With Celtic sitting fairly comfortably at the top of the table, having rediscovered how to win matches with a 2-0 win over St mirren in the week, the club can only throw away the title from hereon in.
And if we’re going to allow “rangers ” back into this title race, then this is the weekend we’ll do it.
Alternatively, a win over Livingston tomorrow will boost the morale of all at Celtic Park…and the fans….and begin the drive for two more trophies in earnest.
Celtic have struggled against Livingston.
Of that, there can be no doubt, but each game is totally different from the others, and if the hoops play to their strengths and don’t fall for the rope a dope tactics employed by the Lothian Legbreakers then all will be well.
The plastic pitch is often cited as an excuse, but since Celtic train on a similar surface at Lennoxtown, they should be used to it, and if it is a problem it’s only in the heads of the players.
Or do they? This bizarre statement from manager Postecoglou suggests they don’t…
“We will address it. We have an artificial pitch at Lennoxtown and we will train on that on Saturday.
“We will get the players an understanding of it again, but ultimately it’s about the way we approach our football.
Nah…surely not ? Surely, given our recent performances on the carpets he’s tried to address it before ?
He continues, and in doing so does try to take the focus away from the pitch and put it onto the players…
On an artificial pitch there are still fundamental principles of our game that we can do.
“What we didn’t do at Livingston last time are those things.
“We got bogged down in the disappointment that the game wasn’t going our way, without looking for the solutions.
“It’s going to be there and players need to address that and adjust to it.
“It is a real thing – the pitch plays differently. There is no point trying to ignore it.
“I can tell the players to ignore it and play their normal game, but you do have to adjust.
“It becomes a little bit of a different game on that surface and the players need to be prepared for that.
“But that doesn’t mean it stops you from being successful.
“You just have to adjust your game and your approach, so that it removes any negative impact the pitch has on our football.”
From that I can conclude the players have a problem with it, and maybe as a result of that we’ll see a few changes to the line up tomorrow.
Giakoumakis and Maeda up front ?
Given the propensity for Livingston to recognise the whistle at kick off as a signal to fall back I wouldn’t be surprised.
I’ve seen their tactics board for this game, and it’s not pretty….
The manager also dismissed claims that Livingston are a bogey side, and to be fair, their results this season suggest that they are a bogey side for more than just Celtic.
“It’s all more indicative of the fact they are a good side. There is no doubt it will be a challenge for us but I don’t go there wearing my lucky socks or anything!
“We will go there and prepare the best way we can for the game
“To be fair, I’ve only had one visit there. ‘Bogey’ would be if I go there half a dozen times and don’t win.
“I was disappointed back then because we didn’t play well and deal with the situation.
“It was also our third defeat in the first six league games and you knew we would have to be pretty good after that to make up the ground.
That last bit suggests he’ll have pointed out to the players that Livingston are not a bogey side because they beat us earlier in the season, because everyone else was beating us as well.
There is one thing to watch out for though….the man in the middle…. Nick Walsh.
There we go again, the perception of bias.
Though for the life of me I cannot think how that came about…..
Here he is booking Cameron Carter Vickers for being punched and then booted whilst on the ground earlier this season….
Nick Walsh booked Carter Vickers for this, and in the same game he sent Porteous off, ignored the Lundstrum tackle.
— Lint (@Zeshankenzo) March 3, 2022
Livingston are a very well run club off the field, and tomorrows game is a sell out.
If only all relatively new clubs would look to their example, and a few established ones as well, then the game as a whole would be thriving.
Yeah, you know who I mean.
They are releasing an all white strip to celebrate their 15oth anniversary this week, and will wear it against Aberdeen.
That should raise them a few shillings as the current entity attempt to fight off interest from Dave King, the career criminal who seems to be angling for ownership of the third incarnation when it finally emerges from the ashes of this one.
As his is usual way, he had a moan at the board, and he did it from a fans perspective, to allay suspicions amongst the hordes that he’s at it…
Starting with the controversial friendly tournament in Australia, King rode on the bandwagon of fury from Ibrox fans, who it seems don’t want to play Celtic any more than we want to play them….
“I am 100 per cent with all supporters on this. It is not something that I would have sanctioned if I was still on the board.
“Unfortunately, this is another in an increasingly long list of recent instances where the club has shown its indifference to supporter wishes and interests.
The suddenly altruistic King went on….
The shoddy treatment of Club 1872, the firing of Mark Hateley, Richard Gough, Derek Johnstone, etc, as ambassadors, the unseemly spat with the football authorities to assist Douglas’s personal agenda, and the completely unnecessary loss of a manager that won title number 55 and would have successfully defended the title are among the concerns that have caught my attention.
“I have not spoken to Douglas since I stepped down as Chairman but, as an ordinary supporter, I call on Douglas to reverse the cult of personality that has developed at the club and to remember that the present board are temporary custodians of the club on behalf of present and future generations of supporters.
“Recent success has unfortunately created short memories and supporters have every right to be concerned.”
My guess is he knows they’re skint, knows how skint they really are and is making his move for control, but not of this entity, as he’d have to pay the bills, but of the next one.
