Celts Power On…
Morning,all.
Last night was our chance for revenge against the only Scottish team to have beaten us this season,and also the last team to beat us domestically at home-and that was almost two years ago. They say that revenge is a dish best served cold,and it certainly was last night.
In fact,St Mirren caught us cold right at the start of the match,with some bagatelle in the box seeing the ball drop to Main,who netted. Fortunately,however narrowly,from an offside position. Although Joe Hart made a decent save from a speculative attempt halfway through the second half,it was the Saints only decent chance until near the end,when Hart made an even better save from a snap-shot inside the area.
Although Saints couldn’t be accused of parking the bus as so many of our opponents do,it was virtually one-way traffic apart from those efforts mentioned. A recalled-and looking lively-Matt O’Riley corner was met by Starfelt,who headed it homewards. A great save by the keeper saw the ball rebound to debutant Yuki Kobayashi-who hit the post! That rebound though was slotted home by Abada.
Fifteen minutes in,and a goal up. From there,the second always looked like it was coming. And when it did,it was a beauty. Remember the finish from Di Canio against Aberdeen on Boxing Day,1996? A lovely through ball from Reo saw Kyogo latch onto it about ten yards out. With the keeper charging him down,he coolly clipped an up-and-under up over the keeper and under the bar. Finishing of the highest quality,no question.
He wasn’t finished tormenting the Saints yet,though. Second half,he was at it again. Eight minutes in and as Saints pressed forward,a lovely ball swept forward to Jota saw him square it to Kyogo to finish from the edge of the area. It looked tight for offside,but the wee fella was a slither behind the ball when it was played in. As rapid a conversion from defence to attack as you will ever see,and one which we have become accustomed to seeing in the last eighteen months. Even if we’d like to see it more often!
The fourth goal took its time,partly because a similar break to the one above saw Kyogo square it to Jamesie to finish neatly,but Kyogo had strayed offside in the build up. It was left to the subs to combine for the fourth. Maeda won a corner,Mooy received and squared to Turnbull. One touch to line it up and then that rare thing. A Celtic player scoring from distance! This one low and right in the corner from about 27 yards.
Overall,a very pleasing performance indeed. One goal from a corner-something we had forgotten was even allowed-another two from wonderful defence splitting passes,and one from distance. A fine mix indeed. Just about as complete a team display as I’ve seen for some time. Can we do this all the time?
Well,no team can,if we are honest. But we always have it in us. A shake up of the first eleven and a very strong bench,what’s not to like?
If I had one minor complaint,it would be the state of the pitch. The groundsmen had nearly six weeks during the World Cup to ensure that it would be in tiptop trim for the winter months. I can’t remember it being this bad before. I don’t know how long these hybrid pitches are meant to last,but they certainly need to be doing something about it. And with such a run of home matches through till about the end of March,I’m not sure how they can.
But I’ll take 4-0 on a ploughed field every night if necessary.
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above article by BMCUWP
JOBO POTY Competition
sencelpoty@gmail.com
Fart in a lift time — we played some good stuff last night with some passing moves being top rank but we were poor when the Buddies had the ball and strung three passes together.
Hopefully we can settle down once the transfer window closes.
To me the uncertainty / speculation / individual agendas is hurting us at the moment.
For a team that only had 25% of the possession they gave us quite a few hairy moments.
Our defence looked very shaky at times with only AJ getting pass marks.
CS looks like he is back to his cat on a hot tin roof worst — playing with little confidence / control.
YK is mobile / confident / assured in possession but his positioning was poor at times and he struggled to win headers.
Early days and it was his first game so hopefully he gets up to speed over the next couple of weeks.
JJ was 50% great / 50% disjointed + sloppy — after all the chat I hope he moves on to a bigger wage packet.
In addition CMcG was very poor at the basics — covering the defence and acting as a deep lying pivot.
He had some good moments further up the field but for a lot of the game he was hiding behind an opponent and not showing for the ball — either his heart wasn’t in it or he needs a lot of coaching.
When the CB’s have the ball he follows then across the park and rarely steps out to do something different and offer a new angle — might e a minority view but I think it needs addressed and the whole MF need a boot up the erse.
Also the pitch is looking very poor — from memory we spent a lot of money getting it upgraded with the addition of synthetic fibres but it looked very patchy and cuts up far too easily. Hopefully we are not trying to save money by cutting back the use of the
lighting rigs due to the high cost of electricity — PL is back so you never know.
