Glasgow Celtic

[CelticBhoy]

JOHN COLLINS last night insisted Celtic boss Ronny Deila is still desperate to land John Guidetti despite the Swede being ineligible for the Europa League.

The Hoops are waiting for FIFA approval for the Manchester City man to move to Parkhead on loan following the late collapse of his deal on deadline day.

If the switch now goes through, the striker - once dubbed the next Ibrahimovic - won’t be able to play in Europe until after the group stage.

[salty]

Celtic 2 Aberdeen 1

Celtic got back to winning ways again but it was far from convincing. They gave debuts to Tonev and Scepovic and Brown returned from a lengthy absence through injury. Celtic led in 7 minutes from a corner when Ambrose was free to shot from close in and it deflected off Denayer in. The Nigerian was again dodgy in defense and from an ill advised back pass Aberdeen were nearly in. Aberdeen were lively and created several tense moments for the home support.

Celtic went 2-0 up straight from the 2nd half kick off. McGregor free on the wing crossed for Commons whose shot looked to be covered by Langfield but it deflected off Logan and into the opposite corner for a fortuitous goal. Aberdeen got one back on the hour when Considine climbed to head a centre back across goal and Goodwillie scored from close in. Van Dijk badly at fault by not covering.Brown who had played a forceful game was taken off as he was running out of steam. He was replaced by Guidetti. Kayal came on for scepovic and Bitton replaced Tonev with 20 minutes to go. Celtic had chances in the last 20 minutes but so had Aberdeen who were getting more of the midfield play. The principal feeling at the end was one of relief. None of the newcomers made a big impression but its early days. Wakaso was on the bench and as yet has not played.

Next up is the Europa League game away to Salzburg.

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Celtic drew 2-2 in Salzburg after twice being ahead. In fact they were fortunate to get a point as they were under pressure for the vast majority of the game. Salzburg looked far sharper and at times seemed to have 2 extra men on the pitch against a slow uninspired Celtic. Craig Gordon was the Celtic hero making several excellent saves behind a dodgy defense. After 13 minutes Celtic went ahead with a terrific goal from Wakaso playing his first game. After a throw in the ball was shuttled across the field to him and he met the ball perfectly to hammer a terrific shot into the corner of the net. But that seemed to be the signal for Celtic to stop competing and the ball was constantly coming back into the danger area as Celtic seemed unable to hold onto the ball. Ambrose gave away a free from which Ramalho raced across a sleeping defense and got in a terrific header but Gordon made a great save. An equalizer seemed inevitable and it duly arrived in the 35 minute. Denayer slipped and de Carvalho's shot got a deflection off Ambrose to leave Gordon helpless. A fortunate goal perhaps but well deserved on the run of play.

Gordon made a good block early in the 2nd half and Scepovic was only just wide with an ambitious lob form well out. A terrific double save from Gordon followed then Scepovic who was beginning to get some kind of service crossed a decent ball from the end line . It was headed well clear but Brown striding on it fired in a good shot which deflected slightly past the keeper to give Celtic the lead completely against the run of play. Celtic began to get more of the ball and attack but when attacks broke down they were under pressure from the fast moving Austrians. Having survived a free kick in the 75th minute Salzburg leveled 2 minutes later from another free kick. Izaguirre far too slow in the tackle. A terrific effort from Soriano which gave Gordon no chance. Celtic held on in the final stages to get a draw.

It was again nerve wracking watching Celtic. They continue to be slow and uninspired. Contrary to the rubbish in recent days about having a good run in the competition they will be fortunate to get out of the group. The only good points is the continued good displays from Gordon and Wakaso who looks like a guy up for it and prepared to scrap for everything.

[Chicog]

But on the bright side, the No's win so they'll be able to continue in the competition.

[CelticBhoy]

Fine report, Salty old son.

Thank God for our goalie . . .