Some Celtic fans are coming around to the idea of the Australian tournament, as the hoops are being paid almost double what the Ibrox side are getting, as let’s face it, they are merely a support act in the show.
That’s annoyed the hordes as well, and as usual, they have reverted to type, waving banners that suggest they don;t want to play Celtic for reasons that they usually fall back on when they’re forced to face the reality that they’re second rate…
A position confirmed when Celtic announced a new partnership with an Australian media company….
Sports Entertainment Network in Australia have announced today they will team up with one of the world’s biggest and most famous footballing institutions, Celtic Football Club.
Celtic FC fans in Australia will now be able to have the same experience and atmosphere as if they are at Celtic Park with access to all the action.
And when that tournament is played they’ll get the introduction to seventeenth century Irish history that all lower league clubs found themselves immersed in when the new club began their “journey “.
SEN will broadcast a live feed of all Celtic’s matches which can be heard on the SEN App and SEN fanatic DAB+ channels.
Celtic FC has a massive fanbase globally and shares a deep connection with Australia through some of their past players such as Mark Viduka and Scott McDonald to current day star Tommy Rogic.
Now with Australia’s own Ange Postecoglou at the helm, SEN is cheering on Celtic.
Celtic is thrilled with the opportunity to align with SEN and further broaden their reach, making football more accessible to their existing Australian fans and hopefully winning many more new fans in the process.
SEN caters for all sports fans, making sport accessible to everyone.
CEO Craig Hutchison said this is another example of how SEN digital network is like no other sports digital publisher out there.
“Celtic is one of the great and progressive clubs in world football and their connection to Australia via leading players and coach Ange means their big following continues to grow and grow in Australia.
“It’s a fantastic way to start working together to connect to our enthusiastic SEN football fans” Hutchison said.
SEN is the largest syndicator of sports radio content across Australia. The business owns and operates 51 radio stations across Australia and New Zealand, including 1116 SEN Melbourne, 1170 SEN Sydney, 1629 SEN SA in Adelaide, as well as 15 stations under its racing brand SENTrack. It also owns a newspaper, magazine, and talent management business.
So perhaps when you look at the bigger picture, the board have actually done their job, and taken the club to a wider audience, and let’s face it, when you consider the possibilities of a simialr deal in Japan, that Bill Leckie quote, made about a now defunct club disappearing over the horizon, all he got wrong was which club .
Just for giggles, here’s the full piece, from 1997…
All I can say is, massive respect is due to Rangers – and Muz in particular – for keeping Brian Laudrup in the game.
And before all you Celtic fans – including the one standing over me with a
rolling pin as I write this – start giving it the there-ye-go-ah-always-
knew-he-was-wanna-them paranoia, remember one thing.
Rangers also beat you when Laudrup WASN’T playing.
This time last week I was all set to write a piece on how they had finally,
eventually, taken the leap forward they’ve threatened for so long; but then
the news broke that their greatest asset was leaving.
Suddenly all the summer’s advances – the arrival of a foreign coach, the
signing of Thern and two top-drawer defenders, the Defenders lost their
sheen.
You wondered just what a downer there would be on the day their Great Dane
went walkies for good.
A couple of seasons ago, last summer even, you wouldn’t have bet tuppence on
Muz being able to talk the boy round. But something has happened at Ibrox,
something you can’t put your finger on, which seems to have propelled them
into a different orbit.
And so, as Ajax sat back waiting with a spacecake and an Oranjeboom and
Fergie came out gloating that the player was his, Muz quietly got down to
the business of making Laudrup stay.
Were I a Celtic man, I would be so afraid. No manager, no sign of a manager,
two biggest names threatening to do a bunk, no sign of new blood, season
ticket holders in a major huff.
Call me picky, but things do not look good. And hell mend them.
I cannot believe how quickly and how far Fergus McCann has allowed things to
slip, especially after Tommy Burns took them so close.
It is easy to say now that Burns was a failure, but what is nearer to the
truth is that he was a very good manager with the wrong club.
The closer he got to toppling Rangers, the more his emotional attachment to
Celtic overtook the rational thinking his job required.
Others would disagree, but I reckon Burns will go on to be a huge success
elsewhere, starting in King Kenny’s bootroom at the Toon.
What is not up for argument, though, is that Celtic are in a far worse state
without him than they were with him. Rangers are leaving them further and
further behind with every passing day and there is no white smoke from the
Parkhead chimney to signal a comeback.
The Ibrox men are, I reckon, one more signing away from finally leaving
their greatest rivals – and, therefore, the rest of us – so far behind them
they will be no more than a dancing dot on the horizon.
Who is that signing? I’d go for Batistuta – though Muz says no – but whoever
they end up with he will be big time and he will be here soon.
It’s enough to make any Celtic fan hide behind the couch. Sorry? Oh, you
already are.
Though in fairness, they did actually disappear. He got that bit right.
As for calling the former Rangers former owner ” muz “, one can only imagination that was the noise eminating from the esteemed hack when he had his nose entrenched in the great mans bottom.
Actually, don’t try to imagine that.
Under any circumstances.
