all the pre-season stuff has gone now and we'll kick off against kilmarnock this weekend. always enjoy seeing the flag unfurled. hopefully the result will be much the same as last season's league opener against the same opposition. it looks like we will be without 3 players for the match... boruc - picked up a shoulder injury against newcastle and could be out for the next 2-3 weeks. mcdonald - suspended for the first 2 matches of the SPL season. nakamura - will only return to parkhead on friday after playing in the asian cup and may be given a rest, possibly on the bench incase anything is going pete tong. i'll have a go at the possible line-up ---- m. brown wilson -- pressley -- mcmanus -- naylor hartley -- s.brown -- donati -- mcgeady hesselink -- zurawski
Scottish Premier League Sunday, August 5, 2007 Celtic Park, Glasgow CELTIC… 0 KILMARNOCK… 0 CELTIC (4-4-2) M Brown; Wilson, Kennedy, McManus, Naylor; S Brown, Hartley, Donati (Nakamura 63), McGeady; Vennegoor of Hesselink, Zurawski (Killen 63). Subs: McGovern, Miller, Caldwell, Sno, O’Dea. KILMARNOCK (4-4-2) Combe; Lilley, Ford, Wright, O’Leary; Naismith, Hamill, Fowler (Dodds 31), Hay (Gibson 50); Johnson (Fernandez 83), Nish. Subs: Harpur, Di Giacomo, Skora, Koudou. one word to describe the opening day performance... inspirationless. if that is a word... the atmosphere wasn't great for the majority of the match and neither was the football we played. we had one good passing move in the whole game which led to naylor providing a low driven ball across the box which coombe made a reflex save from zurawski, i think, but on the whole we lacked ideas to break down kilmarnock. with every game that passes paul hartley impresses me less and less. in all seriousness i'd rather see jarosik playing than him at the minute. at least at home against smaller teams jarosik can provide a bit more creativity surely. up front i'm bemused by hesselink. he just doesn't seem to have an appetite for the game at the minute. whether this is down to not having a consistent strike partner to play with i'm not sure but we're sadly lacking in this area. will scott mcdonald be the one to emerge from the group? hopefully, because unless another striker is brought in then amazingly enough we're running out of options in this department already. riordan looks likely to be sold on which i can't get my head around. we're struggling to score goals and yet we're going to sell our best natural finisher, who's young and can only get better, for £400k!?!? still, it's only the first game and i was glad to see john kennedy starting and performing well. nakamura was left on the bench in the hope that he could have a rest and we wouldn't need him but he was called on to try and rescue the situation. but to no avail.
falkirk away on sunday. pressley is back from suspension so will this mean that kennedy drops to the bench...? i'm hoping not. pressley did well for us last season as a stop gap when we were beset with injuries at centre back but i feel he's a spent force now and shouldn't be considered ahead of kennedy, o'dea, caldwell or even bobo. if nakamura returns i'd wish strachan would consider swapping him with mcgeady during games and allow them to get to in some earlier crosses into the box. it would also allow brown more space around the penalty area as mcgeady and naka coming inside is making the middle a bit too congested and we're losing width because of it at times. falkirk got off to a flyer against gretna and yogi hughes is no mug. he's a good manager that has falkirk playing attractive and effective football. if zurawski's time is done will miller get another go in the middle. ideally, riordan would be starting but that isn't going to happen. he may opt to go with killen and JVOH but if that's the case then we need to have width to get some decent delivery into the box.
Tough start and very uneasy on the eyes. I hope GS shakes it up against Falkirk. If we are going to attack like that again we have to be careful not to lose the ball so easily and be quicker to get back to a defensive posture when we do.
Nakamura!!!! I knew we had to have been missing him that 1st match. Created one and scores one on a FK.
Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League Saturday, August 11, 2007 Westfield Stadium, Falkirk FALKIRK...1 (Higdon 4) CELTIC...4 (Milne OG 30, Miller 76, Nakamura 80, Vennegoor of Hesselink 82) FALKIRK (4-4-2) Krul; Ross, Barr, Milne, Scobbie; Cregg, Thomson (Craig 82), Riera (Arfield 70), Latapy (Barrett 74); Moutinho, Higdon Subs not used: Olejnik, Craig, Wallner, Aajfes, Allison CELTIC (4-4-2) Brown; Wilson, Kennedy, McManus, Naylor; Nakamura, Donati (Hartley 74), Brown, McGeady; Vennegoor of Hesselink, Miller Subs not used: McGovern, Sno, ODea, Riordan, Zurawski, Killen watched the match in my friends as we usually do for away games. all 6 of us were of the opinion that if we got level before half time we'd overpower falkirk in the 2nd half and that proved to be the case. a great tonic for us, especially with JVOH, miller and naka all scoring before our russian adventure begins. GOALKEEPER i thought mark brown was competent in goals again. had no chance with the goal we lost and apart from spilling one cross on a very wet afternoon (it's rained here non stop all day) was generally sound in all aspects of his position. DEFENDERS during pre-season i was worried about our right flank and unconcerned to an extent with the left. now it seems the roles have reversed. i though mark wilson was outstanding today. man of the match for me. every time we were on the front foot he was bombing past naka and giving him options. his crossing was also greatly improved and he was solid defensively the whole game. on the other side i still think naylor is struggling to recapture his form from the early to middle part of last season. hopefully he'll get back on track because the other alternative is he was playing beyond himself for the vast majority of last season and i hope that isn't the case. mcmanus has looked a bit edgy at times but with the team getting off the mark he can maybe relax a bit more now. it's good to have john kennedy in defense when we're in posession as he's comfortable on the ball but he had a hard time in the air today against falkirk's main striker but he stuck to his task. MIDFIELDERS mcgeady worked hard today and was unlucky when his bicycle kick came back off the post but it fell to miller who stuck it away. he tried to take players on at every opportunity and worked back well when we were without the ball. naka was given plenty of support from wilson but was still relatively quiet in the first half. however, when he's on the ball he hardly ever gives it away cheaply or at all for that matter. another subime free kick goal for youtube. massimo and scott brown i thought worked well together again, especially for long periods in the 2nd half before donati was subbed. yes, falkirk had good posession at times in the first half but celtic pressured them whenever they could and it was doubtful that falkirk could keep the pace up for 90 minutes. donati set up the equaliser but he missed a couple of good chances in the 2nd half. he's not a goalscoring midfielder though, never has been but it's encouraging to see him get into these positions. scott brown just seemed to get better and stronger the longer the game went on. broke up attacks. always tried to be available for a pass and went on a couple of runs. tried to place a few shots when he might have been better to put the laces through one of them but all in all a great performance from him. hartley came on for donati and played well. passed well, covered and was generally tidy in everything he did. FORWARDS i still think there are some good crosses coming into the box that JVOH should be attacking with relish but doesn't. he took his goal well and it's sure to boost his confidence just in time for europe. kenny miller scored!! i'll type that again.. kenny miller scored!! not only that but it was a terrific finish and was his just reward for putting in a good shift, as he always does. now if he could start hitting the net regularly then he'd be a first teamer. his link up play was better if still a bit untidy at times but he looked more confident after getting on the scoresheet. what a difference a goal makes....
aberdeen away on sunday. both artur boruc and kenny miller will have late fitness tests. i can't see miller starting even if he passes a fitness test. surely mcdonald has done more than enough to earn his first start in the SPL. i'd imagine boruc won't be risked unless he's fully fit or very close to it. will mcgeady come back into the side? and if so, who would he replace? it's believed that JVOH (leg knock) and massimo donati (ankle injury) will both be fit for sunday's match.
