Checking the Champions League scores at half-time last night I noticed that no team had scored more than one goal in the first 45 minutes, just 24 hours after Celtic conceded five in that horrendous first half in Dortmund…
Our tactical approach has resulted in elevating Dortmund to the top of the League Phase table (shown below) after two games. While Celtic are probably sitting where we’d expect them to be at this stage, the tactical approach to a game away against last year’s Champions League finalists has cost us up to five places in that table.
It’s worth noting we could have lost narrowly by concentrating on keeping the back door shut, but maybe lost by a couple of goals and we’d be sitting above Real Madrid in the table.
It’s early days of course and we have still to play Aston Villa and Atalanta are above us in the table while we are level with Club Brugge and ahead of the rest including pot one team Leipzig.
It’s the away games that will be giving Celtic supporters the feat though if we continue to play the way we did in Dortmund.
Jock Stein had the most attack-minded side in Celtic’s history and on the way to lifting the European Cup in 1967 he changed his tactical approach in Prague to effectively ‘park the bus’ and get the result that was needed to take us to Lisbon.
Not a single Celtic supporter would have minded, not sure if we had football purists in those days and there was of course no social media.
Enough is enough.
Celtic must be like every other team in this table below and at a very minimum be hard to score against. Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys (who we play at Celtic Park) look out of their depth quality wise Celtic’s problem is tactical.
And it’s beyond embarrassing. It’s now humiliating.
Celtic do not have the players to keep the back door shut unless they bring Ralston in at wing back to add some steel to the team and play Trusty at left back.
May prevent goals at our end but doesn’t provide answer for scoring at opposite end.
Most teams in Scotland set up defensively against Celtic.Most times Celtic defeat them because they are the better team.
When we celebrate signing a player for £11million it signifies our true position in European football.
Problem remains with our captain in Europe as always.
There is a reason he had the good sense to retire from international duties.
Lack of Pace which is found out in Europe.
BR has a system which works in Scotland and on a good night in Europe against the lesser teams.
You cannot train donkeys to win the Gold Cup.
Hail Hail
It was a SAD/UNHAPPY night for us Celtic fans/supporters but remember:
It’s easy enough to be happy
when life flows by like a song
But fans worthwhile are the fans that can smile
when everything goes dead wrong!!
John Hail Hail