The Way Of The World
Morning,all.
I suppose I could use today’s article to have a casual wee smirk at the fifteen point gap we now have at the top of the table. Or use the fact that the only win in five for our rivals came when they spanked us last week to have a wee pop at the manager for his tactics on the day. But I won’t. Nor will I mention tomorrow’s match-at Ross County, which will be a difficult one in very poor conditions-as that is MAHE’s usual topic of choice for the Saturday article.
No, I think it’s maybe time we addressed the issue of the packed schedule, with particular reference to the logjam either side of Christmas and the effects it has on the finances of the supporters. Not to mention their enthusiasm, given that conditions around this time of year tend to be anything but clement. (Sorry, I said I wouldn’t mention the Huns.) Even in the milder temperatures leading up to Christmas, it was blowing a gale at virtually every game. Hardly conducive to playing The Beautiful Game-in fact, I remember Kyogo running onto a through ball and having to turn back to get it when it was blown behind him! But is there an alternative?
Well,Celtic are as good an example as any, given that we have our European adventure to deal with AND that we played every round in The League Cup. I’ve done some back-of-fag-packet research on free midweeks for us from 4th August to 12 April, the only fixtures scheduled so far. Believe it or not, there are six of them before the end of September and one in December, along with another seven from 2nd February. That’s a lot of leeway to space games out in anyone’s book. And it doesn’t include the four international breaks either-for obvious reasons. So why doesn’t the SPFL use them?
Well, there’s a number of reasons that I can think of. And this is where our Brains Trust of readers come in,because I’m bound to have missed one or two. Firstly, the ones in August don’t count as they are set aside for European qualifying. While it’s true that we didn’t need to qualify, other sides did-and next season that will include us. And there’s another downside to European competition when it comes to scheduling. While UEFA no longer prevent countries from playing on European nights, they are still prevented from advance scheduling of matches on those dates. After all, we can’t have a full round of SPFL fixtures if there is a possibility of even one club still being in European competition. They are fine though with the playing of previously postponed matches, which is very decent of them!
Speaking of previously postponed matches, ours against the two Dundee sides, on Wednesday and next Tuesday, are rescheduled due to League Cup cancellations-so you can see how quickly those free midweeks can suddenly add to the hectic schedules we are witnessing. And of those midweeks to come with nothing scheduled? Virtually all of them are for the three European rounds leading to the semi-finals at the end of April.
So, thanks in no small part to UEFA/FIFA scheduling club and international matches for approximately twenty midweeks, there is little space in the calendar for anything else. Even in England, the home of the first competitive trophy (though not the oldest,btw) in The FA Cup, they have now banned replays in it because of the fixture chaos. Yet some countries still manage to have a midwinter break, so how do they do that?
In the main, those countries have fewer league games. Some with 34 games and 18 team leagues, and some with 30 games and 16 teams. Scotland did away with its 18 team league fifty years ago now, and we have struggled to get the right formula since. Starting with 10 teams playing each other four times, then 12 teams doing the same-which certainly wouldn’t be possible now!-then the current 12 teams and a split giving us 38 games. The only viable option is to increase the number of teams to 18 again, and I don’t think there is any point in even going there. The SPL struggles with enough low-quality fare and ramshackle stadia as it is, and we certainly don’t want more of it.
Seriously, I’ve been thinking about this for a while now. I’ve certainly mentioned the packed fixture list often enough. And I’m struggling to come up with anything. Hopefully some of you fine people can shame me with some answers! I suggested yesterday in a comment that we could move the September international break to December, which would give us a chance at two September midweeks plus a December break for those players not on international duty. And it’s still the best I can come up with! While that helps the players AND the fans, I should be embarrassed that it’s the best I can do, but I’m not. Because the power-brokers have made a grab for everything they can, and left no room for anyone else.
And as we know, that is just the way of the world these days.
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Above article by BMCUWP
Last year,our charity drives raised over £4000 for deserving causes. You are truly a wonderful collective, giving selflessly to others in need.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
The bulk of the money was split fairly evenly between our two nominated causes, which were
Lanarkshire Cancer Care Trust and Blood Cancer UK.
