ability to turn into traffic, if he never played for Celtic again i would not miss him for a second.
To solve a problem you have to first acknowledge there is one … in the run up to the game Delia was praising Gordon, for his play and for his organising of the defence and said Ronny “the defence has been good” NO IT EFFIN HASN’T!! its been creaky and suspect all season, and if you think its good you are eiither deluded or incapaable fo managing a big club. Van Dijk is going backwards, Efe, well Efe is Efe, Izzy has been caught out often, we avoided conceeding more goals last night by last ditch tackling, or Red Bull making a mess of their chances, do not try telling me that that shapeless, casual error strewn back line is a represenation of a good defence, it just isnt.
so yes we are still in four competitions, but unless Ronnie really is the luckiest sun of gun you ve ever seen we ll win the lague – just – and nothing else.
Maybe if we played our strongest available team we might do better
Johansen and mcgregor have been crap all season but are automatic pics,yet saturdays man of the match and a quick skilful player at that is benched,RD is not a even apoor manager he is about good enough for a junior side
You are well named. Johansen has been crap all season. What games have you been watching?
No Denayer, No Lustig,No Guidetti
Theres 3 changes straight away.
Salzburg were a good side, that was clear to see.
We hope to be a good side,no more no less than that.
Looking forward to January window to see if Ronnie gets backed as he deserves.
Desi Mond, they played a weakened team as well.
Correct and probably our 3 best players when fit this Season up till now.
We have an issue at RB if Lustig is out for me.
Chuck in Denayer as well and we have serious problemns imagine if Izzy and Lustig were to get injured ffs?
Game over.
Van Dijk is swanning about in Europe as if he is Billy McNeil.
Well Virgil from what I have seen up till now you have proved fuck all at this level yet.
His touch for the first 20 minutes was the worst on the park.
Late on he’s up looking for glory and failing to track back leaving the back 3 very vulnerable.
Basics do your primary job well then the rest will come.
True that. I thought VVD was gonnae get his camera oot and take a fotae of the first goal. He’s a dreamer and if we get a decent offer at the end of the season I’ll drive him to where he wants to go. F***in primadonna!
For me He’s not done any more than Kelvin Wilson did.
awful defending rather than Salzburg superior class led to the two early goals yes Salzburg are a very good side with some standout players. Deila’s team selection continues to baffle almost every Celt
why McGregor before Forrest why Efe Ambrose at all even without Lustig
we should be able to put out a competent defence. The goal from the set piece was an example of lazy,inept defending Stokes in particular stood and watched as his man easily got the near post flick on. as for the other goal the Salzburg player was allowed to take the ball from the byline the centre of the goal not one Celtic player put in a challenge and he was allowed a free pop at goal yes the deflection was a bit of bad luck but the damage was done before that. Some plus points I thought Scot Brown played well the team showed some fight especially in the second half As for the second tier being closed we were not playing the champions of Europe nor will we be for the rest of the season so expect to see more of the same.Next up Hearts come on you bhoys in green HH
Forrest is not fit enough for 90 minutes. If not Ambrose, who? Scepovic is not Deila’s boy apparently, he doesn’t like him hence Griffiths. Celtic were three first choice players short. There is no one else approaching the ability of the three missing to take their place. That is a third of a team. Makes life a lot more difficult.
Forrest not fit enough for 90 minutes. How do you know?
The Manager knows he sees his fitness results every day in training.
If he say’s he needs looking after just now to build him up I’m inclined to go with him on that.
After all he’s been in and out through injury for almost 18 month now.
He is fitter than anyone at the Park.
Ronnie should have been pressed on the ‘able to handle this’ comment. WTF is he on? I’m one of his supporters but he has gone too far with that statement. RIP Arthur Montford. Along with Glen Michael they saw me through Sundays as a wean.
Ronny D seems to like to tinker a lot. Why do Collins and Kennedy allow this to happen? It seems like Lawwell could get rid of them as they do not appear to have any role in tactics and team choosing.
How do you know? Do you expect them to have a huge argument on the touchline during the game? Deila is the boss but they will both have their say, just not in front of the cameras live on the telly!
Th
I was going to say, I think Collins is just giving Ronny enough rope to hang himself with.
