Charlie Saiz, one half of the resident “Statler and Waldorf ” comedy duo in the Etims diary replies, asks the question.
Decided to hold back on this and let the usual mud slinging commence in the Diary as all us Steins and Shanklys put the world to rights on exactly what went wrong last night. ( He means Thursday -Ed . I didn’t get this until this morning )
When I look at a performance like the shambles on show last night I tend to look at the leaders in the side first.
By that I mean those who have genuine experience at the top Level and who by now should know how to grab a shite performance by the haw maws and give it a twist.
Scott Brown a player I have grown to really love at Celtic ,he embodies what I want to see in any Celtic player,determination,awareness and a real desire to win and push others on.
I watch him in the tunnel last night and several things struck me..
First thing is he was too focussed in the tunnel almost not even there if you like and this was highlighted rather sadly by the wee boy that was chosen to run out alongside him.
Evidently handicapped and a bit overawed by the situation he looked up to Scot several times like your wean does when he’s a bit scared and Broonie blanked him.
Not once but several times you could almost see his excitement draining as the seconds past.
Next up their Captain with the Beardy weirdy tried several times to give him a welcome handshake..as professionals do.
Nope still the 3000 yard stare and face like some one just ran over his cat.
I thought poor show Scott your coming across as an arrogant prick mate?
Even though I know he would be gutted at that assertion.
Their Captain turn round with the “fanny” look on his grid…and rightly so I thought?
I also thought well if he Beardy Weirdy wasn’t up for it before he will certainly be up for it now.
Which he was..very up for it as it happens.
Scot went out did his usual drill .the big jumpy heider thing after the huddle then proceeded to have a shocker by his own standards.
I reckon had you asked him straight after the game how he felt he played he would have savaged his own game and destroyed the evidence.
He’s not alone of course there are others within that side.. Lustig, Ambrose, Izzy Commons who have played miles better against far better sides than Molde.
That’s not unfair on Molde I thought they played a shrewd and very effective brand of Football on which was let’s face it an absolute shocking pitch for Football at this level.
5 a side in your local League? Marvellous.
But a crunch Europa League tie?
Fuck off UEFA.
Norway as a Nation we were all led to believe in the Indy Debate are Oil Rich and fucking minted.
Go build a fucking Stadium with a roof and grass ya fucking wanks and get with the programme Football should be played on waterlogged plastic..
Now where was I …Yes the attitude of some of our Senior players in Europe these past 18 month or so has been poor at times I think.
I get the feeling some of them treat these teams with very little respect based purely off the back of previous exploits.
Molde are top of the Group they are not there by fucking accident chaps.
They are a well drilled side who play an effective counter game.
So good in fact the rest of the sides (us included) have struggled to cope with it.
The Manager and his Assistants must take a portion of the blame of course as it is they and the backrooms staffs job to ensure our players turn up and put in a performance.
If below par they should still be putting in a shift AT THE VERY LEAST.
I never witnessed that last night, I seen 6 or 7 players we can normally rely on go through the motions.
A couple of them raised their game a bit ..Bitton and Commons (in an attacking sense anyway) but even those two were not at their best.
So how can a Manager be totally to blame for such an abject performance?
The answer is he shouldn’t.
The buck stops with the leaders on the Park.
If they cannot be trusted to at least put in a showing or dig in then no matter who sends them out they are onto a hiding from the start regardless of the result.
Ronny ,the Supporters who travelled and the wider Support have been let down badly by them.
There is no excuse for not putting a shift in,there is no excuse for not being able to pass a ball 10 foot to a team mate (johansen to Armstrong)
There is no excuse for not tracking back and there is certainly no excuse for letting rip at the Manger either when you are pulled off for tactical reasons.
Deila needs to get them all back on the path again we finished last season playing the way we hoped they would.
This Season for whatever reason we have not started the same way we left off last.
We have seen glimpses but all to often it seems they are few and far between.
We need to up the tempo,get the high pressing game going again that brought success last Season and most of all have our players bursting their arses for each other ,us and the Manager.
If not? then please do get to fuck.