New Year, New Cause! From 1st January till 30th June, we will switch our attentions to raising funds for another source of wonderful work on behalf of those who need it most.
MacMillan Cancer Care
Once again, the donations page has been set up for us by CHALMERSBHOY, and my grateful thanks to him for doing this and so much more.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/3x3g3-sentinel-celts?attribution_id=sl:0cefe851-42bd-443e-8cdb-345070949a04&utm_campaign=man_sharesheet_dash&utm_medium=customer&utm_source=copy_link
Please continue to give generously, which I know you will!
Link to our SATURDAY NAPS Competition. If you haven’t signed up yet,please do so now.
Although it is free to enter,the prize money,50% provided by the site and 50% by 16 ROADS,is well worth it!
https://sentinelcelts.com/2024/10/06/saturday-naps-competition
Link to the CHALMERSBHOY Beat The Bookie Challenge
https://sentinelcelts.com/2024/11/15/beat-the-bookie-part-two/comment-page-3/#comments
In addition to the nominated treble (see above) there is also a weekly 6-team acca. Each of us is looking for a nailed on certainty,but there’s no such thing! But we only make one selection each,and all we ask is…
If yer daft enough to follow our advice,put a quid on each for the nominated charity as well! We are still well ahead against a level stake,so it could well be worth it.
Go on,folks. A quid? What are you waiting for?
This recently from ATHINGOFBEAUTY deserves a repost.
Happy new year to you all. I just wanted to take the opportunity of the new year to thank and praise Chalmersbhoy for all the charity work he does for the site. Considering we are not the biggest Celtic blog, to raise over 4k for charity is quite a feat. Thanks also to all who contribute but these initiatives need a driving force and we’re very fortunate to have Chalmersbhoy at the wheel. More power to you sir.
****
I’d like to second those sentiments. While MAHE and I had tried several charity initiatives over these few years,they were bloody useless. They lacked the drive and focus that CHALMERSBHOY provided. So thanks,mate. Really well done. And thank you also to you and 16 ROADS for your continued generosity and sponsorship of the competitions,and to TWISTY for his in the recent past.
POTY Competition Update.
*SENTINEL CELTS PLAYER OF THE YEAR 2024-25*
*RESULTS FROM GAME #31 CELTIC 2 DUNDEE UNITED 0 (MAEDA, HATATE)*
Good evening, friends.
A bitterly cold evening at Celtic Park seemed to encourage our players to run around a little bit quicker than of late, with the match starting at a decent pace and remaining that way for most of the first half. Yet again, though, not too many chances created despite our 400% possession, playing against the most defensive minded team I’d seen at Celtic Park this season.
An early corner from Engels almost resulted in a repeat from last weekend but this time Trusty’s header clipped the bar. But midway through the first half we made the breakthrough when McCowan’s shot was only parried by the goalkeeper back towards the penalty spot, with Daizen Maeda than pouncing on the loose ball to fire Celtic in front.
The second half saw Dundee United be a little more adventurous and with the scoreline remaining 1-0 there were a couple of nervous moments in front of Kasper’s goal, particularly a shot from Middleton which Schmeichel did well to turn around his near post.
The points were finally secured on the 83rd minute. Having no left foot to speak of, substitute Palma curled in a cross from the left with the outside of his right peg which evaded everyone but was collected by Maeda. The ball was returned back in and a Bernardo dummy left it clear for Hatate to fire a well placed shot into the net. Although I’ve since seen some references to a ‘double dummy’ I’m not sure that Bernardo’s decision not to jump for the initial cross counts as one!
As for last night’s songsheets from both ends of the ground it was humourus to a point but hopefully the issue is now put to bed. I’m pretty sure the only song for the 15 players who actually played last night was for Reo after the 2nd goal but happy to be corrected on that.
Another victory, another clean sheet and the gap at the top increased to 16 points with our nearest challengers only having 18 games remaining.
