So, let me clarify this. We need decent competition in Scotland, preferably not a new incarnation of Old Rangers, but only if they don’t actually have the gall to stop us winning any trophies. Or so you would think, reading through some fans forums yesterday. Or looking at twitter.
All conquering financial giants Celtic were beaten 2-1 in the Scottish cup yesterday by an Aberdeen side who had done their homework, and who also put in a serious shift on the job.
From the start of the game they showed a determination and grit that Celtic couldn’t-or wouldn’t- match and even after losing an early goal refused to lie down.
With Kris Commons taking up the central playmaker role behind Anthony Stokes and between Georgios Samaras and James Forrest, dons manager Derek MacInnes would have been aware that stopping Commons would have stopped Celtic. This he did, but early on, Celts just played it wide, and a long diagonal ball from the relatively free Samaras picked up a relatively free Anthony Stokes who put the hoops into the lead. Simple, really.
And thats how we should have played it, although the addition of an extra midfielder would have helped a defence who were coming under more pressure than they are used to. Surely Lennon must have realised by now that two in the middle doesn’t work, especially if the two outside them are the disinterested Samaras and the largely ineffective Forrest ?
Add to that , with the defence breaking all sorts of records, a clearly unfit Adam Matthews had been brought back in place of the impressive Darnell fisher, a move which backfired as he clearly disrupted an efficient machine. Not that he’s a bad player, far from it, but a one off cup match wasn’t the time to bring him back.
As Aberdeen grew in confidence, the inevitable happened, and Russell Anderson swept in a loose ball after the Celtic defence had failed to clear, and the sides finished level on goals at the break, but the Dons were already ahead on points.
It took just a couple of minutes of the second half for them to take the lead, and from then on Celtic were beaten. Sure , there was the occasional flurry, but Scott Brown and Stefan Johansen were getting the runaround from what was pretty much a five man aberdeen middle, and even when they had the ball, they were pressurised immediately into making a mistake. A midfoeld, incidentally, in which ex Celts Barry Robson and Willo Flood were outstanding.
Anthony Stokes, having silenced his critics for a moment with his goal, lapsed back into the player he has suddenly become, and not for the first time this season, you realised that we didn’t actually have the nous to break down a side who made a game of it.
Well, sort of.
Because, quite frankly, we do have the nous to do that. The players are there, and the formation has been used to devastating effect already. As opposed to this 4-4-2 with two wingers and two overlapping fullbacks which simply does not work.
Charlie Mulgrew or Nir Bittons introduction yesterday would have kept us in the cup. At the expense of Georgios Samaras, who, apart from the one pass did absolutely nothing. Forrest was our best forward, but with Commons shepherded by the Aberden back line, he was the only one who had a chance to make a difference. And as usual, he didn’t.
So, its actually starting to look like a poor season in the end, despite winning the league-which we haven’t done yet, but realistically still should. Out of Europe before Christmas, out of both cups before the quarter finals, and it was all so promising back in August.
Neil Lennon was , predictably, disappointed;
“Yes, because we were so poor. We have to show a bit of character, we all have to take the criticism and finish the campaign really well with a view to going into next season.
“We were desperate to defend the trophy, we worked very hard this week, and for it to be as poor as that?
“It happens in football, it’s a cup tie, but I want more from my players. I should demand more and I should get more.
“It’s in the club’s DNA, we’re built to win trophies and this was another one I wanted to win.
“We showed footage of last year’s final and how much it meant to everyone associated with the club but it seems to have gone in one ear and out the other.
“We started the game well but for some reason lost our way. Our passing, decision-making, defending, cohesion, partnerships within the team … we played like strangers at times.
“And for experienced players at this level, it’s disappointing.”
“There has been a lot of talk about goalscorers in the team but that wasn’t the problem today.
“Defensively and in midfield we were second best against Aberdeen. That’s not something I can aim at the players for the majority of the season.
“We started the game well then our passing was so poor, we never really had a concerted period of pressure to work the Aberdeen keeper.
“Virgil van Dijk had a great chance to make it 2-2 and that would have changed the game but it wouldn’t have changed the level of performance.