Finally our VAR graphics are the Scotch Botch on public display.
The JF “goal” was amateur hour.
Yeah, we are looking very strong.
Yuki had a very assured debut. Looks like another quality player added to the ranks. With Tomoki waiting to be unleashed.
The GG saga aside things seem pretty settled.
Looks like the one Ange wants to add is another striker. A genuine contender would complete the squad.
BMCUW
Next time I will read more than the first two paragraphs before responding.
We had lots of good passing routines / attacking play but when the opposition had the ball we always looked on edge.
Might be CCV missing plus JH looking on edge.
Might be poor coaching / defensive set up by the MF when they had the ball.
No matter we — too often — lacked resilience when we had to defend.
Most of the SPL can’t string 3 passes together on a regular basis.
When we have came up against a team that can then we start to look shaky.
The unique angle footage from last night is rather pleasant viewing…
Morning all!
MM…not the game I saw! I thought Celtic were excellent all over the park, didn’t think St Mirren offered very much to the game at all.
Kobayashi could easily have been MOM for a very easy debut in which he comfortably swept up, stepped onto the ball, took the ball from Hart and won everything I can remember bar one challenge where he mistimed it but recovered to win it. In addition he moved the line up when he could. Starfelt looked much more at ease on his good side and won most things but I still think there’s a mistake in him, he never looks completely at ease.
Jota for his driving, Hatate for his constant probing and Kyogo for his movement and goals were my top 3 last night.
Morning all,
Thanks Maccargo for the unique ankle footage.
Don’t know about the ( Non ) celebration from Turnbull after he scored. He’s no a happy bunny !!!!!
For the offski, perhaps ?????
Ps
See you at EK hoot tomorrow all that are attending 🍀🍀🍀
HH 💚
MM,
What game were you watching. Many negative points there and positives are damned by faint praise. Hart, little to do, better feet, better choices and two good saves. Johnston learning the SPL but solid enough. JJ, slaughtered for his Ibrox show was again at left back and much better. Starfelt, after his customary aberration, fought his position well and again took on the combative roll allowing debutant Yuki time and space to look comfortable. He didn’t win many arial duels but Saints dual cf’s not small. Carson noticeably targeted balls there all night. The ( outnumbered) midfield worked well as a unit and Calmac, was crucial in all good things in there. You obviously didn’t see him often accept it from Hart on the penalty spot and play out from there whilst being the fulcrum of triangles all over the pitch. Hatate was very good and O’Reilly better than recent games he has played. Jota was very tightly marked and struggling to impact but made space by moving and then being able to attack whilst Abada scored and should have scored again
In a different ( Kano ) seat last night and gained a different perspective on Kyogo’s. His movement and runs are top class and teammates with more vision ( Madrid level ) would put him in time and again. He constantly makes the runs but when isn’t fed he attracts negative comments on his effectiveness.
Forrest got involved quickly and I was desperate for Turnbull to be okay when he came on. He was overstretching and underachieving but then did that.
Constructive criticism is welcome, the worn out groove of your old 78 is tedious.
Night started off well with a few drinks in sports bar with BIGRAILROADBLUES.
Thoroughly enjoyed last nights game
Some really good performances throughout the team.
Excellent debut from Kobayashi. I agree with Mcaff, only beat by Kyogo for mom.
One complaint. I don’t like when players don’t celebrate scoring a goal, as Turnbull did.
Don’t get that, whether we are 1 up to 6 up
Madmich
I was at the match. Starfelt was excellent last night. MOTM in my opinion. He won EVERY ball in the air. I would have said a flawless performance but there was one misplaced pass.
You should consider stopping giving match reports based on what sounds like a view from a Nokia 310.
St Tam’s… my wee guy gave Kobayashi MOM. I left him out of my Top 3 only because Celtic were in goalscoring mood last night!
Re Turnbull, I never noticed he didn’t celebrate his goal although my nephew and his mate commented on it when we met up after the game. They put it down to a jokey-nonchalance, like it’s nae big deal, ye know ah can dae that! Having seen it on the Unique Angle I’m not sure about that but it’s definitely not a good look, aye I agree, I’d much prefer to see him spin away arms raised!
BillyBhoy…or a BBC Scotland commentary! 😉😁
SN @ 11.15
Fair point — I am being a bit negative regarding last night’s performance.
We played a lot of good stuff but overall I thought we looked a bit off the pace at times.
