We need to buy some wingers and Lennon needs to wake up tactically. Commons should be put up for the sale in the morning.
Conceding three goals to St Mirren is nothing to do with Commons.
Doesnāt negate the fact that Commons has dreadful technique and appalling agility.
Commons has actually looked like creating something in the last few minutes.
Wilson and Mulgrew have both been horrible today. As has Zaluska.
Fuck that. Inept at the back, stale going forward.
Really shite. Some absolutely abysmal performances in Hampden Park in recent years. Three defeats in a row there now after the Kilmarnock and Hearts games last year. Some awful individual decisions and mistakes today and nobody played to their best level.
I have collated a number of tweets from @CelticFC where Neil Lennon provided his post-match reaction:
<span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]'Bitterly disappointed with that performance. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]It was soul-less, lacked intensity, desire and will-to-win. All the attributes that this team has shown over last 6 to 9 months. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]I donāt know where that performance came from. We didnāt start the game well, so we changed it after 10-15 min. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]We looked better, hit the bar twice - that happens. We scored a very good goal, got them in at half-time. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]Looked a lot like ourselves coming out second half. Got the penalty and for some reason Charlie decides to side-foot it w<span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]hen I want him to put his laces through it. Iām sick to death of missing penalties. Was a game-changer. But reaction poor. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]A lack of discipline in our shape and play. Some of them behaved like spoilt kids out there. Dealt with it in dressing room. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]Not going to speak about it again. Will analyse it and now need to get ready for another big game on Wednesday. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]The treble has gone, we only have ourselves to blame. Criticism is going to come our way - and rightly so. <span style="background-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]Like to congratulate Danny and his team. A good guy in the game. <span style=ābackground-color:rgb(245,245,245);color:rgb(51,51,51);font-family:Arial, sans-serif;]Donāt want to take anything away from St Mirren and their day, but canāt be enthusiastic about our performance.ā
He says it like itās a new thing that has popped up in this game. We have put in about 8 or 9 (thatās being generous) domestic displays of that manner this season so itās nothing new. We are far too passive in domestic games, we playing silly little triangles and do move the ball forward enough, we donāt have the midfielders to play the killer ball and we donāt have natural width that can bring us up the pitch. When teams are packing men behind the ball then there is no need for Kris Commons to play, especially if deployed out wide as he probably the worst player Iāve seen when he takes the ball in with his back to goal and under pressure, he usually miscontrols it or throws himself to the ground looking for a free, he doesnāt have the pace or the skill to get away from his marker.
We also donāt play with a physical focal point in attack who is self sufficient in winning his own balls. Admittedly Iāve bashed Hooper a lot this season, I think his attitude has been poor at time, lazy and a petted lip type sulking about the pitch. It has been overboard but itās more to do with Lennonās absolute stubbornness to change things. When teams set up shop against us, Hooper is taken out of the game, Hooper is the type of player that relies of a fast and frenetic tempo, he wants the ball into his feet and he wants it at pace. He has been off key for a lot of this season but it has been more to do with the way we have played than him, itās just that Lennon keeps him on when there are options on the pitch who can be far more influential.
Iāve watched us a lot less this season, but when I have the football has been pretty dire, sideways passing and a complete lack of urgency, no real rhythm or plan to what we do, players shoved in positions and roles that doesnāt suit them. Lennon is guilty of picking his eleven best players and not his best team. It reminds me a lot of Strachanās side who were a sore on the eye and relied soley on three individuals, Boruc, Nakamura and McGeady. Lennonās first season where we lost the title was by far his best season with us, we played with tempo, purpose and incisiveness. Itās been downhill from then for me.
He definitely needs to grow up tactically and stop making players undroppable.
Lots of stuff Iād disagree with there.
First of all Commons was not dreadful today, he beat his man a few times and put in some decent crosses. Also had a decent shot from the edge of the box that was driven just wide of the post. He is one of the few players we have who can pick a pass, exactly the type of player that you correctly identify that weāre missing.
Thereās just no logic to your criticism of Hooper - as illustrated by the fact you havenāt mentioned a single specific incident (eerily similar to your criticism of Commons). I do agree that heād benefit more from a quicker passing tempo but thatās much more difficult to do against a team that holds a deep line. The reason we play those triangles that you so despise is to draw teams onto us and to create space in the area just in front of their defence so we can start making chances for Hooper - i.e. the little triangle for his goal.
The best player in this team at the moment is Wanyama by a country mile. The likes of Brown, Ledley, Hooper, Forster are next and theyāre
<span style="font-size:14px;]not really creative types. We certainly could do with a better passer in midfield but they tend to be expensive and when we had Ki who was a fine passer of a ball we couldnāt find a role for him in the team.
<span style="font-size:14px;]I hope Forrest will make a difference when he comes back because heās very different to what we have in the team at the moment.
