23 Jul 2015 00:10:27
First of all I want to say that I have only came across this website over the last couple of weeks and have to say that I have been visiting it every day since for Celtic updates and find this a great informative website so credit to ED007 for the that, now to the football :-).
Lhads I have to be honest and I am concerned. I fear for us in the next qualifier against Quarabag and these games against Stjarnan have only fuelled my concern more. Yes, on the outside a 6-1 aggregate score looks very convincing and yes we were generally comfortable but not comfortable enough imo, especially for this round of the qualifier going by the performances over the first two legs, I get we're still early in the season but against Cliftonville and even KR at this same stage over the last two seasons we looked far more comfortable imo.
The fact is, for me, we just aren't good enough and it's unacceptable. I fear we're in for a bit of a doing next round off this Quarabag mob and I know how negative I'm coming across but I just can't see it going any other way and I will apologise btw and admit I got it wrong if we somehow manage to progress but just can't see it.
I also have to say seeing the side start with three Ex Dundee Utd players from last season made me feel rather low and can't help but think we've regressed so much from the side that Lenny had when we came up against Helsinki and Helsingborg. I've got to say I don't rate either of them especially Cifcti and Armstrong, I don't mind GMS AS much but still feel he can be very wasteful at times and up against better opposition in Europe his tricks won't come off as regularly and he'll lose possession I feel through this. Even his pass for Griffiths goal was lucky I felt as it was rather soft and just got Griffiths in time but should have been better, also misses quite a lot of one on ones as has been seen against Inter and then Starnjan and you have to be clinical in Europe as we don't get many chances. Armstrong for me is just not a left winger and I don't know when Ronny will realise this but he has to soon or it'll cost us because again Armstrong for me is very wasteful in possession, not a good finisher and also tends to give the ball away a lot for me if you watch him closely and tbh he's not much of an upgrade on Stokes in that position which says it all really. Cifcti should never have been signed for me and I think that Scepovic would have scored a few against this Starnjan mob and it's poor from Ronny that he isn't getting a proper chance to show himself. He hasn't had a good few games in a row like even Cifcti has had recently and whenever Scepovic has played for me he's played decent enough and managed to get himself on the score sheet as well when given the chance.
I'm also not convinced by Johansen, again misses too many chances especially one on ones and again gives away too much possession. He also knows he'll never be dropped as it clear he's Ronny's golden boy in this team and when fit will be played and when a player knows they're always going to play this is when complacency creeps in.
So all in all not happy at all with the front four.
Brown will always play regardless of form being captain when fit so pointless discussing him, Bitton is a player I REALLY like, calm, composed and a good passer of the ball who very rarely loses possession which is vital in Europe, looks like he could be on score sheet more often as well so could be a goal threat as well so happy with him.
All in all happy enough with the Central midfield two.
In defence well LB area speaks for itself, Izzy can't be trusted in Europe and either can Mulgrew as the level gets higher so Mulgrew should be a stop-gap in the LB position. Hope we're actively looking for a new one as I type and get one for Quarabag or we're in bigger trouble. VVD is solid enough for me can't really complain seemed in automatic pilot mode right enough against Starnjan and not switched on but I'm sure he will be next round because he'll have to be. Not convinced at all by Boyata very worrying I'll still give him the benefit of the doubt though but personally from what I've seen of him prefer Ambrose tbh. Ambrose has played well this pre season looked comfortable enough and imo is a solid enough played it's Boyata who's looking like a bomb scare imo. People just tend to jump on the bandwagon imo with Ambrose but imo he's a decent reliable player/CB who played there the year we broke the clean sheet record alongside VVD which people I feel tend to forget and also through our CL Group Stage games on our run to the last 16 under Lenny and then against the next season on our qualifier run against Cliftonville, Elfsborg and Karagandy when we qualified, stick he gets is well ott. RB situation for me is fine with Lustig decent player for me and also having Fisher, Janko and Ambrose who can fill I'm comfortable there. Gordon and Bailly whilst I feel Gordon is okay he only really had one shot at his goal against Starnjan and conceded but anyway the GK position doesn't really concern me all that much but wish when he made saves he wouldn't palm it out straight back out into the danger area of the box does this a few times for me.