We have now played 31 games this season, winning 23, drawing 6 and losing 2. We have scored 84 and conceded 23 (domestically it’s 74-13 and in Europe it’s 10-10).
Worth noting that last season we ended up playing 50 games, scored 115 and conceded 50. We will definitely play another 20 games this season as a minimum. We need to score at least 32 and concede less than 27 to better last seasons ‘for and against’ totals. I’m pretty certain we will.
Thank you so much to the 74 who voted this time around, bang on the average turnout for the season to date. The total votes cast for each player are as follows, with my own nominations asterisked. Of the 15 players who contributed, only 2 failed to secure a single vote….
Schmeichel: 1
Johnston: 2
Carter-Vickers: 14
Trusty*: 39
Taylor*: 20
McGregor: 7
Engels*: 71
McCowan: 15
Yang: 2
Idah: 0
Maeda: 37
Hatate: 8
Kyogo: 0
Palma: 1
Bernardo: 5
And so, the players receiving POINTS for the game against Dundee United are –
Engels – 5 points
Trusty – 4 points
Maeda – 3 points
Taylor – 2 points
McCowan – 1 point
And the overall positions after 31 games played are –
52 points – Kuhn
41 points – Bernardo, Scales
36 points – Hatate, Schmeichel
38 points – Maeda
37 points – Engels
33 points – McGregor
29 points – Trusty
22 points – Carter-Vickers
21 points – Johnston A
19 points – McCowan
17 points – Valle
16 points – Taylor
14 points – Kyogo
7 points – O’Riley
5 points – Idah
4 points – Forrest
3 points – Welsh
1 point – Yang
0 points – Holm, Johnston M., Nawrocki, Palma, Ralston, Turley
And finally, here’s where this season’s 84 goals have been credited:
*Goalscorers table*
16 – Kuhn
14 – Maeda
10 – Kyogo
8 – Idah
7 – Hatate
6 – McGregor
5 – Engels
4 – Johnston A
3 – Bernardo, McCowan, Scales
1 – Carter-Vickers, Ralston, Taylor, Trusty
1 Own Goal
Total Goals – 84
Our next game is on Saturday when we travel to face Ross County. It’s a 12.30 kick off.
Hail Hail!
Our next opposition beat Dundee 3-0 away, drew with Hertz at home 2-2, beat Kilmarnock 1-0 away, and beat the Sheep 2-1 away in their last 4 league games.
They are playing well. Time to interrupt that wee streak.
Took a quick tour of Sevco sites, including You Tube. Reaction ranges from depressed resignation from those who think Baldemort is there for the season, to towering rage at their Board demanding he be canned tonight.
Illuminating post match interview with Tony Docherty. i think we are in for a tough game next week.
https://youtu.be/PhATPevoX_A?si=RdRRQAgM_MTk8IhO
Rocket shot by Rocco Vata today. Why don’t we ever even try to do this?
https://youtu.be/DPuvXecEVSw?si=APMeDKUoMGKYitE3
Bobby,
I’m going to throw another spanner into the works, and like yourself I’ve given the issue a bit of thought.
Here’s my argument.
The number of players complaining about fixture congestion/too many games has risen dramatically. We’ve just seen the World Cup expand, the CL expand alongside the Europa plus the Conference league has been introduced. Oh, and the nation’s league which does away with meaningless International friendlies.
Just as European football expands in every direction, FIFA reciprocates and the World Club Championships expand plus FIFA pulled rank and made attendance for UEFA clubs mandatory. Ancelotti said his team weren’t going and was forced to backtrack.
Man City won’t get a summer break.
Etc.
The effect of all this expansion has already delivered poor Euros and World Cups, now it’s hitting home in the Big 5 leagues, and I’m pretty certain this CL phase shall see many a big gun have to play two intense play off rounds against teams like ourselves whereas before it was just finish top two of four.
Players will begin either retiring early or forced out the top tier by 30 due to the amount of minutes, and don’t forget there’s more running involved than ever.
All this will have also have an effect on the real driving force behind modern football, the money. And that when change happens.