Don’t understand the ‘ issue’ about the Australian tournament. Good on the Green Brigade though for empathising we are not half of anything.
Talking of the matters afar I hope we also take advantage of our growing fan base in Japan.
Tomorrow will be a challenge and I guess you are probably right, it is becoming a bigger issue in the players heads than it should be. Players with a tendency towards certain injuries should not play competitive matches in artificial surfaces, plastic pitches are not natural for soccer in my view. Otherwise Hoops go for it.
🙂 Was thinking similar, even curious how many Tricolours and St. Andrews would be in evidence along with the flag of war. Did not occur to me the Japanese flag too, will add more intrigue. Just hope the whole thing does not become a political fitba’, but too late I guess! HH!
Hmm, part of this reads like a promo piece for the Spaghettihad kickers.
Let’s beat them playing football.“pure, beautiful, inventive football”
Or a scabby deflection!
Spaghettihad is a keeper. Thanks for that.
Bill Leckie claims to be a neutral and a Buddies supporter, strange that, never comments on the bitterness as shown at Perth on Wednesday.
He was outed on Radio 5 by Simon Mayo years ago “you’re a big Rangers fan Bill” – he nearly chocked a mumbled something about getting his windows put in. Add that to an opinion piece on paedophelia in the RC church on the 12th July in The S*n and you have the measure of the man.
This is the most important game of the season but only in that it is the next one.
Overall, its no more important than St Mirren, Hibs, Dundee etc.
Our record at Livi is W4 D6 L2 and whilst not great it shows we’re twice as likely to win as lose, although a draw is most likely!
Its obviously a worse record than most other places but lets not turn it into Ibrox of the last 2-3 years type record.
Hopefully we can score early to force them out and create gaps for us to exploit but if not we need to keep, date I say, trust the process and keep going until, hopefully, victory is achieved.
The forwards need to step up after a barren spell and take advantage of what is likely to be few clear cut chances.
Whatever happens we will still be in pole position albeit the worse one will lead to a more squeaky bum time!
Tell the players to shoot on sight from the off and not try to walk the ball through their defense and into the net. The longer we huff and puff trying to get through their 11 man wall of kickers the more it’ll frustrate our players. Shoot ffs and get an early goal even if it’s a ricochet, then they’ll have to come out of their anti-football hole and we can then open them up with our passing game.
3-0 Celtic Jacky, Maeda and Jota. I’m away tae take my meds now.
Well, one out of three (Maeda) ain’t bad (RIP Meatloaf).
Overall an excellent performance on a diabolical playing surface. The anxiety and pressure increases on the young club as the number of games left to play decreases.
I see they’re still a professional embarrassment with kit problems/confusions/defects.
I class Jamesie as a forward and the OG was due to their pressure, so I’m giving 3/3 to our forwards.
Only downside was yet another penalty missed, so we better make sure we win Scottish Cup games before shoot-outs!
I think we’re really missing Turnbull for dead ball deliveries, direct free kicks and dare I say penalty kicks (when we actually get one on the odd occasion). Should be fit soon I hope.
He struggled at the beginning with Angeball but adapted well afterwards but was flogged relentlessly, due to lack of alternatives, which probably led to his long term injury.
I don’t think he’ll be an ever present when he comes back but an impressive addition to Rogic, O’Riley, Hatate, Guchi etc.
Imagine the huns not registering white. Hahahaha.
Because we didn`t know of it at the time, we must have wore it. sevconian logic.
Yep, never mind a first touch, shoot first and see where we are at half time.
Totally in control at Livvy, who would have thought, despite Ange getting slaughtered pre game from fan’s forum’s for team selection!!
Good win Bhoys.
Now, if you could give the unnecessary pressure at the back a miss, that would be grand.
That’s a very good performance today on a really poor surface. Some of the bounces are impossible to judge. Terrific goal from James Forrest who generally played very well. Of course it was ALL about the result and we got the one we needed. Some crunching tackles from a predictably industrial outfit so hope we haven’t got too many knocks. Anyway, I’m delighted to have that game gone and got 3 points more towards being Champions.
HH
Ir does seem that some of our boys gave them a bit of their own medicine yesterday. Martindales face was a picture. H. H.
SKY TV to make a two- hour long documentary on the corner kick awarded at the first goal. A spokesman said ” never a corner, bearing in mind they were awarded a throw in in 1989as well….decisions always go to sellik”.
COYBIG
Not sure I’ll still be around for the next one due in 2055!
Can anyone else hear an echo coming out of Martindale`s back side when he talks ?
Good performance on ridiculous surface. Didn t realise it was so bad til Forrest went over on his ankle. A bad carpet with rabbit holes.
And then there’s the bad bounces and the balls that seem to ” check” with back spin.
3-1 excellent…
The “neutral” Scottish media is hurting tonight. Everywhere you look they’re forensically dissecting Celtic’s goals today and finding reasons why they shouldn’t have been allowed. Funny how they don’t apply the same precision when *rangers get penalty after penalty and decision after decision in their favour. If I didn’t know better I’d think they were a wee bit biased. GIRUT.