Celtic vs. Barcelona – Will History Repeat Itself?

On the eve of another visit from Catalonia’s giants Barcelona, I’m sitting here pondering what the outcome may bring.

Last time out, I wouldn’t be lying if I said the result was embarrassing. 7-0 to the visitors. On paper would suggest that we were never in the game. It could have been a different story if Moussa Dembele had converted that penalty early on in the first half but unfortunately it wasn’t to be. It has to be said though, better teams have went to the Nou Camp and been on the other side of a less than flattering result. The best thing to come out of it was the reaction against Man City at home.

All the players have taken on board Rodgers ideas and philosophy’s and implement them on the pitch. At home, we must not be beaten. This is a necessity.

If we look at the dimensions of the Barcelona pitch its very easy to get lost. Take that into account and their style of play it makes it incredibly difficult to go their and get a credible result.

At home however even against a team like Barcelona, us as Celtic fans still have an expectation of being able to get a result. Every one could see against BMG, we underestimated them and we paid the price but yet again we went to Germany, showed what we were made of and having it not been for Mcgregor’s terrible miss at the end then we would have been able to snatch all three points.

Yes, domestically we are expected to dominate as we are doing but games always start 11 v 11. This is what we need to take into tomorrow nights game. Never mind about the results earlier on in the group, they are done, over. Focus all our attentions on creating another magical night in what we quite rightly call Paradise.

Moussa Dembele has came out and said, ” We need to be relaxed but have pride in the shirt we’re wearing. Then give everything. If we do that, I know we can get a result”

He has been a revelation since his arrival in the summer and his performances haven’t got unnoticed. With the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Real Madrid and Barcelona all have reportedly sent scouts to watch him. Also receiving a lot of praise from current Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane.

Now the 20 year old himself may think he has a point to prove after that miss against Barcelona last time out however if the rest of the squad have the same mentality as the young Frenchman (which I think they do) I think we may be in for a very interesting game.

I find it very hard to believe that Brendan Rodgers will change the game plan too much even against Barcelona. It appears to me that he is happy with conceding goals as long as we score one more. And for me i don’t think this is a bad philosophy. We attacked Man City from the off and that paid off, they looked shell shocked. Agreed however that they aren’t as good as tomorrow nights opponents but they did prove in the last group of fixtures that away from home Barcelona aren’t as good as they are at home. Barcelona got fortunate when they went to Germany too. So taking all this into account, we should have confidence going into the game.

At the end of the day, we have earned the right to be facing teams like this. So why shouldn’t we have the confidence about going to get a result. We are not here to make up the numbers. A win tomorrow will blow the whole group wide open going into the final fixture against Man City in two weeks time.

As Celtic fans we all have that bit of naive optimism going into big games like this. We know we have done it before. So lets get behind the team, get the stadium rocking and be the 12th man exactly like we did on that glorious night 4 years ago.

HH

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Paddy Roberts – Sign him permanantly?

Job done.

Astana of Kazakhstan now awaits the Bhoys. A long journey but a massively important one. If we go over there and don’t lose then it will be a good result. Get them back to Parkhead then do what we know we can do and finish the job.

Thats all I’m going to say on that.

The purpose of this is to show my admiration for Patrick Roberts. As many have done tonight. He hasn’t been compared to Messi for no reason. I know the standard of the opposition tonight wasn’t the highest but he glides past players as if the aren’t there. This is no easy thing to do. He is a defenders worst nightmare. He will just run and run and run all day. So quick with the ball at his feet and a peach of a left foot. He didn’t feature much in preseason but surely he must be the first name on the team sheet now?

Young Paddy has always been a Celtic fan and tweeted a picture of him in his youth wearing the hoops.

We only have him for one more season then he’s going back down south to rot in the Manchester City reserves. The board must act now and enter into talks to keep him for longer and secure his permanent signature.

And I know I’m not the only one –

If you have a quick search through Twitter, you’ll find that even Man City fans actually want him back! Lets hope that doesn’t happen however.

