Trust The Ones You Love?
Morning,all.
That was maybe a mixed bag on Sunday. It is always a pleasure to take five off anyone,maybe sometimes more of a pleasure when it is that mob.
Apart from the huns or Hearts,of course. And we’ve done that a few times.
Reminds me,about 35 years ago,I went over to Edinburgh to meet SOLKITTS and some Hearts-supporting friends,good weekend planned. They had a decent team at the time,and were well confident.
So was I. A pint a goal for the winning margin,I declared. Just to shut them up. Fuxake,five of them took me up on it!
Worse-my best mate disnae bet!
So,with two minutes to go,we are five up,trashing them. I’m on thirty pints here. Willie Johston scored in the last minute and knocked it back to a mere 25. Still way beyond me,even in my twenties.
Sunday,aye,maybe a 5-0 was a good bet. My Dad and a couple of others had it on Superbru. I’m sure it got hammered online too. In fact,we could have taken double figures off them,truth be told.
But did we actually play well? Did we perform to our best? Did we look like a team to be feared-despite the scoreline?
I’m not sure that we did,which was maybe what MAHE was getting at yesterday. I was impressed by the goals,especially the first two,but not by the overall play.
In fact,the overall play left me distinctly unimpressed.
Last season was a pleasure. An unexpected delight. We all know that,but we cannot take our eye off the ball. Yes,it is true that we have actually won the league at Rugby Park. But not on the third day of the season,we haven’t.
Eyes down,concentrate. Ange will be focused-and so too does the squad need to be. We played well on Sunday,does a 5-0 reflect that?
I don’t think we did,in fairness,and that 5-0 flattered us. We won’t get away with it every week,but Ange will know that.
Bloody hell,imagine going into work after giving the opponents a 5-0 doing on-haha,I was gonna say their home turf,there-and getting told by your boss that he was distinctly unimpressed.
But I think Ange will have been just that. I know that I was,even if the goals were stunning. The pass from GT,the strike from Jota,the overheads.
Bloody hell,how much does G-Mak want a goal,how much does he need to do to get a place?
But can we drop Kyogo?
Look,I’ve been watching our team since the 60s. Back then,I have seen us progress from the days of a mix of Bobby Lennox,Willie Wallace,John Hughes and Stevie Chalmers.
I’ve seen us with Harry Hood,Lou Macari and Kenny Dalglish.
Charlie Nick and George McCluskey.
Brian McClair and Judas,and the three amigos.
Best ever,maybe,was Henrik and The Evil Genius.
But life doesn’t stop. It moves on. And it will move on after Sunday too.
I think there’s a song about it. It don’t impress me much.
HH
Above article by BMCUWP
Morning Bobby / all
The question that remains unanswered for me is has the team improved from last season to the extent we can put up a better performance in Europe, and we will will discover that soon enough.
I’m certain we have not regressed any. The evidence on this season’s performances suggest we’ve taken up where we left off last season. Winning games, scoring goals, with the goals being shared amongst the team.
Our possession domestically remains very much on a par with last season. We generally have the bulk of it, at around 75 to 80%. Now and again, a little more than that.
Our passing accuracy is usually around the 80 to 85% too. Again, whilst obviously that leaves room for improvement, it’s not decreased any.
When we played Bodo at home last year, our stats were very similar to our domestic numbers. Lots of the ball, lots of attacks, similar numbers as we see in SPL matches.
The difference of course was the ability of the opposition. Despite being no world beaters they were able to hurt us in both games with clinical counter attacking.
Therein will lie the opportunity for us to determine just how much we/Ange has learned from those lessons of last year.
My thoughts at the moment are that even allowing for the fact the opposing sides will most definitely be above the level of Bodo, we will get a few goals. It’s middle to back we will need to be better. Have we added anything different to those areas? Are we stronger? If not, then Ange’s tactical nous will be called upon, because for sure, last season simply wasn’t good enough.
To be fair, Ange was building a side, had players settling into a new system, in a new country, and had started very poorly before embarking on an impressive domestic streak that is still running.
Has the luxury of having had a full pre season and transfer window allowed him to ensure it’ll be better this time around?
