Celtic - Frailties Exposed
Article by James Payne
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Celtic’s much touted bid for a fourth domestic ‘treble’ was ended in hugely disappointing and exceptionally controversial circumstances after a 3-2 loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle (ICT) at Hampden Park last Sunday.
The match on Sunday was an unsatisfactory affair even before a ball was kicked. The decision to move the kick off to 12.15 pm took thousands off the attendance and with virtually the whole of the Mount Florida end – the left hand side of the TV gantry- bereft of spectators this seemed like a dismally low key occasion. Admittedly it was not a low key match.
The first half of the match was pretty tense and although Celtic went in 1-0 up few of the vast majority of the crowd would have thought that Celtic had more than just a couple of toes of one foot in the final. Celtic’s goal came from a perfectly struck Van Dijk free kick and although ICT had looked dangerous from corners the Hoops were worth their lead. There had looked to be a reasonable shout for a penalty just before the opening goal, Bitton had hit the bar with a fine, sweeping shot and the Celts should probably have been awarded a further free kick in a very dangerous position a few moments after that goal. In short without playing particularly well Celtic was the better team. And then came an extraordinary incident just before half time. After a dangerous attack the ball loops to Leigh Griffiths who is perhaps six yards from goal. He heads the ball towards goal and it is intercepted by the ICT defender Meekings who has almost involuntarily moved his right arm out to prevent the ball going into the net. It is deliberate, a penalty to Celtic and Meekings will be sent off. Except that the referee does nothing and allows ICT to break up the field. The referee blows for half time and the teams leave the field to a crescendo of derisive whistling and boos.
The game turned on its head completely ten minutes into the second half when, after a breakaway following a poor Celtic corner, an under hit Adam Matthews’ pass back led to Craig Gordon bringing down ICT’s Marley Watkins. The ‘keeper was sent off and Caley Thistle scored the penalty and from that point on Celtic was on the back foot. It took until the 117th minute for ICT to get their winner but in truth Celtic had not been in the match for most of the time they had been reduced to ten men. Celtic’s fourth treble will have to wait. The Inverness side, managed by former Celt John Hughes, face Falkirk in the final. I can certainly wait for that one.
The match- and indeed the 4-1 midweek win over Kilmarnock -exposed failings in the current Celtic team and the managerial approach of Ronny Deila. 60 minutes into the Killie game and Celtic was only drawing 1-1. The team had struggled to create chances with John Guidetti thanklessly ploughing a loan furrow against a well organised defence. Deila brought on Griffiths at that point and for the first time Celtic was able to put the Ayrshire team under sustained, dangerous pressure. Griffiths got a hat trick. And yet on Sunday it was back to one-up front with Guidetti being brought on to replace Griffiths. You can argue that John Hughes was overly cautious in deploying a back four but Celtic had only one worthwhile attack in the last seventy minutes- Guidetti nearly scoring a third goal just before ICT’s winner- with the Hoops’ second goal coming from another free kick.
Ronny’s attacking hand was possibly forced by circumstances but the Norwegian must have been the only person wanting Celtic to win who thought that bringing on Aleksandr Tonev- last seen before Christmas- for the limping Kris Commons was the right move. I thought Deila got it wrong when substituting James Forrest to make way for sub ‘keeper Lukasz Zaluska [who to add to the farce was not wearing his strip whilst sat on the bench]. The winger is not everybody’s cup of tea but he was playing quite well on Sunday and his dribbling might well have won Celtic some free kicks whilst Commons was not playing well anyway. It reminded me of the substitution of Gary Mackay-Steven in San Siro when Van Dijk was sent off- Celtic needed a win that night and the former Dundee United player had been easily Celtic’s most dangerous attacker.
