Lennon is still handy at breaking up opponents play but I agree he is too slow especially for Europe. That's why I think Graveson and Pearson would be a good combination.
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Lennon is still handy at breaking up opponents play but I agree he is too slow especially for Europe. That's why I think Graveson and Pearson would be a good combination.
I don't agree on Pearson, I thought he was as poor as Lennon on Saturday. Lennon spent most of the match in midfield on his own because Pearson has very little positional sense. Pearson doesn't come back to help out Lennon and doesn't pick out any passes. He's not a great player imo.
He has a great work rate and will always bomb forward but he's no central midfielder. A backup player for a 30 minute cameo or a wing role but certainly no central midfielder in a 4-4-2 imo.
I suppose we'll have to see what Strachan has in store for him, interesting how contrasting the views are...Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
What's the latest on Gravesen? I hear the medical cast doubts on the move.
When the CL draw was made I feared the worst but having Jan Vinegar of Van Hooijdonk's Cufflink and Gravesen on board, maybe with Balde back fit, would make a big difference I think.
There was rumour of that this morning but it has been finalised now.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/foot...pe/5290454.stm
Gravesen is a solid signing for Celtic, but will they miss the attacking flair of Petrov, im not sure.
Petrov is sold for up to £8m. That's about the same price as Nakamura, Zurawski, Boruc, Wilson, Jarosik and Gravesen combined. :)
I'm excited about Europe now. The team looks very strong.
Great bit of business in the end by the board for Petrov.
It does indeed. Tonight will be a tough test however...Quote:
Originally Posted by eirebhoy
2nd place should be within reach. Really hope so!
I wouldn't be too disappointed with a 1 goal defeat tonight, anything else is a bonus.
I think that Celtic's performance wasn't that bad yesterday. It was even outstanding for 45 minutes...than we conceded a cheap goal. Afterwards we witnessed some poor passing and nervousness for 15'. At the end of the day I have to agree though that United deserved their win since they got the better chances over 90'. The Ref was quite poor. There was never a penalty on Giggs! And what to say about the yellow he brandished at Boruc? Ridiculous. Despite being involved in the 3rd goal Gravesen performed quite well ass did Jan VoH. Boruc outstanding!
The ref was ok - Boruic made contact with Giggs and then pulled his arms away afterwards. Peno - soft but a peno.Quote:
Originally Posted by londonirish17
You're about the only one who thinks that OwlsFan, even the analysts didn't think it was a penalty.Quote:
Originally Posted by OwlsFan
I thought Celtic applied themsleves well, yes Man Utd had the better chances but that's always going to be the case at Old Trafford regardless of who they are playing.
McGeady was disappointing and I'd have hooked him before Jarosik who although himself was quiet, at least offered himself a little more for the ball and was also a physical threat.
Graveson done a power of work and while I thought he was ok his lack of games was evident in his distribution.
The defence did well when they had to although McManus and Caldwell let Rooney and Saha come for the ball and turn to them far too often. I was pulling my hair out every time as it's only inviting trouble and they sat back too often. Naylor put some great balls in and Hesselink showed his class.
All in all, nothing to fear as I thought and I expect a similar game at Celtic Park.
Scholes was excellent for Man Utd and ran the show I thought.
I'd be curious to listen to Beenhakker's justification for dropping Boruc.
The ref's penalty decision was debatable but doesn't deserve the opprobrium.
DFA, on RTE there was consensus about the ref's decision.
I overheard Dunphy reach for his clichés going on about Gravesons' mistakes as in he can get away with that in Scotland but not at this standard.
Graveson has played once in Scotland.
He will get sharper and Lennon can complement him. I thought Lennon was very good.
Strachan's post match interview was a sight, his brain was mush, all wires were crossed and out came a series of jittery disconnected phrases. Credit due to him for the way the team was prepared.
Although I don't think it was a penno, I can easily see why it was given so I wouldn't fault the ref. Only in the replay did I see Boruc withdraw his arms. Silly goalkeeping to even give the ref a chance to get it wrong. Do Celtic always lose 3-2 when that ref is in charge?
If John O'Shea had put in a midfield performance as bad as Gravesen, or even Carrick, last night could you imagine the hysteria on here? He actually looked the part last night (don't shoot me).
Although I think that Strachan set his stall out far more effectively than Stan did in Germany (easier to do with a CL quality target man I suppose) I think there are similarities between Celtic last night & Ireland in Stuttgart. Good, game performance, good goalkeeping & clearly second best but ultimately a big taste of regret left in the mouth. If only this, if only that...
I'd also like to hear if those clamouring for McGeady to start in Stuttgart still see Stan as a "coward" given his poor showing last night.
Still Celtic are in good shape I think. 4 points against each of Benfica & Copenhagen may well secure second even if they lose to United again.
A couple of other points:
Scholes is 10 times the player that Lampard is.
Did anyone else "know" Nakamura was going to score? I just knew it. I bet eirebhoy did too :) Unfortunately, I felt Boruc would save the penalty (he nearly did) as he's as good against penalties as I've seen.
