Helsingborgs vs Celtic 21/08 Kick off 7.45 - Live on STV

Yeah see it all too often with him,lenny should be drilling it into him,boot him up the hole in training everytime he does it and he'd soon learn

He really is a talent though and can only see him improving,hes more exciting to watch than mcgeady was at that age imo

 

Sammy

 

I'm not 100% but I'd guess it was his tendency to go down anytime he was touched and try to win a free kick. What made it more annoying for them was the fact that almost everytime he did this last night he did win the free kick.

 

I love wee Forrest, but that is my main problem with him. Always flaps about when he thinks he's fouled (even though sometimes he does get fouled and should complain, but complain after you at least try get the ball back).

But apart from that he looked great.

 

So what a strange game that was last night; a couple of positives and a good few learning curves for our Lenny (hopefully) going into the group stages of the Champions League. The formation for me started out something like this:<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-comfficeffice" /><o></o>
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Forster
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Matthews Rogne Mulgrew Izzy ​

Kayal ​

Broony Ledley​

Commons_____________Samaras ​

Hooper
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Whilst playing like this I think we have learned one thing: Beram Kayal is not a defensive midfielder by any means of the word. He is too all action to sit infront of the defence; wants to press the opponent to much; to undisciplined in this position. He is a central midfielder and the aforementioned qualities makes him a very good central midfielder, along with his ability to control a ball; turn in little space; spot a pass and find a player with it. That’s where he should be played in future for me; it reminded me of the time Gordon Strachan tried to shoehorn Broony into a defensive midfielder; it’s a hard position and some players just don’t suit it.

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First half we got off to a flyer; Samaras’ cross was a beauty and Commons goal was genius; very hard ability to keep that under control. I think that earned us a break of 20 minutes or so. Helsinborg were shellshocked and we just kind of knocked the ball about a bit and done our own thing. Then they woke up; Helsinborg’s formation was fantastic. They have a very clever manager. At around the 30-35 minute mark Djurdic kept dropping back and there wingers tucked in to make it 3 players in the hole and their two normal central midfielders. Our midfield was overrun by it for the last 10-15 minutes of the game. I believe this prompted the change from Neil Lennon at half time.

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Second half was back to the walls stuff at times Fraser Forster was magnificent; James Forrest was frustrating but excellent at times; Samaras was imperious and frustrating at the same time. Our midfield was missing, our defenders panicky, our players picked the wrong passes, we rushed the ball and we rode our luck a * of a lot. Saying this; we hit the bar: twice, Sammy should have got a second goal or squared it to Kris Commons who was waiting for a tap in. Joe Ledley got injured, Gary Hooper took a knock… we can only hope these two are alright for next week as they are two vital players. Even though Joe didn’t have his best game in the Hoops.

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When Ledley went off and Charlie Mulgrew went into midfield it gave is a bit of battling quality and a bit of composure. The biggest surprise for me was Kelvin Wilson’s performance when he came on though; he tracked every runner on his side; won every header; smashed every clearance and passed the ball decisively when he could. This is the 3<SUP>rd</SUP> game in a row I’ve seen him being decent. Let’s hope that continues.

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Marks Out of Ten


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Fraser Forster – 9 he kept us in this game; some fantastic saves and he bossed every single ball into the box or won us a foul by the players crowding him,

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Adam Matthews – 6 Not his best game in the Hoops but his pace got us out of trouble a few times on the wing. Was unsure at how to deal with runners between his centre back and himself; he’s a young full back excellent experience for him.

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Thomas Rogne – 7 played far better than Charlie Mulgrew who he usually relys on to be the calm one at the back. He took over from him and started trying to play from the back when it became clear that Charlie couldn’t do so. They’re biggest threat in Djurdic tried to stay away from him after a while.

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Charlie Mulgrew – 6 he was awful at the back; misplaced passes; overcompensated for the lack of protection infront of him causing him to become out of position a lot. Ended up having a case of the Stephen McManus’ and just blootering the ball anywhere. Saying that, his performance at centre mid earns him a 6

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Emilio Izaguirre – 7 his defending was flawless, his position and timing of the tackle excellent, his pace bailed us out a few times. Read the early warnings and adapted his play to deal with the runners between himself and Mulgrew. A few heart in the mouth moments when he decides not to clear his lines but it never got us in trouble; he’s good enough to do it.

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Beram Kayal – 5 through no fault of his own might I add; for reasons explained above he isn’t a defensive midfielder. Passing was decent and he was his usual self when trying to win the ball. He just wasn’t doing the job he was supposed to do though.

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Joe Ledley – 5 the worst game I’ve ever seen from Joe Ledley in the Hoops. He was unsure of what men to track, his positioning was off and he wasn’t available for the ball as much as he usually is. Saying that, he passed the ball well and he hit the bar with a header which was very unlucky.

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Scott Brown – 7 Broony as usual, sets the tempo, he was the first to squeeze possession, the first out to any player, was winding up Gashi in midfield something awful and it really should have led to Gashi being led off the pitch as some of his tackling was awful. Wasn’t as good on the ball or at spreading the play as usual but we all know he isn’t fit. His off the ball work was sensational.

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Kris Commons – 8 his goal was amazing, his passing decisive, they were stepping off of him constantly. His work rate was phenomenal, his doubling up with Adam Matthews summed him up the full night. Did not stop working or closing people down.

