The Offical Glasgow Celtic thread

[lenny]

CL group stage qualification achieved. This was our main goal at start of season. We were lucky tonight? As far as I'm aware it was aggregate score that counted. They dont get extra credit for playing well. They were lucky it wasn't a five goal deficit in first leg.
Janko played as we had few other options. O'Connell has been decent as a stop gap and Ambrose certainly wasn't an option,  Eric was too much of a risk to start and was a great option to bring on to be able to switch to a back five. Those were our defensive choices.
BR will be aware of at least three players who started tonight who will only ever be back up. Two new signings to arrive before end of August and with Roberts and Simunovic to come back, by the groups we could potentially have five of the starting team from tonight on the bench. Big changes still to happen. Being a Celtic fan isn't always easy but it's always worthwhile. The futures green.

Well said. The result was all important last night. The bottom line is that that was the sort of tie which we would have lost last year under Deila and would have lost easily. Rodgers  has already made us more resilient.

[T Fearon]

Resilient? We went into an away tie last night,with a three goal lead and still looked nervous and timid throughout,rode our luck time after time and eventually scraped through.

[cornerback]

The sad fact is we are not improving,just scraping through,luckily at that.Contrast this with immediate improvements good new managers have made at Man Utd,Man City and Chelsea.

We should have breezed through the qualifying rounds given the opposition and arrived in the group stages with confidence high and a realistic chance of being competitive.Sadly we will be cannon fodder,all due to an inept and overpaid manager

And what about the impact Moyes is having a Sunderland - a manager you would've been happy to have at Celtic!

[tonto1888]

The sad fact is we are not improving,just scraping through,luckily at that.Contrast this with immediate improvements good new managers have made at Man Utd,Man City and Chelsea.

We should have breezed through the qualifying rounds given the opposition and arrived in the group stages with confidence high and a realistic chance of being competitive.Sadly we will be cannon fodder,all due to an inept and overpaid manager

Chelsea have scraped wins in their two games so far against inferior opposition. Had that been Celtic you'd be making a big deal about it. Our manager is not inept at all. Getting the the CL has shown this

[imtommygunn]

Man city were lucky enough against sunderland and their scoreline against stoke was hugely flattering. You can slant any story to suit your agenda. Man city's champions league games can't be read into. They are semi finalists and the cost of their squad dwarfs that of their opposition.

Man united have won games on the back of one of the best players in the world signing for them and look at the money they have spent on Pogba.

Chelsea only beat Watford because Costa wasn't sent off.

A nonsense as usual.

[charlieTully]

CL group stage qualification achieved. This was our main goal at start of season. We were lucky tonight? As far as I'm aware it was aggregate score that counted. They dont get extra credit for playing well. They were lucky it wasn't a five goal deficit in first leg.
Janko played as we had few other options. O'Connell has been decent as a stop gap and Ambrose certainly wasn't an option,  Eric was too much of a risk to start and was a great option to bring on to be able to switch to a back five. Those were our defensive choices.
BR will be aware of at least three players who started tonight who will only ever be back up. Two new signings to arrive before end of August and with Roberts and Simunovic to come back, by the groups we could potentially have five of the starting team from tonight on the bench. Big changes still to happen. Being a Celtic fan isn't always easy but it's always worthwhile. The futures green.

Well said. The result was all important last night. The bottom line is that that was the sort of tie which we would have lost last year under Deila and would have lost easily. Rodgers  has already made us more resilient.

spot on, very hostile ground last night, the home fans were outstanding, 12th man for sure, but apart from that absolute howler of a second goal we held on very well, the change in formation worked well, how Janko stayed on the field was bizarre though. Pity we didn't create more, Dembele could have snook one. Onwards and upwards.

[Applesisapples]

I thought Rodgers got the selection wrong last night, Rogic and O'Connell should have started instead of McGregor and Janko. That said the penalty was not a penalty and the first goal you could attribute to Rodgers selection. The second was down to Gordon, Jako should have been buried by Gordon for being stupid enough to come charging in. They never really looked like they had the quality to create a score, both goals were gifts. Also factor in 26˚C and 65% humidity and you can see why Celtic maybe struggled physically at this stage of the season. I think Rodgers on balance is still doing ok given that he has only been there a few weeks, Neil Lennon and a worse start to his management career. We need to be realistic, even with two or three decent signings the Europa league place is where Celtic should be aiming. There is not the strength and depth in that squad to challenge for any thing more. It will take Rodgers a couple of transfer windows to get in the personnel he wants. In fairness he should be judged after Christmas. As for Tony well he's not a real fan any way so I'm past caring what drivel he posts. I'm not even sure he's the real Tony Fearon.

[illdecide]

Maybe it's time the MOD's gave a warning out to stop winding people up, i know he has not said anything to warrant a ban but he/she is being a nuisance.

Like i said last night, i could see early in the game where we were weak and after the last 20 mins at Celtic Park they troubled us at right back when Lustig went of injured. They certainly targeted that area last night and Janko duly obliged, Celtic def need a new right back. I know Lustig will play there when everyone is fit but he is injury prone and def need cover there as S Janko seems to out of his depth. How will Simunovic fit into the team when he's fit? will he be main centre half? and if so who will partner him? Toure or Sviatchenko? What happened O'Connell last night that he wasn't on the bench? was he injured, suspended or dropped?

My best Celtic team would be...