What do you think? Should we push the boat out to get him permanently?

If you like what you read on my blogs follow me on Twitter @docccs

HH

Mulgrew on the move?

Its clear for all to see that Celtic are in need of a new centre half.

With no concrete targets it may appear that we would offer Charlie Mulgrew a new deal as a back up versatility player again, much to the dismay of a section of the support.

Charlie Mulgrew once hailed as the prodigal son has not put pen to paper on a new deal yet making him a free agent.

Rumours broke today of him heading down south, the choice of destination Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

They would be inheriting a decent player in my eyes and would be joining up with former Celts, Glenn Loovens, Gary Hooper and Ross Wallace.

No doubt more on this will break throughout the day.

If he does leave then heres a nice way to remember him;

Charlie Mulgrew v Rangers 2012

Rodgers’ Revolution or Lawwell the Liar?

Its been a very long time since I’ve decided to use my blog but I’m not for one going down memory lane.

Lots have happened, Deila out (better late than never for some people) then the miraculous appointment of Brendan Rodgers.

There was a big will he, won’t he swing with the bookies over the appointment but it certainly brought the buzz back for us fans. With Dermot Desmond digging deep and paying part of the new gaffers wages out of his own pocket. This on its own had us rubbing our eyes in disbelief.

That being said it happened. With Rodgers last club being Liverpool he spent nearing £300 million on transfers during his tenure. Of course he will have known coming to Parkhead he wouldn’t have that sort of money to play with but he must have struck some deal over future signings.

He came out and said that he was to asses his current crop of players which is fair enough. Although the fans could have easily told you the players who no longer deserved to don on the Hoops for another season. But the gaffer said he would give everyone one last final crack of the whip.

We all know our strikers have been nothing short of woeful in recent seasons barring the revelation of Leigh Griffiths. Rodgers made light work of letting go Colin Kazim-Richards, Stefan Scepovic, Carlton Cole and Anthony Stokes. That left us with two recognised first team strikers, Leigh Griffths and Nadir Ciftci. The latter I personally think is a waste of wages. I am very aware however we cannot cull the side without getting in replacements. Wether it was the board or the attraction of the manager we managed to pull off a coup in signing young Fulham protege Moussa Dembele. Luckily enough we only needed to pay a developmental fee off around £500k.

The new boss took the current squad to a very warm Slovenia for preseason and all in all it was a decent turn out, 2 wins and 2 draws.

During the trip we found out our first opponents in the Champions League qualifiers, Lincoln Red Imps from Gibraltar. The current reining champions for the previous 13 seasons.

I’m sure like me you thought, such a tie wouldn’t posses a threat for the current crop of players without any further additions.

How wrong were we. Getting beat 1-0 was a disaster. The only positive to come out of the game was the beautiful back drop for the game. I won’t dwell on this too much as we still do have the second leg at  home to come on Wednesday night.

What was clear for all to see that reinforcements are needed. So surely this should have kickstarted the money men at Celtic Park to get on the phone to clubs and agents to get this sorted.

Loads of rumours flying about as to who we are supposedly bringing in but the truth is no one really knows. Names thrown about are Kolo Toure available on a free transfer so only the agent to deal with there. Shane Duffy at Blackburn who have just been taken over by Celtic fan Owen Coyle but there is interest from other English clubs such as Hull and Swansea. Scott Sinclair of recently relegated Aston Villa, we have had several bids reject for him as it appears they are holding out for over £4 million for him which is unrealistic for us to be paying. Bartosz Kapustka who is with Cracovia, he had a cracking Euros with Poland and was one of their better players but Ajax are also interested.

With no real truth behind many rumours its looking like Rodgers may not have as much control over new players as firstly was promised to him upon agreeing to become the manager of our beloved club on 20th May this year. Almost two months later and we have only signed one youngster, a youngster with a lot of hype surrounding him I may add but is anyone else worried by this?

