Why hasn't Koki been tested out earlier?

Neither of their strikers are good in the air, which is a big bonus. With them being so vunrable at the back I am guessing Weir and co wont be up to much in our box for corners etc either. You need a mix of passing and physical play, Crosas Hartley Brown and Naka would be a great midfield for me. Though I don't like putting Brown out on the wing. Naka would be on the other wing

 

Is Crosas even fit though? I wouldn't like his return to be in an OF game.

 

He was on the bench today so surely he is available to play. It's either that, Caldwell back in midfield or we play another player returning from injury.

 

Mizuno on Broadfoot

Thats all i'm sayin

 

Start mizuno against rangers? your having a lugh he will be booted across the park.
good game the day tho.

 

Who is mcgeady?

 

Hail-lo Bhoys!

Havent dropped in for quite a bit, but I had to have a peek and see what folks are saying about Mizuno. Its been a long wait, but he sure had a dream debut. A few points to keep in mind as you try to answer the question "why did it take so long for him to get his first start."

- First off, I think WGS was spot on in saying that Mizuno needed time to adjust. His reputation has always been that he needs a push to get him started, and though he isnt necessarily introverted, like Naka, he probably would not have had the confidence to finish off a play like the one last night, if he had been thrown in right from the first month.

- Second, its important to keep in mind that Japanese players often dont mature as quickly. Though the skill level may be high enough, among Japanese teenagers, you rarely if ever see kids getting regular playing time at age 18. They just dont have the mental and emotional maturity yet. Koki is just now reaching what you might call "maturity", so it isnt a surprise that the coaches may have wanted to hold him back.

- And of course, most of all, you had Naka, McGeady and Maloney in front of him in the fight for playing time. That is bound to hold a new kid back.

Incidentally, this may just be due to the colour eyeglasses Im wearing, but has anyone else noticed over the past year or so that McGeady seemed to NEVER want to pass the ball to Nakamura? I have watched entire matches go by where he doesnt pass the ball to Naka even once in 90 minutes, and even when his teammate is standing in a wide-open position and calling for the ball, he turns away and looks for someone else. Is that just my imagination or has anyone else noticed it?

Anyway, I suppose its a moot point now. In a way Id be happy to see McGeady leave even if he was a valuable player for Celtic -- though I admit its for selfish reasons. Im hoping that Mizuno manages to work himself into position as a regular starter by next season, since it would be a tragedy if they stop televising the live Celtic matches in Japan, after Nakamura leaves. Hopefully he can come good, and ensure that the TV coverage continues for several years to come.

 

One other note, for those of you who are saying Mizuno is too frail.
Keep in mind that he was not a wing in Japan; he played at wing back (usually on the right, but he had some starts on the left as well). His defensive skills are very solid, and he doesnt mind going in hard on the challenge.

Nakamura has always been viewed as a player who didnt like much contact, even back in his early years in Japan (which, at the risk of understatement, is not as physical as the SPL). Mizuno, on the other hand, was viewed as a hard nut. Probably too small to play regularly in the back line in Scotland, but certainly not the sort who would let an opponent kick him out of the contest.

 

my minds full now ,keeping all the above 2 posts in mind,im not making sence ,my minds full,i think

 

...you sure youre not a Rangers fan?

 

He remindes me a little of Bobby Petta in the fact he wont stop running until the ball is out! How many times within that game did we see Mizuno reaching the ball when most people would have given up!

 

Good day, our Japanese friend!:icon_mrgreen: You've confirmed the thing people here speculated for some time:despite he's small, he's resilient. And Rangers won't be bullying him. I hope he hits a cross or two, that's his strongest weapon IMO.

 

watched the full game and it was another * shocking performance 100% improvement essential for next saturday .Koki had a few good touches but not got the phisical strength for next week.the huns will put out a team of hoofers and cluggers and try to bully the game unless we win the battle we will not win the game and yesterdays team will certainly not do .The game will be one of the 3 last league game for strachan against the huns before he thankfully departs maybe just maybe he will surprise us all and have a game plan made up for getting 3 points

time will tell

hail hail

 

the best player at parkhead by a distance

 

lol what a terrible post. 3-0 = a shocking performance? We weren't tested at the back whatsoever as we dominated all over the park for the full 90 minutes. Had Samaras been sharper we may have had a few goals extra. McDonald, Mizuno, Naka, Hinkle were all excellent. Brown, Naylor, Loovens, Caldwell were all good and solid.

Title winners do not play exhilerating end to end football every game. This was a potential banana peel so to go away and dominate the full match with a threadbare squad was fantastic. Strachan once again got it spot on.

I agree that the Rangers game will be a completely different story but I've never heard such negative twaddle in my life.

P.s. McGeady is not our best player by a long shot. In fact on current form he'd not even make the top 5.

 

It's the fighting Japanese spirit. Rangers will feel his power on Saturday. I'm confident he will do them serious trouble.

 

its all about standards.your quite happy with that fine but dont try and kidd us on that was an acceptable performance.I on the other hand like thousands of others can see that this is unacceptable and cant be allowed to continue the many thousands of empty seats at every home game tell there own story we were playing falkirk ffs not a top team and every department of the team huffed and puffed without any real class
hail hail

 

I don't see who didn't perform? Samaras didn't look sharp enough but as you say huffed and puffed and put in the effort. O'Dea looked slightly shakey but we kept a clean sheet.

Apart from that I can't single out anyone for criticism, although I do feel Brown needs to start showing more in attack.