****Official Lappinitup Match Thread - Celtic v Norwich****

[Canaries north 151]

33 minutes ago, rock bus said:

I’ve no idea why people still think Idah will come good. He had a couple of decent games last season but exactly the same could be said about Sargent.

He looked rubbish in his appearances in the championship before that and always totally lost when playing for Ireland.

I honestly can’t see what he adds, he can’t use his strength,  limited pace, no eye for goal, poor positioning,

 and poor control…honestly baffles me why he is seen as such a prospect.

I agree and disagree. I think Idah will become a good player. Possibly not as good as some think but a good player and in those flashes before the injury he was looking useful. I just don't see him as a goal scorer. I will be happy to be proved wrong but I still feel our season will hinge on Pukki getting the service he needs and staying fit. 

[Nuff Said 5,079]

2 hours ago, ricardo said:

As a pointer to how the season will go, pre season results are utterly meaningless.

In addition to that, if we beat Hibs comfortably tomorrow, how many of those panicking now will post on here about how we’re nailed on for promotion? 
 

None. It’ll be “it was a pre-season game, it’s meaningless”, “Hibs are League 1 quality at best” and “Smith got lucky” because they are only capable of seeing (or maybe posting about) negatives.

[Midlands Yellow 3,914]

I finish work in the next hour but fair play to everyone on here who’s done a longer shift than myself. Commendable and appreciated by all I’m sure. 

[Capt. Pants 4,194]

12 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said:

I finish work in the next hour but fair play to everyone on here who’s done a longer shift than myself. Commendable and appreciated by all I’m sure. 

Relentless isn't it.

[Mello Yello 2,273]

Haddock, chips an' curry sauce washed down with a can of hobgoblin......I'm happy I didn't have to fork out a tenner for that up the hill backwards performance....

It's gonna be a long old season.....

[Jim Smith 2,314]

The team lacked balance today. Save for maybe against the weaker sides at home we can’t shoehorn Todd, Sinani, Sargent and Rashica into the same team and play one genuine central midfielder, especially when that midfielder is Kenny who gets dragged out of position and byepassed too easily for that role.

In fairness to Smith, with only two fit senior central midfielders he may have felt he couldn’t play the two together or it may just have been an experiment to try Todd there. It wasn’t terrible at all (arguably we had good enough chances to get a draw given their goal was obviously offside) but it didn’t quite work. One of Sargent or Sinani will need to be sacrificed in the Cardiff line up.  

 

 

[Midlands Yellow 3,914]

4 minutes ago, Jim Smith said:

The team lacked balance today. Save for maybe against the weaker sides at home we can’t shoehorn Todd, Sinani, Sargent and Rashica into the same team and play one genuine central midfielder, especially when that midfielder is Kenny who gets dragged out of position and byepassed too easily for that role.

In fairness to Smith, with only two fit senior central midfielders he may have felt he couldn’t play the two together or it may just have been an experiment to try Todd there. It wasn’t terrible at all (arguably we had good enough chances to get a draw given their goal was obviously offside) but it didn’t quite work. One of Sargent or Sinani will need to be sacrificed in the Cardiff line up.  

 

 

Like a Roman sacrifice pre kick off? If it pleases the Gods so be it. 

[chicken 2,604]

1 hour ago, Nuff Said said:

In addition to that, if we beat Hibs comfortably tomorrow, how many of those panicking now will post on here about how we’re nailed on for promotion? 
 

None. It’ll be “it was a pre-season game, it’s meaningless”, “Hibs are League 1 quality at best” and “Smith got lucky” because they are only capable of seeing (or maybe posting about) negatives.

I suspect we'll play more of the youngsters tomorrow as well. But that won't mean anything. 

[Branston Pickle 3,631]

12 minutes ago, chicken said:

I suspect we'll play more of the youngsters tomorrow as well. But that won't mean anything. 

I’m wondering what defence we’ll be playing, particularly cb - clearly not Hanley and v unlikely Omob, Gibson’s not travelled (I think I read).  I do think it odd we have let Zimbo go without planning a replacement.

[yellowrider120 761]

4 hours ago, hogesar said:

I'm quaking with laughter in my boots at the state of yours and others posts on here.

If anyone think a friendly against Celtic is in any way relevant to our opening game against Cardiff then you're living in a deluded world where you've never actually followed football.

If we won 3-0 it wouldn't mean we were any more likely to beat Cardiff. Pre season results throughout the entirety of history show this. Not just at Norwich.

As for the game itself we had the better chances in the first half. We conceded a goal that was offside.