Let’s be absolutely pragmatic about this. If we draw a Man City or Liverpool or the like, it won’t matter which side Ange puts out, or in what format. It’ll be no different to Killie v Celtic last weekend. Better players courtesy of a better budget and a more competitive league every week, will triumph for sure.
It’s the matches v the pot 3 teams, and then potentially the EL matches that will provide the answers.
Domestically? Our next matches will hopefully confirm we are still the best in Scotland. The second of those two matches especially will give us an idea of whether or not we are ready to put up a better showing in Europe. Given the system GVB will employ, Ange’s tactics will be interesting.
None of the above written from a half empty glass perspective. Simply my thoughts on where we are at this point in time.
Morning all,
Jobo, well done on POTY 👏👏👏 An excellent addition to this great site.
Bobby, Regarding the Seafood Shack In Oban.
There are now 2 on Oban Pier with a Wetherspoons in between. Guess where I was. ???? ( For a drink only I may add ). The 2 Shacks we’re mobbed and sometimes I wish I loved seafood.
Regarding Wetherspoons, I reckon the view from there must be in a “ Top 3” Anywhere in UK and Ireland !!!!!!
Twisty
Off to Hamilton Races today . Any tips ???
Enjoy your day everyone and stay safe 💚💚
Morning SC
I thought we played well in patches on Sunday and some more than others
I like Kyogo but we have no one to play the killer pass on the runs he makes
I really like GG and I feel he deserves a run in the team at the expense of Maeda
Cal Mac is better played in the 10 role rather than the 6 role
Greig Taylor is the most improved player in the squad. My mate thought he was at best a junior player last year
The teams in the CL pots this year are very strong but I would take Frankfurt Seville Atalanta
Yes I would take Ross Barkley
Morning Leggy
Enjoy Hamilton buddy. Not great fields I see. I’d be there for sure but I’m setting of to York in a couple hours.
4-45 is a good race all the same. Both Atzeni and Tom Marquand make the long journey up for the one ride. Marquand 9/2 on Haggas’ horse while Atzeni rides the favourite.
Purely for the better value I’d be tempted by the Haggas runner.
My main bet if the day will be at 6-55pm Chelmsford. Lil Guff. Dropping down in grade. It’s ran in much better company than this tonight so I’m on at 7/1. That’s not a tip btw! Just my opinion.
Have a great day at the races and I hope you win a few £££ amigo.
Jobo
Thx again for your efforts.
Jeez… subsequent articles on subsequent days attempting to explain how poor we were in a 5-0 victory, on an historically difficult playing surface where we had enormous possession figures, more shots on and off target, less fouls than Killie, a spread of goals through the team which included subs coming on and contributing to the tally! Genuine concerns about our prospects in Europe are fine but on a week to week basis we are able only to beat the team in front of us. Killie were rotten and Celtic pumped them in every way other than with Total Fitba Ange-style! I share the concerns about the Champions League, and the midfield and the diagonals may very well be our undoing but until we get there how the feck does any of us know how it’s gonna go!
We’re a year down the line since our last European exploits, we’ve played a helluva lot of fitba since, we’ve added to a squad that’s definitely improved in terms of understanding how Ange wants to play. Certain players have shown massive improvement in that time, Jota, O’Riley and Taylor for instance, and the system Ange plays seems to have been tweaked from the all out gung ho stuff we marvelled at last season. It’s gonna be a long season for some!!
Jobo…sterling work on the POTY!
Sunday’s result and performance? Up there with the best, in my opinion. I’m with McCaff. There are players in our team you wouldn’t recognise from last year. That’s down to Ange and to their personal ambition and attitude. Top of the league, ten scored, one lost and nine points. Remind me where we were after SIX games last year! Europe will be as it happens.. three really strong teams and we might be toast. However, I remind myself we were 2-1 up to Leverkusen away with five minutes to go when Ange made the mistake, in my opinion , of trying to hold on to what we had. Also, we weren’t that mince, as nine points would normally get you through a group. Can’t always be pessimistic ffs. Keep the Faith is supposed to mean something.
Morning all.
Leggy, good luck at Hamilton today. I usually struggled at that track.
