Brendan Fraudgers!

Hahaha i've been on here years lad, and anyways i'm a derry man, def not a donegal man, and i didn't hate our ronny either lol

 

I'm just not keen on McGregor. Does he ever look comfortable on the ball, let alone against Barca?

 

The difference between previous results against Barca and last night was our keeper. Let's be honest in our victories over them our keepers have always played blinders. Granted Gordon did make a class save against Suarez (I think) but consistency is the key against a team like Barca, even at 'Fortress' Parkhead.

I'd laugh at those who wanted these 'glamourous' ties if it wasn't so * embarrassing. The only good outing we've had was against City at home - the game we got 1 point from. It's sad.

 

Have to disagree. I know Forster was good at Parkhead but it was the whole defensive structure that was mesmerizing that night. I've never seen anything like it. I know Fraser did make some important saves they were nowhere near as important as the tracking back, blocking and crowding out our defence performed. I think we stopped them from making too many dangerous shots. We sucked the guts out of them eventually. Apart from when we scored the second we went loose for a second and if you look at that move they made when Messi scored off Forster's rebound it just goes to show you how much they had to do to create a goal that night. I felt for Forster, that rebound could have went anywhere but it had to land at Messi. Before that Messi was covered. We were just totally knackered.

So I still stand by this and I can understand if folk don't agree, it wasn't so much Forster who was great that night, it was the whole team and especially the defence, Matthews was incredible and he is just my favourite, ask anyone else and they'll say another defender or midfielder.

That's why it was such a magic night, we should never have won that game, but Lenny set it up perfectly with the players he had.

Hopefully Brendan has his team set up like that next season.

 

Being a bit more composed on the ball aided us greatly.

 

SIGNIFICANT improvement has been made in Europe by Celtic this season, according to Brendan Rodgers, despite tonight’s 2-0 defeat to Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League.

A deadly double from Lionel Messi put paid to the Hoops’ hopes of reaching the last 16 of the competition and playing European football after Christmas, but the Celtic boss believes his team’s performance on the night and overall in Group C indicates improvement.

“If I look back to our first game and compare it to tonight, as a coach you are looking for improvement and I thought we made significant improvement,” he said.

“How we pressed the game tactically was very good. We won the ball back in a lot of high areas and when we couldn’t we were defensively solid. They have huge quality but they didn’t have anywhere near the number of chances you normally see in the games they play, so I was very pleased with the performance.”

Celtic started the game brightly and gave Barcelona a run for their money in the opening 20 minutes, but the Catalans' class eventually told when a delightful curled ball from Neymar fell straight into the path of Messi, who evaded four Hoops players to lash a shot past Craig Gordon.

Moussa Dembele could have levelled the game early in the second-half when substitute James Forrest expertly picked him out with a pinpoint cross, but the striker could only find the arms of Marc-Andre ter Stegan and the Celts were punished for their profligacy almost instantly when Emilio Izaguirre got too close to Luis Suarez in the box and was artfully conned into dragging the striker down for a penalty.

Messi then bagged his brace from the spot after the break and the manager added: “The first goal I was disappointed with. We just switched off at the edge of the box, but the quality and speed of the movement and pass caught us out.

"That’s the level but we were always in the game, pushing, and we had a big chance with the header. Then we got punished with the penalty.

“At 2-0 against Barcelona we still fought and kept working but of course it becomes more that bit more difficult as they keep the ball so well.”

The result, combined with Borussia Monchengladbach’s 1-1 draw with Manchester City, confirms Celtic’s exit from Europe, with third place and a Europa League spot no longer within their reach, but the manager added that there were still reasons to be optimistic.

“First and foremost for us it was about getting into the Champions League,” he said. “The club had a period of time not qualifying so we had a huge effort in the summer over the course of the pre-season to qualify. This experience, though still with one game to go, was always going to be invaluable for us with lots of young players who will improve.

“If you look at the first game compared to now, we weren’t fearful. It’s just about maintaining that standard and that’s down to your demands every day in training.

“We have played three of the best teams in Europe over the course of this competition so far and we have gradually got better in each game, so the challenge is after Christmas we’ve got to keep the demand.

“We know the level now and it gets better every year. We’ve now got to go on, make sure we get into it next year and each year the club is in it, it improves on and off the field and that is our ambition.”

 

Absolutely agree, give me a group like Leicester's any day of the week. The time for 'Glamour ties' is a few transfer windows down the line when we can realistically compete. Because there is nothing glamorous about getting pumped 7-0.

That said I'm delighted with what Brendan has done and if we keep him for the next 5-6 years it would be an amazing result.

 

I'm missing the point you're making of keepers. How many goals was Craig Gordon at fault for last night? He made a great save from Suarez header even if it was near him it took a strong reflex arm to stop it.

I agree with you that there was lots of positives we can take from last night, some of the moves we made out from defence up to Dembele were great. It was just impossible for him to be a lone striker when Barca had at least 3 on him especially Mascherano who is impossible to get past on a good day.

I don't know if I'm just imagining this or it happened but every time we went forward it looked like Barca pushed us into the centre and we didn't have anyone there to deal with it. I thought that was Rogic's position? Why are they pushing us inside? Do they know as much as us fans we need midfielders badly? Were they just making sure Sinclair didn't get the ball because he did cause them problems with his runs?

Why was Armstrong running so much and not finding a pass? Is that his fault or his team mates fault for not making the space for a pass?

I think it's a bit of both, Armstrong was strong on the ball a few times but he ran with it without making a cutting pass through their defence so Dembele or Sinclair or McGregor should've made a run? Isn't that what is supposed to happen when you are running in a horizontal line with the ball and not being challenged?

