Give Us A Break!
Morning, all.
Tonight is a big night for us, and no mistake. We take a three goal lead to Austria to face their champions, LASK Linz. I mention that they are champions to remind us all that this is no diddy team we are facing, but we already know that from the first leg last week.
We scored three wonderful goals, but they could have taken the lead after only a few seconds with an absolute screamer of their own. It was far from the only time they caused us concern, including another goal, like that one correctly chalked off for offside. I wouldn’t go as far as their coach did after the game and say that they were the better side, but we could hardly have grumbled had our advantage been less than three.
There seems to be a school of thought amongst our fans that while this tie isn’t over, another goal from us should kill it. Well, if there is a genuine concern that they can score three, perhaps we should also be worried that they can score four-and the reported absence from training of Trusty does little to allay those fears! I well remember our run to Seville when we took a two goal lead to Stuttgart and quickly scored another two. That four goal advantage should have had us on easy street, but we lost three goals and were hanging on grimly at the end.
It’s football, and we all know that there are no certainties!
I expect that the management team will go with the same starting XI as last week, though we may be forced to call on Scales as a replacement for Trusty. We will have to be ready for a full-on onslaught right from the off, and that means our midfield will have to work overtime, while our attacking line will be our first line of defence. It won’t be a night for passengers, that’s for sure. It will take 100% commitment and 100% concentration, and all the while being on the lookout for a chance at a break.
That said, and having given myself the fear even writing this short article, I’m looking forward to the game. We would have been delighted a week ago at the position we are in now, and if I’m honest, I’ll settle for any result which sees us in the group stages of the top competition. I don’t care if tonight is another classic, one which we will be talking about for years to come, or an updated version of The Great Escape. Just as long as it has a happier ending. So you’ll pardon me if I don’t say-“Good luck!”
<><><><><><>
Above article by BMCUWP
There is no coach at Celtic relevant to modern football.
I don’t believe Lask are anything other than ordinary and are poor defensively.
The only part of Celtic that belongs in Europe is the support.
F our custodians!!!
Agree, Lenny Celtic were battered – O’Neill & Maloney have no idea.
Mike.
C’mon mate, Martin isn’t going to walk out, turning a bad result into a club crisis.
And I know BAD doesn’t even begin to cover THAT
No redeeming factors tonight. Every player invisible after we scored. I am beyond angry with that performance, from the players to the coaches. Raging at how we just surrendered a strong winning position so tamely.
To be 4-0 and loose this tie is a disgrace , our tactics were woeful.
Manager and coaching staff should be sacked tomorrow.
Clear everyone out in the coaching setup and bring someone in with an ounce of tactical intelligence. Sorry MON but you have stayed on too long. Your subs tonight were just wrong and they cost us what little chance we had of going through. Think for the good of your health you should pack it in. A brilliant servant but too old now.
@fan give it a rest with the Callum stuff far from being his fault tonight. Bizzare subs and mccowan lost that game
Lenny and Stan summing it up correctly. The players were hiding tonight. No one was willing to take any responsibility.
A sad end to Martin O’Neill’s career that, whatever happens domestically
I wonder where the Club goes from here.
I thought Callum was one of the few that got near pass marks tonight.
Why did we choose to play so narrow, then hoof the ball any time it landed at our feet? When the ball came back they just had acres of room to play out wide, so it just ends up relentless.
Amateur stuff! Tactics from the kick and rush 70s
TAL
Did Lask score from 3 shots from centre just outside box or did I just imagine it?
I was merely commenting on our clubs frugality causing us to play square pegs in round holes.
McGregor as I posted had a great first half but was posted missing in 2nd.
I don’t think the club will get over this quickly. Strap yourself in for another “covid type” season.
We’re one or two Hun defeats away from all out War
Thats the first win in 12 European games for LASK. Previous 11 – 7losses 4 draws. Then the Famous Glasgow Celtic come to town. A laughing stock.
TAL,
Im with Fan. You can’t defend that performance . He’s awful as a 6 and him and the rest of that midfield can’t tackle a fish supper. Calmac was good for 45mins and vanished like the rest of them when the going got tough. We learn nothing.
@fan tonight showed more nygren can go for a big bid guy did hee haw and caused the fightback. Callum was far from the problem tonight
Can’t believe what I just witnessed. From last week to this. Tactically inept coaching/subs at crucial stages in the game, powder puff in the tackle….from the moment we gave away the first goal we were overrun in all areas…..just s****. Also looks like our £11m striker is f****d along with CCV. No more new signings, emergency loans, if we’re lucky. Utter bollox doesn’t even cover it.