I do not wish this article to make a scapegoat of Ronny Deila but it is also worth pointing out that Celtic would have been incapable of making the kind of break that Watkins did for the crucial Inverness’ equaliser. When Celtic defends a corner kick the whole team defends it. This tactic has annoyed me since it was adopted when Martin O’Neill arrived fifteen years ago. It was disappointing also that Adam Matthews having played the ICT attackers onside from the break allowed Watkins to outpace him- and he’s no Usain Bolt- and then compounded his mistake with that weak back-pass. Ronny Deila has been fulsome in his praise of Hughes’ team this season-and they are a decent blend of the skilful and the robust- but he seems to have learned nothing about how to play against them as for the second week in a row Celtic was unable to adapt to a team hustling constantly. Overall there is just not enough variety in Celtic’s tactics- we are very predictable. Allowing Henderson to leave when knowing that the experienced Charlie Mulgrew would be unfit, the newest signings were cup tied and Anthony Stokes suspended looks an even stupider move than I feared especially when the woeful Tonev came on and was even less effectual than I had remembered him as being.
The team wilted under pressure in a most unCeltic like way. Historically (as well as more recently) we have been a team that plays well when down to ten men but on Sunday we looked ‘lost’ and unlikely to win. Having played something like 15 more games than ICT so far this season looked to be a factor also and Wednesday’s trip to Dundee looks even more hazardous than it did a week ago if the team really is flagging. The league title is not yet won.
Last Sunday’s game was yet another famous win for the Highland side over Celtic – the third time they have knocked us out the Scottish Cup in 15 years and add to that the notorious 3-2 loss that cost Neil Lennon led Celtic the league four years ago ICT can be considered a real jinx for Celtic if you are superstitious. A year ago Celtic took 6 goals off them and Caley Thistle looked as though they might be in the relegation mix this season so tremendous credit must go to John Hughes and his team for turning things round. Celtic’s last game of the season is against Hughes’ team and I can only hope that the league title is decided before then.
I can also only hope that Sunday’s referee Steven McLean does not referee another Celtic game again. The incident which saw Celtic not awarded a penalty on Sunday was one of those things -like Lampard’s ‘goal’ against Germany in 2010 - when you could not believe what was happening. The usual excuses have been trotted out by ex-referees and toadies at the BBC that Mclean could not see the incident- and apparently neither did the far side linesman or, crucially, the official behind the goal who seemed to have a perfect view. Everybody is fallible and Celtic have benefitted from refereeing mistakes in the past in huge games at Hampden but this was not even close to being a difficult decision. Inevitably many Celtic fans have queried the impartiality of McLean- his brother used to play for Rangers apparently- but if Celtic really want to improve the standard of refereeing in this country, which I would like to think they do, then the club should play down the more ‘paranoid’ aspects of their complaint because it is not just Celtic fans who are unhappy with the pathetic standards of refereeing we often witness. And neither is it just Celtic fans who suspect that the hierarchies of the SFA and SPFL are run by clowns like Regan and Doncaster who seem to believe that ‘sporting integrity’ is for the birds.
I would like to think that Celtic would have made a similar fuss about McLean’s performance if we had won on Sunday*but then again four and a half years ago after the farcical ‘Dougie! Dougie!’ incident at Tannadice in October 2010 when Celtic protested about the way a particular incident had been handled after a game the Hoops had in fact won – and the ref had to resign after he was shown to be a liar- Celtic became the villain of the piece and the local referees went on strike on one weekend not long afterwards with referees from all over Europe flown in to officiate. The Luxembourg ref who took charge of Celtic’s game was highly competent and there were no complaint even though Celtic surrendered a two goal lead late on. To guess who? Yip- Inverness Caledonian Thistle!
Celtic’s season is in some danger of derailing with trips to both Dundee clubs in the next few days. With Aberdeen showing unexpected resilience Celtic cannot afford any slip ups. Two weeks ago I was confident enough to suggest that the only team that could stop Celtic winning the ‘treble’ was Celtic. I can only hope that was not the ‘kiss of death.’
*If you are being really pedantic there is a case for saying Gordon should not have been sent off as Watkins had shot at goal before being clattered by the ‘keeper and his shot was headed past the post so therefore a clear goal scoring opportunity had not actually been prevented.
