1. Having trouble logging in by clicking the link at the top right of the page? Click here to be taken to the log in page.
    Dismiss Notice

Ange Postecoglou

Discussion in 'Ex Players' started by Mr. Slippyfist, May 29, 2021.

Discuss Ange Postecoglou in the Ex Players area at TalkCeltic.net.

  1. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2012
    Messages:
    160,756
    Likes Received:
    88,534
    NO matter how many goals Kyogo goes on to score in his Celtic career, few will be as contentious as the one he notched against Hearts on Thursday evening.

    But whether it was offside or not, the record books will show only that it counted, and that it was his 14th goal in just 22 appearances since arriving in Scotland.

    There will be those who have been surprised by just how quickly the Japanese forward has adapted to his new surroundings and hit his goalscoring straps, but his manager Ange Postecoglou certainly isn’t among them.

    Postecoglou’s faith that his first arrival – but almost certainly not the last – from the Far East would be the smash hit he is turning out to be comes not only from faith in his ability as a player, but in the one thing he knew as a certainty he would get from Kyogo; boundless energy.

    His perpetual motion has proven difficult for defenders at both Premiership and Europa League level to contend with, but the worrying thing from their point of view is that Postecoglou feels there is even more to come from his buzzbomb of a forward, with his movement even perplexing his teammates at times.

    A recent run of three club games without a goal can be attributed to the Celtic players themselves not being quite on the same wavelength as the striker just yet, according to Postecoglou, and he thinks he will get even more goals once they get up to speed with where he wants the ball to be played.

    “In terms of goals tally it’s hard to say [if I’ve been surprised by his impact], but I knew he could make an impact,” Postecoglou said. “I’m the person least surprised by the impact he’s had.

    “I knew what a clever player he was and his movement is very hard to contain. Provided we played our football in a way I thought we could then I knew he would be a guy who could get goals for us.

    “I felt probably the last two or three games we haven’t been using him as much as we can. I still think even within our team we’re still not as sharp as he is in terms of getting the ball to him in the right areas.

    “But, the beauty about him is the way he works off the ball, defensively for us, is just outstanding. I’m glad he’s getting the reward of goals because that’s what strikers want. Even if he wasn’t scoring, his work-rate and effort has been outstanding.

    “His movement was brilliant and he consistently does that. He’s just very hard to stop and from our perspective, it’s just about us getting in sync with him. Sometimes he’s just too sharp for us with his runs.

    “We’ve just got to keep seeing him and playing him in because we know he’s a threat.”

    The qualifier that is normally added by Postecoglou when he discusses Kyogo is that he has to be protected from burnout. The Japanese international has already been involved in six World Cup qualifiers since he arrived at Celtic, and played a full season in the J-League prior to his arrival.

    Celtic struggled somewhat previously though when Kyogo was rested, such as in the draw at Celtic Park against Livingston, so Postecoglou’s aim in January is to find the necessary attacking reinforcements that will allow him to pull his star forward out of the action on occasion.

    “It would be great to be able to do that,” he said.

    “That’s the plan and I’m on record as saying this squad’s nowhere near the depth and the quality I want. I’m not complaining about that because I knew that would be the case, there was no chance we could do that in one transfer window.

    “So, January gives us the chance to do some more, which I think will help us.”

    In the post-match furore of Thursday evening, it was of little surprise to hear Postecoglou trying to steer the conversation back onto the football rather than the officials, as has been his style ever since his arrival in Glasgow.

    What was a little surprising though was that he did actually lose his cool with referee Bobby Madden and assistant Alan Mulvanny at one point during the match in uncharacteristic fashion over the erroneous award of a throw-in to Hearts.

    His ire though was perhaps displaced onto the officials, he revealed, as his team's failure to show more of a ruthless streak got his back up.

    “I was more frustrated with us and not killing the game off,” he said.

    “I felt we played some fantastic football and that final bit, where you want to get the reward, I just felt we could’ve been more decisive.

    “You know what football’s like, there’s always an opportunity for the opposition to get back in the game. I was sort of frustrated we weren’t as clinical in that front third as I know we can be and we have been in the past.

    “So, again, every game’s an opportunity to develop and learn and we’ll give feedback to the players on that.

