Celtic fought back from a goal down to gain a point in Edinburgh yesterday, with James Forrest coming off the bench to score a wonderful individual goal, a fantastic outside of the foot curler into the bottom corner.<\/p>\n
The goal is actually worth mentioning again, otherwise there’d be very little that Celtic can take from yet another performance that showed that we’re fairly sound at the back, decent in the middle and sadly lacking in a goalscorer up front.<\/p>\n
Hibernian were up for the game, and if the ball wasn’t close enough to kick,there was usually a guy in a yellow shirt that would suffice, but Celtic failed to raise their game to similar competitive levels, and it was no surprise when Hibs took the lead.<\/p>\n
Although there was more than a question of offside, rare slackness at the back led to a one on one and although Forster got a touch, the ball went beyond him.<\/p>\n
Celts tried to rally, and forced a number of corners, but as usual nothing came of them. Kris Commons picked up a hamstring injury which saw the introduction of James Forrest, who after 77 minutes took advantage of principal Hibernian kicker Ryan McGivern being off the field to plough through a couple of defenders and square the game.<\/p>\n
And that was about it really.<\/p>\n
Darnell Fisher at right back got a bruising introduction to the senior professional game, but held his own, and seems a capable deputy for the right back slot should Lustig and Matthews continue their impressive run of injuries, and its just a shame he isn’t a striker.<\/p>\n
Though seriously, in these league games, Lennon needs to look at trying anyone in the reserves who knows how to score goals. And take corners. And aim headers goalwards.<\/p>\n
Stokes, Pukki and Samaras are not strikers. Balde is not being given a chance, and Atajic is probably wondering what he has to do to get a shot.<\/p>\n
Still, I like his new t-shirt<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The injury to Kris Commons is worrying. Without him, there is next to no creativity-and to be honest, with him theres not a great deal. But he’s always likely to score a goal from nothing.<\/p>\n
Manager Neil Lennon, of the forwards injury, said;<\/p>\n
“Kris knew straight away, he felt a pull, We don’t think it’s a tear but if it’s a strain it’s at least a couple of weeks so it’s not looking good for Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“You can’t tell how they are until they settle down but players more or less know straight away.<\/p>\n
“It’s a huge blow. He’s been fantastic this season, he’s at the top of his game, in great physical condition – you just don’t see that one coming. He just stretched for a ball and felt something.”<\/p>\n
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So we’ve got one going out and one coming in in James Forrest who’s a brilliant player, and showed it again today,” Lennon added.<\/p>\n
“We’ll have to assess the squad ahead of Tuesday. We’re very hopeful Mika will be fit, Emilio should recover as well.<\/p>\n
“We’ve obviously got a problem in midfield with Scott missing, and now Kris, so we’ll see what we’ve got.<\/p>\n
“I think we can beat Ajax at home but I don’t know what personnel I’ll have.”<\/p>\n
As usual, the lack of firepower up front, the lack of desire in the team and the worrying trend of injuries was deflected as the boss went on one of his “it wasn’t my fault ” rants. First, the hibs tackles;<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was shocking. Reckless. The tackle by Rowan Vine on Darnell Fisher was rugby-esque. I\u2019m all for competitive football but, seriously, they were borderline tackles. I made my feelings clear to the fourth official.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t think it was any Hibs player in particular, it was across the board.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve got a big Champions League game and I\u2019m not asking any favours. I don\u2019t mind teams being competitive and the physicality of the game was good just over the top.<\/p>\n
\u201cPeople will say it\u2019s a man\u2019s game and it is but the tackles were late, high, reckless.<\/p>\n
\u201cPat will say he sent his team out to get in our faces but the ref should take more of a grip on it sometimes. We\u2019ll play Hibs again, though.\u201d<\/p>\n
Great, a chance to wear the new away top;<\/p>\n
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Then, the international fixtures;<\/p>\n
\u201cEmilio had a virus \u2013 it\u2019s a problem when you have players away for two weeks over long distances on international duty.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou could see some of the players who had been away with their countries were a bit heavy legged.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I was very pleased with our performance and we go in to Tuesday feeling confident.\u201d<\/p>\n
And finally, the referees;<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can see he\u2019s at least a yard off. When it\u2019s as blatant as that, you have to ask: Why did you miss that?\u201d<\/p>\n
But, as ever, he thought his players were great;<\/p>\n
We didn’t get what we deserved today, which was the three points,”<\/p>\n
“I’m delighted with the attitude of the players.<\/p>\n
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Then the bloke who had parked next to him got it, as Lennon couldn’t open his door wide enough to get into his car, and when he stopped at the shop on the way home to get some milk, the lass behind the counter gave him the wrong change and got dragged outside and beaten to death by the irate Irishman.<\/p>\n