Had the feel of a training match / bounce game — desire was missing on some occasions.
SM had a pretty simple game plan — get it in the box by any means possible and attack the ball.
Funnily enough they weren’t given the number of free kicks we have come to expect but made up with their long throw in routine.
At no point in all of this did we look comfortable defending against these very basic tactics.
When the football Gods are with us we win by way of our talent and number of chances.
Score the hard ones and miss the easier ones.
When the Gods are against us we will drop points because we always give the opposition a puncher’s chance.
We have toughened up this season but — for me — the fear never leaves you …
The character of the teams looks a bit off — as noted above some in the squad seem a little distant at the moment.
The Transfer window is not helping so hopefully things will improve.
Plus the pitch / pitches this winter are shocking.
And the CTV commentary would stun pigs.
PG was an improvement on TB — but it is a very low hurdle.
BB @ 11.32
Regarding CS — I think we will have to agree to disagree.
I think your body must have been in shock from the cold to have that high an opinion of CS’s performance.
“Slugger” ghosting past him to put a header on the bar must have passed you by.
Plus the comedy cuts fouls against the StM CF — pantomime stuff.
Our defending in the box never looked comfortable all night.
My thoughts — CCV was missed and it was YK’s first SPL game.
MM
PG,TB? Nope,got me both times.
McCaff
Perhaps Turnbull thinks he deserves more minutes on park than MoR?
The things that made MoR a choice before Turnbull are just not coming off for him.
How many goals or assists has Turnbull been involved in compared to MoR?
There is something in the way MoR receives the ball that is a bit off. Touch can come and go.
CTV summarisers …
PG = Peter the Pointer.
TB = Tom Boyd.
Given the back four only started for the first time together and there was no ” muscle” there to deal with 2 very physical St Mirren forwards I thought we did well not to concede at all and survive the hairy moments that balls into the box cause.
Stevie Niave . 11.15am
Thanks for that response.
It saved me the time & effort. HH
Auldheid… perhaps Turnbull does think he deserves more time and his stats for goals and assists are currently double those of O’Riley but I think O’Riley offers a better balance in the midfield.
O’Riley seems to me to be more mobile and switched on than Turnbull. Turnbull definitely needs games to be at his best and last season proved he can make ’em and score ’em…but so did O’Riley! Hatate is the creative player and Calmac is the captain so in the system it does leave only one space. O’Riley’s overall team game must be why Ange chooses him, we know that work ethic is paramount in his system and despite having a comparatively poor season as against last if the work ethic is prominent Ange will stick with you. I know Turnbull was out for two or three weeks before the World Cup so maybe fitness isn’t 100% just yet.
https://twitter.com/tam_mchugh1/status/1615867642966851585?s=48&t=3u-UNTpSlSNHI6iWDbr9VQ
Lafferty delighted at full time….
Ange can remain irritable and the players be mince, as long as we keep up our record of winning 21 of 22 in the league.
I love that kind of rubbish …long may it continue.
And as long as we get the centre-forward positions sorted by the end of Jan, we shouldn’t have many worries.
We are in a great place doing great things ….
In just a couple of months we’ll be building towards 3iar again.
A lot of people in this country can’t deal with that.
The fear is building again …it must be torture 😉
MM
Good reply.
Lights on the pitch are on during the week. I saw them last Sunday.
Think Peter has the shilling’ on a string though !
Interesting takes on the game last night. It all goes to show a blog is largely about opinions!
Here are some more opinions.
The defence does need to be assessed given it had not played before. Johnston is class, and not just because he is Canadian. He plays balls in behind the opposition defence, something we need more of. Initially Yuki looked shell shocked, missing a couple of clearing headers, but he emerged as a talented player. I would love to receive a pass from him as he hits daisy cutter straight to feet, making it easy to control the ball. Note to self: must find an alternative phrase to “love to receive a pass…” because of our younger readers. Yuki’s control of his body in contorting to get a shot on target that led to Abada’s goal was the mark of a technically gifted player. He improved as the game went on but it is too early to assess him. Did I mention that Johnston was impressive?
On CBC radio yesterday, a Canadian soccer journalist was interviewed about the success of Jonathan David at Lille. He holds the record for having scoring more goals than any other non- Frenchman that has played for Lille. Anyway, this journalist mentioned that other Canadian players were making their mark. Johnston had been transferred to one of the two biggest clubs in Glasgow, in fact, one of the biggest in world football!