Bear with me here, but when Ancelotti said we aren’t he wasn’t afraid or anything, he was just implying he couldn’t be annoyed with the Club World Cup. Next season when City’s players fall of a cliff early and lose millions in,,
EPL revenue such as X amount for coming top,
TV revenue as in lost out on 3 semi final possible final appearance money,
Player value,
Etc, Etc,
Then somethings gotta give as it turns out the big guns are in demand too much and once that affects their income you bet your bottom dollar that the finacial worth of actually appearing in the Club World Cup will be highly scrutinized, under the harshest of microscopes, and if the cost of playing that summer competition outweighs the rewards of being fresher and performing better at home in Europe,,,well it doesn’t take a genius to see some saying no thanks and leaving the fall out/squabble to FIFA and UEFA to sort out.
If you were in FIFAs shoes then, what would you do?
Here’s a hint, look for other global giants to take their slot, genuine names who are Champions of their nation at least, even better if they have some good past or present footballing history especially if respected in Europe as a name, extra welcomed if they bring a following with them to make it a real event, a known brand seals the deal.
Have you guessed who it is yet?
Aye, indeed. Talk about the ideal Club for a summer tournament, and talk about bringing a show, once the Big5 leagues top 6 clubs spurn it who’s left to turn to but teams like Celtic/Ajax etc.
I can honestly picture an invite if they turn their back,,which whilst potentially lucrative, just adds to the problem your article highlights.
Hail Hail
Atob thanks for the reply I get what you’re saying maybe I’m just living in hope, and what you said about BR sitting in the stand might help my argument, sitting here in 27 degrees have a great day all
I think a bigger league with fewer games is in fact the answer.
We have too many senior clubs in Scotland. There should be one main league with the 16 biggest teans with criteria for entry. Everything below that can form part of the pyramid.
Part of the criteria for entry should include a reserve team and league which can be academy or periphery or returning to fitness players. Ie no age restriction.
And don’t give me the crap about clubs can’t afford to miss out on extra games/ matches against us and the tribute act by only playing us twice,….not whilst they would rather play in empty stadiums against us than sell seats.
Create a new contrived split and reduce the schedule to 36 games for the top 6.
A 14 team league- play two rounds home and away. 26 games.
Split into a top 6 and bottom 8.
Play home and away. 10 games for the top 6, 14 for the bottom 8, who play 40 games over the season.
Do away with play offs and relegate bottom 2.
In Europe although the new format at first appears to be decent it also means that each team is playing more games. For the fans who are lucky enough to go to all of the games both home and away it is adding huge expense to an already expensive past time. Yes that is their choice but if it wasnt for the greed of the govverning bodies we would still be playing league champions of countries NOT leagues made up with 4 or 5 teams from the 5 big leagues in the ECL and up to 3 in EL / Conference. These extra teams should be removed thus reducing the amount of games and travel in Europe. Its all down to greed and money as we all know. Go back to a format as was the case before we introduced the Champions League to suit big clubs alone. Domestically travel is a max of around 125 miles each way . There are too many clubs for the size of the country but the other side of the coin if we reduce the amount we lose supporters as many wont change allegiance to support a bigger club and might end up with more clubs going to the wall increasing unemployment for those who rely on that as their sole income. Its a vicious circle and not every domestic club are as large as Celtic and not every fan can afford our ticket prices. How do the governing authorities solve it. I have thought about it for years as we watch clubs all over going into administration and liquidation but cant find a simple solution. Thats what those high paid “experts” get paid for but do such a poor job for the clubs and support all over.
Its certainly a huge bag of snakes Bobby.
Good morning friends and a Big Happy Friday to everyone who posts or lurks on this fine site.
There can be little doubt in my humble opinion that the current SPL setup has run its course. It’s boring. Teams playing each other 4 times was excused by other teams wanting ourselves and the sad and poor visiting twice. Well that can be canned by some recent nonsense, restricting our ticket allocations. We need serious change. I have always been an advocate of summer football. Watching in shirt sleeves is so much nicer than 5 layers and the pitches are sometimes even quite playable. Old tales of trades holidays and other sports are a nonsense. We might also get a better TV deal.
