In this week’s Huddle Breakdown, James and Alan analyse Celtic’s dour 0–0 draw in the Glasgow Derby (recorded in the early evening of transfer deadline day).
Resigning would be a great gesture, but since it’d cost Rodgers about £2 million and jeopardise his chances of getting another job, I don’t expect him to choose the heroic way out.
I’ve been thinking that a 4-4-2 would suit the players we have (at least until Jota is restored), but I don’t think we’ve got the right mix for a 4-🔸-2. McCowan is probably the nearest we have to a 10. Mind you, I’d love to see Daizen and Shin up front together. They’d be perpetual motion.
The CalMac stat was jaw-dropping. Alarm bells should be ringing.
Thinking about what shape we should try. I think we should switch to the one Man City played when they won the treble, which was a 3-2-4-1
Gk - Schmeichel
RCB CCV or JSP or Murray
CCB CCV or Scales or Murray
LCB Tierney or Scales or Trusty
LDM McGregor
RDM Engels or Bernardo
RM Maeda or Johnston (when fit)
LM Tourneki or Sarrachi
AM Nygren or McCowan
AM Balikwisha or Hatate
ST Yamada or Maeda or Kenny
I actually think this would be the way to get the best out what we have and would solve a few different issues.
Tierney in a back 3 doesn’t have to bomb up and down all game but can carry the ball on occasion. I think we need to give JSP a chance as a defender who is better on the ball.
In midfield, simplify what we want from
Engels you cover half the pitch defensively sweep up behind the right midfielder and when you get on it get it to that four in front of you. Similar to what Alan highlighted on the podcast.
McGregor similar you have cut half his workload in terms of covering the pitch he does the same as Engels on the other side.
Maeda at right midfielder, hit the byline get the ball across and when it’s down the left, get to the back post for tap ins.
Tourneki or Saracchi provide attacking width on the left and be creative, offer width and creativity.
Balikwisha and Nygren are intelligent footballers, get them on the ball and make things happen in the half spaces and central areas get shots of and through balls and crash the box when the ball is wide.
Yamada be between the posts and be the instinctive finisher you were when he was scoring for fun last season at Kawasaki. Be a nuisance back in tie up defenders but mainly get in and around that six yard box position. Same if it’s Maeda in there.
I would just like some honesty in what the plan was and if there was one , why it failed. I can imagine scenarios where players are scouted and become targets, only for their valuation to increase because of a great season. I can imagine clubs moving the goalposts, and the club standing their ground on valuations. Unexpected competition for your targets. (Ajax sold their striker , and therefore hijacked our bid). These would be reasonable reasons. I’d just like an answer. I’d be happy if they said all these things and that they were not willing to gamble 10’s of millions on players they did not rate that high. (Rangers fans might be happy that they are signing 8m players but chermiti has scored 7 goals in his senior career, I get he’s 21, but that is a lot of money to gamble).
Is it that we are at a level, where the next step up is too far for us? Once you start getting into 6- 10m range, those types of players have more options.
If this was explained to the support there may be more goodwill, but the silence just makes us think they are incompetent.
One of the great pleasures of watching Celtic for me over the last few years has been watching CM pick the ball up and drive at defenders when things have been sticky. James is very accurate in the way that CalMac has been set up to fail in this system now. Down to Father Time , to a board that can not
wake up today and think they have any right to take a wage until January (and even then it would be robbery) and a manager who's intransigence is now bitting everyone in the ass. The club seems a shambles and no one in any management position looks good.
If Brendan Rogers stays then this is his opportunity to really show how good a manager he is. Now is the time for him to be resourceful, adaptable and to show inspirational leadership to a group of players (and fans) in need of galvanising. He is our highest paid employee - we absolutely need more from him. He has failed this test once already against Kairat - if he can't find it within himself to deliver the above then he must go.
Listening to this at 9.30pm last night did little to lift my mood as Celtic did little in the transfer market as predicted. Your credibility is intact and you can now assume guru status😉 We had a little to-and-fro a few weeks back on ‘the decline of empire’ with my view being they fall by overreach, something that was unlikely at an inherently conservative institution like Celtic unless those in charge were totally incompetent. I’d like to hold up my hands and admit I was wrong: they can also fall by arrogance and hubris, particularly when those in charge are proven to be totally incompetent.
As if the McGregor decline and Tierney issues weren’t foreseeable https://thecelticstar.com/revealed-the-celtic-star-who-has-played-most-minutes-this-season-across-european-football/amp/
Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth
Celtic do not want to be any further ahead in a one horse race for fear the punters just pack up and go home
As improbable as that sounds as Sherlock would say, it has to be the truth
We could however just go for Hanlon's and Occam's Razors.