Can the current squad do what they never managed to do under Ronny Deila? Qualify for the Champions League?

Barring another two quality signings I’m not too sure.

feel free to share as you please and if you like follow me on twitter too @docccs

HH

Is Ronny Deila fighting a losing battle?

24 hours later I finally watched the Ronny Deila interview. 

He hits the nail on the head in my opinion. Their is no doubt for his passion for the club and the game. Celtic are a selling club but we also are a big club. 

He speaks about how the club as a whole, players, coaches and fans need to be as one. Which again, yes is correct. However I can’t help but think that his views aren’t shares throughout the club. There are too many individuals who don’t seem all that bothered about what’s going on. 

Deila has his “way” fitness and attacking football. Great. What about the defence though? He got lucky having Virgil van Dijk in the side when he took over as in the Scottish league he was head and shoulders above the rest. The defence is something which should have been addressed as soon as we knew what European competition we were going to be playing in this season. 

I’ve been saying it for a few weeks now, I don’t think the problem is Deila, I think it’s the two cronies behind him. John Collins is just down right arrogant and isn’t popular amongst players and the role John Kennedy has appears to be too big for him. Deila himself is a young manager. Originally he was meant to be the assistant. So for him to step up to the plate to be Celtic manager surely he should have been given the help and assistance to do the role? Not just another cheap option. I highly doubt the Ronny even knew who Collins and Kennedy were before he took over at Parkhead. 

Ronnys vision is right. He wants to get us playing football and bring through the young talent. He understands that after a few seasons his better players will move on. Something which was the final nail in the coffin for Neil Lennon. With Deila we do need to believe in him. In my previous posts some may say I have been negative towards him which is not the case. My points have been that the players haven’t looked up to the task. Putting one performance every 4 games isn’t what you expect from your first team players. 

What my point is that Deila isn’t the problem. It’s the two diddys on the bench behind him. I would get rid of them before I got rid of the actual manager as I believe in what he is trying to do for the club. He has got rid of a lot of the deadwood from the club. Except from a certain Mr Boerrigter who apparently can’t be given away. 

Celtic fans are a fickle bunch. You are never going to please everyone. Especially in this day and age with social media giving everyone a platform to voice their opinions. I put a poll on Twitter earlier this week…  

 
Now, after the interview I wonder if the results would change? Constantly sackings managers helps nothing. We are not Real Madrid, we don’t need to change things every year. If we have a problem the board should give the gaffer the backing to fix it. 

Next season is looking likely that The Rangers will be in the same league as us. That will be a bigger test for Deila as the media will ramp up the pressure on him even more. 

I just hope that Ronny Deila will still be in charge to put them in their place. 

Mauled in Molde. Ronny Deila what’s next?

Everyone seemed to think away to Molde was going to be a banker. 3 points in the bag and the first win of this years Europa league for us.

Seriously? We’re howling away from home, with the exception of a few games. 

Getting beat 3-1 by a team 7th in the Norwegian league. Let that sink in. 

Defending seems to be something that Celtic are incapable of these days. Teams must be running their hands when playing us. Get the ball into that box at least 4 or 5 times then you’re almost guaranteed a goal. Now I only started watching the game at 60 minutes due to work. Seen the goals though. Getting dragged all over the place, you would think it was schoolboys. I mean what the hell is John Kennedy’s input as a coach? Because I cannot see him doing anything. Honestly I think he just tells the boys “aye nae bother, you seen where this team are in the league? You’ll have nae bother boys, away and have the afternoon off. You’ll walk it come match day”

Efe Ambrose is the usual scapegoat but no matter what you say, Ambrose has done us a turn. Unfortunately his Celtic career seemed to turn for the worse after the Juventus game in 2012. 

Lets have a crack at the manager now. According to Twitter Ronny is sacked in the morning. Clueless is the way I have seen him described by many. Making his first sub at 70 minutes. Why the hell he took Commons off is beyond me. 