I’ve just stopped for breakfast on my way up to Scotland. Would love to join you at the races but I don’t think it would go down too well.
It’s my mum’s 90th birthday today so I probably need to visit her instead.
HAPPY HOOOOOOPY 90th to
MA FRODSHAMBHOY!!!!!!!!!
Frodshambhoy…best wishes to your Ma! A wonderful milestone. 🥳🎉🎊💐🍾
COSYCORNERBHOY
I said on here nearly a year ago that it is long past time to get off Taylor’s back. That he is actually a very good player should not be a surprise to anyone who watches us regularly,or reads this site.
Frodshambhoy
Many happy returns to your mum. 90. Tremendous. My own mum will turn 90 in December. Treasure every day you’re with her bud. Have a lovely day.
CCB
Agree with your comments on our domestic performances. Great start.
Re Europe. We were good v Betis. We were absolutely exposed v Bodo. Losing 5-1 on aggregate to them was awful. My own viewpoint is that it’s performances of that nature, v teams at that level, we need to eliminate. I’d expect to lose goals v Madrid, Man City and the like. We are a bigger club than Bodo.
I’ll judge progress v teams I feel we should be competitive against.
Bobby
The growing concern about Europe is not going away.
I agree our front players have enough about them and can see where they can improve with more game time and coaching – they still miss far too many chances tho’.. but sharpness will help improve.
It’s another aspect of our game that worries some fans ….because Our players are becoming ( always were) complacent in domestic fitba because they can get away with stray passes.
It’s noticeable we don’t press as hard and maybe the front three have decided not to because the three behind them are two (sic) slow to fill the gaps – or, Ange finally noticed we were all knackered in last 30 of games. Has decided to calm that down in domestic games to save legs/injuries
But can they turn it on when needed in Europe?
I don’t think so!
When we face CL opposition or EL (if we make it) we meet teams that must stay focused on the pitch for 95 minutes – they cannot be careless with possession and must make their turnovers count with clinical finishing – theyvplay in tougher more competitive leagues.
Our team doesn’t need to do this for 95 minutes – they can’t do it – and Killie would have scored a few on Sunday had they any quality on the pitch.
Killie were shite btw – utter garbage in every sense!!
Our players know they can give the ball away – not track back and know they will see their opponents just fek it up. Usually. They are not playing in top gear and I personally doubt if 3 or more of them can find that gear.
It’s so bloody obvious, and I don’t blame players getting into this mode – it’s just human nature and another consequence of the dire standard of Scottish fitba.
It’s the coaching staff and recruitment lads that need to up their game. Do they really know what is needed in Europe? The type of player that can handle it? I doubt that.
Twisty rightly mentions Bodo games – we were supposed to be fit and ready – they were coming off the back of a mid- season break. They took 5 goals off us and ripped us apart, playing in a low gear for much of the game.
I’ll remind anyone who forgot – Ange put out a second string in the away game to save his key men for an away game at Hibs…. he was backed by Celtic fans for doing that … so, the support, or some of us, need to ask why we prioritise a game against Hibs (ffs!!) over a European game we could still have won ?!
Are the club, manager and players picking up on the fan’s lack of ambition for Europe … behaving accordingly … picking up on the supporter vibe??
Is it really true that just being ahead of Sevco is all that matters?? Looking like it.
Anyhoo
We had absolutely no answer to Bodo – McCaff I’m gonna disagree with you and I don’t often feel the need to – yes, we might not know we are going to get humped against similar level opposition in Europe – but what has really changed in our team since then?? – I agree there are improvements in some individual performances, Taylor etc … but the team performance, especially in midfield, is as full of gaps and holes as it ever was.
Our players still cannot hold the ball or relax in possession, utilise quick passing in midfield – any pressure at all and they visibly panic, even in domestic games. They don’t track and don’t ‘show’ to help others. They don’t come looking to help – unless they can receive a splitting pass to feet they don’t participate enough.
The euphoria over Killie result is misplaced, because they were utter garbage and the space they allowed us in their penalty area was unbelievable – not space created because we ripped them apart by fast moving one touch fitba – just poor players that can’t defend.
We face a massive wake-up call in the coming weeks.
Aaanddd!!
