Ange Postecoglou

100%. That’s my only criticism of the big man as well, but it to shy away from it is just lying to ourselves.

Managers manage: they don’t just implement strategy; they reflect on it and adapt as needed to remain on course for success.

 

Tbf we all have as many European coaching badges as Ange does.

 

Need to not concern ourselves with that lot though. We are coming from a very weak position after last season and with the board running us as they do.

The only thing we can do for now is judgge Ange on how he is performing, not how the huns are.
I'd love for us to inflict real change in our club though, so that Ange (and any future manager) would have a much better starting position and prospects to be more ambitious than we are - but thats grander ideas that are out with Ange control. So let's just judge him on what he has control on - the squad at present, which is performing very well but with obvious short comings that he addresses often and if he proves to be able to rectify them while bringing in good, winning, performances than I will be happy enough. If it means we fall short of the title and the huns get a windfall, so be it - wouldn't like it to happen, but I aint going to judge Ange on whether or not the huns get a windfall or not.

 

People getting raging and losing the plot over every dropped point is a good sign imo, shows how far we've come in a short period of time and where our expectations are now compared to the summer. How many of us honestly would have written this season off as a complete rebuild job and had no expecations of winning anything? And here we are now with the league cup under our belt, still in touching distance for the league and that's with us at least 4-6 new first team quality players away from where we really need to be to call ourselves a solid squad.

Ange doesn't get a free pass for every decision he's made, still think risking Kyogo in the last european game was absolute madness, but we're moving in the right direction and a lot quicker than I'd have expected.

 

Just because it didn't happen elsewhere does not mean the style isn't to blame here. There are factors at play here that were not the case with those other teams. For one, the sheer number of games we play and how close they are to each other minimising recovery time. Did his other teams play twice a week every single week for months on end? Then there are environmental factors. Were they constantly playing in freezing and damp conditions, on heavy waterlogged or muddy pitches, making doing anything at real pace that much more exhausting and difficult? When you add those together... you get the situation we are in now.

 

He has rotated and been criticised for that as well.

The reason he can’t consistently rotate is because he’s got about 6 or 7 players who’d be at Celtic if we were performing to our full potential as a football club.

 

We’re suffering with injuries and fatigue isn’t surprising because that was our 9th game in less than a month. Getting through December and winning every game was always going to be a tough ask and we were always going to drop points before the end of the season. Last night was poor and the players will be as disappointed as the fans. After a good performance in the cup final, that felt so flat.

Looking at the bigger picture and taking everything into consideration is important. The team have done well to go undefeated since that loss away to Leverkusen on 25th November. We have the bonus of having won a trophy four days ago which will be a confidence boost moving forward and I believe it’ll make the squad hungry for more success.

We will strengthen in January and we will have players returning from injury. We’ve got issues but there’s a lot to remain positive about. We may or may not win the league but we’re certainly heading in the right direction with Postecoglou at the helm.

 

Well said mate, exactly where I'm at but couldn't be arsed typing out.

 

ANGE POSTECOGLOU reckons it’s time the Premiership looked at using five subs again.

The top flight season is at the halfway stage with all clubs having played 19 games.

Additional players could be used off the bench last season to help teams cope with covid.

That was scrapped this term – but as Omicron cases spike Celtic boss Postecoglou believes bringing it back would be of benefit to everyone.

He said: “I think there are a couple of things there. That’s one aspect and with covid still hanging around there are some challenges in terms of you may lose players because of positive tests.

“But if you’ve got injuries that can also come from clubs being unable to rotate or rest players.

“I think it’s something that should be looked at if we’re going to continue these kinds of schedules.”

The Premiership winter break was brought forwards in a bid to cope with the new restrictions on fans being allowed inside stadiums.

That has seen the January 2 Old Firm game shelved until February, with the Boxing Day clash against St Johnstone the last for the Hoops before the shutdown.

But Postecoglou – who brought in 12 players after he took charge in the summer – insists he will continue to work hard through the festivities.

He said: “I know people will think it’s time to put their feet up and get the slippers on but there’s still plenty to do.

“That’s ok, we understand that’s our responsibility around these times.

“Other people might get the chance to relax but our job doesn’t stop and I’m happy with that. There’s plenty to do.

“We’ve got a plan in place now we know the fixtures and when the first game back is.

“Hopefully we get some of our injured guys back and it also gives us a chance to bring in new players.

“It’s a challenge but I don’t think I’ll ever go through another period like the first one. To bring in 12 was something unique.

“This time we can be a little bit more measured, we’ve been working on it a lot longer and we know what we want.

“It’s still challenging because it’s not a precise science but hopefully we get them in and get them in early.”

Wednesday night’s draw with St Mirren means the Hoops trail leaders Rangers by six points heading into Christmas.

Postecoglou told Sky Sports News: “I understand that’s people’s reference point, they look at the table and that’s the ultimate measure.

“But I can’t control that. We can’t control what the teams above and below us do.

“We control what we do and we’ve been really good at that.

“If we continue the form we’ve shown we’ll give ourselves a chance.”

 

We don’t even have 3 viable options on the bench most weeks let alone 5 lol

 

No question Biton is easily the biggest player we have on the team and has struggled to win headers on set pieces. However it does not change the fact that we overall as a team are undersized in terms of height and we currently have nobody in the team who can consistent delivery quality service. Hence it is an area of weakness for us currently.

 

We have neglected set plays since the deila days


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I actually had to get the Sky Sports app out at the Motherwell game and show a guy in my row the subs bench - after he repeatedly screeched for subs.

What Ange has done with the current available players is a miracle.

 

it is definitely an area of weakness and has been for a while. I do not think set pieces are been neglected right now though exhibit A the Rogic winner against Motherwell and all the variations we have been trying on corners recently. Our biggest issues right now are how small we are height wise overall as a team and the fact we lack even one player who can deliver a quality set piece on a consistent basis.

 

Mikey is not even third rate. 577 minutes for 1 assist. We need better than that. He’s the typical young winger, all flair and has no end product.

Imagine as a manager your backup LW is a sick note who can’t score and your first choice RW is a sick note. Your 3 strikers are all out injured and you have the backup RW as your striker.

To solve your issue you are left with your * backup no end product LW, a backup RW as your striker and to finish out your front three, you are having to resort to using fullbacks or a youth team player to break down a packed 11 man defence?

It’s honking and we still created enough to score… it was just that our front three are honking.

 

Correct. I was taking the *. Coz you know, it’s a forum, that’s what you do.

 

Lol, settle petal. It’s a joke. I thought you guys had a good sense of humour