[0762]

One glaring stat is from the Hoops' Euro campaign this season - 17 goals lost!!!!!!
Four goals lost tonight and one must scrutinise this latest defensive lapse and what Lennon must do to rectify it.
1. Elhamed was a defensive liability tonight (not the first time in some of Celtic's Euro matches!) and this game result should've been closer than the score line suggests! 2. Celtic need a new goalkeeper asap and this match finally confirms that first choice goalie, Barkas, is a dud and does nothing to impress in big matches - no presence in his pen box, I can't recall a save of any great quality in a long time, the guy is an average goalie in a team that needs a top quality goalie. I suggest Lennon "pulls out all the stops" to sign Southampton's Fraser Forster in January - absolutely imperative!
Looking at the content of the match, Celtic really should've been ahead by at least four goals after the first 15 mins as Milan's defence was "run ragged" and literally "all over the place" before their players finally settled. Indeed, 0-2 was an insult to the positive attacking moves of the Hoops esp when they were in total control of this match! And then certain players really "let the side down" AGAIN in allowing this Serie A side to "gain a foothold" in the game. Christie???? Why on earth make a risky tackle just outside the Celtic pen box at 0-2???? Poor discipline personified!! And then the Celtic goalie does his usual lame duck pose in f###### up and looking like a numpty AGAIN - no "bail out" from this goalie who looks like he doesn't wanna be there anyway!!! This ultimately caused an element of panic to a defence which must still be mentally fragile and a second goal lost within 5 mins - awful!!
One must note this was a "dead rubber" for Celtic but the team really needed to start looking like a balanced side again as well as being defensively sound v very good Euro opponents. IMO most of the team actually played reasonably well but it has become very clear that certain players really "let the side down", probs that Lennon must redress pronto. I reckon the manager must somehow progress through this December period with a string of wins, starting with Saint Johnstone on Sunday. Hold out until January and press for transfer funds to deal with the problem areas in this team. The game on Sunday becomes massive for Celtic v stuffy opponents who Celtic would normally beat fairly comfortably. Not so this time with no crowd and confidence fairly low due to a record two wins in the past ten consecutives fixtures. They need to win matches again and start to charge up the Scot Prem, no excuses any more although, as previously stated, there are certain players who shouldn't be there!

[St Charles Owl]

Good result for Rangers tonight, coming from behind twice to win 3-2. Aside from their qualification to the next round this win also means Scotland holds onto 11th place in the UEFA coefficient ranking - the last position that could earn a direct place in the Champions League for the domestic champions. They are still ahead of Ukraine, who still have 2 teams in Euro competitions, but Rangers progressing gives them the chance to earn more points. This also means that Celtic's games are not dead rubbers as you called it as these games still contribute to the coefficient points.

[hibeejim21]

That was just bizarre

Celtic could have had 3 or 4 goals in the first 20 mins or so, and going forward they looked not bad at all. But defensively its a shambles, and thats being kind! That goalie looks a Diddy.

Bottom line - those results - 2 wins from 11 is enough to get anyone the boot at smaller clubs than Celtic.

[0762]

It was a "dead rubber" from a Celtic quali point of view! Also Rangers were outplayed for the majority of the 1st half seriously. A 2-2 HT result was a farce and it centred on a really dodgy UEFA ref hand ball call again when the SL player actually had his back to the ball on the corner of the SL pen box. They have had so much fortune attached to their UEFA results - unreal! Also, as with Celtic v AC Milan tonight, they have faced so many Euro sides who field their B teams v them mainly because they are a lesser league Scottish footie club while Rangers, and Celtic for that matter, are hell bent on fielding their strongest teams - LETS GET SOME FACTS RIGHT RE THIS GREAT SUCCESS AND DON'T "BANG ON" ABOUT YOU ONLY BEAT WHAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU!! For example Benfica had to play them at home with ten men after absolutely outplaying them in the 1st 20 mins in a rain storm with their B team!! They gave Rangers a two goal lead, brought on a couple of quality players in the second half and "clawed back" a draw in a rain storm!! In the return leg Benfica fielded a COVID hit B team but still deserved to win the match even though it was a draw!! They hardly played their young star player, Nunes, in both matches, a quality striker who would've most definitely destroyed Rangers in a full team but still managed to score goals v them in the remaining quarter of their 1st leg v the Govan club. I want Rangers to face a really high-flying in form Euro A team and that side will f###### well beat them, absolutely no doubt! IMO there is a serious over-hyped bias about Rangers and Gerrard at the current time and it is a great pity that it is them in this position rather than another more deserving Scot Prem footie club compared with this toxic brand of a footie club with so much "loose baggage" attached to it!!

