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vs Hearts

Sinclair putting in a bit of fight on the left wing but the pass he plays to CalMac was poor and the cut back ended up too close to the keeper.
 
it's more of a 3-?-?

Nobody really knows exactly what the fuck we're playing, it's just everyone trying as hard as they can to get a goal but it's still not working! Sometimes we have 3, 4 or even 5 players in attack.

Edouard on for CalMac.

Well when was the last time we had THREE strikers on the pitch all at once??? :emoticon:10
 
This has turned into an embarrassment! If Rodgers doesn't make BIG changes for the game against Partick Thistle during the week then there's something wrong!

Hearts can bring in young players and do this.....why can't we?
 
We'll be fine against Partick and i think the players will want to redeem themselves after this shitshow. There are some key takeaways here:

1. I've been saying for weeks that Brendan's tactics have gotten predictable. We're too much up the flanks and not enough in the middle of the park. Ntcham can do that, but it's not his best offering. I see him more as a player like Brown than someone who can create going forward. Armstrong can and we need to see more of him.

2. Our CBs are horrible. Even Simmo. If an Italian wants to buy him for a few million, i'd do it. We need to sell him and Sviatchenko, get two new CBs and keep Boyata as cover.

3. I've defended Gordon. He has good reflexes but his decision making is poor. It's another place for an upgrade. Maybe not in January, but certainly for next season.

4. We should use games like Partick and bottom-table clubs to try a 4-4-2 and also give Kouassi and others a try. Brendan may sub players, but it's always the same look.

5. Hey, relax. As Charles Barkley once said, "I don't care who you are or how good you are at what you do, there are some days when absolutely nothing goes right."

That's a wrap, Bhoys.
 
Horrific result for us! A loss by a goal or 2....fine, can understand that but 4 goals to none? Unacceptable!

BR takes all the players into a huddle on the pitch at the end of the game there. Will be interesting to find out what he said there. Would like to hear his comments after the game. I expect big changes for our midweek game against Partick!

Our CBs did not play well today but I still wouldn't say they were horrendous, in fact no ONE player was that bad.....but as a team we were probably a collective 3 or 4 out of 10!
Dembele showed good fight but as with others ended up crowded out. Armstrong was similar.

My team to play Partick after that game.....

DDV
Ralston - Ajer - Sviatchenko - Miller
Kouassi - Henderson
Hayes - Armstrong - Johnston
Dembele

I would seriously be THAT radical if I was Brendan Rodgers.
 
Agree with you both with some salient points made.

The historic unbeaten run was as incredible as it was unexpected.

The same players and manager who brought us that success were collectively pish poor today - and that's being kind! We've been riding our luck for weeks tbh.

However, today was an unacceptable & embarrassing performance.

Rodgers needs to look at his own tactics, shape and team selections. Teams know how to stifle us, even when we're on song, and they're not having to stick 10 men behind the ball to achieve it. That's down to Rodgers. He needs to adjust, not the players.
 
I think part of the stale performance and lack of change in tactics is partly down to the fact that it's too often the same players being used and used in the same way. Different players have different strengths and weaknesses and would allow us to play in different ways. We have no muscle in midfield, Brown can get stuck in but if the others aren't supporting then it's too much for him to deal with. I think Kouassi would be a nice change and offers a more physical presence, a bit more dynamic.
We're lacking something different on the wings too. Forrest has played well and somehow Sinclair has loads of goals for us this season without playing terribly well. Without Roberts, we're then lacking that something different to make the difference. Given the fact that Tynecastle is not a very wide pitch and yet we seemed to be stretched in the middle of the pitch. I think we tried to play too wide against Hearts, Ntcham and McGregor almost played more as a 3 man midfield along with Brown. Ntcham and McGregor were like the wider players of a midfield 3, together with 2 wingers and only one striker......there was nobody in the middle of the pitch in the attacking third to support Griffiths.
It looked more like this:

McGregor - Brown - Ntcham
Forrest Sinclair
Griffiths

Where as what we needed it to look like was more:

Brown - Ntcham
Forrest - McGregor - Sinclair
Griffiths
 
Drop Gordon, first and foremost.
Put Ajer in v Thistle at Boyata’s expense.
Drop Dembele from squad v Thistle, he’s terribly inconsistent and got the first touch of the Yorkshire ripper.
Start Griffiths in every match until shutdown.

Armstrong can get to fook out the squad as well. Is Rogic injured?

 
Hi Leo. Welcome to the forum.

I understand why a lot of people don't like Gordon and I don't think he's one of the best keepers we've had in recent times by any stretch but unfortunately I doubt we'll see him dropped any time soon. I'd be a little surprised if we don't see DDV at some point between now and Christmas though.
I'd continue giving Ajer as many opportunities as possible, I like him and I think he suits our system well. He's still young and learning the CB position but I think he has a bright future.
Dembele was at least trying and had a bit of fight when he came on against Hearts, his touch has been poor at times....I know what you mean with that but he's still a good striker. Any of our 3 are good but sometimes with all 3 being fit it would be nice to see us play with 2 up front!