Remember this if you happen to read this Scott and the bhoys…
“Celtic jerseys are not for second best, they don’t shrink to fit inferior players”
Now puff your fucking chests out and get on with it
ffs we are all fast running out of patience with you.
Which oddly enougn, appears to be exactly what Kris Commons said to John Collins during his rant.
Well said that by far was the worst game since Ronnie arrived , and it saddens me that first I saw it coming , and second I could not watch the second half, as deep down I knew nothing would change.
Europe is where its at and with that defence we dont have a chance of competing never mind playing a decent game.
Your right Danny we don’t stand a chance with that defence but even moreso when half of them had the shocker they did.
Our saving grace is Jozo sould be fit soon and we have young O’Connell and Fisher to come back.
We do need to invest in a quality CB though regardless.
We don’t have a cat in hells chance of making it in Europe unless we do.
The bottom line is though these guys have to turn up whoever is picked because in Europe no matter who you play at this Level they are capable of turning you over.
Fair enough Charlie, I’d say this debacle of a game has shared responsibility for poor management and preparation including the over confident talk and very poor effort and execution of whatever our game plan was supposed to be. It was hard to tell. Frankly just one of those perfect storm mess ups, that unfortunately seem to happen in big European games these days. I think the best thing to come out of this is I hope both management staff and players feel the jackets on the shoggly nail and embarrassed by this outing. If I were Lawell I’d have the management team in my office for review of expectations hair dryer style and I’d hope they would then have a training ground meeting where it was clearly communicated that the kind of guff we saw in Norway is unacceptable at Glasgow Celtic.
Precisely as I have said previously why I won’t waste a penny of my hard earned on this current shower of shite. They don’t even turn up for themselves let alone the club.
Absolute disgrace.
So, tell me Rab, how can they perform very well in games for 20-30 minutes, then look like a bunch of strangers the next.
Answers quite simple and I think we tend to scrutinize the European games more than domestic ones, but Deila’s inability to be flexible with this formation is easily sussed by our opponents (Malmo,Ajax & Fenerbahce being good examples). Molde new immediately how Deila would approach the game and made us look like Motherwell having a bad day.
He is clueless and has no idea how to get the best from a sizable and reasonably talented squad.
Ronny’s idea of a plan B consisted of sticking big Virgil up with the striker when things had turned to dust.
To put it simply, he has been a disaster.
This a mental thing Andy it has nothing to do with Formations as the Formation we deploy is used by sides in Europe allover Europe.
It’s the execution of the plan that is letting us down.
How can Johansen not pass a ball 10 foot to feet for example?
The look on Armstrongs face when that pass flew past him to touch was like “fucking serious Stephan?”.
an abysmal level of play.
Charlie, to instruct your fullbacks to play so far up the pitch, so early on in a European tie against players you know fuck all about, is criminal.
Ronny Deila’s easybeats.
We have been playing with fullbacks that far up the pitch for over 4 years Andy Lenny played them as wingbacks too bud.
They have both produced great performances against better opposition whilst doing so so I don’t think it should have been an issue.
Come on, that is not the point I was making
andy they are both Seasoned Internationals mate they should know instintively when to hold back or push up.
Stein used to send the Lions out with a basic Plan it was up to the Leaders on the Park to decide if they needed to alter the approach or move things about.
He trusted them to do that and they of course did to great effect.
The players HAVE to take some responsibility bud you can’t keep blaming Deila for their inability to follow a very straightforward orders or make alterations themselves to suit the conditions.
andy they are both Seasoned Internationals mate they should know instintively when to hold back or push up.
Stein used to send the Lions out with a basic Plan it was up to the Leaders on the Park to decide if they needed to alter the approach or move things about.
He trusted them to do that and they of course did to great effect.
The players HAVE to take some responsibility bud you can’t keep blaming Deila for their inability to follow a very straightforward orders or make alterations themselves to suit the conditions.
It’s his orders that have them bombing forward Charlie.
Win the battle first, then win the game by pushing on, but not in the first 20 minutes. Setting up that way with a dodgy defence, and we all know it is, is asking for it.
i predict that come the first 2 weeks in december we will have a new manager… too many people now had enough and the proof will be in the attendances…. i truly believe that come that time a enw man will be in place and a clear out of deadwood will commence in january to allow the new guy a chance of his own team for the UCL qualifiers….