I see progress and still in 4 competitions at this stage. Last night we were short of three of our best players.Also this is not Ronnies team yet, maybe after the January window we will see more of Ronnies team. If we do well on Sunday I think we will be heading for a great season,hail hail
Forrest can’t play 2 games in a week, that’s why he was benched.
Celtic’s problems stem from the fact that we have players who can’t control a ball, let alone pass it to a team mate.
The difference between the 2 teams last night was evident in the passing / control.
Why is it that so many of our professional footballers don’t have the basic skills that the opposition appear to have?
Their passing completion rate was poorer than Celtic’s.
Re Forrest? ask him that.
Salzburg have scored 93 Goals in 28 games so far this Season.
Anyone under the illusion we can match that is in fucking dreamland right now.
They are a side on the up folks we are a side thanks to a money driven approach to Transfers a side on the slide.
We struggled last season to overcome Elfsborg and then narrowwly went through against The Kazakhstan Rangerse.
Or are we forgetting the goal line clearance by Mathews and the shot that deflected off the bar at Celtic Park?
Deila is not the problem here it’s our poor approach to balancing Finance and Progression.
Balance sheets don’t win games players do and when you continue to sell your best every window expect the performances to suffer too.
Celtic may still be in for a trophy laden season, but we don’t have a settled team at this time.
Macgregor shouldn’t be starting games just now, he isn’t bringing anything to the team.
Commons must start on Sunday, behind Griffiths and Guidetti!
I don’t know what the Commons request is supported by, he came on last night and produced the square root of f all. Tonev came on and looked sharp, Forrest came on and offered little but was admittedly double teamed.
Commons from 13/14 yes, I would love him in my team, but not this impostor. Much like his first full season, his level dropped significantly after a blinding six months after first arriving.
Thank fuck someone else noticed he was anonymous when he came on.
Never ventured back over the halfway line once to help out either even though Brown was sweating bullets by this point.
He’s fucking lazy THAT’S WHY DEILA NEVER STARTED HIM.
JOHANSEN puts in twice his fucking workrate EVERY GAME.
Btw Johansen has 3 Goals in 15 in Europe so far with us
McGregor has 3 in 10
Commons has 5 in 35 Games 4 from open play
He’s not as effective in Europe as some may think and his work rate by comparison to the 2 mentioned above is poor by comparison.
His shooting is great but his first touch can be brutal at times.
Seldom if ever does he track back.
Hence the reason Celtic are not offering him a long contract.
I wouldn’t either he’s struggling with the increased tempo and demands for me.
He’s bringing commitment, energy and movement.
Two basic requirements Commons left on the bench when he appeared.
OH and 3 goals already in europe (that’s 2 less than Commons has managed in 3 times as many games at Celtic).
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/30244155
If Griffiths wants to play against Hearts, Hibs and sevco then he can piss off to the Championship, maybe if he spent as much effort training than running his mouth he might actually turn into a player.
If anyone wants cheering up after last nights garbage then the sevco accounts are out. Haha
The bookies should lay odds,on Deila’s(sorry Ronnie,to his fans)
team for Sunday.I wouldn’t bet against Zaluska starting,for starters.Yes,3 key players are out.But,what instructions is he giving them,before they go on the park ? Is he a motivator ?
After 12 minutes,as the camera panned on him,he looked a
very worried man.To say,we are in 4 cups,everything in the
garden is rosy,is WRONG.Can any Tim,or ETim,with hand on heart,say what they are watching,apart from United game,is
enjoyable ?
HS. You ask the question ‘is he a motivator’?
Answer. that’s the last thing he is.
Swynecastle will be a bear pit on Sunday and I hope the players are up for it because this is the hardest game they’ll have faced domestically under Deila.
We have a chance on Sunday if Mulgrew can’t play
Comment search please!!
Just back home from salzburg game, i am seriously considering not returning because of a couple of drunken morons who i was sitting beside during the first hal,f who on my return to my seat after going out to get a coffee had took both mine and my partners seats when asked to move over so we could sit back down they ignored us and wouldn’t move just to clarify, i was sitting in the lower north stand T6-T13 Janfield Street West, Area 143 Row B Seat 9, so thugs if your reading this you would need to wise up and maybe find a bar to watch the match.
