Celtic shared seven goals with Tottenham on saturday, but the big boys took the larger portion, not entirely unexpected, as Celtic fielded their development squad. It finished 6-1 to the London side, but John Collins remained cheerful, having already abandoned a sense of reality since he took the job as Ronny Deilas assistant.
“We had many 18-year-olds or under 18 players that have gone on a path that’s exposed them to a Premier League select side that has quality throughout.
“They had strength, power and technique. There’s a new manager in the other dugout and they were desperate to impress him before the new season.
Presumably no-one at our club is doing the same…
“It wasn’t much fun for the boys losing to such a heavy defeat but I think it should drive them on, make them work on the training pitch, where they will work to improve every aspect of their game to get to that standard.
“It’s massive jump from playing Scottish youth football to playing an English Premier League team.
“There were patches of play in the first half where we passed it and controlled it, but as the game went on we tired, while they brought out a whole new team at half time, full of experience.
“But what I like is that the kids never gave up. They kept giving it everything and chasing it but it’s not easy when you are so many goals behind.
“But it’s a valuable lesson and that’s the standard they want to get to, so you come away thinking about what you can learn – it’s about their first touch, their speed of play and movement.”
In the last week or so, our players must be learning an awful lot. As for the kids, I hope it doesn’t destroy their confidence.
Efe Ambrose got himself sent off again, which is worrying. Tired minds, to quote Gordon Strachan, make tired decisions, and its obvious he needs a break after his World Cup exploits. Efe has no doubt told everyone that he’s fine, but he’s shown us this film before, and its quite worrying that none of the senior players have mentioned it either to him, or to the boss.
That little bit of communication may have made a difference to the Warsaw game last week.
We could argue all day about whether or not it was a good idea to book a friendly in Finland between the two Champions League game. The players needed the practice, but not the trip across Europe.
And we thought it was just the management who might be a little naive.
The sponsors aren’t happy, and whilst as supporters we couldn’t really give a toss how they think, one needs to consider the reputation of the club in these circles. sure, they always pick us because of the travelling support, but to send an under 18 side is being a little disrespectful. Thats what they think, anyway;
Leino Lonsu of Estonian promoters FC Santos Invest claimed they felt ‘cheated’ after providing flights, accommodation and a match fee on the proviso Celtic travelled with a strong squad. Quoted from the Daily Mail, he said;
‘We are very disappointed about the team Celtic brought over. It was disrespectful to the opponent, to Finnish football fans and to the organisers to field such a squad.
‘You could tell when you saw the Celtic team that the match would end like this. So we are extremely disappointed.
‘The head coach did not come either – and that was disrespectful towards us as well.
‘We will be communicating our feelings to Celtic. Because their actions were so disrespectful we want a written apology from the club president and part of the fee refunded.
‘We also took care in advance of Celtic’s accommodation and travel. We did absolutely everything professionally and what we didn’t get back was a team. We feel we have been cheated.’
‘The Tottenham head coach was disappointed and the fans were all disappointed as well. The match was organised to be a top level spectacle and Tottenham came with almost a full squad. They played their top team thinking Celtic would do the same.
‘We know the reason Celtic did this – they have important Champions League games. We understand that.
‘But they signed a contract and according to the terms they were bringing a strong line-up. There was no stipulation for how many top players, it was a general clause. But when the head coach does not travel that is a clear sign of how they are treating the game.’
They want their money back. Someone has booked Celtic for a showpiece game, and they want their money back. Thats embarrassing, whatever way you look at it, whatever reasons, are offered, thats just plain, straighforward embarrassment.
Celtic offered up their reasons…
‘Clearly the match was agreed in February by the club’s previous management team and obviously circumstances can change.
‘We have spoken to the organisers and they understood the club’s position given the Champions League qualifiers.
‘Despite us having to send a younger squad they got a fantastic reception from all the fans in Finland and we are very grateful for all the support we received.’
A big boy did it and ran away….. even though its common knowledge he didn’t. The board arranged the game for the money. Word on the street is that Deila has already called the pre season “not one of a professional club “.
Suddenly, he goes up in my estimation.
Meanwhile, Swansea are looking to sign Adam Matthews, with around £3m quoted as the starting bid. Ronny Deila, however, rates Matthews, and is reluctant to sell. Thats evident from the decision to play him out of position ahead of Emilio Izaguerre last week. But Matthews grew up supporting Swansea, and is unlikely to be first choice right back at Celtic any time soon…
Anyway, attention now turns to Wednesday nights clash with Legia Warsaw. Even Lawwell wouldn’t be stupid enough to sell anyone before that game..
