The Offical Glasgow Celtic thread

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Celtic's defence are a joke !

Look back over this thread and see people hounding players like McManus. By no means a world beater but a solid citizen who had done a decent job for Celtic and Scotland. Mowbray clearly didnt fancy him from the start but why shift him out on loan when he clearly didnt have cover at the back? Left today with a kid signed from Stockport for the long term and O'Dea who couldnt get a game with Reading. I can see why he moved on Caldwell to get a fee before his contract expired but again, given the lack of cover, there would even have been an argument for keeping him until proper replacements were found. To fall so behind a shit Rangers team is unacceptable and now Mowbray has blown a chance to close the gap and put some pressure on. I dont particularly rate Strachan but he is clearly a better manager than Mowbray.
Where is GDA? Be on here soon to blame Scottish officials no doubt.

Jesus LDA, I'm keeeping my head down nursing a rotten hangover from the weekend and a serious bout of depression!
I'll get back to you re your comments later, league can still be won, we've just made it a million times harder to do then it was last week!
Actually agree with you re Mick McManus.

[T Fearon]

GDU, The league can still be won? Can I have a pint of whatever you're on? Dundee Utd at home this weekend and Rangers away the following weekend should well and truly hammer the final nails into the coffin.

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

GDA, The league can still be won? Can I have a pint of whatever you're on? Dundee Utd at home this weekend and Rangers away the following weekend should well and truly hammer the final nails into the coffin.

If we lose both those games I'd have to concur (well almost) certainly if we give up fighting now then the league is over.
We all know if there is a difficult/hard way to do something and an easy way, Celtic will choose the minefield every time.

[T Fearon]

I am not saying we should give up the fight, I'm saying that under the current leadership we are fighting a losing battle.

Just looked at the interim financial results. Noted among the "highlights" are the facts that we

"Competed in the Europa League"

"Are currently second in the SPL"

"Are still in the Scottish Cup"

I wonder did John Reid get Alistair Campbell to write this rubbish?.

Other features are that income is down substantially, costs down but not on a par with the drop in income etc, but its all blamed on the recession, the convenient scapegoat for all businesses underperforming, nothing to do with an incompetent manager or Board that appointed him

[Gaoth Dobhair Abu]

Whilst I agree with you that TM's position becomes more untenable with each disastrous result, I still believe that we have the makings of a good team there and the major problem is the fact that they have only really started playing together as a unit 2 matches ago! Given a short while longer they will turn the corner (as hopefully will TM) and we will see a decent team playing at Parkhead once again. Ffs at this stage sure we have nothing to lose anyway. 

[rossie mad]

I cant believe the rubbish you are spouting now tony.The reason income is down is because tony mowbray is manager.Nothing at all to do with the worst global economic situaution since the 1930s plus the fact the spl keeps losing income through lower standards every year and thus less tv and sponshership money.
Catch a grip will ya.

On the aberdeen disaster didnt see it but from reading reports defensively a nightmare and our achilles heel all year.
Obviously a big slap in the face for the likes of me in the mowbray camp but i still think the man should be given the rest of the season to redeem it.
If he doesnt win the cup and fails to win nine of the remaining games then ill hold up my hands and say he isnt the man but the squad he has now is potentially very good if he can get them winning games.

[T Fearon]

After six months, when the team has gone backward, and Mowbray has shown no signs whatsover that he has what it takes to manage Celtic, there is plenty to lose in terms of the medium term future. What is the point in letting him continue in the job when he is plainly not going to be a success?

I'd give him until the end of February, with the minimum requirement to get six points from the next two games, and failing that, I'd appoint Mc Grain and Lennon until the end of the season, and start looking for the right long term candidate now to have in place in early summer.

[lynchbhoy]

After six months, when the team has gone backward, and Mowbray has shown no signs whatsover that he has what it takes to manage Celtic, there is plenty to lose in terms of the medium term future. What is the point in letting him continue in the job when he is plainly not going to be a success?

I'd give him until the end of February, with the minimum requirement to get six points from the next two games, and failing that, I'd appoint Mc Grain and Lennon until the end of the season, and start looking for the right long term candidate now to have in place in early summer.

looking to jump from the frying pan into the fire !

McGrain and lennon have no exp at managing at all !

Mowbray has Celtic recovering from the mess strachan left - rubbish players and dressing room unrest.
right now Celtic are no better off than this time last year when strachans team took an 8 point lead and blew it.
Mowbray gets no awards for the team so far, but he at least has spotted the deadwood (eventually but better late than never) and got rid of.
I disagree strongly about McManus - a nice lad, but not good enough. Celtic defenses and results with him in it should prove that if you dont see if from watching his performances.

