vs Aberdeen | Vital Football

vs Aberdeen

wee_od_88

wee_od_88

Vital Football Hero
So Saturday sees us back and fresh to play Aberdeen at Celtic Park! Lennon is hoping for a big game from the players after two consecutive defeats in the SPL. He partly blamed those losses on trying to prepare for the Cup and being tired after playing in the Champions League. That is allowed to a certain extent but he also questioned the character of some players and I think that is more spot on!

I personally play football twice a week with my mates, I'm not very fit at all and I'm not a good player but I enjoy it......if I can manage two games a week, they should have absolutely no problems at all!! Supposed to be professionals!

Lustig could be back for this game after recovering quicker than expected from his injury. He has been training all week. Izzy and Samaras are both be back in contention while Wanyama will miss the game through suspension but was recovering from injury anyway and may not have been ready for the game.

Brown, Forrest and Matthews are all out of the game with injuries.

The big question will be how much Lennon decides to change the team. He was very angry after the defeat to Ross County. Back at Paradise, it better be a very good performance from the team! But who is going to play?

Forster
Lustig - Wilson - Rogne - Gershon
McGeouch - Kayal - Ledley - Commons
Hooper - Watt

I have no idea who will partner Hooper but from what I saw, I don't think Stokes played well against County so he could lose his place! I'd like to see Watt back in the team.

Personally I'd leave Mulgrew on the bench because I've not been impressed with his performances recently! I'd like to see more of Gershon now that he is fit and he feels he has plenty more to give and prove! Izzy has been playing badly recently as well so I wouldn't bring him back in yet. Ambrose needs a break to sort his head out.
 
Agreed on all fronts except that I do think Stokes will get some time. We have an option on his contract and Lenny may want to give him as many looks as possible when weighing up what to do with him. I don't think Lenny is a huge fan of Stokes, but Hooper will be gone this summer and no one else but Stokes can actually score goals.
 
Celtic side to take on Aberdeen: Forster; Lustig, Ambrose, Wilson, Izaguirre; Kayal, Mulgrew, Ledley, Commons; Hooper, Stokes
Subs: Zaluska, Lassad, Rogic, Rogne, Atajic, McGeouch, Samaras

Well there it is.....I'm scared that Ambrose is playing, he better come up with a good performance today!
I don't like that this team appears to mean Mulgrew will be playing midfield again.....for me he is just not a midfielder! It's ok if others are injured and we need him as a stand-in but that's not the case at the moment! He's been too slow recently, his reactions have been poor and he has wanted too much time on the ball for playing in midfield!
I hope I'm wrong and Lennon is actually going with 3 at the back and two wing backs!

Other than that, I can't really argue with it. Interesting to see Atajic on the bench today, I don't know if that is purely the U21 rule or if it's because they feel he warrants a chance......unfortunately he has been on the bench a few times before and not even come close to making an appearance, I suspect his fate is similar today!
 
HT at Celtic Park and it's 1-1

Commons scored after 12 seconds (not a single Aberdeen player touched the ball) and Langfield made some good saves but too often things have gone wrong in the final third. Stokes has got into plenty of good positions but not taken the shot when he should have, played a poor pass, been offside or simply lost possession. Needs to improve second half!

Aberdeen's goal came from a foul on Wilson, as he was trying to clear the ball, he was bundled into and pulled at the shoulder causing him to fall, Magennis then squared it to Vernon and Forster and Ambrose couldn't stop the shot going over the line! That goal came just before half time!
 
7 mins in and Aberdeen score again, 2-1 Aberdeen!

This is bad! Lennon will be fuming! If we don't turn this around, prepare to see the U20s/development squad next week!

Fucking pish!
 
What the fuck! I went out for a run and come back and we're down 3-1. Just pulled one back. But this is awful.
 
Amazing finish with Sammy putting in the winner with an overhead kick at the death. Wow. Not great play but it was a hell of a game!
 
I had to go out after the 2nd goal but I've seen the goals since I came back in.

Need to get to the bottom of why we are losing these cheap goals! It's not good enough! Need to get the defence switched on! I don't know if this is just defensive errors, errors in midfield leaving our defence with little hope or is it not defending from the front? I don't know but it needs to get sorted!

Thank god we won though! Commons certainly seemed to be our best player and Lennon certainly thought he was! Stokes for me is just not on it at the moment, I'd rather bring him on as a sub and give someone else a chance for the next game!

Lennon said after the game that he hopes the international break will sort their heads out and give them a wee break and also just a change of scenery is sometimes good for them! Lets hope he is right!

Apparently a number of Celtic fans started leaving Paradise when it was at 1-3......oh what a mistake that was! It's also very unlike our fans to leave early! Not good!
 
Right on both counts, Wee Od. Commons was our best. Stokes was pretty awful. I'd start Sammy and let Stokes prive his stripes from the bench.

What was worse? Stokes performance in the match or the interview he did with the Daily Mail? He really came off as a ned. If he wants to get a new contract, he should shut up. He badly needs a PR guy.
 
I'd start Sammy too for the next game, we need a bit of a back to basics approach because of our crap league form!

Stokes is a problem......his form (despite him realising it was a problem) did not improve at the weekend! His attitude is need of a serious adjustment! From a contract situation, he's our next best goalscorer after Hooper so we kind of need him but at the same time.....he could be a liability because of his off-field issues and his attitude!

Lennon has a choice to make.....cut our losses and go out and find someone he knows will score us goals or stick with Stokes and still try and find someone else.........
 
I bet the club will pick up his option and Lenny will look for the next Hooper. His comments were pretty shocking, especially when he knows Lenny hates players airing things out in the press. I really like Stokes as a player, but how stupid can he be?
 
I don't think the next Hooper is out there yet so I think this summer we will add a striker or two to the squad and Lennon has now confirmed that they will take the 1 year option on Stokes.

There is nobody like Hooper playing in a smaller league etc that we can buy for a decent amount and know will score goals. Everyone is either overpriced or simply not got that good a goalscoring record!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Latest Celtic News