 

It also depends on the group. There's no comparison between our group and Leicester's.

 

Am I the only one who would prefer third. If we get second we'll go into the last 16 of the CL and get knocked out but we could go deep into Europa with some key signings

Sent from my E6553 using Tapatalk

 

We would have lost 2-0 with Forster in goals do that's laughable.

I'd say our draw in Germany was creditable as well. Composed performance and we should have won it at the death.

 

The sending off for them was pivotal, I don't think we would have scored if they didn't concede a penalty to be honest.

 

And if my ma had baws she'd be my da.

The sending off was for the penalty no? Dembele was through on goal.

I think we played very well in Germany and were well worth a draw, even before the red card.

 

BR on @Scotty_Sinclair injury latest: “Scotty, we will give to the very last moment


BR: "He took a knock and it was serious for him to come off, so we need to wait to the very end on that.


BR if @Scotty_Sinclair missed the final: “He would be a big miss. Has come up here & done what I expected him to do with his quality."



BR: " @Leighgriff09 is fine. He trained this week and looked very good this morning.


BR: "He has big quality, he works hard, very robust and mentally strong. He has been an important member of our team.


BR: "The key thing about us is we have always been about the collective, & if he doesn't make it, have really good players to come in.

BR: "Players were very good in the (Barcelona) game in terms of the performance and we have another game to go in the competition.




BR: "Our ambition & hunger been evident since the beginning of the season & this again is a chance to get our hands on a trophy.



BR on @AberdeenFC "Derek sets his teams up very well. Had two really tough games against them.



BR: "The game at home, we scored a couple of goals late on but still a very close game and our quality came through in the end.


BR: "The game up there was a real stern test, physically and mentally. Asked of different qualities and we stood up to that.




BR: "I would envisage it being another very tough game, they have good players & a full week's preparation to get ready for it.



BR: "Idea of having the final this early is great because it allows you to have an trophy early in the campaign


BR: "If you can win it, and it gives you a real focus from pre-season to the Christmas period.



BR on Celtic having had some poor results at Hampden in recent years "Heard it quite a lot but I wasn't here, my team wasn't playing.



BR: "I really enjoyed the Hampden experience, of course, it's better when you win.



BR on winning a treble: "Hadn’t thought about this game until final whistle against Barcelona, my thought is always about next game.


BR on working with Steven Gerrard, who retired earlier this week: "It was a real pleasure.


BR: "I went in there as a young manager. Had watched Steven over many years, a real inspiration for players of his generation.


BR: "I was fortunate to have worked with him on a daily basis and I loved every minute of it.

BR: "He obviously had big talent but he worked night and day on it. He was exceptional on & off the field in period I was there.





BRENDAN Rodgers admits that losing Scott Sinclair for Sunday's Betfred League Cup final would be a blow but he insists there are players in the squad who could fill the void.

The 27-year-old, who has been outstanding for the Hoops since his summer move from Aston Villa, was forced off at half-time in Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League defeat to Barcelona after being fouled by Jordi Alba.

Sinclair now faces a race against time to prove his fitness for the Hampden showpiece but the manager will give the winger until the last minute to recover from his knock.

He said: “Scotty, we will give to the very last moment. He obviously took a knock and it was serious enough for him to come off, so we need to wait to the very end on that.

“He would be a big miss. He has come up here and has done what I expected him to do in terms of his quality. He has big quality, he works hard, very robust and mentally strong, and he has obviously been a very important member of our team.

"The key thing for us, and it’s probably worth reiterating, is that we have always been about the collective. The team is functioning very well and Scott has been a big part of that, and if he doesn’t make it then we have really good players who can come in and will be hungry to help the team win the trophy. We will give him every chance and see where he is on Sunday.”

More positively, the Hoops boss was able to report that Leigh Griffiths had fully recovered from the tight hamstring that had prevented him from participating in the Barcelona match.

“Leigh is fine,” he added. “He trained this week and looked very good this morning so he’s fine.”

Although the Scottish champions lost 2-0 to the Catalan giants in Paradise, with Lionel Messi doing the damage with a double, their performance earned them plenty of plaudits, including from Brendan Rodgers.

The result ended the Bhoys’ hopes of maintaining their European adventure beyond Christmas but the Irishman insisted that outcome has no bearing on their determination for silverware success.

“We haven’t really reflected on it as of yet," he said. "I felt the players were very good in the game in terms of the performance, but we have another game to go in the competition and we will reflect a little bit more after that in terms of where it is.

“Our ambition and hunger have been very much evident since the beginning of the season. It’s no more or less, it’s as it has been for every game we have played. This again, is a chance for us to get our hands on the trophy and is something we are looking forward to.”

It will be a chance for the Hoops boss to collect his first major honour in charge of the club and, while he brushed off the personal significance of the occasion, he sees trophies as an indicator of progress.

“Personally there is no difference for me,” he explained. “My ambition here is for Celtic and the players. When I arrived here, I wanted to help the club move and progress forward and, importantly, I wanted to improve players and develop them and part of that was winning.

"The idea of having the trophy is great as it allows you to have a trophy early in the campaign if you win it and it gives you a real focus between the pre-season and the Christmas period.”

 

I think he's playing mind games with McInnes here. McInnes came out and said about how winning the league cup would be this amazing moment in AFC's history. Our man Rodgers comes out and says of the same prospect, "Meh." Kinda saying "it means less to us, so our heads are cooler, so we'll win." or something

 

Love hearing the Glesga twang when we sing his song. "Brendin Rojursss"