The Official Glasgow Celtic Thread

[champers]

On 9/8/2020 at 8:15 AM, hackjam said:

And 2 stunning strikes from Haaland.

Ajer does look to have refocused, thankfully.

Haaland is a beast; can't wait for someone in the Prem to stump up the readies for him. 

[balo]

On 9/9/2020 at 8:59 AM, champers said:

Haaland is a beast; can't wait for someone in the Prem to stump up the readies for him. 

Not sure if he wants to go there yet, Real Madrid also high up on the list of clubs. 
Still young , just hope he can keep developing and avoid serious injuries.

We need him to score the goals for Norway , we should be guaranteed a place in the Euros with him playing, never seen him miss the target.  
 

[mrbojangles]

4 hours ago, balo said:

Not sure if he wants to go there yet, Real Madrid also high up on the list of clubs. 

 

Reckon it'll be Leeds if they stay up and show promise

[hackjam]

Celtic made the trip to the highlands and racked up a fine win against a spirited County, who did cause us a few problems.

NL went with 3 at the back and, more importantly, 2 up front.

Eddy got fouled and scored from the spot early doors, then Ajeti poached a goal and we went in 2 up at HT.

Duffy with a trade mark header put the game to bed. NL used his bench, good to see debut for Turnbull and also game time for Soro. Ajer gets our 4th after good work by Nicham and then Polish Pat gets on the score sheet after unselfish work by MoEly, having earlier missed a sitter.

Our keeper done well with a few fine saves. CalMac was on set piece duty, not much improvement.

Next up is a mid week trip to a poor St Mirren side, so would expect/like to see some squad rotation. Maybe 3 changes, not too much disruption. 

[salty]

Only saw the highlights but 2 early goals made for a stress free afternoon checking on updates. Satisfying to see a good goal tally. Ajeti continues to impress with 3 from3.  Latest rumour has Arsenal sniffing at French eddy so you never know.  Defence looked dodgy at times and we would hope more games will bring all up to speed including Shane Duffy. Goalie bailed us out on one or two occasions.

 

A humorous aside from Duffy goal was Jullien was flattened and was looking for a penalty before realising that Celtic had scored.

 

Soro seemed to have impressed in his 20 minutes or so action. We have so many midfielders now that I hope Lennon does not continue to indulge sacred cows but spreads the load between them. With so many games coming up some squad rotation would be a sensible option at times. 3 points again on Wednesday hopefully. 

[hackjam]

5 hours ago, salty said:

was Jullien was flattened and was looking for a penalty before realising that Celtic had scored.

Yea, and it was Duffy who flattened him.

[hackjam]

Great news Boli away to Turkey for a years loan, with option to buy, hopefully never see this <deleted> in a Celtic top again. Can see us bringing in a left back/wing back now, as we are  light in this position.

Also, young Robertson away to Gillingham on loan, good move for him, was never going to get a look in, as we are so well stacked in midfield.

[hackjam]

3 points from one of our "Boli" games in hand, but a poor performance.

They score a way too easy goal from a corner in 3rd min, we get 2 headed goals in first half. Second half, Eddy had a chance to calm the nerves but was way too casual with penalty. 

Taylor was rank rotten, no way is he a wing back, maybe a left back in a 4 4 2, every time he gets the ball, its stop, play a long pass backwards. Not once did he play a forward pass and cannot go past his man.

It was a typical Celtic performance against a packed defense, all that sideways passing with no penetration. That Brown/CalMac/Christie midfield trio just does not cut it. Christie is hot and cold, had 2 assists and won penalty,  but was so wayward with passing, just needs to chill, show more composure. Klimala was non existent, ElHam sloppy.

Hard for me to even pick a MOM. Also hard to take any positives, except for taking 3pts, Duffy looks real deal, another goal and Ajer looking focused and doing what he does best, carrying out the ball from the back.

[salty]

Not a relaxing evening looking at score updates but thankfully 3 points. Seems to have been many concerning aspects of our performance. Interesting piece on our defending set pieces .

 

https://www.celticquicknews.co.uk/ominous-sign-despite-the-win/

 

We can go top on Saturday if only for 24 hours with a good win .

[hackjam]

Celtic back on top of SPL after a nervy ending against Livi.

No Eddy in line up, getting impossible to predict Lennon's starting 11.