Yes and yet another wee leg up to the blues brothers IF they survive and come up.
This side does not need wholesale clearouts all it needs is 2 maybe 3 players of decent calibre to come in and a few substandard players to go out.
A quality CB for starters, a quality LB and a proven finisher at European Level ie a guy who will bury 1 in 3 chances with no drama.
Ronny needs to be more flexible though and I think we may well see him forced into being so as he tries to sort them out.
The tempo and the pressing must remain though he has that aspect spot on if we are to be serious about Europe.
I wouldn’t give Deila 2 bob to bring players in if by some major miracle he’s still there.
Well expect more of the same then andy.
I would only hope see improvement under a new manager.
As the man said himself last August, ‘judge me in a year’.
2 Trophies in the bag and in a position to add 4 more.
I will wait till May.
Also I read Griffiths was all upset about getting some immediate fan reaction at the team bus. Well here’s how you avoid that. You show up, play with pride, skill and passion and you win the game. Then the fans surround the bus and sing your praises Lee. Pretty simple. I hope the real time fan feedback got heard through the players ridiculous headphones. Instead of complaining about Celtic fans who traveled to Norway an apology is in order don’t you think? I’ll tell you what was unfair Lee, serving up a load of Pish in Celtic shirts and playing like a bunch of Sunday amateurs
Spot on BB.
Bgbhoy if only! Sadly I think we are stuck with him and nothing will change so look forward to the same mundane SPL fare.
Charlie, you didn’t hold back there. Thursday night was a disgrace. Scott Brown in the tunnel was shameful even more than what came later. I hope Celtic FC make it up to that child. Trying to act the hard man just made him look like a prick.
I hope he watches over his actions on utube and sees that wee boy looking up to him smiling only to be ignored. KARMA.
My heart sunk Jim and his subsequent performance proved he is too wound up going into these games.
Players that play with a smile tend to play better he should be relishing the challenge and enjoying the moment just like the Molde players were.
They need to elax and let their ability flow bud it’s like a sprinter who runs when tense they tend to blow up half way down the track.
So true Charlie look at Messi. But what has happened to smiler? (GMS) I would pay a plastic surgeon £30 to have a smile like that.
And £50 to be able to play like him this season. (sorry garry if you are reading this, I love you really). 🙂
na mate, the mood within the dressing room towards thae management team is at an all time low… collins and kennedy are HATED…. if you remember i posted about ronny cancelling days off during the international break a couple of weeks ago… is it any wonder these guys dont fight for him with the way he treats them sometimes…. now i know they make fortunes and are professionals but when you sonme of your co workers are given time off and your not how would you react??
It is my opinion that guys like izzy ambrose and brown I include in this have had there day, get rid. I used to love scott brown at hibs , a young fearless confident player who took people on and would also score goals. Somewhere along the line at Celtic he has became a defensive player who runs around like a headless chicken getting in people’s way and leaving space for the opposition. He has as mentioned became arrogant and disrespectful to the opposition which they have even told the press on numerous occasions helped them get up for the game. I’ve had enough of this and side ways backward passes which slows down the play. It’s time for Celtic to start playing guys like teirney scott Allan, christie when he comes,move Armstrong to his rightful position I’m midfield and maybe then these guys will be able to play attacking football in the Celtic way
You are so right. Remember how we used to slag square baw Barry? That’s us now.
I think Brown has peaked now and may well be on the down side career wise it may well be time to start playing others in there.
I often wondered if Efe would not be best suited as DM in front of the back line as he has the pace,heading ability and can pass a ball?
Izzy for me is a liability has been in Europe for years and an area teams tend to target when he plays.
I think Broonie has started his coaching, so you may have a point. But when he’s on his game he is a great leader on the pitch , can’t pass to save himself but a great tackler. (despite my tirade about him on Thu. night in the tunnel). Maybe one last season for him. Effe in his position? Interesting.