Unless Celtic can break the bank to get Hiddink, anyone else that is within budget would be no better off.
by the way, strachan left of his own accord.
Mowbray has improved the playing squad, but if he doesnt improve the side to become a wining collective by this time next year, then he should be sacked,  not first season into his contract. What use would that be !
Hes improving the side over what he inherited. stick with it for now.

[T Fearon]

But there is no tangible evidence of any improvement. 1 point out of the last two away games against Killie and Aberdeen? Six months down the line, and its been a steady decline. Actually with Strachan's core team, I watched the home wins over St Johnstone (5-2) and Killie (3-0) earlier in the season, and that team was far more accomplished than the current side

I'd take Mc Manus and Caldwell in the heart of the defence any time before those two jokers who played on Saturday. As I've said before, no point in transferring the tried and trusted (with all their flaws) unless you have replacements who are better

Barnes was sacked in mid season, it took the pressure off and gave the Board ample time to find a suitable long term replacement, ie Martin O'Neill.

Also Mc Grain and Lennon are Celtic winners (unlike Mowbray), know the club inside out and in my view are capable of stabilising things until the end of the season and might well capture the Scottish Cup.

PS You wouldn't need to be in Hiddink's class to use the resources at your disposal to send out a team that wouldn't concede 4 at Aberdeen.

[reddgnhand]

But there is no tangible evidence of any improvement. 1 point out of the last two away games against Killie and Aberdeen? Six months down the line, and its been a steady decline. Actually with Strachan's core team, I watched the home wins over St Johnstone (5-2) and Killie (3-0) earlier in the season, and that team was far more accomplished than the current side

I'd take Mc Manus and Caldwell in the heart of the defence any time before those two jokers who played on Saturday. As I've said before, no point in transferring the tried and trusted (with all their flaws) unless you have replacements who are better

Barnes was sacked in mid season, it took the pressure off and gave the Board ample time to find a suitable long term replacement, ie Martin O'Neill.

Also Mc Grain and Lennon are Celtic winners (unlike Mowbray), know the club inside out and in my view are capable of stabilising things until the end of the season and might well capture the Scottish Cup.

PS You wouldn't need to be in Hiddink's class to use the resources at your disposal to send out a team that wouldn't concede 4 at Aberdeen.

Rubbish again yedo Caldwell and the club could not agree a contract. There was no way Celtic were going to pay the money he was asking for and I agree with the clubs position on this issue. What did you expect the club and Mowbray to do? They done the right thing and took the money. He wasnt out the door 5 minutes and then ran to the press and stuck the boot in. He's some character to have in a dressing room.
Was Lennon not part of Strachans backroom team that let a 7 point lead slip twice last season? Lets face it 3 of Saturdays back 4 would not be in TM starting 11. 

[Lamh Dhearg Alba]

Mowbray has Celtic recovering from the mess strachan left - rubbish players and dressing room unrest.
right now Celtic are no better off than this time last year when strachans team took an 8 point lead and blew it.
Mowbray gets no awards for the team so far, but he at least has spotted the deadwood (eventually but better late than never) and got rid of.
I disagree strongly about McManus - a nice lad, but not good enough. Celtic defenses and results with him in it should prove that if you dont see if from watching his performances.

Unless Celtic can break the bank to get Hiddink, anyone else that is within budget would be no better off.
by the way, strachan left of his own accord.
Mowbray has improved the playing squad, but if he doesnt improve the side to become a wining collective by this time next year, then he should be sacked,  not first season into his contract. What use would that be !
Hes improving the side over what he inherited. stick with it for now.

Hard to see how Mowbray has Celtic "recovering from the mess Strachan left". The signs are he actually has them in a bigger mess.

I agree he needed to move on some deadwood but to ship players out when he didnt have adequate replacements ready was extremely foolish. Everybody who reads this thread knows you dont rate McManus as a player but when Celtic are now down to Josh Thomson and Darren O' Dea as a pair it seems crazy not to have held onto McManus until the end of the season. He isnt a worldbeater but he is a steady centre half and also a leader on the park.

A competent manager would have been able to improve the Celtic squad over the season whilst still at the very least competing with a very average Rangers team. Not Mowbray. The fact he keeps talking about how he is working to the long term but has half a team on short team loan deals shows that he doesnt really know what he is doing.

[illdecide]

Former Celtic striker John Hartson believes Tony Mowbray's side do not have what it takes to catch Rangers at the top of the Scottish Premier League.

"I feel that Celtic are not good enough to go on an unbeaten run. Their defence is too leaky; they concede far too many goals," he told BBC Scotland.

