Celtic Banter Archive November 04 2012

04 Nov 2012 16:38:05
facts are ref will till try to rob you if they can 5 booked today 2 fair enough but tackles on ledley today shocking same as last week never a penalty but if ref can give against you he will need to get game won early like st johnstone during week so ref does not matter semi against hearts and kilmarnock cup final last season showed if they can they will give against

OP sorry mate what you on about?

04 Nov 2012 15:25:46
My first visit to this page, a Gers fan. Can I say the many visitors to the Rangers page are very quick to point out the shortfalls in our managers ability or lack of. Can I suggest that your beloved manager has managed to amass 21 points from 11 games. Had this been an ordinary season you would be calling for his head.

Last year, although it is widely stated that Rangers
let slip a 15 point gap, it was only 9 points behind as you has two games in hand. Whatever you chose to believe you won the title last year because of the admin situation, and the results that followed that event provided NL with the title. As I said earlier this year, had it been a normal year, you would be calling for Lennons head.

The CL campaign is the only saving grace and when you fail to qualify for the knockout stages,perhaps some of you will open your eyes to his shortcomings.

Aye mate, how many points have you amassed in div3?
The Lennon bashers are coming out the woodwork again i see.
Top of the SPL, and 2nd in our Champions League group which i would have taken 3rd place in anyway.

Joeshmo1888

'The CL campaign is the only saving grace' enough said.

Admin was Ally's saving grace..not our managers.

Mrs E

At the end of the day your team still let a 9 point lead slip. dont really think i need to say much more............ bhoywonder

Op here, how many points we have is irrelevant to the point. We are a million miles away from past seasons, but we are in div three. We don't need a team of the previous standards.

The point here is that you have dropped so many points that in an ordinary season you would be well behind and you would not be happy.

I know you will win your league, I have no doubt about that, as we will win our league, however the two teams cannot and should not be compared at present. When we are back in SPL then comparisons can be made.

This does not hide the facts, having dropped 12 points in 11 games would not see you win the league normally. You can kid yourselves all you want about being top of the league but the results this year in SPL are pretty poor. If you take heart of being on the same points as Hibs then long may it continue.

And why don't you think back a year before when Lennon was within a point of winning against a side that should not have the players they did. As a rookie manager he has done way more then yours and other clubs are looking to take him from us while yous are trying to kick yours out. NL doing so well is what upsets your fans and just how great of a club we are, the league is a lot better now that your club has gone for,like your excuses, the other clubs have a chances at Europe and winning so they put more into it.
Good to see you watching spl maybe you can give your club some pointers cause our club is doing just fine and the future looks bright in the green and white with Lennon taking us to the very top so we are happy.

Going from 15 points ahead to 4 behind, selling Jelavic and replacing him with Celik and employing an inept manager was why Rangers lost the league, admin just compunded it. SF of the league cup, top of the league, in a decent position for last 16. If you look at where Celtic have lost points its either been before or after a CL game, I know they should win every game but you wouldn't lunge into a 50/50 vs St Mirren with Barcelona 3 days away. What is The Rangers excuse for having dropped so many points? With excellent training facilities, £7million wages, ex-SPL players and being full-timers they should be in the final of the ramsdens cup, 100% league points and dominating teams like ICT. Look at the state of your own team before having a go at a team who's priority is Europe, not getting out Div3.

G93

Way behind who OP?? And I see you sidestepped your quote about the CL being a saving grace.. Mrs E

Mrs E, you are correct admin has saved Ally's job.

In normal seasons you would be well behind Rangers. If you think taking less than two points a game, then normally you would be well behind.

This is not having a go at Lennon for any other reason except results. Dropping twelve points in eleven games, with lets be honest, no serious other contenders, is not good.

The problem is that without a credible contender it really does not matter how many points you lose. The simple fact is that a competition with competition is nothing.

In the league the team have shown signs of complacency maybe but your comment is grossly unfair.

This is only Neil Lennon's 2nd full season in charge and he had literally no management experience before that. He had to rebuild a full team and has taken us to the CL group stages..with the youngest average age in the competition. Most non-Celtic fans were betting we would get NO points in the group and now you think we are that good its unacceptable for Celtic not to reach the last 16 and our manager should be sacked ?