So all in all in need of quite a few first team signings for me if we are to progress past Quarabag which I don't see happening possibly a LB but don't think anything else and with that sadly I cannot see us progressing and would not be at all surprised to see it go just like Legia last season in which we were completely dominated just have no faith in this team even a year down the line. If we don't progress I also think Ronny's job should be seriously questioned because with the CL qualifying route there is today we should be able to field a side which can dispose of these teams and if we don't it's a failure on our part only.
Sorry to be all doom and gloom but this is how I genuinely feel. Hope to be proved wrong though.
{Ed007's Note - Thanks for the praise and welcome to the site, what a post to make your debut with (clap) If Paradisewon replies to that we might need to upgrade our servers!}
23 Jul 2015 00:37:28
That posts that long I ain't reading it!
{Ed007's Note - He's slagging you off about 3/4 of the way down :=o
23 Jul 2015 00:39:05
Nnnooo ed sshhh lol hhh
{Ed007's Note - His poor wee secretary will be rattling down the HRT if she's seen it!}
23 Jul 2015 01:00:33
You're welcome mate happy to be a part of this great site. Haha yeah quite a big post just had a lot I felt I wanted to say about the team atm. Oh yeah seen a few of Paradisewons' posts on the site, imo the guy talks a lot of sense can't say I've disagreed with much he has to say about Celtic bar his opinion on Ambrose whom I don't think he rates but I could be wrong.
On a sidenote btw I notice the Celtic TV freeview section of the official site has been hacked by Quarabag fans I think a bit mental lol.
23 Jul 2015 01:03:00
Jeeeezooo man jeeeeezzooo
23 Jul 2015 04:56:14
celtic forever,apart from that how do you think we will do?
23 Jul 2015 07:11:26
Johansen is an excellent player he works tirelessly from the team and when Browns fit you would play him all day long even when he's not playing well he never gives up Armstrongs a huge improvement on stokes
23 Jul 2015 08:57:51
Celtic forever, first of all, hello. Secondly, you rate Ambrose?
Seriously though, good post.
RE the Dundee Utd three. The question has crossed my mind, has our attack just become Dundee Utd's attack, a worse one than ours was? Well possibly. Ciftci i'm not pleased with. I see him as a project, like RD, but i'm a wee bit sick of projects to be honest.
Armstrong, said myself too that he is better centrally, for me he should be playing ideally second fiddle to Johansen in CAM. I do rate Johansen.
GMS. Our best individual attacker, by a mile. But is that a sign of how standards of transfers have dropped?
I don't know but all three are projects really aren't they and that's what our club is becoming in my eyes. A project. Bif a constant one, where the same level of player continue to be bought, and any money received for those that do develop well is not significantly reinvested. Somebody PLEASE, apart from the Celtic moneymen, explain the point in that.
Starting to sound a bit negative too myself there so here i'll tell you now. We'll get past this Qarabag. Don't you go worrying about that. And if we don't, there will be a revolution.
23 Jul 2015 09:01:04
Celticforever …. was just about to press "reply" and the secretary fainted and so will have a go at a 2nd reply shortly….word count competition is always welcome and the secretary is delighted as it means more money for her (if she recovers)
quickly on ambrose, I used to like him …i then became indifferent…the tide shifted against Efe after the last 16 match against Juventus …he hasn't ever really won his way back in to the hearts of the fans since then ….every team has a scapegoat and he currently shares the mantle with 2 others…Izzy and Mulgrew but hey ho
proper reply to follow…
oh and what was boyata doing for that sjarnan goal …talk about drifting out to wide areas and compromising the entire defence ….
23 Jul 2015 09:07:52
I think we all have concerns about the standard of player and the glaring frailties in the side - not to mention our decline in ambition as a club, including our recent transfer deals; plus the lack of 'gems' coming through the ranks.
It worries me that we had to ransack the fifth placed teams' better players and have to rely on loan deals that disrupt the consistency and shape of the team every single season.
We have been gradually brainwashed over a decade with this 'small club mentality' fuelled by the death of Rangers to a degree that we now sign players who would previously have, had to buy a Celtic jersey - like the rest of us.