“It’s difficult to single out any of my players for any credit. Stokes, possibly, and James Forrest for maybe a spark. The rest were very flat.
“We prepared them so well and talked about set-pieces but they were really poor for the first goal.
“Two centre halves missing the header and Aberdeen getting the break of the ball to score.
“Then we get the opportunity to clear a free-kick, duff it and get punished. It was symptomatic of our performance.
“In the second half we never hit the target. It was very disjointed from a team which has been purring along well.”
Er, Stokes and Forrest.
See if he doesn’t take those blinkers off, we could be in real trouble real soon.
“When you’re a manager there’s always that insecurity in the back of your mind that you see a result like this coming. We made positive changes to get a goal back but we didn’t work the keeper enough and were too careless with the ball and kept giving it away cheaply.
“There was a lack of hunger and dynamism about us, the only real spark came from James at times.”
Oh dear. Looks like he was watching the players again, instead of managing them.
Still, its done now, and for all those who bemoan the quality of the opposition, maybe they are not as bad as we thought.
Even if they are, I think its fair to say they are getting better.
There are signs of dissension in the ranks as well, but then you would expect that from the papers anyway, now that theres a crisis in the east end of Glasgow.
This is the headline-from the Sunday Mail;
Celtic defender Efe Ambrose sets his sights on a move to England
Followed by this introduction;
EFE AMBROSE admits it is only a matter of time before he swaps Celtic for the English Premier League.
And then theres what he actually said;
“The English Premier League is a well-celebrated and followed league back home in Africa.
“It has attracted a lot of big players, and I wouldn’t mind playing there at some point.
“But I am happy at Celtic who are one of the best clubs in the world.
“There was no contact from Fulham or any EPL side in this winter transfer window that I know of.
“But when a player is being linked strongly to such a league, it shows that I am being watched and appreciated. I give God all the glory.”
Which was actually, er, nothing.
Then there was this, same paper, from Adam Matthews;
Adam Matthews: Joe Ledley didn’t want to leave Celtic, circumstances forced him to go
Oho-maybe a wee story about him being forced out-or perhaps being offered a disrespectful or insulting new contract ? Maybe he was told he’d have to fight for his place with Stefan Johansen, and would not be first choice ?
Er, no.
“It’s sad to see him go but I think it was best for Celtic and Joe.
“Celtic have made a bit of money and Joe has a chance to play in the Premiership. Although I’m sad to see him go and he was a big player for us, I hope he does well.
“It’s personal preference really. He wanted to play in the Premiership and he got the chance. I think he would like to have stayed but circumstances made him have to leave.
“He leaves a better player than the one the club signed. Coming up here and playing in the Champions League, you learn in every game. He has got better and I hope he can keep improving and do well in the Premiership.
“He will be missed on and off the pitch.”
So, thats the first of the non stories out of the way, I’m sure there will be more.
Anyway, theres other things to worry about. We’ve got one of those memory foam mattresses, and she’s been away for a week. Thing is, I don’t know how to delete the memory.
If the football is making you a bit miserable, then you could try the winter olympics, which is getting wall to wall coverage at the moment.
With the controversy surrounding the Russian governments hostility to gays, it was refreshing to see so many figure skaters had made it to the competition. And I can’t help myself looking for the Jamaican bobsleigh team.
After all, I watched the Scottish Rugby team yesterday.
John Hewitt was the forward in yesterdays photo, this time, its a defender. In a picture presumably taken at night. On the moon.
Jim Brogan….
Out of both cups before the quater finals is totaly disgraceful, the team selection yesterday was pathetic, why drop fisher and why the fek play samaras, Aberdeen were always going to battle for every ball and .be a physical team so Lennon thinks playing Samaras and Forrest in midfield was the way to win the game, after yesterdays piss poor excuse for a game then it is absolutely the time for Lennon to go, Celtic are becoming a worse team under him and with no real tactical awareness and bad team selcection yet again then new leadership needs bringing in at the end of the season, thanks Neil but time to move on, hail Hail, KTF
Look on the bright side at least the team can concentrate on the league now (YAWN).
