GLASGOW, SCOTLAND - MAY 04: Brendan Rodgers, Manager of Celtic, looks on prior to the William Hill Premiership match between Rangers FC and Celtic FC at Ibrox Stadium on May 04, 2025 in Glasgow, Scotland. (Photo by Ian MacNicol/Getty Images)
We were not anywhere near our best today. I wonder how we could have been expected to be when we were hamstrung out of the gate by the obvious fact that we’ve ignored the lessons from the previous three games against today’s opposition.
The idea that has dominated all thinking at Celtic Park over the last few fixtures against this Ibrox team – this Ibrox team which cannot find form against any other side in the league – is to keep on doing the same thing. But better.
This pointedly refuses to even consider a possibility that is obvious to even the rawest football observer; the same thing is the problem. Our approach has been decoded by these Peepul. As long as we’re doing the same thing they will do the same thing. As long as they do that we’ll struggle in these games.
The next Ibrox manager, if he’s smart at all, will simply study the tactical approach which has worked so well against us all throughout this campaign, and he won’t change a single thing about it. Not one thing. And if we do not adapt we will continue to make this lot look better than they are until we slip on a day that matters.
The onus is on Brendan Rodgers to snap out of this, it’s just that simple.
I said this morning that the important thing here was to show that we had learned from past mistakes. Raskin’s disallowed goal proved we hadn’t. Balogun’s free header in the first minute proved we hadn’t. The nature of their goal – to soak up pressure and hit us on the break – proves we hadn’t. Our midfield setup proved that we hadn’t. Four games in a row with the same approach in spite of obvious proofs that even this simple minded fool in their dugout can pretty readily counter it.
We should have won the game late. Maeda only has to pass the ball across the goal and we’ve got two players to put it away. It would have put a gloss on what was otherwise a dour and dreary performance. An end of season display.
But the fact remains; we’ve played their team five times the season and we’ve won one of those games in 90 minutes. Something is wrong and it isn’t just that this team downed tools because we’d already won the league. Rodgers went into the first Ibrox game with a stellar record in these fixtures. I think that’s gone to his head. If he doesn’t want that record to be further eroded, he better snap out of it.
Let me tell you what I know to be true; the Rodgers of old would never have gone into that game today with the same system that has failed us the last twice. He would have tweaked the formation. He would have shaken things up. He would have sprung a tactical surprise or two. This Rodgers is either unwilling or unable to. He wants to talk about complacency in the playing squad? He’s the one who is complacent. He’s the one who has become too comfortable here.
The inevitable blame-game has already started online with fingers pointed at certain players. If you have a least favourite footballer in this squad, by all means fill your boots today and take your shot. Nobody will stop you or criticise you for it; indulge your Idah hatred although he led the line well and scored an excellent goal. Tell us all of your sterling conviction that we’ve got an £11 million dud. Tell us how it was all Taylor’s fault, like starting with a man down. Explain to everyone how James Forrest should never be in the Celtic team. Blame it all on Hatate if that’s your thing.
But if you’re not asking why the manager and the coaches brazenly refuse to change our system and our approach against a team that can read it in their sleep then you’re pointing the finger at the wrong people and have no chance of getting to the answers. Bad systems expose even good players. A bad tactical approach can leave even the best footballers exposed and flailing.
Idah should score one on one with the keeper. Fact. Scales should not allow Dessers to muscle him off the ball. Fact. There were too many stray passes. Fact.
But Raskin, the smallest guy in their team, putting one in the net with a header surrounded by our players for a second time in two games in a packed penalty area from a dead ball means that something has gone badly wrong in our organisation. A midfield system that cannot cope with a team pressing us is a system that needs dismantled and replaced by something that works.
And here’s the thing; I said this game today didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, but I also said that we had to show we had learned lessons. That team system is still good enough to win leagues. That’s been demonstrated. You look at the league table and it is right there, the plain and simple fact of it.
But here’s the thing; how much do you want to press your luck that it remains good enough to win leagues? Is our form since January really indicative of a team which was too busy coasting to notice there was a job still to do … or a sign that things next season will be a lot tougher if we persist with the same playing style?
What if other sides are able to find effective counters? Five in a row suddenly doesn’t look like such a lock if Rodgers continues to be inflexible. The warning signs are obvious. Are we really just waiting to take one on the chin in a huge game before we pay attention to them, or are we going to wake up now and prevent that?