[St Charles Owl]

It was a "dead rubber" from a Celtic quali point of view! Also Rangers were outplayed for the majority of the 1st half seriously. A 2-2 HT result was a farce and it centred on a really dodgy UEFA ref hand ball call again when the SL player actually had his back to the ball on the corner of the SL pen box. They have had so much fortune attached to their UEFA results - unreal! Also, as with Celtic v AC Milan tonight, they have faced so many Euro sides who field their B teams v them mainly because they are a Scottish footie club while Rangers, and Celtic for that matter, are hell bent on fielding their strongest teams - LETS GET SOME FACTS RIGHT RE THIS GREAT SUCCESS AND DON'T "BANG ON" ABOUT YOU ONLY BEAT WHAT IS IN FRONT OF YOU!! For example Benfica had to play them at home with ten men after absolutely outplaying them in the 1st 20 mins in a rain storm with their B team!! They gave Rangers a two goal lead, brought on a couple of quality players in the second half and "clawed back" a draw in a rain storm!! In the return leg Benfica fielded a COVID hit B team but still deserved to win the match even though it was a draw!! They hardly played their young star player, Nunes, in both matches, a quality striker who would've most definitely destroyed Rangers in a full team but still managed to score goals v them in the remaining quarter of their 1st leg v the Govan club. I want Rangers to face a really high-flying in form Euro A team and that side will f###### well beat them, absolutely no doubt!

Why can't you accept that a win is a win and the fact they have qualified is good for Scottish football!! I can't stand MU or Liverpool but have always supported their efforts in Europe, surely Rangers doing well in Europe is something that should be applauded by Scottish fans, particularly if it boosts the coefficient and helps you keep that CL spot.

[0762]

There is a big difference between MU and Liverpool in comparison and you have clearly overlooked it up here in Scotland Saint Charles Owl!! Rangers FC is bizarrely still at war with Scottish footie and IMO only care about themselves!! You clearly don't live here and can't see what has been going on for long enough!! Yes, the coefficient points are beneficial to the game but unfortunately it is the wrong footie club and you know the reasons why - they have been debated often enough on this board and are not mythical!! Attainment by a horrible, poisonous footie club attached to fans who are still full of angst and hatred towards certain media channels and it extends to religion, race, other footie fans as well as there being a totally unacceptable political element to this particular footie club. I'd like to see a historical list of people who have been casualties/victims of these fans as well as some sadly being killed because of the footie colours they wore. That list would enlighten many people as it would not be a small insignificant reference!! May I also add if you think I'm the only Scot footie fan who views it in this way then you are well out of touch with reality up here. This footie club has been a scourge to Scottish footie for donkey's years and it appears to be getting worse as it is being used as a "platform of hate" by many factions of their fans, something that is totally unacceptable in any sport, let alone soccer. The most ironic thing re their current positive status is the fact that there are no fans watching them and there won't be in the foreseeable future either.

[hibeejim21]

SCO hasn't been in the away end at ibrox with hibs, if he had I'm sure he would feel differently!!! Their supporters are absolute scum of the earth as evidenced by their day out in Manchester.

I couldn't care less about the CL spot or the coefficient personally. It's not like either them or Celtic will be playing CL group football any time soon.

[0762]

There was actually a recent notable comment on bbc Sportsound to the host of the prog, Kenny Macintyre, (who recently was compelled by one of his pundits, Craig Levein, to reveal that he is a Rangers fan!!!) from the sports journo, Tom English, to tone down his aspirations re Rangers projected new-found Euro footie success because it must be emphasised that there is now a huge gap between even the middle ground of Euro footie and the upper echelons/the top clubs. Rangers will never get near "bridging that gap" because of the financial constraints i.e. they are not big enough with English emphasising that they are "propped up" by so many massive loans and are hugely in debt. I'm not a great fan of TE but certainly agreed with most of his retort to Macintyre's "preaching" - an impartial bbc host eh, huhhhhhhhh!!!