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Aalborg v Celtic- 25th November 08
Topic Started: Nov 22 2008, 02:19 PM (724 Views)
Henke
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Jinty
Nov 26 2008, 05:35 PM
felt sorry for caldwell last night......never a midfielder, but did his best in a position unfamiliar to him....unfortunately his best wasn't nearly good enough

loovens/mcmanus just didn't work at all.....they're not used to playing with each other - and it showed....loovens looked nervous and out of his depth, while mcmanus was slow and undecisive.....which ultimately led to their 1st goal :(

For me, that is THE biggest error on the managers part.

When he lined the team up this way against St Midden, you just knew he was going to continue the madness of Caldwell in midfield and Loovens a the back against Aalborg. :rolleyes:

Caldwell is a very limited footballer. He is a no bad defender and he has been playing really well in that, his natural position all season.

In a big European game like this, surely it would be a good idea to stick to your two strongest center halves? McManus and Caldwell have been playing well together. Why split up the partnership???? McManus and Loovens is an unknown quantity FFS, who tries that out in a must win game?

Why play one of them in an uncomfortable, unfamiliar position, where they are going obviously struggle and an untried, inexperienced novice in his place?

Madness! :rolleyes:
In every hick town in Caledonia

Across this pseudo nation

You can see the most fucked up scum that was ever shat into creation

Where a blue McEwan's lager top equals no imagination

You're hunbelievable



If you're having cash problems I feel bad for you hun
I've got 99 problems but tax ain't one
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blair7-1
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Apart from the fact we are out, and miss revenue, who is it we are going to attract in the January window? :shrug:

Only slight bonus is that we should be in for all three dometic trophies, and there better not be an excuse.

Is this the worst team in Europe since the welsh outfit we played a few years back? (not sure if I mean Aaalborg or ourselves) :blush:
I`m not biased. I don`t care who beats Rangers

It is up to us, to everyone at Celtic Park, to build up our own legends. We don’t want to live with history, to be compared with legends from the past. We must make new legends."
Jock Stein
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desachi
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I think jinty has it spot on, this is a mental thing now.

No great shakes and we beat teams like this week in week out in the SPL. There can be no other explanation. Even WGS's selection (which I personally thought he got slightly wrong) were not drastically different from what has been tried. The reality is we should have beaten them but there is something wrong in their heads about this.

Needs sorting out. They need to stop thinking of home and away records and just focus on playing their game and bringing back some points. The best part of a year before we start talking about this again. :banghead:

Sadly we will be having this same conversation next year unless someone at a higher level than the manager shows some ambition for the side and not just the off field numbers situation. Low debt is great and all, but as long as it is coming down, there should be no hurry if the team suffers as a result.

This level is all about keeping the ball and taking your chances. Needs midfielders who can pass and strikers with a wee bit of class who can put things away. These cost money and there is no shortcut for that. If we can develop our own then so be it, but if we cannot, then they have to be acquired, simple as that. If we can give contract extensions to the likes of Naylor who can't get into the 1st team left back slot in front of a right back then surely there are some resources to be juggled about that will allow us to bring in some class. :shrug:

One or two players every season to improve upon the first team is how you advance without breaking the bank. Doesn't need six or seven, just two or three, and if anyone thinks we did that in the summer, then think again, the proof is where we stand today, dumped out of Europe altogether without even the parachute of the UEFA Cup.
In the nation of the blind the one eyed man is king.

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing

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Henke
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I am not so sure I agree about the mental side of things.

Sure, mentality plays a huge part in sports and success in sports and I do concede that that will be playing an part in our ongoing away form, or lack thereof, but this losing streak stretches back to a different management and completely different playing staff.

Maybe it has carried over, who knows?

Personally, whilst I concede it plays a part, I think it comes down to continued poor management and tactics. That is more often than not causing uncertainty amongst the players, which invariably leads to a lack of form.

Well, that and bad luck at times.

Put the right team out and everything should follow from that.
In every hick town in Caledonia

Across this pseudo nation

You can see the most fucked up scum that was ever shat into creation

Where a blue McEwan's lager top equals no imagination

You're hunbelievable



If you're having cash problems I feel bad for you hun
I've got 99 problems but tax ain't one
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Lubomir No.25
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Loovens is a dud who struggled against Aberdeen and has not proved himself anywhere near better than O'Dea, never mind our first choice two.

