All Along The Watchtower
Well, the fallout from the Glesga derby continues to rage like a rage in toys r us on Christmas Eve. The talk aboot the non-pen rages on as Kenny Clark proves he has a brain and states that it was a pen and Don McVicar proved that even though a ref admitted he got it wrong that his bosses will do anything not to admit that was the case.
Oor friends in the west are moaning aboot the pole in the goal blessing himself, again saying that he done it in an aggressive manner. What they don’t realise is that even though Arfur does this EVERY single game he maybe just maybe keeps a wee special one for them. As he knows how they will react and he finds this quite funny.
Right, ye can all go on aboot the fact that he is maybe dumbing doon the sign of the cross and could be degrading his religion but the reaction of the r*ngers “fans” reeks of anti Catholicism. It reeks of people not willing to accept people have different religious beliefs and that sportsmen might wish to show this on their field of play.
But I mean the fact that others have blessed themselves at the brox and not received this sort of criticism only proves one thing. The fact that it’s a CELTIC player doing this annoys them more so than some Johnny nobody. Maybe that’s the answer beneath all the shite that’s being spouted.
Apart from the usual meeja derby bolloxs the Celtic support have been in a reflective mood. Maybe even a worried mood at the lack of performances the men in the hoops are producing. Everyone I have spoken too saw the draw at the brox as a disappointing result.
It could just be something in the Scottish fitbaw fan I want more mentality. I canny see an Italian fan bemoaning a draw at their rival’s cabbage patch to retain a 16-point gap over them. But it’s maybe more to do with the fact that a team with so much promise is delivering so little.
On Sunday a midfield containing a derby veteran, an ex chelski regular and EPL regular and the “ogre” from Madrid and also an EPL regular were overran by an overrated piece of bum fluff, a French patsy who is wet behind the ears and a paisley panda reject.
It’s not just the fact we were overran for a spell it was more when we had the ball we couldnae keep it and these seasoned professionals seemed to lose shape and purpose as the game wore on. We allowed them to grab the point and we also didnae take oor chances when we were on top.
Now, I know that Jaro and Tommy G have been the topic of some debate. Both were signed to improve the squad but the general feeling is they have maybe weakened the midfield area. One doesn’t have the power and pace of Stan P and the other while have the power, pace and arguably more ability than Stan P he doesn’t have the discipline of the sulky bulgar.
Both maybe have faltered due to GS tendency to try and replace missing players with square pegs in round holes. See, Jaro as a big centre forward and Gravesan as a right-winger. We could also have a look at the system GS tries to implement with Jaro as the 2nd offensive attacker. Or as I put it the pansy that’s to bust a gut to support the lone front man.
For me Jaro, should be the sitting midfielder. If we are playing a 5 across the middle then the pansy to support is Tommy G who is, well how can I put it, the more willing runner. That is if we are going to stick with the 5 across the middle of the park. It’s something GS has maybe had forced on him as he prefers a 4-4-2.
The last derby at CP Celtic played a formation that GS had honed over the last year. It was formation with balance and potency that looked comfortable on the ball. Players knew what they were meant to be doing in this formation, as it is really a fail save easy formation. It’s not complicated to work oot where yer meant to be as a player.
When any other formation is implemented that the players don’t feel comfortable with then indecision comes into play. For me the lack of decent performances is steaming from the players not being intelligent and flexible enough to adapt. It may also steam from lack of preparation on the training ground. Lack of coaching time to work on the ideas the coach wants to implement. Also maybe, the coach is trying to please certain signings by playing them anywhere.
I mean, it’s not as if we haven’t played a 4-5-1 to great effect before. We played it at Old Trafford but there was a big main difference that night. We had a striker with the ability to allow make the ball stick to him. He made it easy for the midfielders to support, as he would hold up the play.
This shows that you need the players, a certain type of player to play that system. Every professional player can play in a simple 4-4-2. It has been proven over the years to be the most effective formation. It’s what players the world over are brought up playing. Any deviation from that system requires coaching and a coach knowing his players have a certain intelligence to adapt.