[salty]

A 3-0 win for Celtic over Hearts in the League Cup tonight at Parkhead sounds very convincing but there were some very anxious moments. Hearts had a decent spell early on and the Celtic defense as ever was far from secure. Gordon had to rush out to clear to touch when Van Dijk was beaten for pace. Denayer was late on a tackle and was booked. Celtic began to press and Commons Guidetti and Stokes all had decent efforts. Celtic went ahead in 24 minutes Izaguirre crossed Wilson facing his own goal ill advisedly headed backwards straigt to Guidetti who lashed it home off the inside of the post. Alexander made a good save to prevent an og and Van Dijk in a good position wasted a good opportunity. Right on HT Celtic got out of jail. Stokes made a risky back pass to Denayer who was fast asleep. Walker was on to it and clean through. He hammered past Gordon but hit the crossbar and it rebounded clear.

Celtic made a very careless start to the 2nd half. Ambrose with woeful ball control conceded a needless corner and O'Connell on for Denayer underhit a back pass to Gordon who raced out to clear. Then in 54 minutes Sow received the ball in the area where Van Dijk made a mindless challenge when there was no need and clipped his heels. Penalty to Hearts. Sow took a dreadful penalty and shot well over the bar. Within a minute Ambrose made a run and passed in the direction of Guidetti.The Swede was never going to get it but Ozturk made an even more stupid challege when there was no danger. Penalty for Celtic and Commons scored emphatically. 4 minutes later Eckersley tried to guide a cross from Stokes back to Alexander but only succeeded in scoring an og in the corner. Celtic could well have added 1 or 2 more in the closing stages.

Despite the emphatic final score the defense continues to be a worry. They made hard work on several occasions clearing their lines and outbreaks of stupidity are never far away.

In the draw for the 1/4 final Celtic will be at home to Partick Thistle.

[onionluke]

The sunday St Miren vs Celtic game is being shown on local television in Hong Kong . THe channel is - TVB Network Vision 301 Channel . They show a Scottish game every week . This might provide a means to catching the games when in Thailand.

http://special.hkjc.com/root/football/info/en/misc/tv_popup.asp

[CelticBhoy]

The game is on Saturday, not Sunday.

[onionluke]

The game is on Saturday, not Sunday.

That would have been a disapointment , I should get in from work tonight to catch the second half .

cheers CB.

[CelticBhoy]

Enjoy the game Onionluke.

I'll be steaming/streaming as usual.

And the wee bits you missed will be in Salty's report manyana.

[salty]

CB, Thanks to Sky Plus I was able to run the game at 6 times the speed in bursts in playback together with closing holes of the morning session of the Ryder Cup.Just stopped to see the goals so I am afraid no comprehensive report. Guidetti looks useful but another labored performance. Ryder Cup as ever is riveting.Odd looks at the Liverpool Derby also. An added complication in the afternoon was the All Ireland Hurling Final replay. Even with the right attitude I am exhausted from watching sport since yesterday morning.

Thankfully nothing of any note tomorrow to interfere with the singles at the Ryder Cup. I know you will understand.

[CelticBhoy]

Forgiven, Salty old son.

The golf was fantastic. Better than I ever expected.

[wilai]

^ Yeah, it was........shame about the local boy tho'

[Chicog]

^ Yeah, it was........shame about the local boy tho'

But they had to put him in or Slimey Salmond would have made a meal of it.

[mrbojangles]

How is John Guidetti settling in lads? I noticed he's scored 3 in the last week but is he looking good?

Sent from my GT-N8000 using Thaivisa Connect Thailand mobile app

[CelticBhoy]

How is John Guidetti settling in lads? I noticed he's scored 3 in the last week but is he looking good?

The whole team looks like they need to be introduced to each other properly.

Nothing impressive so far. Need a proper manager methinks.

Talking of 3 goals though . . . . . Hibs netted 3 sharpish to down the enemy yesterday.

[CelticBhoy]

No Chips For Celtic Players

The Hoops gaffer came out with all guns blazing ahead of tonight’s Europa League clash with Dinamo Zagreb, defending his attempt to modernise Scotland’s champs and install a new lifestyle strategy at their Lennoxtown HQ.

The Norwegian also hit back at Lennon who claimed it was “disrespectful” to criticise the fitness levels of the players he inherited in the summer.

And he warned anyone not prepared to buy into his methods should quit the club to play amateur football instead.