© e-Football 2015 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
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Celtic’s much touted bid for a fourth domestic ‘treble’ was ended in hugely disappointing and exceptionally controversial circumstances after a 3-2 loss to Inverness Caledonian Thistle (ICT) at Hampden Park last Sunday.
The match on Sunday was an unsatisfactory affair even before a ball was kicked. The decision to move the kick off to 12.15 pm took thousands off the attendance and with virtually the whole of the Mount Florida end – the left hand side of the TV gantry- bereft of spectators this seemed like a dismally low key occasion. Admittedly it was not a low key match.
The first half of the match was pretty tense and although Celtic went in 1-0 up few of the vast majority of the crowd would have thought that Celtic had more than just a couple of toes of one foot in the final. Celtic’s goal came from a perfectly struck Van Dijk free kick and although ICT had looked dangerous from corners the Hoops were worth their lead. There had looked to be a reasonable shout for a penalty just before the opening goal, Bitton had hit the bar with a fine, sweeping shot and the Celts should probably have been awarded a further free kick in a very dangerous position a few moments after that goal. In short without playing particularly well Celtic was the better team. And then came an extraordinary incident just before half time. After a dangerous attack the ball loops to Leigh Griffiths who is perhaps six yards from goal. He heads the ball towards goal and it is intercepted by the ICT defender Meekings who has almost involuntarily moved his right arm out to prevent the ball going into the net. It is deliberate, a penalty to Celtic and Meekings will be sent off. Except that the referee does nothing and allows ICT to break up the field. The referee blows for half time and the teams leave the field to a crescendo of derisive whistling and boos.
The game turned on its head completely ten minutes into the second half when, after a breakaway following a poor Celtic corner, an under hit Adam Matthews’ pass back led to Craig Gordon bringing down ICT’s Marley Watkins. The ‘keeper was sent off and Caley Thistle scored the penalty and from that point on Celtic was on the back foot. It took until the 117th minute for ICT to get their winner but in truth Celtic had not been in the match for most of the time they had been reduced to ten men. Celtic’s fourth treble will have to wait. The Inverness side, managed by former Celt John Hughes, face Falkirk in the final. I can certainly wait for that one.
The match- and indeed the 4-1 midweek win over Kilmarnock -exposed failings in the current Celtic team and the managerial approach of Ronny Deila. 60 minutes into the Killie game and Celtic was only drawing 1-1. The team had struggled to create chances with John Guidetti thanklessly ploughing a loan furrow against a well organised defence. Deila brought on Griffiths at that point and for the first time Celtic was able to put the Ayrshire team under sustained, dangerous pressure. Griffiths got a hat trick. And yet on Sunday it was back to one-up front with Guidetti being brought on to replace Griffiths. You can argue that John Hughes was overly cautious in deploying a back four but Celtic had only one worthwhile attack in the last seventy minutes- Guidetti nearly scoring a third goal just before ICT’s winner- with the Hoops’ second goal coming from another free kick.
Ronny’s attacking hand was possibly forced by circumstances but the Norwegian must have been the only person wanting Celtic to win who thought that bringing on Aleksandr Tonev- last seen before Christmas- for the limping Kris Commons was the right move. I thought Deila got it wrong when substituting James Forrest to make way for sub ‘keeper Lukasz Zaluska [who to add to the farce was not wearing his strip whilst sat on the bench]. The winger is not everybody’s cup of tea but he was playing quite well on Sunday and his dribbling might well have won Celtic some free kicks whilst Commons was not playing well anyway. It reminded me of the substitution of Gary Mackay-Steven in San Siro when Van Dijk was sent off- Celtic needed a win that night and the former Dundee United player had been easily Celtic’s most dangerous attacker.
