Sin e
Invest in the squad
We were blessed to get away with that.
Make no mistake Gio is beginning to get a tune out of the Huns …can’t believe Leipzig have game tomorrow night …
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The CL cash will be huge
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If the huns win the Europa, they get in too.
Yes but surely they are the worst team left
You’d hope so, but strange things happen.
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Very poor second half from Celtic. Quite fortunate to escape with a draw in the end. I thought we were regaining control of the game at the time the huns scored, but they had the 2 big chances at 1-1 in the last 10 minutes. Hart made a big save from some cunt (Arfield?) and then Sakala clean through hit the inside of the post. A fairly alarming drop off in intensity and we seemed to be physically shot in these last 2 derbies. They were able to find lots of spaces and there were loads of gaps to exploit. Our defensive shape was all over the place and we bottled it a bit in possession too. We were committed to playing out from the back but the bhoys back there didn’t seem to getting much movement ahead of them and it got fairly jittery. That said, we again missed a huge chance to go 2-0 up.
I said it after the last game but this is an ongoing rebuild. A lot of these players have done us a great turn this season but we need to be ambitious and look to upgrade in practically every area. I thought the centre backs, McGregor and Jota had strong games but there were some very dodgy individual displays. I felt Ralston and Hatate had nightmares. But there is a bigger picture here - winning the league would be a super season after finishing 20+ points behind last season and with a new manager and huge squad turnover. And there’s huge financial implications too.
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That’s exactly it … it’s some achievement… Gio has figured Ange out a bit in last two games …I’d still like to see a bit of a physical /nasty bastard in Celtic centre mid …
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You get a sense the Huns aren’t really grieving their league situation yet as everything has now been transferred to Thursday …Thursday night could be a real bursting of the dam …
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Yeah I’d never praise the huns but they’re usually dogged and go to the bitter end. They were biting into tackles and sharper to loose balls as the game went on. A few Celtic players got a little shy and we could do with a harder edge in the team.
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That’s on the money I think.
We didn’t really play well throughout. We had the better chances in the first half though Hatate caught in midfield and then Ralston napping at the back post could have gifted Kent a goal similar to the one Jota put away.
We were shaky at the start of the second half and settled just as we made the subs and created a couple of half chances before they scored. After that we threatened a few times but they had far more control. And the better chances. Even after the good save from Hart, they had what looked a good chance on the volley but fluffed it.
As others have said too we have looked decidedly lacking in pace and fitness in the second half. Maeda and Kyogo ran hard but we didn’t get a lift in energy from the bench. Giakoumakis in fairness battled very well but tired quickly I thought. Abada was frustrating with his touches and he needed to take more responsibility with fresh legs. Rogic was bright and then disappeared again.
Could Hart have done better for the goal? Haven’t seen it back since. Though he had that crucial save at 1-1. Thought Starfelt was excellent for about 70 minutes and then seemed to get a bit shaky. CCV was similar though he didn’t use the ball as well. Taylor probably played to his level. He was ok but relied on Starfelt a lot when they played the ball behind him. Ralston looked closer to previous seasons today. He’s been out of the team so can be excused a lack of sharpness but the fear is that’s more his standard performance in terms of technical ability anyway.
McGregor was very good in midfield. And had to cover for others who weren’t on their games again. Hatate looked lost and O’Riley was just ok.
Jota had a great game and Maeda was wasteful but his impact on the games is huge. Kyogo looks like he’s getting back to sharpness.
I think we’ve lots of improving to do still. We had a few under performers today and you can nearly right off anyone who didn’t come on in the second half given how tired we looked and nobody else was deemed good enough to introduce.
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I think Turnbull is an exception here. After his long term injury I reckon with a full pre season behind him he’ll be pushing to get back in as a starter.
Re their goal, it was obviously the old “beaten at his near post” type but he absolutely fizzed it and it had a subtle bend on it so it started outside the post and barely crept in. Sakala is shit technically so he no more meant to put that shape on it, he just swung at it as hard as he could. I wouldn’t blame Hart and his save from Arfield after it effectively secured the league.
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Forgot about Turnbull. Yeah he’s certainly useful and looks a better player almost these days when we’re struggling for legs without him.
Fair enough on the goal - wasn’t sure but I’ll trust your judgement on it.
After last year, every save is a novelty.
Agree re the goal. Sakala just hit it perfectly.
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At the start of the season I would have settled for Celtic pushing Sevco close and maybe being 8/10 points behind at the season end. Look at the mess Ange inherited, being appointed well into the summer, chronic fitness levels and a general malaise lingering on after the previous incumbent. AP has had 2 windows to get his own players in, a poor start and has turned a six point deficit into a six point advantage. Realistically to be 3 points away from a title with one trophy already is unreal. Of course I would love to have seen a win today but the draw keeps it in Celtics hands. On a side note the Sevco performance/ fitness/athletic department surely warrants a mention with the energy levels of their players. Have they ever looked at how other sports teams e.g Sky Cycling maintain such high levels of performance?
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I doubt the huns could organise a decent doping programme or pay for it tbh.
I actually wondered the same about Celtic stamina levels under Rodgers to be honest.
I think the last decade or so contributed to an unrealistic assessment of what any team should aspire to in Glasgow. We went from utter dominance to twelve months of utter dominance for the huns. The idea of trebles and whitewash seasons should be the exception, not the norm.
I’ve a few drinks taken and I’ve serenaded every republican hero of the last 200 years or so and I’m of a very sunny disposition now. We’ve taken 7 points against the huns this season and they’ve had to make do with 4. That’s great progress from our horrible year last year. And we’ve beaten all the decent teams in Scotland home and away while they’ve struggled. Our record since the opening set of games is terrific.
We can do lots of improving, and we can afford to invest more than them, but regardless the priority today was not letting them win. We’d have been thrilled with that sort of result and performance 12 months ago. We were in a horrible state - as bad as ever really given all the players determined to leave. Ange has done a terrific job. A bit like how I run TFK.
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I’d have taken wan wan before kickoff.
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