No. Really , he wouldn’t.
We don’t need reminding of the first leg. Simply, whatever could go wrong went wrong. That won’t happen again. But Deila still needs to trust the players, who have been in this situation before, to get us out of it.
And we have a part to play as well, as the official website puts it;
There’s nothing more inspiring than a Celtic support in full voice and with the fans behind the team. Wednesday’s match against Legia Warsaw could be another of those ‘I was there’ nights so make sure you don’t miss your chance to roar the Bhoys on to another famous comeback.
The club, however, don’t seem to have faith in the support turning up in numbers, and are reportedly giving 10,000 tickets to Legia fans based in Scotland. Sometimes, you wonder what is actually going on in their heads. They claim it means that all their fans will be in one area, which is fair enough, and will mean they won’t sneak in amongst our support, but surely it can’t be that difficult to spot the Polish accent when they turn up to buy tickets ?
When this campaign is over, and that might be as early as Thursday, theres some serious questions that need asking, but for now its a matter of getting behind the team, and urging them on to the play off round. The team will get stronger as the season progresses, and it would be a shame to bow out this early.
You see, it will be down to us. As ever, as shown by this headline, we’ll get no support from anyone else;
Keith Jackson:
Ronny Deila’s Champions League bid
looks dead in water without Celtic Park
Perhaps someone should remind him its the people who frequent Celtic Park that make it the intimidating place it is.
And if you are wondering whether or not to go to the game, the sportswriter of the year gives you a reason in his column today, after he spent the opening paragraphs whinging about the Commonwealth Games, which most people seemed to enjoy;
All of which brings us back to the original point and Celtic’s decision to abandon their
home to let it house an opening ceremony for this international version of school sports day.
This time last week it looked like a gamble. But now, following the 4-1 first-leg thrashing in Poland on Wednesday night, it’s shaping up as an unfathomable disaster.
Celtic Park was built for salvage jobs such as this. It has gobbled up the likes of Manchester United, AC Milan, Juventus and Barcelona so there is no reason to believe a limited Legia Warsaw could not have had a three-goal lead devoured.
A miracle may still happen on Wednesday night at Murrayfield but there can be no doubt that Celtic’s chances of recovering have been needlessly undermined by relocating across the central belt.
Well, we’ll see. Theres no point in decrying a decision that was made years ago. We have to get on with it, its that simple.
He’s not alone, Davie Provan also asks the question;
What other serious football club would endanger their Champions League chances to accommodate an outdated colonial jamboree?”
I’ve got an idea.
Time to close ranks and see it through together.
We’ve not done a wee quiz for a while, so heres a quickie. John Collins was instrumental in a 3-0 European turnaround some years ago. Against who, and when ?
Cologne at Celtic Park. A Maestro volley, a Collins piledriver that went in off Gerry Creaney’s knee and then Collins jinked past a couple of challenges and knocked in the winner late in the game. All this after a disastrous 2-0 defeat in Germany.
I think we can score the goals we need against Legia but I have no confidence in us keeping the clean sheet we need. I’ll be there but I had more faith in us last year against Karagandy. Hoping for a miracle, braced for disappointment.
Craiginho
First time iv,e agreed with Provan for years
Lawwell should resign ASAP he does not give a flying fuck about the football side of the club,we are making good profits and little is going to improve the product.
Perhaps the irish Billionare rugby golf and man u fan could sell up to someone who cares about us,and will actually turn up to AGM,S
As iv,e said on many occasions Delia is nobody who,s managed nobody and is totally out of his depth,we would have been better going for Jackie Mcnamara than this useless chump
Tickets are no longer being sold to Polish fans and the sales ceased on Saturday morning. All on line purchases (which accounted for the majority of them) have been refunded.
Another clusterfuck from those in charge…
I hate to agree with Keech, but with an expected low turn out for wednesday night I wonder if it was all worth it…
Embdy got the Samaritans number?
This comments thread isny a healthy place for a Celtic supporter.
All this “St Peter Lawwell” crap is now beginning to be exposed.
The healthy balance sheets he has been given credit for, were the result of ON FIELD success.
2 ch lge runs; plus sales of players who’s value was raised due to those runs. Those runs were down to the management team and players,usually with little or no support from the board. ( Remember him selling the spine of the team DURING last years qualifiers)
In short , that success was achieved despite the board ,not because of it.