This season he has thrived as a manager away from the venomous hate that is totally unprovoked and a mortal embarrassment in a civilised Scottish sociey.

I think you have said this as yet another straw to grasp at to make yourself feel better and for no other reason. Mrs E

Well Said Mrs E you put that clown in his place.

Briggs

@8 "a competition with competition is nothing" you don't even know what your writing you pleb.
Tambhoy

Mrs E... try reading OP's post before you respond . It's a perfectly sensible post but as always, you seem to be able to find a way of twisting it so you can spout off with your usual anti Rangers nastiness . VHSS

Funny, up until Rangers went into the tank last season, I seem to remember many a Celtic supporter calling for Lennon to be sacked.

OP - what are you on about!. Ally shadowed Walter for years and STILL can't qualify for final stages of the cup tournaments. May I remind you that when you were in the SPL you were put out of every single cup tournament. Ally is totally useless,so much so that they are bringing Walter back, who by the way did walk away before the s**t hit the fan. Funny that don't you think. Now he wants back and Ally will be gone!

Mrs E - well said !

VHSS...before i start i'm married to a Rangers fan so do not come on here and prejudge me. One of my best friends is also a fan & this is the first season she has not renewed her season ticket but not because of their current prediciment, purely financial.

The OP has come on to have a go at Neil Lennon, i've not responded to him/her by having a tit-for-tat about the rangers manager. I've given my opinion that I think his statement is grossly unfair to Neil Lennon.

Yes, the team have shown complacency in the league whilst being in the CL and nobody would be any happier than me if NL sorts that out sooner rather than later. I was at the St Johnstone game last Tuesday and when Celtic turn up, they simply outplay every other team in Scotland. Neil Lennon has built that.

Every rangers fan seems to think we need them in the SPL for Celtic to prove themselves, yes rangers are the only other club in Scotland of the potential to have the same financial clout as Celtic but at the moment they don't.

They don't play in the SPL and why should they ? Why should Rangers or Celtic for that matter have the given right to make a financial mess and just be allowed to stay, no other club would.

Staying in the SPL has bigger financial benefits for rangers, why should you just be granted this..why should any team?

Its not Neil Lennon's fault rangers are in Div 3 and why should he be penalised for it ?

He's testing himself in whats available, the CL and last year, the Europa league. Incidentally, i notice when rangers fans say we only won due to the admin situation that they 'forget' how well he did in a very difficult Europa league in his first full season in charge.

There's posts above about the league situation, all with no name. Where do you think they came from ? Mrs E

Mrs E.. you are absolutely amazing. How you or your followers could possibly come to THAT conclusion over OP is to say the least,astounding ! No where does he state that Ally's a better manager than Lennon. No where did he state that it was Lennon's fault that Rangers are in Div 3 either. All he stated was that Celtic's present league form was inconsistant and had there actually been a two horse race like many of the previous seasons, or if Celtic weren't involved in ther CL, many supporters would be questioning him. He's right, they would be just as I and many Rangers supporters are questioning McCoist . Believe me, none of us come onto this forum to feel better about our situation. We come here to hopefully have , for the most part at least, a sensible bit of banter with our rivals. Your constant back against the wall attitude to those of us that do , makes that almost impossible. But hey, I should have known that only Celtic minded people were allowed to have an opinion here. VHSS

1. I have not compared Neil Lennon to Ally in any of my replies to the OP. Please point out where I have as you have questioned my reading ability more than once.

2. We are in the CL this point is mute and irrelevant

3. Rangers are not in the SPL this point is mute and irrelevant

The OP stated 'The CL campaign is the only saving grace and when you fail to qualify for the knockout stages,perhaps some of you will open your eyes to his shortcomings'

What are his shortcomings ? Please tell me..you are here to voice an opinion, do that without using hypothetical situations. Mrs E

Neil lennons doing a smashing job. We're able to experiment with formations play some of our fringe players to keep everyone fresh for Europe. Celtics still in every competition we entered can you say the same for your mob. We're top of the leauge that's all that matters different if we were sitting mid table then your post would make seance

This is a normal season for celtic. As was last. It is rangers who went bankrupt and reappeared as a Tribute act. Nothing at celtic has changed. In your fantasy league where rangers didnt go bankrupt and are winning the spl this season (is it drugs ?) Is messi playing for them, what the hell Ronaldo and rooney too, why not ? Its all fantasy.