I do disagree about Johansen, as although he has his faults, he is a very valuable player with his goals and industry - and we are a better team with 'The poor man's Stan Petrov' in the side, in my opinion.
23 Jul 2015 10:34:48
Hey PW just a quick word on Efe, I would be over the moon if he messed up in the last 16 of the CL this season as it would mean we actually got there.Like we did last time with him in the team lol.
23 Jul 2015 12:07:54
Unfortunately our current team does seem to have a very obvious frailty about it. Towards the end of last season, got the impression we ( the fans), had a quiet confidence that things were going to progress with a gathering momentum. The reality is, diets, fitness and formations will only take you so far. The presumed optimism a new transfer window brought has regressed to the usual damp squib and I wonder if we as a club, actually want to be in the CL groups.
I still remember when buying players from our league rivals was used to supplement the team, now they seem to be the mainstays. I am still struggling to identify the progress we are (??) making. The high tempo passing is good to watch at times, But there is rarely an end product. I know we have scored a few of late, but with who we played, that could easily have been trebled if we were at the level we should be at.
23 Jul 2015 12:46:03
Agreed chasa. We are still bringing in quantity iver quality. Projects over proven players. Janko and Boyata can hardly be classed as having been first team regulars and if Ciftci is as far as our net can get cast for sourcing a CL striker then somebody needs sacked.
23 Jul 2015 15:49:26
A just want to know if Celticforever's typist is better looking than PW's canny be hard pmsl and if I can play up front with HER lol
Welcome CF (y)
23 Jul 2015 18:15:37
Thats a belter for a first post! Need to be honest though, I disagree with the majority of what you have said.
First thing, I assume you have seen a lot of Quarabag as you fear we are going to get a 'doing' from them? I don't know how we will go against them as I hadn't even heard of them until the draw. Surely it would be silly a teams going to hammer us if you have not got some knowledge of them.
Although I can understand where you are coming from with the 3 ex united players filling our 3 forward positions I disagree. I can't believe you don't rate armstrong, agreed his natural poistion is not out wide but I think he has been one of our most composed players each time he has the ball and I reckon he will be a massive player for us in the future. Ciftci. well I won't argue with that, I don't rate him highly but I hope he comes good. GMS is the type of player we have been crying out for for years, a lad with a trick and the ability to get fans off their seats. With this type of player I think we need to be realistic, is he going to be able to do this every single game? simple answer is no but again I reckon he will be essential in Europe for counter attacking style away from home. To say his pass was 'lucky' is a bit unfair I think, was it 'lucky' or was it perfectly weighted on not a great surface? I think the fact the ball ended up in the net would make me say the latter.
Moving onto the point you made about Johansson, this statement baffled me if I'm honest. Not convinced? He was immense last season (player of the year) once moved into the advanced role and the non stop effort (which should actually be a given for every player in football but sadly isn't)will be very important in games both domestic and in europe. What do you think he would need to do to impress you? Remember we have played TWO competetive games so far this season and Johanson has 2 goals and at least 1 assist. Sometimes players and managers can never do enough to impress some people I suppose.
Thank God for Biton, he's given you one thing to be positive about lol I agree he's a cracking player and I think him and broony compliment eeach other well in midfield.
At this point I need to ask paradisewon how he does these long posts as I've already got cramp in both wrists!
Anyway moving onto the defense
Izzy at left back is a known issue so I won't go into that. I do think though your being harsh on boyatta, I find it funny you prefer Ambrose to boyatta because you think boyatta is a potential bombscare. No doubt Efe played well during the record clean sheet run but when it comes to bombscares there's nobody at Celtic more likely to drop the ball than him. I actually think Boyatta has been pretty good in pre season, did you see his reading of the game at the weekend when he managed to get back to clear a lob off the line? He also has a good bit of pace bout him which I like. I think when he fully settles he will come good. Again I find it harsh saying Lustig is just 'a decent player'. When fit he is one of our best and most consistent players.
And onto the final point. you don't see us qualifying, I would go back to my original assumption that you must have seen this team to assume they are better than us?
Please don't think I'm having any type of dig by the way. It was a cracking post, it just so happens I disagree with the majority of them lol Its all about opions at the end of the day eh
anyway I'm away for a lie doon after that.
cheers