Not sure why Rogic wasn't on the bench against Hearts.....can only assume he's picked up a small injury in training.
 
Playing Hearts at Celtic Park tonight and already 1-0 ahead after only 3 mins. We'll be looking for a bit of revenge after the poor performance last time out.

Tonight's team:

DDV
Boyata - Simunovic - Ajer
Forrest - Brown - Ntcham - Kouassi - Tierney
Edouard - Dembele

Subs: Doohan, Miller, Gamboa, Bitton, Sinclair, Musonda and McGregor

Interesting line-up from BR tonight. Only 2 fit strikers and they both start up front tonight. Sinclair drops to the bench even though he's been playing well recently. A back 3 again as Lustig is likely to be out for a couple of weeks with an achilles problem, he's had it for a while but it's been getting worse so they've decided he needs to rest it.
New bhoy Musonda Jr makes the bench, will be interesting to see what impact he can have from the bench if he gets on tonight.
 
GOAL! 2-0! Boyata with a lovely finish! From a free-kick, Forrest heads it into Dembele who controls it and slides in the on-running Boyata from the right hand side of the box and he finishes with a great side footed finish underneath the keeper! 25 mins gone and we're 2-0 and looking good!

Dembele and Edouard both playing well up front with Edouard the one normally coming short or moving wide. Kouassi is sitting deeper and allowing Brown and Ntcham to go forward, which they are doing well.

Tierney is getting some rough treatment tonight!
 
What an assist from Tierney! 3-0 to Celtic, Dembele with a good finish but it was all about Tierney. Broke forward and Tierney was left with little option to pass to so decides to take on his marker with some good pace down the left, then sits the defender on his arse with a lovely cutback just as he got to the goal line, he then played a great low cross into the box and Dembele stabs it into the back of the net!
 
We play Hearts tomorrow lunchtime. We'll be desperate for revenge after they defeated us (and deservedly too) to end our unbeaten run. However, with the title now wrapped up, this is surely a chance to rest some of those players going to the World Cup and give a chance to those who have either not played much or are looking to make a case to be included in their country's world cup squad?

So what sort of team are we likely to see tomorrow?

Personally I'd go with/think we might see:

Bain
Gamboa - Simunovic - Compper - Miller
Kouassi
Armstrong - Ntcham
Roberts - Musonda - Sinclair
Griffiths/Edouard

The GK we choose is really just a question of who does Rodgers fancy giving a game to.....
Gamboa needs game time before the World Cup, this could be when he gets it and before he leaves the club this summer. Simunovic was back on the bench last week so I'd imagine he'll start. Compper we've only seen once since his arrival, he needs more chances to play. I'm not sure if he's fit to play but if he is, surely we'll see him between now and the end of the season? Miller in at LB for Tierney. KT has been brilliant this season but he's played more games than pretty much any other player in world football. Or he had, I've checked the stats and he's now 9th after missing a couple of games through injury. James Forrest is top of the list! Miller has only made 3 appearances this season, and not because he's performed badly, he just can't get a game ahead of Tierney, or we've opted to use McGregor at LB, Hayes or even Sinclair as a LWB because Rodgers has chosen to go with a 3 at the back a lot this season. However Miller could play LWB as remember he used to be a forward, he's got that attacking ability.
Kouassi needs games, Brown's made over 50 appearances so needs a break and Kouassi needs to be ready for next season.
Ntcham has made over 50 appearances this season but we don't really have many other options in CM. Armstrong's season has been interrupted by injury but he'll be looking to impress if he's going to move on this summer so I think he'll play.
Musonda could potentially head back to Chelsea this summer and call his loan spell short because he's not played enough but Rodgers is saying that he's not played because of the form of other players plus he needs time to settle in. If we're serious about wanting to keep him, he should start these last 3 games of the season.
As I said above, James Forrest has played more games than anyone else in World football so he'll be rested now and Roberts will be given a chance to remind us of how good he is. On the left, it could be Sinclair as despite him making over 50 appearances this season, he's not been playing or at least not starting as much recently so he might start. If he's rested then Johnston will likely come in, I at least expect him to be on the bench.
Up front it will likely be Edouard as a reward for his performance last week or it will be Griffiths to help him get to his century of goals. I expect Aitchison to start making the bench for us in these last few games.

Other youngsters we could see, Mark Hill or Kerr McInroy, both good youngsters who play CM or DM. Ewan Henderson (the younger and apparently more talented brother of Liam Henderson) could potentially get a sub appearance. He can play attacking midfield or on either wing. We have a few decent CBs and one decent RB who might just need a chance to show they're good enough, unlikely to play unless it's a sub appearance but we might see them.
 
So we've not done what I thought....AT ALL!

Today's team is:

Bain
Lustig - Boyata - Ajer - McGregor
Brown
Forrest - Ntcham - Rogic - Edouard
Dembele

Subs: de Vries, Hendry, Simunovic, Roberts, Sinclair, Armstrong, Miller
 
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