Anyone who's using this to measure our chances for next season need to give their heads a wobble but when you see the posters names it's not exactly surprising.

Unusually - I totally agree. By and large pre season friendlies are totally and utterly meaningless as far as results are concerned. They are used purely for physical / match fitness purposes and for 'having a look' at a variety of systems and personnel within said systems.

[Gordon Bennett 780]

1 minute ago, Branston Pickle said:

I’m wondering what defence we’ll be playing, particularly cb - clearly not Hanley and v unlikely Omob, Gibson’s not travelled (I think I read).  I do think it odd we have let Zimbo go without planning a replacement.

Perhaps his 'replacement' is Tomkinson.

[yellowrider120 761]

Does anyone know precisely what 'strain' Byram is nursing? If it's a knee, groin or ankle issue then probably little to worry about. If (heaven forbid) it's the same hamstring that very nearly finished his career then that could be one hell of a worry!  

[Branston Pickle 3,631]

5 minutes ago, Gordon Bennett said:

Perhaps his 'replacement' is Tomkinson.

I thought so, but in reality he was already an option so it does rather feel we’re potentially one light vs last season, and given how we’ve found ourselves short at the back pretty much every season for the last 3-4.  Sorensen seems to be the stand-in but we may well need him in CM.  

[chicken 2,604]

11 minutes ago, Branston Pickle said:

I’m wondering what defence we’ll be playing, particularly cb - clearly not Hanley and v unlikely Omob, Gibson’s not travelled (I think I read).  I do think it odd we have let Zimbo go without planning a replacement.

Tomkinson will be one of them I would think. It may well have to be Sorensen alongside him.

[Midlands Yellow 3,914]

12 minutes ago, chicken said:

Tomkinson will be one of them I would think. It may well have to be Sorensen alongside him.

If the squad put in as much effort as you have today posting on here then promotion is nailed on. I salute you sir. 

[chicken 2,604]

2 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said:

If the squad put in as much effort as you have today posting on here then promotion is nailed on. I salute you sir. 

With you on shift, someone had to keep up the "making sense" side of things. Place was in meltdown! Was all hands to the bilge pump. 

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,017]

I thought I would ask my Celtic supporting friend who was at the game today for an honest, unbiased assessment of our performance today, he basically said we were dire, he did temper that by saying Celtic were seven games into their pre-season and they were ready for the start of their season next week and with a couple of more pre-season games under our belt we would get to the same position as them...........then I explained our season also starts next week and he reverted back to "you were dire" 😮..................

[Midlands Yellow 3,914]

11 minutes ago, Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB said:

I thought I would ask my Celtic supporting friend who was at the game today for an honest, unbiased assessment of our performance today, he basically said we were dire, he did temper that by saying Celtic were seven games into their pre-season and they were ready for the start of their season next week and with a couple of more pre-season games under our belt we would get to the same position as them...........then I explained our season also starts next week and he reverted back to "you were dire" 😮..................

It’s all still positive then.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,017]

14 minutes ago, Midlands Yellow said:

It’s all still positive then.

It is not meant to be positive or negative, it is simply my reporting of the opinion of a Celtic supporter who attended the game who has no axe to grind with Norwich City and whom I asked for an honest, unbiased assessment of our performance today.........

[chicken 2,604]

17 minutes ago, Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB said:

It is not meant to be positive or negative, it is simply my reporting of the opinion of a Celtic supporter who attended the game who has no axe to grind with Norwich City and whom I asked for an honest, unbiased assessment of our performance today.........

Mate, opposition fans are rarely unbiased, and Celtic fans, I tend to find, are some of the least likely to be so. The fact the majority of them think they should be playing in the premier league means they couldn't give an honest opinion about a pre-season game against Championship opponents. There are a fair amount that think they'd be top four premier league... 

If we were dire, they were too, especially in that first half. 

[Branston Pickle 3,631]

29 minutes ago, Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB said:

It is not meant to be positive or negative, it is simply my reporting of the opinion of a Celtic supporter who attended the game who has no axe to grind with Norwich City and whom I asked for an honest, unbiased assessment of our performance today.........

We were “dire” yet they only managed 2-0 including the most blatant of offside goals you’ll ever see (god alone knows what the Lino was thinking, it was a couple of yards and right in front of him)? If that’s true, they are actually pretty dire themselves, from what I saw Hart made more saves/we had a number of other attempts blocked wide.  I think your Celtic fan has very green-and-white hooped specs, something Celtic fans are well known for if truth be told.

Edited July 23, 2022 by Branston Pickle

[TheBaldOne66 681]

Having just watched the highlights, two things stand out for me.