This game doesn’t matter to this campaign. It was every bit the dead rubber I thought it would be. It was worth watching only in analysing whether we’re capable of actually working out what went wrong at Ibrox and Celtic Park earlier in the season, and I have to conclude, having watched it, that the answer is no.
Bella Guttman, the Hungarian coach, was the one who uttered that great football truism that “the third season is fatal.” What he means is that there are only a handful of coaches who recognise that after two years of the same approach, with the same players, that the team becomes predictable and the old formulas no longer have the same impact. Rodgers knows this, by the way, which is why he’s talked about how this summer might be a big one in terms of changes.
But we’re more than overdue a change in tactics as well because as I’ve already pointed out in several pieces prior to this, we’re not just talking about two seasons under Rodgers here; we’ve been played a variation of the 4-2-3-1 for a little over a decade now and it’s long since become easy to read. It still wins us things; we have assembled a squad which fits that system like a glove.
But how many times, especially in recent seasons, have we dropped points against teams who simply pack the penalty box by playing both deep and narrow, leaving our two wide guys with all the space in the world but with no obvious route to feed the ball to a lone central striker? Our slow build-up play allows defences to reorganise as we pass the ball back and forward.
This season we’ve won this title because we had, on the wings, pure pace to burn in Maeda and Kuhn and because instead of having them cross the ball into a packed penalty area they’ve utilised their speed and run with the ball at their feet, which is far harder to defend. It’s a change in the style, but not of the system and yes, it has worked, but there’s still not enough variation in our play.
Part of that is the squad; it’s built for one style of football. It’s built almost entirely around this variation of the system. For the same length of time as we’ve been using that system we’ve looked suspect at times in games which require a certain type of midfield player; the battler, the bruiser, the warrior. Our midfield is full of good footballers. But sometimes, on those days when you need to get down and dirty, you need power and aggression more than the thirty yard pass.
I’m not unhappy with the result. The result stops dead the “lost three in a row” narrative the media was dying to push, and it’s prevented us from having to read crap about how the season is now defined by losing twice to a Daily Record scribbler. But I’m not going to pretend to be happy with it either.
Rodgers didn’t change a damn thing about our approach today, and had we lost under those conditions the questions about it would be ringing in his ears. I see no reason to let him off just because Idah produced in another big moment.
Harsh take from my perspective. With Jota and Kühn out and Yang clearly playing his way back so not 100% match fit, and AJ out then understandable that we weren’t as fluent going forward as we have been over the past month. We still created the better chances and should have won the game.
I agree that questions to be asked on how we defend set pieces as the free header in the first minute was unacceptable.
In terms of changing how we approach these games, I agree we need more variety. However I don’t think it would have been sensible to “show our hand” in what was a dead rubber. Let’s keep that for next season.
I do have serious concerns over our central defence and this is an area that we should be looking to improve for next season. I remain at a loss as to why Nawrocki (who was our best defender in the 3-2 loss) is so far down the pecking order.
a near unique view and excellent piece. The approach of Ferguson/Clement/Beale/GvB has all been the same. Be extremely aggressive off the ball for 20mins and hope that gives them something to hang on to. Its a disorganised press however, which a top and improving side should be able to move through with ease. Celtic have become too slow, too lateral, and the passing has become about the safe option vs the right option. We have become reliant on individuals making a difference rather than winning as a team. For the second time in charge we are facing managed decline into season 3 with the request from the manager that he simply needs more quality. The difference this time is that the rangers team we face is the worse. Yes we cant be blamed for their inadequacies in winning the league, but we should at least be exploiting it to a greater degree each season.
I got short shrift on here for criticising BR but I could see this coming because if he could not change to avoid relegation for Leicester then he not going to when he is winning Trebles.
Some people are terrified of change and if that is the case with BR then anyone could do the Celtic managers job as all you have to do is use your superior resources and put out you best players week in week out without any thought given to team selection or tactics until people see through it.
Starting with Scales, Hatate, Ralston, Engels and Taylor meant we were 5 players down. Three of them have no vision when on the ball and Hatate and Engels have but not the skillsets to use it profitably.
Maybe he was forced to play some of these but that damns Lawwell and the recruitment team.