Humiliating. Said at the time when we scored we it would probably work against us. God knows what we were trying to do after the goal but predictably we lost all shape and the gaps between defence and midfield and midfield and attack were embarassing, with 20 minutes to go at one stage Nakamura was our most advanced player with no one near him when he got the ball.

Sheridan should never have been near the pitch.

As for Samaras, back to the dodgy form we saw last season at times, and when your striker is turning up for a must win game in a scarve......ffs.
[color=green][i]for those who are oppressed, in song you can protest[/i][/color]
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Doc67
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Lubomir No.25
Nov 26 2008, 09:18 AM

As for Samaras, back to the dodgy form we saw last season at times, and when your striker is turning up for a must win game in a scarve......ffs.

Says it all for me TBH - He and he alone is the reason we lost




Good to be back!
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Jinty
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just got a text from one of the swiss guys who went to denmark....

'you have to ask yourself why you're travelling 40 hours by train to watch a team with no spirit and no belief'
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blair7-1
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Only guy happy right now at CP must be Naylor as he didn`t feature!

Can`t agree that it is Sammi`s fault we lost tbh. Yes missed a few, but surely to christ we are capable of holding a 1-0 lead against a team that would struggle to beat most Scottish First division teams?

Simple fact is Sammi should not have been needed for this game. Retrospectively, Sheridan should have started imo.
I`m not biased. I don`t care who beats Rangers

It is up to us, to everyone at Celtic Park, to build up our own legends. We don’t want to live with history, to be compared with legends from the past. We must make new legends."
Jock Stein
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desachi
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Henke, I think the mental aspect of it has come to the fore of late. People seem to be focused on the losing streak whenever we take to the field away in Europe.

Can't see WGS changing his tactics for just the one off game. We have been playing this way (with this shape) for the last three and a half years now. The tactics work. They are by no means perfect, but in theory I think it is fair to say they are fine provided the right personnel are on the pitch in the right positions.

For me this is where it has all fallen down for me. WGS has made his share of mistakes tactically, no doubt about it, but, for me, the real problem here comes down to the lack of presence on the park. Someone with a footballing brain and some heart directing things in the middle of the park.

Caldwell is not and never has been the answer. All heart yes, not the best footballing intelligence or ability in that role. Naka? All intelligence and skill but not the personality (and not the language either). Scott Brown is a candidate but is young and needs experience in this department. Barry Robson? Perhaps, though again, at the level we are talking about he lacks the technical skills to hold his own at times.

Where we used to have a team of giants only 4 years ago, we now have to look around and see where the big players are in the side. This is the most serious lack of quality that we have seen of late. WGS needs to put the right people into the right places and there needs to be someone who can take a grip of the side, calm them down when need be. This team is now full of kids and kids want to run at teams and dazzle. Takes a mature mind to be able to see out a game.

Our spine is our problem yet again.
In the nation of the blind the one eyed man is king.

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing

HWEUCSC & Chicago CSC

Buena Vista Celtic Club, Keeping the Green Flag Flying High
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Doc67
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pretty much spot on there Des!




Good to be back!
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desachi
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Quote:
 
‘I actually feel sad for Celtic’

by Ronnie Cully

AALBORG midfielder Kasper Risgaard today rubbed salt into Celtic's wounds by admitting it should be the Parkhead club who are marching on in Europe.

He also conceded that Gordon Strachan's men were denied a stonewall penalty just before they had opened the scoring, and that going two down would have finished the Danes off.

Risgaard reckons it was the worst game Aalborg have played in this season's Champions League.

But he cares not a jot about any of the above because he is too busy celebrating snatching third spot in Group E at the expense of the luckless Hoops.
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Risgaard said: "Celtic have some big, strong guys who play a physical game and it is very tough to play against them. I have to say we were lucky and that they were unlucky. But it's a fantastic achievement for us to get through. "I am actually sad for Celtic, but that's what can happen in this game.

"Last night we played our weakest match in this season's Champions League, and we were fortunate to come away with all three points as the goals came so late and needed some help from Celtic players."

Of the controversial 52nd minute incident when Scott McDonald was brought down in the area by keeper Karim Zaza, Risgard was equally honest and said: "It was a penalty.

