TalkCeltic - The Ultimate Celtic FC Forum

Nightmare.

Celtic 0-1 Maribor (agg. 1-2)
Celtic Park 26/8/14
Uefa Champions League Play-Off 2nd leg

Celtic bowed out of the Champions league last night at the hands of Slovenian minnows Maribor, before their European journey had even begun. Having been handed another chance at Champions League football after the well documented administrative mistake by Legia Warsaw in the previous qualifying round, The Bhoys squandered the opportunity in front of over 58,000 fans at Celtic Park.

Celtic started the game nervously, with Efe Ambrose and Charlie Mulgrew making numerous mistakes early doors. Norwegian loanee Jo Inge Berget was also disappointingly ineffective ofn the left side of the attacking three.

Mid-way through the half, Celtic won a corner with Virgil van Dijk heading narrowly wide from the resulting delivery.

A few minutes later, some very slack defending by Efe Ambrose allowed Maribor’s Viler to unleash a vicious strike on...​

Jaggy Performance Before Crucial Euro Tie

Inverness CT 1-0 Celtic
O'Connell (OG) '65​

A mostly second-string Celtic side fell victim to a 1-0 defeat in the Highlands this afternoon against a well drilled Inverness Caley side with a strict game plan.

Celtic’s first good chance fell to Finnish striker Teemu Pukki. With the goal at his mercy, Pukki took an unnecessary touch when it should have been hit first time, to squander the opportunity. Pukki then cleverly manufactured another opportunity with a quick turn in the box but the ‘keeper was a match for the effort.

Later in the half, Kris Commons was played in on goal but the effort was (uncharacteristically of last season’s 32 goal man) hit straight at the ‘keeper.

Just before half time, Bitton , with perhaps Celtic’s best effort of the game, struck the crossbar with a curled standing effort.

Celtic’s first half performance...​

Advantage Celtic



Young McGregor Continues Fine Form


Celtic have come away from Slovenia with an impressive away draw to NK Maribor. Celtic's previous round against Legia Warsaw was not one which will live long in the memory as a football match. Celtic's naivety and defensive frailty was cruelly taken advantage of and it exposed Celtic's biggest weaknesses.

One of the errors which the manager and the players were responsible for was a lack of composure. Celtic went chasing a game with only 10 men and were picked apart. The performance last night was miles away from the game in Warsaw. Celtic were cautious in their play, choosing their moments better. A perfect example of this was in the last minute where Celtic had a corner and it was taken short. The Hoops showed an understanding that the draw was a great result to take back to Celtic Park.

Deila...​

St Johnstone 0-3 Celtic
Scottish Premiership
McDiarmid Park
13th August 2014​

Ronny Deila took over as manager of Strømsgodset is 2008, at the age of 33.

The first two seasons were tough for fans of the Tippeligaen club as they fought off relegation. Had they made a mistake in appointing an untried, novice manager?

Someone who didn't buy into that idea was Strømsgodset sporting director, Jostein Flo.


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Slowly, Deila turned things around. Players who had performed admirably under the former manager, Dag-Eilev Fagermo, were moved on in favour of talent that would fit with Deila's playing style & philosophy.

That style & philosophy is based around solid man-management skills, and an attacking approach based on quick transitions and aggressive pressing.

By the end of his tenure at Strømsgodset Deila had helped to take a club that was...​