Resigning would be a great gesture, but since it’d cost Rodgers about £2 million and jeopardise his chances of getting another job, I don’t expect him to choose the heroic way out.
I’ve been thinking that a 4-4-2 would suit the players we have (at least until Jota is restored), but I don’t think we’ve got the right mix for a 4-🔸-2. McCowan is probably the nearest we have to a 10. Mind you, I’d love to see Daizen and Shin up front together. They’d be perpetual motion.
The CalMac stat was jaw-dropping. Alarm bells should be ringing.
Very surprised to hear Calmac described as human. Do you have any robust analysis to support that claim?
Thinking about what shape we should try. I think we should switch to the one Man City played when they won the treble, which was a 3-2-4-1
Gk - Schmeichel
RCB CCV or JSP or Murray
CCB CCV or Scales or Murray
LCB Tierney or Scales or Trusty
LDM McGregor
RDM Engels or Bernardo
RM Maeda or Johnston (when fit)
LM Tourneki or Sarrachi
AM Nygren or McCowan
AM Balikwisha or Hatate
ST Yamada or Maeda or Kenny
I actually think this would be the way to get the best out what we have and would solve a few different issues.
Tierney in a back 3 doesn’t have to bomb up and down all game but can carry the ball on occasion. I think we need to give JSP a chance as a defender who is better on the ball.
In midfield, simplify what we want from
Engels you cover half the pitch defensively sweep up behind the right midfielder and when you get on it get it to that four in front of you. Similar to what Alan highlighted on the podcast.
McGregor similar you have cut half his workload in terms of covering the pitch he does the same as Engels on the other side.
Maeda at right midfielder, hit the byline get the ball across and when it’s down the left, get to the back post for tap ins.
Tourneki or Saracchi provide attacking width on the left and be creative, offer width and creativity.
Balikwisha and Nygren are intelligent footballers, get them on the ball and make things happen in the half spaces and central areas get shots of and through balls and crash the box when the ball is wide.
Yamada be between the posts and be the instinctive finisher you were when he was scoring for fun last season at Kawasaki. Be a nuisance back in tie up defenders but mainly get in and around that six yard box position. Same if it’s Maeda in there.
I would just like some honesty in what the plan was and if there was one , why it failed. I can imagine scenarios where players are scouted and become targets, only for their valuation to increase because of a great season. I can imagine clubs moving the goalposts, and the club standing their ground on valuations. Unexpected competition for your targets. (Ajax sold their striker , and therefore hijacked our bid). These would be reasonable reasons. I’d just like an answer. I’d be happy if they said all these things and that they were not willing to gamble 10’s of millions on players they did not rate that high. (Rangers fans might be happy that they are signing 8m players but chermiti has scored 7 goals in his senior career, I get he’s 21, but that is a lot of money to gamble).
Is it that we are at a level, where the next step up is too far for us? Once you start getting into 6- 10m range, those types of players have more options.
If this was explained to the support there may be more goodwill, but the silence just makes us think they are incompetent.
One of the great pleasures of watching Celtic for me over the last few years has been watching CM pick the ball up and drive at defenders when things have been sticky. James is very accurate in the way that CalMac has been set up to fail in this system now. Down to Father Time , to a board that can not
wake up today and think they have any right to take a wage until January (and even then it would be robbery) and a manager who's intransigence is now bitting everyone in the ass. The club seems a shambles and no one in any management position looks good.
If Brendan Rogers stays then this is his opportunity to really show how good a manager he is. Now is the time for him to be resourceful, adaptable and to show inspirational leadership to a group of players (and fans) in need of galvanising. He is our highest paid employee - we absolutely need more from him. He has failed this test once already against Kairat - if he can't find it within himself to deliver the above then he must go.
Listening to this at 9.30pm last night did little to lift my mood as Celtic did little in the transfer market as predicted. Your credibility is intact and you can now assume guru status😉 We had a little to-and-fro a few weeks back on ‘the decline of empire’ with my view being they fall by overreach, something that was unlikely at an inherently conservative institution like Celtic unless those in charge were totally incompetent. I’d like to hold up my hands and admit I was wrong: they can also fall by arrogance and hubris, particularly when those in charge are proven to be totally incompetent.
Alan & James please can you contact me on christian.harding@ambiguous.world it's in regards celticshare.com cheers.
Everyone relax. The board came up with the goods so everything is fine 🤥
Less than an hour untill the window closes and as far as I can see, we ain't signed no one. I think your call was right, Alan.
Thank you for releasing this...I need some therapy after the last few games and this underwhelming (again) transfer window 😅👌