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So What Did We Learn From Today’s Lyon Game? Quite A Lot, Actually. Most Of It Good.

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So we played Lyon today at Celtic Park in our latest pre-season friendly, and in the end we were well beat. Do teams actually learn anything from games like this? Do they serve a function? Are they still useful? Surprisingly, I’m going to say yes in this case.

We learned plenty from this one, and much of it was good.

Let’s do the bad first. Our kids aren’t good enough to match one of the best teams in Europe.

There it is. That’s the bad.

That’s the only negative.

We were 0-0 at half time in this game, which means we suffered a major second half reversal … but by then it was only the kids who were on the park.

This was Lyon versus our youths.

The good points are these:

Johnny Hayes can play a bit … and works his backside off.

No surprise to anyone who’s watched Johnny Hayes this one.

He is a grafter and he has been his whole career.

He wasn’t one of those players who had a smooth road to Celtic Park.

He’s proved it when it’s counted. He played until about the hour mark here and chased back and got forward, cut inside, ran for his team-mates and genuinely did the business. I think this guy is a better player than I knew. He will be one Hell of an asset.

Koussai Eboue will play a big role in the coming season.

I liked the look of this guy whenever we saw him last season.

Today he played well enough to suggest we’ll see plenty of him in the coming one.

He is strong, and he is fit and he adds a bit of dig to a midfield which I think sometimes lacks that.

He went off when Hayes did, but commanded the middle of the pitch very well.

It was a strange game for him today, playing alongside two guys he hadn’t met until very recently … but he, and they, did well whilst on.

Ntcham has all the attributes we heard about.

Brendan said this kid would have pace and power and he wasn’t kidding.

He was very impressive for a debutant.

He reads the game well. He is strong. He is fast. He can hit a ball … and he can pass a ball.

His awareness and vision are definitely excellent.

There is no question that he’s got class in abundance, and you could see that even from early exposure to him. The management team knew what they wanted in this signing and got it.

He will dominate matches here in Scotland with measured ease.

Against this calibre he looks like he will be very capable in Europe too.

When he is part of a settled midfield we’ll see a show.

Kristoffer Ajer is a player for the future.

I like this kid a lot.

Spending last season out on loan did a lot for his confidence and when he too is part of a settled Celtic team you will see something.

He played as part of a makeshift defence here, including Nir Bitton, so I am not going to be harsh on him for the goals that were conceded.

He is still a raw talent but the emphasis here is on the word “talent”, which he has, and which he is.

He may go back out on loan to get him games … or he may not.

Is his best position central defence or in the midfield?

The manager thinks he’s a centre back … and I won’t argue with Brendan.

The injury to Boyata might just hand him his chance.

Kundai Benyu … man oh man.

I saved the best for last, because whilst all eyes would have been on Ntcham it was this kid who stole the show, and I mean that literally.

What an excellent, excellent performance from the youngster we poached from Ipswich.

I didn’t know much about this kid except for the odd story from England that said he was very highly rated, so this came as a pleasant surprise today and no mistake.

He was great.

Tricky, hardworking, energetic and alert … late on in his time on the pitch (he played about 70 minutes) he spotted a slack pass-back and was on it in a flash, skipping down towards the box and playing an excellent ball into Henderson.

We’ve got something here.

We’re almost ready for another incredible campaign.

Quite often pre-season games are just a waste of time, but today a couple of the players got to showcase their talents and they did just that.

We talk a lot about the squad game now, about how football is played by more than just the regulars and the starting eleven … certain other clubs have filled their benches with dreck.

The strength of our club this coming season will be in what we have as backup, and Ajar and Eboue and Benyu are all players who could, on the evidence of today, simply stroll into any other team in the land.

More than that, they look like credible contenders for first team shirts.

This is as strong as a Celtic squad as I’ve seen in years.

And the team building isn’t even through with yet.

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