Our super duper new Recruitment guy still hasn’t found us a fit and ready central defensive mid yet…
I’m gonna take a wee rest from blog until CL games start – for the sake of my B.P. 😅
PS – Jobo – great work buddy its appreciated and keep them coming.
Good morning, friends.
The last 2 lead articles on here, penned by guys who appear to be in the “glass half empty” gang have certainly provoked debate. And, of course, that’s what they are meant to do. My own view was mentioned at the beginning of last night’s POTY results post when I said “Plastic pitch – what plastic pitch? We played some of our best football of the season so far and certainly didn’t go looking for excuses in terms of the surface.” If we play to a similar standard in our next 3 league games – Hearts, Dundee Utd and Sevco – I’m very very confident we will be sitting on 18 points as we then start our Europen campaign.
In other news, Frodshambhoy – happy birthday to your mum on reaching that wonderful milestone. I was blessed to have been born on my own mum’s birthday when she turned 42 (yes, I certainly was an unexpected surprise when I arrived in 1962!!). One of the spin off benefits was that my siblings always remember my birthday, much more often than I remember theirs! Have a brilliant day with your mum and as others have said, treasure these moments.
Frodshambhoy,
Happy 90th Birthday to your wee Mammy.
Enjoy your day and we’ll definitely need to meet up sometime for a beer next time your up.
HH 🍀🍀
5-0 flattered us?
We had 73% possession, 11 shots on target, a 45% conversion rate. A bit more clinical/luck and it should have been 7- Jota through on keeper and Kyogo off crossbar.
Against a team our main rival struggled to beat last week 2-0 at home with a late second.
“But did we actually play well? Did we perform to our best? Did we look like a team to be feared-despite the scoreline?”
Well we certainly didn’t play badly. Overall a 7/7.5 out of 10, so in purist terms room for improvement.
3-0 up at h-t, such a scenario usually means second half performance drops. It did til the three sub change on 66 mins. Lifted the performance level and gave us another couple of well deserved goals.
I honestly can’t recall Kilmarnock’s three shots on target troubling JH. So no threat there.
Nothing flattering about it.
What does a team to be feared look like, have to do apart from dismantle your immediate opponents 5-0?
I get the call for realism but to say you weren’t impressed much sounds like a disingenuous radio shock jock searching for a non existent controversy.
The real stuff starts on Sept 3 and Sept 6/7.
Plenty of opportunities to slag the team off then perhaps.
Let’s try to keep a little positive til then.
It’s a healthier outlook and you’ll feel happier.
SES… cheers for the response! First things first – I wasn’t euphoric about the result against Killie but I enjoy watching Celtic scoring plenty. As I said the pitch is a disgrace and we’ve struggled on it before so the ease with which we got the goals was refreshing. My bar is always set at how ready are we for European fitba, to my mind we should be winning the SPL every year, and this year is no different. The midfield is a major concern, I think most of us are in agreement with that. We also highlight the gaps behind the fullbacks…what we do know is that no team has been able to exploit those gaps to their benefit so far. Does Ange have the complacency you attribute to the players? Does he know that, mostly, our players will be able to recover even if they are exposed in these areas, I dunno the answer! Is his inverted fullback system work in Europe? It didn’t last year on either side but we’re a year down the line, will that make a difference to how we set up this year in the CL or are we cannon fodder a la Brendan’s team? I’m not naive to think we’re guaranteed fitba after Christmas, nor do I think we’re ready yet for a successful run before Christmas but since Brendan’s first season to our debacle of the season before last we are at least playing attractive attacking fitba…time will tell if we’ve improved sufficiently under Ange.
…and SES, 😘
https://youtu.be/ikJony6h_tQ
Good grief… hard to believe the tone of this and yesterday’s article. You really need to get to a game to realise just how difficult it can be to score against any professional team and them not score against you.
Red Imps ?
Contrast to last season’s start.
Folks,
I pointed out that I was unimpressed with the display,but that going into work on the Monday to be told by your boss that you need to do better? I think we do. Yes,we can only beat what is before us on the pitch,and we did that with some comfort on Sunday.
