Is Paddy our lock-picker?

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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