In a powerful pre-match media briefing Deila said: “You have to see from my squad what I was taking over.

“Some of the players were injured and had operations, some were coming in and were not where they should be. Others had not played for a long time. When I saw the tests they were doing I saw that they had a lot to improve.

“It’s not about what they were doing before. It’s all about how they are in the moment now. Maybe I see things differently from what Neil was doing.

“To be professional, for me, is to be a 24-hour athlete. If not then you can go and start working outside football. That’s not so hard. You can be amateur again.

“You have to understand that I can’t be stupid when I say things like that.

“If Neil gets irritated by me saying we can work on how we eat and improve that’s up to him.

“For me I think from what I have seen abroad and what I have experienced myself it’s important.

“We have different ways to do it. Do you think Andy Murray eats chips?”

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Celtic 1 Dinamo Zagreb 0.

A narrow win for Celtic after a harrowing game which had the faithful living on their nerves. On the run of play it was a fortunate win as Celtic were under severe pressure for most of the 2nd half. A great start saw Celtic go ahead in 7 minutes. A cross from Izaguirre was dummied by Commons who let it run to Stokes. an excellent pass by Stokes to Commons who fired home across the goal from a tight angle. Celtic were in control and Zagreb were hardly showing. But ominously in the 15 minute Eduardo had a free header from a cross over the bar. After 25 minutes Zagreb began to take control and a terrific effort crashed off the bar and away to safety. Celtic missed a great chance 4 minutes later when the Zagreb goalie miscontrolled the ball to Commons who played it across to Stokes who had an open goal. It was not the best of passes but Stokes was too slow to take advantage. Zagreb were taking over and a couple of shots were just over. Denayer under pressure spooned the ball in the air and Eduardo shot was straight at Gordon who blocked. Van Dijk had a good effort before half time but it was with relief the oasis of half time was reached.

At the start of the 2nd half Johansen had one of his runs through the Zagreb defense but as usual failed to control. This was a brief respite as Zagreb were dominating the play. Gordon saved the day again as Celtic like lemming converged on the man in possession leaving a forward free in front of goal. Gordon blocked his shot for a corner and berated his defence.. Van Dijk then gave it away but Brown got back to block for a corner. The pressure continued to mount. Zagreb were finding plenty of room in the Celtic half and looked far sharper but the Celts were surviving with some good tackles and good fortune. The only respite was when Celtic made the odd break upfield the Croats were conceding frees. Kayal came on for Commons after 67 minutes and Griffith for Wakaso. Gordon made another good save with 10 minutes to go. Denayer was booked for a foul on the edge of the area bur fortunately the free was into Gordon's hands. As the game entered 3 minutes injury time Zageb had a couple of corners and long throw ins but Celtic manged eventually to clear and played out the remainder of the game in the Croats half.

The feeling at the end was one of huge relief.

[CelticBhoy]

Fine report as always, Salty old son.

4 points from 6 so far is rather nice.

[salty]

Ross Co 0 Celtic 5

Much better from Celtic today after some very poor recent results. It has to be said that Celtic were helped by the absence of decent defending by Ross County. Celtic went ahead after 11 minutes when a Mulgrew free was headed on in the area and Guidetti from close range shot home. A suspicion of offside on this one though the onward header had glanced off a defender. A few minutes later it was 2. Johansen with a man of the match performance put Guidetti away on the right wing. He rolled it back to the inrushing McGregor with plenty of room finished emphatically. Stokes made in 3 on the half hour after receiving from Johansen with a nice curler into the corner. Within a few minutes it was 4 with Denayer firing in after a corner had been scrambled away.

Stokes made it 5 in 52 minutes with a fine shot in off the inside of the post in the absence of a challenge from outside the area. While it was pleasing to see such a clearcut win you had to fell sympathy for Mark Brown in the Ross County goal. Our hero in Moscow some years ago got very little cover.

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Celtic 2 Astra Giurgiu 1

3 more points for Celtic but anything but convincing. They had the majority of the play but Astra created much more danger and again we were grateful to Craig Gordon who made several good saves when it was scoreless. Celtic were sloppy giving the ball away due to poor control and poor passing.