This may sound a bit harsh but over the last few days I have been reading aboot the Aussie cricket team. The Aussie cricket board conduct analyis in victory and defeat. They need to know the reasons why they have won or lost. If they have won then they look at the reason why and how they can retain this winning mentality. They also look at how they can improve.
Now, in this position we find ourselves in, last 16 of the CL and 14 points clear is probably a great time for the coaching staff to be reviewing the season so far. It probably could be a time to reflect on the performances of last season team one and what they did well and how they did it well.
It is also the time to look at certain players and decide if they can take us forward or are adaptable enough to maintain the winning mentality that we have developed at the club. They have to decide if their coaching and systems are lending to the below par performances.
The fact that we play better with a target man and in a simple 4-4-2 cannot be ignored when budgeting and transfer targets are being identified. It also canny be ignored when the decisions to cull players are being made.
Lets take a leaf from the Aussies book. And progress from a position of strength.
FORZA CELTIC
Oor friends in the west are moaning aboot the pole in the goal blessing himself, again saying that he done it in an aggressive manner. What they don’t realise is that even though Arfur does this EVERY single game he maybe just maybe keeps a wee special one for them. As he knows how they will react and he finds this quite funny.
Right, ye can all go on aboot the fact that he is maybe dumbing doon the sign of the cross and could be degrading his religion but the reaction of the r*ngers “fans” reeks of anti Catholicism. It reeks of people not willing to accept people have different religious beliefs and that sportsmen might wish to show this on their field of play.
But I mean the fact that others have blessed themselves at the brox and not received this sort of criticism only proves one thing. The fact that it’s a CELTIC player doing this annoys them more so than some Johnny nobody. Maybe that’s the answer beneath all the shite that’s being spouted.
Apart from the usual meeja derby bolloxs the Celtic support have been in a reflective mood. Maybe even a worried mood at the lack of performances the men in the hoops are producing. Everyone I have spoken too saw the draw at the brox as a disappointing result.
It could just be something in the Scottish fitbaw fan I want more mentality. I canny see an Italian fan bemoaning a draw at their rival’s cabbage patch to retain a 16-point gap over them. But it’s maybe more to do with the fact that a team with so much promise is delivering so little.
On Sunday a midfield containing a derby veteran, an ex chelski regular and EPL regular and the “ogre” from Madrid and also an EPL regular were overran by an overrated piece of bum fluff, a French patsy who is wet behind the ears and a paisley panda reject.
It’s not just the fact we were overran for a spell it was more when we had the ball we couldnae keep it and these seasoned professionals seemed to lose shape and purpose as the game wore on. We allowed them to grab the point and we also didnae take oor chances when we were on top.
Now, I know that Jaro and Tommy G have been the topic of some debate. Both were signed to improve the squad but the general feeling is they have maybe weakened the midfield area. One doesn’t have the power and pace of Stan P and the other while have the power, pace and arguably more ability than Stan P he doesn’t have the discipline of the sulky bulgar.
Both maybe have faltered due to GS tendency to try and replace missing players with square pegs in round holes. See, Jaro as a big centre forward and Gravesan as a right-winger. We could also have a look at the system GS tries to implement with Jaro as the 2nd offensive attacker. Or as I put it the pansy that’s to bust a gut to support the lone front man.
For me Jaro, should be the sitting midfielder. If we are playing a 5 across the middle then the pansy to support is Tommy G who is, well how can I put it, the more willing runner. That is if we are going to stick with the 5 across the middle of the park. It’s something GS has maybe had forced on him as he prefers a 4-4-2.
The last derby at CP Celtic played a formation that GS had honed over the last year. It was formation with balance and potency that looked comfortable on the ball. Players knew what they were meant to be doing in this formation, as it is really a fail save easy formation. It’s not complicated to work oot where yer meant to be as a player.
When any other formation is implemented that the players don’t feel comfortable with then indecision comes into play. For me the lack of decent performances is steaming from the players not being intelligent and flexible enough to adapt. It may also steam from lack of preparation on the training ground. Lack of coaching time to work on the ideas the coach wants to implement. Also maybe, the coach is trying to please certain signings by playing them anywhere.