I thought we were a little better today. We didn’t allow them to hem us in for the first 10 minutes as in previous matches but we look suspect at set pieces. I think we need a big CB who is going to dominate at these set pieces, along with being comfortable on the ball. I know, they are not easy to find. We also need another striker as an option up front. Idah scored eventually but he doesn’t contribute enough as a forward. Doesn’t work the defenders, doesn’t bring others into play enough (his pass to Forrest was criminal) and after missing a good chance stood in the box moaning while they broke upfield to score before half time.
Rodgers tactics can be questioned in these games, and possibly in half a dozen others, but for the most part, he will feel his methods are successful. I would like to see a few tweaks. We need to start games on the front foot, for at least the opening 10/ 15 minutes. Be direct, get the striker involved early and use the wide men to press high up. Then when the opposition are pushed back we can settle into a possession based style. A striker that is experienced, a handful, can score goals and link up play is key to this.
I thought it was an entertaining game and although we should have won it at the end a draw was about the right result.
Both Hatate and Forrest were great at retaining the ball and never missed a pass.
Goalkeeper also had a good game but questions still remain about Scales and Taylor.
Some of us said the same after the last game. We allowed Rangers a treble in 2003 because of a manager who was too stubborn to change his system. I hope history does not repeat itself next season; because the warning signs are there.
James don’t be so negative about our result today and how we play at times we had players missing possibly 4 so all in all not to bad a result should be more said about the bottle incident or something done about it.
We were good today, I couldn’t believe the reaction from Celtic fans in my WhatsApp groups at halftime and we were a bit less effective in the 2nd half. I’m still out so I’ll explain later but we definitely shouldn’t be raging at the performance or result today.
What is your tactical changes/tweeks? They played 5 in midfield. Should we have went to a 352? I’m not a tactical genius so can someone explain what tactical changes we should have made? Personally I thought we should have been better on and off the ball but what do I know.
I feel your frustrations James, but it is hard to tweak things when you are short on personnel. Tony is slower than AJ, so we were always vulnerable to a break away. Adam should have scored his 1 v 1 first half and we then lose a goal to the only piece of coherent out field play we allowed them. As the 1st half wore on, it was quite apparent that we were better than them on the ball. Their only threats came from set piece. Balogun hitting the bar was a let off but Raskin’s offside effort, it could be argued, was a triumph for the defensive system who let him go offside. It’s then really hard to prevent an offside player getting a free header. The thing is, you don’t need to.
We lacked accuracy when it mattered, eg Adam’s underhit pass to James and numerous balls played (too slowly) to Daizen’s feet, thus making Tav look great as he intercepted. They should have been played in behind to exploit the wee man’s speed. When we wake up tomorrow, we will still be 17pts ahead. We will still have the distinct possibility of a treble in a few weeks. A few weeks where our walking wounded can recuperate ready to send us off on our hoildays with a treble in the bag.
Another embarrassing result, look at the teams they have lost to at home recently and we have yet again failed to win. Folk on here talking about the players we have out, We had a 9m Striker 11m Midfielder on show, either one of those players value is greater than the squads of QP, St. Mirren or Hibs. It’s just not good enough. I haven’t heard Brendan’s post match excuses,but he did say before the game that this was about pride. Hands up anyone who felt proud of our performance today…………
An embarrassing result…..eh, naw!
I was disappointed that we did not win, that goes without saying, but by the same token I was so very glad we were not beaten. We played well enough and the draw suited us more than them. They are gutted, for that was the last highlight of their rotten season, a victory against us would have given them a couple of months respite, but now their season is totally done, completely flat, and they feel hollow inside. It’s time for a bit of calm reflection from us and time for us to enjoy the victories still to come.
Without VAR today we would have lost 2-0.
Just a thought.
The same linesman got both decisions wrong. Both calls should have been easy to get right.
A nothing game, a draw suited us more than the Ibrox mob, but I hope BR has learned lessons from the past 4 games against them. You’re correct James, their tactics against us in these games have got them results, and we’ve never changed our shape or predictability in the way we approach the games.
Surely BR must spend the Pre Season developing a Plan B and maybe even a Plan C. Predictability is about the worst weakness any team can have in these days of tactical awareness. Most teams in Scotland haven’t the strength in depth player wise, to overcome our better players, but a weak The Rangers squad have sussed out our weakness and matched us or bettered us over the past 4 games, BR is a lucky man that they’re not good enough to find a way of penetrating the defensive set up of most other teams in the SPFL.