I thought Starfelt was fine. It is too easy to judge a defender on the basis of mistakes. Every player on that park made at least one mistake, including Kyogo. It is the balance between positives and mistakes that should form an assessment.
I agree with MM’s assessment of JJ….some good, some poor, but he did look more interested than versus Sevco.
Yes, I wonder if Turnbull is looking for an exit. He does need more game time. O’Riley is a shadow of last season. He appears cumbersome. Caught in possession, giving the ball away, he is a prisoner of his huge impact from last season.
Calmac, I leave to those that understand football better than I. I am glad he is in the team but we do need to sub him more frequently.
Hatate another player who made mistakes but how can he not be rated as top class.
Kyogo…is worth the price of admission on his own. It has all been said before. His lobbed goal was poetry in motion, with apologies to Johnny Tillotson!
Abada? I confess to not being a fan. I wish commentators would stop calling him, “the young Israeli”. He is 21 now. He took his goal well but he is just as likely to hit a corner flag. His crossing is also erratic but here I am falling into McCaff’s trap of being an over critical ex-pat. Last night he seemed interested in taking on opponents, which is a positive. Will he turn out to be a better player than Ben Doak?
Now, I have gone on for too long and should finish. Overall, a very satisfying performance, better than both efforts vs Killie. How good are we? I haven’t a clue.
MOM was Frank McGarvey, as he would have been,
Rebus
Ange has seen enough of this league to know that he can leave out a couple of first picks and still win a game quite comfortably. If the opposition give Celtic a bit of space then our players will exploit that space.
David Turnbull is a talented lad but it’s now difficult to imagine his as a regular starter. Would not be at all surprised if he is away on January deadline day, probably on loan. And a few others as well.
It was Brendan Rodgers who was the most vocal advocate for a Desso hybrid pitch. And he got it. That would have cheesed of Peter Lawwell no end. Our former CEO probably saw nothing wrong with a 95p roll of turf, from a farm in Fife.
We should have the best playing surface in Scotland, without question. The fact that we don’t is a source of embarrassment. We can hardly complain about Killie, Livingston, St Johnstone, and Hampden, when ours is in such a state. Celtic players deserve the best the club can provide, all year round. Get it sorted Celtic.
I’m hearing discontent amongst the players who like milk in their tea.
PL shot the cow as he likes steak.
Mooy escaped with his life.
Rebus
Excellent analysis!
I don’t know what is going on with M O’R. Since the restart he has continually failed game after game to find a teammate with his passing. He now passes – or attempts to – then automatically raises his hand in apology. It’s beyond a joke.
Hatate is frustrating me too. He has SO much ability but he continually tries the killer first time pass almost EVERY TIME – with around a 70% success rate. Sometimes you just need to take the easy option.
Nobody has mentioned Jota yet. I thought from the first minute he was playing for himself, showboating from the off, instead of being direct and playing the ball into the box for Kyogo to run on to.
I don’t remember this being a feature of his game last year.
Overall though a very pleasing performance.
BB,
You are a man of great taste and perception! Good looking too, by all accounts!
On Hatate, it would be interesting to see his stats prior to 60 minutes and after. I think he tires and may need to pace himself better.
By the by, that cheque is in the mail. Quietly now, quietly.
Rebus
Explanation time…
BAD, from last night my line “Aye, Ok….” was a criticism of me not you. Apologies for the unintended flippancy!
Rebus…again, there was no intention to criticise supporters abroad. Your (plural) right to criticise is as welcome as anyone’s, my point really was that attending games regularly probably makes me more accepting of stuff that goes awry because I wouldn’t want to lose what I have – if that makes any kind of sense!
Unbelievable set from Murray,1-2 down,it’s 1.50 am there….on Eurosport
Billy Bhoy…I thought Jota had his best game for a while and had him in my top 3 for Jobo’s MoM! Diff;rent strokes for diff’rent folks, eh? I thought he was very direct last night, constantly looking to pick up the ball and run. 8 goals and 7 assists though, compared to 7 goals and 6 assists at the same point last season! Surprising stats really as he’s not been as dynamic as he was last season.
Auldheid, agree with you re. Turnbull.
I can understand why he is not happy, as he watched
O’Riley continually being selected before him when O’Riley has not been performing for months now.
I’ve never quite been convinced O’Riley as the finished article, as I feel he is slow and lightweight, but that that’s not to say that he can’t improve.