Clydesdale Bank Scottish Premier League Sunday, August 19, 2007 Pittodrie Stadium, Aberdeen ABERDEEN…1 (Brewster 25,) CELTIC…3 (Donati 61, Miller 85, 92) ABERDEEN (4-4-2) Soutar; Hart, Diamond (Touzani 80), Considine, McNamara; Smith (Foster 68), Severin, Clark, Nicholson; Mackie, Brewster (Miller 66) Subs not used: Langfield, Lovell, D.Smith, Maguire CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Wilson, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor; Nakamura, Donati, Brown, McGeady; McDonald (Miller 76), Vennegoor of Hesselink Subs not used: M.Brown, Pressley, O’Dea, Hartley, Sno, Killen WEBSITE MAN OF THE MATCH: Massimo Donati Attendance: 16, 232 i missed the first 35 minutes but a good 3 points were earned. plus point seems to be that we can step up the gears when required at the minute. minus point is our obvious slow starts to matches that could cause problems if it were to continue. on another note i thought that referee's were only supposed to stop the match for head knocks, yet charlie richmond did it 3 times in the 2nd half when aberdeen players were down without obvious knocks to the head. i can understand the one with diamond in the box as players could have tripped over him or possibly hurt him further if play was in his vicinity. the one that i couldn't get my head round was the one with severin in midfield. not interfering with play and not in a dangerous position yet richmond stops the game because he's hurt his knee... anyway, it all came good in the end as we pounded aberdeen in the 2nd half. GOALKEEPERS boruc didn't have a lot to do in the 2nd half. nearly messed up a long range drive from mackie with the score at 1-0 but gathered it at the 2nd attempt. good to see him back between the sticks and suffering no ill effects after the match. DEFENDERS spartak knew it in moscow and most if not all of the SPL does as well. lee naylor is our weak link. did he over achieve last season? he was ok at pittodrie but nowhere near his level at the beginning and middle of last season. mcmanus is starting to look a lot more solid after a shaky couple of games. caldwell did fine next to mcmanus as kennedy missed out because of a sprained ankle injured in training on friday. mark wilson continues to look sound defensively and offer an option wide right when we're on the attack. MIDFIELDERS if anything donati played further forward than brown for a lot of the game and took full advantage by scoring a lovely goal and getting an assist on the 2nd. a nice pass from mcgeady who looked better on the right in the 2nd half found donati in the dons box. a fake took him away from a desperate lunge and a cool finish to soutar's left hand side had celtic level. he teed up kenny miller perfectly for the go ahead strike after being found by nakamura on the penalty spot. rather than having a strike he rolled the ball to his right and miller finished neatly. scott brown got through a load of work as usual and was at times our only player harassing and closing down space in the first 30 minutes. mcgeady as mentioned looked better on the right and set up the equaliser with a nice pass. naka smashed a great free kick off the underside of the bar and did well with space he found in the centre at times. seems to be more involved, unsurprisingly, if allowed to roam off the right wing. ATTACKERS hesselink and mcdonald look like they may be able to produce a decent little and large style partnership. they combined in the first half for JVOH to slip a shot wide. mcdonald didnt have as good a match as he did in moscow but still contributed before being subbed for kenny miller in the 76th minute. miller came on and scored two lovely goals. set up nicely by donati he stroked the ball home first time from 8yds to give us the lead. his 2nd, and celtic's 3rd was a quality finish in injury time. aberdeen lost posession to miller who moved forward and from 25yds curled one past soutar and into the bottom corner. more of the same please kenny. he had a purple patch last season and i hope this time, it's more than just a month or so. if he can keep consistently finding the net then with hesselink and mcdonald as well as killen in reserve it looks like zurawski's time at th e club is fast running out..
god knows but he was certainly in the wars today. hurt his shoulder. then had a gash on the side of his head. has a great footballing brain, aided from his time abroad. am i right in saying that was his first SPL goal since september last season...? edit.. that's his first SPL goal for a couple of years!!! the last goal he scored for aberdeen was in the scottish cup in january.
match highlights - aberdeen 1 v 3 celtic. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdxFieZYpMs the 2nd one shows nakamura crashing the underside of the bar with another free kick. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEqTuYn8NCM&mode=related&search=
Celtic v Hearts - saturday 25th - 3pm kick off yey! at last!! we actually get to play a game on a saturday at 3 o'clock for the first time this season. hearts have had a shocking start to the season and seem in disarray. although this seems to be the norm at tynecastle recently. we need to start matches better and hopefully we will tomorrow. john kennedy is fit and should return in place of caldwell. kenny miller is a doubt with a hamstring injury. probable celtic line up - boruc wilson -- kennedy -- mcmanus -- naylor nakamura -- s brown -- donati -- mcgeady hesselink -- mcdonald
Scottish Premier League Saturday, August 25, 2007 Celtic Park, Glasgow CELTIC… 5 (Berra o.g. 10, Donati 22, Brown 61, Vennegoor of Hesselink pen. 63, Nakamura 79) HEARTS… 0 WEBSITE MAN OF THE MATCH: Scott Brown CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Wilson, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor; Nakamura, S Brown, Donati, McGeady (Riordan 69); Vennegoor of Hesselink (Killen 69), McDonald (Zurawski 87). Subs: M Brown, Hartley, Sno, O’Dea. HEARTS (4-4-2) Banks; Neilson, Ivaskevicius (Karipidis 46), Berra, Goncalves (McCann 46); Mikoliunas, Kingston (Driver 46), Stewart, Ksanavicius; Zaliukas, Elliot. Subs: Kurskis, Pospisil, Cesnauskis, Divine. a convincing victory against a very poor hearts team. the kind of win we needed at home to inspire confidence for the wednesday night nail biter against spartak. the defence was hardly tested except for a small spell at the beginning of the 2nd half. donati and brown were terrific again in the middle of the park and they look to have been £7mill + well spent. mcgeady got knocked off the ball a bit too much at times for my liking. naka was influential for large periods of the game. hesselink looked a lot better in this match and although he didn't get on the scoresheet scott mcdonald worked well up front again with JVOH. hearts were poor, especially considering how far they've fallen in the space of 12 months. lee naylor is still a bit of a worry. i keep hoping to see him break out of this funk he's in and get back to the form he showed at the beginning and in the middle of last season but the longer it continues with his current form the more unsure i feel about his overall ability. here's the goals from the match.... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-y8bE_G6u7w
St Mirren v Celtic not quite sure what sort of team WGS will pick as rumour has it that he'll maybe rest a few players after a hard midweek match against spartak. kennedy, hartley, sno and riordan have all been mentioned as possible starters but i'm not sure he'll go that far. kennedy for caldwell and hartley for nakamura seem to be the safer bets but we'll see tomorrow. Celtic (from): Boruc, Wilson, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor, Nakamura, Scott Brown, Donati, McGeady, Riordan, Vennegoor of Hesselink, Killen, McDonald, Zurawski, Mark Brown, Pressley, Kennedy, Hartley, Sno, O'Dea.