But was it good enough to beat a decent side? Nowhere near it. We would have struggled against a hun side,Hearts or maybe even Livingston.
I think I know how we would have fared in Europe against the likes of Bayern,Real or Liverpool.
Three games,ten goals,that’s terrific. Honestly,I’m delighted. But I’m not blind to our deficiencies. And they are all in midfield.
Steve Naive
I really did not see Mahe’s article as negative.
He merely pointed out what he saw.
We are still developing as a team so there tends to be good and bad things within every game we play.
Last season in Europe we had some very good spells in games against quality European sides but in same games our flaws cost us and we lost despite being a potent attacking force.
Some of the same flaws are evident in SPL but limited opponents are not good enough to capitalize on them.
A high tempo pressing game requires seamless interchanging of position but we have not quite mastered it yet.
Midfield still lacks game intelligence and balance.
Perhaps we will improve playing more challenging European opponents where our shape retention will be essential for us to succeed.
Bobby…it’s disingenuous to bring Bayern etc into it, we’re never seriously gonna compete with them while the status quo remains. But the fact remains that we beat Killie at a canter. I’m sure if we were playing any of the other teams you mention we would be absolutely required to have a different approach. Horses for courses and all that!
Fan…”Perhaps we will improve playing more challenging European opponents where our shape retention will be essential for us to succeed.” That is exactly the point I was making, you just nailed it better!!
CFC
I’m not a shock jock looking for a reaction. Usually,I’m a very happy bunny with a result like that. Particularly against certain sides,of which Kilmarnock is very much one of them.
I didn’t write this article as a defence of the one from MAHE yesterday,either. It seems we both watched it,saw what we did and commented on it. We were delighted with the goals. We were stunned by the various weaknesses on display. That is really the gist of the articles. We can’t hide from those.
If we don’t acknowledge and act on those weaknesses,which basically describes the entire midfield,we are screwed against any decent side.
McCaff
Hahaha – I’m not going anywhere buddy. Just taking a wee break from posting until the real fitba starts…. with CL 😉
Todays and yesterday’s articles are opinions of 2 guys of how they see things of where we are at present and I totally agree.
.Some are in agreement , some not.
That’s what the blog is about . Giving your view, which stirs debate
What isn’t debatable is that we need strengthed in the midfield. We do not play as a group of 3, more like 3 individuals .
When we lose possession in final 3rd the opposition play through us far to easily.
When possession is lost we should be able to get into a back 4 and mid 3 quicker.
As for the space behind fullbacks, that is why we need a defensive mid playing. This is going to come back to bite us .
Happy birthday Frodshambhoys Ma
Frodshambhoy
Happy birthday to your mum, actually miss read Bobby’s post , thought he was talking about you. There I was for a few seconds thinking a 90 year old on a blog was marvellous😱😂
Anyways on football, that midfield does not protect the back four, a good quality CL side will slice through it like a knife through butter.
Prestonpans bhoys,
I’ve heard he only looks 90. 😜😜😜
For a wee change of subject, scroll on if it’s not your bag, this article
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/aug/16/bring-that-beat-back-why-are-people-in-their-30s-giving-up-on-music
and the links in it are a decent read. If you venture further there’s another article on how Brexit has complicated exposure and revenue streams for lesser known artists…
https://thequietus.com/articles/30953-eu-customs-diy-music-uk-brexit
On this subject I was chatting to a wee pal at the weekend who’s involved with Mogwai. They’d been touring Europe and had to source merchandise in the countries they were playing as it was easier and cheaper than having it produced here and exported for sale at gigs in the EU! Cottage industries, jobs and livelihoods all over the country affected by it.
The reaction to our game on Sunday has been diverse. Both yesterday’s and today’s articles have been written from a realistic point of view (glass half empty kinda, some would say).
They’ve certainly provoked a bipolar reaction from posters. Whether that was intended or not, it is true.
Personally, I was delighted to leave that plastic surface behind, having just won 5-0.
I was not euphoric. I was not singing “bring on the Hearts, the Hibs etc”. But I was content with performance overall.
Why was I content with the performance?