Players not goood enough:
Murray
Sinasalo
Mccowan
Ralston
Donovan (best of bad bunch)
Scales
Tounekti
Yang to a certain extent
Thats only players who played tonight
And I don’t even want to talk about our fitness, or why the young guys we bring through can’t run around for 90mins.
There’s just too many jerseys that are filled by very, very average footballers.
Literally struggling to care about European football anymore
The whole Hatate business has my blood boiling. Should not be near the team. As we have said previously, we have a half decent first 11 but what is underneath is useless. I also think Hogh and CCV are injured so that won’t help.
Tactics or lack of them ,call it what you will has left our management team looking bereft of any modern thinking and sadly that includes Martin.
P.s
Liam Scales is our best defender by a mile.
LASK are a very well regimented and very well balanced team (squad) who are well coached. They have been playing like this for nearly a year now and can interchange seamlessly on the park without issue into different well drilled formations. They showed us this last week at Celtic Park and also why they won the Austrian double. I don’t think we got carried away ee knew we got lucky. They just eventually wore us down.
We have improved having two strikers instead of none. That is noticeable as is how easy it is to play through us. Even if we got the right back, defensive midfielder and non lightweight winger and left back we would still be in elastoplast band aid territory.
We fail as a club because we don’t pursue excellence throughout the entire club. The squad is far from balanced. We are not well coached. We can’t interchange on the park. We can’t even interchange with substitutions. Our substitutions are second choice not alternatives. Our formations are not well drilled second nature as we don’t have any.
AND it’s not going to change anytime soon.
Imagine we qualified we’d get our arses tanned every other week
4 centre backs deary me.
Remember Basle, Remember Martin O Neil. Sevilla. Next year the final is in Frankfurt. I can dream…
Back to life back to reality.
I have said for years there is no real evidence at any level of coaching at Celtic.
Tonight it was evident with no bench reaction as have turned from beginning of 2nd half.
When we did make subs most supporters were baffled.
The entire evening we were vulnerable to cross balls but our players never showed any inkling how to cut them out.
We chase and run a lot but without purpose.
Callum apology. Avoids question on appalling squad depth.
https://youtu.be/U5CEiVjsCqU?is=1HUKFJwxtzJ4OP6V
San Luis
After you had seen their rugby tactics in the first leg Scales should have been on from the start as he can complete for headers. Did Trusty win a header tonight? Maybe the odd one in 20
Bored by the board
August 25, 2026 10:41 pm
‘Clear everyone out in the coaching setup and bring someone in with an ounce of tactical intelligence. Sorry MON but you have stayed on too long.’
###
The only person who can do that is the person who appointed them.
The same person who’ll appoint their successors.
The person in question is a minority shareholder.
And Celtic are a plc.
Unravel that and you might see where the problem lies.
We knew before tonight a lot of these lads shouldn’t be playing for Celtic, but they are.
This is where all the downsizing comes home to roost. we find ourselves relying on lads like McCowan, Scales, Ralston, Yang, Murray…they simply shouldn’t be representing Celtic in the European cup.
Ernie,
Depressingly correct
Ernie Lynch
Nail on head.
We didn’t get here by accident.
We are the result of Despots machinations.
Fan,
It looks like mon-fri we are on easy street.
As for coaching set-up etc, we are now light years behind the biggest clubs
It takes someone like Ange, Brendan to come in and apply some professionalism around the place, otherwise it’s a jog and a kick about at training.
That looked like a Scottish first division team trying to compete with a professional outfit.
It was embarrassing.
Big Audio Dynamite
August 25, 2026 10:59 pm
We knew before tonight a lot of these lads shouldn’t be playing for Celtic, but they are.
This is where all the downsizing comes home to roost. we find ourselves relying on lads like McCowan, Scales, Ralston, Yang, Murray…they simply shouldn’t be representing Celtic in the European cup.
===
Cameron is a sick note and did little this evening. Trusty isn’t even a better CB than Scales, he’s faster, that’s all. He’s positionally deficient and weak as f*uck in a 1v1. Add those 2 to your list
And some lose their shit if you call Desmond names.
Btw that lad Tounetki is a total sand dancer of a player. An utter fraud. Can’t even lace Yang’s boots!!
New article.
https://sentinelcelts.com/2026/08/25/they-embarrassed-the-hoops-2/
Poor poor night
This was an embarrassment in the making, we all knew 3-0 flattered us,we go 4 up and can’t see it out,Nygren fkd it,but the game management and subs were ridiculous ,bottle the game up ,put Scales and Hatate on after an hour (I know) ,sit a bit deeper and defend properly ,put Hassan on to stretch the game and give us a threat, yes the squad is poor but we lost this game from the bench IMO