I don’t even think it would make a blind but of difference if you put a junior manager in charge of the team. The players on that pitch need to start repaying the fans faith. It’s no a part time diddy your playing for lads, this is GLASGOW CELTIC. I’ve seen next to no passion from any of the players all season. That was until Kris Commons was subbed tonight. He went bush at John Collins and John Kennedy. Quite right. He was the only one giving any threat! 

We pumped that team tonight, 64% possession to their 36%. They hit us on the break along with our powder puff defending they were laughing. 

What’s the answer? I don’t have a clue. But what I would do would be taking a long hard look at what the coaching staff actually contribute to the Celtic cause. 

Absolutely boggin Celtic. You should really consider repaying all the fans that spent this months rent and wages to travel to Norway to watch that shite. 

Top Of The Flops (Celtic Edition)

There’s been far too much bickering between the Celtic fans recently. 

Why this? Why that? Where’s the money?

Reality is, top of the league, still Europe and playing decent football, just need to stick the ball in the pokey more often then we’ll be smiling like Derek McInnes when he sees Ash Taylor’s wife. 

So I was thinking to myself about a little piece that’s slightly different but interesting none the less. So here people is what I like to call TOP OF THE FLOPS (CELTIC EDITION)

I’m going to name a player for each role, goalkeeper, defender, midfielder, striker and even manager. Yes there will be a few that you may think should have been included but that’s where you can leave a comment at the end. 

Here it goes, straight in with the jugular RAFAEL SCHEIDT. Signed in 1999 for an incredible £5million, the horrendously named player lived upto his name. 3 games later he was back out the door and on a plane to Brazil. Miraculously the man had been capped by Brazil 3 times. This transfer still baffles me. 

  
I’ve chosen to go for MAGNUS HEDMAN as my flop keeper. Always liked him to be honest, thought he was a decent keeper. Never realised he was on our books for 3 years however. Should have been the number one, only amassed 26 appearances. Unfortunately the big man had a dramatic fall from grace by blowing his fortune on prostitutes and drugs. Which resulted in a divorce obviously but also heavy depression and left him considering taking his own life. A bit deep for my blogs I know but it’s still a serious thing. The big guy should know however, he is part of the Celtic family so he will never be alone. 

  
Celtic did have a tendency to be like a kid in a supermarket with transfers, ” I want that one ” without really thinking about it or looking into the history of the player. For my midfield selection I’m going for OLIVIER KAPO a French international attacking midfielder. Sounds good? Yeh? Shame he wasn’t needed. Played twice was at Parkhead for two months and wasn’t offered a contract. He’s still kicking about but currently without a club. At 35 he may be thinking about hanging up his boots. 

  
Up front I’m going for JEREMIE ALIADIARE. A real star in the Arsenal youth set up. The Frenchman appeared to score goals for fun. So yet again, his arrival excited us fans. This was short lived as he arrived in June and then left again in August. A striker by trade so when we were needing goals away from home to Artmedia Bratislava he may have been thinking, here’s my chance to show what I can do. Strachan then flings on Adam Virgo instead and puts him up top. This was the final straw for him so he packed his bags and returned to London. Fair play, he was getting messed about rotten. He came to play football then he didn’t get played. I would have done the same in his position. He is currently saving for his pension and playing in Qatar for Umm Salal. 

  
Manager time. It was a pick between two. But TONY MOWBRAY gets the nod. Having played for the Hoops it was set up for a great time for a once loved player to come back and lead the team to glory. Never happened. Sent the team backwards. Sold players then brought in below par ones as replacements. 9 months he lasted until a 4-0 defeat by St Mirren sealed his fate and he was relieved of his duties in May 2010. He recently landed the Coventry City job at the start of the season. 

  
Now I know there are plenty more out there. Feel like sharing your thoughts? Leave a comment. 

Just a bit of fun to break the usual Sunday night fear that a lot of us currently may have. 