Ajer unlucky to get penalized for hand ball as he was falling, keeper almost got to spot kick. Instant reaction from Celtic, great finish from CMcG, and then he slips in Taylor who crossed for Christie to stab home.  Early in second half, great play by Nicham and Christie slip in Ajeti for thumping finish. And we are coasting, then nobody closes down Livi player who cracks a shot from outside the box and beats keeper, I reckoned keeper should have saved it, not exactly in the corner and from well outside box. So a nervy last 15min, saw us present a headed chance to Livi in injury time but we held on, very nervy. Also, saw a shocking hack at Christie that should have been a straight red.

Frimprong a lot more dynamic and direct on right wing, CMcG and Ollie played well, moved ball quickly and Christie sharp also. Big improvement from Taylor.

Good to see Rogic on subs bench, he should make a difference against packed defenses, just hoping to see Griff back soon. But the one I am hoping for most is Micky J.

 

Not sure how unique this photo is

 

[salty]

He ain't heavy he's my brother.

[salty]

Another anxious finale as we held on for 3 points. Ajeti's goal absolute belter. This guy looks as if he will be a huge signing. 

Poor again defensively. 2nd Livi goal the guy had acres of space to get in the shot  and late chance conceded which thankfully was not availed of. We cannot expect to keep getting away with this substandard defending.

 

Now only 1 point behind after today which is welcome after Boligate put us on the back foot. Latvia on Thursday . Surely we cannot cock this up but would welcome some convincing displays. 

 

 

 

 

[salty]

Another dreadful performance in Europe saw us labour to victory with a 90th minute winner from Elyonoussi not long on as a sub for the ineffective Eddy. As expected Celtic had plenty possession but the same ponderous build up made Riga's task defending much easier. In a dreadful 1st half Celtic created very little. The one break we got was when Forrest had to off injured midway through the half and Frimpong came on. Straight away he showed the urgency that was completely lacking and went on to easily be the man of the match. Calmac had the best chance but chose to pass across goal where 2 defenders were well placed to prevent Frimpong from scoring.

 

The 2nd half was a mirror image of the first with Celtic well on top but apart from little Jeremie they were overplaying and passing for passing sake, Riga were doubling up on him at every opportunity as he was the main danger. As usual Ajeti was introduced with 20 minutes to go and almost scored straight away after more good work from Frimpong. The little guy on the right wing was being fed at every opportunity and creating danger . Finally in the 90th minute he was put away by Christie and he pulled it back for Eli to shoot across goal and into the far corner. Not reassuring for next weeks trip to Sarajevo. We may have won there last season 3-1 but of tonight's form we are more than capable of going out.

 

Another annoying aspect was the clown with the drums. How one wished that someone would have suggested a place to shove his drumsticks for everyones sake.

Edited September 24, 2020 by salty

[hackjam]

Dreadful performance against a rank rotten side that parked the bus, as many SPL sides do. Again, we could not figure out how to break them down. So many aspects of our play are worrying. This whole stringing passes together and going nowhere, its like we are obsessed with passing the ball to Brown, instead of moving it forward, take a chance now and again, so what if we loose possession, they are not going to hurt us. And when we get a free kick in their half, get the big guns up and get the ball into the danger zone, instead of starting that passing sideways all over again. When is NL going to realize that Brown is not capable of playing 3 games every 8 days? Taylor is a decent player, works hard but not a wing back, just have to look at Frimprong to see what a wing back is. Too many times he is totally isolated. Surely someone like Connell or even Turnbull is worth a try there? Christie is a box to box midfielder but he just gets shoehorned into roles. These tight games age crying out for someone like Rogic. Or play Elham in the 10 role.

Hard to take any positives from that performance, apart from Jerry. Bitton was solid.

Next up is a short turnaround and a decent Hibs side will come to Glasgow on Sunday with a game plan, cant see them parking a bus.

[hackjam]

Decent performance, with lots of positives. Hibs dont sit in and this suits us. We get the all important early goal from a neat long range strike from CMcG. Then Ajeti poaches a goal and we are 2 up at the break.

Turnbull came on at HT for Christie and was excellent, looks a player. It took us till the 80th min before we put the game to bed, with a peach of a goal by Ely, after great link up play between Eddy and Turnbull.

So lots of positives, Frimprong again outstanding, Turnbull looks a player, Ajeti again scores, think its 5 goals in 6 games, 3 starts. The game suited Brown, who ran the game and seemed sharp. Taylor has improved over the last few games and is a hard working guy.

