Sure, we got beat.
Maybe we shouldn’t have.
But it was fun.
It was, dare I say it, entertainment.
And that’s Celtic.
Off the pitch, still a shambles. Still absolutely not the club we signed up to.
On it…well…everything I signed up to.
As I’ve said…it’s not going to be dull.
Exactly my thoughts but ( why is there always a but) I would add one more word EXCITING.
Shambolic for the last ten minutes, wrong substitutions. Perhaps there will be a brighter time in January. Couldn’t help thinking if we had brought Livingston on for the last 10 minutes we would have 3 points.
We need two central midfielders, one of them an attacker. Where did McGregor and Turnbull go from the 75 minutes? Also a centre half and a left-back and a coach who can make an impact on set-piece defending. Not losing faith in Ange, in some ways he has turned things around but Celtic used to play for 93 minutes, not 80.
Brought Livingston on ? Who is that ?
The Great Wall of Livingston
i think we are going forward and doing good shame we lost but we need a couple new plsyers in to strengthen midfield McGregor and Turnbull look basic players lastnight hopefully get a couple midfield in to shake them up.. McCarthy ajeti just not up to standard bitton, viker, hart, forrest, jota, welsh.khojo, and Croatia defender played well the rest looked basic
Livingstone – You presume. Or Accrington Stanley?
Their whole team, “defend in the 6-yard box.”
Haha, excellent ‘out of the box’ thinking! 🙂
Lord Livingston of Parkhead?
You could see the difference between us and Leverkusen when passing in tight areas under pressure from an opponent, especially in the last half hour. We tended to pass carelessly to one of them, while they for the most part made some really dangerous passing moves that opened us up.
I don’t know why Jota was taken off and the lumbering Yeti was put on…don’t think Jota looked too happy either. We’re still a work in progress and at least it IS progress, not the regression we had last season. I’m not too despondent…we are on the right track. Got to say, Joe Hart was outstanding.
Onward and upward bhoys.
Stop being such a negative Nelly, you’re coming across as a grumpy old curmudgeon Bellend.
Lighten up FFS , you’re old enough to remember the 80s/90s.
It wasn’t fun! it was fucking sore, are we now at the stage of being glorious losers like Scotland fans? On another forum there’s not a day that goes by without them talking about Seville and how great it was, I’ve never watched it again as it’s too painful for me. Every defeat hurts, In fact I was angry last night, angry at how we always just chuck it away. Ange made a balls of it with the subs, MJ shouldn’t be near our team and Abada looks lost. Don’t celebrate defeat, go and support Scotland if you want that.
Lights going out and a kick in the balls, that’s entertainment
Except it’s not in the slightest bit entertaining, as Weller sarcastically points out.
Excepting McGregor,our midfield is weak
Absolutely Ralph.
Dissenters : Are you wanting rid of Ange ? Who would you prefer ? Who is going to come to a club manipulated by an absentee despot ? Desmond is the largest shareholder , not the majority shareholder ; thus he has surrounded himself with subservience and sufficient votes to veto anything he’s not on board with ( pun intended ) .
Embrace the new football. Sure , we should defend better. Absolutely, the 10 players in front of Hart should defend as a team BUT Ange can only pee wi the wullie he’s got. As someone who lived through the heady days of the mid 60s and beyond , our greatest manager to date always said that by scoring one more than the opposition you’ll win every game ( paraphrased ) . Probably our greatest servant , was part of a defence who leaked suspect goals BUT we had the attacking flare to overcome those frailties more often than not ……….. but not always. ( Dynamo Kiev , 1st round , European Cup 1968 springs to mind )
This could be the best rollercoaster ride , we’ve ever had. We have to be looking towards champions league footie next season . We have to believe we will get automatic qualification to the groups. We have at least two more European games to get a system that works . We have a transfer window coming up where it’s imperative we recruit to suit that European system. Once the trial period is finished whether that be in the final in Albania or whatever round previous ; lessons need to be learnt AND summer recruitment applied to ensure that our return to Champions league group footie IS NOT the embarrassment of recent attempts but 6 games of competitive football and we end up content that we gave our best against disproportionately wealthier teams ; who can afford much better players
You’re as delusional as the manager
You better stop dreaming of the quiet life ’cause it’s the one we’ll never know.
The game changed when Bitton went off, one of the poorest games I gave seen McGregor play Can Turnbull head a ball ?? he has to come back and help the defence more, manager was wrong with the subs, bring McCarthy on give him 5 mins to settle then make the other substitutions, still 100% behind big Ange the difference in this team is like night and day, oh for the record ref poor their first player booked should have been red he wasn’t going to give the penalty if it wasn’t for var he wouldn’t have and 2nd goal which came from a corner ( not directly) wasn’t a corner but overall we done very very well and we can be well pleased about where we are future looking good.