1. Rashica needs to learn to shoot first time instead of taking so many touches before shooting

2. Whilst I understand the criticism of MacCallum for 2nd goal, personally I would say Sorensen was more culpable as the challenge he put in was pathetic for someone at centre back, which for me again shows he cannot play centre back unless he learns to tackle better

[SwearyCanary 1,179]

Celtic are equivalent to a relatively comfortable EPL side. The basis for this is looking at Rangers, who were second best last year in Scotland able to go toe to toe with other duds in Europe where mid table EPL sides couldn’t manage it. That feels the only actual basis we can make comparisons. So by this logic, to play Celtic and lose 2-0 with some positives is not a result to get worked up about. A mid table EPL side bearing is 2-0 last year was not news considering the acknowledgment that we have a worse squad than is necessary for EPL survival. So whilst this does mean that we would struggle to survive in the EPL with the current squad we are not looking to survive in the EPL, we are looking to compete at the top of the Championship. If we do go up, well then that’s a problem for another day, but it’d be a nice problem to have with £100 million extra burning a hole in our pockets and still no debt to speak of. 

And it’s still preseason, players getting 90 minutes and a mush mash of team selection imo. It’d be a bit silly to play your full intended 11 in one game and be left with your B team for the final game before competing next week which are unlikely to win and knock the confidence. 

I suppose we will see today 

[Jim Smith 2,314]

8 hours ago, Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB said:

I thought I would ask my Celtic supporting friend who was at the game today for an honest, unbiased assessment of our performance today, he basically said we were dire, he did temper that by saying Celtic were seven games into their pre-season and they were ready for the start of their season next week and with a couple of more pre-season games under our belt we would get to the same position as them...........then I explained our season also starts next week and he reverted back to "you were dire" 😮..................

They weren’t very good either to be honest. 

[Jim Smith 2,314]

7 hours ago, Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB said:

It is not meant to be positive or negative, it is simply my reporting of the opinion of a Celtic supporter who attended the game who has no axe to grind with Norwich City and whom I asked for an honest, unbiased assessment of our performance today.........

They do have a bit of an axe to grind generally as they take umbrage at the suggestion that their league is weak and therefore that Celtic and Rangers would struggle in the prem. 

[mannings bandy legs 385]

11 hours ago, yellowrider120 said:

Unusually - I totally agree. By and large pre season friendlies are totally and utterly meaningless as far as results are concerned. They are used purely for physical / match fitness purposes and for 'having a look' at a variety of systems and personnel within said systems.

Ok. What have either have you seen in these games that tell you we have players or nous to get the ball to Pukki. As I've said elsewhere if Sara nots that player,then we will struggle to to get Pukki to fire.

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,017]

9 hours ago, chicken said:

Mate, opposition fans are rarely unbiased, and Celtic fans, I tend to find, are some of the least likely to be so. The fact the majority of them think they should be playing in the premier league means they couldn't give an honest opinion about a pre-season game against Championship opponents. There are a fair amount that think they'd be top four premier league... 

If we were dire, they were too, especially in that first half. 

That is something of a generalisation. In my case I was talking to somebody I have known for a few years, who I worked with and who is genuinely a good bloke. So I am happy that the opinion comes from somebody who is a fellow football fan who absolutely has no axe to grind with Norwich City FC. I have no doubt that had we played well and looked half decent my friend would have said so. 

My post was not meant to be positive/negative or a judgement of how Norwich City will do this season but an unbiased, honest view of how we performed in a particular game........

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,017]

1 hour ago, Jim Smith said:

They do have a bit of an axe to grind generally as they take umbrage at the suggestion that their league is weak and therefore that Celtic and Rangers would struggle in the prem. 

Not in this particular case, see my response to Chicken.........

[Faded Jaded Semi Plastic SOB 1,017]

9 hours ago, Branston Pickle said:

We were “dire” yet they only managed 2-0 including the most blatant of offside goals you’ll ever see (god alone knows what the Lino was thinking, it was a couple of yards and right in front of him)? If that’s true, they are actually pretty dire themselves, from what I saw Hart made more saves/we had a number of other attempts blocked wide.  I think your Celtic fan has very green-and-white hooped specs, something Celtic fans are well known for if truth be told.

Not in this case, see my response to Chicken..............

[Monty13 2,229]

1 hour ago, Jim Smith said:

They weren’t very good either to be honest. 

Exactly, if they hadn’t had a clear offside not given for their first and then been gifted a second it would have been a dull 0-0.

They created more chances but weren’t significantly better than us, fine margins.