Celtic v West Ham, Saturday 24th July, Celtic Park

Not a Good result but its a pre season friendly and being of a certain vintage going to my First game in the very early sixties I remember when scores like this were common place and they weren't pre season friendly's (ah the glory days) if we don't win mid week its not the end of the world yes the money would be handy but its the domestic season that matters ,keep the faith in Ange we trust
 
All I can say is thank fuck the ballot was kind to us and never drew our names out for this game, we dodged a bullet
Seems as if the biggest bullet we dodged was Eddie Howe. I can see very good changes in the team already and can't wait til we can have a full squad again. If Eddie and Christie are staying I would like to know in the next week or get 5 players in from the English Championship so they can be integrated immediately. I keep saying we will win the league this year by 8 points PLUS, especially since slippy will be fired by March.
Edit: We need a couple of hard bastards at the back. (Oh and a new keeper)
 
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Everyone needs to remember at the end of last season we all knew what we were going to be like at the start of this season,we knew we were going into the qualifiers with the kids shoring up the defence FFS we had more than half a team walking or about to walk out the door.Ange needs time and backing we still need about five players if we are going to be serious about this season,this is the start I expected but as I said before with the right players we will be a force again this season there’s positives from what we’ve seen so far so let’s all wait and see.Good times are coming back I’m telling you. This shit show happening now is down to one man PL he knows it and we know it.
 
Telling myself it's fine, these games are about fitness and trying out formations. No big deal we let in 6 goals. At home. Not a significant cause for concern, Wednesday is the big match and it will be a different Celtic then.

It's not totally working though.
 
First things first. It was sooooooo good to be back in Paradise. I think it was Green Sprig who said he was a bit surprised at feeling a tad emotional. Well, don't worry GS, I am happy to own up to having something of a moistness in my eyes when the chosen started to sing YNWA .

Noo the dodgy part. The game ! I was gonna do my usual and give it some time so as to be as measured as I possibly could be after such a disappointing display. Thing is, I know in my heart what I feel actually isn't a reaction. It's a confirmation.

Confirmation of what, if we are being honest with ourselves, is blindingly obvious. AP has a monumental task ahead of him. I think most of us are acknowledging that, judging by the posts in this thread.

I'm not gonna be too hard on the youngsters AP is being forced to play at the moment. That's what they are, kids. For the most part these kids will get a chance again when, hopefully, there's a better balance to the overall squad. Too many kids at the same time just makes things more difficult. They need to play alongside experienced players to help them develop.

So what do we do then ? We all know the answer to that. Get the cheque book out. Give the gaffer a chance of being successful by backing his judgement. He needs a bit of help. He needs several positions strengthened. For me, even taking account of the players we've managed to bring to the club, we're still four, maybe five, short.

What he needs on top of that is time, patience, and support from all of us. HH
 
Missed a large chunk of the 2nd half thankfully.
Pre season is finished now so time to take stock of where we really are.
Still I believe we can field the strongest team in Scotland and with the few additional players that will be undisputed.
We saw today just how short we still remain for European football as a whole and europa league at best is where we are now.
The depth of squad is my real worry as a few injuries to key players can leave us struggling big time.
We don't play against the quality that west ham have on offer every week, so still no need for a knee jerk reaction imo.
A decent enough 11, with a couple of signings will give us a strong 11, with a few decent back up players but not enough overall.
This was never going to be a quick fix, but a foundation is being created for us to build upon and we are still building in the right direction.
The keeper position has to be addressed as a state of emergency, even if we have to get a loan signing in for the season.
Full back's also needs addressing, even if it means going for the 3 and look at potentially using Forrest and Christie in wing back roles to let them double up with kyogo and abada.
Welsh, starfelt and Jules can still provide a decent enough back line for the spfl imo.
Not going to panic yet and just get in the few additional players and the whole mood in the camp will change.
Still good enough to win the league, so board needs to back Ange more with signings, while we try to keep the faith
HH and YNWA
 