"If Celtic were going to get back into this race, they'd have done it by now.

"There are still two Old Firm games, there are plenty of points to play for, but I think they'll drop more points."

Hartson, 34, played under Mowbray at West Brom after a successful five-year career at Celtic, which began in 2001.

But the former Welsh international feels it is too late for his old manager at the Hawthorns to turn things around in his first season at Celtic Park.

"Anything is possible. Celtic could get on a good run and Rangers could get on a bad run," said Hartson.

"But Rangers have their eye on the ball. They know what to do. They beat a very good Hibs team convincingly."

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotland's Sportsound programme, Hartson added that Celtic had blown the chance to keep in touch with Rangers in the race for the title.

He said: "Celtic have had several opportunities - Dundee United away from home, 1-0 up, you lose 2-1; Hibs, 1-0 up at home, you lose 2-1; the defeat away to Kilmarnock; the home game against Rangers where you are 1-0 up and you draw the game 1-1.

"It's too late this season; it's gone. The European campaign was gone early, they have gone out of the League Cup and now they are 10 points behind in the league.

"They couldn't hold on to a lead at Aberdeen and put pressure on Rangers going in against Hibs.

"It will take a massive effort now from Celtic to take this lead off Rangers."

Rangers and Celtic each have 13 games left to play, with the Ibrox side's 10-point lead augmented by a goal difference 21 better than their old rivals'.

If Celtic can win their remaining league matches, taking six points off Rangers in the run-in, they would still require Walter Smith's men to drop another four or, given Rangers' superior goal difference, five points to win the SPL.

The only one who really wants to compete in the air is Loovens

John Hartson on Celtic's defensive frailties
To date, Rangers have lost just one match in the current league campaign, and Celtic's longest run of consecutive SPL wins stands at just three games.

For Hartson, a prolific scorer in his time at Celtic, the problems for the team are obvious.

"Although Tony has strengthened the front line with two very good signings in (Diomansy) Kamara and (Robbie) Keane, I don't think he has done anything in terms of his defence," he said.

"They are leaking far too many goals, they are not tight enough, they are not brave enough to put their head through the ball.

"He had the same problems at West Brom and ultimately it led to his downfall."

And he added: "(Gary) Caldwell and (Stephen) McManus weren't everybody's cup of tea but they won three titles out of four under Gordon (Strachan) and they were stalwarts in that Celtic defence.

"He got rid of them and also got rid of (Danny) Fox at left back.

"When you play five-a-sides in training, you can have five strikers and five defenders against each other. The defenders will win all day long. You need people who really want to defend.


Hartson clutches the SPL trophy he won with Celtic in 2006
"The only one who really wants to compete in the air is (Glenn) Loovens."

With Rangers dropping two points at Motherwell last week, Celtic could have cut the gap at the top to just five points before Rangers played Hibs on Sunday, but they were unable to hold on to a 4-2 lead at Pittodrie.

"They are a terrific side going forward; it's just defensively," continued Hartson on Celtic's problems.

"It's soul destroying when you've got the goals that have given you the lead and you can see the defence letting in goals willy-nilly.

"You go forward as a team and you defend as a team."

And Hartson highlighted one area where Rangers have a clear advantage over his former club.

"You need leaders. I saw Darren O'Dea wearing the captain's armband the other day, which baffled me," he said.

"Leaders are important, but if you have someone like Davie Weir, doing a fantastic job for Rangers, it helps you as a manager."

[T Fearon]

Even a manager of a junior or pub team knows that defence is the first priority. The manager of Celtic hasn't cottoned on to this yet

[lynchbhoy]

Even a manager of a junior or pub team knows that defence is the first priority. The manager of Celtic hasn't cottoned on to this yet

that he signed three centre halves this season plus two left backs would fly inthe face of this.
Yes the defence has been a huge problem, but so has attack.

that you would look for mcgrain and lennon who have no managerial exp to replace Mowbray is even crazier still.

I blame mowbray for not acting sooner to replace the deadwood at the start of the season.
the buck stops with him, but strachan had gotten Celtic into a right mess until he jumped ship seeing the mess he had created.
John thmpson right now is no worse than mcmanus at his best - at least Thompson is a centre half that will improve.
I beleive that moggas players are better. Just needs to stay composed and continue rebuilding the team.
It will be next season before this bears fruit unfortunately.

[Myles Na G.]

 "He had the same problems at West Brom and ultimately it led to his downfall."

And he added: "(Gary) Caldwell and (Stephen) McManus weren't everybody's cup of tea but they won three titles out of four under Gordon (Strachan) and they were stalwarts in that Celtic defence. '

Nail on head, John.