Celtic v FC Christ Almighty

Sport
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First leg play-off round tie tonight with progression to CL group stages at stake. Celtic didn’t buy any players in the past week & Rodgers’ frustration with the lack of first team signings, especially attackers, is palpable in every media piece he does.

Maeda & Kuhn haven’t been adequately replaced & that attacking area still looks weak. I felt Idah needed to hit the ground running this season & he hasn’t so far. He must start showing something soon.

Maeda would likely be starting upfront but for Jota’s long term injury & Forrest will likely get the nod over Yang, who disappointed when given a chance from the start in the opening league game.

I think the draw is pretty kind, even though this crowd (Kazakhstan champions) have beaten the Finnish, Slovenian & Slovakian champions in the first three rounds. That said, if Celtic don’t perform at home tonight then they’ll have the veritable mammoth flight to the return leg in a hostile atmosphere & they could be turning to unproven players like Johnny Kenny or Shin Yamada for a goal. On the other hand, this is the fourth time Kairat have had to make the arduous trip from east to west.

It’s a dereliction of duty not to have signings completed before this tie & I wouldn’t have been too confident against some of the other potential opponents like FC Basel & Sturm Graz, albeit not counting my chickens for this tie. Celtic will probably rush through some signings before the end of the month but it’s not entitlement to expect them build from a position of strength to try to establish themselves as a consistent CL team.

Latest reports now suggesting the targets identified by the football department have joined other sides or committed themselves to existing clubs, because the financial side can’t/won’t close out the deals. So it’s progressed to scratching around, taking calls from agents & being linked with Vardy & other players Rodgers has worked with before.

More positively, Tierney has been very good in these early games & Nygren looks to be a useful midfield addition. Rodgers will always play McGregor & Hatate in his midfield three so it will be Nygren or Engels for the last spot. Engels’ set pieces & athleticism can be important but he favoured Nygren in the opening two league games.

I think he’ll go with:
Schmeichel;
Johnston, CCV, Scales, Tierney;
Nygren, McGregor, Hatate;
Forrest, Idah, Maeda.

Live on RTÉ2 tonight.

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The fact Forrest is still there starting major European games in 2025 is nuts.

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He’s definitely had a renaissance in the last couple of years but I take your point. He’s now one of those wide players that looks after the ball very well, by no means a slouch but doesn’t have the pace of old, just has a good touch, plays quick passes/one twos & links well with the other players.

Ange had pretty much phased him out with the likes of Abada & Haksabanovic backing up Maeda & Jota, & Rodgers didn’t use him much in the first half of his first season back. But a large section of the Celtic support who were lukewarm about him over the years credit him hugely with the title win in that 23/24 season.

He got back into the side for the last 10 games or so, & was excellent. This was when Big Phil Clement had the huns rolling & they’d forged clear at the top. Forrest scored big goals & set up a fair chunk too.

He’s had some down seasons on & off since his debut in 2010 but there’s probably some recency bias now & he’s almost universally popular. That said, the consensus view would totally agree he shouldn’t be the starting winger in a CL level game - perhaps still fine as a 20-minute impact sub & the maybe the 4th wide option, possibly even the 5th!

Rodgers wants his wingers making runs inside, into the box, & working up & down the flank, & would usually use 4 in a game. Forrest is 34 now & has a history of injury issues so you couldn’t really expect him to play two games a week any more. They really need to sign at least one winger, probably two with the second a loan to cover Jota’s cruciate injury. Reports today that Balikwisha from Royal Antwerp will be on the way soon.

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It’s been really poor from whoever is involved in the transfers to leave us this short in attacking areas.

The starting team isn’t great with and out of form Idah up front and Forrest required to start. But the bench is really weak. We don’t really have any explosive ability to come on. Best player is Engels but he’s not that type of player anyway.

I don’t mind Forrest starting but as you say we’ve gone from him being an emergency option to an impact sub and occasional starter on the back of his good form. But to now be a required starter is just poor squad building.

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That Nygren lads looks a bit of a baller from what I’ve seen, glad he’s playing. 2 or 3 nil would be grand. Hopefully an early goal.

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Another irish player linked

Vardy too

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I’ve asked our Dundalk rep to comment

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This is some muck.

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This is absolutely septic viewing

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The turnip farmers/ tractor drivers comfortably holding their own against Brendan’s Boys

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That’s a dreadful performance.

Once again a team leaves our centre backs with the ball and we look lost. CCV is too conservative with his passing and movement on the ball. Scales tries stuff but he’s not very accurate.

McGregor looks out of his depth out there. He’s not mobile enough to shake his marker and they’re running off him easily on the break. A second yellow card looks inevitable.

The other midfielders have been sloppy. So have both wingers and Idah has hardly touched it.

This is why teams need new energy and ideas by adding to the squad.

Dreadful.

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Oh and Ralston looks miles off it in his brief time on the pitch. Slow to react and only wants to play a safe pass backwards.

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Celtic avoided this play-off last year didn’t they? Presumably a drop in Scottish co-efficient to blame which is strange considering Celtic and Rangers actually did reasonably well in Europe last season. The other representatives not pulling their weight. They’re steeped to have avoided that *Fenerbache/Benfica tie. I was looking forward to seeing Idah but sure he’s hardly touched the ball so far.

*Although they lost to Rangers last season so they mustn’t be great.

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That’s an abject first half from Celtic. Pedestrian in possession, slow tempo, too many touches & lots of sloppy passing. Letting them slot into their defensive shape easily & they’ve been comfortable. They haven’t been too bothered with possession themselves but they’ve looked to break quickly when after winning the ball. They’ve been lively enough on the counter & overall a better unit than I expected. Winning lots of tackles & disrupting well.

It’s becoming a tricky assignment now because Celtic lack proven attacking options off the bench due to the transfer window malaise. You’re probably looking at Yang (could be extremely good or bad) for the wing & Shin or Kenny for Idah. Another game where Idah’s service hasn’t been great but he needs to be doing more to get involved himself. I think Engels should come on too, as his athleticism/running power & set piece delivery might be the best route to a goal. It’s not panic stations but the experienced players need to produce something.

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It’s a 5 year average on coefficients and is hampered by the other Scottish teams underperforming too.

So the collective points are divided by 5 because there are 5 Scottish teams in Europe. Then the seeding falls. The number of teams reduces to 4 so the average increases because Celtic and Rangers make up half the points and they claw back up the rankings. Then 5 teams in Europe and the cycle repeats.

Also Celtic are champions’ path which is one of the few good UEFA qualifying rules. So they can only play teams who won their domestic league.

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Im usually more optimistic than you but I thought that was abject. And it’s the same system we can never get to grips with.

A McGregor red card and a 1-1 draw.

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Ray was complaining about Idah dropping deep in the first half. I didn’t think he came short anywhere near enough. It allows them to drop off completely

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I’m catching up late, but Forrest looked the best player in the last televised game.

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How’s that not a penalty ?