Footie season 2019/2020

[Marco]

I got six out of 10. Got the top four right

Correct order:





Marco.

[struth]

o'neill 75.53.
lennon 69.74.
rodgers 67.58.
advocatt. 67.18.
mcleish 65.96.
strachan 65.2.
souness 64.23.
smith 63.01.
burns 54.79.
gerrard no data but likely to be around burns at moment. was low last year as he was new and was building a side i guess.. in 40's around april

[Marco]

Interesting that there are four Celtic managers in the top 6

Marco.

[struth]

some of lennon and rodgers was of course when there was no challenge from rangers so that makes a difference to an extent. wim jansen should have been in too he is over 64

[Marco]

And of course when Celtic were in the doldrums/an utter shambles, and in free fall, throughout the 90s, resulting in nearly going bankrupt in 1994, Rangers had little challenge, aside from the odd hurrah from Aberdeen and latterly from Tommy Burns when he came to Celtic, when they won their 9-in-a-row...

Ronny Deila was in charge of Celtic for the bulk of the time Rangers were out of the top division. Regardless, you still have to beat whoever's in front of you, and both Rodgers and Lennon have a superb record of consistently doing just that, and which therefore reflects in their respective win ratios

Marco.

[struth]

i see rangers were shite again... league over. time to experiment.... sorry stevo, not good enough.

[Marco]

Nah, the league's not over. Bollox to that, particularly if Celtic don't win tomorrow. Aberdeen were simply determined not to get pumped again 5-0, and came with a game plan, which worked. It's happened to us before, too.

Once Morelos comes up to speed again and your new signings bed in (apparently Hagi impressed in the short time he was on), you'll be ok. I still think the title race will go down to the wire

Marco.

[rmcin626]

Nah, the league's not over. Bollox to that, particularly if Celtic don't win tomorrow. Aberdeen were simply determined not to get pumped again 5-0, and came with a game plan, which worked. It's happened to us before, too.

Once Morelos comes up to speed again and your new signings bed in (apparently Hagi impressed in the short time he was on), you'll be ok. I still think the title race will go down to the wire

Marco.

Not seen today’s game, but we really need to be winning theses matches.

[Marco]

Indeed, Robin. However, if Celtic don't win tomorrow, and historically we struggle at Hamilton (just scraping wins on the last two occasions), and on artificial pitches in general. Plus there are still two old firm games to go, with six points to be won or lost there, regardless of anything else, so defo not over,

You're also missing Tav, BIG time! Once he's back playing, things will be different, trust me. You also need to get more out of Kent, who's currently not the player he was during his first spell at Rangers.

I'll be watching the highlights of the Rangers match tomorrow on Sportscene.

Marco.

[Marco]

Good result, but we had to work very hard for the three points, and coming back from going 1-0 down. Hamilton deserve huge credit though for making things as difficult for us as possible and fighting hard to keep things at 1-1.

The match completely changed though when Hamilton (rightfully) went down to 10-men, after Griffiths was pulled down on the edge of the box - and what a free kick and resultant goal from Edouard! He really showed his class today, with some lovely close-control and positional awareness. This guy has what it takes to become a world-class striker and will go onto do big things in one of the top leagues, as he has all the necessary tools.

However, he should've had a hat-trick, as he missed an absolute sitter in the second half, but showed great unselfishness to slide the ball through to Forrest for the forth goal. Griffiths also played well and showed some neat touches, winning the free kick in the first half that led to Celtic's equaliser, although he's still not at 100%. That'll come though in the coming weeks. He was however lucky not to get a red card for a clear stamp on a Hamilton player, after reacting badly to his tackle.

Lennon's second-half substitutions were pivotal, bringing on Christie and Rogic, the latter who set up Edouard for his second, and in the end were what won Celtic the match, once Hamilton had tired and they had the chance to exploit the space that was created, and could've gone on to win by five or six. Still, it was a very important three points, which I can't help but feel could be crucial in this tense title race.

Downsides?

Jullien, as much of a class act as he is (or can be) showed once again though how he can be bullied and out-jumped by a more physical and stronger striking opponent, and today the (I have to say) outstanding Ogkmpoe, who seems to be somewhat of a thorn in Celtic's side, was that opponent. So just as Jullien was at fault at Celtic Park for Katic's towering winning header, he was once again at fault today for allowing Ogkmpoe to bully him and win their physical battle, so for me that's a side of his game that still has to improve.

However, I believe it will, as he becomes more used to the highly physical nature of Scottish football, and we'll see that aspect of his game improve accordingly. There's no doubt whatsoever though that he's a big-game player and winner, as you could see how pissed off with himself he was when his mistake led to Hamilton taking the lead, and that winning/big-game player mentality shone through when he scored Celtic's crucial second goal.

Jullien has his critics, and I understand why, but for me this guy is the real deal, as the truly top central defenders, such as van Dijk, score goals and are a threat in the opposition's box [Jullien now has 7 for the season in all competitions, including the winning goal in the cup final, which is a superb return for a defender], as well as being top-class defenders in their own box, and in that respect we'll see the best of Jullien next season.

I'll comment on the Rangers/Aberdeen game later

Marco.