Forster
Matthews Ambrose Van Dijk Izaguirre
Forest Brown Ledley Samaras
Commons
Stokes
Zaluska Baldé Biton Pukki O’Connell Atajic Rogic
Disappointed to see Balde been overlooked yet again.
Would have liked to see Atajic start. And Biton. Stokes is in really dreadful form, every bit as poor as Pukki has been.
And with Stokes playing so poorly for quite a while now. That said, Balde has looked terrible for the most part. I’d like them to give Atajic a game or two.
He has scored 2 goals in 149 minutes in the SPL and can’t get a look-in to the squad despite the fact our other strikers are in terrible form.
Commons. A terrific season from him.
Great finish by Commons following a smashing move.
His touch and timing is way off standard. I’m sure you’d acknowledge this if you watched Celtic matches regularly.
Glad you can make snap judgements on a guy who is new at the club and who is only getting spells of 10 and 15 minutes on the pitch.
But then again you were defending Hooper last season who went over 600 consecutive minutes without a goal in the SPL. Balde might seem ungainly at times but he is someone who is comfortable playing up front on his own. Lennon doesn’t seem to have a clue about a team’s balance as he regularly players in uncomfortable positions just to accommodate his favourites.
[quote=“Rudi, post: 879329, member: 1052”]Glad you can make snap judgements on a guy who is new at the club and who is only getting spells of 10 and 15 minutes on the pitch.
But then again you were defending Hooper last season who went over 600 consecutive minutes without a goal in the SPL. Balde might seem ungainly at times but he is someone who is comfortable playing up front on his own. Lennon doesn’t seem to have a clue about a team’s balance as he regularly players in uncomfortable positions just to accommodate his favourites.[/quote]
Hooper was brilliant for Celtic, you idiot.
He was a fat impostor on the European stage. My Juventus supporting mate said he was the worst striker he had ever seen play in the CL last 16.
Surprise, surprise…a Scottish referee badly positioned and blocking a player as Forrest shoots. The amount of times these idiots get hit by the ball and obstruct players is laughable.
Yet his goals were crucial in us qualifying for the last 16 in the first place and Kris Commons is on record as saying his departure was the main reason we only managed 3 goals in 6 Champions League games this season.
His performances in Lisbon and Barcelona were the main reason we came away empty handed. His absence at home to Barcelona was the main reason we came away a win in that game. Hooper is not a self-sustaining footballer.
That’s ridiculous - Hooper was a key player in our European success. In fairness, you didn’t even realise Samaras had played upfront at home to Barcelona when it was discussed again here recently so I won’t pay much attention to your conclusions.
[quote=“Rudi, post: 879329, member: 1052”]Glad you can make snap judgements on a guy who is new at the club and who is only getting spells of 10 and 15 minutes on the pitch.
But then again you were defending Hooper last season who went over 600 consecutive minutes without a goal in the SPL. Balde might seem ungainly at times but he is someone who is comfortable playing up front on his own. Lennon doesn’t seem to have a clue about a team’s balance as he regularly players in uncomfortable positions just to accommodate his favourites.[/quote]
Balde is not comfortable playing up front on his own. He has no ability to retain possession or link up play at all. His touch is simply nowhere near good enough.
Stokes has been absolutely dire here. Standing offside most of the time and letting the ball bounce off him on the odd occasion he’s been involved.
He was not a key player. He was anything but, I remember watching those games and Hooper was noticeable as this rotund figure who trudged around the same three of four yards, letting the ball bounce off him anytime he received to feet and giving cheap free kicks away when the ball went up high to him by not competing for it and fouling the defenders with his arse.
He can’t sustain himself unless his team dominates the game and his refusal to close the opposition down as well as his offer an outlet for his team when they are struggling means he will never make it at a high level.
Neither was Gary Hooper’s.
Good save by Forster following a Caley break after a bizarre fresh air swipe by Stokes when we were attacking.
Gary Hooper has an excellent touch. He was involved in many goals where he took the ball in under pressure and exchanged quick passes with other players. To suggest otherwise is the bizarre ramblings of a child obsessed with “vindication” who ridiculously claimed that Anthony Stokes was a better player than him.