Well, pre-match, I thought of all the games I’ve watched on plastic pitches. I struggled to recall an above average performance from ANY of those games. Hell, the cream of Europe (Man City, Bayern Munich, Real Madrid, et all) would struggle to play to their capabilities on that surface. I’ve watched us struggle and require late winners in prior games on plastic pitches.
So, for me, Sunday was ALL about getting a result…with no injuries (hopefully Jenz is ok). I was not expecting a silky performance on that surface. I didn’t get one…so no surprise to me…but it gave me absolutely no concern either that the performance on Sunday will have any bearing on how we will play on grass, against better teams, in our future matches.
So, whilst I do not disagree with those that said “Killie were pish”…”we only scored one team goal from open play”…etc…I also agree with those that say “we can only beat what we are up against”…”let’s look on the positive side of the result”.
Nobody is really right or wrong.
It’s true, we have much to improve on, especially with regards to our upcoming Champions League matches. Not many would disagree with that.
We have glaring deficiencies when we lose possession and opponents counter attack against us. Our midfield on Sunday consisted of our captain playing the number 6 role. Not his best position, imo. I’d say he’s a number 8. But Ange has limited options…he has Ideguchi (injured), McCarthy (not any better than Calmac), and Mooy (still settling in – hopefully improving each week in training). So Calmac it is for now. Personally I’d hoped for a new signing at number 6 (I won’t call them defensive midfielder, as that’s not how Ange views it…and he’s the gaffer that’s been quoted as saying such…so, please, can we stop asking for a “defensive midfielder”? Yes, I think we need one. But, I know we are not in the market for one, as stated by Ange, so I’m not expecting one to be signed now).
At number 8 on Sunday we had DT. He’s not an 8 imo. He’s a 10. But with Hatate injured, he got the gig. I’d rather have started Calmac at 8. But Ange obviously saw it differently, and I do trust his judgement. At number 10 we had I’Riley. Probably our first choice number 10, currently.
All 3 starters in midfield on Sunday would struggle to tackle a fish supper, so it’s glaringly obvious that better teams could rip us apart.
Ange’s system, with our number 6 the only one in a defensive position whenever we lose possession, and our number 10 often playing so far forward they are practically playing off the number 9, and our number 8 given freedom to roam between…it’s scary how we’ll perform in CL if we get drawn against the cream of Europe.
Personally, my expectations regarding CL will not be set until after the draw. Those expectations will vary, for example, if we get Bayern Munich or Eintract from pot 1). M
Anyway. ramble over. 😂
Off oot to collect grandwean.
Back laters folks.
HH
I asked yesterday how can we improve enough between Kilmarnock and our first CL game. The question was obviously too difficult as I never got an answer
qualifying clubs.
Pot 1
Spain Real Madrid CC: 124.000
Germany Eintracht Frankfurt CC: 61.000
England Manchester City CC: 134.000
Italy Milan CC: 38.000
Germany Bayern Munich CC: 138.000
France Paris Saint-Germain CC: 112.000
Portugal Porto CC: 80.000
Netherlands Ajax CC: 82.500
Pot 2
England Liverpool CC: 134.000
England Chelsea CC: 123.000
Spain Barcelona CC: 114.000
Italy Juventus CC: 107.000
Spain Atlético Madrid CC: 105.000
Spain Sevilla CC: 91.000
Germany RB Leipzig CC: 83.000
England Tottenham Hotspur CC: 83.000
Pot 3
Germany Borussia Dortmund CC: 78.000
Austria Red Bull Salzburg CC: 71.000
Ukraine Shakhtar Donetsk CC: 71.000
Italy Inter Milan CC: 67.000
Italy Napoli CC: 66.000
Portugal Sporting CP CC: 55.500
Germany Bayer Leverkusen CC: 53.000
BMCUW
Fair do’s.
I’m in the camp – let’s see where we are when the real action starts in a couple of weeks.
Ideally with one or two additions ( notably in the midfield area)
Ange has indicated incoming(s)
The league will take care of itself, as for Europe my realistic wish list is:
No embarrassing humpings away. ( 7’s to Barca and PSG are the stuff of nightmares)
Compete effectively at home
Third place finish.
I accept at CL level, where we will be again next year when we win the league, progress is incremental. So my expectations are realistic.