Superbru Round 23 update
With the Livi All-weather pitch being under the weather, we only had 3 fixtures to choose from last night so we were unlikely to find a winner of our highest weekly points total but, at least, we did not all finish on equal points.
Leading the way this week were joint top on 5.5 points, BRTH & sammybhoy67. In joint 3rd we had Big Jimmy and fess 19 on 5 points. Bringing up the rear we had Garry Postecoglou (BRRB) on 1 point as we had over 10 forgetting to forecast this week.
Overall our top 3 remain as:-
A thing of beauty- 134.5
Leggy- 124
Ayrshiretim- 124
Greenpinata is only 2 points away from breaking into the prizes.
We now have 38 predictors with 100 points or more leaving at the bottom Por Cierto on 55, Craig 76 on 59.5 and wee BGFC on 64.5
We have Scottish Cup games this weekend so our next deadline is Saturday 28th January at 3 pm.
AFTERNOON ALL and JIM, my take on last night, good performance agin a no bad team, starfelt had a couple of howlers then came on to a good game, enjoyed it but why so many crosses into the box and no takers, im privileged to have seen 4 players in my time supporting celtic, oh sorry 5 forgot about henrik, ,wullie wallace, joe mcbride, stevie chalmers and bobby Lennox, they would all have scored hattricks’ out there last night, another true story.hh
b p
Great as those guys were they didn’t have VAR to contend with, and arguably as staunch and loyal a refereeing fraternity as we have now.
On reflection maybe Lemon would have benefitted from VAR !
I wonder how many genuine goals scored by him were given offside.
CFC,.agree agree agree, another true story👍
b p
Just keep winning – it demoralises and sickens them.
McCaff, don’t give it moment’s thought, buddy 👍
I enjoyed the wee debate we had.
HH 🍀
CFC 👍
McCaff,
I did not take it as a criticism. You would have to work hard to offend me!
I envy you having access to games. You see so much more re movement off the ball.
Critique is such a sensitive art. It relies on benchmarking, either conscious or unconscious.
For example, assessing the Celtic of today bench marked to the Lions, or to NL’s final team, creates two different results.
As a free additional thought, I wonder how much the attitude of the Japanese players is rubbing off on other players. They are very fit, never hide, and technically good. Plus they play for the team. Much of these attributes are culturally based.
Rebus
Seems I’m in Twitter jail for calling a Tory a c u next Tuesday, no humour those Tories 🤣🤣🤣
CRAIG76
Nobody likes being called a Tory,mate. Time was,it was a criminal offence to be one.
St Tams,
Peter Grant, in his commentary last night, said that he never doubted O’R’s ability but he had severe fitness issues, w.r.t his back. I wonder if he has a continuing issue there.
I have been bothered by my lower back for decades….a legacy from the no pain, no gain philosophy of training. It zaps your concentrations, general fitness and stamina.
Might be an explanation for his shading off,
Rebus
REBUS67
I watched the 4-1 v St Johnstone from way on high,upper tier. Of the upper tier. Bloody nightmare climb,but the view of the overall match was amazing.
Highly recommend it to everyone.
If you think Scottish football is bad…
https://www.theguardian.com/football/when-saturday-comes-blog/2023/jan/18/lower-league-football-premier-league-pyramid
Rebus…it could also be a reason for some of your comments!! 🤣😂🤣
Rebus…re the influence of the Japanese players I’d say that any addition to the squad that brings a higher quality of training, professionalism, skill, attitude, diet, lifestyle – any or all of these things – can only serve to benefit the squad.
yYou’ve got me thinking back to the story/rumour of Tony Watt being dragged out of a club in Glasgow by Neil Lennon because he refused to leave when the guy employed by Celtic to ensure players did respect the curfew! The guy phoned Lenny at 1 in the morning to explain Watt was refusing to leave the club!! And we wonder why we can’t produce decent players anymore.
O’Riley had only played around 50 games as a professional before signing for Celtic. He was excellent in his first half a season with us. He will get better as he learns his craft, you learn from your mistakes as you develop. Turnbull was in great form before he got injured at the end of last year. Both will come into great form again. Hatate was playing University football 3 years ago and had only around 60 games as a pro before we signed him. We are developing players in first team surroundings including Champions League games, so patience is the key.
Afternoon all.
So Beale is signing 3 strikers,? A teacher, A postman and A railway worker.
HH
Horsis
Braw post.HH