These triangles do nothing, a side like Celtic should be opening a side like St. Mirren up numerous times. How many good chances did you see today? Very few, we had a lot of the play but created very little, itās easy to set up against us because we have no variety in our play. We tried to play it through the middle but when that didnāt work we errrr tried to play it through the middle. Hooper is ineffective when sides defend deep and get behind the ball. He likes to play passes and run in behind, how can he run in behind when there is no space. His hold up play is not good enough either but thatās not something that came into effect today as space for runners in general was at a premium. The bottom line is, as we have seen time and time again this season, it is becoming alarmingly routine for sides to come up against us with an organised game and upset us.
The game was the perfect example of how stale and passive we are, we donāt have players who take charge of the game and link things up. We donāt have an outlet where we can make the focal point of our team. We should be looking to get the ball to Sammy, get him in positions where he can do damage and do this with urgency. He was the one player who started out there today who has the ability to do it. In order for this to be effective however, you need urgency, the ball needs to be moved quickly and progressively. We donāt do that - all season long we havenāt done it, we didnāt do it last season either. We allow teams to settle, get their shape and we play into their hands.
I despise football based on keeping the ball and thatās what Lennonās side have been based on this season and last. In his first season we played some terrific football, I remember we destroyed Aberdeen at Pittodrie, we destroyed the huns at Celtic Park, we had many other good games like this where when in possession the first motive was to look forward and attack, we played fast and progressively and it was very enjoyable. We donāt do that now - we have regressed to a passive team and the domestic results show this. Look at our points totals in the respective seasons since Lennon took over, dropping on a continuous scale. The players he loves are at odds with the game he wants to play.
On Ki - he was very good at keeping the ball but he had no imagination on it. He was a very sterile player and a passenger in most games he played.
Lots of criticism but not many suggestions on what we might actually do, other than just words like ācreativeā and āimaginative.ā
The 4-3-3 formation is designed to give us width and to stretch teams at the back in the absence of Forrest. Itās a reaction to the predictability of 4-4-2 with narrow wingers. Itās generally been quite effective when weāve used it, and it certainly allows Samaras to play wide, but it certainly didnāt look great today.
The players need to take some responsibility for that though. Samaras has had a terrific season but heās capable of off days and this was definitely one. He did very little other than his header, which he probably should have scored. He does provide a wide threat but needs to work on linking with a central striker more.
I think I have been extremely clear on what we need to do in the past so Iām surprised at the point you seem to be pushing.
We need width for a start, we need players who can add tempo to our game. We seem just content to knock it around in midfield until things peter out. We have to be more progressive on the ball in midfield - a point I definitively made in my previous post, we get on the ball we look to play it forward and do it at tempo. We need a focal point in our team - another point I made - be it someone who can make the killer passes or someone who can beat players and quicken our tempo. Iāve made all these points, you somehow seem to have missed them. My criticism is borne out of what we are lacking, what we are not doing right.
Iāll ask you this - what identity do you think Lennonās side have? If I was asked to describe what I have seen of Celtic this season a few words pop into my head. Stale, passive, flat, predictable and easy to contain.
I think we have lacked some domestic focus at certain stages of the season (particularly in late October / early November when the Champions League group matches were a distraction) and we have been quite passive and lacking tempo at times. But we played fast, purposeful, attacking football in the recent games against Hearts and Dundee United, scored 8 goals in the process and used the same 4-3-3 as today. The formation is probably a response to the injuries to McCourt and (more so Forrest) and it had worked fairly well, albeit the defence was pretty open the other night against Dundee United (though the scoreline didnāt show it).
It was a bit more risky playing it today at a neutral venue rather than at Celtic Park but, still, that side should have been more than capable of defeating St Mirren. They were set up to soak up pressure and strike on the counter with their 4-5-1 and they did it well. But the individual performances from ALL of the Celtic players were below par today. Some were a bit off (Brown, Matthews, Hooper) but others were completely abysmal (Wilson, Mulgrew, Izaguirre, Ledley, Lassad, Wanyama, Samaras). It was probably Wanyamaās worst game for Celtic.
I think it was more down to poor execution and attitude today than an underlying issue with the formation.
Resolute, strong, effective.
I hope weāre all braced for a nervous last few days before the transfer window slams shut. The EPL vultures are hovering trying to take some of our players.
Iād like a winger I think. Robben was dropped for Bayern at the weekend.
Todayās Press Conference:
- Fraser Forster will again be absent for tomorrow nightās league game with Kilmarnock.
- Tom Rogic is due back from Australia imminently and could be involved at the weekend.
- Neil Lennon is annoyed at our penalty conversion rate.
- Adam Matthews said the players want to make up for the weekendās defeat with a good display tomorrow.
- Neil Lennon said weāre not preparing any bids to bring players in.
Banal.
Seems like weāve turned down a third bid for Hooper from Norwich, reported to be Ā£6m. Would be very late to sell him now if weāve nothing else lined up.
Linked with a Swedish keeper to provide cover - we let that Kamenar chap leave during the month.