They’ve ridden on the coat-tails of that success and been wrongly credited with the resulting burgeoning profits.
I fear we’re about to see just how smart they are (or not)
without that on field success.
Ralph
Second leg. The first went all black then disappeared. A bit like some football matches of late.
I was saying I was not in Switzerland on business for the last week and did not have a one way ticket. I am keeping that arrangement till next season’s qualifiers when the “assisted Death” bill should be in place. It will be cheaper that way and besides the wife says I still have a lot of papers she needs signed before she will willingly pull the trigger.
Speaking of triggers, it might have been better if the one the Celtic hierarchy used to shoot themselves in the foot last week had been a horse belonging to a certain Mr. Rogers. After all, they are all in the same business – cowboys. I am catching up on all the events of the last five days or so. I wanted a horror show and from reading on here, the Celtic games are the best on show at the moment. However, I totally disagree with the pessimists writing, sorry crapping, in the dailys for two good reasons. First, they are not worthy of any comments regarding football and especially not Celtic. Secondly, foot wounds can be healed. It is just a matter of the right treatment before gangrene sets in. For me, all that it would take is a bit of football from players ready for the job and in the proper position to carry out the work. And if the trainee doctors are not up to it, then we simply have to see how they progress throughout the year. I still have faith that the new medication is having a bit of an adverse effect that will go away in time with some care and attention. If not, I hope someone takes the decision to end the suffering, get in some specialists and not wait till we have all been infected again with long term Mowbray. As for the in house negativity, it is like prayers for the dying rather than those for recovery. Encouragement is a great healer and faith can move mountains – even Polish ones.
Chin up. It makes it easier to take the punch when it comes. Mixed metaphors are as good as a big plate of scrabbled eggs and I am off to get the toast.
H H
so, the operation might be a success but the patient dies?
Ralph
I go into hiding for several days and the troll is still waiting and ready to gobble up my comments.
Chin up everyone. There are worse places than Murrayfield. We could be in Murray Park.
H H
Found it !
Collins can say what he wants aboout the Spurs game, they were without 7 first team players and went through 20 odd players during the game, hardly EPL regulars.
If it was a case of not reading the flight or bounce of the ball or being a bit slow off the mark then you can put that down to match fitness but it was the formation and system that looked so bad.
Spurs outnumbered our midfield and pressed, yet we kept making the same passes to the same, marked, players with the same lack of success and didn’t look like we had a plan B.
That’s what worries me too Doc. We’re making a lot of football mistakes just now. Fuck all to do wae the Board and PL and fixtures. Watch the games. VVD had a nightmare in Warsaw. Whatever the reasons are, it’s down to the players to get us out of this mess.
the 20 players that spurs used showed how much money they have shit in a sock for no reward…..
That’s it giggsy, the game’s went to fuck! Unless we’re in the CL I never watch it and very rarely do I ever bother wae the EPL. I’d rather watch Killie and Dundee Utd. At least there is something relating to a sporting competition rather than some wank over the Emperors new clothes! We need to shed the glory hunters in our ranks who demand this pash.
incorrect. staying in the EPL gaurantees plenty rewards in terms of sheckles distributed and they mainly spent money used by the sale of bale to real.
Blue moon comes to mind.
3-0 v Cologne at Celtic Park 30 Sept 1992. What a night. Packed to the rafters. No balls up. No taking the lead and throwing it away. Just a good old fashioned Celtic victory roared on by an expectant crowd. Merely a blip on an otherwise uninterrupted downward trajectory.
Wow, we nearly had a cheery post there….so close…
The sad part about the Celtic story is a small minded group of individuals who think it is all about money and not heart.without the support the team are nothing, unfortunately without a successful team the fans are nothing. The MSM are loving the mess at Celtic as it covers the other disaster. I have given up my season ticket and will not attend until there is a major thought process change at Parkhead, not a stupid pointless survey.
the bible told us that there wereten commandments st peter lawell has added 2more thou shaltnot spend money and look at the balance sheet no manager shall ask for money or he will be sacked
We are very disappointed about the team Celtic brought over. It was disrespectful to the opponent, to Finnish football fans and to the organisers to field such a squad.
maybe the board found out he was a celtic supporter and decided to treat him like the rest of us. As for organising shite games like this in the middle of a CL campaigne, ffs.