There were a few negatives. Duffy got totally rinsed a few times with balls over the top and each time, he seemed to initially be in control of the situation but loses out in the windup, instead of attacking the ball. An injury to Ajeti just when he seemed to be approaching full fitness and a decent run of form.

NL just plays Brown too much, that's 4 games in 11 days, game suited Brown yesterday and we will need his knowhow in midweek in Europe. What winds me up is we have so many options, Bitton, CalMac, Nicham, Soro could all do a job in that role, especially against sides that park bus. Guy is 35 and so important for us, in certain games.

 

[hackjam]

Next up is a trip on Thursday to Bosnia, just hope NL goes 2 up top, with Eddy and Pat.

Was encouraging to see both Griff and Tam on the bench at weekend. 2 vital players for us, especially in tight bus parking games.

Would have been good to see both given last 15min, when that 3rd goal went in. 

[salty]

Highlights again. In general reasonably encouraging. Turnbull getting plenty of rave reviews on his 2nd half showing. Looks like he has plenty of dash in him and would speed up service from midfield. Surely should start next Sunday if not in Sarajevo. 

 

Injury to Ajeti bad news. His reaction speed in the area makes him a very effective force. Duffy caught out badly twice. In general defence continues to be very dodgy.  We seem to have got away with it last Sunday but if we continue to ride our luck we will eventually pay the price.

    

[hackjam]

So Celtic make it into group stages of Europa league, think draw is tomorrow.

No real surprises in NL starting 11, did loose Biton after 5min, and we struggled first half to create anything against a well organized and cynical side, who did look dangerous on the break, mainly due to our poor defending. Duffy went for a header when Ajer was in a good position from a set piece, Eddy totally ineffective in our style of play, always well marked, Taylor did slip in behind a few times but poor cross attempts, Christie was the one  looking most likely to create something. We did create just one chance first half, in 40min, Christie with a nice pass to Eddy, who flicked up for Ely to volley at keeper, so went in scoreless at HT.

Just feel that sometimes, instead of this side to side play, we take a chance with a ball over the top, its not as if they will hurt us if we lose possession when they have 11 men behind the ball.

 

Second half started positively, Taylor with better crosses, Ajer with a chance from a corner, Ely with a shot on target, Jerry making good headway on the right and Duffy dominating at the back and they were coughing up possession cheaply. ElHam with a volley wide from another corner on  67min. And then on 70min, good build up play by Ely and Christie shoots, keeper spills and Eddy taps in for a more than a deserved lead. Christie draws a save from keeper, then from a break, Christie unable to finish after being set up by Eddy, who was then withdrawn. 85 min Ollie on for Christie, great run and shot by Jerry just wide. They came at us for the last 15min but offered nothing in attack, don’t think our keeper had a save to make all night, which shows how bad they were.

Christie was our best player, Jerry good on the right, Taylor battled gamely, as did Brown, Duffy commanding at the back. 

[CelticBhoy]

The draw is in Switzerland this evening (6pm Thai time).

We've managed to get ourselves into Pot 1 - how that happened is beyond me!?!

[salty]

Because we are dropping down from CL I imagine CB.

 

Only seen a minute or two highlights of last nights game. From what I have read poor 1st half better 2nd half. The recurring problem is we are not punishing sides against whom we have plenty possession by creating good chances. The winner while welcome unlikely to be a candidate for goal of the season.

 

Sparta Prague, AC Milan and Lille. If the real Celtic turn up we should have a decent chance of going through but if the overplaying ponderous version turns up I would not be optimistic. 

 

St Johnstone on Sunday. Surely an ideal time to give game time to some of the other squad members and not be flogging the same old players to death.

[CelticBhoy]

Here's a handy wee set of dates for you:

[salty]

The Prodigal Son returned today to get us out of a hole we had dug ourselves into. In the 90th minute Griff headed a superb goal from a cross from Elmahed to get us out of jail again just like the Dundee Utd game. An excellent 2nd by Polish Pat in the last minute of injury time gave us a flattering 2-0 win.

 

It was in the main another dreadful Celtic performance . The usual slow build up made life easy for St Johnstone and their keeper had an easy day until the last 15 minutes or so when the subs began to have an effect. 