Celtic had nearly all the play in the first 20 minutes but achieved very little apart from a terrible header by Mulgrew miles over the bar from a corner. Astra had hardly shown but in the 21st minute Gordon within 60 seconds had to block 2 good efforts with his chest and then his foot. Then Astra shot just wide from a decent chance. After 27 minutes Celtic had 7 corners to Astra's 1. Izaguirre had a dreadful cross when in a good position and shortly after a terrible free kick from Stokes. In between Mulgrew made a mindless pass across his own area but Celtic escaped again when Astra shot wide. Lustig was beginning to get in a few decent crosses and Scepovic had a very poor header when he had a good chance. Just before HT he set up Stokes for a close range shot but his shot was blocked by a defender. At half time the nightmare scenario was if Astra went ahead would Celtic be capable of coming back.

There was little sign of an improvement in the 2nd half. Scepovic had another very poor header under a bit of pressure in 52 minutes. A minute later Gordon saved a decent Astra shot. Tonev came on for McGregor after 56. An Astra shot just cleared the bar in the 59th minute and Tonev had a decent effort just wide. Wakaso repaced Mulgrew in the 67th minute and 5 minutes later he was fouled by a defender as he chased what seemed to be a lost cause out wide near the end line. For once Stokes took an excellent free kick and this time Scepovic rising well headed in off the underside of the bar. It seemed a more difficult chance than some of the ones he had missed, Celtic went 2 up in the 75th minute. Tonev had a decent cross. It should have been easy for Lung jnr but with a defender possibly blocking his view he just pushed it out to Johansen who smashed it in off the underside of the bar. ( Lung snr was the Romanian goalie in 1990 World Cup when Ireland won a penalty shoot out in Genoa. ) Just as we began to relax Astra got one back. One of their many good passes forward ball was centred Izaguirre as ever far too slow and more of a hindrance than a help to Gordon. His attempt to clear came back off Enache and into the net. Celtic managed to see it out till the end for 3 fortunate points.

The worrying aspect is the almost constant poor quality of the side. It is not surprising that they are dropping points like confetti in the SPL.

[CelticBhoy]

Nice wee 2-0 win against Killy yesterday.

Pump Partick on Wednesday and it's back

to the top and business as usual.

We'll be top of two leagues then . . . . nice.

[salty]

CB, It was with relief that I was checking the updates yesterday. Our home form has been most underwhelming of late. I like your alliteration but I would be wary of the game against our Glasgow rivals on Wednesday. Think Morton last year need I say more.

[CelticBhoy]

Partick pounded perfectly at Parkhead . . . . . 6-0.

Now who do we meet next in the Cup ?????

[CelticBhoy]

MANCHESTER City have slapped a staggering £5million January price tag on John Guidetti.

And Celtic could now face a major pre-contract battle in their bid to land their Swedish striker on a permanent basis.

After last night's humping of Partick he may well be worth it. Scored a hat-trick and is settling in well.

[salty]

Semi Final draw on Saturday. Guidetti really doing the business. Hope we can hang on to him.

[salty]

Semi final draw :

Celtic v New Rangers Weekend 31Jan/ Feb 1.

3 more points today 1-0 home win over ICT. Unimpressive display.

[champers]

Semi Final draw on Saturday. Guidetti really doing the business. Hope we can hang on to him.

Guidetti was a roaring success in Holland when he was on loan there. Look how well Bony and Pelle are doing in England after coming from Holland and £5M looks a snip. You'd have to resign yourself to having to sell him on eventually, but a nice profit could be coming your way.

[salty]

4th Round Cup draw

Hearts v Celtic. 29/30 November

[mrbojangles]

Semi Final draw on Saturday. Guidetti really doing the business. Hope we can hang on to him.

Guidetti was a roaring success in Holland when he was on loan there. Look how well Bony and Pelle are doing in England after coming from Holland and £5M looks a snip. You'd have to resign yourself to having to sell him on eventually, but a nice profit could be coming your way.

Every loan he goes out on he seems to do very well, so I can't understand why we haven't given him a proper run out.