I know we lost 6-2 but it was only a friendly. New players, New manager and new system. Some of our passing in the game, especially 1st half, was quality. Quick 1 touch football. A far cry from lennons slow side to side passing crap of last season. Our defence will be sorted in the next few weeks I think. Hopefully New right back in. Its early days but you can see things starting to click and when it does, not a single team in scotland will be able to touch us. Everything will be fine.
New Players? We only had one new player, that's the fucking problem. We were playing to kids at CB who should of been playing against EK in the lowland league.
How long does it take to get get right back in? We have been trying to get 1 since January.
You need to open your eyes. This board have brought in over £33m in player sales since January and they are fucking around instead of doing their jobs.
Where the head of recruitment?
Where's the DoF?
We have a new manager who had been left with Kennedy and Strachan as his coaching staff. The club is a shambles
 
New Players? We only had one new player, that's the fucking problem. We were playing to kids at CB who should of been playing against EK in the lowland league.
How long does it take to get get right back in? We have been trying to get 1 since January.
You need to open your eyes. This board have brought in over £33m in player sales since January and they are fucking around instead of doing their jobs.
Where the head of recruitment?
Where's the DoF?
We have a new manager who had been left with Kennedy and Strachan as his coaching staff. The club is a shambles
still the same problem no matter who we sell

who wants the job on the wages we can afford?

reason dude needs to be sold is we cant affoprd the wage he can get elsewere

And if we had the wage budget we wouldnt need to sekll our best players

its got sack all to do with the board and everything to do with the tv money that we dont get.

you might say how do foreign teams do it?

1 they blood their own players mostly and bring in players to play a cewrtain style of football

Celtic fans expect high power aggressive teams but we are cut off from the tv income that allows signing top top players and the ones who arent quite as good as top are very high tisk potential flopps and worse we are in uk market so european teams expoect uk teams to pay bigger wages but scottish teams are excluded from the benefits of being in uk

but get all the baggage that uk teams get

imo next board wont be able to fund the type of players we need either

its the sky cabal thats killing scottish football

not the board

and unless you have big pockets or a sheik type with money to burn or secret tax dodging trust fund its no gonna get sorted by buying sub standard players playing a system that top top players struggle to pull off

we play a full throttle system with sub standard young guys who arent fully mature

its a recipe for disaster against mature players and/or solid slow counter system that picks off the straglers

but rather than boo board and blame the wrong people blame sky and the funny money cabal who have cut celtic off from the income that they arbitrarily hand to lesser clubs
 
still the same problem no matter who we sell

who wants the job on the wages we can afford?

reason dude needs to be sold is we cant affoprd the wage he can get elsewere

And if we had the wage budget we wouldnt need to sekll our best players

its got sack all to do with the board and everything to do with the tv money that we dont get.

you might say how do foreign teams do it?

1 they blood their own players mostly and bring in players to play a cewrtain style of football

Celtic fans expect high power aggressive teams but we are cut off from the tv income that allows signing top top players and the ones who arent quite as good as top are very high tisk potential flopps and worse we are in uk market so european teams expoect uk teams to pay bigger wages but scottish teams are excluded from the benefits of being in uk

but get all the baggage that uk teams get

imo next board wont be able to fund the type of players we need either

its the sky cabal thats killing scottish football

not the board

and unless you have big pockets or a sheik type with money to burn or secret tax dodging trust fund its no gonna get sorted by buying sub standard players playing a system that top top players struggle to pull off

we play a full throttle system with sub standard young guys who arent fully mature

its a recipe for disaster against mature players and/or solid slow counter system that picks off the straglers

but rather than boo board and blame the wrong people blame sky and the funny money cabal who have cut celtic off from the income that they arbitrarily hand to lesser clubs
I would have to disagree. We have a bigger wage bill than the teams that keep knocking us out of the CL qualifiers.
OK we can't afford top world class players, but there are plenty of good quality players that would fit into our wage structure. The problem is we don't have anyone at the club who has a clue about recruitment.
Dom had never worked in football before, we don't have a DoF or a head of recruitment. All we have is Peter fucking lawell and the same arsehole cunts who have been on the board for the last decade. That's where the problem is. Not that sky pay us fuck all.
Sevco have no problem getting players signed and we have a higher wage bill
 