    “For us to be a better team we need to take those opportunities and kill games off. At 1-0 the opposition are still in the game.

    “We still have to defend. People keep on talking about our defence but it is another clean sheet for us. And that’s also without Joe (Hart) having to be extended too much.”

    Celtic’s next opportunity to heed that lesson comes tomorrow lunchtime at Tannadice, and Postecoglou has warned his men they will be tested once more.

    “It will be a good challenge,” he said. “They frustrated us here and got a draw against us.

    “We’re expecting a tough game but our away form has been really strong and we just need to continue it.

    “It’s about making sure we go about things in the right way and not get too caught up on what’s happening all around us.”

    Cameron Carter-Vickers will be back in the squad for the trip to Tayside following a personal issue, while the game will come just too soon for Greg Taylor, who is expected to return next week.

    Striker Giorgios Giakoumakis will be missing for another two to three weeks as he recovers from a clean-up procedure on his injured knee.


    CELTIC manager Ange Postecoglou has challenged Mikey Johnston to step up to the plate and fill the void left by Jota, after the Portuguese winger was injured in Thursday night’s win over Hearts.

    Jota limped off after pulling up clutching his hamstring in the second half of the game in midweek, and while Postecoglou said after the match the injury may not be as bad as it first looked, he is still likely to miss the Dundee United game tomorrow at the very least.

    That may give Johnston, Jota’s replacement from the bench on Thursday night, a chance to get a run of starts, and Postecoglou says it is up to the young Scot to seize his opportunity.

    “It’s always a concern when a player comes off injured,” Postecoglou said.

    “Jota’s one who has played every game and he’s one we’d love to give a break to at some point. But it’s the kind of stage as a squad we’re at this moment.

    “He wasn’t too downbeat after the game, he was hopeful it was nothing too serious.

    “Ultimately, we need guys like Mikey and Liel (Abada) to step up, that’s why they’re here at the club.

    “And if the opportunity exists for them it’s up to them to take it.”

    Meanwhile, Postecoglou was delighted with the winning mentality shown by his men to get over the line in the hard-fought victory over Hearts, and he credits his experience players like captain Callum McGregor for drilling that into their teammates on the pitch.

    “All you can do is look at the outcomes and the way we’re seeing out games,” he said.

    “Callum and Joe Hart, the really experienced boys, are big on just driving the lads and telling them that’s the expectations around this football club.

    “That’s a positive thing. It’s not me driving it, it’s the players themselves. They want to get rewards for their hard work. They understand the expectations for us, there are no excuses for us.

    “From that point of view you’d rather win much more comfortably.

    “But even winning 1-0 I still think instils belief in them.”
     
  2. craigtheceltic

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2016
    Messages:
    2,670
    Likes Received:
    2,684
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Tom
    The fact is, any time that Ange has rested Kyogo, we’ve dropped points. Almost every time that CalMac hasn’t been our 6 we’ve dropped points. Every time that Ange has dropped points in these circumstances, the knives have been out. So he just plays his best players as long as he thinks he can because he’s on a hiding to nothing if he doesn’t play them.

    The January break and window is critical to us. Get there, in touch with Rangers, continue the rebuild bringing in a minimum of 4 starter quality players and we go on to win the league.

    Bring in the two Japanese bhoys on day 1 of the window, they’ll be settled by the end of the January break. The key will be getting in the 2+ others ASAP.
     
  3. anthony valletta

    Joined:
    May 30, 2021
    Messages:
    43
    Likes Received:
    85
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Tom rogic
    Everyone having an opinion on what big Ange needs to do with his squad is quite amusing TBH. I stated way back when 99.9 % of this chat was hating on him b4 he even became manager that the guy is an absolute master at building a club from top to bottom in the way that will be conjussive to the style he want to play and the overall culture at the club from the staff to the playing squad. Celtic honestly have one of the best managers in world football the only surprise for me is that the results have been decent in his first year as usually it’s his second year that his teams take your breath away. If the board backs him the football next year will be the some of the best in Europe!!!
     
    MAP, Rogicisgod and Celtic Board like this.
  4. Mr Cleansheets

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    2,407
    Likes Received:
    2,282
    Sincerely doubt whether Ange gives a rat's what anyone thinks.