Scottish Premier League Sunday, September 2, 2007 St Mirren Stadium, Paisley ST MIRREN… 1 (Miranda 75) CELTIC… 5 (S Brown 22, McDonald 25, Vennegoor of Hesselink 54, Riordan 56, McManus 74) WEBSITE MAN OF THE MATCH: Scott Brown ST MIRREN (4-5-1) Smith; Van Zanten, Potter, Miranda; Corcoran, Murray (Brittain 80), Brady, Mason (Birchall 61), Reid; Kean (Mehmet 54). Subs: Howard, McCay, Barron, McGinn. CELTIC (4-4-2) Boruc; Wilson, Caldwell, McManus, Naylor; Hartley, Sno (Donati 46), S Brown, Riordan; McDonald (Zurawski 70), Vennegoor of Hesselink (Killen 63). Subs: M Brown, McGeady, O’Dea, Nakamura. a comfortable win for celtic with three changes being made from wednesday, all in midfield. boruc wilson--caldwell--mcmanus--naylor hartley--sno--brown--riordan mcdonald--hesselink match report.... http://www.celticfc.net/news/stories/news_020907155702.aspx GOALKEEPERS boruc never had much to do but was powerless to stop miranda's great strike in the 75th minute. DEFENDERS just like in europe on wednesday naylor seemed to get a bit better the longer the match progressed. his distribution was better this game but is still seen as the weak link at the minute. wilson was solid on the right and bombed forward as much as possible. another good shift from him. caldwell and mcmanus coped fine in the middle. had some nice distribution at times and big mick got on the scoresheet with a crsip finish for celtic's 5th goal. MIDFIELDERS with hartley in the team we seemed to close down the opposition quicker at times. hartley had a good game and is starting to show better form now that we know he is capable of. riordan didn't really do enough for me. in these instances when he gets the full 90 he has to grab the name by the scruff of the neck which is hard to do in a wide position. seemed more positive in the 2nd half and helped create the 4th goal that was deflected in. also whipped in a great corner for hesselinks goal. played well but i was hoping for a bit more, perhaps i'm being a bit over critical of the lad but i think he's got huge potential and i just hope he realises it and shows it. sno just never got up to speed with the game. looked edgy at times in the first half and was guilty of conceding posession cheaply on a number of occasions. didn't come out for the 2nd half. donati replaced sno at the interval and came on to take part in a game which celtic had a good grip of. strolled through the 45 minutes. scott brown was man of the match for celtic again. scored the first with a nice run. always closed down and supported the attack whenever possible. basically ran the show and even had time to extract the urine from miranda resulting in the argentinian being shown a yellow card. ATTACKERS hesselink scored with a good header from a corner after a nice ball in by riordan. still left with the overall impression that he can contribute more during his time on the pitch. mcdonald scored a good opportunist goal with a lob from a tight angle after their keeper commited himself to a ball he shouldn't have. makes really good runs and drops deep to get involved as well. a good, busy shift and his first SPL goal for the club. killen came on for hesselink in the 63rd minute. worked hard but didn't really get any clear sites of goal. zurawski replaced mcdonald in the 70th minute and looked sharper than he has for a while. perhaps the transfer of miller along with no other signings being brought in has given him a lift and the idea that he'll still have a role to play for celtic this season.