The buck stops with the manager, his stubbornness/ naivety tae persist with the same system that clearly isn’t working is killing Celtic, we don’t have the players to play this system at a quality level over a period of time, flashes now and again that it seems tae be working then BOOOOMM!!! Another horsing against mediocre sides, team selection are poor tae say the least, Gordon, Izzy, Ambrose, Johansson should all be sitting the nxt few weeks at least, on the bench, if Lennoxtown isn’t capable of producing anything that can compete for places in this piss poor Celtic team then it’s seriously letting Celtic down, we laugh at the waste of money Murray park is tae sevco, yet what has lennoxtown produced in last several years worth talking aboot, Mcgeady and Forrest. Kris Commons outburst on Thursday night wasn’t spontaneous, this is something that’s been building for a long time, his frustration of the pish quality of players that get a game every week no matter how terrible they perform or the frustration at thesystem of football Ronny want to play but to disastrous effect, the players are not buying into Ronny and his backroom staffs system anymore because they know it’s failing more and more, and don’t get me started on John Collins.KTF
Spot on Keighley Bhoy. The training ground is a shambles, the dressing room is a shambles and the team on the park is therefore a shambles. Who’s going to pay money to watch this shite? We need change and quickly.
Exactly jim that’s what he’s become , we have bought lots of young players so play them! Christ Henderson was already part of lennons side yet he’s sent to sevcos division for experience. Pisses me right off and how much could we be doing with tony watt right now instead of cole, a player who like griffiths just needed guidance but was punted without trace
The sale of Watt was a poor decision easilly the most promising striker to come out of our Development since Nicholas.
Sure he had an attitude but with proper Management that attitude could have been adjusted.
easily’
Tony Watt had talent, but he was a moron.
Andy, that’s a bit strong. Remember when you were his age? A good kick in the arse was what he was needing. None of this Ronny modle coddling. He should still be here.
Jim, I can assure you, he was beyond that.
I agree but I don’t think Lenny handled him that well from the off.
Perhaps had Brown been given license to Mentor him for 12 month then that might have been a wiser approach than sending him out to that eejit Menzo?
I’ve said that for ages Charlie the best players do, look at the attitude griffiths had at first but it was managed in the right way, they should have perceived with , Celtic keep bringing out young small strikers , he was the exception
Totally he had an all round game at a young age and considering he playing football for fun at 16 up the Park before he was picked up he’s not had the usual 6/7 years of schooling like most kids get at Clubs like Celtic.
He was big,strong,direct and could take a kick which for most at that age is the one thing that tends to be the drawback.
Letting him go was a mistake and when you consider the money we have blown on Mediocre /shite strikers before and since then it was an even poorer move.
it was ronny that papped watt out the door!? so he obviously knew he doesnt have the man management skills to deal with a player like that….
And look where Watt is now,not scoring for Charlton. Celtic are not the Social Work Department.
“I have been here four years & when we are not winning games it is going to get a little bit stormy. Did the fans deserve to criticise us? Absolutely. We weren’t good enough. I understand where they are coming from. They travelled to Molde & stood in shitty weather, they paid good money & they come see a shit game like that. We love our fans & they love us, so now we will get stronger together.” – Mikael Lustig.
I write this sitting on the train from Oslo to the airport.
We were awful, just bloody awful.
Started off with the club allegedly being offered 1800 tickets and saying no thanks we will just sell 600, despite folk wanting to travel, wanting to support the team, but no, not for Celtic.
I could go on and on here, but the stark reality remains, Kris Commons said exactly what we all felt – Ronny and the Club are taking us all for mugs and it needs to stop – now.
Well said and safe journey.HH
Scott Browns head not in it at the moment folks I agree. Our dressing room / 1St team squad is a sick puppy at this minute and the lad seems physically and emotionally drained. Is he fucked off trying to firefight all the rows an squabbles behind the scenes, as captain I bet he has more problems to sort than Dear Fuckin Desire. Look even at his recent interviews, he’s as flat as Efe’s fallen arches. The man needs a break and a coupla new coaches. I agree with all the talk of shite European performances,has everyone stopped watching the SPL….? OK were now top of a poor poor league,which Peter continues to weaken by nicking anyone with a glimmer of talent but are we strolling it or bossing it like we should? If Lawells and Co think they can continue as we are they can stick it up their Charlton.
