The lack of motivation from certain players! - TalkCeltic

Feed the bear · 28-02-2008, 04:15 PM

From reading the various threads and posts within them, seems to me that most people on here have the same underlying worry regarding the team and the run in....a lack of motivation from certain players who are regulars.

These are all experienced guys and I'm wondering then, what's causing this apathy out on the park and how can it be cured? Surely management see it, feel it and should be taking care of it. The threat of being dropped should be enough motivation for any Celtic player but it's obvious that with Strachan consistently picking players it's lulled some of them into a false sense of security and they get to thinking their place is a given.

Maybe it's time for drastic action to get the troops fired up....what's everyone else thinking???

Bhoyyo · 28-02-2008, 04:24 PM

Here's a theory: The Bhoys are just putting on a show for Barca scouts. Barca dominated in the first leg, which will add to their confidence on Tuesday. Not only that, if their scouts tell them we're out of form, it will add more confidence. Also there's the fact that it'll be at the Nou Camp. Their confidence will be so high, they won't know what hit them until Naylor fires in his third goal!

celticmad117 · 28-02-2008, 04:25 PM

Aye, i agree
A good kick up the arse, dropped will get them motivated to perform if they want to play

Colin McRae · 28-02-2008, 04:26 PM

i seriously doubt we played crap n got lucky for the win against st mirren to get barca's hopes up ever further. the spl is the must. the champions league at this stage is a bonus

clagan24 · 28-02-2008, 04:26 PM

i'm thinking the same but unfortunately we dont have the squad to start dropping players. you would think playing in front of 60,000 fans and the prospect of 3 in a row would be enough to motivate anyone but apparently not. dont think some players realise how close we are to losing the league, the way rangers are playing its hard to see them drop points so realistically we need to win every game between now and the end of the season, big performances needed in our next games but i have faith that we can turn it around, we didn't turn into a bad team overnight and we cant lose to walt the fanny and ally mc moist, mon the hoops

Feed the bear · 28-02-2008, 04:37 PM

We're not a bad team, far from it and we've shown on European nights that when the motivation is there we're a force to be reckoned with and a hard team to beat. Look at the Barca game, there were players who weren't pulling their weight and it showed. Okay it's Barca and they played well but we took them on before and beat them so we were capable of at least putting up a better resistance than we did that night. Maybe some of the players just can't get it into their heads that if we lose the league they might not be playing CL footy next season and might "just" be in the UEFA cup. Maybe reminding them of what their next bonus cheque will look like might give some of them a kick up the arse, who knows....but playing for Celtic and being granted the honour to wear the hoops in front of so many of the paying public should be enough to motivate you...if not, might be you just don't belong at CP.....

Hoopy07 · 28-02-2008, 04:39 PM

The way rangers are playing?? fair enough they have won 10 games in a row, we have won 8.

They aint playing great either, fair enough last night they won 4-0, against a weak hearts team with no fight, but before that they have been struggling in games as well.

They have a 4 point advantage, we have 2 out the 3 old firm games at parkhead.

They have 2 extra european games at least, a cup final and a scottish cup replay more than us as well.

2 words. DONT PANIC

clagan24 · 28-02-2008, 04:48 PM

i'm not panicking but anyone who has watched the past 3 games couldn't help and be worried at how we're playing. the scum are making it look easy while we're scraping one nils at love street. i still expect to win the league but only if we start playing a lot better

kevinMc · 28-02-2008, 04:49 PM

Quote:

From reading the various threads and posts within them, seems to me that most people on here have the same underlying worry regarding the team and the run in....a lack of motivation from certain players who are regulars.

These are all experienced guys and I'm wondering then, what's causing this apathy out on the park and how can it be cured? Surely management see it, feel it and should be taking care of it. The threat of being dropped should be enough motivation for any Celtic player but it's obvious that with Strachan consistently picking players it's lulled some of them into a false sense of security and they get to thinking their place is a given.

Maybe it's time for drastic action to get the troops fired up....what's everyone else thinking???