Jim Brogan. Yesterday’s result has been waiting in the wings for a wee while as we have not had a deal with any real threat as yet. Tactics were wrong, Samaras should have been slung at half time and by the club for a poor imitation of a Celtic player. We were outnumbered in midfield and out maneouvred throughout. They wanted it, we tried a times but played without the heart and desire that’s needed to win. This was a one off cup game and we were playing Scotland’s second best yet all we did was turn up. A poor performance from an ordinary side.
This is the first time we have come up against a side who came to play and play hard. They refused to lie down and in the end we were bullied by them and Aberdeen took away with them, a result they wanted and one they deserved.
Nearly everyone I spoke to before the game was asking why we were only playing 2 In midfield, why was samaras playing and why was fisher dropped.
This isn’t being smart with hindsight…..don’t understand why lennon doesn’t learn from previous mistakes that he’s made many times. Very very frustrating.
And with only 2 teams left in it capable of beating sevco then I fear the worst
Yeah and look who manage Aberdeen and Motherwell. Be interesting to see how a Motherwell Rangers quarter final might pan out – not !
Oh well, as the bears come out of hibernation , we go into ours.
TheScottish Cup Final should be our second priority, if you can’t win the league win at least one cup and at least put in a decent performance in Europe (qualification isn’t a must) then I would say its a C minus . I Think Neil needs to look again at himself and ask if he is motivating these players properly as well as picking the correct formation.
He should start by not playing Samaras ever again. No player who doesn’t want to stay (for whatever reason) should play, especially in what was the most important game of the season at that point in time.
Fair play to Aberdeen, fully deserved to win, our team selection wasn’t right.
Neil Lennon was at fault with yesterday’s result the man thinks he is a tactician why drop your right back when even the English national team are looking at him & for playing samaras why why why ?.
And as for Forrest the boy is not celtic class he doesn’t run at players or beat players and hides for 75% of the time.
Commons was marked right out of game same as last week when st mirren partly did it , Lennon never learns doesn’t change things during game as was needed yesterday everyone saw that we wer swamped in midfield.
Stokes is never a player to play on his own everyone knows that apart from Lennon.
We seemed to panic every time Aberdeen ran at us from the goalie out wards and our slow build up is driving fans away there is no urgency in our play it sideways or nothing.
If samaras is in the pool of players again I will just turn round and go home that’s how bad I feel about this guy.
simple sack lennon asap
san miguel well are out keep up
Apllogies , posted my rant then realised they git papped oot too !
Lenny needs to go……. sad, but true. Too many bad selections too many times. HAIL! HAIL!
watch out the fundamentalist who only like lennon for his background will be on soon
What a bunch awe moaning faced ‘BEEP’. Anybody that has ever kicked a ball knows that’s football. No team has any divine right to win every game. It’s the players who didn’t apply themselves. So that’s the managers fault. EH, aye right. Lets see have they bounce back. Honestly, sacked, get a grip FFS. HH
I’m still hurting after yesterday and already had the sevco fans rubbing it in.
Sorry, NL, but yesterday just wasn’t good enough – I know it’s only one game, but yesterday was a major game as it effectively finished our season.
Fisher’s been playing well enough to get noticed in England, Matthews has been injured for months, so why change a defence that hadn’t conceded in 10 domestic matches?
Why is Samaras anywhere near the 1st team? He should be playing in the reserves / under 21’s until he finds himself another club.
How can NL honestly say Forrest & Stokes played well. Stokes played for 10 minutes, the disappeared (hid). Forrest did nothing for 70 minutes then decided to run at the defenders and get in crosses.
As for Boeriggter – that really is Ajax’s biggest laugh at us – a complete imposter,
Wonder what the attendance will be next sunday – less than 20,000?
And finally, for all the GB haters on here – yesterday was exactly how CP will be until the GB come back – so much for the other fans stepping up to the plate – a dreadful team selection / tactics by NL, a dreadful team performance and a dreadful home support – it augurs well for the future.
Not a GB hater but do you really think that they would have made the slightest difference yesterday? Seriously?