It also better prepared us for Europe so it’s winner winner. And let’s be honest, other leagues cope fine with summer football.
I’ll crawl back under my working rock now.
Belated Happy New Year to everyone here and thanks to the boys who run this site, it’s really enjoyable.
Another effect of fixture congestion is that the refs are overworked, but that guy last night seems to have found a way of making it easier for them. One dodgy decision resulting in a two goal advantage. He’ll go far.
Ron thinks he’s worked out the issue
Craig 76
Mo Ron?🤔
Craig,
Still hankering for the good old days of being happily up to their knees.I
I wonder if they will ever join us in this century.
The longer they pretend that their club is still Rangere, the longer it will take to ever become even remotely successful.
I hope their misery lasts till I’m long gone!
“Teams playing each other 4 times was excused by other teams wanting ourselves and the sad and poor visiting twice”
—
i think our fans were as much to blame as other clubs supporters.
in the same way, we didnt want to sacrifice 2 games against the hun, aberdeen and hearts to replace them with 2 games against hamilton, falkirk and inverness for example
They do Ron Ron 🎶
B.A.D
Their whole existence is based on hate, not a chance they’ll ever change
Craig
Not that I am in any way sympathetic ..but it is some position they find themselves in.
They have now become comedy material for the smallest clubs in the country.
To quote Sally McMoist – I can’t say I’m not enjoying what’s happening to them.
Karma really is a bitch 😊
Craig 76
January 10, 2025 11:40 am
B.A.D
Their whole existence is based on hate, not a chance they’ll ever change
###
It wasn’t always thus.
In the early days relations between the clubs and fans seems to have been relatively amicable. The bitterness seems to have started when Harland & Wolff opened their yard on the Clyde and brought in foremen from Belfast.
They should have been consigned to history when they went bust. But Scottish football and the Celtic board had other ideas.
BAD
Oh,nice one…
Unfortunately with the amount of money within the game, then greed has reared it’s ugly head, to a ridiculous state at present?
The ex arsenal manager is highly involved within FIFA, and had an agenda of making better competition within the game, to potentially tackle the money factor within the bigger leagues.
So a situation has arisen now, that the price of financial success within a club, also comes with a big price upon player’s welfare.
But in return player’s get paid huge amounts of money for the service they provide.
So a vicious circle has been created through greed, and yet the competition levels haven’t really been created in return, with the money factor involved, within clubs?
FIFA and UEFA take preference regarding there dates for there own competitions, which still continues to grow.
Leagues such as the SPFL, have to depend upon the Scottish FA, who aren’t fit for purpose still?
As Scottish football is currently a one team success within it, then our values won’t be entertained, especially as we are the cash rich club within the country?
Another vicious circle to contend with for ourselves?
So the problem exists, and very little chance of resolution, especially with the amount of greed involved within the governing bodies of the game.
Totally unrealistic for top players to be at there best, for every minute of every game, when 70 plus games could be involved for themselves also.
So is the real solution for ourselves, going to have to involve bigger squad to match the demands?
And in return our support has to gain better understanding of the challenges involved within the game these days?
For example, we would like AJ to be playing nearly every game ahead of ralston?
So even as supporters we don’t help the current situation either, especially with our own demands and expectations at present?
At present we are concerned regarding a potential injury to kuhn?
Hopefully it’s only a precaution situation, but still wouldn’t even consider using him in our next 2 games due to the importance of him for our CL campaign.
Yet there would still be a demand for kuhn to be used still, because of how many feel about what yang and Palma offer ourselves?
So as supporters, we hardly help with the current situation in operation either, especially as it has the potential to become even worse for ourselves also imo?
We have already been given enough challenging games within the SPFL, to go alongside our CL campaign this season already?
With them dates taking preference, then expect our SPFL matches to be even more challenging in return next season?
And in return with what is at stake, our own demands will intensify as a result also?
Again creating another vicious circle, that we will be very much part of as supporters also?
