{"id":7939,"date":"2015-10-22T10:24:29","date_gmt":"2015-10-22T09:24:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7939"},"modified":"2015-10-22T10:24:29","modified_gmt":"2015-10-22T09:24:29","slug":"celtic-diary-thursday-october-22-approach-with-caution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/etims.net\/?p=7939","title":{"rendered":"Celtic Diary Thursday October 22: Approach With Caution"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tonight sees Celtic in action against group leaders and Norwegian champions Molde. Unarguably, they have surprised a few experts with their table topping position, and as a result, Celtic need to be a wee bit cautious tonight.<\/p>\n

For instance, with Oscar Pistorious now out on house arrest, if you were a lass invited back for dinner, you’d go to the toilet before you arrived, wouldn’t you ? eliminate the risk<\/p>\n

It just makes sense.<\/p>\n

Thats what Celtic need to do in this Europa game.<\/p>\n

Play with the heid, and not the heart.<\/p>\n

They proved in Qarabag that they can do it, and now they need to prove they can do it again.<\/p>\n

Horses, as they say, for courses.<\/p>\n

So, lets look at the stats first of all, before we decide on how to play this game.<\/p>\n

MOLDE<\/a><\/p>\n
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Molde have won 20%, drawn 40% and lost 40% of their last 5 home European games.<\/p>\n

Molde have kept a clean sheet in 2 of their last 5 home European games, going on to win 1 and draw 1 of these matches.<\/p>\n

Molde have failed to score in 1 of their last 5 home European games, going on to draw 1 and lose 0 of these matches.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Not as impressive as we had maybe been led to believe, indications from this are that their solid in defence and counter attacking style is altered slightly to a more open game, which should, ironically, suit our pressing game.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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Celtic have won 5%, drawn 45% and lost 50% of their last 20 away European games.<\/p>\n

Celtic have kept a clean sheet in 1 of their last 20 away European games, going on to win 0 and draw 1 of these matches.<\/p>\n

Celtic have failed to score in 7 of their last 20 away European games, going on to draw 1 and lose 6 of these matches.<\/p><\/div>\n

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We’ve, on the other hand, drawn nearly half of our last twenty games away from home, and bar one, lost all of the others. On the positive side, that means that one more goal in those games would have pretty much given us a fifty fifty win ratio.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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All the stats, and they are quite detailed, are here;\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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stats and stuff<\/a><\/div>\n
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So, with that in mind, we move on to which players are available.\u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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James Forrest won’t play, it goes without saying that Charlie mulgrew won’t play, but Jozo Simunovic could feature. Whoever he is. So, when it’s important that Celtic keep a tight defensive line, it’s entirely possible we’ll se yet another new back four tonight. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Which has been a bit of an issue, and we really don’t need to be trying out players in this game. <\/span><\/div>\n
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So, Craig Gordon at the back, with instructions to be the boss in the penalty area. <\/span><\/div>\n
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Mikael Lustig and Emilio Izaguirre in the full back berths. Efe Ambrose and Dedryck Boyata as centre halfs. \u00a0<\/span><\/div>\n
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What is there to think about ? Ambrose and Boyata are at this point our most capable and experienced back pairing. The Norwegian front two are quick, strong and mobile.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

So are those two. Ambrose, like many other defenders makes mistakes. But ambrose, like many defenders , is also capable of playing a blinder. We need to be brave and gamble on him. Boyata has improved considrably since his first few games, and importantly, the two of them offer a threat at set pieces when Celtic have the chance to put the ball into the box. If they can win it, and either head toward goal, or even knock it down for Griffiths, then we increase our chances of that extra , possibly match winning goal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The two in front of the defence picks itself, Scott Brown and Nir Biton, and they should offer the prtection that the two centre halfs need. That is no reflection on Boyata or Ambrose, it’s just the way it is. By blocking passes, or slowing down attacks, they allow the defence to regroup and make counter attacking difficult.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then we come to the player directly in front of them. Stefan johansen now says his back is better, and he is relishing the game. He also has a tendency to get booked, and the norwegians will know all about his temperament. Can he be trusted to keep the heid ?\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

He’s going to have to be. Tonight requires a lot of work from the front three midfielders, and he’s far and away our most energetic. Stuart Armstrong is also a grafter, and he has an eye for goal, so he should be on the right, while Kris Commons, although maybe not the hardest worker, is also our best chance of creating something from either a set piece or a counter attacking move. When he’s knackered, we can always utilise the pace of Gary Mackay Steven, who should improve now his buddy is back in the team, against what hopefully will be a tiring Norwegian defence and midfield.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Then there’s the straight choice between Griffiths and Ciftci. Griffiths hard working style and eye for goal make him the obvious first choice, especially with his knack of catching defenders cold and scoring early. Ciftci , though, who has found his scoring boots, could also be used later to batter a tiring defence.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

You might argue that there should be a place for Tom Rogic, and to an extent you’d be right, especially given Johansens poor run of form. Could Deila spring a surprise and leave johansen on the bench, again to run at a tiring midfield and defence later on ?<\/span><\/p>\n

