New Footie season - 2018/2019

[struth]

I think Gerrard has learned a great deal about the players that were brought in, we have a striker that has already scored 20 goals, but he needs support. With the injuries the squad looks very light, we badly need a creative midfield player. Not really bothered about the result on Saturday, we are ahead of where I thought we would be but we need to much more consistent.

One of the main issues with our side is that most of the players are young and fairly inexperienced, especially under the expectation of having to win, win, win.. we probably have the youngest, most inexperienced side in top end of league

[struth]

Barisic,McCrorie,Rossiter,Katic,Jack,Grezda,Ejaria ,Sadiq,Morelos,Kent,Worrall,Coulibaly etc...all young and fairly green.. the older, more experienced ones bar big shagger have mostly been injured. Goldston and Tavernier are the exceptions and Goldston hadnt played much before coming here.

[rmcin626]

Barisic,McCrorie,Rossiter,Katic,Jack,Grezda,Ejaria ,Sadiq,Morelos,Kent,Worrall,Coulibaly etc...all young and fairly green.. the older, more experienced ones bar big shagger have mostly been injured. Goldston and Tavernier are the exceptions and Goldston hadnt played much before coming here.

I agree we have a number young and inexperienced players, although one or two have been found wanting and have gone already. A couple have lost confidence but hopefully that will return. Will be happy if we finish second this year.

[Marco]

lol was just about to...

.. as i said before, all i expected, and hoped was we would make second place our own and be reasonably close to first place at end of season. At moment we are probably ahead of that, but only because Celtic have stuttered, partly due to the other sides all raising their game as well.
Hibs, Hearts(early in season), Aberdeen(now), Killy and now Saints have all done very well and the points have been shared around quite well, making it a much better league.
Question is, can any or all of these sides continue to play at this level for second half of season? Probably not, and Celtic will motor away a bit. Celtic are still the team, although not as dominant as they were(all things fade), and I expect them to win league, but hopefully not by double figures.

I've no idea how the league will pan out, but I largely agree with what you've said, especially about it now being a higher standard. The teams you've mentioned have all improved due to the arrival of exceptional managers, especially Stevie Clarke at Killie, who quite frankly, has achieved miracles with his team and the budget he's got!!

The reason why Celtic have stuttered, aside from the achievements of the managers and teams mentioned above, is largely because of not strengthening the squad sufficiently in the summer, especially in failing to replace Dembele, plus the (continual) injuries to key players, which has meant we've rarely been able to field a settled side especially in defence. That, and (IMO) BR chopping and changing the team too much for league games, to rest players after they've been involved in European competition, which is the primary reason why we've dropped so many points away from home in those games.

Yes, you have to rest players, but when you make seven changes to the first team, instead of two or three, to facilitate that process, that's when you upset the rhythm and subsequently pay the price in substandard performances....

Of course, other teams have had similar problems to contend with, not just Celtic, but they (and Rangers) have played more games than anyone else, with also having to compete in Europe, and in terms of Celtic, in all other competitions too, including playing in and winning a cup final, all of which takes its toll.

If we add some real quality to the squad, particularly up front, to cover for Griffiths, until he recovers from his psychological challenges, then I'd expect us to kick on, but the longer we remain in the Europa League, the more of a toll it will take on the players in the first team, and the harder it will be for us to keep winning in the league. Therefore, if Rangers are to genuinely challenge us (and I'd also expect Kille, Hibs, Aberdeen and Hearts to maintain their high standards), then they'll need to capitalise on us possibly dropping points after playing midweek in Europe.

Valencia will be a tough ask though, so I don't see us remaining in that competition for too long anyway!

Marco.

[Marco]

Greetin' Levein strikes again: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/46686779

Any wonder why I dislike the bloke?

Marco.

[struth]

Playing up to the fans to protect his own ass

[struth]

Just saw the celtic goals on my phone. Thought both pens were a joke. Good goal the first 3 celtic ones


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[rmcin626]

It’s been a long time, so going to enjoy the victory, but we need to remember that Celtic are still top of the league and are still favourites to win it.

[struth]

It’s been a long time, so going to enjoy the victory, but we need to remember that Celtic are still top of the league and are still favourites to win it.

yup, bossed the match today... maybe should have been more but a welcome win; first for years

[Marco]

Well done, guys! Haven't watched the game, so no idea how it went. I was right, though, about the scoreline being tight. Makes it interesting now (although we still have a game in hand). After the winter break, we'll be entering the 'business end' of the season, so we'll see how things pan out then.

Marco.