Seriously Frank. What or who are we? Money in the bank. Rank on the park. Shafted by administrators. Mooth shut. Club or Corporation. Soul or Sold. I know what one I support.
That reply has nothing to do with the question I asked. I wasn’t making a definitive statement regarding being with or against the GB or the PLC custodians. I was making the point that the GB jumping about in the corner would not have made a scrap of difference yesterday.
I don’t think it’s as black and white as being for or against the GB. I know a few folk who consider themselves to be part of the GB in one form or another. I don’t know of anyone who is 100% against them! and why should they be unless they believe all the shit they read in the papers? I think the GB have done some amazing things and Parkhead is generally a poorer place without them in some form or another. I also think they have done some pretty questionable things and have done themselves no favours at all.
The main point is that no-one or no organisation is bigger than Celtic. I consider myself a Celtic supporter rather than being part of any sub group that seems to think it has more voice or is more of a ‘true’ supporter than others. I do hope these divisions do disappear quickly as we can do without them. There will be no progression for us as a club without a shared sense of unity.
remember in the good old days when Celtic lost a goal / lead, the fans would raise the volume and get the team going again?
Where was it yesterday?
After Aberdeen scored the 2nd did you hear the Celtic fans singing?
Were you not embarrassed by the Aberdeen fans taunting the Celtic support?
I’m not a member of the GB and I do agree that they have went a bit too far at times, but until someone else takes up the mantle they had, CP will become a morgue and the young ones will stay away.
We lost on Saturday due to having the wrong tactics / lack of commitment / poor team selection (in my opinion) – Aberdeen got it right and deserved their win, but a Celtic support in full voice an backing the team, might have just made a bit of difference.
Spot on Andy. Parkhead is about as intimidating a place to spposition as Sesame Street outside of CL games but it has been slowly going that way (outside of aforementioned CL games and fixtures against the deid ones) since Martin O’Neill’s last season in charge where attendances have also decreased gradually. You’re absolutely right in that fans can make help inspire ordinary players to go that extra yard, ultimately exemplified the last time we played Aberdeen at home with the 2 late goals.
I still think that all the noise in the world yesterday wouldn’t have shaken that team out of their funk. There are various reasons for the lack of energy and thunder from the crowd – lack of competition, uninspiring performances on the park, predictability, lack of imaginative signings and just general apathy and I think we can all agree that something needs to be done quick before we all lose interest. Whether that means standing areas and the return of the GB or whoever remains to be seen. Doing nothing is certainly not an option.
I have stood by & supported Neil Lennon through all the nonsense he has had to go through off the park, on the park is the ONLY thing that counts to me & I think Celtic under Neil are a diminishing side, what I say next is just my opinion, so if you don’t agree with it could you please respect it?
Fraser Forster should have been sold in January & the 6 or 7m banked, we could have played Zaluska until the end of the season, giving us time to search for a number 1!
Darnell fisher hasn’t put a foot wrong every time he has taken the field for Celtic, so what happened yesterday? Lennon plays Matthews, this was a mistake.
How Samaras get’s a game for Celtic is astonishing, you can count on one hand how many good games he has really done the business for Celtic, he has all the tools but he doesn’t go to work with them.
Boerrigter when fit should be played left midfield with the simple instruction, run fast past people & put the ball on the head or foot of Celtic strikers.
Scott Brown can be excellent but does he need to be played every game?
Biton is there, try him out.
I could go on but I’ll finish by saying, go at the end of the season Neil, take Sami with you.
Celtic need a new manager & heavy investment in the summer, I have no faith in Neil Lennon to progress Celtic, we need a manager who combines an entertaining brand of football with a real tough streak.
Celtic should be winning everything in their way domestically….but we can’t & we don’t, why?
Because Lennon doesn’t have a fu%&Ing clue!
Genuine Question: How did the support perform yesterday and what was the atmosphere like?
Like a morgue – if it hadn’t been for the Aberdeen fans, it would have been like being in a library at times.
@Markybhoy,
The support don’t get the pleasure of being paid tens of thousands of pounds to be on the park do they?
Instead of questioning the support, why don’t you enquire about the ‘ managers’ team selection & tactics?