Simple solutions, far from it exists, and maybe more awareness of the situation is required from ourselves also in return imo?
Sorry for the very long reply, as a very complex question to try and answer, in how I see things at present within the game
Ernie,
Both sets of fans actually rioted together at the 1909 Scottish cup final because they wanted extra time to be played rather than another replayed game.
Obviously the crowd thought the SFA were trying to wring as much money out of replayed games that they could.
I’m seeing reports that Celtic’s offer to KT is 35,000 per week. Given his current wages, i Would have thought they would have to go to 45-50 to get him
Good afternoon, friends.
I’d second what Just Sayin’ posted at 8am this morning. And I managed to dig out a very similar post I put on here in December 2021! Here it is…
I know I’ve floated this idea a couple of times whenever the issue of the post slit fixtures anomaly comes up but hey ho, it’s fairly quiet on here anyway. My perfect solution involves expanding the top division to 14 yet still having the top teams playing 36 games. Here’s how –
14 teams in the league play one another twice, once at home once away = 26 games.
The league then splits into Top 6 and Bottom 8.
The teams in each ‘section’ play a further full round of home and away games = 10 games for the top 6 and 14 for the bottom 8.
At the end of the season the top 6 will have each played 36 league games whilst the bottom 8 play 40.
As it is normally the teams at the top who feature in the later rounds of the 2 cup competitions, those outside of the top 6 shouldn’t have too many problems coping with the extra league games, 2 more than at present.
In terms of teams all playing the same number of home and away games and playing every other team either twice or 4 times it results in a much fairer arrangement all round.
Simples!
Bernebei away €6 million
Jobo
I remember you posting that at the time. I fully endorsed it then and I’ve yet to see any other suggestion since come close to being as practical.
Sadly, I don’t think it will ever come to pass – or any other for that matter.
That’s a fair chunk of money we have gotten for Bernabei.
Can we add any signings to our CL squad?
Trying to find explanations for why things turn out as they do, can be both revealing and frustrating.
Anyone who tries to establish why something happened should be prepared for a bumpy ride.
Think how long it took to establish that smoking caused lung cancer. In that case, and all others, the problem is not to show that smoking is associated with lung cancer, but to eliminate all other factors that could have caused the cancer. That took multiple years and studies to achieve.
Despite that daunting background, I set out to try to explain why we lost 3-0 to Sevco. In particular, what influence did our 433 have on the result?
The following is not an in depth study but the results are suggestive….of what I am not sure, but they do raise at least one eyebrow.
Consider Dundee vs Sevco, result 1-1 and many would say a lucky one for the Sevco.
Lineup used by Dundee 3421
Consider St Mirren vs Sevco, result 2-1
Lineup used by St Mirren 3421
Consider Hibs vs Sevco, result 3-3
Lineup used by Hibs 3412.
These data are noteworthy not for what you see, but because of what you do not see. And that is 433.
Makes you think, doesn’t it?
Now, of course, there are other possible explanations for our humiliation, e.g., the effects of a virus. The club will know if that is a valid explanation. Another is the effects of being 14 points ahead, i.e., complacency. If these were not contributing factors, then the question is how do the formats 3412 and 3421 differ from 433?
Answers on the back of a $50 bill to:
Rebus
Where is AH?
AH, I know you and I have agreed not to respond to each other’s posts, but I hope you are well.
It is not like you to be absent without permission.
If you can, get back on here.
PS this is not a love note, let’s continue our agreement, but where are you?
Rebus
BAD
I’ve read that we can’t add players for the remaining 2 games apparently. They should be good for any play off games though.
Yang is the only fit winger for tomorrow. Looks like it’s either Kyogo wide, a youngster wide…or a change of formation?
Rebus
Good points, well observed.
Systems/ formations change with and without the ball.
Often at Celtic Park, opponents set up to kick off, go long and keep Celts in from the off.
Falls down when the kicker has neither the skill nor technique to place it.
They then very quickly revert to 451, or 541 to deny space and limit the damage.