    He always plays his best players because he doesn't have good enough alternatives.
     
  5. craigtheceltic

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2016
    Messages:
    2,670
    Likes Received:
    2,684
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Tom
    Yeah fair, but he certainly listened after he put Eddy up front and Kyogo on the left when we lost to Rangers.

    Edit: I read my post and can see why you think and wrote what you wrote. I was more or less saying that some fans get the knives out and he’s on a hiding to nothing with those fans.
     
  6. Mr Cleansheets

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    2,407
    Likes Received:
    2,282
    I wasn't attacking. Just saying what I think.

    We fans analyse from a distance because we can't help it, but Ange being Ange... the last people he'll listen to (when it comes to the team and strategy) will be us.

    Correction, second last us. Last the mainstream media.
     
  7. craigtheceltic

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2016
    Messages:
    2,670
    Likes Received:
    2,684
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Tom
    I didn’t think you were attacking.

    Ange is all about the fans, he wants to put out entertaining teams, he has his ways, but at the end of the day he’s all about pleasing the fans. His listening to the fans was why he acknowledged starting Kyogo on the wing was a mistake v Rangers(well that was my take on it).
     
  8. Hammy89 Gold Member Gold Member

    Joined:
    Apr 10, 2008
    Messages:
    18,025
    Likes Received:
    20,556
    Location:
    Paradise
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Larsson, McNamara, Moravčík, Boruc and Boyd
    Fav Celtic Song:
    YNWA, Fields Of Athenry and The Celtic Song
    100% on here think you're a bell end.
     
    Free the Adblock likes this.
  9. straighttalker

    Joined:
    Nov 1, 2011
    Messages:
    1,850
    Likes Received:
    941
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Big Vic
    Needs backed in 2 more transfer windows to have 'his' team. Then we can see the true power of Angeball. Let's be honest he has worked miracles with what he has. If he wins the league it'll go down as one of the best in a very very long time.
     
    Rogicisgod and Hammy89 like this.
  10. King of Kings

    Joined:
    Oct 11, 2005
    Messages:
    13,008
    Likes Received:
    10,065
    Location:
    Glasgow
    Fav Celtic Player:
    boruc

    Was he listening to the fans, or just realising that it was the wrong decision? I would bet it was moreso the latter.

    I really like Ange and this isn’t meant to be a criticism of him, the positive in fact - he doesn’t strike me as someone who gives a * what anyone other than him and his team think when it comes to selection, tactics etc.

    Personally I prefer that. I’m not keen on the idea of a manager that would give in to fan pressure in terms of his own selection and strategy.
     
    NomDePlum and craigtheceltic like this.
  11. craigtheceltic

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2016
    Messages:
    2,670
    Likes Received:
    2,684
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Tom
    Nah I also don’t think he’d bow down to fan pressure. Just saying that he’s acknowledged fan opinion.
     
  12. RalstonFanClubPresident

    Joined:
    Jul 13, 2021
    Messages:
    1,682
    Likes Received:
    2,359
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Antoni Ralstonovic
    Yeah, but that wasn't a response to anything others had said; in the interview immediately after the match he acknowledged that he'd got that decision wrong.
     
  13. Mr Cleansheets

    Joined:
    Jan 21, 2013
    Messages:
    2,407
    Likes Received:
    2,282
    See? We even analyse his analysis!
     
    craigtheceltic and kramer1 like this.
  14. jambo_cfc

    Joined:
    Apr 24, 2005
    Messages:
    2,154
    Likes Received:
    1,048
    Credit were credits due , if we have two problem areas covered in the first couple of days in January then thats ideal and very unlike the lawwell days , exciting times to be a celtic fan i think
     
    NomDePlum likes this.
  15. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2012
    Messages:
    160,756
    Likes Received:
    88,534
    Ange Postecoglou is set to be without key men at Tannadice today - and the Celtic boss says he’s risking more injuries with the demands he puts on players.

    The Hoops gaffer could face Dundee United minus two of this season’s star turns, Jota and Anthony Ralston, after they limped out of their midweek win over Hearts.