We lack physicality. Julien etc. height, it’s possible they don’t score that first header if he’s playing. Same against the Huns. Bitton. about the tallest in the team. Need a couple more.
Also, stonewall red for endangering an opponent. Accidental or not. Off!
We weren’t outclassed…but we were outplayed.
They have better players…technically far superior to ours…and that usually wins out in the end.
Substitutions were poor decision…although he obviously wanted to keep their defence occupied…Problem is.. Johnston and Abada are not up to the task…Particularly the former ..who wouldn’t get a game from me…Waste of time.
And Abada is lacking so much confidence just now.
Mid-field was terrible…Turnbull and McGregor were poor…Bitton came on to a very good game…shame about the injury.
We had about 5 chances in the game to play the killer pass from mid-field through their defence…and blew everyone of them.
I’m not going to criticise the back line…they are what they are and work their arses off.
I will point out that our left back…wonderful penalty kick notwithstanding…was a bomb scare on too many occasions. Between losing possession 30/40 yards out…and playing some woeful passes…he seems to have escaped criticism.
The bottom line is…leading with 10 minutes to go should reasonably guarantee you something from the game…but not if you’re us.
This needs to change.
Perfect summary of the match . T N.
Thank you…Just the way I saw it.
Hail hail.
Totally agree
Excellent summation of events TN
Look where Celtic were when Postecoglou arrived all thanks to a chaotic board and manager, players that contributed were being shown the door, Rogic for one and absolute numpties being purchased, Barkas, Arjeti etc.
He has steadied the ship, but the influence of the suits is all over the place. People are moaning about certain players but who authorised the four year contract for McCarthy, never European quality?
Last night when we had our so called stronger team on, that included Bitton and others who do not cut it for seventy minutes the team did well against one of Germany’s top teams.
A lot are moaning but look at the mess Celtic had become, it is a season long overhaul and Ange will strengthen our trophy cabinet. Next year is the time to rage about the manager and Celtic if it has not improved, just now is pathetic,
Bertie would not be downbeat as he knew the game is of two halves, God Bless him and his family today
HH
Good points TN but you do know our left back is actually a right back, our right back is an inverted full back, both centre halves are not that good and yet…
I think we all know that Steve…but I don’t know what your point is…He is a professional footballer who shouldn’t be making mistakes like that….Full stop.
And I don’t agree with your centre halves comment…I think they are decent players…and CVC is the best CB we’ve had in a while…only my opinion.
But the main point is…We are nowhere near a very good European standard…and I don’t know if we will ever be able to get there.
Hail hail.
Its concerning the same defensive frailties all the way back against Hearts and Midtjylland, albeit against far classier oppo.
I can’t really say screwing our chances to progress to the next round of the Europa League is exactly ‘entertaining’, tbh, especially not when we’re leading 2-1 with 10 minutes to go.
Devastating, crushing and ‘the same fvckin pish year after year’, aye, but definitely not entertaining.
They have a sufficient number of better players than us to make a difference. They play similarly but do it better – better off the ball movement, better passing, more confidence – even though they are not a great European team. I guess they face opposition not too similar from Celtic on a regular basis in the Bundesliga but we never play teams at similar level to Leverkusen in the SPFL and it tells.
Ange had one hand tied behind his back with a weak bench – apart from Abada who is going through a bad form patch, not one of the substitutes plays regularly for any length of time and usually none of them contributes much even in the SLFL. Ange knows the limitations of his squad but will the Board share his ambitions and release the doss? That remains to be seen. Urgently need to get Juranovic on the left side in Europe especially. Pity for Ralston, who was okay against BL, but over a season he should get plenty of game time and keep improving. Eventually he could become first choice when Juranovic leaves. Big Joe was immense and CCV is really one of the best CBs we’ve had for a long time. Welsh is fine but has a lot to learn still. Calmac and Turnbull disappointed yet again when it really counts. Bitton was excellent after his early nerves but he needs to speed up a bit. No criticism of our front three. Everything changed with the substitutions but Ange clearly (a) wanted to save the starters for Aberdeen game (b) expected better of the substitutes. Now he knows – remember he was totally inexperienced in European football when he cam here and I am not so sure how much his coaching staff can influence his thinking. Still, a lot to be optimistic about if Ange gets the support he needs , deserves and wants from the Board. But which other Celtic manager did?