Spellchecker override ballbag. DEAR FUCKIN DEIDRE
I don’t think we should over react -knee-jerk reaction is not the best the way to go…I was surprised -we dominated that team-we were the better team-but we lost-it happens…we do lose away from home in Europe, this is not a new thing…-it happens..look at the possession stats …to be honest that was a tough one for Ronny…i am not ready to give up on him yet…i think we were unlucky…but i have said that a few times already this year…and I believe it as well…just silly goals to give away…that needs to be addressed…now…that can not continue..Commons would never play for me again if i were the manager..full stop..i don’t buy that he really cares for the club guff…he cares about Commons…if u really about the club , u don’t pull that shite when u know the cameras are watching…because if u care about our club, then u know that the hun media can’t wait to use it to hurt us…
jaysus someone complaining about tony watt being let go…what??
should have kept samaras imho…should have kept him…that was a man who actually had a connection with the team …but most i guess most don’t see that, or dont want to see it…
Don’t worry about the media marko, it’s always been the same.
Only thing I can agree with you is big Sammi.
u think Commons reaction was ok then? Forget the result,that was just unacceptable for a Celtic player..that clearly shows that he thinks he is above the team..and that is as they say bullshit..glad we see eye to eye on Sammi..
When directed at those three, yes, I didn’t have a problem with it.
Results can go for you and against you, that’s not the issue, but it’s the manner in which we continually, meekly surrender to bang average sides that eats away at me.
Tony Watt how many clubs since Celtic how many coaches have criticised him ?
Exactly.
He has 3 in 3 so far this Season at Charlton.
We need a commanding central defender ,a midfielder who knows how to split a defence, and a forward who will take at least half of the chances created.PL will need to loosen the purse strings,or he will be watching the games at Celtic Park with less than 20,000 fans there.Rd needs to change his system it does not work.
Hes doing fine at charlton last i heard and even when this belgian coach was continually slating his attitude he was still banging in goals.
No he is not ,he was in the press admitted himself last week that he was playing sh.? And thanking his manager for persevering with him. Tony Watt is history.
Charlton have just sacked their manager Luzon so look for TW moving on to another club .
I think the bold sammy would have fitted perfectly on the left in ronnys system your right there
Tony Watt had his chance(s)and satisfying his whims would only make him believe he was bigger than what he already thought and deserving of special treatment….and what kind of message does that send to other young players who are toeing the line and behaving? When he scored against Barca, and nearly ran Macherano ragged trying to get a second, I really thought we had found a gold nugget. But like many guys he seems to have let “stardom” go to his head. He had his chance and he blew it, nobody else.
Marko, I agree with you that a knee jerk reaction isn’t welcome….but this shite level of COMMITMENT, EFFORT and PERFORMANCE has already happened as recently as Malmo. How many times are we going to have to suffer that? It’s not getting beat that bothers me…it’s the manner of defeat. When well paid players can’t or won’t do the simple basics like pass and run then they need to be replaced.
As far as criticism of Griffiths’ performance goes….he was up front alone surrounded by blue shirts with little or no chance of getting to the ball if a pass was made to him…the big weakness of 1 up front, the opposition just crowd you out ‘cos you’re the target man that the other team are going to try and find.
We seemed to advance so far, then you could only see two lines of Molde players and griffiths alone..so the passes went across the park or back the way. There were no Celtic players making deep runs in amongst the Molde defenders, and this seemed to be repeated again and again.
We needed 2 up front from the start of the game.
Fuunky Watt was playing fitba up the Park at 16 for fun he probably had no intention of becoming a professional Footballer at this time.
If you consider most kids in the game at 16 have been getting coached and taught how to cope with future success and how to conduct themselves as players.
He was raw,cocky and let the instant glory bestowed upon him by a great many fans before during and after the Barca game get to his heid.
Who at 18 wouldn’t?
Imagine being sat on that bench watching the 125 year celebration unfold,the Tifo the STadium rocking and then your X Box 11 walks out and start to play.
Then imagine at 18 less than 2 years after playing up the park with your pals you get the nod to go play on the same Park!
