Game one, job done, three points on the board. Not the most spectacular of performances but professional enough to see us through. We were not as energetic as the HJK game, but I think we will all agree on which game was more important to the club.
Aberdeen came with a game plan like so many others do at Celtic Park to frustrate us and get men behind the ball when they don’t have possession, hoping the longer the game goes on that a wee bit of panic might set in.
They did an outstanding job until every single player in an Aberdeen shirt switched off for the corner that led to the goal. Amazing that not one of their players was paying attention. All the focus will be on Jamie Langfield but I’m sure Craig Brown will have a few choice words for the rest of the team.
Wanyama was immense, solid as a rock in defence but when they moved him into midfield he was everywhere, breaking up play, attacking and having a few shots at goal. This is what I expect more off from Beram Kayal who did not stamp his authority as much when he was in centre mid.
Kris Commons was our main goal threat for the second game in a row. This is great for Commons, really happy for him. He looks sharper and he wants the ball again, I think we could see 10+ goals from him this season. This is not great for Celtic though. Where were our strikers?
Anthony Stokes and Gary Hooper were virtually anonymous the whole game. It was not until, and I can’t believe I would ever write this, we brought Daryl Murphy on that we had something to aim for. He got himself open a number of times and fought hard for the ball if he was dispossessed, whereas Hooper would just give up.
Murphy’s introduction coincided with the goal though, so maybe there was just more space to exploit at the end. Still I think his name was mentioned more than any other strikers. We were restricted to potshots from outside the box but we won’t win many games if that is all we create.
Defensively we were not tested to much. Apart from Fraser Forster’s flap at the corner, which could have been very costly, we contained Aberdeen to a handful shots. We have pace at the back now in Adam Matthews and Emilio Izaguirre so I have a bit more confidence in the defence as a whole. It’s hard to tell if they are actually any good or not in a game like Saturday. We won’t know their true potential until we play in the Champions League group stages. That’s the big test.
On the forums a lot of fans were disappointed. They thought we were a bit “Flat”, “Predictable”, even “Pash”. It will be a problem all year round at Celtic Park especially. To the rest of the SPL a draw at Parkhead is a win. They know that not many of their rivals will get many points from us so if they can sneak a draw that is one more point than the rest. So these teams start the game against us “winning”.
They will flood the defence all game if needs be. There was times yesterday when the Aberdeen midfield were sitting back so far that Hooper had both centre backs and both centre mids within 10 yards of him.
How do you beat this? Any young budding football strategists out there got any suggestions? If we score early, we will win comfortably but the longer the game goes on the more desperate our play becomes. My only suggestion that I have thought of is to start Paddy McCourt and give him an hour.
McCourt is the only player we have that can genuinely beat a man from a standing start. He also has a great range of passing ability to unlock a defence and if he gets one on one with the keeper, I would stick my mortgage on him scoring. Let him run at players and draw one or two out of position thus theoretically creating space on the opposite flank. I understand the cons of having the Derrypele in the team, but I think with Wanyama in the left centre mid position and Izaguirre would have enough pace to cover for him.
Yeah, I know what some of you are thinking, he is a luxury and disappears in some games. Well, let me leave you with this thought then, we won 1-0 against Aberdeen, can any of you tell me of one significant contribution Stokes, Hooper or Georgios Samaras had in the game?
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If Paddy McCourt was Welsh he would have left celtic long ago. He is simply not good enough ! Hooper and Stokes movement on sat was terrible they both need to up there game big time ! HH
quite simply no, mccourt is not the answer. there is a reason he only plays now and again…..he aint good enough. his dribbling can be good but thats about it and it rarely happens. the answer to our problems is quite simple some players are just not good enough and they need replaced with better players, stokes, samaras, mccourt,wilson and murphy are all not good enough thats why we struggle.
Cant agree more, the downside is that Lennon does not fancy giving Paddy a chance. On the striking front ive always thought that Hooper and Stokes are only good for the SPL and not European level. WE will always struggle to score in Europe relying on this pair. We need a Van Hooydonk, Caddette or a larson type at that level.Wanyama is a must for the midfield alongside Kayal and Ledley with Ki coming in to play a part in some games.Brown in my opinion would be a good player to bring on in certain games if we are a bit flat.
said it for years now, if celtic with all our extra resources cannot accommodate paddy for at least 30 minutes a game in the spl then there is something wrong.
we have sat and watched sammy and others have sustained runs in the team whilst offering little or nothing… cannot understand it myself.
the ‘paddy aint fit enough’, ‘doesnt do enough’ ‘ disappears’ is simple prejudice that cannot see a real fitba player… was the same with maka and crosas… so many fans cannot se beyond sweat and blood – or piss and wind – we love the broonies and muscle but cannot see guile and finesse.
paddy would be in my team every week… he and commons are the smartest two on the park (and wanyama, but we’ll be losing him pretty soon i guess).