"I think there was a foul, and if they had scored that then gone 2-0 up with Barry Robson's goal, the game would have been over.

"But that's football, and now we are all just trying to come to terms with what we have done and looking forward to playing in the Uefa Cup in Feburary."

Publication date 26/11/08


link

Stonewall penalty so it was.

We didn't need it to win though, should have taken our chances. :rolleyes:
In the nation of the blind the one eyed man is king.

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing

HWEUCSC & Chicago CSC

Buena Vista Celtic Club, Keeping the Green Flag Flying High
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Jinty
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the way our luck went last night we'd probably have missed a penalty anyway :(
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blair7-1
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Des, the way we play abroad, I would rather take the chance and give Scott Brown the role of the Captain. At least he has been fighting and playing well. The day of an automatic pick Captain should be long-gone. You are only as good as your last game, and the defence were woeful, having only been asked twice in the game to stand up and be counted.
I`m not biased. I don`t care who beats Rangers

It is up to us, to everyone at Celtic Park, to build up our own legends. We don’t want to live with history, to be compared with legends from the past. We must make new legends."
Jock Stein
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desachi
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Honestly blair, I think we were coasting yesterday. I am still wondering how we lost it. To me that was the biggest freak result I have seen in many a year, and not sure it is as easy as saying we can blame it on anyone.

Floored everyone so it did, including Aalborg and their players judging from the statements they are coming out with today. Of course, none of that takes away from the fact that we left Denmark with nothing when we should have left with 3 points, a resounding win and then end of this ridiculous run of results. The game actually reminded me of the Lyon one where we needed a draw. A lot of people blamed Balde after that for something that was, IMO, just one of those things. A little like what happened to Caldwell last night. Thankfully there has been no demonisation of the Heid. The follow on thought was more sobering. That was Lyon, and a very good Lyon side, with an excellent CL pedigree. Last night was Aalborg.

Disappointed and floored, but then that is football sometimes. On the other side of the coin, we have done that to far better teams than us in recent times as well. In fact, this whole thing got me thinking to when the last time we were comfortable winners in Europe. Artmedia at home perhaps? Benfica at home was excellent as well. So, that would be one CL group stage game out of 17 then. Pretty shocking if you ask me. The results might have been good but for me the performances haven't been of the highest quality at all. Saved our best for Kilmarnock in this regard.

What does that tell me? Something that we all already knew, lack of quality, lack of ability to up things for the big games. In the three and a half seasons we have had, I think, only the run at the end of last season showed any real sense of consistent character, along with a spell when we beat TFOD and then Benfica the season before that. The season before that we had the run post Artmedia/Motherwell when we kept something like 11 or 12 clean sheets (with the Balde-McManus partnership) that put so much pressure on TFOD and helped us open up a massive and unassailable lead.

I loved it as much as anyone when McDonald nipped in to score the winner against Milan, and Donati did the same against Shakhtar, and of course Naka's sublime freekick against Man Utd and Boruc's penalty save, but to me, draws in each of those games would have been fair results as well.

There is the question, is there a move toward better quality or not? If not, why not? Why is it that we still don't know our best XI? Surely must be because there is plenty of "average" about the side and no certainty about a position. In fact, some of the players who are guaranteed a position should be nowhere near as secure as they are if you ask me.

Surely we should be aiming to improve as a club, in a managed, controlled way, bit by bit, season by season. Are we? If those in positions of power are to talk about team 1, 2 or 3, or whatever, then there should be some sort of improvement. Will be willing to see how that pans out by the end of the season but to be in denial about our lack of progress is the greater sin, and that needs to be addressed from the top, well above WGS's pay grade.

Ambition, ambition, ambition. :rolleyes:
In the nation of the blind the one eyed man is king.

All that is necessary for evil to succeed is that good men do nothing

HWEUCSC & Chicago CSC

Buena Vista Celtic Club, Keeping the Green Flag Flying High
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Keving
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The team sitting 7th in the Danish Superliga took 4 points from us. It's akin to a one-armed blindman beating you at darts.

Lots of guid points guys but IMO it's more of a collective failing rather than a witch hunt of certain players and the manager.

We got what we deserved. Overall, the table disnny lie.
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