For those of us, like me, who sat through the St Johnstone match, I ask is it just one of those freak results or was it on the cards?
For me, I feel it was on the cards, we’ve had a fairly mixed pre-season in terms of results, however, I’m aware that results don’t really matter in pre-season which is true.
Since the start of the season, we’ve had three wins and one defeat in the league so by most teams standard it’s probably not too bad a start but the worrying thing is the way that we picked up the defeat.
I know it’s very difficult to do so when the fact is that we lost 1-0 but if you can, try and pick out a few positives. The positives are that on another day with a bit more luck and better finishing, we could have picked up the three points.
Twice we hit the woodwork, had a penalty saved and had, in my opinion, two strong penalty claims in the second half denied. Shaun Maloney was barged over in the penalty box and Paddy McCourt looked to have been tripped up.
I am also aware that listing those as positives isn’t really of much use to man nor beast since they never actually happened.
Now on to the negatives, don’t worry I won’t list all of them as I don’t want you to end up being suicidal before the end of the article.
The defence looked ropey and will need a massive improvement before the Sion match on Thursday night, well the whole team will need a massive improvement before Sion. With two centre-half’s and a left back out of action through injury, can we really blame anyone for that side of things?
Realistically, who can we say is our defence against Sion? Glenn Loovens out and Kelvin Wilson possibly out, Darren O’Dea on loan and Jos Hooiveld and Thomas Rogne pretty much out the of the picture, we really only have Dan Majstorovic. Or perhaps Victor Wanyama who impressed on Sunday.
I feel that young Adam Matthews merits a start on the left back position with either Cha Du-Ri or Mark Wilson playing at right back. I felt Cha done well against Sion and should get the nod based on current form although I think Mark Wilson will start.
Midfield was pretty awful at the weekend too, Kris Commons either looks unfit or looks like he has suffered a loss of confidence. I felt Shaun Maloney was pretty ineffective, Ki Sung-Yeung seemed to be playing pretty deep and Joe Ledley playing a bit more forward than normal.
Based on the goal threat that Ki has, surely playing him in as advanced a role as possible in the middle of the park would make sense? Or at the very least, having Ki playing more than advanced than Ledley would make more sense.
At times in the game, it was difficult to work out what the tactics and formation were for the game. Anthony Stokes never done much, he seemed to be drifting out wide and playing very deep too.
I think it’s fairly obvious to see that Stokes plays his best football when he’s up front with Gary Hooper. Now that Hooper is injured, we have the option of Georgios Samaras or Daryl Murphy to step in with him. We’ve already established that they two are no good playing up front with Stokes.
The question then has to be asked, is Stokes only effective when playing with Hooper, if so why ? He’s been part of the team for a while so should know his team mates style of play well enough to link up with them.
Or is the problem that other players don’t play well alongside Stokes? Stokes has scored goals for Hibs and scored goals for Falkirk in the SPL so surely that’s enough to show that he can play with someone who is not Hooper?
For anyone who has been reading my previous blogs, you will know that I have been saying that we badly need to get a new striker so again the question has to be asked where is our back up striker? Of course the only people who can answer that question are the people who won’t answer.
I fear that we will bomb out of Europe again and based on the St Johnstone defeat, I fear that we will struggle badly any time that our top players are either injured or suspended and I also fear the worst for our league title aspirations.
I know fearing for the league is neither logical nor sensible at this stage in the season but if we do have a few long term injuries, like Emilio Izaguirre’s, or even sell one of our players, Kayal, Ki or Hooper before the end of the transfer window, it looks like the overall squad isn’t good enough.
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Good honest assessment Joe, We might have a very decent / strong squad of 15 or so but the rest are very much low quality squad players who cannot be relied upon. We really must step up our efforts and be more realistic in getting these guys OUT the door.
I’d be looking at possible loan deals from Italy as they don’t have a reserve league, lower Spanish, Portugese, French sides rather than England to help lower the wage bill.
Also look closely at refusing to release players for poxy FRIENDLY internationals while examining the effects of our globe trotting / money chasing pre-season tours. Seems none of the players gain the full vital match fitness which naturally results in more niggling injuries. While I appreciate the club needs funds, short term thinking is costing us even greater funds from Europe / success which will greatly affect season book renewals so even less income.
The french coach who was credited with helping McGeady gain strength / speed was bombed out for some reason…maybe worth looking again at that decision. The McGeady transfer surely made his wages well worth the investment.
Are we making full use of Dr. Joe / Lubo’s contacts…ok no doubt other clubs will also be seeking similar services but relying on agents to recommend trialists / clients isn’t working.
While on the subject, I know our scouting has improved in Ireland recently, while also hoping to increase our profile with the Dublin Cup and various youth sides at the Foyle, Hibernia & Galway cups. We really need to keep pushing / searching for talent, having missed Roy Keane, Robbie Keane & Damien Duff among others in recent years. We have brought in guys like O’Dea, McGinn etc but well short of the required standard. More like Paul George will do very nicely, a lad with a huge future.
Thanks for your comments Willie but Steven1888 deserves the credit for this article!
I think our scouting is pretty extensive but coming to Celtic is a big character test that not many players can handle.
It’s easier to float around in Holland, Scandinavia, Germany and France, win some lose some but at Celtic judgements are almost instant and not many players can cut it.
But those areas plus the Championship are better options that £60/70/80/90k a week Premiership reserves.
Feel free to add your own contributions and use this platform to discuss all matters Celtic.
I’d regard playing for the likes of Bayern Munich, Dortmund or Hamburg in front of huge crowds every week will give players the same pressure as those at Celtic.
At Ajax the pressure on the players comes from the great history of previous legends Cruyff, Neeskens, Bergkamp, Van Der Saar etc.
Our players should be lifted by the support, raise their games to ever higher levels not shrink from the weight of responsibility.
Henrik Larsson got off to a bad start in his Celtic career, but simply worked even harder to become a true Celtic legend. Kevin Keegan wasn’t blessed with great technique but sheer enthusiasm, great spirit, hard bloody work and perseverance took him to great heights.
We have too many who are simply looking for excuses for failure. Real pressure is not having money for the rent, electricity, food not misplacing a pass. A truly good player will respond to adversity not disappear.
Thursday is time to stand up and be counted or pack the boots and go. Our backs are against the wall, if we are to go down, then go down fighting take the Swiss by surprise and attack them from the first whistle. I don’t think they can cope with a full high tempo pressing game. Trying to keep it tight and hope for a break will surely see us knocked out once more without really competing.
Spot on Willie. Have a go from the first whistle, peg them back and try to take advantage as soon as possible. If we play a ‘European style’ game we will go out. If Sion score first I fear that we do not have the character to come back. This is a great worry. And is has been for a while.
Since the beginning of 2010/11 our biggest problems appear to have come at home. We dropped points against ICT and Dundee Utd and scrapped a draw against Killie which we hardly deserved. The first two games I mentioned were thrown away in the last minute. These results cost you the league. There will always be games like these (as well as the disaster in Inverness) but to have one at home so early in the season is not good. Celtic will need 94 points to win the league. Therefore 30 wins, 4 draws, 4 defeats. We will definitely lose one (at least) to Rangers therefore to lose any more than two or three in the next 34 games will blow the league. It is a big task.
I know some people are saying both Rangers and Celtic will drop points. People kept saying it throughout last season and it never happened. The points totals for both clubs were the best in five years. The reason for this is that the rest are utter garbage. If anything the other clubs are worse than last year. The board must see this and realise that a modest (‘ish’, hopefully) investment is necessary now to ensure that we have access to the Champions League next season. Not to do so is criminal.