Couldn’t agree more John D. Spot on. Why do guys like Sammy who consistently runs into blind alleys, hits the first man, loses possession and regularly falls over the ball, get a game ahead of Paddy? Even Commons lost the ball a lot on Wednesday night and on Saturday.
I think there are a large proportion of our fans who get on Paddy’s back if he isn’t beating two or three men or if he has an intercepted pass when trying do unlock a defence with his passing vision. This does happen on occasion when your trying to do something different. It seems if he makes even one mistake he is crucified, yet others have the luxury of multiple cock ups. Like all managers Lenny has his favourites. That just seems to be life, human nature if you will. I do think this is beginning to effect his game, when he gets his twenty minutes or so, if he’s lucky, then he also is becoming overly cautious and dampening down his imagination because he doesn’t want to make a mistake.
It’s a terrible state of affairs when Celtic cannot accommodate a brilliant footballer like Paddy. Mercurial, elusive, creative mavericks are part of our romantic history as a club. Ever since O’Neill came ( who wasn’t a fan of Lubo), to Strachan up to Martin’s prodigy Lenny, we have become progressively more cautious in our approach to the game.
All guys who have a long association with football in England tend to have this slower paced conservative approach to the game- the last time we really saw the true Celtic ‘Way’ was Jo Venglos. We had it under Tommy Burns as well.
But the ironic thing is that our ‘traditional’ style of play is not successful or efficient enough for the modern game. Paddy is a symbolic crystallization of that paradoxical problem. You need to a be a back tracker, blood and guts engine man, to make it look as though your actually doing something.
What does Forrest do when he hasn’t got the ball? Can he read the game or make a pass like Paddy? I don’t care what anyone says Paddy has never been given a REAL chance. Strachan I can understand because he probably spent most of his time trying to get him fit for the SPL.
Mowbray never gave him a chance and neither has Lenny. He is just lazily dismissed as a ‘luxury’ in the modern game. But Jeezo it’s a bad day when the Orc’s can afford to play a ‘luxury’ like Aluko and we cannot gamble with guys like Paddy.
PS
One of our big problems since the O’Neill era onward’s has been a certain breed of fan- spoiled by success, impatient for glory, with little attention to the finer details of the game, reactionary types who are only interested in winning at all costs to aesthetics or the style of our play.
morning all,anyone else think that samaras should be sold on,he is forever dropping his head when things dont go well for him not what we need to see
Pat is one of the few at paradise that lifts the expectations of the support.and more often than not delivers.but bringing him on from the start takes away the impact he has at disrupting formations making space available for others.he is the best impact sub we have at CP. And in my opinion he should be used a lot more.personal note. Wish he didnt play for the irishmen that think there englishmen.HH
Why can’t folk get off Samaras back. Yes he may not be the best at times but he never hides always looks for the ball and gives everything ! ! He has played under 3 managers and they all seem to like him ! Hooper and Stokrs go missing at times and no1 seems to give them pelters !
I agree. Samo delights and frustrates in equal measure but he always gives 100% unlike Stokes and Hooper.And if Murphy is the answer then I’m damned if I know the question.No hang on! The question is”who do we have who is worse than Bangura?”
You always get one. Whilst football lovers for the most part can see what gifts Paddy Mc Court brings to the team you always get the occasional begrudger. ‘He’s not good enough’ blah blah blah. It used to be ‘he’s not fit enough.’ Yet the fact is he has never been given a proper run in the team and the only time he was looking like getting there Chris Commons arrived and was on fire from day one.I agree that the way things are shaping up this season it would be a great opportunity to get Paddy on from the start on regular basis. Given a consistent run his confidence will soar and he will run rings round our opponents in the SPL. I think Samaras had a good run from about Xmas last year , but this season so far he looks a bit out of sorts. He benefited from being left on the bench for a while and would do so again in my opinion. As to the suggestion that Stokes isn’t good enough I just wonder where some people’s heads are at. clearly the law of averages determines that if you suggest practically half the squad are rubbish you will get one or two right, in this Kelvin Wilson, who has been an immense disappointment from day one and Daryl Murphy who simply isn’t up to the challenge despite showing real desire to play for the jersey.
yep one realist, if your happy not being compeitive in europe or watching certain players who aint good enough carry on. Mccourt ,stokes and the other players i mentioned are good enough for dundee and hibs but not the better teams in the leagues or euope. ever wondered why no-one wants to buy mccourt? as for paddys not getting a run thats because he gets a few games and is then dropped or injured, great as a novelty player but as a serious first team player no. the stats speak for themselves, he does something great once in 10-15 games, not good enough.
as for stokes yeah he scores a lot like boyd against the lesser teams but his all round play and big game performances are not good enough. keep him as a sub by all means but he isnt good enough for week in week out.
samaras should get a hair cut or tie his hair back
beats me how he can see other players never mind the ball.
mcourt should always be in the team before him.