Aw the best! 

HH 

Enough is enough. It’s time for Leigh Griffiths

The international break is here.

The European championships in France 2016 was Scotland’s best chance to get to an international tournament since France 98.

Handed a tough group initially we were still full of optimism, as we normally are as a nation. 

The first game against the world champions Germany filled us with confidence. A good performance but  it all ended in disappointment as we lost which many thought we deserved a draw. But that’s football. 

A draw in Poland is looking like a brilliant result now as they have been brilliant. 

Winning at home to Republic of Ireland, Georgia and away to Gibraltar was expected. 

The draw in Ireland was ok, not ideal but at least we never lost. Before this game I think we realised that we would have to settle for the 3rd place in the group and qualifying via the playoff route. 

We lost against Georgia away and inevitably lost against Germany at home, albeit we put in a good performance again but couldn’t get anything from the game.

That being said, all focus should have been on winning the “winnable” games. 

And how do you do that? Do you play the players that are available at the time and have the most caps? Or do you select the in form players at the time and give them a crack at representing their country? 

For me, international football has to be, play the inform players. They are high in confidence and are eager to impress as to why the manager has put faith in them. 

This has solely been written due to one position on the Scotland team sheet. That is the striker. 

Gordon Strachan has continuously played Steven Fletcher. He shows nothing. Apart from being caught offside and scoring against Gibraltar. Now this isn’t just bad luck from Fletcher as his club form is also rank rotten. He lost the number 9 jersey at Sunderland so that shows that club no longer have faith in him. In his 4 seasons at the North East side he’s scored 20 goals. Need I say more?

  
Scotland do not have a plethora of talent like Spain or Germany do so surely it’s a no brainer, if the player is playing well for his club then play him at international level! 

Obviously I am trying to say that Scotland’s number 9 without a doubt should be none other than our own number 9 Leigh Griffiths. 

The wee man had a bad attitude when he was younger which had got him into trouble in the past. Since moving to Parkhead his reputation has increased as has his hair line. 

He had 6 months in his first season at Parkhead and managed to get 7 goals in 14 games. 

In his second season, he may have thought he had done enough to be the number one striker. Lennon left and Deila was brought in. Along with that Deila brought in another two strikers putting him further down the pecking order. This didn’t deter Griffiths though. He sat on the bench, bided his time and when given the chance he put the ball in the back of net. By Christmas he had managed to dislodge Guidetti as Celtic’s number one striker.  At the end of the season he still managed to be our top scorer with 20 goals despite not being first pick all season. So it had taken Fletcher almost 4 times as long to get the same amount of goals as Griffiths? Now we have almost all been in this situation whilst playing FIFA or Football Manager. So you play the man in form? Right? Well this wasn’t enough to convince Strachan. Did it cost us in previous games? Very possibly. Griffiths gets a range of goals. Poaching, headers, set pieces. He’s a constant thorn in the side. 

New season, new start possibly for Leigh? He gets given the number 9 jersey at Celtic so he’s sealed his spot as top dog at Celtic Park. Will Strachan take notice? No. Will Griffiths stop scoring? No. 

Coming into the two most important games of the campaign, Strachan SURELY has to start Griffiths on Thursday against Poland. He is itching to go and is averaging about a goal a game this season. He will get chances and he will convert them. 

  
So please Mr Strachan on behalf of the nation of Scotland, give Leigh Griffiths his chance. 

He is the one deserving of it. Not Steven Fletcher. 

Ronny Deila get the finger out!

What a shambles that was this afternoon. Very hard to watch. 

Yes we won 2-1 against Hamilton away but it was far from comfortable. 

Two months into the season and the excuse of not knowing your best back four isn’t an excuse that he can use anymore.

By playing defenders in defence, who train together side by side every day, they should have a basic understanding of what their jobs are. 

The lack of understanding between the four who play is now affecting the keeper. Gordon is shaky as he has no confidence in the players in front of him. 