Well, probably not.<\/p>\n
But see if he’d taken his frustration out on Peter Lawwell and the board when Gary Hooper left, and spent a few quid on a proven goalscorer, and maybe a creative midfielder, then he might not have been in such a mood yesterday. Lennons not stupid-far from it, he knows what the side lacks, and doesn’t seem to have the backing he needs to do something about it.<\/p>\n
None of this bodes well for the Ajax game on Tuesday, and perhaps its the importance of this game meaning a wee bit of nerves are starting to show, but the side should have done better yesterday, and thats a fact.<\/p>\n
A little too one dimensional and predictable going forward means that Tuesday could be a long, long night.<\/p>\n
I’ve always said that should the doctor ever give me a week to live, I’ll be alright as long as theres a champions league game on, as it will seem a damn sight longer than a week.<\/p>\n
There may be another problem that needs addressing before the big game. Charlie Mulgrew is still harping on about his miss against Barcelona, as this extract shows;<\/p>\n
\u201cI probably felt the worst I\u2019ve ever felt after Barcelona.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can never usually sleep after these games, you keep running it through in your mind. Even if you get a good result you think about bits and pieces in the game where you could have maybe done better.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I couldn\u2019t help but think if I had scored that chance we could have got a result. I was up all night thinking about that.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a good chance that I should have scored so that was a nightmare for a few days. I caught the header well enough \u2013 I was
\nactually probably trying to do too much with it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI got up and instead of just letting it hit my head I\u2019ve tried to put it down into the corner.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe keeper came and then went back. At the time I went up he was close to me so I was thinking, \u2018I don\u2019t want to hit it right at him.\u2019<\/p>\n
\u201cI was trying to get it down into a corner, whereas if he had stayed on his line I would have probably just let it hit me and it would have gone in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI have thought about it for\u2026 well, pretty much since then.<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually started to lie in bed and convince myself it had gone in. It got that bad. But it is part and parcel of the game and you just have to get on with it eventually.<\/p>\n
\u201cI honestly think if I had scored then Barcelona wouldn\u2019t have scored. They only got their chances because we pushed on.<\/p>\n
\u201cI know they can open you up but if I had scored we would have just sat in. They never had that many clear-cut chances.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith 10 men we never saw much of the ball but they never carved us open. All we can hope now is we get a result next time we play them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Er, Charlie, we’ve a few games before that one. Any chance you could focus on them ?<\/p>\n
Ah, wait. He goes into depth on the Ajax clash;<\/p>\n
\u201cWe know it is going to be difficult, though, because Ajax are a top side. We are not getting complacent, even if some people are expecting us to win.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re a great side and it\u2019s a tough group but we\u2019re going to give it everything to try and get a result against them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Somebody get him to a hypnotist and tell him he scored against Barcelona. His head is in the clouds just now.<\/p>\n
Unlike his corners and free kicks, where the ball often fails to clear the first defender.<\/p>\n
Football economy .com has decided Celtic will be better off financially but would struggle in the relegation places if they moved to the English Premiership.<\/p>\n
Celtic would be worse off in footballing terms but better off financially if they joined the Premier League according to calculations made by the statisticians at the The Times Fink Tank.<\/p>\n
If they joined the Premier League directly, the stattos calculate that they would be in the thick of the relegation battle, but would not necessarily be relegated. However, they would not qualify for the Champions League.<\/p>\n
Presumably, however, their performance would improve over time as they would be in a more competitive league playing better teams which would help them to raise their own standards. They would also have more money available to strengthen the squad.<\/p>\n
The article suggests that Celtic would be able to make about \u00a317m in Champions League prize money. In the worst case scenario with only two televised games they would make \u00a372m in Premier League prize money and perhaps as much as \u00a382m. They would also be likely to increase their sponsorship income. Hence, they would be vastly richer in the Premier League.<\/p>\n
This report was based on the findings on a group which not only cannot spell the word “think ” but has clearly proved it is also a function they are incapable of.<\/p>\n
Elsewhere in Scotland, Motherwell moved ominously close to Celtic with a win over Hearts, Jackson Irvine reminded Neil Lennon he was still around with a goal for Kilmarnock, and Ally McCoist had a moan about Brechin<\/p>\n
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