Im not sure what drastic action can be taken.. Team spirit is hard to gauge.. Against Aberdeen away , Gretna away and Shaktar at home we conceded first , dug in deep as a team and went on to win the game.. But , the other side of it is - giving away a penalty at Tynecastle in the dying seconds , Our team capitualting at Inverness , and having to dig deep to get a point at home agaisnt St Mirren and Hibs are not things we've been used to when we're in the middle of a season and desperate for every point.. The Falkirk performance is the worst I've seen in a decade.. The ST Mirren game last weekend and the Hearts cup game at Parkhead were also shockingly poor..
We need a settled team (especially midfield) for a start.. This chopping and changeing (partly due to defensive injuries) isn't helping..

I can only hope Strachan is more relaxed than the rest of us and believes totally in the players , and is going with the horses for courses option..
Had the game last night been up in Inverness would we have seen the same formation ? One thing is for sure Inverness would have attacked us a lot more and our midfield would probably have done more chasing the ball and defending.. Im hoping it's the horses for courses option because I was expecting a midfield 4 of Mcgeady-Brown-Hartley-Robson last night and for the upcoming games.. Especially with Inverness being a physical team.. Maybe Strachan thinks we have to be playing our flair players like Naka and Donati at home , I say Donati and flair in the same sentence because his slick passing can sometimes compensate for his lack of tackling.. What I see as a solid midfield isn't the same as what everyone else sees , and people will argue that a goal and 5 minutes of Naka magic from an 80 minute performance is better than a 80 minute all round neat and tidy shift from Robson..

The only drastic action fans can take is stop going to games or start booing indivdual players , or let it be known to the manager what their feelings are on team selection.. None of them would be the wise option , and other than that I think it's just a case of waiting , hoping everything comes right on matchdays and we continue to get three points every time..

buzzbhoy · 28-02-2008, 05:34 PM

i think we should drop naylor,donati,naka, these lads just dont seem to be to bothered, as bad as gc is at least he's up 4 a battle compared to these lads, naka is just a free kick taker i know he has great skill but none of the huns have natural flair but there still top of the league,we need lads that will go out and grab the game by the scruf of the neck at this point of the season

Scottss1888 · 28-02-2008, 05:35 PM

There seems to me to be a lot of apathy in the squad and certain players will get picked no matter how they play.

Yes, there are 3 Old Firm games left before the end of the season with 2 of them at Celtic Park, but Strachan's side havent beaten the forces of darkness since Smith came back, and my fear is that these the huns will make it a physical battle and i dont think we have the players to handle that kind of game. Because as we have already seen this season when teams get behind the ball we struggle to break them down.

buzzbhoy · 28-02-2008, 05:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Scottss1888

There seems to me to be a lot of apathy in the squad and certain players will get picked no matter how they play.

Yes, there are 3 Old Firm games left before the end of the season with 2 of them at Celtic Park, but Strachan's side havent beaten the forces of darkness since Smith came back, and my fear is that these the huns will make it a physical battle and i dont think we have the players to handle that kind of game. Because as we have already seen this season when teams get behind the ball we struggle to break them down.

agree with u there thats why we cant play donati or naka against the huns

shieldsybhoy · 28-02-2008, 05:43 PM

They just can't be assed. At the start of the season our midfield, without Nakamura, was banging the goals in, especially Donati. Then at about November time, Boruc got injured and the best shotstoper in the league, Mark Brown came in and we drew with St.Mirren at home. Now he only goals coming from the midfield are Nakamura freekicks and new striker Samaras is bangin them in. Even Skippee is struglling. However this is only since JVOH has been injured.

Colin McRae · 28-02-2008, 05:45 PM

skippys scored 25 goals, how is he stuggling? aidens scored 8 goals how are we not scoring from midfield? sameras has scored twice. he's apparently banging them in?

shieldsybhoy · 28-02-2008, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tits McGee

skippys scored 25 goals, how is he stuggling? aidens scored 8 goals how are we not scoring from midfield? sameras has scored twice. he's apparently banging them in?

Sorry, I forgot about Aidan McGeady. 2 goals in 3 games is a good record for me. If he was here all season he'd be scoring over 30 goals a season. Are you telling me thats bad? Also how many goals have Scott Brown and Massimo Donati scored since the new year. A grand total of 0.