 

In the first half we created nothing apart from an early penalty we should have got when Duffy had his jersey pulled at a corner. Even the usual bundle of energy was struggling due to lack of room. I wondered was it because Elmahed was behind him and inadvertently denying him space. Too much passing as usual going nowhere and several mindless long balls overhit mainly by Duffy. Eddie had another poor game . Like most of the others unable to control the ball on that damn plastic pitch. It was a dreadful game to watch.

 

We had an escape early in the 2nd half when the Saints cannoned one off the post.  But for most of the 2nd half we continued to toil until the cavalry arrived in the closing stages. Duffy headed over a corner from a good position but our deliveries were mostly rubbish as well as free kicks.

 

But then Griff produced the rescue act. Send for the fatted calf.

 

Another International break is upon us and we are not in action for 2 weeks when we have the Glasgow Derby, home game v AC Milan and away to Aberdeen. I would not be bursting with optimism.

[hackjam]

Yea, but what a relief when Griff burried that header. But we were rank rotten for most of the game. We seem to be like this for 60 or 70min each game, never testing the keeper. NL again slow to make changes.

The linesman had a perfect view of Duffy being fouled in first half. Turnbull was a bit of a let down, was delighted when I saw he was starting. And his set pieces were terrible also. Nicham continues to frustrate the hell out of me, been here 3 years and cannot nail down a position, with his talent, he should be running the show. I would happily cash in on him now. 

I do feel for Eddy, this half arsed effort of a support striker is nonsense, Christie Ely even Forrest does not cut it. NL has to play a proper, time served striker beside Eddy to get the best out of him-Ajeti, Griff or Paddy. Paddy did take his goal well after a terrible tackle, showed great determination, and looks to be getting street wise. I also feel for Taylor, he is not a LWB, he is a full back. And we continue to play Christie out of position, he is a box to box midfielder, not a 10, not a winger.

Ajer continues to be solid, I reckon with Duffy beside him, he is more confident.

Actually feel we may have turned a corner with that result, Griff and Tam also are just the type of men to unlock against the bus parkers. 

Also, a few interesting left sided players linked, will see over the next few hours. 

[hackjam]

A big welcome to Diego, seems to tick most boxes and a position we were crying out for, apparently he is an attacking LWB and can also play RWB. And, more importantly, we keep hold of all our big hitters.

This is the standard we need to be signing, I know its only a loan and no option to buy.

I believe he is not going away to play internationals, so he will have the guts of 2 weeks to bed in, hopefully starts our next game. 

Board have backed manager, he has the squad now. Up to NL to unlock the potential.

We have had a good run of results but we are not playing well, too much of this playing the safe pass constantly needs to stop-take a chance, not as if most of our opponents are going to hurt us if we cough up possession. And get back to playing 2 up front.

[hackjam]

First casualty of the dreaded Int break, Eddy with a positive test, has to isolate for 10 days.

Not sure what is going on with Bitton, hurt his ankle, misses St J game and ends up with the Israel squad, surely he should have stayed with Celtic for treatment?

Forrest out for another month, not sure where Mickey Johnston is fitness wise, should be due back soon.

Only spark of good news is Ajeti looks to return to full training at end of this week. 

[salty]

More bad news.

 

https://www.bbc.com/sport/football/54453593

 

In the present climate these goddam Internationals are not worth the trouble. People coming from everywhere to meet up,

[hackjam]

As the Russian roulette of Internationals continues, 2 more of our players, Bitton and now ElHam are positive, and worrying, ElHam had developed symptoms, so hopefully will make a full recovery.

And you just get the feeling, its not the end of it.

With Elham, Forrest and Christie, we are really light on the right flank, so looking like we will be forced to go 3 at the back.

[balo]

Some rumors in Norway today that Ajer is on his way to AC Milan.  But his agent has not confirmed anything. 

[salty]

Hopefully we will get through the last International fixtures of this break without further bad news. My main concern for Sunday would be in the midfield area, We were 2nd best by a long way in this area in the 2 December Glasgow derbies. With both Brown and Ntcham both likely to play I fear we will be overrun again as Brown is too slow and Ntcham is no greyhound either. 

 

I hope I am wrong but I envisage us having to do plenty of firefighting.  I envisage a very nervy 90 minutes.

[hackjam]

3 hours ago, balo said:

Some rumors in Norway today that Ajer is on his way to AC Milan.  But his agent has not confirmed anything. 

Stay till end of season and he will go with everyone's blessing.

Just hope we have the foresight to have a replacement lined up well in advance.