Sorry Joe, I think McCourt like Samaras slows the game too much before releasing the ball. Look at the likes of Barcelona / Arsenal / Ajax they face packed defences every week, teams sitting in, packed midfields…but they move the ball so quickly they still create chances.
Yes we can slag Hooper / Stokes etc…but the service they have been getting is pathetic.
Teams know if they close down our full backs they greatly reduce our attacking options / supply to the strikers. We should be create space for such as Ledley to burst from midfield into the box or our wide players to hit the line and cut the ball back…too often crosses are hit aimlessly into the area or easily cut out by first defender.
We need to smarten up, play for free kicks in & around the box, tempt teams into making rash challenges and punish them.
McCourt could do damage in the right position, but not centre midfield alas for him Commons is already doing more in the area behind the strikers. I’d also have Dylan McGeough on before McCourt to liven up a game, make things happen.
Sammy continues to run down blind alleys, losing possession cheaply…he can do so much more but flatters to deceive too often for me.
Stokes looks well off the pace at the moment, but I’d still wouldn’t start Murphy ahead of him.
Give our strikers 4-6 chances a game and they will get goals, right now we barely create 1 or 2.
Hi Guys- No new signings=no champions league-mark my words ! I hope I’m wrong but the last two games strongly suggest that.Persisting with “he almost never scores” Samaras ffs !
I live in London and only see ESPN games and I have to say we’re mediocre.Last season’s TWO Cup disappointments showed the flaws.There is no one there to really grab the game.The strikers are poor.I repeatedly wonder what the players DO in training ? Shooting so OFTEN inaccurate.Passes too often go astray.
When I hear Lennon talking about “great” performances I wonder which game he’s been watching. Deficiencies in the team haven’t been addressed for too long.Just watch Hearts or UTD (Celtic’s likeliest challengers) get the full 9yds from the Refs Loyal-I think the League might be a lot tighter than everyone thinks.
After the reffing setbacks in the two Cup disasters last season the old adage that Celtic have to have a team good enough to beat the refs as well is as true as EVER ! Sell Ki ASAP ( the best square passer across midfield + precious little serious creativity or “bite”).
I have NO TIME at all for Samaras-a living example of striking ineffectuality. FFS -this is Celtic we’re talking about.Fab crowd on Wednesday night but as always the penny-pinching board hinders progress.
If we get through against Helsinki we’re OUT in the final qualifying round.There just isn’t enough quality.
C’mon the Tic but I FEAR ! Love to be wrong though.
This season we can start Paddy in our SPL games and not worry about him being a luxury.
jedi you could play me and you in the sphell and not worry mate hail hail
Sell stokes and hooper – keep sammy and paddy and play them up front. These are our best 2 footballers. Paddy can pass dribble score. Let him poach. dont see stokes or hooper tracking back so why should pat need to. Let him loose in the box. PLEASE NEIL. All we want is some classy football. Surely with no R….ers we can afford the luxury???
Can’t honestly believe anyone would think that Paddy should be in the team before big Sammy. Unlike McCourt, Sammy is always in peak condition and gives total commitment in every game, whereas Paddy floats in and out (mostly out to be honest) of each game gets and never looks like he has 60 minutes in him let alone 90. Time to get his wage off the books I reckon.
People what is the problem we are talking about a group of laddies playing well above there weight but already we are putting our team down.
This is a group that have been together 2 years came good last season didn’t hear any slating the players then.there is many better teams equiped with talent that get punished in europe but our group of boys get it stinking by so called fans.
Maybe we should have a bit faith and encourage our team instead of having cheap shots at players who are gonna make a great name for themselves.
Take Ki in and out the team but getting head hunted by good p/l teams then Victor in the team a year and almost throwning himself out the door na guys we have the makings of a good team given a chance players that were in teams like scunthorpe and already expected to be banging goals in against european teams 2 years from now when he has learned his trade he will be playing for England I have no doubt of this .