Yep, knew it too. His best position to strike them is about 5 or 6 yards right of centre, 20-25 yards out. Weird though to see that Saha was the only one who didn't jump and it skimmed inches over him. Can't believe Brown wasn't booked for the foul on Jarosik leading to the free.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
Celtic played a fairly decent game. Strachan set the team out well but some players didn't match up to it. Graveson had a nightmare, looked very rusty. He did make a few great trackings back, but a missed tackle and misplaced pass lead to two goals. I thought it was a penalty as Boruc chaged at him and collided with him. A foul in the box no matter how great or little a chance is happening and no matter where the player appears to be headed is still a penalty. I thought Jan VoH had a great game. Hold ups and lay offs are very good, took his goal excellently. Unfortunately he was well knackered by the end. I thought the centre half pairing looked very suspect as both of Gravesons's mistakes resulted in United wlaking right through. Full backs were ok. Thought Naylor's distribution of the ball is very intelligent. Often he looks like he's about to punt it down the line then plays an intelligent accurate ball into the forward's feet. There was positives and negatives. Hopefully Graveson's display is down to rustiness and unfamiliarity.
As for McGeady, his use of the ball is very poor so often. He'd be great is he could learn to pick the proper pass. Maloney is ten times more effecitve. He looks as sharp as ever, can't wait to see him back. The difference with him returning could be immense for Celtic.
I suppose having seen it again at lunchtime I was maybe being harsh. I still don't think it was a penalty myself but can see why it was given however soft it was. If you rush out like Boruc did you're inviting trouble.Quote:
Originally Posted by drinkfeckarse
Disappointed with the result, but heartened by the performance and after hearing that the Copenhagen v Benfica match didn't have too much quality in it, I see no reason why we shouldn't get out of the group.
- JVoH, great game, held the ball up well, made Rio look like a fool on a few occasions - Took his goal well but should also have buried the header. Think he could be a big star for us.
- Never a Penalty. I don't blame the ref, I blame Boruc absolutely no need for him to be out there, rush of blood and a rash attempted challenge. Good effort with the Peno but couldn't quite keep it out. Made ammends with some excellent saves later in the game.
- Gravesen. He'll be very disappointed with the two costly mistakes, rustiness or whatever it was will go and he'll be a great player for us, very unfortunate that on both occassions the ball fell to Scholes, who knows how to pick out a pass!! Gravesen did however, cover a lot of ground and made some important challenges, didn't do as much going forward as he did against Aberdeen at the weekend, for obv reasons.
- Lennon. I've been a big fan & supporter of Lennon, despite his many celtic fan critics. However, last night I was disappointed, sooooo off the pace, relied on team mates far too often to do the tracking back and recovering the ball (Gravesen on a few occasions for starters). I know he put in some decent challenges but it wasn't enough for me, the game largely passed him by.
- McGeady, really disppointing considering his season so far. Not to worry he's a great player, he's young and will learn and get better. Im sure Aiden was one of the players Strachan was referring to when he said 'creative players didn't perform' on the night
Defence - Played great IMO. Pity Wilson got injured, he was playing great as was Naylor who whipped in plenty of very dangerous crosses, we just didn't get anyone on the end of them. Great moment in the first half when 3 Celtic defenders threw themselves at the ball to block a Man U shot. The Centre pairing looked a little open at times and Balde will be looking to get back in now that he is back playing in the reserves, perhaps Caldwell might move further up the field??
Atmosphere - Cracking!!!! 6,000 In the Celtic end, plus plenty in the home end as well, great non stop noise, pity we didn't at least get the draw. Its a great stadium, 76k attendance I think.
Scholes/Saha - Brilliant on the night I thought. The rest looked average.
Heres hoping we can build on the performance, Copenhagen in Glasgow next up.
Wasn't his best showing but considering his season so far are you seriously doubting that he isn't better then what was on display in Stuttgart.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I'm not having this penalty was Boruc fault stuff, did Giggs go over deliberately? If so whose fault is that? Did the ref incorrectly give a penalty, whose fault is that? To blame someone who doesn't make a foul for a foul doesn't make sense, Boruc ultimately did not want to take the chance he can hardly be blamed for that.
Overall disappointed because I felt United were very weak at the back and we failed to create enough chances to really exploit this. You don't often get these opportunities to get something out of games at OT in the CL so you have to take them when they arrive. (Esp given our away record in the tornament)
Oh without a doubt. I also "knew" Saha would shoot to the left, as did Boruc. :) The freekick actually had me thinking of how few freekicks Celtic get in that position. Since Nakamura has joined Celtic I can't remember ever hitting the wall and if the ball was placed where it was last night he'll score 9 times out of 10. It might aswell be a peno for him.Quote:
Originally Posted by Stuttgart88
I know this sounds silly but if I was offered last night's outcome before a ball was kicked I'd have taken it. Mainly because the other match ended 0-0. Naka will hopefully be back to his best now after a goal and decent performance. Hesselink's confidence must be sky high, what a take down for the goal. 2 goals in Old Trafford and it makes the players believe they can play with the best teams. Especially considering McGeady, Gravesen, Jarosik and even Nakamura can all play much better.
Next couple of CL days:
Celtic v Copenhagen
Benfica v Man U
Celtic v Benfica
Man U v Copenhagen
Celtic can definitely get 6 points from the next 2 games. United have a revenge match in Lisbon and should comfortabely beat Copenhagen at home. Let's just hope Man U run away with the group and Celtic could be 5 points ahead of Benfica/Copenhagen after 3 games. :)