New Players? We only had one new player, that's the fucking problem. We were playing to kids at CB who should of been playing against EK in the lowland league.
How long does it take to get get right back in? We have been trying to get 1 since January.
You need to open your eyes. This board have brought in over £33m in player sales since January and they are fucking around instead of doing their jobs.
Where the head of recruitment?
Where's the DoF?
We have a new manager who had been left with Kennedy and Strachan as his coaching staff. The club is a shambles

Eyes wide open thanks mate. It was only a friendly. We know the state the club is in. We have bashed the board and the old manager for the last year. There was no magic fix. Manager and players need time to adjust. Keep the faith and calm down my friend.
 
Literally spent the whole of last season in a permanent rage. I'm not about to lose my shit because we lost a friendly...who gives a shit. The manager has brought in new players, granted they can't play yet, but he has brought a couple in. He has a clear idea of what he wants in his head. He talks well when questioned and I have complete faith in him. We can piss and moan about the board again for a whole season, that's fine. It's brilliant for moral and really changes things....... or we can back the manager and the team.
 
I would have to disagree. We have a bigger wage bill than the teams that keep knocking us out of the CL qualifiers.
OK we can't afford top world class players, but there are plenty of good quality players that would fit into our wage structure. The problem is we don't have anyone at the club who has a clue about recruitment.
Dom had never worked in football before, we don't have a DoF or a head of recruitment. All we have is Peter fucking lawell and the same arsehole cunts who have been on the board for the last decade. That's where the problem is. Not that sky pay us fuck all.
Sevco have no problem getting players signed and we have a higher wage bill
1 they play counter football

much harder to play aggressive powerplay and win with similar status players

we pay much more because we have to pay uk level wages which sometimes may appear healthy against foreign teams but in reality arent that much better in relative terms of purchasing power

2 they dont waqnt to come to a huge uk club without uk football level wages

so they hold off for english club paying more for less hassles

3 they play week in week out against stronger teams usually therefore have to have a balanced side with defenders who learn their trade properly which at celtic with the missmatch in resources against our regular opponents leaves our defense very week and untested against proper standard of players

4 going in a game against decent standard of player or stronger wioth same tactics you would employ against motherwell is reciope for disaster

the board job is to make best financial decisions for clubs long term as well as short term

they cant pay more than we can afford

and we cant afford to pay top uk wages without the 100 million bung from tv that ep[l clubs get from sky

its simple maths

not board penny pinching imo

in fact they are sp[endiong money very frivolously imo at times


we either blood the youth or we change tactics against bigger teams or both
 
Literally spent the whole of last season in a permanent rage. I'm not about to lose my shit because we lost a friendly...who gives a shit. The manager has brought in new players, granted they can't play yet, but he has brought a couple in. He has a clear idea of what he wants in his head. He talks well when questioned and I have complete faith in him. We can piss and moan about the board again for a whole season, that's fine. It's brilliant for moral and really changes things....... or we can back the manager and the team.
bit that worriers me is the tactics to win ball and prevent opponents from getting free chances has not improved on individual or team levels imo

tactically poor

huge gaps between defence and mids and no proper defensive movement or options for younf inexperienced defenders to pasws it too

just crud defending

keeper was woeful at their second

almost like he didnt realise he was gifting a huge portion of goal to pass ball into

terrible tactics
 
bit that worriers me is the tactics to win ball and prevent opponents from getting free chances has not improved on individual or team levels imo

tactically poor

huge gaps between defence and mids and no proper defensive movement or options for younf inexperienced defenders to pasws it too

just crud defending

keeper was woeful at their second

almost like he didnt realise he was gifting a huge portion of goal to pass ball into

terrible tactics

The manager acknowledged the poor defending after the match. Hopefully he spends the next few days working on it.
 

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