You’ve no idea how much this sort of thing annoys me. Any more details ?
I’m still nervous about most of our performances. The passing is crap, and our movement as poor as it often was under Lenny. We need two up front who can play well off each other. Something like a 4-4-2 domestically. Hearts might skin us if we don’t play with some passion. Are we improving? Sorry, lads I don’t see big improvement. Also, we gave too much respect to Red Bull. How many teams can give us a doing at Parkhead? Not many, but too many have this year.
vs. Hearts
Gordon
Matthews/Denayer (if fit)/Van Dijk/Izzy
Forrest/Brown/Johansen/Mulgrew
Guidetti/Griffiths
Stokes and Scepovich to figure.
A nervous 2-1 to the Bhoys, Guidetti and Griffiths to score.
Shitey-ist default qualification ever. If we had beaten Maribor, at least we would have own the game and followed the rules due to someone else’s mistake.
I’m still waiting on evidence that this team is making any semblance of sustained progress. Only blind faith that there is some masterplan that is so cunning, brilliant, super-intelligent that us mere mortals are just not ready to understand has yet to be revelead.
Sorry folks it ain’t happening – A Celtic manager saying an abysmal disjointed 3-1 defeat against a mid-level European team is his greatest achievement tells you all you need to know.
Ralph
I know there are many supporters who will not agree with my sentiments but I would like all your readers to see the email I sent to JP Taylor tonight regarding the announcement on the Celtic website of the date and time of the League Cup semi final next year. I feel so strongly about this that I will forego any other comment today.
“Dear Mr. Taylor
As a Celtic supporter of nearly 70 years, I am saddened that because of dubious circumstances my football team will play against another football team still associated with the now defunct Rangers F.C. in the Scottish League Cup semi final in February 2015. It is a fixture I had never wished to experience again in my lifetime. However, given it has happened, I wish to express my deep dissatisfaction with the club’s announcement about the date and time of the League Cup Semi Final. Contrary to media and other regular references to Rangers F.C., Celtic F.C., my club, will not be playing against Rangers as stated on the official Celtic website. Rangers were liquidated in 2012 and while there is some controversy over the current name of the football club based at Ibrox Park, Glasgow, I will reluctantly accept them being called The Rangers Football Club and would expect Celtic Football Club to recognise this distinction instead of pampering to the illusions of the Scottish Football hierarchies and the media.
I respectfully request you pass on my feelings on this matter to the Board and await your reply with eager anticipation.
Best regards
AM (Pensionerbhoy)”
H H
Good stuff PB.
Even more perplexing to me is the fact on the The forces of darkness own website it clearly states who they are:
http://www.rangersinternationalfootballclub.com/
The top 5 lines of Text are all that matter:
Lines 1+2 (For the benefit of the ans)
“This is the website for Rangers International Football Club plc, the holding company of The Rangers Football Club. The Official website for The Rangers Football Club can be accessed at http://www.rangers.co.uk”
Lines 3+4+5 (Fot the benefit of Rule 26 of the AIM RULES FOR COMPANIES) Ie the Legally binding bit 😉
“The following information set out below is being disclosed for the purposes of Rule 26 of the AIM Rules for Companies:
Rangers International Football Club plc is a football club based in Glasgow, Scotland. Further information on the Company’s operations are detailed under Business Overview.”
AGAIN INCASE ANYONE MISSED IT:
“Rangers International Football Club plc is a football club based in Glasgow, Scotland.”
Just for confirmation click on the business Overview 😉
Again it states “Rangers International Football Club plc is a football club based in Glasgow, Scotland.”.
Case for the prosecution rest me lud.
Even their own accounts had ‘sevco (now rangers)’.
You’re entirely right PB, it’s this bend-the-knee, bend-over-for-how-much? attitude that has transformed Celtic into a shodow of their former selves, even the Kellys didn’t stoop so low.
John Paul will love you.
What was wrong with the manager’s team selection last night ? Lustig out, and replaced by Matthews; Denoyer out and replaced by Ambrose, Guidetti unavailable and replaced by Griffiths: all perfectly reasonable choices.
Nobody thinks Forrest is totally match-fit. My only complaint is persevering with McGregor at a time when he has lost some of his form.