Here’s a question for you Mark, who is Celtic’s striking coach?
Exactly!
A club the size of Celtic & we don’t have a quality striker coach…hmmm
And our weakest position is…………….strikers! FFS!
@Monti
On this occasion I wasn’t having a go at the support but the Board. We’ve had a problem with the atmosphere at CP for a long while. The Board are the only people in a position to make the required alterations.
As for a striking coach, you’re maybe onto something there sport.
Sorry to say it but time for NL to go.
We are fast becoming a laughing stock in cup competitions due to poor tactics and poor team selection.
Samaras should never wear the Celtic colours again and NL should take responsibility for his team.
Im not going to any other cup tie at CP,WE PLAY CRAP i GET MOVED FROM MY SEAT TO THE CRAP LOWER TIER OF THE NORTH STAND ITS A FUCKING DISGRACE
I wonder how Lawwell is going to sell next season’s tickets.
If this is our pool of players we will NOT qualify for the Champions League.
I have supported you too long now Neil.You and your staff don’t have a fecken clue.
Time for you to move on.
That was our cup final and failed miserably.
Meant to say what is it with Lennon and cup competitions ? His record is poor why is that ?
It’s all been said really.
Team selection all wrong again and substitutions made more in desperation than with any real purpose.
Totally gutted, as I feel we should be at least winning a leagus and cup double,of whatever cup !.
However I am not totally surprised, we,or at least Neil Lennon and some of the players have been deluding themselves for too long with the unbeaten run and the clean sheets.
Sure, we did achieve those, but the truth is, we flattered to deceive,if truth be told we really only produced two or three really top notch displays during that run.
If you take the two games we played just prior to the Aberdeen game for example,4-0 against Hibs was a bit harsh on them and after ‘thrashing’ St Mirren 1-0 Lennon saying “we played fast free flowing football”.
Unfortunately, it seems that thousands of fans seem to be of the same opinion as mejudging by the thousands of empty seats the numbers of which seem to be growing each week,the Aberdeen game would have to have been the biggest game we’ve had since the Champions league and yet the stadium was half empty !!.
Time for a real shake up !!
Seems like a lot of Neil Lennon must go comments today ??? Thought i was reading the daily record by mistake.
Saturday was poor and, as mentioned in the diary, the first time Aberdeen have won at CP since 2008! May I ask this question, under Neil Lennon’s ‘watch’ as Celtic manager, how many of these records have been broken? Killie, Morton, etc! The list is getting longer! Who next? Celtic is more than just a team, it’s a cause!
Buying just to stay ahead of the rest in the SPFL, results in scorelines like Aberdeen! Playing players because of who they are, and not what the bring to the ‘team’, causes this!
Anyway, it could be worse; you could support Sevco!
I’m of an age when I watched Murdoch, Gemmell, McNeil, Auld, Hughes,Johnstone and the great Bobby Lennox (strikers take note) managed by the giant of a man, Big Jock. The current crop of pansies, managed by someone who hasn’t a clue about tactics, should hang their head in shame. The afore mentioned players would have rolled their sleeves up and fought. Samaras??? He widna have been allowed to peel the half time oranges.
I have to agree with Oz Celt, I was looking forward to the game on Saturday because it promised to be a game with some extra edge to it, unlike so many drab league games we’ve seen at CP. But, like so many cup games under Lenny, we failed to show the same urgency and appetite as the opposition and duly lost. It was so disappointing but not totally unexpected – and that’s the maddening part about it.
Lenny’s had 4 years in charge and in the modern game managers are sussed-out by then (in fact, most are toast long before that). There’s a staleness and predictability about our play which betrays Lenny’s lack of tactical imagination. If Lenny is smart, he’ll be making plans to move on.
Like O’Neill and Strachan before him, he’s overstayed his welcome and is starting being resented as a result.
Thanks Lenny, but four years is time enough. Go soon before things get worse and uglier.
Lenny would not be the first or last manager to start a side that was not working tactically(or in the case of sammy working at all),surely the biggest criticism should be how long he took to change things,was painful to watch the 2nd half dragging on and our lack of ideas,on and off the pitch.