Are we really letting the players off with a “poor wee souls, the game’s no’ at Parkhead” excuse? We are in the sh!t, not because of where the game is, but because from 1-11 we were shocking in Poland and every player owes damn near perfection on Wednesday for putting us through that.
If they want CL at Parkhead go out there and earn it, save your excuses.
And for years/decades to come fans will attend Parkhead and marvel at the ground/fans AND the surrounding area thanks to the Games. The footnote of the deplorable (potentital) CL campaign that paid the bill need not have to be mentioned.
forster saved a penalty and made a few others to keep the score deplicable. should we also blame the players that should have been playing but wurnae? and the guys who were playing for celtic for thier first time in a CL away game?
At the end of the day the board should be ashamed of themselves every single one of them. I’ve never known a time when so many fellow fans tell me there fed up. What planet are these clowns on? . Annoyed at the hole thing. Il still travel up but can’t remember such times. One day the CEO and crew will move on and the cloud will lift. Hail hail.
can we put this whole “Peter Lawell sacrificed our CL run for the Comonwealth Games” nonsense to bed once and for all.
THe decision to use CP for the Commonwealth Games was agreed 10 years ago (I’m not even sure PL was in charge then) – it was agreed when there was no need for the Scottish Champions to go through 3 qualifying games. So unless PL (or whoever was in charge) had a crystal ball back then, they wouldn’t have known what URFA were about to do.
Had Celtic refused to have allowed CP to be used for the Commonwealth Games, where do you think they would have spent the money? Only other stadium that would have been able to house the opening (apart from Hampden) was ibrox – would you rather the money was spent in Govan rather than Parkhead?
the legacy of the Commonwealth Games will be enjoyed by Celtic fans for years to come.
Wednesday night will be a massive night for us. We need as many fans getting behind the team. So buy your ticket and support the team.
KTF
had a crystal ball back then,
clause in contract…”unless …”
btw. hate to say it but jingle and provan are spot on
‘supporting Celtic is never easy, but its always worthhwile. The Bunnet.
MON THE CELTS!! Get stuck right inti thum !!!!!!
Our squad is woeful!
That’s not the players faults. It’s the men at the ‘top’. The guys who ‘laugh’ at rangers at press conferences and we all laugh with them. The men who organize trips around Europe during pre-season to make money. The men who tell us about a new ‘model’ of rearing our own and buying low and selling high. Utter garbage – Lawell should be a politician. And i bet he wouldn’t be a socialist one either!
The only people at celtic who care about the team and not the bank balance are us. We have been hoodwinked. The demise of our ex biggest rivals has been a fabulous excuse for the downsizing of the first team squad since old rangers went belly up.
Two seasons ago we qualified for the last 16 of the champions league. Last season we were more or less humiliated, albeit in a good group. This season we wont even be there.
Celtic continue our perverse need to try and just be ahead of the rest instead of building from a position of strength.
Sadly we are seeing the (not so)slow painful demise of a champions league club into an average EL club.
Still at least the bank balance looks good eh – until the men at the ‘top’ realise that the whole financial shooting match is wholly dependant on results on the pitch (especially in Europe!)
So, we will say goodbye to two or three players over the next 10 days or so – and we can all look forward to a half empty paradise all next season. There will be no marquee signings, no war chests, no treble and no ten in a row. Thanks Peter – good of you to let the new scum have a chance next season…well done.
Sack the board
YNWA
Up till now the season has been littered with clusterf**k’s Murrayfield (greed) No signings (greed)Team at Legia Warsaw ( Poor management and naivety)The team in Poland should have been.
GK Forster
RB Lustig
CD Ambrose
CD D.V.D.
LB Mulgrew
RM Matthews
CM Kayal
CM Johannsen
LM Izsaguire
Forward Commons
Forward Samaras (Should never been allowed to go with these games in mind)
Not a Celtic Way team l know but FFS results come first. (NAIVETY)
We are where we are in this tie so it’s up to the team tomorrow night so hopefully they will go and do the business and if they do manage it it has nothing to do with Mr Lawell and the board they haven’t shot themselves in the foot over this scenario if you shoot yourself in the foot you’ve a chance of limping away…they have possibly shot themselves in the head!!!
It has ALL to do with Mr Lowell. Wake up FFS!!!!
Two seasons ago we qualified for the last 16 of the champions league. Last season we were more or less humiliated, albeit in a good group. This season we wont even be there.
So well said celtsfan67. Shambles!!!!!