    Young defender Stephen Welsh is also unlikely to feature on Tayside, while Greg Taylor and Giorgos Giakoumakis are already out.

    Postecoglou’s squad is being stretched to the limit before the January transfer window as they attempt to stay on Rangers’ coat tails in the title race.

    And the Aussie admits they could pick up even more knocks in the next few weeks because of the way he’s asking his side to play.

    Postecoglou said: “It’s unlikely that Jota, Anthony or Welshy will play on Sunday.

    “We’re playing so many games right now that wear and tear is inevitable. Couple that with how we play our football and how we train - and it’s a fine line between pushing the guys to the maximum and trying to ensure we don’t overload them.

    “With so many games and our squad being limited in certain areas, some of the guys are having to back up.

    “That’s the risk you run when you try to do things the way we do.

    “The schedule here does take its toll on players. And I think it detracts from the spectacle when players are having to back up every three or four days.

    “At the same time, we’re trying to get the squad robust enough to handle that.

    “We’re in three competitions during this Christmas period, we have a cup final and we’re playing in Europe.

    “That’s a further burden but obviously it’s one we’d rather have than not.”

    With Postecoglou short on numbers, he confirmed that Celtic’s fringe players will get an opportunity to impress in their Europa League dead rubber against Real Betis on Thursday night.

    He’s set to call on the likes of James McCarthy, Mikey Johnston, Nir Bitton, Albian Ajeti and Adam Montgomerie against the Spaniards in a bid to get them up to speed for the busy festive fixture list.

    And he says this is their chance to stand up and be counted.

    Postecoglou said: “We’ll see how things go on Sunday against Dundee United but logically, we’ll take that approach (fringe players against Betis).

    “From our perspective, it’s still a game we want to win and perform well in.

    “And it’s not just about resting a few players. It’s probably more important to get minutes into a few because we’re going to need them.

    “Montgomerie had to come on against Hearts when he hadn’t played for four or five weeks.

    “Thursday is an opportunity to get 90 minutes of good football into some of the guys who haven’t played a lot.

    “We still have a fair chunk of important games coming up after Betis so it makes sense.

    “So that when we call on them, they’ll have played during this period. McCarthy, Johnston, Liel Abada and Bitton come into that category.

    “There’s a chance to get minutes in their legs and have them ready when required.”

    Postecoglou has already said he needs reinforcements in the January window and intimated that he’ll return to the Japanese market for players, after the success of Kyogo Furuhashi.

    He’s told supporters that new signings will arrive early in the new year as he looks to integrate them quickly into his squad.

    But he refused to be drawn on speculation linking him with Kawasaki Frontale midfielder Reo Hatate.

    He said: “The plan and the intention is to strike early in January. The world is an ever changing landscape, there are always things happening through issues with Covid or whatever.

    “But our intent and organisation is around getting players in as early as we can.

    “We know what we need and that’s what we’re working towards. All things being well, that’s what will transpire.

    “I’m sure plenty of names have been mentioned already. But we go fishing, put out a number of lines and see what we catch.”
     
    Crilly likes this.
  16. BigManSmalls

    Joined:
    Sep 15, 2021
    Messages:
    2,202
    Likes Received:
    1,800
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Larsson
    Merry Christmas, * the huns
     
    Crilly likes this.
  17. Celtic Board Make my day

    Joined:
    Aug 13, 2021
    Messages:
    12
    Likes Received:
    15
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Mooy
    GettyImages-1351335281-2048x1365.jpeg What does this look say to you?
     
    Tommy25 likes this.
  18. Henrik 07 Gold Member Gold Member

    Joined:
    Oct 6, 2012
    Messages:
    160,756
    Likes Received:
    88,534
  19. Celtic_Daft1888

    Joined:
    Jun 25, 2008
    Messages:
    5,631
    Likes Received:
    5,166
    Location:
    Scotland
    Fav Celtic Player:
    Scott Brown
    Fav Celtic Song:
    Broad Black Brimmer
    See when he has us on it, * we play wonderful football. Another couple of transfer windows and we are winning the world cup in 2022.
     
  20. Lewis Kerr

    Joined:
    Jul 9, 2018
    Messages:
    6,400
    Likes Received:
    6,658
    He has us playing better football than Rodgers.