The Rangers have made it easy for us to win the Title this season, we can’t count on a repeat next season. Hopefully there will be some hard work done by our recruitment team and BR and his coaching staff during the summer.
Micmac
yours is the most apposite comment of all here
There is nothing special at all that TRFC managers have discovered or decoded
Every single manager in the SPL has worked out how to counteract Celtic . They all know what to do . The issue is that most of them can only carry it out for 15/20 minutes before Celtic in most cases overpower them ..last week in Dundee a classic example ..plenty more similar situations happened during the season where we really struggled before coming good
it is no surprise that the strongest team / squad of the rest of the league namely TRFC will have most success and positive results in counteracting our very predictable playbook.
Lots of contributors here have urged plan b plan c and d when required when things are not going well …but it isnt happening
The big big worry is that when facing a guaranteed quality manager in the CL play off in August against players much better than anything we face in Scotland he and they will clean our clock . You can also bet that Jimmy Thelin is 100% focussed on how to do just that for more than just 20 minutes or so as well on the 24th of May
Aye Charlie, they’ve got our card marked. We’ve got to have a bit more variation in our play, you’re right about most SPFL teams competing with us for around 20 mins, and then getting overrun once we score the 1st goal.
If I remember correctly Aberdeen had a couple of early chances at Celtic Park in Feb before we went on to win 5-1, a 2-2 draw and a 1-0 victory were the scores in the other games against the Dons. The Cup Final is not a foregone conclusion.
I’ll come on as usual and respect that we all have an opinion as to how our latest game v TRFC went.
For me, I was very disappointed that we didn’t win the game as I thought, for the majority of it, we controlled the game and were the only team that played football.
I’ve read on here, and other mediums, that TRFC have our number, and that BR is talking complete nonsense when he says that we weren’t really troubled today.
I’m of the view that we were the better team and but for woeful finishing, some careless decision making and questionable refereeing, we would have ran out comfortable winners!
At times, the level of negativity towards BR, and our team, is something I don’t quite fully understand, and certainly don’t agree with.
While a lot of questions are asked about our performances in these games, surely Sevco fans must wonder why their team can only seem to work hard, when they play Celtic!!!
Leagues are won by the team that is consistent over 9 months, not 4 games! We’ve proven that, time after time, season after season.
Of course we need new players in various positions, and that was very evident today ! But try and focus on the positives, rather than the negatives we seem to continually read about, after these games.
Are we the club that’s on the cusp of yet another treble …or the club that’s about to have yet another trophy less season !
Sometimes you have to scratch your head eh? HH
Considering all the players missing it was a credible performance. At halftime I wasn’t worried because Engels and Hatate were playing well and when that happens we usually win but there was some shocking defending in that first half, the disallowed goal, Balogun’s free header, CCV’s no look back pass. On the other hand, the first goal is crucial and if Idah just gives Forrest a decent pass or finishes his one on one then maybe it’s a comfortable afternoon. He didn’t and we concede when we’ve got a corner, scales buys the dummy and dives in giving Dessers space he shouldn’t have had and it’s a decent finish. So set pieces and counters were the danger. In the 2nd half I expected us to comeback and win, we seemed to lose a bit of control when Engels went off and there was still some bad defending, also the ref gave phantom fouls to stop us gaining any momentum. Taylor ran out of steam, kept getting caught out of position and had to be subbed though Schlupp looked shaky when he came on, Sinasalo did alright but should’ve claimed a few more balls rather than defenders clearing it, maybe not vocal enough? Or subs were largely ineffective and all in all, given the personnel available, it was ok. I’m not sure what else Rodgers can do, we need to defend a bit better and take our chances.
Brattbakk, I can’t really disagree with the majority of your post tbh.
Some of our defending was comic cuts, and like a few others, it still puzzles me why Nawrocki is overlooked.
However there were some sterling performers yesterday most notably CCV, and Hatate for me !
The team does need strengthened over the summer but I commend our players’ resilience and hopefully see one last big push to secure another treble ! HH
I honestly thought we had won it when Daizen went through but t’was not to bloody well be…
In all honesty it was a game that could’ve gone either way, probably a draw is fair result !