The two centre halfs of last season have gone. No real quality has been brought in. Bit part players from the EPL are not the players we should be expecting to come in and play solidly week in week out and in Europe. 

I am writing this as a fed up fan. I’ve tried to stick up for the team since Ronny took over. 

But nothing short of pathetic performances. It’s hard to do. 

Deila, Collins and Kennedy have enough experience between them to sort this out. 

With the lack of confidence in the defence, it is being echoed throughout the team. 

I’m not going to criticise any player individually. As almost all of them have one good game then 3 bad. 

The only player to get constant pass marks is Leigh Griffiths. The wee man is supposed to lead the line and is expected to score when ever he plays. 

He scored today and assisted the other and in the post match interview he actually said that he could have held the ball up better! Give the wee man a break. 

There is an international break coming up with the majority of the players being selected for their countries, so that proves that the players are decent. They need to concentrate on what they want to achieve. 

The players needs to have a long hard look at themselves and remember what team they play for. 

They play for Celtic. This is not a two bob outfit. This is one of the greatest teams in the world.  

No Efe No Cry

I find my self sitting here as a mixed bag of emotions. 
Yet another great night at Parkhead, expectations high, atmosphere booming and as of 40 minutes into the first half, a sterling performance. We’re 2-0 up. Griffiths grabbing his first European goal in a good few games and Commons with a sweet left footed strike into the roof of the net only a matter of minutes after the first. Everything’s looking good and Celtic smell blood. Until Efe goes and does an Efe. 

A powder puff header back to the keeper allowed the Fenerbache striker to nip in and half the deficit just before half time. Totally changing the complexion of the game. 

We all know that Efe is prone to a howler but why oh why does he save them for the biggest stages? 

Now on social media in the past 4 games people had been singing Efe’s praises! I think he must have seen this and it’s went to his head. A red card on Saturday against Hearts and now a clanger for the first goal.

The second goal took the wind right out of our sails. Conceding a corner right after half time and being caught on the backfoot. This goal was the prime example as to why to abolish zonal marking. The Fenerbache striker ran by 3 players and blindsided Efe to nip in and score. Great run from him but the defending is dreadful. Efe is the scapegoat for that yet again as he should have attacked his “zone”

Ambrose’s performance could drive a sane man to the loony bin. On paper he looks like a top drawer defender. On the park however the same can’t be said. I seen one member of the twitterati describe Efe Ambrose as a strikers wet dream. Can you really blame them?

Social media slaughtered him. Quite rightly. Pick of the bunch has to be this from @MireMerchandise

  

After a shaky 15 minutes in the second half we did come back into the game. And with some of the last ditch defending from the Turkish side you could definitely see we had them on the ropes. A few long range shots caused the keeper some problems. 

We’re still carrying too many passengers. Johansen is living off last seasons form. Trying cross field passes from deep instead of keeping it simple. Inviting pressure onto an already rocky defence. If that’s the game he wants to play then he needs to swap roles with Bitton because his passing is becoming a liability. 

Why Tom Rogic isn’t getting played in the big European nights is beyond me. Surely if a player is in form then he should be playing? 

One positive that I would like to mention as he certainly deserves it was that of young Kieran Tierney. The boy didn’t put a foot wrong. Done his reputation no harm either. Very promising. We’ve struggled over the past month or so in that position so I would think it would be time to give him the chance as he appears to be more than capable of holding his own.

Deila is walking a fine line at the moment and every move and decision he makes is under heavy scrutiny from the fans. Picking a player who constantly churns out below par performances can only be accepted for so long. Being a manager is about making bold and brass decisions. About being confident in your own ability to do the right thing. 

Two games into the Europa League and we have dropped 4 points. We should have learned from the first game but we didn’t. 2-2 is better than losing 2-3 but considering we were winning 2-0 it is a hard result to swallow. 

I am behind Ronny Deila but he needs to start proving why he has got the top job at Celtic.