It’s not a bad idea, and I’d be tempted to give it a go, but i’ve a feeling that if players are being asked to keep the heid, so should the manager, and that hints he’ll go with the tried and tested players in his tried and tested style.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Manager Deila, thankfully played down all the hype surrounding his return to norway, in a quiet, measured way that should really have been the way Stefn Johansen dealt with it;<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u201cI haven\u2019t thought about it (going back) for one second. It would be different if I was going back to Stromsgodset or Odd, where I am from.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGoing to Molde feels like another step in a long season. But maybe it will feel more special when the game comes around.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCeltic are a big thing in Norway as well. It\u2019s going to be a good game. It will be interesting to see what we can get out if it.\u201d\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

And that’s exactly how it should be.<\/p>\n

Keep the heid and a win by the odd goal in five is how i think it will turn out.<\/p>\n

And then we are back in the game.<\/p>\n

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The match officials for tonight are as the following;<\/p>\n

Group A, 22 October 2015, 21:05 CET<\/span>
Molde Stadion,\u00a0<\/span>Molde (NOR)\u00a0<\/span>
Molde – Celtic<\/b>
Referee: Vladislav Bezborodov (RUS)\u00a0<\/span>
Assistant Referee 1: Nikolai Gobulev (RUS)\u00a0<\/span>
Assistant Referee 2: Maksim Gavrilin (RUS)\u00a0<\/span>
Additional Assistant Referee 1: Sergey Ivanov (RUS)<\/span>
Additional Assistant Referee 2: Igor Fedotov (RUS)\u00a0<\/span>
Fourth Official: Aleksei Lebedev (RUS)\u00a0<\/span>
UEFA Referee Observer: Michel Praux (BEL)\u00a0<\/span>
UEFA Delegate: Jozef Kliment (SVK)\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Note the kick off time, its 21.05, a problem for those of us who’s clocks only go up to twelve. By the way, it’s European time, and five past eight over here.<\/p>\n

Bezborodov is a former professional footballer, which is unusual in referees, who tended to spend most of their previous lives having their dinner money taken off them by big boys and running to the teacher.<\/p>\n

\u00a0As a player, he played for\u00a0Zenit St. Petersburg<\/a>,\u00a0Dynamo St. Petersburg<\/a>,\u00a0Dinamo Minsk<\/a>, and\u00a0Ventspils<\/a>. He took a six-year break from football after 5 matches for Zenit in 1991 to study in the\u00a0United States<\/a>, where he earned a degree in sports management and business administration.[1]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0He made his return to Russia in 1998 with Dynamo St. Petersburg in the\u00a0Russian Second Division<\/a>.[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0His father Yuri Bezborodov played professionally in 1960s and 1970s for\u00a0FC Irtysh Omsk<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0FC Dynamo Leningrad<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

Bezborodov became a\u00a0FIFA<\/a>\u00a0referee in 2009.[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0He was selected as one of three Russian referees in the summer of 2010, alongside\u00a0Maksim Layushkin<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Stanislav Sukhina<\/a>, to work\u00a0UEFA Champions League<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Europa League<\/a>\u00a0matches for the upcoming season. Starting in 2012, he officiated in\u00a02014 World Cup qualifying<\/a>, taking charge of the match between theCzech Republic<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Bulgaria<\/a>.[4]<\/a>\u00a0<\/sup><\/em><\/p>\n

We might have got a good one for a change. Be worth noting his peformance when the debate over domestic referees fires up again, the next time one of those delicate flowers over at ibrox gets kicked, and maybe use it to encourage the next generation of referees to actually have a wee bit of experience in playing the game, as opposed to reading about it.<\/p>\n

Oh hang on, thats already happening in Scotland, didn’t the ref who awarded a penalty to Second Rangers the other day used to play for, er Rangers ?<\/p>\n

Speaking of refs, how about this for a referees match report ?<\/p>\n

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They do put up with a lot, especially at the lower levels. So a little sympathy sometimes wouldn’t be out of order.<\/p>\n

Well, only a little.<\/p>\n

Yesterday was Back To The Future day, the day that Michael J fox and Chrisopher Lloyd travelled to in the eighties comedy. The interest in the movie has sparked talk of another sequel, and we at Etims have been handed the plot details..<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

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I remember going to the pictures to watch the original, and thinking<\/p>\n

” oh god, he’s going to end up in bed with his mother. “<\/p>\n

Happily, the usher spotted what they were up to and flung them out.<\/p>\n

One or two of you may have noticed that the recent quizzes and picture competitions have been a little too easy.<\/p>\n

Not as easy as this one, right enough.<\/p>\n

\"Embedded<\/p>\n

But is this one easy ?<\/p>\n

whats the occasion here ?<\/p>\n

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Tonight sees Celtic in action against group leaders and Norwegian champions Molde. Unarguably, they have surprised a few experts with their table topping position, and…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":7942,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/etims.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/bryant-markson-quote-in-the-game-we-lost-we-were-back-on-our-heels.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2J7If-243","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7939"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7943,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7939\/revisions\/7943"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7942"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/etims.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}