I mean, it’s not as if we haven’t played a 4-5-1 to great effect before. We played it at Old Trafford but there was a big main difference that night. We had a striker with the ability to allow make the ball stick to him. He made it easy for the midfielders to support, as he would hold up the play.
This shows that you need the players, a certain type of player to play that system. Every professional player can play in a simple 4-4-2. It has been proven over the years to be the most effective formation. It’s what players the world over are brought up playing. Any deviation from that system requires coaching and a coach knowing his players have a certain intelligence to adapt.
This may sound a bit harsh but over the last few days I have been reading aboot the Aussie cricket team. The Aussie cricket board conduct analyis in victory and defeat. They need to know the reasons why they have won or lost. If they have won then they look at the reason why and how they can retain this winning mentality. They also look at how they can improve.
Now, in this position we find ourselves in, last 16 of the CL and 14 points clear is probably a great time for the coaching staff to be reviewing the season so far. It probably could be a time to reflect on the performances of last season team one and what they did well and how they did it well.
It is also the time to look at certain players and decide if they can take us forward or are adaptable enough to maintain the winning mentality that we have developed at the club. They have to decide if their coaching and systems are lending to the below par performances.
The fact that we play better with a target man and in a simple 4-4-2 cannot be ignored when budgeting and transfer targets are being identified. It also canny be ignored when the decisions to cull players are being made.
Lets take a leaf from the Aussies book. And progress from a position of strength.
FORZA CELTIC
posted by Keving at Thursday, December 21, 2006
9 Comments:
We have two games to approach against teams on the up. Maybe they will have the ambition that will allow us to cash in with some goals. Some resounding victories would be nice. I think that Beattie is training again but it looks that JVofH may be a wee while longer in recovery. Wee Shaun? I`m hopeful!
Hopefully the walking wounded from the last game, Wilson, Naylor and McManus will have fully recovered.
Forza Celtic!
The reason we are pinning hopes on big Jan is the last 30 minutes against Hibs at CP. We looked like a balanced team. Simple as that and that was in August!
I thinkwe have been unlucky that Jan & Beattie have been injured at the same time. I tend to look at them both as 'interchangeable' in the same way the I think Majic and KM are.
But both of them being out forces GS into fiddling about, sticking Jiri up front for example.
If as you think, Beats is for the off - we definitely need another big guy up front - but no just anybody _ needs to be CL class - Carew of Lyon would do me fine :o)
i think it will be someone who is happy to play 2nd fiddle to jvofh like an older experienced guy or a relativley young guy like an o'conner or someone like that.
Strikers!
Our big Icelandic striker Finbagasson may be the man. Come on Gordon, put him on the bench! :-) Although Beattie may be there over the next few games.
It`s not always easy for players to move to a new environment, so I`m inclined to be patient about Jarosik. Just look at Sheva.
Nice wee song Kev.
Here`s hoping for a couple of good performances against Falkirk and Dundee Unt. A pity about Mark Wilson but we are CELTIC!
If it`s sherry try Tio Pepe! y Juanes para la musica! (ida y vuelta)
Joan in Jesi says, `act your age!` Aw Shucks!:-(
Kevin you are a star,*!
Happy Christmas
Get Lenny`s book for Christmas!!!
Falkirk gave us the usual hard game and it`s on to Dundee United on Tuesday. Maybe it`s about time we tried playing without Lenny. They say that holding midfielders are being replaced by box to boxers anyway. Sno on Boxing Day anyone?
Well we don`t have the midfield ready to play without Lenny yet!( we drew with United at home last season too) :-)
Why don`t we play the uptempo percentage game occasionally during the first half of a game?
We are a fair bit from the finished article and a long way to go in this title race. Come back wee Shaun and big Jan.
On to Motherwell and I have a ticket for this game. Come on the Bhoys!
we definetley missed lennon.
i know wot u mean, why can't we start a game like that instead of waiting til we are one or two down.
hopefully jvofh will be back for sat and riordan should play as well.
tough game v motherwell but i think rangers will drop points at inverness.
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