McCourt was involved this season more than any other and while he got injured at a couple of important times he still had a fairly significant role. I doubt heāll ever become a nailed-down first team starter but Iād expect him to be retained and to be used reasonably frequently.
Thoughts on team selection tonight, bhoys? We need the win to take it to the last day. Kilmarnock arenāt very good and Iād expect the huns to beat them 47 times out of 49 but what if Sunday is one of the other 2 occasions? Something strange may happen like Bougherra colliding with McGregor and leaving some cunt to tap the ball into an empty net or someone with a Fenian type surname making himself a hero by scoring a 30-yard rocket for Killie - Clancy or Kelly perhaps?
Stokes and Samaras are available having been suspended on Sunday but he might be tempted to retain Murphy - he battled well enough on Sunday and improved as the game progressed. I think Iād leave Forrest out but I donāt want to see Maloney on the team sheet in a wide midfield role. Not a whole lot of options and not sure if heād fancy chucking McCourt in at Tynecastle. I donāt know if Izzy is hamstrung or if taking him off on Sunday was a precaution. Centre of midfield will need to be on their games and I wonder would he be tempted to play Mulgrew in midfield (like at Ibrox at New Yearās) with maybe Commons switching wings. Weād be more compact rather than that shitty 4-2-4 with out and out wingers thatās cost us in too many games. This is the type of game that Lennon seems to favour Sammy for too.
Forster,
Wilson, Rogne, Maj, Izzy,
Commons, Brown, Ki, Mulgrew,
Hooper, Murphy/Stokes.
Absolutely odd that Zaliukas thing from the weekend but, if I was betting, I reckon theyād only love to formally end Celticās title chances and theyāll be right up for it.
Had written a post here a few minutes ago but seem to have lost it. Anyway my thoughts in summary format this time:
- Agree with the back 5
- I like Forrest. Heās direct. Heād give Templeton something to think about defensively. Heās never far from scoring. I think he gives good balance with Commons so Iād start him.
- I donāt like changing teams around based on opposition and I donāt think Hearts should be influencing our selection too much. If weāre not good enough we may as well find out instead of hding players when tough fixtures come around
- Iām a big fan of Stokes & Hooper together. Play them.
I donāt know Rocko. Heās got lovely skill and all and can give you the odd moment of genius against the likes of St. Mirren or Falkirk etc but overall his contribution just isnāt enough. He would need to be playing regular first team football to have even a sniff of getting to the required level of fitness but he wonāt get that at Celtic barring injuries to others, with Commons having that position nailed down now. I canāt remember the last time I thought āyeah, McCourt did wellā when heās come on. He just doesnāt have the athleticism required Iām afraid.
It seems that weāve given Sammy a contract extension solely to play in away games at Ibrox and Tynecastle. :lol:
Other surprises too. Loovens comes back in out of the blue and heās pushed Mulgrew into midfield, which I mooted earlier.
Celtic XI:
Forster;
Wilson, Majstorovic, Loovens, Izaguirre;
Commons, Brown, Ki, Mulgrew;
Samaras & Hooper.
Celtic bench: Zaluska, Rogne, Cha, Forrest, Stokes, Maloney & Murphy.
I do like Lennon but donāt understand that. Itās only fucking Hearts. At least they have a reasonable pitch. We should be going there to pass those fuckers out of the game, not to look for a battle.
Itās not that Sammy doesnāt deserve a game but we need goals and drop one of our two goalscorers. We know Loovens isnāt good enough. It was Tynecastle that cost him his starting place last time, why drop Rogne so?
Not as worried by Mulgrew as he did well when picked in midfield but the Huns hammered these fuckers with their usual team and weāre inventing solutions to play them.
Thatās a shocking team IMO.
We donāt even have McCourt on the bench if things arenāt going well, instead we have that utter shitebag Maloney there. The front two is bemusing to say the least, Hooper has done nothing lately and Samaras is Samaras. Would have liked to have seen Stokes and Murphy there tonight instead. Would have also given Juarez a crack in the middle of the pitch and played Brown on the right where he is far more effective. As for Loovens at centre backā¦baffling.
A couple of really questionable selections all right. I too donāt think we need to have specific āawayā tactics and I believe we should set up to focus mainly on our strengths rather than placing overdue consideration on negating them. Stokes and Hooper destroyed Hearts in the 4-0 game at Celtic Park in January and I think they should have been paired together. Not sure where the Loovens call came from, as has been said.
As I suggested earlier on this thread one of the reasons weāre not winning the league is because we havenāt had a settled side this season. Thatās understandable in Lennonās first season, particularly with the squad he inherited.
But, it doesnāt explain dropping Stokes when he is playing as well as ever. It doesnāt explain bringing Loovens in from nowhere. And it doesnāt explain Maloney being immune to dropping out of contention when his form goes shite.
That team should still be good enough to win at Tynecastle but it reinforces the idea that weāre a bit frightened of Hearts. Theyāre in awful form, theyād doubtless enjoy getting a result tonight, but that should be all the motivation we need to destroy them. We can and should be trying to do that with inventive football and controlling the ball.
Surely Juarez is going to be sold in the summer? Ā£4m worth, two first choice central midfielders out and heās not even on the bench.
Donāt think anyone understands whatās going on with Juarez. Started well, had one or two off-field issues, was poor against the huns and has disappeared from sight since. Canāt afford to have him not playing so I expect heāll be moved on alright. I think heās a decent player though, so itās a pity he hasnāt had a chance but we donāt really know the full reasons why I expect.
As for McCourt Sid - well he did come on last week (albeit as a last throw of the dice) so heās still trusted to try and change a game. I think thatās his general brief to be honest. Heāll be used more to change the pace of a game and I donāt think thatās necessarily a problem because he has delivered from that role. He did start a few games in a row around Christmas though, including one excellent performance at Ibrox which proved he is capable of 90 minutes against the best this league has to offer.
A very slack start by Samaras, Hooper looking much sharper though.
Fans fantastic.
Yas!
Well done Commons, cool finish by Hooper.
Lovely play, composure and pass by Commons and a neat finish by Hooper. 
Cracking start. Commons has been really lively. Nice tidy finish from Hooper too.
Ian Black is some thug. Horrible bastard.
Ah this is wonderful from the travelling support. Magnificent setlist so far.
Really bossing the game now but Sammy not having much luck with his first touch and Mulgrew has been fairly quiet.
Brown complaining to Wilson about the cutback there! He may want to take a look at his disgraceful effort to play Commons in. Heās playing well but that sort if sloppiness is unforgiveable.
Really should have made it 2-0 there. Brown has started very well but that was a very unsympathetic pass to Commons. Unlucky from the rebound off the post then.
Brilliant.
The IRA will set them free.