this is not the same team we had during the bratislava issue...we have some massive gaps that still have not been fixed....why must we consistently look at things that have happened in our past and wish for them to happen again?

we're never going to see another larsson, we have an extremely slim (if not impossible chance) of ever being european champions again, and just because we got pumped in our 1st european match under Lenny just like we did under Strach does not mean he will go on to lead us to 3 titles in a row

look at the situation now and fix the issues, don't hope and pray for history to repeat itself

You're exactly right, which is why I feel everyone is overreacting over this loss

Hopefully I'm not alone in this, but I refuse to believe that this team is a lost cause because of one match. As BB said, this was our first competitive match of our season, the first competitive match for Lenny since he became the full-time manager. This is not the time to be making lasting judgments about the team (yes, I would've said the same thing even if we'd won)

If this performance came against St Mirren in the middle of March, then I'd label it an indictment on the team, but it's not March. It's not even August. I don't think too many of us were expecting a 3-0 loss, but then again, we were never going to win it 3-0, either

J-Rod, I know you've made a point about how it's a disastrous idea to throw players who've never played together and let them have a run... but the corollary to that is once they've played together a number of times, they'll eventually figure out how to play with one another

The Bratislava meltdown and this meltdown are both what they are, bad results. I am not wishing and praying that we win the league and have a similar turnaround to the one we saw after Bratislava because we got clobbered. I made it very clear in my post that we have big issues at key positions and I want those issues fixed. Larsson, like Jinky and others, were legends. Clearly I am not expecting them to come back and help Celtic this season. But to say that Celtic will never have a great player or season again is absurd.

What I am saying is that we have had European disasters before and we came out okay from it. The entire season is still in front of us and with the jackass way that the European coefficient works a run in the Europa League will be better then getting knocked out of the CL group stage. Lets fix our problems and move forward and if we do I think that we will see a similar season play out to the one where we got clobbered by Bratislava.

alrighty, so we're all on the same page there...not down and out but we do still need to make some MASSIVE changes....what do you all think they need to be?

for me

1. we need a new captain, brown is not fit to play for us let alone be our captain. we are in dire need of a leader on the field and it is not him

2. stronger cb signing.....loovens is not going to cut it

3. more balance in our midfield....we did not possess well and did not hold up the ball, mostly because i feel we had a few players pulling the slack for others....juarez showed promise, but i dont think ki is the man to pair with him...we need ledley in middle with him, mccourt back on the wing and if we sell mcgeady another winger replacement

thoughts?

Completely different order/components for me:

1. New CB signing. Agree that Loovens is not Celtic quality at this point. I am not saying that we have to sell him immediately, but yesterdays goal summed up his stay at Celtic so far.

2. New GK. Zaluska will be fine for the most matches in the SPL, but he is not cutting it for the OF/Europe. I understand that he was Jubilanied yesterday, but he spilled an earlier shot that was poor and he is generally not good enough to be a Celtic #1.

3. New LB. This might be solved if the Israeli is good enough to push Juarez to RB and Cha to LB, but Mulgrew is a solid backup. To see Mulgrew starting in Europe was discouraging and he did not improve that feeling with an awful performance.

A few positives: I liked what I saw our of Juarez yesterday, I really think that he is going to be a good one for us. I also liked the 20 minutes that Murphy gave us as well. Hopefully he gets some more PT.

I know that it is just talk, but at this point I will take anything. I sincerely hope that he means every word...



Get fucking stuck in Big Jos!!

i dont think this match was the end of the world at all. nor do i think the signing of lenny was the end of the world. quite contrary as a matter of fact. i just dont think he was the man to completely reverse our luck right off the bat. i think he can help us win the league, i dont think he's right or even willing to focus exclusively on european championships. that's fine. i think we have incredible players that should bring us success on all fronts, lenny just has the challenge of unifying them. i think he'll do well for our team, just maybe not on all fronts... yet.

what do we need?

A FUCKING LB: it's getting close to the point where and cant use 2 hands to count the number of years since we've had a solid, committed leftback. fucking sign one now! it's been such a glaring hole

A LEADER: i dont even care what position he plays. for now im going to say Hooiveld should step up and do this, but it would be nice to sign someone with a penchant for leadership

A STAR: as much i love priding myself on supporting a team that's composed of players from relatively simple and humble footballing roots. let's sign a word class footballing star, either current or rising. dole out the bills.

I agree with BostonBhoy on multiple fronts. Midfield is lacking terribly in depth and structure. Right now they look like a bunch of strangers out there which is obviously due to their lack of experience together.. im sure it will be a non issue a couple weeks into the season. As for a star/captain...Brown is not the man, and i can't see Mcgeady really climbing back into that role. Ive heard (and its pretty obvious) that most of the squad wants mcgeady around but would it be worth it to just sell him for big bucks and use that to try and sign a new star? Zaluska is definitely another issue when it comes to anything outside of Scotland. He fucked up another easy free kick today and that really worries me, should have been easy for a professional keeper.

well actually that was a beauty shot, but it wasnt placed at all... its on zaluska

Ratings (1-10) and final thoughts:

Zaluska: 1, not good enough for Europe. The goal today should never have been allowed. Either come out and grab it or stay on your line and make the easy catch. The only reason we had to chase the match to such an extreme today anyways was thanks to your "Jabulani" moment. Also, please learn to pass/clear the ball properly, thanks.

Mulgrew: 1, played like shit. Any coincidence that the goal came from the left side? I say no. We have to get something better, even for the SPL, at LB

Loovens: 3, no howlers, nothing positive though either, almost combined with Zaluska on a couple of occasions to assist a goal, well, a braga goal anyways.

Hooiveld: 4, See Loovens, he was slightly better though.

Cha Du Ri: 8, as a member of the disastrous back four he was clearly the best. At many times he was our best on the entire field. He is an upgrade over Hinkel and I was a huge fan of Hinkel. This was a great free pickup by Lennon and I am excited to watch him the rest of this season.

Ledley: 6, played well in spurts and was exiled to LB to cover for Mulgrew. He played LB far better than Mulgrew though and did have a decent game. I will be interested to see how he integrates himself into this squad throughout the season

Brown: 5, should have been sent off. This ref was very lenient all match, especially with Brown. He is just to reckless sometimes for me. He played his ass off though and his work-rate in the midfield was appreciated.

Juarez: 9, my MOTM. This guy is another awesome signing. He has combined Brown's work-rate with soccer skill and a brain. Not only did he find the net, he was close on a couple of other occasions as well. A near perfect match for me from Juarez, we have a real talent here.

Maloney: 4, not good enough. Also, he is now hurt...shocking. His inability to take anyone on and beat them in the first half was telling. He is no replacement for McGeady.

Samaras: 7, decent game. His work-rate was immense and he did a decent job at holding play up and creating some chances. Wish that he would be more inclined to play the ball into the box at times, but that is why he received a 7.

Hooper: 8, he is a striker and he scored. He seems to have that McDonald nose for goal. I am excited to see him over the course of the season.

Murphy: 3, invisible performance

Fortune: 8, made a real impact on the game in the second half. Almost immediately set up a goal on a great cross and brought a real physical presence to our front-line. I would like to see what him and Hooper could do together for 90 minutes.

McCourt: 10, duh. Nah, just kidding. Not enough time to evaluate.

A good win, unfortunately too many goals and mistakes shipped away by the back 5 and that is ultimately what cost us. It is clear that LB is still an issue and that Zaulska is prone to about one howler a game against good competition. Hopefully we use some funds from the McGeady transfer to fix these issues. The Europa League will be good for us, hopefully we can gel and make a deep run in it to boost our coefficient.