CFC
I’m in your camp but any incremental progress will be sold.
C M G
Spot on. Nothing to get euphoric about on Sunday, but a good performance on a difficult surface. To be enjoyed.
The midfield conundrum rumbles on.
I agree with your assessment.
Until someone with the attributes Ange wants is identified we are all passing hot air.
Steady progress will satisfy me. Season two has just begun.
Awe Naw
As in cashing in on our star performers?
There’s the rub when you are small fry with sought after assets!
It’s generally understood that we have not prepared for Europe, at any level never mind the Champion’s League. Since MON’s days we’ve struggled but we’ve also been unlucky. On more than one occasion we had 9 points from Group stages and didn’t qualify for the next stage whilst other teams went through with 7 points. So what’s realistic for us this year – we’ve not bought any real discernible CL quality, other than Jota arguably! Are the expectations of a 3rd place finish hopeful or achievable, 3 home wins or 2 and an away against the next weakest team. Or 7 points, 2 wins and a draw. With Angeball the deficiencies are all too visible but he’s shown zero intention to change his philosophy so where does that leave us? Hopeful of 9 points but realistically looking ofr 7 with a bit of luck to take us to the next round…or happy to watch a 4-3 game but slide out of the competition as glorious losers…again!!
Awe Naw
As to your question re improvement before CL
starts.
We have three tough opponents in Hearts, D U away( ok maybe not the toughest!) and the Huns.
That’s as good a prep as we could get.
We can compare and contrast the Killie performance after those fixtures.
Awe Naw and CFC…if you are suggesting that any success we have will lead to sales of assets, yip! That’s were we’re at but it is surely in Ange’s remit – if not Nicholson’s raison d’etre – to establish good development strategies to mitigate the loss of talent! That’s a far bigger problem for the Club than qualifying for the CL every year!
McCaff
All other things being equal 4 points may be enough.
A win and draw v pot 3.
As long as we aren’t humiliated away and at home by pots 1 and 2, that would represent some sort of progress to me.
And if we are building year on year then next season improving v pots 1 and 2 and competing with pot 2 for second.
WOOOOFT CFC…already thinking about next year’s CL!! 🤣🤣🤣
McCaff
The man that thinks ahead stays ahead😂
The only thing potentially stopping that happening is not winning the League. 👍🏻
CFC
yes and our reason for being
I think we all lose sight of
1) We want to turn a profit more than any sporting success. As DD highlighted when he first invested in Celtic.
2) Scottish fitba is ran for the huns the coefficient will slowly again return to having to navigate the qualifying rounds.
3) FFP being ditched to permit more outside investment into the game (see 1)
We are CL gatecrashers pure and simple.
We are presently a below average EL team or an ELC team
Eintracht and Rangers benefited last season from CL teams who had dropped out of the CL and made the conscious and correct and pragmatic decision to concentrate on their league position due to the prize money outweighing what they would win in the league and the changes of winning the EL over consolidating a league position. Like Ange did with Bodo Glimt
It´s no big deal if you accept it. We are not now and never will be again in a European cup final again for as long as parasites like Dermot Desmond are part of the PLC make up. Even the road to Seville wasn’t enough to influence any change in fact it did the exact opposite “Welcome to the slow lane”
CFC…“Formulate and stamp indelibly on your mind a mental picture of yourself as succeeding. Hold this picture tenaciously. Never permit it to fade. Your mind will seek to develop the picture. . . . Do not build up obstacles in your imagination.”
Norman Vincent Peale 🤣🤣🤣
CFC
my main point was yes with Hatate I reckon we would be better. That´s it !
Will there be any more purchases. Possibly but not to address any CL deficiencies
We need to develop into a team say on a par with Napoli or Bodo Glimt (that´s the ceiling)
Our best players are always going to be valued by the bigger boys. Cest la vie.
And they are going to want to move.
So we will see Jota, Matt etc go.
Enjoy them while you can.
Obtaining max value is the answer.
Our continued success is built on new faces filling those gaps.
Jenz looks like he has that potential.
And so it goes.
McCaff
“We Don’t see things as they are, we see them as we are”
“ your reach should always exceed your grasp”.
😉