I do not wish this article to make a scapegoat of Ronny Deila but it is also worth pointing out that Celtic would have been incapable of making the kind of break that Watkins did for the crucial Inverness’ equaliser. When Celtic defends a corner kick the whole team defends it. This tactic has annoyed me since it was adopted when Martin O’Neill arrived fifteen years ago. It was disappointing also that Adam Matthews having played the ICT attackers onside from the break allowed Watkins to outpace him- and he’s no Usain Bolt- and then compounded his mistake with that weak back-pass. Ronny Deila has been fulsome in his praise of Hughes’ team this season-and they are a decent blend of the skilful and the robust- but he seems to have learned nothing about how to play against them as for the second week in a row Celtic was unable to adapt to a team hustling constantly. Overall there is just not enough variety in Celtic’s tactics- we are very predictable. Allowing Henderson to leave when knowing that the experienced Charlie Mulgrew would be unfit, the newest signings were cup tied and Anthony Stokes suspended looks an even stupider move than I feared especially when the woeful Tonev came on and was even less effectual than I had remembered him as being.
The team wilted under pressure in a most unCeltic like way. Historically (as well as more recently) we have been a team that plays well when down to ten men but on Sunday we looked ‘lost’ and unlikely to win. Having played something like 15 more games than ICT so far this season looked to be a factor also and Wednesday’s trip to Dundee looks even more hazardous than it did a week ago if the team really is flagging. The league title is not yet won.
Last Sunday’s game was yet another famous win for the Highland side over Celtic – the third time they have knocked us out the Scottish Cup in 15 years and add to that the notorious 3-2 loss that cost Neil Lennon led Celtic the league four years ago ICT can be considered a real jinx for Celtic if you are superstitious. A year ago Celtic took 6 goals off them and Caley Thistle looked as though they might be in the relegation mix this season so tremendous credit must go to John Hughes and his team for turning things round. Celtic’s last game of the season is against Hughes’ team and I can only hope that the league title is decided before then.
I can also only hope that Sunday’s referee Steven McLean does not referee another Celtic game again. The incident which saw Celtic not awarded a penalty on Sunday was one of those things -like Lampard’s ‘goal’ against Germany in 2010 - when you could not believe what was happening. The usual excuses have been trotted out by ex-referees and toadies at the BBC that Mclean could not see the incident- and apparently neither did the far side linesman or, crucially, the official behind the goal who seemed to have a perfect view. Everybody is fallible and Celtic have benefitted from refereeing mistakes in the past in huge games at Hampden but this was not even close to being a difficult decision. Inevitably many Celtic fans have queried the impartiality of McLean- his brother used to play for Rangers apparently- but if Celtic really want to improve the standard of refereeing in this country, which I would like to think they do, then the club should play down the more ‘paranoid’ aspects of their complaint because it is not just Celtic fans who are unhappy with the pathetic standards of refereeing we often witness. And neither is it just Celtic fans who suspect that the hierarchies of the SFA and SPFL are run by clowns like Regan and Doncaster who seem to believe that ‘sporting integrity’ is for the birds.
I would like to think that Celtic would have made a similar fuss about McLean’s performance if we had won on Sunday*but then again four and a half years ago after the farcical ‘Dougie! Dougie!’ incident at Tannadice in October 2010 when Celtic protested about the way a particular incident had been handled after a game the Hoops had in fact won – and the ref had to resign after he was shown to be a liar- Celtic became the villain of the piece and the local referees went on strike on one weekend not long afterwards with referees from all over Europe flown in to officiate. The Luxembourg ref who took charge of Celtic’s game was highly competent and there were no complaint even though Celtic surrendered a two goal lead late on. To guess who? Yip- Inverness Caledonian Thistle!
Celtic’s season is in some danger of derailing with trips to both Dundee clubs in the next few days. With Aberdeen showing unexpected resilience Celtic cannot afford any slip ups. Two weeks ago I was confident enough to suggest that the only team that could stop Celtic winning the ‘treble’ was Celtic. I can only hope that was not the ‘kiss of death.’
*If you are being really pedantic there is a case for saying Gordon should not have been sent off as Watkins had shot at goal before being clattered by the ‘keeper and his shot was headed past the post so therefore a clear goal scoring opportunity had not actually been prevented.
© e-Football 2015 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football
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