Then imaging the fucking ball beaks from Xavi and you are left with a 1 on 1 with one of the Worlds top Keepers …and you cool as you like slot the wINNER past him?
The Stadium explodes you that is you the unprepared Teenager who’s been in the game 10 minutes career wise are a name suddenly being spoken off around the entire World of Football?
Then tell me you don’t let it go to your heid?
Aye right.
Tony Watt took his life defining moment and buried it into the net he proved in front of the 60,000 passionate fans he had the jorries to do it at the very top level.
At 18.
Now go look at the rest of the goals he has scored and tell me he has not got a futurein the game at the very top level.
He has scored a varied type of goal for Celtic and beyond.
He has his faults but he has time on his side to eradicate them I just feel we should have spent more time on that rather than sending him elsewhere.
He will make his mark I have no doubt about that and our Club will rue the day we sold him on.
Wher’s Monti?
Ralph, Charlie, Where’s Monti?
Meanwhile the MSM’s beloved sheep have dropped further points today, at home. I expect us to be 4 in front when we play them next week and it would be good to be 7 in front when we’re finished. We need to put some distance between us in the league as well as get our Euro-act together, which means getting our defence sorted. Tomorrow I expect to take all three points but I have no idea how it will go. Please, no more 1-0 white knuckle rides. Let’s score 2 goals early for once then finish them off.
After that Hearts in the cup, Aberdeen then Molde. I’d like our central pairing to be sorted sometime in that spell for when Molde come to town. Tomorrow:
Bailly
Janko/Lustig/Simunovic/Tierney
Brown/Bitton
Forrest/Rogic/Armstrong
Griffiths
subs: Gordon/Blackett/Mackay-Steven/Commons/Ciftci/McGregor/Nesbitt
If no Forrest, Mackay-Steven
if no Simunovic, Blackett
Commons to figure.
Cifci to figure.
Will Scott Allan be fit? We need to get him kick-started.
ok, 3-1 to the bhoys but hoping for more and a clean sheet.
I remember big Mixu as a player. Seems ages ago.
After an hour of Celtic songs on Utube, I’m beginning to come out of my downer. We have a game tomorrow. HAIL HAIL CELTIC. We go on.
After listening to The Odd Couple on bbc radio today I have forgotten. Thursday and hope that tomorrow we go out and hump the Arabs and take a barrow load off the sheep next week after giving the Jambos a kicking on Wednesday. We need to get behind the Club and shut all these Celtic hating parasites up . Tam Cowan makes me want to boke.
DanthheMan, Unfortunately I like D.Utd. Wish it was someone else tomorrow when we skelp them by seven (7) goals. 🙂
Where’s Monti & Charlie?
I was busy last night bud “Dads Cab” never stopped.
I’m annoyed, stories coming out now that ronny was verbally attacked outside the stadium Thursday night.
I feel for the man, he seems alone.
Lawwell should of let him bring in his own staff.
So i strongly believe, lawwell, Collins and Kennedy should walk.
These three are an embrassment to celtic and it’s history.
Celtic would be a better place without these weak links at the club.
Please Peter will you just leave.
Verbally attacked geez if they can’t take it they have no chance.
The team is a shambles it’s on a downward spiral and it’s the fault of Ronnie he is out of his depth.
It’s been ongoing for over a year now the performances in Europe are dyer. We haven’t beaten a team of any quality at home since Ronnie came. We had to get other teams to do us a favour to get out the group last season we lost out last 2 games to Salzburg at home and Zagreb away. Only by Astra doing us a favour did we qualify.
Enough us enough Ronnie and his background team have to go and quickly.
Ralph, Charlie & Monti, I’m not feeling well. So I’m away. Till tomorrow. 🙂
Bhoys my patience is now up for RD!
Simple fact he keeps playing players who are under done in fitness & at European level you will always get found out as has happened with the current performances in Europe.
We just don’t work hard enough or look sharp or fit, Molde was a classic example when they broke the pitch didn’t look as bad as when we had the ball?
But I am now realistic & understand that we are now a Diddy team and will continue to be under the current ownership of DD!
Quick note to SB have a look at Ronaldo going up the tunnel with his wee mascot before the Celta game on the weekend nothing but respect to the boy?