After the infamous twenty minutes ( now thirty) when Adam is blowing ( and getting blocked) from shutting down, they may break out and get a corner.
We play 433 because we have better footballers and try to win the game that way.
It works until it doesn’t ( like zonal marking at corners) then the “ I can’t believe it’s not better” brigade ( trademark Bournesouprecipe ) weigh in.
Players win games, not formations.
Just a thought, if Tierney is not playing for Arsenal, signing him on a pre-contract for arrival in June, makes a lot of sense. He has more time to recover from injury and not on our salary bill.
If Taylor is not going to sign, then it makes sense to sell him in this window, after Jan 22. Use the Bernabei funds plus any from Taylor to finance another left back to arrive this window.
Earlier, I mentioned Penrice from Hearts. He is 26, like McCowan, not a prodigy at 20, but a solid player that has consistently improved. His crossing is better than Taylor’s, as is his success in the air. I believe he has scored more than Greg this season….goals, I mean. His prowess in the nightclubs is unknown to me😄
However, a little bird tells me, Taylor will sign 😂
Rebus
Thanks Billy 👍.
I was hoping we could add 1 or 2
Hopefully we have enough to get at least 3 pts from the last 2 games …we need 4 to get the total I thought we’d get.
Young boys are out and Villa already have 13pts, that may help us more than anything else. I’ll be really surprised if we don’t beat YBs comfortably
Steve,
Where is the $50? Otherwise, I cannot accept your reply 😃
I cannot disagree with anything you said, but, you knew there was one, not your last sentence:
”players win games, not formations.”
If this were true universally then we would always lose to teams of superior players.
I sincerely hope it is not true, mainly, for the following reason. Celtic’s only hope of moving up in European rankings is through the team, not through having star players. Stars get sold and are not immediately replaced, like with like. The only way that I see to counteract that is to have a style of play, a shape, that works for us, with the type of players we can afford.
IQ4 or MIT might call it synergy but I can’t spell it so I shall take the long winded approach above.
What the shape should be, I have no clue. I suspect, it cannot be just one fixed formation. It needs flexibility.
However, there is truth in what you say. If players do not perform, we are likely to lose, or not win.
If there was a magic bullet, everybody would be firing it. It is the uncertainty, the random element, that makes the game interesting, IMHO.
Rebus
The boss is saying stuff …
https://youtu.be/9VatTrKT6m4?si=8Z60qP-tLy5v2hj9
If we are fighting for fit wingers tomorrow (palma grandfather died) why not play Taylor on the wing and Valle or Scales at left back. Do we want Kyogo and Idah both on the field together against RC who arent shy when rough stuff is needed.
Over to you Brendan.
4-4-2
Kasper. ..
AJ.
Carpet-slippers.
Trusty.
Alex.
Cal.
Arne.
Bernardo.
Hatate.
Kyogo.
Idah.
=================
Flat back four
Diamond in the middle.
Kyogo playing off Adam.
Great opportunity to go 442 tomorrow, with no wingers available
BAD
You beat me to it
BAD@ 4:00
Looks like a good team selection there.
St Tams, Bluegrass Celt.
I just think Kyogo might get more opportunities by playing around and off Adam.
It would give us an opportunity to play the ball from back to front quicker.
There is a lot of talent in that front 5 ..take the shackles off and let them go and express themselves.
It would also give our keeper and full-backs a different kind of target for a pass when they find themselves under pressure.
Hopefully Adam develops into a more British style of forward who is able to gather the ball in and get us up the park quick. Kilmarnock away last season is close to what I’d like to see from Adam …use that build to be a bit more dominant.
BAD,
I’d be willing to go with that team and formation………but will Brendan?🤔
True Rebus but stars don’t always perform. ( Man Utd )
Stars in a good team, with a work ethic (Liverpool. R.Madrid A. Madrid ) usually do win.
Players win games but formations can tip the odds in your favor of not losing… until a good player does a good thing.
BAD
That’s the team I would select.
Can’t believe we agree.
Are you on drugs or something?🤣
HH
Iniquitous IV😊