Every time I have watched the club from Ibrox this season it has been apparent that their threat comes from only two things; long punts up the park and the hope that the ball drops to someone and their ability to get the ball out wide.
The long punt was tested to destruction on Sunday. It did not work against two defenders who can handle themselves in the air.
Their best players are on the wing.
Some have said that our midfield is where the game was lost; it was actually lost by our failure to prevent them from crossing the ball.
This is where we really fell down on the job.
The truly decisive moments in this game where when we lost our full-backs. Juranovic going off for Ralston was bad enough, although he wasn’t having a great game and Ralston didn’t come on and play a bad one.
It’s just that knocked us out of our defensive shape which had held up pretty well up until that point.
But losing Taylor was a killer.
Ralston playing on the left side was always going to weaken us there, and playing young Welsh in an unaccustomed role was a disaster waiting to happen.
If we’d been able to bring on a left back instead, keeping Ralston in his natural position, we might not so easily have conceded from the ball Bassey whipped in late in extra time.
One of the weakest areas of the team … that’s where we lost the goal.
That’s where the game was ultimately won.
That single moment, when Taylor came off and we were forced to rejig a defence which we’d already had to work on, cost us big time.
We weren’t good enough on the day.
That’s just a fact.
But the impact of those defensive changes shouldn’t be underestimated, and they cost us. At the very top of the manager’s “things to do” list for the summer must be an infusion on talent on the left hand side.
There are issue there which simply must be put right.
This team will not reach its full potential until they are.
The game was lost and I don’t care what anybody says by the man in the middle not adhering to the rules. Var won’t help our problems, only compound them. You just know any Celtic goal, or advantage will be scrutinised to the inch of it death, that will extend to any team playing the Phoenix club. The guys that are watching the screens, are the guys that run the line. You know, the same people that are brazen enough to wish everybody a happy Easter while playing a blinder, or going to a well known Rangers pub after also giving inexplicable decisions.
If Celtic had Nir Bitton in the squad we would not have lost the semi-final.
The same liability Nir Bitton who has been sent of against them in the past because he can’t control himself. Bobby Madhun would have just loved him to be on the park.
I have said all season we need a LB, a CH and a DM. Sunday proved that painfully correct.
Only one thing wrong with this point, unless I’m mistaken, The Irish lad Scales is a left back, but wasn’t named in the squad. Lad hasn’t done anything wrong when he’s played and also has goals in him. Is he injured? He is also cover at Centre half. It has puzzled me he hasn’t been involved more. Especially when it has been obvious that Stephen Welsh is limited at CH.
Being a retired football player and coach
The first thing the full backs were told and taught was to stop the opposition from getting a cross in
I will tell you what GVB would have told Tavernier to bomb forward all the time as Taylor is vulnerable
I was at the game and time and again long balls down the right wing and Taylor was a mile away from him
Where did the goals come from that’s right, crosses
You are right we need a left back who can do the basics
If Taylor left Celtic where do you think he would end up?
Dundee, that’s his level not Celtic
absolute rubbish taylor is a steady player .not spectacular but steady . we lost thew match on sunday because we only played with light weight midfielder ball players against at times 5 midfielders , 3 of whom were absolute cluggers
we lost the game in midfield and we got over run in midfield because of this .
sorry to say but too many celtic players didnt turn up or didnt perform .on the day .
ange did not try to change things despite a layman like me seeing the obvious .