Gordon
Lustig
Simunovic
Sviatchenko
Tierney
Roberts
Brown
Rogic
Sinclair

Griffiths

There is a position there up for grabs who depending on the system played is available, play two up front then Dembele could take it. Play 5 across the middle and take your pick from about 8 midfielders.

[Longshanks]

The sad fact is we are not improving,just scraping through,luckily at that.Contrast this with immediate improvements good new managers have made at Man Utd,Man City and Chelsea.

We should have breezed through the qualifying rounds given the opposition and arrived in the group stages with confidence high and a realistic chance of being competitive.Sadly we will be cannon fodder,all due to an inept and overpaid manager

He may be in your opinion overpaid but by getting us to the champions league no matter how easy you say it was he has paid for his wages easily 10 times over.

Obviously still in the early stages and it was a frustrating game to watch, of I would have had Janko off, thought he was shocking but I would hope when everyones fit and he is a few months into his reign it would be a totally different lineup. I cannot see how you can criticise him that much this early??

Chelsea have scrapped all their results with late goals while not playing well so unsure what you are talking about there...

Every manager should be given time, I'm pretty sure Pochettino took a while to settle with his first team and start getting results

[Kickham csc]

Tony
To prevent you being embarrassed at the CL games, I am willing to take your tickets off your hands.

Let me know if your up for it. Just moved back from the states after 20 years, so looking to taste some CL games

[yellowcard]

A second leg defeat away from home will be long forgotten by the time the draw is made and the realisation dawns that the Celts are back in the CL group stages in against European super powers. That was vital to restore the credibility of the side and it has been mission accomplished. Rodgers has achieved the first of his 2 main targets for the season, the second being a league title. A lot will depend on the draw now as to whether Celtic can realistically expect to finish in a Europa League spot in the group. That should be the target anyway and will probably require 5 or 6 points from the group.

Last nights result was just a continuation of years and years of poor results away from home in Europe and came as no surprise. What was disappointing was the performance. Rodgers weakness is his failure to organise a defensive set up properly and this is vital when trying to put in a backs to the wall performance in Europe where you have to dog out results. This will also be required against the top 2 seeds in the group at home as Celtic will invariably have a lot less of the ball than the opposition. This requires a totally different mindset than what they are used to in Scotland. They need to find 2 different ways of playing domestically and in Europe. 

[themac_23]

Maybe it's time the MOD's gave a warning out to stop winding people up, i know he has not said anything to warrant a ban but he/she is being a nuisance.

Like i said last night, i could see early in the game where we were weak and after the last 20 mins at Celtic Park they troubled us at right back when Lustig went of injured. They certainly targeted that area last night and Janko duly obliged, Celtic def need a new right back. I know Lustig will play there when everyone is fit but he is injury prone and def need cover there as S Janko seems to out of his depth. How will Simunovic fit into the team when he's fit? will he be main centre half? and if so who will partner him? Toure or Sviatchenko? What happened O'Connell last night that he wasn't on the bench? was he injured, suspended or dropped?

My best Celtic team would be...

Gordon
Lustig
Simunovic
Sviatchenko
Tierney
Roberts
Brown
Rogic
Sinclair

Griffiths

There is a position there up for grabs who depending on the system played is available, play two up front then Dembele could take it. Play 5 across the middle and take your pick from about 8 midfielders.

No Kolo? he's been outstanding for us so far. in fact, i think Rodgers back 4 was fine last night, Lustig and Toure played well and dealt with anything that came at them. Yeah Janko had a bad game and getting slated for it. i don't see Tierney getting the same pelters? he got a roasting last night too. i wouldn't be too hard on either as both are young and deserve some slack. Craig Gordon on the other hand was terrible, 1 penalty save doesn't make up for his brutal kicking and feeble efforts for both goals.

[gaa.boy]

Ronny would have been in his second season and you'd expect the team to be playing comfortably in his style by now. Rodgers has been there a few weeks, have a bit of cop on and judge the man when he's got his team together after the transfer deadline (where now he should attract a few decent signings) and had time to work with them. It doesn't taking a feckin genius to work out that Celtic will have their work cut out n the champions league, or that from time to time they will put in a bad performance. You are putting forward a pathetic argument that Celtic will not succeed under Rodgers, an argument that you will eventually win because managers will ALWAYS move on, similarly to the argument you kept putting forward that Tyrone would lose their next game, then their next game etc, eventually you'll be proved right. It's a tiresome role to play on an Internet forum and I salute your dogged determination to be that guy. But if this is going to be the game you play until Rodgers finally gets sacked, or moves on, then you are going to completely ruin any meaningful discussion about the club this season on this thread. Maybe that's your strange game, and again I salute your dogged determination to be that guy, but feck me its tiresome to read. I don't contribute often on this thread very often but I have always enjoyed reading it....not so much lately however.
[/quote]

Sums up my sentiment also. Fearon regurgitates the same nonsense over and over again, and refuses to respond to facts that contradict his petty 'opinion' (which he believes is 'gospel').
This thread has been ruined by a sad ego.

[naka]

tbf the board has been taken over by a few who actually don't contribute that much
I am on it over 9 years
and I only intermittently post given the amount of amadons posting.

[Dire Ear]

tbf the board has been taken over by a few who actually don't contribute that much
I am on it over 9 years
and I only intermittently post given the amount of amadons posting.

Agreed