Mrs E... I never said he had any short comings but if you go back and read your posts, you'll see quite clearly that you turned op's statement into a dig at Ally, not that I disagree with you there. Point is, OP didn't post to compare managers. You took that conclusion upon yourself . Anyway's, you're on your board and I'm a visitor so I suppose I don't have much of a leg to stand on but FWIW, I just think you are far too closed mined to have any kind of sensible conversation with. Shame really cause I honestly think you know your stuff. That being said, I wish you and Celtic a bright future....ciao
VHSS

As the late, great JS said, points in the bag are better than games in hand. As for the eejit who said it was only 9 points - it was officially 15 and that is a fact.

VHSS. .I have not compared Managers either. Other posters have, I have NOT.

So I think lack of sensibility lies with you.

Ciao

Mrs E

04 Nov 2012 10:11:47
PACO JEMEZ might not be a name familiar to football fans worldwide.
However, his comments regarding how Celtic had played and how he planned to play Barcelona last week certainly caught the imagination of the public.
The Rayo Vallecano manager criticised Celtic's approach to their Champions League game at the Nou Camp, telling the press he would be ashamed to adopt those tactics and would set his team up to attack.
Bear in mind Celtic had come within a minute of snatching a point, losing out to a late Jordi Alba goal.
Fast forward to the weekend. Barca boss Tito Vilanova emphasised this would be their toughest game of the season.
Paco's team set about pressing high up the pitch, trying to force them into errors and hopefully capitalising on set plays.
It has to be said that for long spells in the first half Rayo were well in contention and Vilanova's pre-match words appeared to be ringing true.
A David Villa goal gave the Blaugrana a 1-0 half-time lead but it seemed a little harsh on Rayo.
Early in the second half Messi made it 2-0 and the task then became too much.
The 5-0 scoreline did not reflect the closeness of the game.
It gave critics a field day about Jemez's tactics and comments about Celtic.
Everyone has different views but for me I can only admire the man for sticking to his principles.
Despite the scoreline the end result for both sides playing completely different styles was defeat.
While Neil Lennon should be praised for the tactical set-up of his team, Jemez should not be knocked for having a philosophy he believes in.
One of the first things I was asked to do upon starting my degree in Sports Coaching and Development was write down my philosophy.
Interestingly what I thought I believed in wasn't what I was practising.
It made me rethink my whole outlook on football. Did I want to win or did I want to entertain?
I have to admit I am more interested in winning.
If my team can do it by playing entertaining football then all the better.
Speaking from experience, I know the dilemma which faced both managers.
In Jemez's opinion he believed that by giving Barcelona the ball and sitting back waiting on the edge of his own box he would be inviting trouble and consequently a defeat.
He said that his team is set up to play in a cavalier style and he wouldn't be able to look the supporters in the eye if his Vallecano side played like Celtic did.
Yes his team lost, but hey, so did Celtic.
Last year I faced the same situation. We were drawn to play German champs Potsdam in the last 16 of the Champions League ” this was a team that had reached four finals and won it twice.
I asked the players if they wanted to sit in and play for a result or go all-out ” our normal game.
They chose the Jemez approach and we were on the end of our biggest-ever defeat.
A week later we decided to drop off and play a similar style to Celtic.
Yet we still ended up with another record, this time our biggest-ever home defeat.
Looking back I should have taken into account the many variables that surrounded the tie.
Firstly it was live on TV across Europe, a first for any Scottish women's team.
We were also playing in a last-16 knockout tie which again was a first.
Some of our players were playing in their 50th game of the season while the Germans were playing their seventh.
All these things should have been taken into account before going out gung-ho against such a strong side on their own patch at their peak in the season.
Would I change it if I had to play them again?
Damn right I would, but without that experience how would we know what we were up against?
Will Jemez change his tactics when his team travel to the Nou Camp in March?
Maybe by that time he will need a point for survival.
He may even give Neil Lennon a call.

That was an interesting read.cheers