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Giorgios Samaras – 9 what a man he is, what a cross for Commons goal, his hold up play, his work rate (at times) his passing, his heading, his running at players, his goal (we scored a header!!) was all excellent. Big man is absolutely invaluable for us on the big stage.

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Gary Hooper – 7 he tried so * hard, tried to lead from the front by closing people down. He doesn’t like the shift up on his own, it doesn’t suit his game but he tried very hard. Won a lot of headers against the 2 centre backs which is excellent for his size.

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James Forrest – 6 roasted the defender everytime he decided to run at them, was unlucky with a shot. He just needs to up the work rate and man up. Celtic players shouldn’t go down that easily; the next time I see him stop running and stare at the ref with his arms out I’m going to hit the roof. So talented but so frustrating.

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Kelvin Wilson – 7 covered it above. Thought he was sensational when he came on.

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All in all we are in a great position, 2-0 away from home is an excellent result and we are in pole position to join the big boys in the Champions League. It’s all about composure next week.

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Great game to watch,even when in the first half Helsingborgs were pressuring us,i wasn't that bothered knowing we had got that away goal.Surely with a rocking Paradise next week we can finish this tie off.Forster is turning into a great asset for us,and to get him for £2 mil was a steal.

 

I literally found myself thinking exactly the same thing last night. It is a worry that we have no real cover for Wanyama in that role, which we without doubt need to fill in Europe. Maybe Mulgrew could do a job there, but we need him at the back.

 

I think Ledley could carry out that job easily. He is the most disciplined CM we have.

 

Feels good waking up a winner again. Just hope next wekk we score early again and just pass it well. Really hope we make a push for a cb and target man now.

 

Ledley and Chico were my first thoughts as well, outside of Wanyama.

 

Brown 7, Forrest 6? Seriously mate you really need to get off this Brown love in. He was abysmal last night. His first touch was so poor that it broke up our attacks more than usual. His passing was average at best and his positioning was terrible as well. Running out of midfield every 20 mins or so to try (and fail) to close someone down is not a skill. Yet he set the tempo? This guy can do know wrong in some people's eyes and its getting embarrassing.

 

Kelvin Wilson was actually very good when he came on. Bit of a suprise.

 

He was closing everyone down in there, more so than any other midfielder. His heading was excellent, he won so many in there, he was hardly on the ball but I can't remember him actually losing the ball. Do you have any examples of this?

I am baffled at how you can say that his positioning was abysmal; on the right to middle he was the only one of our midfielders who got to grips with the run they constantly tried to do inbetween full back and defender. He did set the tempo; which is unbelievably important. Especially in games like this. He's the difference between Ross County bland performance and the performance full of hunger last night.

It's been proven time and time again, no Brown - flat performance. Which is the reason Neil Lennon asks him to take injections to play. He's not fit at the moment and he's still one of our better players.

Forrest 6? What would you give him? Are you quite happy with how often he was going down or how often he just out and out stopped and stared at the ref with his hands out like what are you going to do about this big boy taking the ball off of me referee?

The bhoy is extremely talented but he really needs to man up. A player like him should look at the best and try and be like them, look at the difference between his attitude (attitude, not ability) and Lionel Messi's and you'll see the difference.

 

Forrest created a fair few chances, made them rethink their attacking strategy which virtually changed the course of the match (though credit goes to Lenny for that), got in good positions and had a great chance which the keeper saved. I can see why some say he goes down too easily but he was pretty good last night.

 

if forster's performance didn't merit a 10/10 i don't know what does!

you are pretty much spot on with everything else though devlin. great write up of the game

 

And that's why he got a 6, if he didn't keep going down and worked as hard as the rest of his team were then he'd get a lot higher mark for me. You can't rely on talent alone, hardwork needs to come into it. He done well but he got a 6 because he could do so much better if he just cut it the * out. It's so frustrating and unbecoming of a Celtic player for me.

He got a 9 because I was being very critical, his kicking from goal kicks to Samaras went out the park 4 times but that isn't his strong point and I was personally screaming at Lenny to tell Sammy to move further infield from goalkicks. It was to small a target for him to aim at and we know kicking isn't his strong point. Everything else was unbelievable from the big man though. Very good performance, up there with his performances against Udinese and St Mirren last year.

 

I'm a fan of Brown, the team is weaker when he is not in it but last night he had a poor game, gave away the ball a few times and seemed that in the first half he was a yard too slow to everything. In saying that he was not alone, mistakes by everyone at the back could have cost us dear if it wasn't for big Fraser.

Forrest played well when he came on, I just wish he would play to the whistle and actually chase back when he has lost the ball instead of throwing his hands up in the air and looking at the ref! Was one point where he was eased of the ball, turned with his hands up to the ref and one of their players just ran right passed him with the ball, if he had been aware he could have won the ball back. It frustrates me because when he does track back he does it very well and helped break up a couple of attacks.

At the end of the day these are just minor complaints and over all today I am so happy and proud of last night's results. Will take a few more results like that in the group stages (although not sure they would be good for the heart) :icon_mrgreen:

 

I agree with the bit on Forrest; however I thought Brown was good last night. Not upto his usual standard but still good; must be remembered though he is taking injections to play and playing through the pain barrier for our gain. There will be some sort of toll taken on his play.

 

In turkey and missed the game! Tried about 5 different bars and they had no channel showing the game RAGING.

Any one have any highlights of the game *question mark here*

 

http://www.soccer-blogger.com/2012/...champions-league-commons-samaras-goals-video/